Early Risers.

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[chrisf]

Greetings, with warm thoughts to Simon and family

 

I spent too long looking for stuff yesterday.  Fortunately I found it, but not before I had checked on Ebay for the price and availability of a missing magazine that, of course, was not missing after all.  Let's just say that it was a good job that I found it.  I failed to pay the jungle a visit, which probably means heavy rain in the next few days.  Yes, I know: serves me right.

 

There are places to go and decisons to make in the week ahead.  Wednesday sees the return of the HMRS Bletchley Area Group to its familiar church hall which should not be considered draughty.  On Thursday I will be torn between a return to The Stables, where Sam Carter is in concert and selling his new CD, and the resumption of indoor meetings by Stevenage Locomotive Society.  That is a tough decision.  The first step must be a call to the Stables box office to check ticket availability, for the venue is not the largest and Sam's following grows by the day: quite right too.   The Great Electric Train Show opens on Saturday and for some reason does not fill me with enthusiasm.  It's only a short bus ride from here though so who knows?

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris

[jamie92208]

Good moaning one and all.  It's not rai ning here which is a bonus. Good to see Baz and ID popping in.  

 

Simon, I hope that you are getti g some answers from the medics and that your wife is improving.  At least you are there to look after the boys.

 

We had a good lunch yesterday with ourvtwo friends.  The pintard went to a good cause. Not a lot got done after that.  This morning it's time to take my car to have the aircon fixed. Then I may well start winterising the pool.  I don't think the weather is going to get warm enough again this year, to use it.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie.

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl, Inner Temple Hare, 433 /271.

 A reasonable night for the second night home of 6 hours sleep in 2 pieces.

 

Ben the reluctant Collie took some persuasion to go out for morning patrol, it was dark , he wouldn't go beyond the illumination of the house lighting..

Ben the Not impressed Collie, was not happy with me last night, we watched one man and his dog.. He hates the whistles they use and hid in his cage. He showed his displeasure by not coming upstairs, to check I was safely in bed afterwards.. 

 

Luckily I refueled the landrover before we went on holiday, that gives us 2 weeks fuel, the cars half tank is about 2 days fuel.. Though I note that Tes and Coes PFS lights were on this morning, so they had fuel had I been in the car, if there are still signs of life on Wednesday, when I come home I'll refuel the car on Thursday Morning.

 

Of fuel, it used to be I felt no change in the car from E5 normal fuel to E5 Premium.. Now they car definitely shows a difference, and monitoring on the way back from Scotland shows at least 5mpg better on E5 Premium compared to E10 normal. I'll do the sums later to see if it will be worth continuing. For long distance /higher speed journeys on motorways though she will get premium though.

 

No rain yet here, but there was no wind on Ben's morning patrol, by the time I got to work there was a stiff breeze, so I suspect precipitation is imminent. The weather radar says some rain has been and gone, but it lies.. Main wave is still to come we shall see.

 

27 emails deleted without reading this morning, the headline indicates happy hour in the USA or meetings to attend in the USA and one spam..

 

I'm now sat waiting for hand over of this weeks major system.

 

Time to go chase them up..

 

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Quite a change in the weather this morning, a lot cooler and persisting down. It has bought Arthur Itis out to play but he went away as soon as I started moving about. I need to go shopping today but not until later to avoid the queues at the filling stations. Not that I'm going to join them as I have enough petrol for at least a week but creeping through and past the queues doesn't help.  

[Andrew P]

Thoughts still with Simon and his family.

[Andrew P]

Getting used to the 1 inch bar along the top, and the adds at the bottom have stopped so not quite so bad, and I guess having to live with it is better than no RMW, so I can take that and put a positive spin on things.

 

 

Edited September 27, 2021 by Andrew P

[Andrew P]

The Sun has just come out, so that's a bonus and the Shopping delivery is due in half an hour, so.

 

Have a good day one and all, stay safe, keep well and keep smiling, it might only be wind.

[AndrewC]

Greetings all from the boring borough. 

 

Thoughts today with Simon and his family. 

 

Little happening here. Nice weather for the weekend. Now piddliddliddling down. No queues for fuel around here. Then again, none of the 8 local stations have any fuel to queue for. I did finally manage to obtain 13kg of propane for the gas bbq. That's only taken 5 weeks of hunting and waiting. Unfortunately for us the Disco-sport is about 20l short of diesel that we need for next Saturday. Stories on twatter of fuel lorry drivers being followed on their rounds makes for a sad state of affairs. 

 

@Tony_S Hockey fights are more theatre at times. (been there, done that, lost a tooth.) Gloves come off first as otherwise the stitching can rip someone's face open. Drawing blood is a no no. It is also an automatic suspension. Helmets tend to come off fairly quickly as most blows are in an upward direction and you don't want the chin strap digging into your neck. Lastly, the object of the exercise is to get your opponent's shirt up thus trapping his arms, while you get him down on the ice. At which point the fight gets broken up. A good fight can lift a team during the game, or settle things down. Think safety valve. The alternative is more injuries from dirty hits or sticks. 

 

Enjoy the day. 

[The Lurker]

Greetings all from a Sidcup which is experiencing the heavy rain that Chrisf is fearing will come to Bedford.

 

Best wishes to Simon and family. That sort of thing tends to put our minor gripes and grumbles into perspective.

 

The weekend was relatively quiet - we did not do the chore we'd set ourself because neither of us felt like it. So the weekend was filled with sport watching which is not a bad thing. A few of the Chicago beers were tried with positive noises.

 

The bin men have now collected 2 of the bins - not sure which ones they are supposed to collect because they are now hopelessly out of sync, the binmen replacing strike action with sick leave.

 

Other than that, it's back to the joy of work. 

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

It’s chuckinitdarn, has been for a few hours, so no outdoor activities will be undertaken today. Due to the heavy rain and the fact that we are due a package anytime between 9:16 and 13:16 meant that I couldn’t give Sheila a lift to her Zumba class, so she decided to have a lie in instead. Typically, the package has not yet arrived and I suspect it will arrive nearer to 13:16! 

 

So I will busy myself in the cellar, as there is still lots to do, but over the last few weeks I was making the most of the good weather to tackle jobs outside, leaving the cellar for wet weather. But first, I have to prepare tonight’s tea, a steak, mushroom and ale stew, now that will make the kitchen smell rather nice at dinner time. 

 

Back later. 

 

Brian 

[TheQ]

The rain has reached here but so far not a lot..

 

Meanwhile... The guy being lined up to replace me, has put his notice in.. That gives them a problem, any replacement for him will take maybe 3 years to learn his current job fully. So there's no chance of that person being able to move on into here, his job is a good stepping stone for in here, as some of the work is the same, but to a lower standard of measurement..

 

Will the last one out turn the lights out.

[Pacific231G]

Morning all

It was chucking it down when I got up and contuinued until about an hour ago but the sky is now mainly blue (3 octas of fairly thin wind blown cloud I'd guess) none of which look too likely to dump any rain though I'm sure that when I go out for my walk they will even  though the nearest aerodrome forecast is for a slight chance (prob30) of of rainshowers and the same for winds gusting to 25kts so, with steady winds of 14-15kts, there would be no point in taking an umbrella. 

I've got a long article to edit but, without a deadline, I've not really got stuck in so it's probably time I did so it's done when the deadline for everything else does start to loom.  

Whatever you're all planning to do today I hope it goes well. 

 

 

 

 

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, AndrewC said:

 

@Tony_S Hockey fights are more theatre at times. (been there, done that, lost a tooth.) Gloves come off first as otherwise the stitching can rip someone's face open. Drawing blood is a no no. It is also an automatic suspension. Helmets tend to come off fairly quickly as most blows are in an upward direction and you don't want the chin strap digging into your neck. Lastly, the object of the exercise is to get your opponent's shirt up thus trapping his arms, while you get him down on the ice. At which point the fight gets broken up. A good fight can lift a team during the game, or settle things down. Think safety valve. The alternative is more injuries from dirty hits or sticks. 

The night before we took Matthew to the airport for his flight to Canada  he got us to rent a film called “Goon” so he could be more familiar with hockey culture. 

Edited September 27, 2021 by Tony_S

[polybear]

2 hours ago, AndrewC said:

Hockey fights are more theatre at times. (been there, done that, lost a tooth.) Gloves come off first as otherwise the stitching can rip someone's face open. Drawing blood is a no no. It is also an automatic suspension. Helmets tend to come off fairly quickly as most blows are in an upward direction and you don't want the chin strap digging into your neck. Lastly, the object of the exercise is to get your opponent's shirt up thus trapping his arms, while you get him down on the ice. At which point the fight gets broken up. A good fight can lift a team during the game, or settle things down. Think safety valve. The alternative is more injuries from dirty hits or sticks. 

 

Enjoy the day. 

 

I wonder if any player (Ice Hockey or Footie) in the US or UK has been on the receiving end of an attack and reported them to the Police to press charges?  Could be career suicide though?

[polybear]

1 hour ago, TheQ said:

Meanwhile... The guy being lined up to replace me, has put his notice in.. That gives them a problem, any replacement for him will take maybe 3 years to learn his current job fully. So there's no chance of that person being able to move on into here, his job is a good stepping stone for in here, as some of the work is the same, but to a lower standard of measurement..

 

 

Do you think he's serious, or perhaps realises his worth and is playing for a big fat rise?  Dangerous game if they call his bluff though.

 

In other news:

Bear has had the joy of applying silicone sealant to various areas of the kitchen - so far, so good - though one small area isn't quite as I'd hoped but is acceptable and in an inconspicuous area, so I'll live with it.  More to do, but not today cos' I don't like to push my luck and risk bvggering up a nice bit I've just done when applying a new section.

[southern42]

' afternoon all from red dragon land.

Hope things are going positively for Simon's wife. Thinking of you all.

 

Chilly. Garden temp. risen from 9C to 12C. Breezy. Rain been and gone. Sunny periods now until I get back from my walk in the park wood sometime later - I hope!

 

Toot on the flute: longish session this morning - tone getting better (at times), forgetful fingers not.

 

Time to start doing lunch.

 

Take care all and play safe.

 

Polly

[TheQ]

Nope he put his notice in , they had previously refused to give him a pay rise.. He's going to a cal house that sends their stuff here for calibration. He's going for more money, 2 miles from home, instead of 22 miles from home.

 

Old school HR here, they think they can replace anyone for peanuts..  In reality it will take several months for a well qualified person to learn the basics of his job and several years before that person is fully competent..

 

 Like back in the day when I worked for GEC Marconi HR kept saying, if you don't like the conditions leave.. So people did, within a year they were offering staff £1000 if they could find someone to work for the company.. I took the Saudi post .. then left..

Edited September 27, 2021 by TheQ

[PupCam]

Afternoon!

 

15 hours ago, polybear said:

Bear's Sunday Funnies.......

 

...............  when we get back to the UK I don't want you f*****g pair of politically correct clowns saying it was an unprovoked attack!"

 

 

12 hours ago, Pacific231G said:

Very amusing Bear. I'm sure the families of Marie Colvin, Ahmed Shah, Simon Cumbers, John Schofield, Mohammed Nazir, Nasteh Dahir Farrah and too many others would find it particularly entertaining. They were all BBC reporters murdered while reporting in some of the world's more troubled places. No doubt it was their irritating political correctness that made them targets and not their efforts to report things that some people wouldrather we didn't know. 

You might find this of interest.

https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/buildings/broadcasting-house/breathing

 

 

It is perfectly true that some, no many, people have died or been seriously injured during the course of their work - whatever that may be and not just journalists.   Humour is a strange (I almost said "funny old") thing and Bear's joke was suitably generic I would have thought to do what it did, express a view with which many of the population would concur, myself included.  If the joke had named a real journalist who 'd suffered some terrible fate that would have been in very poor taste but it didn't.   Just being a journalist certainly doesn't automatically guarantee that your output is either correct or unbiased and has my respect.   Just like everybody else, respect for them has to be earned and as we all know respect is hard won and easily lost. 

 

The Breathing Memorial was interesting although I think the chap that died in a car accident was stretching a point.   Many, many thousands of people have died in car accidents whilst going about their business who are all equally worthy of a memorial but don't have one.   I hope that doesn't sound too harsh, it's not meant to be.

 

I'll also quote from said Memorial as I think it highlights my fundamental point precisely:

 

"John Schofield

BBC reporter John Schofield, 29, was shot dead by Croatian soldiers on 9 August, 1995.

He had been travelling with colleagues from Karlovac to Bihac in Bosnia. They had left their armoured vehicle to film burning villages when Croatian soldiers opened fire. John died instantly when he was hit by a single bullet. He had gone to the region to report for the BBC radio programme The World Tonight.

Presenter Robin Lustig described him as ‘The kind of man who gives journalism a good name."

 

I would suggest that these days there are far too many journalists (being PC here ....)   "that give journalism a very bad name".

 

Where's Dave Allan when you need him ......

 

2 hours ago, TheQ said:

Meanwhile... The guy being lined up to replace me, has put his notice in.. That gives them a problem, any replacement for him will take maybe 3 years to learn his current job fully.

 

With my cynical hat on, that  just highlights poor management then doesn't it?    Succession Planning;  Clearly  "a skill to be developed" (by them not you!) as we used to say at work.      Hopefully, it won't impact on your situation but, if it does, it should hopefully put you in a good bargaining position.

 

In other news:

 

Trellis Creocoting - postponed due to wet stuff falling from the sky

 

Wall Painting - brought forward as the walls are indoors and we've got to get the decoration finished before the man person comes to lay the flooring in a few weeks time.

 

This week's trip to Portsmouth - postponed until the fuel stupidity has subsided.

 

Keep smiling everyone, even when you are in the queue for fuel.

 

Alan

 

 

 

[AndrewC]

2 hours ago, Tony_S said:

The night before we took Matthew to the airport for his flight to Canada  he got us to rent a film called “Goon” so he could be more familiar with hockey culture. 

Slap Shot with Paul Newman would have been a better choice. 

 

Poly, yes it has happened on more than one occasion. Normally in recreational leagues. The pros have enforcers who are on the team simply to get into the rough stuff. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tie_Domi is a perfect example.

[Gwiwer]

G'dafternoon one and all.  Best wishes to Simon.  

 

A day of two halves and no mistake; it began with trains slipping and sliding (within safe limits, of course) on rails enslimed with the the first leaves and thick drizzle of Autumn.  It became sunny.  Most of the world's supply of water then thundered down upon us for a half-hour or so.  It then became sunny again.  Wet - dry - wet - dry.  The jumper however has stayed damper than ideal and is hanging up to dry before tomorrow's shift.  

 

Customer of the Day award went to the Spanish-speaking woman (and I mean only Spanish-speaking as in yo no hablo Inglese, nor apparently any other language) who clutched a ticket from Gatwick Airport to Worcester Park.  Two things were wrong with that.  One - the ticket was endorsed "Not valid via Clapham Junction" which was odd since that is the only logical route.  She might have gone via Guildford but at a very significant time penalty and covering many more miles therefore attracting a higher fare.  The other problem was her destination - clearly identified on her journey planner app and by the WR-postcode address - as she required the city of Worcester and was trying to find the train to Shrub Hill station!  Perdón; incorrecto. It took quite some time using the services of Google Translate to persuade her that Worcester Park was not the place she needed to go.  I have every sympathy for those staff she meets in her onward travels whilst proffering a ticket which is not by any stretch of imagination valid.  However as her journey planner clearly said "Worcester Shrub Hill" I cannot explain why a colleague interpreted that as "Worcester Park".  

 

Today's task is to strip out the kitchen.  Tomorrow we are promised a new floating floor.  Either the landlord knows something about future flood levels  or this is to replace the falling-to-bits slate tiles which were incorrectly laid at some earlier time straight onto the floorboards and with minimal grouting at that.  They are now cracked, split, chipped and some move and / or tilt alarmingly when walked on.  I wonder what cost-saving measures will be in evidence tomorrow.  Floor floating on broken slates, perhaps.  If that is the case the laminate is going to last months at best.  Watch this space.  

 

In other news I have waited some two years to start enjoying bus events once again.  This coming Sunday I am due to attend the Chesham running day for which I now have a lovely program after parting with a very modest number of modelling vouchers.  But if there isn't enough diesel available at the pumps then the event cannot go ahead.  If it's not one darned thing it's another ....... 

 

Laters all.  I have a dresser to empty and a fridge to clear ......... 

 

.

Edited September 27, 2021 by Gwiwer
Correcting auto-corrupt. Yawwwnnnnnn

[simontaylor484]

Good Afternoon 

 

I have been to collect her ladyship from the hospital. Yippee 

 

A couple of moans that I had not put the washer on but i had to leave it to come collect you and your washing can go in with some Dettol washing stuff as well

 

I had allegedly given the youngest the wrong  pair of school  trousers to put on 

 

Apart from that its nice to have her back she is still a bit shaky on her feet 

 

And once again thanks all for the kindness shown

 

Back to the hoovering

[PhilJ W]

Hello again from Estuary-Land. Best wishes to Simon and his family and I hope the missus can be back home soon.

5 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

Good Afternoon 

 

I have been to collect her ladyship from the hospital. Yippee 

 

A couple of moans that I had not put the washer on but i had to leave it to come collect you and your washing can go in with some Dettol washing stuff as well

 

I had allegedly given the youngest the wrong  pair of school  trousers to put on 

 

Apart from that its nice to have her back she is still a bit shaky on her feet 

 

And once again thanks all for the kindness shown

 

Back to the hoovering

Glad to hear she's back, I was just writing the above when you posted.

6 hours ago, TheQ said:

Nope he put his notice in , they had previously refused to give him a pay rise.. He's going to a cal house that sends their stuff here for calibration. He's going for more money, 2 miles from home, instead of 22 miles from home.

 

Old school HR here, they think they can replace anyone for peanuts..  In reality it will take several months for a well qualified person to learn the basics of his job and several years before that person is fully competent.

Typical HR, they talk the job down to reduce the pay without any thought of the consequences. The current lorry driver shortage is a case in point and that will be with us for quite a few years now. The average British lorry driver is in his mid to late 50's and a few I know are only holding on to build up their retirement fund, one or two are on final pay schemes and they will be off as soon as.

Edited September 27, 2021 by PhilJ W

[J. S. Bach]

4 hours ago, TheQ said:

 ...snip... Will the last one out turn the lights out.

And bring the flag.

[simontaylor484]

Another problem with HGV driving is that (Armed forces excepted) you can't go into it straight after school you have to wait (quite rightly) till 21 and then do class2 first. So it doesn't appear on youngsters radars at all.

 

It's not pushed as a first career at the 2 transport companies I worked for a lot were either ex forces or ex miners although we did get some young lads through our driving school they started class2 local collection and delivery and then moved on to class 1