Early Risers.

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[Natalie]

3 hours ago, Barry O said:

Hope 2022 is good for you @Natalie, long time since we heard from @Kellyas well..hope she is OK too!

 

I have now caught up with reading so hopefully can keep up to date.

 

The best wishes of you all is much appreciated. It may not seem much of a gesture but for those of us who have been absent, whether through the black dog or otherwise, it is nice to receive the reactions and know that our presence has been missed. In the same gesture best wishes to Bear and hope that he gets any support he may require and that he is a valued part of this band of posters whom we hope to see back as soon as he is able to. His posts are never dull and always get me thinking. As for Kelly she is fine. I have been in regular contact, both in person and digitally. She says that her absence from ER is mainly down to forgetting to post here.

 

I hope that everybody who has been unwell is recovered/ recovering and that any in isolation can soon safely re-emerge fit and well.

 

I hope all those who celebrate Christmas or not had suitably enjoyable times and was everything that it was expected to be. I am in the not celebrating Christmas camp I am afraid as I am not a Christian but mainly because I am a miserable anti social cow....

 

It was good to read that Chrisf had managed to get a short trip away in knowing how important they are to him and hopefully he can grace a Pride event near you anytime soon. Glad that all seems to be well with his oncology visits.

 

It was nice to meet Roll the daschund, he looks a fine beast indeed. Glad to catch up with the activities of Sydney and Ben, not forgetting Lucy (hope that is recovering) and the rest of the pack (apologies for forgetting their pack name- just remembered after pressing send that they are The Wolfpack.)

 

I was pleased to read from Dave Hunt that Bob Essery had a suitable send off. I only met him a few times at the NEC when I was on the SRS stand and he (along with Graham Warburton and Mrs Essery and Mrs Warburton too) was on the LMS Society stand. He was always keen to chat and was great to talk to. He seemed fascinated that I had been a signalman in the Nuneaton/ Warwickshire and Leicestershire areas. He seemed pleased that I had read a lot of his works and agreed with his views on operating a model railway- ie as per the real thing. He could never remember my name but just called me "The Lady Signalman." It really was an honour to meet and chat with such an important and influential member of our great hobby. 

 

It has been interesting catching up on various conversations. With history I tend to be of the opinion that it should not be sanitised and should reflect all sides of the story was well as placing it into the context of its time. It is then perfectly acceptable to me to then say that nowadays such opinions or actions are not considered acceptable. We should be able to record what happened, good and bad and reflect on it but certainly not twist it or deny that certain things happen. Aren't we supposed to learn from the mistakes that we have made in the past? We can't do that if they have been whitewashed or erased.

 

The detail regarding slavery was very enlightening and equally disturbing. I was unaware of the majority of it and found it quite disgusting what humans are capable of doing to other humans. Why can't we just all get on and treat each other nicely?

 

Flavio also made an important point about the existence of modern day slavery and the need to do something about it. it is a travesty that we get upset by historical slavery (rightly) yet seem not to be as bothered by its continued existence.

 

I will admit that people as a whole baffle me and I just can't get my head around it all. I generally find life very difficult to deal with and tend to just avoid people as a rule and keep myself shut away in my room. My black dog tends to be an all year round presence.... What does help though is the unwavering and unconditional love from our two magnificent hounds, Bracken and Minnie (our real black dog). They really are a big help and comfort at all times and have saved my life on several occasions.

 

Anyways enough of my sufferings and apologies for the length of the post. I hadn't intended it to be so but I found the words flowed once I started.

Edited December 30, 2021 by Natalie

[iL Dottore]

Natalie’s back! 

Welcome back N - you were much missed….

[chrisf]

Good morning all and welcome back to Natalie

 

Within the pages of the Radio Times lurk temptations!  Today Dunkirk and Reach For The Sky on BBC2 will together keep me quiet for a few hours.  It is not often that daytime TV is so alluring.  We all know that slobbing out in front of the box is often a waste of precious time but on occasion it is so good to just put ones feet up and relax, often with a cuppa and its healing properties.  Gentle readers need not fear that I have nothing better to do: indeed, draped over the clothes horse may be found a collection of laundered garments just aching for the soothing heat of the steam iron.  No doubt most will agree that keeping the ironing up to date is wise and a Good Thing, if not necessarily enjoyable.

 

Tomorrow the New Year's Honours List is due to be published.  I know that many will not give a donald duck who is listed therein.  Others will wonder why on earth some have been included.   Hold that thought until we have had time to read the list.

 

Chris 

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

A dry, breezy start to the day here and it is a very mild 13°C. 

Good to see a visit from Natalie, we've been missing the ladies lately.

Much clattering outside tells me that the first of the 3 bin lorries due has arrived so the Council are possibly keeping to their promise that our collections will be on our normal day this week.  Sainsbury's are late this morning advising what we are or are not going to get in today's delivery which is due between 8.00 & 9.00am.

No firm plans made (again) for today so it's a case of will he/won't he? visit The Shed.  Don't hold your breath.

Time to take tea to The Boss.

Have a good one,

Bob.

 

 

Edited December 30, 2021 by grandadbob

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from down ere. It actually sounds still and dry outside but it's still  dark.  Not a huge amount to report.  We had a pleasant couple of hours of drinks and nibbles with neighbours last night then slobbed out watching a fim on Netflix.  Bruised.  

 

Today a bit of electrical work in the shed then I'm off trainspotting with my mate Andy.  He's still recovering from a shoulder operation so will be glad of a trip out.  It's supposed to be getting sunny so we can live in hope.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie.  

Edited December 30, 2021 by jamie92208

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

Self inflicted head ache this morning. Beer was involved.

 

We listened to the quiz in a pub. It's all on line now.. Big problem last night was..... the number of incorrect answers given by the quizmaster...

 

I await some parcels being delivered for herself this morning.  I may venture out later as I need some scenic bits.

 

@grandadbob  a visit to the shed would do you the world of good.. but just play.. not work.

 

@Nataliethanks for the update and letting us know that @Kelly is well.  I hope that we hear from @Debs. at some point.. she must have an enormous pile of awls  ready to go!!

 

Time to..... drink my tea and get ready to receive Royal Mail.. 

 

@chrisf  don't look for my name in the honours list.. I could comment on my thoughts on its compilation but would be banned from here for doing so.

 

Stansted!

 

Baz

 

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl Inner Temple Hare,

3.5 hours sleep, long awake trying to get comfortable, 2hours sleep, I'll try for more shortly..

 

If you count all moves of 2 months of more, that is post was sent to the new address, I've moved 26 times, either with my parents or as myself with or without SWMBO. When we came out of the RAF we ended up in MK. A combination of the best job offer, that gave easy access to SWMBOs disabled mother.. straight up the M1.. the main alternatives were Lincolnshire M18 or countryside outside  Manchester M62/ M1.

 

Once time in Saudi had sorted out the economics of being able to move again, it was search again for our final home, one instruction from SWMBO was no more moves. No MiL by then. We / I chose Norfolk, a combination of cheap housing, good for my hobby of sailing, SWMBO'S hobbies are everywhere. Plenty of land / walks for the dogs.. it's been a successful choice.. We ain't going anywhere again..

 

Plans for today.. sanding the boat, it's a bit breezy, forecast up to 40mph winds, but also warmish and no rain..

 

Time to.. try for more sleep.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Glad to see @Natalie back and I hope we hear from other missing ER's soon. Just a short visit this morning as I'll be going out to the Rayleigh toy fair which might be the last one for a while if restrictions are bought in in the new year.

[New Haven Neil]

Morning, from a windy and warm rock.

 

Today I will mostly moving the telly bracket 6 inches higher.  Stupid new TV has the mounting holes offset upwards, the old one was central.  There isn't enough space underneath for all the HiFi. Pah.  Also been replacing light switches, having found the method of wiring in this house is different to any other I have experienced, where previously the effective ring was linked via the lampholder bases with a pair of switch wires down to the switch, here all the wires are in the switch boxes with just a pair to the lamp. (new regs?). This makes the shallow boxes very, very full, and in the case of one triple, impossible to fit the nice shiny flush switches we bought, into.  Pah once more.

[Tony_S]

24 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

all the wires are in the switch boxes

Are they wall lights? All our ceiling lights are wired through the ceiling rose with a cable to the switch. The only one like yours is a wall mounted lamp.

[Tony_S]

My neighbour kindly installed gutter guards (hedgehogs) while the solar panel scaffolding was up. Later in the spring he will be completing the job. We will all be sharing the cost of a cherry picker van and a roofer. However Lee (neighbour) wanted to fit the lower gutter hedgehogs today, using my house as a template to know how much to order. Other neighbours have stopped to ask what he is doing and he now has a number of other similar jobs to quote for. So we seem to be social influencers now! Though all I am doing is making coffee. 
Tony

[PupCam]

Afternoon all!

 

Had  a low profile for a few days, we've been away to stay with my relly who lives close to AndrewP land.    

 

Trying to set up a new mobile phone, on a new network using her old number has been the biggest challenge of the last few days.    Almost made it; phone working.  Calls In & Out plus outgoing texts.  Won't receive incoming texts at the moment.  Steps have been taken to refresh the "message centre number" via a "manual roam" but, they say, it might take a few hours for the effects to ripple through and become effective.   I hope so as it's a long way to go back and have another go!

 

Very sorry to learn that black dogs have been  sheep bear-worrying.   If only we could keep those black dogs under control. 

 

(Just thought; is the phrase "black dog" PC?    No, of course not, but who gives a sh...., it is very descriptives and everyone understands the context and the connotations and if anyone is offended well that's just tough)

 

Other than that not a lot to report.  I hope this cloudy ad wet weather clears off soon.   Itching to whip out the Newtonian Reflector and have a gander at some heavenly bodies.    

 

 

21 hours ago, 45156 said:

 the last permanent one left (she was very good as well as very easy on the eye) to go and join our GP practice as a pharmacist practitioner but it's the only one close to the GP surgery, and the only one in town,  I do know from speaking to the staff who used to work there when it was independent, that B**ts only use ONE supplier - Alliance, which (surprise) is owned by B**ts, so if your item is out of stock with Alliance, you're stuffed.  The independent pharmacist had accounts with ALL the major suppliers, so was not caught out that often.

 

 

Very frustrating!   One of the things that annoys me about such trials and tribulations is that it's not as though you are taking the medication for the fun of it.  And, like trying to get appointments with GP's & consultants, the very last thing you need at such times is stress caused by difficulties getting essential medication.

 

One possible thought; these days you can have your prescriptions sent to any pharmacy.   Could you find an independent one who does postal deliveries?  Then you'd possibly get the best "availability" combined with no need to actually collect the things.     Perhaps our resident pharmacist can advise on the best tricks solution to be applied?

 

Alan

[Gwiwer]

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

gutter guards (hedgehogs)

I haven't been able to  train the local hedgehogs to guard anything let alone climb to the roof and guard gutters.  

[Tony_S]

I don’t know if other residents of North Kent and South Essex have seen the news reports but the “Richard Montgomery” is in the news again. Having been assured for a while that the WW2 munitions ship wasn’t really likely to explode now, it seems that the masts are corroding and could fall onto the hull and set off the explosives. So the Navy will be removing the masts this summer. 

[New Haven Neil]

3 hours ago, Tony_S said:

Are they wall lights? All our ceiling lights are wired through the ceiling rose with a cable to the switch. The only one like yours is a wall mounted lamp.

 

No Tony, they're all ceiling lights.  May be Manx regs, or possibly Irish given the nationality of most tradesmen/women here.  It's a pest though, all the neutrals taking space up in the box.

[simontaylor484]

I have been changing various light fittings here lately all wired through the ceiling rose that I have had to remove. There was a right rats nest in some 3 wire for the loop a live a switched live which is actually a blue wire sheathed brown and the neutral.  Due to the type of fittings I have used Wago 221 series connectors to join the wires and just push into the ceiling void.

 

I have changed a plug socket in the kitchen today been a right pita the original sparky obviously had a faulty spirit level this has been remedied 

Edited December 30, 2021 by simontaylor484
Added photo

[TheQ]

Afternoon Awl,

Knackered I be, four and a bit hours waving the angle grinder around, often above the head...

I was looking like a slightly blue snowman after...

A slight mod was made to one support leg to improve its use.

Tomorrow waving the sanders around, and maybe a coat of primer...

 

 

Primer? Yep, been to the local chandler, bought one 750 mil Tim of primer, one 750mil tin of top coat,,,,cost? £85 ouch....

[45156]

Afternoon All

 

Not all posts read, as 30747 is getting sick of the boxes (as am I) so we went out with Lily for a couple of hours, and as a result, some skipping has had to take place.

 

However, as usual greetings are offered generically, and most sincerely.  Nice to see Natalie back, and bearing news of Kelly - and Chrisf, I do like the new avatar. 

 

I wish I hadn't renewed the subscription on Ebay for a certain maker's teddy bears, as one came up today for the first time ever - at an extremely reasonable price according to 30747 who is a bit of an authority on collectable teddies - but it is in the USA, and once the import duty and shipping are factored in, it gets a bit expensive - I believe it came to around $250, but after checking the price of a similar teddy in one of her old Witney Bears catalogues, I reluctantly ordered it, the UK price at retail about 6 years ago was £325, so I guess it was a bargain really - now how many locos will that equate to, I'd think maybe a nice Hornby "City of Salford" - a loco I only saw once, and then didn't know that it was an Ivatt loco (well I was only eight at the time and my dad's cousin, Alec McNair who was a real authority on all things Caledonian and LMS wasn't there to clue me up, as he did all the time until he died) - it was just another Duchess to me at that time - pah, what I'd give now to see just "another Duchess".

 

Back tomorrow - probably.

 

Certainly will pop in on Saturday to wish the new year greetings)

 

Regards to All

Stewart

[The Lurker]

Greetings all from a grey and gloomy Sidcup.

 

a quiet day not wfh. Ocado delivered as scheduled and I had managed to get up in time! Since then we have been for a walk and I did a big pile of ironing while Mrs Lurker did other chores.

 

I have also found a time to read a bit more of Lord of the Rings. The y are just departing Lothlorien.

 

enjoy your day 

Edited December 30, 2021 by The Lurker

[New Haven Neil]

Yes Simon, that's the sort of thing I'm familiar with - just two wires here to the rose.  The treble switch box in the kitchen, with one gang being two-way, is a right cats cradle. 

[45156]

6 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

Yes Simon, that's the sort of thing I'm familiar with - just two wires here to the rose.  The treble switch box in the kitchen, with one gang being two-way, is a right cats cradle. 

I used to think that I was "good" with electrics - I managed to rewire the lighting circuits in our first bought house, and while I was switching on at the consumer unit, 30747 was stood out in the garden, with her hands over her ears awaiting the bang - which never came - though only half the upstairs lights came on when the switches were operated - another quick trip into the loft found one screw in a joint box which was not tight, and all was well. 

 

THEN came Part P of the building regs, whereby all wiring had to be tested by a qualified electrician, and also a new edition (12th I think) of the electrical wiring regs and I gave up, it was getting too complex.

 

Nowadays, I just believe that the best advice is to leave everything electrical to a qualified person who is up to speed, and also has the knowledge and equipment to check everything out safely.

 

 

[PupCam]

3 hours ago, PupCam said:

Trying to set up a new mobile phone, on a new network using her old number has been the biggest challenge of the last few days.    Almost made it; phone working.  Calls In & Out plus outgoing texts.  Won't receive incoming texts at the moment.  Steps have been taken to refresh the "message centre number" via a "manual roam" but, they say, it might take a few hours for the effects to ripple through and become effective.   I hope so as it's a long way to go back and have another go!

 

Hurrah!

 

Ripples have rippled and texts now go both ways

[Barry O]

Parcels were received earlier and John Lewis had got everything correct in the order.

 

I gave in earlier on .. I applied a hot rice bag to my knee then some Voltarol.. why did I ever play Rugby??   Must be about time to get a new knee I think.. frabjoy!

 

Herself noticed a leak from our boiler British Gas will appear in 6 days time.. meanwhile we have installed a catching device..PAH!!

 

I have been busy sorting out some incorrect muddling I did the other day.. wasn't as bad to correct as I thought it would.

 

Spent a lot of time on our Regional Business Plan  Look Ahead for discussion and update by the second week of January.. and we are all Volunteers..

 

A mug of decaff is required chish and fips with Yorkshire caviar to be ordered for tea..yummy!

 

Baz

[Gwiwer]

So Dr. SWMBO asks out of the blue for my 1999 passport to confirm the dates we travelled between Blighty and Oz.  Why can't she use hers?  She no longer has it.  So why does she think I still have mine for 22 years ago?  I'm almost at my third renewal since then; when the current one was issued that covering the preceding 20 - 30 years including 1999) was destroyed as no longer being required for any purpose.  

 

She still asked me to check so I have spent the afternoon going through everything - and as an aside therefore dusting and cleaning some of the darker corners of my life - until I had had enough.  

 

Cue frustrated, sweaty and grubby Gwiwer.  But ....... 

 

I have always kept a little notebook where ever I go.  In my short-trousered days it was used for writing down train numbers.  I learned to get a good deal more discreet about that when I became old enough to take an interest in those of another sex   but the books have been kept ever since.  I am now at Volume 52 and know where all of 1 - 51 are kept.  Volume 39 produced the required information very quickly.  The date of departure from the UK and the date of arrival into Oz which, as is often the case, differed by one for a southbound trip.  

 

All sorted.  I knew those little notebooks would come in handy one day!  It took SWMBO several years of our life together before she knew anything about them so careful had I become about using them!  Finally she is grateful for me having used them   

 

.

Edited December 30, 2021 by Gwiwer