Early Risers.

[Hroth]

I prefer to know the whole story before viewing as I don't like nasty shocks...

 

[Mike Bellamy]

10 hours ago, polybear said:

. . . . . Have some cash with you - most stalls accept cards, but many were struggling with the signal inside the Hall; I heard from one stall holder that if they wanted to use the Ally Pally signal (whatever that may be) for their card readers they'd be charged £78 for the weekend.  

 

I expect that those struggling had card readers that are linked to a mobile phone and they had chosen a network with a poor signal in that area. I used to help a friend with his trade stand at shows BC (Before Covid) and he had a sim card from one company in his phone and another in a mobile wifi unit so he had two chances of getting a good signal. The 'Ally Pally Signal' would have been their own wifi network - £78 for the password to connect ?

.

[Winslow Boy]

1 minute ago, Mike Bellamy said:

 

I expect that those struggling had card readers that are linked to a mobile phone and they had chosen a network with a poor signal in that area. I used to help a friend with his trade stand at shows BC (Before Covid) and he had a sim card from one company in his phone and another in a mobile wifi unit so he had two chances of getting a good signal. The 'Ally Pally Signal' would have been their own wifi network - £78 for the password to connect ?

.

 

Sounds to me like there looking to 'maximise there profit margins'. U fortunately there's a lot of it going on and from some very big companies as well. I'm afraid they well be shooting themselves in the foot.

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Dry start and the sky is mainly pale grey.  A mild day with the chance of some sunny spells and showers on the menu.   7°C ,  might rise to 12 or 13°C.

Much Aching in the Back still so it's probably a good thing I didn't go to Ally Pally especially as there seems to have been a lack of seating there.   Still annoyed about it though.

The rugby went pretty much as expected except that at least England put on a much more respectable performance than last week.  I'm actually glad that Ireland won the Grand Slam, much better that than the French winning the championship.  

Today we're off to Nicki's for a Mother's Day brunch.  Abbie & Steve are doing the catering for their respective Mums.  Normally we'd walk but as I'm somewhat hors de combat transport has been arranged.  (I'm not driving because there will be alcoholic refreshment involved)

Have a good one,

Bob.

Edited March 19, 2023 by grandadbob

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

We are off to Enfield soon to see AditI’s Mum. I did wonder about popping down to Alexandra Palace for a couple of hours but have decided not to. Perhaps next year.

We have got a few items of shopping to take over. AditI’s sister and family arrived back from India early this morning. However they are being careful and won’t come round to see MiL until they are sure (multiple negative tests) they are not contagious. The cousin they were staying with tested positive for Covid (was symptom free) yesterday. AditI’s sister and family all tested negative. The cousin who was positive had a PCR test prior to a meeting with Prime Minister Modi. I suspect the meeting was postponed!

Tony

 

[PupCam]

Morning All!

 

Pox free at last 😀   That is all.

 

Over and out.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. The arthritis/sciatica was going hammer and tongs last night. Extremely painful, if passing a kidney stone is ten on the pain scale this was about twelve. Also if I stand for about five minutes it feels as if my hip joints are on fire and I have to sit down. Not doing much today except taking it easy.

[polybear]

6 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Morning all from Estuary-Land. The arthritis/sciatica was going hammer and tongs last night. Extremely painful, if passing a kidney stone is ten on the pain scale this was about twelve. Also if I stand for about five minutes it feels as if my hip joints are on fire and I have to sit down. Not doing much today except taking it easy.

 

VSBT's;  It sounds like a visit to the Doc and bang on his/her desk for some action or a referral is in order.

 

Bear here......

A cr@p night - awake at 3am with "The Paw" & had a hell of a job getting back to snoozybearland again; at one point I thought I'd be quitting and getting up at 4am, but stuck with it and did manage a snooze again until around 7am.  There was also one bit where I was lying dead still yet suddenly started feeling really dizzy for no apparent reason - I could feel it coming on; fortunately it disappeared as quick as it came so that's a result.

Today is officially designated as a MIUABGAD; Bear had an early wallow and is yet to get dressed.  Disgraceful.

Bear gone.

 

[DaveF]

A somewhat dull and achy day - the air feels damp even though it isn't raining.  There was sun first thing for a short while.

 

Yesterday was showery.  After breakfast I went out for a walk, after about 15 minutes i turned round and headed for home because of the usual aches and pains emanating from my shoulder etc.  I know what causes it and little can be done except to avoid using the shoulder too much for digging, cutting and so on.  I am becoming ambidextrous. It has happened before and has got better in time with care.

 

While I had coffee I once again looked at some of my old photos, now I have the colour sorted out on the TV they look good.  Later in the day I made a small start on sorting out the family photo albums, the first one has lots of photos of me up to about 2 years old.  I have realised that these are amongst the ones I have negatives for and have already scanned so I just need to caption the scans then the prints can go.  One of them shows me at 1 year old on the Brighton Belle.

 

Between the showers I pruned a large rose bush in the front garden, it is now much smaller and neater.  I just hope it grows.

 

I had a look at the exercise recommendations for older people - about 150 minutes a week of "aerobic exercise", also suggested as being exercise where you are a bit out of breath so you can talk but not sing.  Usually I do a lot more than that - in some ways too much at times.  According to my phone I am still doing 2.5 - 3 miles of walking a day plus the usual gardening and so on.

 

David

Edited March 19, 2023 by DaveF

[BSW01]

Good afternoon everyone 

 

Late on parade today due to having a bit of a lie in and breakfast in bed. As it's mother's day I made the breakfast. Then it was straight outside to make the most of the sunshine. So far this morning I've planted 14 hellebores and 2 allium and done a fair bit of weeding too. I'm currently sat on the bench under the workshop window having a well earned muggertea. 

 

Back later. 

 

Brian 

[Gwiwer]

Welcome to Sunnyday.  

 

Not a good night's sleep here because of the cold-like lurgy which had me awake and coughing at regular intervals.  It's always wise to secure the other end before embarking on a serious hacking fit 🤦‍♂️.  Being vertical has helped reduce the coughing but I suspect being horizontal helped the goo emerge; darned if I do and darned if I don't, eh?  

 

Most plans currently out of the window due to not feeling my best and aiming to recover as quickly as possible.  The gardens will have to wait again.  The laundry is a day late but needs to dry on time if I am to be suitably attired at the House of Fun tomorrow.  A cluckbird will be sacrificed later in order to accompany the semi-lion Chardonnay chilling in the fridge.  

 

'scuse me.  I need another cough.  Very negative on the test strips though.  

[tigerburnie]

Normally I sleep like a stone, snoring apparently, but not last night, maybe impending surgery on my mind, trouble is I've had a stuck kidney stone removed before so I know what's coming, renal colic is seemingly about as close as a bloke will get to experiencing what child birth is like!!

The wife googled about having a prostate removed, why do they think it's a good idea to tell you about the after shocks............................................Not worried about the operation, that's routine, not keen on the idea of pain afterwards, industrial strength painkillers on standby...............................and a bottle of Malt Whisky if all else fails.................................

[45156]

Afternoon All,

 

Much skipping, as I am still pricing and labelling - the cabinet was filled for the first tranche of collectables - we now have five boxes of stuff, and the cabinet took about two of them - but it looks very nice, and we are pleased with the outcome - and my ex collegue was on duty there and showed us the ropes as to how things operate.  She sent a text later on to let us know that we had sold our first item - which was very good to hear.

 

Tomorrow it is Oxfam (hopefully learning to do the online listings) - and picking up 30747's prescription, PLUS a trip to Aldi on my own after my shift ends - oh frabjoy.

 

Regards to All

Stewart

 

 

[jamie92208]

Good afternoon from the Charente. We went to housewarming party last night and I had a great time as two people that I've never met before turned out to be railway enthusiasts and one a modeller as well. Sadly they prefer green copper capped Engines to red ones but I will pray for their souls. I also appeared together only Guest that the hostesses French boyfriend could converse with. Sadly a clumsy woman that we know managed to bang her elbow into Beth's mouth and crack 3 teeth off her only denture. This morning I've been using my muddling skills and tools to good use. I have managed to add 3 teeth from her former, but broken denture to the existing one. Much filing was needed but araldite has done its stuff and after the aforesaid gnashers were given a good scrub, some brownie points have been awarded. I may well declare a requirement for some more tools.  

 

On another tack altogether , this coming Thursday has been declared a national day of action by the French Unions. We are due to head for the UK that day so alternative plans are being considered. Happy days.

 

Ttfn

 

Jamie

 

 

Edited March 19, 2023 by jamie92208

[Tony_S]

30 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

We went to hosewarming party last night

Was it at Officer Crabtree’s house?

[petethemole]

Hose warming, or Chauffage des Tuyaux, is a French spring festival celebrated by gardeners and car owners.  It marks the time of year when hosepipes that have been stored for the winter are brought back into use. The first water through flushes out stale water, bugs and any residual ice and makes the hosepipe more flexible, ready for use. 

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. All the aches and pains seem to have disappeared for the afternoon. I hope they stay away long enough for some decent eye-lid inspection.

[PhilH]

1 hour ago, petethemole said:

Hose warming, or Chauffage des Tuyaux, is a French spring festival celebrated by gardeners and car owners.  

Nah, that’s when I put my tights on the radiator…

 

 

Yep, slow day.

Edited March 19, 2023 by PhilH

[The Johnster]

 

 

My mother always said I was spoiled, so that makes sense.  To be fair, revealing the story is not really going to affect one's enjoyment of the film, as it's not a whodunit mystery and there are no plot twists, just bleak reality and a descent into insanity.  I will edit my post to include 'spoiler alert' though!

Edited March 19, 2023 by The Johnster

[Winslow Boy]

4 hours ago, BSW01 said:

Good afternoon everyone 

 

Late on parade today due to having a bit of a lie in and breakfast in bed. As it's mother's day I made the breakfast. Then it was straight outside to make the most of the sunshine. So far this morning I've planted 14 hellebores and 2 allium and done a fair bit of weeding too. I'm currently sat on the bench under the workshop window having a well earned muggertea. 

 

Back later. 

 

Brian 

 

Wow that's a lot of hellebores. Just come back from B & Q where they wanted just short of £13 for them which is cheeky as prior to that was at a nursery and they were changing less than a tenner and had a better choice.

Edited March 19, 2023 by Winslow Boy

[TheQ]

Afternoon Awl ,

Last day of Snowflakes Sailing Club's season three races, a variety of trophies, for classes and overall.

 

Wind started north westerly, then westerly and finally south westerly. It started 7mph, and the average dropped eventually to not a lot.

 

Race one , 4P, 1P, 2P. X2 Not a lot of tide.

 

We lined up for the start and... Double hooter.. we were over by a few inches, by the time we'd turned round, and restarted we were well and truly last. 

The wind was a close haul up to the first bend. With little tide, when ever a sight wind shift allowed we moved out into the middle of the river. The allowed us to pass the two slowest competitors as they lost speed when the wind shifted slightly against them.

 

Rounding the bend it was tacking up to buoy 4, we gained quite a lot catching up to the lead group.

But on rounding buoy 4  two put up spinnakers and another for some reason went extremely well down wind with out a spinnaker. They went off without us leaving two more to try to get past.

As we got round the bend again we went slightly to windward of them with an increasing out going tide, we got past one on the straight down to the club.

On rounding the corner we came up to the dinghy fleet which was doing 3P, 1P, 2P. We went wide in narrow out on buoy one . That put us to windward of a couple of dinghies and another Yeoman, but it was tight on the wind, as we approached the others they protected their position by going up to windward. So we dove down to the bank with less tide, this allowed us to pass all three to leeward.

We passed buoy 2, but carried on that tack , till near the clubhouse, then tacked.

This meant on the long straight up to the bend we weren't too close to the wind,, we gained considerably on the lead 3 boats.

Follow the leader to buoy 4, on the return we were behind one of the spinnaker boats, sufficiently close to ensure they didn't get way before bend . We held out into the tide that was with us, they went to the bank, in the ever lightening wind the tide helped considerably we passed them and slowly goy away to the finish in position 3.

 

Race 2, wind westerly, occasionally west South west. Now down to 4mph strong out going tide, if we were lucky. 4P, 1P, 2P, 3P, 1P, 2P

All boats abreast at the start line and we weren't where we wanted, on the leeward end.

But....

We were out of the increasing tide, with a puff of WSW, we got enough wind  to pop out In front of everyone. From then on it was picking when to tack, doing so when the wind was all across the river, rather than just when we were forced to, really paid off. We gradually pulled away, the worry was the return down wind, after buoy 4.

As expected the lead spinnaker boat came charging down towards us. But was about 30yards behind as we rounded the bend and they had to drop their spinnaker. With dropping wind, we went for straight down the middle maximum tide with us. They tried the leeward bank for more wind.. 

The tide won, we gained more distance all the way down to buoy 1, we slowly increased this up to buoy 2, and then buoy 3. Returning to the corner the race was shortened as we drifted in.

For some reason the back half of the fleet got really separated dropping behind, we almost caught up with them on lap 2,!!!

 

Race 3, we lead at the start, middle finish... Drifting very slowly...

Not surprising really, our main competitor was packing up his boat to be towed to his summer club.

 

So we won the overall trophy, 

 

 

 

 

[Coombe Barton]

... In domestic news the kitchen has had a clean – it is now reeling in shock. ...

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2023/03/19/going-wild-up-and-down-and-up-again-up-two-thirds-in-a-week/

[Gwiwer]

3 hours ago, petethemole said:

Hose warming, or Chauffage des Tuyaux, is a French spring festival celebrated by gardeners and car owners.  It marks the time of year when hosepipes that have been stored for the winter are brought back into use. The first water through flushes out stale water, bugs and any residual ice and makes the hosepipe more flexible, ready for use. 

Some of us are still waiting for the hosepipe ban to be lifted despite there now being more than plenty of water available.  

 

Edit : It appears that it was in fact quietly lifted way back in November.  No-one at Thames Water bothered to tell any of their customers though.  

Edited March 19, 2023 by Gwiwer
Foot-in-Mouth disease

[Ozexpatriate]

1 hour ago, Gwiwer said:

It appears that it was in fact quietly lifted way back in November.

Hopefully you will still continue to have sufficient water in the Thames watershed come the summer.

 

Tomorrow's equinox should bring rain here. Despite a record rainfall last Monday*, we still have a deficit, though snowpacks are above normal, which is the most important thing.

 

* Which took the Portland metro area out of "D0 - Abnormally Dry" status on the drought monitor. Parts of central Oregon remain in the highest category "D4 - Exceptional Drought" status.

 

Three days >15°C have finally seen daffodils and crocuses bloom for the first time this year. Today sees a heavy overcast with rain to come later and we won't see 15°C for a while - with low elevation snow threatened for next weekend.

 

Edited March 19, 2023 by Ozexpatriate

[monkeysarefun]

9 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

Sounds to me like there looking to 'maximise there profit margins'. U fortunately there's a lot of it going on and from some very big companies as well. I'm afraid they well be shooting themselves in the foot.

 

WE got a quote from a company that hires out mobile wifi  setups  for events and the price came back as just under $2700 for 50 connecting devices, plus extra if the site deviated from what their standard kit catered for especially in an area with a problematical 4G signal. . Prices went rapidly north for extra device capacity and also for any data used over the initial 12GB provided as part of the rental so while they are possibly pocketing a little by  charging 78 pounds shillings and ounces its  no where near all of it. 

Edited March 19, 2023 by monkeysarefun