Early Risers.

[TheQ]

Thankfully I only know Meadowhall shopping centre, and that was bad enough, though if that way I'd normally also take in Marcway...

 

Afternoon Awl,

Counted cash into reserve cash box, updated computer records, that laptop decided to do an up date at the time.

 

Ladder, roof, long stick (8ft) with two nails end. Majority of grass / obstructions removed from the V between roof and err roof at 90 degrees. Enough removed to be able to put off buying scaffolding tower till June. I'll need to go up there again as the next rain will wash loose stuff into the gutter.

Of rain locally yesterday, some places received 70mm of rain in two hours...

 

After that decided to tackle SWMBO's old laptop, to see if it's any use. looking at the dates it's now 18 years old, no spares,  except for memory and hard drive updates are available. But it is 64 bit and still working except for WiFi. Final use not decided but it seems too good to dispose of.

 

Edited May 10, 2023 by TheQ

[woodenhead]

22 minutes ago, big jim said:

It’s absolutely belting it down here in crewe, last year I installed a lean to/car port which has been an absolute god send on days like this, can’t get a car up the side of the house any more no but it’s useful for keeping us dry

 

Hang out your washing no matter the weather

[woodenhead]

19 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

I spray the floor with Mr Sheen polish before sliding washing machines or similar in and out.

Shoulda shoved it myself to begin with, they were pushing against a lino that had decided to create a little stop block until I pulled it back out again.

 

What is clear though, delivery men fitting non dangerous items i.e. not gas or wired in electrics are only as skilled as the average person (me).  It's not that I couldn't do it myself, I had to unplumb the existing one myself last night and I pumbed it as well, but I was being a tad lazy and for 8 quid I had someone else remove the shipping bolts, do the heavy lifting and remove the packaging/take it away.

[woodenhead]

13 minutes ago, TheQ said:

After that decided to tackle SWMBO's old laptop, to see if it's any use. looking at the dates it's now 18 years old, no spares,  except for memory and hard drive updates are available. But it is 64 bit and still working except for WiFi. Final use not decided but it seems too good to dispose of.

 

I've got several old laptops and even some old hard drives that I won't get rid of, but they all old hard drives for a reason (one massively corrupted but managed to extract all the data intact) and laptops with faults or simply cr%p.  No real need to keep them, it's the paranoia and hoarder in me.

[jamie92208]

3 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

Hmm.. Turdycurses.....😁

How about C*ntpuffin. 

 

RIP Andrew C, our language is poorer without you. 

 

Jamie

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Mention of lap-tops reminded me. My late brother didn't have a computer but his wife who passed away last year had several which we have come across while clearing the bungalow. All are password protected so we can't find what is on them. There may be information that might help with probate as her will (and subsequently my brothers) cannot be settled until we can trace some of her relatives.

[Tony_S]

23 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

All are password protected so we can't find what is on them.

Have you tried removing the hard drives and connecting them to another computer?

[DaveF]

This morning I went out quite early to get a haircut.  I parked easily on a street nearby and walked for about five minutes to get there.  The barber was just finishing his cup of tea, I was the first customer which was good.  Afterwards as it was mild and almost sunny I had a walk around the town, visited some of the charity shops and bought some CDs and a DVD at "3 for £1" or 50p each, very good value as they were ones I actually wanted.  

 

Then I took the car to the Quayside though to be honest I could have walked there almost as quickly.  Parking as usual was easy and I had a walk along it and the old staiths walkway.  Then I had a quick look at the park and the old lighthouse.  For once there were no cars parked near it so I took a few photos, it is at the back of a terrace of quite big old houses.  It's not really near the sea and it's about 100 yards from the harbour.  There a few photos of my walk below.

 

I walked past the churchyard where I go to church and then along past a couple of old pubs, one is now a vets and the other is a coffee shop and art gallery.  I also passed the old police station before going back to the Quayside.  Back at home I had coffee, took some tomato plants to another neighbour and had more coffee with them before coming back home for lunch.  

 

The afternoon has involved some gardening, just tidying up, dead heading and so on.  There have been heavy showers so I had to go indoors and read several times.

 

Once the evening will be a bit of TV, reading and music.  I seem to accumulating books and CDs faster than I read them/listen to them, as usual.

 

 

Blyth   Horizon Enabler

 

 

Blyth   Blue Tern on the north side of the harbour hiding behind a warehouse.

 

 

Blyth Winter bedding in park

 

 

Blyth old lighthouse

 

 

Blyth St Cuthbert's churchyard

 

 

Blyth old police station.  Old harbour commissioners' offices further along on right.

 

David

Edited May 10, 2023 by DaveF

[PupCam]

Afternoon All!

 

So much catching up had to be done - apologies if I missed rating an important post!

 

Busy day yesterday .....

 

Up early (for Puppers), as recommended by a certain bear,  for a visit to the hospital for some blood tests.      It sort-of worked.   The waiting area was reasonably full and there were probably 6 or 7 in the queue to book in when I arrived at 8:00ish.    When it was my turn to book in there were no pending blood tests on the system.  TCs!   My place in the queue was set and I then had to race off (OK walk to) the Cardio department and try and speak to someone who could book the relevant tests.    This took about 30 minutes but, on the bright side, I got some unexpected exercise as the two departments are at opposite ends of the hospital and also involve two flights of stairs each way.   On my return I had to wait another  20 minutes or so before being "done".       Shopping was then done in the supermarket that sponsored the free parking  after which I returned to Puppers Towers.       After a late breakfast further Pampas wrestling was undertaken with the result that 3 garden bags were filled so a trip to the tip to get shot of that and an old "Smart" Hoover.    There was in fact nothing Smart about the Hoover other than how they managed to get me to buy such a pile of junk in the first place.    The only benefit was that it was about 1/5 of the price of a Dyson and about as (in)effective albeit in a completely different way.     

 

The trip to the tip was filled with inconvenience with unsigned (at the point of need)  road closures mid-way along a narrow country lane, road works, white van Muppets stopping erratically for no apparent reason and then shooting off down side turnings without indication or warning and a host of other motoring mayhem.   Boxing clever on my return with an alternative route revealed "Road Closed - Access Only" signs  with no context at least 4 junctions back from where they should have been.   At those points they weren't blocked, access only junctions as they led to other unaffected routes and villages!    I have come to the conclusion that the incompetence of the bods who close roads and dish out signage around here knows no bounds.       To add insult to injury a mile or so from home the narrow road was completely blocked by a large mound of top soil and parked cars on one side and a grabber lorry removing the mud on the other side.   Further three point turns required and alternative alternative routes required!

 

Then I filled another 3 bags and took them to the tip .....     Then I got the Beeza out to nip down the doctors to collect my medication at which point it started raining so I put the Beeza away and went in the car!

 

Busy day today .....

 

Up early again in readiness to play "Fastest Finger First" in an attempt to get a GP appointment (all appointments are still currently "emergency on the day" jobs hereabouts).   Rather amazingly I was 3rd in the queue and got an appointment at 10:00 to appraise the GP of the decisions of the London consultants, the future plan and the fact that they'd be doing a load of blood tests and muggins here is going to be the "medical admin" collecting the results from the GP and forwarding them to those that need them (because the system can't or won't).  Still, I don't care, if that's what it takes that's what it takes .....   The GP also completed the prescription that the London pharmacy was unable to complete when I was there (no, sorry, I can't "Pop back to the hospital to pick up the remainder next week") so that was a big tick.

 

Some "Life Admin" has been done.  You know how it is.  You get the insurance renewal invitation through at a grossly inflated cost.   You go on the "Go, Compare the Churchill Merekat.com" website which provides details of the same policy at a cheaper price than the quoted renewal.  You then phone the "provider" who explains that as a "special, loyal customer" (of one whole year ....) he can reduce the quote by a significant chunk, bringing the price down below the comparison site price as he does so.  I always like to query these people as to how this can be so.  They then explain (from the script) that they've found these special loyalty  bonuses and the websites use different data blah blah blah but I feel obliged to point out that if they can find the bonuses on the system why can't the system that sends the renewals find them and save me the bother of trawling the net and phoning up?   We all, of course, know the reason is because they are relying on the apathy of their customers to make more money but they don't like to admit it.    I do regard this as a bit of a sport now although I'd much rather not have to waste my time on such things.   It's bit like keeping the "injury lawyers" fishing for mugs, on the telephone line for as long as possible.  While they are talking to me they are not potentially ripping somebody else off.  Why, it's almost a public service!

 

A plan has been hatched with the Bear for a trip "Up the Smoke" despite the train drivers staying at home on Friday.   Time will tell if that works!

 

I did manage a run out on the Beeza this morning.    It was sunny when I got the bike out.    It got very black just as I set off but by choosing my route and direction carefully I managed to stay in the dry bit ............... mostly.

 

Got to go and prepare dinner now.

 

TTFNQ

 

 

 

Edited May 10, 2023 by PupCam

[Gwiwer]

Afternoon all. 
 

A leg-stretcher 7½-mile walk this afternoon from Windsor to Staines via the Thames Path could best be described as muddy. It could also be described as wet. 
 

This is the first in a series of preparation walks for the 26-mile Mighty Hike in July in support of Macmillan Cancer. 
 

After so much recent rain, and after recent events requiring many horses and horse-transport vehicles in Windsor the first couple of miles were an absolute quagmire. There were light showers on and off - mostly off - until I reached Runnymede at which point the heavens opened. Luckily there is the most rudimentary of shelters there which kept me dry for the ten minutes it took for the deluge to pass. 

So after exactly the three hours I had allowed myself I reached Staines and a train back towards the Hill of Strawberries. And a hot de-muddying shower! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[polybear]

54 minutes ago, PupCam said:

You know how it is.  You get the insurance renewal invitation through at a grossly inflated cost.   You go on the "Go, Compare the Churchill Merekat.com" website which provides details of the same policy at a cheaper price than the quoted renewal.  You then phone the "provider" who explains that as a "special, loyal customer" (of one whole year ....) he can reduce the quote by a significant chunk, bringing the price down below the comparison site price as he does so.  I always like to query these people as to how this can be so.  

 

Bear takes the view that if they can offer a lower price when queried then they should've done so in the first place.  Why did they not?  Cos' they're a bunch of thievin' b'sterds, that's why 🤬.  I've started playing the line that they don't get chances as I'd rather tell them to poke it where the sun doesn't shine instead.

 

Bear here......

A day of danglin' wallpaper on the last remaining wall...I did think it'd be a morning of doing so, but the wallpaper had other ideas.....

Now all done, so that's a Very Big Tick; it also means that numerous decorating tools & spare paper can go into Beamland at the first available opportunity.

It was a close thing though - I opened up the tub of ready-mixed Paste and thought "Sh1t, hope I've got enough"...fortunately I did, but only just - the total amount of paste left over at the end would only be enough to fill a mug; I did have visions of having to shell out for another tub of paste for the last (short) drop or so - and then having to store the tub afterwards.

BG

[pH]

1 hour ago, PupCam said:

It's bit like keeping the "injury lawyers" fishing for mugs, on the telephone line for as long as possible.  While they are talking to me they are not potentially ripping somebody else off.  Why, it's almost a public service!

You and my late uncle would have been soulmates! Keeping cold-callers on the line as long as possible was one of his entertainments after he retired. His one rule was that he could not be the one who hung up on the call. His record time for one of these calls was just over an hour. (There’s a target for you!)

[grandadbob]

Evenin' each,

The sun is now shining after some heavy showers earlier so I got the gazebo down just in time.

I think my old mate is losing the plot, he didn't go for a CT scan but an Ultrasound.  Not only that he didn't phone me up to collect him but got a cab home as he "didn't want to bother me again!"  "You're an idiot" said I (I can call him that as I've known him for about 40 years),  "That's what friends are for,  don't do it again."  He compounded the issue by not telling me what he'd done so I was sitting at home for a long while waiting for his call until I decided to phone his house to find out what was happening.   Clot.  ( I can call him that etc)  He apologised but then told me what his problems were and how much he's worried so I'll forgive him. ...even though he's Scottish!  😂

A bit of a strange snack/meal tonight as we're using up a few bits so it was scrambled eggs on toast with bacon followed by profiteroles and cream and of course accompanied by a glass of Shiraz.  However I enjoyed it and really that's all that matters.  You just know what's coming next,  "Another glass Bob? Yes please."

Cheers.  🍷🍷

 

 

Edited May 10, 2023 by grandadbob

[Ozexpatriate]

10 hours ago, tigerburnie said:

Autumn arrived again this morning cold and thick fog

After waiting for six months for a >20°C day* we are now anticipating not just summer but record heat over the weekend and into Monday where 35°C is forecast.

 

* Two weeks ago.

 

Today is supposed to be nice (24°C). I'd like to see more of that please.

[Tony_S]

7 minutes ago, grandadbob said:

so I was sitting at home for a long while waiting for his call until I decided to phone his house

I had a few days of that once. I was asked to wait in to take in  a parcel. After three days  I mentioned to the neighbour I would be out the next day. He had forgotten to tell me he had collected it himself on the first day.  

[BoD]

Well, dear readers, you may recall that earlier this year I was a little downbeat because my HbA1c blood sugar level was high.  Entirely my own fault as I admit I wasn't being a sensible diabetic. After a recent re-test (it takes about 12 weeks for the old haemoglobin cells to 'die')  my level was 43 mwhatsits/mol.  This is not very far outside what is normal for non diabetics.  As a side effect I have lost over two stone too. To say I'm chuffed is an understatement.  I guess I'm also living proof that, for some, type 2 diabetes is as much to do with lifestyle as anything else. Note to self  - this needs to be a lifetime change not just a flash in the pan.

 

I apologise for not being up to date but we are 'away' at the moment. Last night I sat watching this develop ...

 

 

I even allowed myself a glass of wine whilst watching it. I'm well content at the moment. 

Edited May 10, 2023 by BoD

[Erichill16]

2 hours ago, PupCam said:

 

 

A plan has been hatched with the Bear for a trip "Up the Smoke" despite the train drivers staying at home on Friday.   Time will tell if that works!

 

 

As there won’t be many trains about are you and PB going on one of these?

2 hours ago, PupCam said:

 

 

[Ozexpatriate]

7 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

... they dont open on a Wednesday

What sort of place doesn't open on a Wednesday? (Rhetorical, no need to answer directly.)
 

(I know of and understand owner-operated places that are open weekends, or at least Saturdays, and closed Mondays.) I guess one day is as good as another for a 'weekend' but Wednesday is hard to remember.

 

My local pharmacy (of a very large US chain) now has (monochrome laser) printed signage slapped up, saying "To serve you better we have new business hours ... CLOSED SATURDAY and SUNDAY".  I don't think I've ever seen this in a US metro area before. "Better?" Meh! I think not.

 

They are open in the early evenings on weekdays, but this would still be very inconvenient for weekday workers. In my old life it would have caught me out a lot. I can easily imagine travelling for business (returning late on Friday) and a script running out before Monday.

 

Insurance only permits refills with a smallish window of a few days before the previous script runs out.

 

Edited May 10, 2023 by Ozexpatriate

[PupCam]

56 minutes ago, Erichill16 said:

As there won’t be many trains about are you and PB going on one of these?

 

 

Only if Bear does ALL the hard work! 🤣

[Winslow Boy]

3 minutes ago, PupCam said:

 

Only if Bear does ALL the hard work! 🤣

 

Something tells me Bear is used to that.

[Erichill16]

32 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

What sort of place doesn't open on a Wednesday? (Rhetorical, no need to answer directly.)
 

 

The place has been recently extended and refurbished and after that, opening hours change. Its not clear on the website so rang up to confirm the shop was closed. Staff obviously busy doing mail order! 

[The Johnster]

3 hours ago, DaveF said:

Blyth Winter bedding in park

 

Ye gods, how fast was that speedboat going...

[polybear]

1 hour ago, Erichill16 said:

As there won’t be many trains about are you and PB going on one of these?

 

 

17 minutes ago, PupCam said:

 

Only if Bear does ALL the hard work! 🤣

 

Don't worry....Bear has been working on a little number that'll soon sort things....

 

 

 

I'm particularly proud of the latest in braking technology.

Edited May 10, 2023 by polybear

[Gwiwer]

44 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

What sort of place doesn't open on a Wednesday?

Camborne.  

 

According to the late great comedian Jethro.

[Gwiwer]

2 hours ago, polybear said:

3 hours ago, PupCam said:

You know how it is.  You get the insurance renewal invitation through at a grossly inflated cost.   You go on the "Go, Compare the Churchill Merekat.com" website which provides details of the same policy at a cheaper price than the quoted renewal.  You then phone the "provider" who explains that as a "special, loyal customer" (of one whole year ....) he can reduce the quote by a significant chunk, bringing the price down below the comparison site price as he does so.  I always like to query these people as to how this can be so.  

 

Bear takes the view that if they can offer a lower price when queried then they should've done so in the first place.  Why did they not?  Cos' they're a bunch of thievin' b'sterds, that's why

Some viewers may recall me telling the story of working in the insurance industry for a number of years.  While I never sold policies I was and remain wise to their sales pitches and some workarounds.  

 

Every quote can be talked down.  Especially online ones.  No computer can adequately assess the risk specific to your situation.  Neither can a human but humans can make more adjustments after asking a few questions and hopefully understanding the nuances of your answers.  

 

Each party seeking insurance is also at liberty to, if you like, barter with the human at the business end.  They aren't hard to find in most cases although a few insurers are notoriously shy of speaking in person.  It's cheaper to do everything online but you get the policy they program which is not necessarily the right one for you.  

 

My advice is to ALWAYS ask questions, seek a reduction in premium from any online quote with or without a good reason, ask about lowered excesses.  Check that the cover offered is what you want and be sure to understand what is NOT covered before signing up.  

 

You can always remind them of your 45-year unblemished driving record and low-mileage habits if appropriate.  You can always tell them that a competitor has offered slightly better cover for a little less (use an odd amount - say £37.45) and ask them to beat it.  Agents always have some leeway but exactly how much does vary and can depend upon their sales record and history.  It can also be affected by how many under-cuts they have already agreed to in that period.  

 

Every business is only in business for one thing - to make a profit.  Insurers are not charities and are not in it for the love of shouldering your risk.  But if all else fails and you place your trust in a deity of choice it's worth remembering they too are only there to make a prophet.  🤣