Early Risers.

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[Winslow Boy]

3 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

 

SImple solution is to replace grass with gravel. Queenstown in Tasmania gets 94 inches of rain a year  (Google says Manchester gets 32 as a comparison) but the footy oval is always playable because its made of gravel thus never turns to mud.

 

Visiting teams hate it but.

 

 

There is one slight problem with that brilliant suggestion Chimpy me old mate and it is that gravel would cost more and housing developers do not do ' cost more'. Cost less Yes. More profit sorry skimming money off poor unsuspecting punters Yes. Cost more No. Plus what do they care if the pitches can't be used they looked good on the planning application. Here there should a Emoji of me shaking head in despair, but as there isn't one you'll just have to imagine one won't you.

[Winslow Boy]

54 minutes ago, PupCam said:

Evening All

 

As planned a walk was walked.      There are no sea-views from Puppershire (well at least not yet, give it 40 years) but I suppose I shouldn't moan when open countryside like this is ~300 yards from my front door.

 

 

After the walk was walked a thrash was thrashed.     A run out to Old Warden and other local villages was accompanied by the characteristic sound of a small 2 stroke twin working quite hard (well, I'm not as light as I used to be 40 years ago).  

 

All went spiffingly until I pulled onto the drive when one pot died due to fuel starvation again .......   PAH!

 

Further investigation revealed that each carb has what appears to be a breather close to the pilot jet and each float chamber has an overflow pipe.  Blocking the breather and blowing back up the overflow results in bubbles being blown back up the fuel line into the tap and then one can hear bubbles coming up through the petrol in the tank followed by a cascade of fuel down the fuel line to fill the float chambers.   Repeat on second carb, start engine and Ring Ting Ting .......

 

Seems like I need to remove the fuel tap assembly from the tank and make sure there's no carp intermittently blocking what are relatively small tubes.     Trouble is I'll have to find something to drain the tank into first.   Maybe tomorrow.

 

Night All

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now Puppers wouldn't it just be easier to use a skateboard.

Edited October 9, 2023 by Winslow Boy
Its Puppers Not Puppets you stupid, bl£&dy machine

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Well I’ve had another productive day, albeit not on any DIY projects. As I mentioned earlier, the plan for this afternoon was to make a batch of corn beef hash, well that was accomplished, but I made a bit more than the usual 12 portions, I made 16 today! 14 of which were put in the freezer once they’d cooled down, the remaining two were eaten at teatime. 

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from the Charente.  The weeds got cut yesterday and I even spent some time in the shed,yes I have got a shed.  Today is ear lower g day so I will be away in an hour to see Veronique, who will perform this task.  Then, joy of joys, the supermarket. And then home for coffee.  

 

Regards to all and of course Sundry. 

 

Jamir

[polybear]

9 hours ago, Tony_S said:

We succeeded and can safely travel to Yorkshire now around her birthday. Vienna, Paris or Nice as places to go to have been rejected and replaced by York and Malham. 

 

There's a "Museum" in York.....😉

 

7 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

There is one slight problem with that brilliant suggestion Chimpy me old mate and it is that gravel would cost more and housing developers do not do ' cost more'. 

 

Cats "like" gravel as well.....

 

Bear here......

I discovered yesterday that the neatly applied splurgin' on the Conservatory back door was still neatly applied - only the bluddy stuff hadn't "gone off" 🤬  Rattin' Piggin' Turdycurses.  I've decided to leave it a few days to see what happens.....

Other splurgin' tasks were completed, this time using different sealant so all should be ok with that.

 

After that it was time for a recce to the Chemist & Co-op - the latter didn't have all Bear needs so I feel an imminent recce to the joys of Lidl will be required, which I was expecting anyway.

 

And after that the rest of the day was devoted to....Play Time!!

The task for the day was practice how to file up & solder a letter of the alphabet between "U" and "W"; despite using a Mickey Mouse Filing Jig that is supposed to make such tasks nice n' easy I soon discovered it's anything but - in my defence I will say that the official instructions are (a) absolute cr@p, (b) a work of fiction, and (c) it seems others think so too, so it's not down to Bear being thick.  Fortunately others have generated their own instructions/notes on the 'net to help - the first of which I also found to be "dubious" but the second shows real promise, although it'll need some Beary notes added to make it complete.  Further playing is promised for today......

 

BG

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

Off for my flu jab at the Marie Celeste first thing.. and I will try and get a meeting with a GP organised while I am there.

 

Will call in at the ear lowering emporium on my way home to book a visit.

Her indoorsvhas a pre op consultation (face to face) followed by a telephone discussion for later this week. No wonder the NHS has problems with appointments.. JDI!

 

Time to finish my tea and set off for my stroll...

 

Stay safe!

 

Baz

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Mainly blue sky here and the sun has made an appearance.  Sunny  spells with occasional cloud forecast and should stay warm and dry.  15°C now and could reach 24°C.

No firm plans made yet but there is a good chance I will muddle about a bit.

Have a good one,

Bob.

Edited October 10, 2023 by grandadbob

[Winslow Boy]

1 hour ago, Barry O said:

Ey up!

 

Off for my flu jab at the Marie Celeste first thing.. and I will try and get a meeting with a GP organised while I am there.

 

Will call in at the ear lowering emporium on my way home to book a visit.

Her indoorsvhas a pre op consultation (face to face) followed by a telephone discussion for later this week. No wonder the NHS has problems with appointments.. JDI!

 

Time to finish my tea and set off for my stroll...

 

Stay safe!

 

Baz

They usually weigh you at the pre-op. Not certain why but they certainly did when mum went in. Anyway that's the most likely reason they wish to see Mrs Baz. Just tell her to courtesy and only speak when she's spoken to otherwise they might take offence.

[TheQ]

12 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

... 296 days, that's 180 working days, left until I retire. Not that I'm counting. ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2023/10/09/covid-no-data-or-other-news-and-talking-to-myself/

That feeling I knew last year, it was a great relief when it finally arrived.

 

The Eochar Sgoil pitch on South Uist had a stream running across it at an angle of 45 degrees , about 12 to 18 inches across and the same deep.

 

Weighing prior to an operation is normally to help assess the amount of anaesthetic required.

 

Mooring Awl,

 About 5 hours sleep with a couple of wake up and turnovers. Followed by 3 hours of many more turnovers and much less sleep.

 

Rant mode on...

Received 3 letters about COVID yesterday, two routine "Please book your COVID jab".. The other YOU ARE AN URGENT PRIORITY CASE PLEASE BOOK YOUR COVID JAB.. 

 

If I'm an URGENT PRIORITY case why didn't they get their act together weeks ago and send us this letter then, instead of us having to go to our local GPs to find out if they are even doing it this year, and then taking a routine date of Thursday this week.

Rant mode off...

 

Ben the I'm not bothered about going out Collie was taken on patrol, blue welkin, the odd cloud, heavy dew, notalot of wind.

On return SWMBO was up and had made a muggacoffee, i'd just started that when Ben I really need to go out Collie turned up, and on being let out disappeared down the far end of the garden rapidly.

 

Plans for today.

I'm not quite happy about the first flappy bit of the unit of unmentionables, this will be removed and refitted later.

But first an area of the floor in the corner of the workshop will be cleared ( it's the rubbish bin and spare bits of wood corner). This is where I think the rats are getting in through the wooden partition wall there. If so that will be repaired with something of heavier duty.

 

I need to start updating the MRC spreadsheets from the bank statement that also arrived yesterday, as the quarterly meeting is due soon.

 

Time to get muggacoffee number 2 and head for the workshop.

 

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. I received my energy bill yesterday evening. It shows me as being over £700 in credit. I've asked them to refund £500 and they replied that they will review the request within seven days. The energy company, Octopus are about the cheapest and delay price rises for as long as possible when the wholesale price rises and are quick to respond when they fall (and are the only company not to put the standing charge up). However they are the worst offender when it comes to over deducting on direct debits. I usually claim back £200-£300 each year but didn't do so last year because of the price fluctuations. They are usually very good at giving the refunds even though you have to ask for them.

Edited October 10, 2023 by PhilJ W

[Winslow Boy]

2 hours ago, polybear said:

 

There's a "Museum" in York.....😉

 

 

Cats "like" gravel as well.....

 

Bear here......

I discovered yesterday that the neatly applied splurgin' on the Conservatory back door was still neatly applied - only the bluddy stuff hadn't "gone off" 🤬  Rattin' Piggin' Turdycurses.  I've decided to leave it a few days to see what happens.....

Other splurgin' tasks were completed, this time using different sealant so all should be ok with that.

 

After that it was time for a recce to the Chemist & Co-op - the latter didn't have all Bear needs so I feel an imminent recce to the joys of Lidl will be required, which I was expecting anyway.

 

And after that the rest of the day was devoted to....Play Time!!

The task for the day was practice how to file up & solder a letter of the alphabet between "U" and "W"; despite using a Mickey Mouse Filing Jig that is supposed to make such tasks nice n' easy I soon discovered it's anything but - in my defence I will say that the official instructions are (a) absolute cr@p, (b) a work of fiction, and (c) it seems others think so too, so it's not down to Bear being thick.  Fortunately others have generated their own instructions/notes on the 'net to help - the first of which I also found to be "dubious" but the second shows real promise, although it'll need some Beary notes added to make it complete.  Further playing is promised for today......

 

BG

Do they have cats down under?

[DaveF]

Another grey but mild morning.  The groceries have arrived, one item which was a substitue has been returned as it contains nuts.  I am not "life threatening" allergic to them but my GP has told me to avoid them as allergies can get worse very quickly.  I am quite good at reading food labels quickly, with online ordering I have learnt what to avoid.  A long time ago I loved fruit and nut chocolate - the last time I ate some I wheezed and coughed for hours, hence the visit to the GP about it and the advice.

 

As I grow older my allergies seem to get worse, at one time I needed antihistamines for a few weeks in the summer, now I really should take them all the time.

 

There is nothing much planned yet for today, probably a bit of gardening to fill the bin before it is emptied tomorrow, perhaps some modelling.

 

I had thought of going to watch trains but that is a bit of problem as the ECML is not working well north of Newcastle, one of the Plessey viaduct's parapets is moving so there is single line working at reduced speed.  According to the local paper three of the four tracks are blocked - in real life it is just double track.  So far it is thought that the viaduct itself has not suffered any damage.  The stopping service from Newcastle to Morpeth has been cancelled and replaced by buses, some other trains are also cancelled.

 

Plessey viaduct is just north of Cramlington between Newcastle and Morpeth.  Below is a link to Network Rails page on the viaduct.

https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/disruption-around-morpeth-as-network-rail-undertakes-urgent-repair-work-to-plessey-viaduct

David

 

 

Edited October 10, 2023 by DaveF
to alter the link

[Winslow Boy]

18 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Morning all from Estuary-Land. I received my energy bill yesterday evening. It shows me as being over £700 in credit. I've asked them to refund £500 and they replied that they will review the request within seven days. The energy company, Octopus are about the cheapest and delay price rises for as long as possible when the wholesale price rises and are quick to respond when they fall (and are the only company not to put the standing charge up). However they are the worst offender when it comes to over deducting on direct debits. I usually claim back £200-£300 each year but didn't do so because of the price fluctuations. They are usually very good at giving the refunds even though you have to ask for them.

If I'm not mistaken a relative is with them and says they are very good. Which coming from him is high praise as he can be a bit cumedgly.

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

It’s looking quite nice out there, bright, but not brilliant sunshine, so I’m going to tackle a job that has been on the ‘To Do’ list for a couple of weeks, I’ve just been waiting for some dry weather. When the stop tap was moved by our water provider, the area where it used to be has sunk. We were expecting this and it’s not sunk by much, only about an inch or so, but it looks unsightly. I bought the gravel and sharp sand a couple of weeks ago, so, once I’ve finished my breakfast, I’ll get my tools together and head round to the front and sort it out. The area is only about 2ft by 3ft so it shouldn’t take too long.  
 

Back later. 
 

Brian

[Andy Hayter]

No flu jabs here in France for at least another week.

 

It is a good idea to tailor the timing of your jab to your lifestyle.  

It takes 5 weeks or so for the jab to reach its peak effectiveness (ie for the antibodies that you produce in response to the jab to build up).  Thereafter the antibodies will slowly decline.

Anyone who is vulnerable or is in close contact with someone who is vulnerable would be advised to get jabbed as soon as possible.   Likewise anyone who is gregarious, works with lots of people, travels a lot or is a member of several different clubs.

For those however who are more insular, it can be beneficial to delay until 6 weeks or so before any major mixing event.  This will likely be Christmas and or New Year for many but it could for instance be going to a big model railway show*.  This means your peak protection will coincide with your mixing with the most people. 

 

* So anyone going to Warley, now is the time to organise your jab.

[Barry O]

28 minutes ago, Andy Hayter said:

No flu jabs here in France for at least another week.

 

It is a good idea to tailor the timing of your jab to your lifestyle.  

It takes 5 weeks or so for the jab to reach its peak effectiveness (ie for the antibodies that you produce in response to the jab to build up).  Thereafter the antibodies will slowly decline.

Anyone who is vulnerable or is in close contact with someone who is vulnerable would be advised to get jabbed as soon as possible.   Likewise anyone who is gregarious, works with lots of people, travels a lot or is a member of several different clubs.

For those however who are more insular, it can be beneficial to delay until 6 weeks or so before any major mixing event.  This will likely be Christmas and or New Year for many but it could for instance be going to a big model railway show*.  This means your peak protection will coincide with your mixing with the most people. 

 

* So anyone going to Warley, now is the time to organise your jab.

I am at Warley.. jab administered today... woooopppppiiiiiddddddooooo!

Baz

[Barry O]

Successful morning  so far.

 

Gentle stroll to surgery.. taking in a very large coffee at Costa.

 

Jab done 5 minutes early..

Appointment to see a GP regarding my meds.. Next Tuesday am. Great!

 

Barbers visited.. Appointment made and ears have been lowered. 

 

Now having a decaff watching the ODI.. it appears to be mainly Yorkshire v Bangladesh.

 

Baz

[polybear]

14 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

... 296 days, that's 180 working days, left until I retire. Not that I'm counting. ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2023/10/09/covid-no-data-or-other-news-and-talking-to-myself/

 

You're lookin' a bit stressed there CB.....maybe a few** months off sick is called for......😉

 

**Six should do the trick......

 

Bear here......

Up at 5am - I reckon I'm running on about 5 or 6 (max) hours a night at the moment - not enough for this Bear.

 

All the joys of Lidl at 8am - blowing half a Deltic in the process; at least I managed to get my beloved Curly Fries though.

Lidl also happened to sell LDC, Carrot Cake, Sponge Cake, Fruit Cake, Tea Cakes, Jaffa Cakes, Bakewell Tarts, Fairy Cakes, French Fancies, Lemon Slices, Scones ........and.......and.......and.......MINCE PIES!!......😁

Absolutely none of which ended up in a Certain Bear's Trolley.  Nope, nottasinglecrumb - either deliberately or "accidentally".  BluddyRattin'Piggin'Turdycurses 😭😭😭

Why is this?  Well if C...C...C...Cake were to end up at Bear Towers then A Certain Bear would feel compelled to "sample" it (Best Before Dates n' all that) and I've still got 12 days to go......😢

 

Right, time to unload some stuff from the freezer to Buddy over the road (four boxes of Birds Eye Chicken Burgers - all from Co-op Freezer deals (five items for a fiver) that Bear doesn't scoff - the other four items more than make up for it though.

 

Then it's din dins time, and after that it's Play Time!!  😁

 

BG

Edited October 10, 2023 by polybear

[TheQ]

Should tailor the jab timing to your life's style?

I should have had it 6 months ago before the radar museum opened for the season.

By the time it takes full effect. We'll be closed for the winter.

 

I do hope that parapet problem isn't network rail overloading the bridge with ballast again . It pushed the parapets on another bridge a few years ago.

 

Flappy bit problem I think is solved, but it will add another day to the full construction of each unit of unmentionables, due to gluing time.

 

So far I haven't found where the rats have got in... I can only suppose the bottom of the door to the rest of the garage had pushed open by the weight of the rubbish bin next to it.

The rubbish bin was an old trug, it's splitting and failing so it too has gone in the bin.

I think a solid box to hold a heavy duty bin bag will be built in the next few days .

 

Once I've checked something on a previously built unit of unmentionables, I'll be off out to the shed again as this unit has two flappy bits. So the second of the new reinforcements will need to be glued on.

I'll be accompanied by a tin of Doom bar, there's no wind and it's getting quite warm out there.

Edited October 10, 2023 by TheQ

[Winslow Boy]

1 hour ago, Barry O said:

Successful morning  so far.

 

Gentle stroll to surgery.. taking in a very large coffee at Costa.

 

Jab done 5 minutes early..

Appointment to see a GP regarding my meds.. Next Tuesday am. Great!

 

Barbers visited.. Appointment made and ears have been lowered. 

 

Now having a decaff watching the ODI.. it appears to be mainly Yorkshire v Bangladesh.

 

Baz

So that's you sorted but what about Mrs Baz. Did her pre-op appointment go ok or was it cancelled at the last minute?

[New Haven Neil]

Um, forgot to post earlier.  D'oh.

 

A tidy up before mate H came around, then two hours talking about those forbidden things was most pleasant, while watching a railcam - Wycross, Georgia today, new one on us, huge yard.

 

A quick lunch then off to the big city for this weeks physioterrorism physical jerks, frabjoy.  I'm living in hope there is gain after the pain, but it hasn't happened as yet.  Just pain.

 

Then chippy tea night, and finally a sit down to discuss couplings with a driveller friend - couplings, not coupling you understand.  Just to be clear. 😆

[southern42]

' afternoon all from red dragon land.

 

Another day on the road, yesterday, up to Cumbria to collect a household item, popping into see family on the way back, led to some photos on the way there and back, on Expressway and Motorway.

 

Going: (Artistic license...?!) Flat calm sea at Abergele and the Wind Farm or, rather, what you can see of it through the barrier!

 

Blue sky at Holywell

 

Misty moisty at Lancaster

 

Returning home. Sunset at Warrington 

 

Further along but look out for the plane! As I know some of you know your aircraft, any ID on it? 🔍

 

Back in Wales: Fog though it cleared soon after that, and we got home, safely, in the dark.

 

Cake making this afternoon - but not until I have had a mugadecaf.

 

Take care. Be good. Take a pot shot!

Polly

 

Edited October 10, 2023 by southern42
delete surplus pic

[tigerburnie]

I've been playing with trains, but it's alright this one is 12 inches to the foot scale...............................

 

The Flying Scotsman by tigerburnie, on Flickr