Early Risers.

[polybear]

16 minutes ago, Hroth said:

 

The gormless youths next door are footy crazy.  I kept up with the England game by hearing the groans and cheers.  As they are forever kicking their bluddy football over the fence***, then leaping over it into my back garden without a "by your leave", I've just invested in one of those "wildlife" cameras to catch them in action.  Ideal for when the complaint goes in to their parents...

 

Carpet Gripper nailed to the top of the fence works well.  As do Punji Sticks on the Lawn…..

[Coombe Barton]

... when I've thought back to my software engineering background and good practice, this all seems incredible. But it actually happened. I’ve been left thinking “WTF?" ...

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2024/06/30/covid-spike-expert-witness-interest-lawn/

[Hroth]

17 minutes ago, polybear said:

Carpet Gripper nailed to the top of the fence works well.  As do Punji Sticks on the Lawn…..

 

Carpet grippers would fall under the same heading as broken glass along the top of a brick wall, and would be illegal.  Even those rotating metal anti climb devices used on industrial properties have to have clear warning notices so that criminals can't claim that "they weren't warned".

 

Anyhow, the fence isn't my responsibility so I can't go nailing things along the top.

I'll put some dormant plant pots along the bottom though, they might do themselves some damage, turning an ankle or breaking a leg landing on top of them.  The ambulance can access the injured by lifting a fence panel out, they don't need to come through my property!

 

[Tony_S]

37 minutes ago, polybear said:

Doesn’t it depend on the person?

I will measure it next time but it is a standard size rectangular manhole so most people  would fit. As for depth…

[iL Dottore]

Well, that was interesting: against all expectations England won against Slovakia. They now will face Switzerland. Mrs iD who was multi-tasking during the match (watching bits of the footie whilst playing her on-line empire building game), observed that England got lucky with Slovakia, but will need a hell of a lot of lucky rabbits feet when they take on the Swiss. I think that she might be biased, but her instincts tend to be sound.

 

Anyway, after a light supper (grilled lamb chops with a salad [and a photo of curly fries for @polybear]), we caught up with one of our favourite lightweight TV programmers: the Sister Boniface Mysteries. Set in the early 60s, the “gotta shoehorn-in” anachronisms aren’t that jarring and in this series of the programme (series 3) they are doing wonderful homages to classic film and TV series: recently it was the James Bond films and in the episode we watched tonight: Dr Who - reimagined as “Professor Y”, the Tardis transformed from a Blue British Police Box into a Red British Telephone Box - with affectionate nods to Daleks, Cybermen and so on.

 

Interestingly, although a coproduction between the BBC and Britbox, it has never appeared on the Beeb. Call me an old cynic if you will, but it does seem the “luvvies” and “creatives” who run the Beeb nowadays seem to regard such programme types as not “edgy” or “relevant” enough or (especially) “appealing to the right demographic“

 

 

[Hroth]

3 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Anyway, after a light supper (grilled lamb chops with a salad [and a photo of curly fries for @polybear]), we caught up with one of our favourite lightweight TV programmers: the Sister Boniface Mysteries. Set in the early 60s, the “gotta shoehorn-in” anachronisms aren’t that jarring and in this series of the programme (series 3) they are doing wonderful homages to classic film and TV series: recently it was the James Bond films and in the episode we watched tonight: Dr Who - reimagined as “Professor Y”, the Tardis transformed from a Blue British Police Box into a Red British Telephone Box - with affectionate nods to Daleks, Cybermen and so on.

 

Interestingly, although a coproduction between the BBC and Britbox, it has never appeared on the Beeb. Call me an old cynic if you will, but it does seem the “luvvies” and “creatives” who run the Beeb nowadays seem to regard such programme types as not “edgy” or “relevant” enough or (especially) “appealing to the right demographic“

 

Can't cope with either the Sister Boniface Mysteries or Father Brown for that matter, they set my teeth on edge.  TBH most current TV production has that effect, so I'm finding that I'm watching less TV as a result.  I had a go at the Whitstable Pearl series that was recently broadcast, but couldn't get through the first episode. However, the book the series came from appeared as a 99p offer from Amazon on Kindle*.  Unlike the TV version, it was quite readable, a typical Amazon "Cosy Murder" (don't ask me what that means) though I'm not sure I'd buy any of the follow-on novels unless they are offered at 99p.

 

* I rarely buy Kindle books for anything more and none that cost as much as a dead tree edition.  Its the same sort of price I'd pay for paperbacks in charity shops...

 

[Hroth]

33 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

... when I've thought back to my software engineering background and good practice, this all seems incredible. But it actually happened. I’ve been left thinking “WTF?" ...

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2024/06/30/covid-spike-expert-witness-interest-lawn/

 

Liked the Dowland, called "Can Shee" on the top of my performing copy for Treble(Alto) Recorder.

 

[Ozexpatriate]

1 hour ago, Hroth said:

The gormless youths next door are footy crazy.  I kept up with the England game by hearing the groans and cheers.  As they are forever kicking their bluddy football over the fence***, then leaping over it into my back garden without a "by your leave",

I found next door's football in one of my shrubs the following spring. It is densely leafed and no doubt they lost it. They are older now but still play in the street. There is a basketball hoop in their driveway.

 

When I was young we played cricket in the driveway in front of the house - two parallel strips of concrete with grassy bit down the middle - an obvious pitch. A wide would hit the garage door (behind the wicket) with a boom. A well struck cover drive* (we used a tennis ball) might hit the garage door across the street with a boom. (Anything in a neighbour's yard was out - usually six and out.)

 

* Maybe somewhere between deep cover and long off.

 

Immediately above that door was our neighbour who suffered (unbeknownst to us) with migraines. Lying in her darkened room with sporadic booms from across the street and immediately below her. She never complained - thinking it the proper way for children to enjoy themselves.

 

It makes me not complain about the lads in the street. They could be playing video games.

[PhilJ W]

56 minutes ago, Hroth said:

 

Carpet grippers would fall under the same heading as broken glass along the top of a brick wall, and would be illegal.  Even those rotating metal anti climb devices used on industrial properties have to have clear warning notices so that criminals can't claim that "they weren't warned".

 

Anyhow, the fence isn't my responsibility so I can't go nailing things along the top.

I'll put some dormant plant pots along the bottom though, they might do themselves some damage, turning an ankle or breaking a leg landing on top of them.  The ambulance can access the injured by lifting a fence panel out, they don't need to come through my property!

 

Plant a few berberris alongside the fence.

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[PupCam]

1 hour ago, Hroth said:

 

Carpet grippers would fall under the same heading as broken glass along the top of a brick wall, and would be illegal.  Even those rotating metal anti climb devices used on industrial properties have to have clear warning notices so that criminals can't claim that "they weren't warned".

 

Anyhow, the fence isn't my responsibility so I can't go nailing things along the top.

I'll put some dormant plant pots along the bottom though, they might do themselves some damage, turning an ankle or breaking a leg landing on top of them.  The ambulance can access the injured by lifting a fence panel out, they don't need to come through my property!

 

 

But a nice dense row of Pyracantha* in front of the fence would look very nice indeed.   

 

* I'm no gardener but I'm sure @Winslow Boy can advise.

 

Night All

 

 

 

 

[polybear]

37 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Plant a few berberris alongside the fence.

Pyracanthus is your friend**
 

**Except when it needs pruning - they’re spiteful ‘sterds

[polybear]

7 hours ago, PupCam said:

 

(although it's probably not PC for me to say that but do I look like someone who cares?).   

 

Er, nottalot…..🤣

 

7 hours ago, PupCam said:

Other things I really don't get are piercings and tattoos.   Just why* for crying out loud?

Snap….

 

7 hours ago, PupCam said:

  The BBQ was good but what a lot of faff just to burn well cook some sausages and burgers.

 

 

Bear has one of them there new fangled leccy ovens and hobs - no fuss, no bvggerin’ about.  Sorted.

 

7 hours ago, PupCam said:

I think I might go and see if I can come up with an acceptable way of sprucing up the RD's cylinder barrels/heads by the application of suitable heat resistant paint (Simoniz VHT Satin Black since you asked) without actually removing anything from the bike.  After all, "If it ain't broke don't fix it".

When did it last have a decoke?

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

it has never appeared on the Beeb.

I haven’t seen it but it appears on UKTV Play a wholly BBC owned streaming channel. 

[Hroth]

6 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

I haven’t seen it but it appears on UKTV Play a wholly BBC owned streaming channel. 

 

Stuffed full of dreadful adverts.  Have you seen those Tampax ads?  And how ads for Life Insurance are followed by Funeral Plans?

 

And you can't skip them....

 

When the ads are on, I just mute the sound.  The soundtracks come as a terrible shock when I see them whilst visiting friends!

[monkeysarefun]

4 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

So, ... "banana hammock"?

 

EDIT:

I'm not sure if "scungies" made it offshore?

 

 

 

They were "sluggos" round my neck of the woods...

[Ozexpatriate]

8 hours ago, PupCam said:

Other things I really don't get are piercings and tattoos.

Seems to have peaked with Millennials. Very big here (and also implants* and ear gauging which to me look worse) in the 1990s and 2000s. I don't see the same enthusiasm for them with Gen-Z. I think they see how badly they age and think "nah".

 

* Not talking about the cosmetic surgery body 'shaping' versions (butts and b00bs etc) but the raised objects under the skin.

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[skipepsi]

2 hours ago, polybear said:

Pyracanthus is your friend**
 

**Except when it needs pruning - they’re spiteful ‘sterds

Two large Pyracanthus bushes when we moved into this house, planted either side of two Holly trees they were over 10ft tall and extended about half way across the lawn. It took a while to prune them back. It was also clear the damage they do to rival plants.

[iL Dottore]

15 hours ago, PupCam said:

Other things I really don't get are piercings and tattoos.   Just why* for crying out loud?

 

* A rhetorical question, please do not waste your time answering because I still won't understand or change my mind ....

I’m old enough to remember when the only people who regularly sported tattoos were sailors (possibly soldiers) and criminals.

 

In Japan having tattoos will bar you from most onsen because of the connection of tattoos with the Yakuza, even if you are a Westerner and speak not a syllable of Japanese!

 

I’ve noted quite a few attractive young women who have been “uglified” (if there is such a word) by tattoos…..

 

And don’t get me started on heavily tattooed footballers, most of the time football matches look like turf wars between the Crips and the Bloods - with footballs instead of Uzis

[Gwiwer]

7 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

I think they see how badly they age and think "nah".

Correct. 
 

A friend decided, in her younger days, that it would be a good idea to decorate her more personal regions with tattoos.  Coats of arms bearing the name of a “conquest”, as it were. 
 

That cost her a lot of money when she became engaged and had to have some …. errr ….. history removed before marriage. 
 

No, I was not among the named. How do I know?  She was, if nothing else, quite forthcoming with trusted friends and happy to show off her (nearly) all. 

[iL Dottore]

7 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I haven’t seen it but it appears on UKTV Play a wholly BBC owned streaming channel. 

 

7 hours ago, Hroth said:

 

Stuffed full of dreadful adverts.  Have you seen those Tampax ads?  And how ads for Life Insurance are followed by Funeral Plans?

 

And you can't skip them....

We have Swisscom’s BluewinTV and the Sister Boniface Mysteries are broadcast on Drama - one of the English language channels Swisscom offers. When we record a programme. (or film) on any of the BluewinTV channels, during playback we can always skip over the ads. How? No idea, an EU regulation perhaps?

 

Without the ability to skip over ads, I doubt that we’d watch much TV, mainly because very little nowadays on TV is watchable, regardless of channel or language (although some of the smaller channels do have some interesting niche programmes).
 

And if you thought the Beeb and ITV get pretty dire - they’re providing nothing but David Attenborough quality programmes in comparison with some of the European and Middle Eastern broadcasters.

Having said that, I doubt that there are there are many programmes out there that are as appallingly vulgar and tasteless as “Naked Attraction” - something I stumbled upon during one night’s channel surfing. Basically, naked people are revealed, bit by bit, for evaluation and judgment by a clothed contestant, with one naked person being eliminated at each round. And if that wasn’t tasteless enough, the naked people being slowly revealed are invariably tattooed, pierced and obese to morbidly obese. And the harridan of a presenter shrieking “you are so beeeyoootiful” at each morbidly obese circus sideshow exhibit added to the whole pseudopornographic freakshow vibe. It was one of those things you ended up watching - in horrified fascination - until the end. 
 

But I think I’ll stick to mostly playing great games on the PlayStation and watching useful “how to” videos on YouTube…..

 

[Hroth]

Inability to skip was referring to the "streamed" content from the broadcaster. If it has been recorded "off air", skipping is not a problem!   I'm with you on the tawdry programmes like "Naked Attraction", "Love Island" and their ilk. They all leave you with the desire to find some brain bleach.

 

 

 

[Barry O]

White Rabbits!

[Barry O]

I associate tattoos with some local ex RN matelots who lived in my village and also some of the soldiers in various tank regiments. Not a great advert for "clean" living..

I am not a great lover of tattoos or piercings but each to their own..

 

Being the first day of July (which is normally a warm month ) I am somewhat dismayed by a lack of heat this morning.. pah!

 

We took ourselves out to a curry house last night to avoid the kickball. The Sheesh Mahal in Kirkstall. Food was excellent.. her indoors had a meat korma, I had a Karahi mixed chicken dish.. both with a tandoori Roti.. wonderful!  Roads were quiet, restaurant was quiet but was busy fulfilling on line and phoned in requests for food (a ringitandbringit around these parts).

 

Today involves a quick application of the lawnmower to our grass then a visit from youngest Herbert as he needs to give me a tie to wear on his wedding and also to explain the choice of shirt colour for both ceremonies.. (erm white and err  white..)

 

Time to rustle up some energy to get myself upright and ready to go.

 

Stay safe!

 

Baz

Edited Monday at 12:22 by Barry O
Spullung