Early Risers.

[Tony_S]

6 minutes ago, The White Rabbit said:

The Richard Montgomery is in the Thames estuary -

The latest  concern was that its masts  protruding from the wreck might collapse and set off an explosion. This has been delayed until next year for further surveys of metallic objects near the wreck. There are trips out to see the wreck site and other WW2 era things like sea forts. Years ago the Doomsday scenario was Richard Montgomery exploding and somehow triggering the Canvey gas storage. I think those of us who live nearby are more concerned about potholes.  

[New Haven Neil]

Evening, and a HB to Brian.

 

MGP practice has got off to a bad start, big incident which looks like it may have been terminal.

 

Nice to spend the day with Jayne and visiting friends who (whom, Lewis...) I also know well, one is an anaesthesiologist and has many great stories, he and iD would get on like a house on fire. He is now retired and does a bit of as-and-when work, and it is fair to say is 'somewhat disillusioned' with the NHS.  He doesn't do private work, a man of principle.

 

@The Q I was just past Dalby yesterday, the foundations of the (?  CH ?) masts can still be seen.

[The White Rabbit]

40 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

What (he dares ask) is a lettuce sandwich? I'm guessing it has lettuce, buttered bread and nothing else. This is almost as pointless as those revolting cucumber sandwiches.

 

I've avoided watercress sandwiches. (Not that I had to try very hard.)

 

And people wonder why "English food" has a bad reputation.

 

Nothing wrong with 'simple' sandwiches - a BLT can be magnificent. (Better as a BLTA, with avocado.) I would vote for piled high hot pastrami and Swiss cheese on rye with yellow mustard at a Jewish deli. Getting fancier the Cubano - ham, roast pork, pickles, Swiss cheese and yellow mustard pressed in a panini press.

 

Sorry Oz - I tapped out a lengthy reply to this but RMW had a hissy fit and lost it when the page reloaded, it's not in the editor and I don't want to spend 10-15 minutes retyping. Short version - it depends on the quality of the ingredients more than anything else. Watercress sandwiches can be the instrument of the devil - or they can be very pleasant. Bad reps are often due to cheapo versions tainting a good idea. A culinary version of the economic theory of bad money driving out good. 

[DaveF]

56 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

What (he dares ask) is a lettuce sandwich? I'm guessing it has lettuce, buttered bread and nothing else. This is almost as pointless as those revolting cucumber sandwiches.

 

I've avoided watercress sandwiches. (Not that I had to try very hard.)

 

And people wonder why "English food" has a bad reputation.

 

Nothing wrong with 'simple' sandwiches - a BLT can be magnificent. (Better as a BLTA, with avocado.) I would vote for piled high hot pastrami and Swiss cheese on rye with yellow mustard at a Jewish deli. Getting fancier the Cubano - ham, roast pork, pickles, Swiss cheese and yellow mustard pressed in a panini press.

 

You're right, those lettuce sandwiches were simply lettuce between 2 pieces of buttered white sliced bread.  Typical of 1950s England.

 

David

[New Haven Neil]

ER's was running perfectly this morning, instant page loading - this evening it is terrible.

[PupCam]

Evening

 

7 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Assuming that, of course, you get to see a real life doctor who is prepared to do a little bit more than just write a prescription.

 

No, no, no.  Haven't you heard?   They've been replaced by the App (you can rather handily pay for the hospital parking with it at the same time).

 

6 hours ago, Sidecar Racer said:

 I need to say sorry , I thought this was going to be about the intro  music not the intro graphics .

 

 But I do know that at one time they used an instrumental section of The Chain by Fleetwood Mac .

 

No,  The Chain was used in the BBC F1 coverage all those years ago.

 

3 hours ago, Sidecar Racer said:

 

 Found this , start at 3-00 . Plus it was also used for F1 coverage .

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCMD126rrRo

 

 

I don't remember Top Gear ever using the Chain (unless it was in the William Woollard era when it was a motoring  not humorous entertainment programme.

 

I do remember William Woollard doing a "safety feature" for TG a mile or so along a road from where I once lived.     It was topical piece for me as the road follows a small river for a while, does a sharp 90 degree bend over a very picturesque bridge followed by another 90 degree bend to follow the river on the other bank.     I was driving home from my then girlfriend's late one night when I fell asleep at about 88 degrees around the first bend.   Clipping the curb woke me up with a start and I regained control, got to a safe place and had a 20 minute kip before continuing.    If it had been 90 degrees when I'd fallen asleep I would have crossed the bridge and most likely smacked into the attractive flint wall on the other side.      The wall would have thought "not again" as it has had more rebuilds than Trigger's Broom and the Flying Scotsman combined!

 

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

My dear chap, £100/hr (plus pharmacy fees) are ”mates rates”

 

That sounds exceedingly cheap even for mate's rates.     

 

ION

 

Much fun was had with the grandsons today.  Activities included standing at the Langford level crossing on the ECML and watching trains followed by a nip into Old Warden for a whizz around a couple of hangars and the Swiss gardens.   There was a very large Classic Car gathering there with oodles of Austin Cambridges/Morris Oxfords, Minis, Elfs & hornets, some vintage 30s & 40s stuff and a sprinkling of some more exotic steads (TVR's, Lotus etc).   My biking mates had also been for breakfast but they'd gone onto pastures new by the time we arrived.

 

Mrs P mentioned the super moon and suggested that I should whip the scope out (that'll be the first time since January 19th IIRC).   The sky looked clear so the gear has been set up.  Surprisingly I remembered what to do and when!      So, here's the scope tracking the moon.    The observant will have spotted that at this point it was below the horizon.      Unfortunately its zenith at the point of transit is only about 30 degrees at the moment which means the positioning of the tripod had to be done carefully to try and make sure the moon would appear between next doors house and our apple tree.      Oh how I'd love a garden with a decent view of the sky.     Anyway, I can't make up mind if the sky is actually clear or hazy now so all the effort may have been in vain.   Time will tell if ICBA to stay up to 12:30 ish.

 

TTFN

 

 

 

 

[4630]

12 minutes ago, PupCam said:

 

No,  The Chain was used in the BBC F1 coverage all those years ago.

 

 

I don't remember Top Gear ever using the Chain (unless it was in the William Woollard era when it was a motoring  not humorous entertainment programme.

 

The Top Gear music referred to was probably ‘Jessica’ by the Allman Brothers. 
 

Available here for anyone wanting to relive their past watching Top Gear when it was, as you say, motoring  not humorous entertainment programme;

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRDivUb5EeA

 

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, Ozexpatriate said:

What (he dares ask) is a lettuce sandwich? I'm guessing it has lettuce, buttered bread and nothing else. This is almost as pointless as those revolting cucumber sandwiches.

 

 

Were Tomato sauce sandwiches not a Queensland thing like here? You grow out of them at about age 10..

 

Fairy Bread, on the other hand..you're never too old!

 

 

 

[Ozexpatriate]

21 minutes ago, 4630 said:

The Top Gear music referred to was probably ‘Jessica’ by the Allman Brothers. 

This discussion started with a YouTube video of "Jessica" labelled as the "Top Gear Theme Song" - which confused me.

 

I didn't remember the versions of Top Gear presented here on BBC America as sounding just like a cut off the Allman Brothers' "Brothers and Sisters" album (which apparently it did when first broadcast) and indeed there were rearranged cover versions over the years, which included a 'hook' not from "Jessica" that I remembered as the opening theme.

 

Edited August 18 by Ozexpatriate

[figworthy]

9 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Nearly forgot, I will spend this afternoon watching the 100 series cricket. I've not bothered much with the limited balls/overs version of the game but having viewed it over the last few weeks its beginning to 'grow' on me. What do other ER's think of the new form of cricket?

 

Sorry old chap, that's simply not cricket.

 

I used to work with a bunch of cricket nuts, their almost universal view (*) was that to be a cricket match, it should be played in whites, and have a proper tea (including cake) break.

* there were one or two dissenters, but offers of demonstrating creative ways of storing stumps usually brought them round to a more sensible line of thought.

 

Adrian

[Ozexpatriate]

40 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

Were Tomato sauce sandwiches not a Queensland thing like here?

Not for me. I would have wanted a sausage with it - and then swap the tomato sauce for Eta Barbeque sauce. (They are not unknown, but I never saw the point.)

 

I'm (still) not a fan of butter on sandwiches - due to my first grade experiences with what sub-tropical heat does to buttered cheese and vegemite sandwiches by lunchtime. I did eventually relearn to enjoy butter on fresh bread rolls - but I never spread it on a slice of bread - unless I am grilling a cheese sandwich. I do put butter on toast (for vegemite on toast).

 

One of the things I really enjoyed when I first moved to the US is that *no one* ever puts butter on a sandwich and I didn't have to ask them not to. Mayo, perhaps mustard, (depending) but never butter.

 

Mum was keen on sandwiches with cheese and corn relish*. Her post-war austerity inspired pantry had anchovy paste for one note sandwiches for old mother Hubbard moments when the larder was bare.

 

* Substitute pickled onions or piccalilli. 

 

Edited August 18 by Ozexpatriate

[Coombe Barton]

... future trip planning - A little more organisation of the interior of the van, and not bringing so much stuff, may be in order. Severe editing of the kitchen utensils will be on the cards. Who needs potato masher on hols? ...

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2024/08/18/postcards-from-the-periphery-2024-22/

[Ozexpatriate]

17 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

Fairy Bread, on the other hand..you're never too old!

Yes. You really can be too old, or perhaps in my case, not a fan of butter.

[Hroth]

25 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

Who needs potato masher on hols?

 

Indeed.

If you're really gagging for mashed potato you can either get frozen "pellets" of the stuff or the dried "Smash" type flakes or powder....

 

Seems to be a problem with the Delius link

Returns: An error occurred. Please try again later. (Playback ID: Sl5LnvWnMpqY0ErV)

 

Seems to be working now!

 

Edited August 18 by Hroth

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Just had a long phone call with my sister. I told her about my needing a replacement knee as she had a similar op a few years ago only she had the full anesthetic not a local. She gave me the same information about what happens after the op as @iL Dottore. 

[polybear]

46 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

Were Tomato sauce sandwiches not a Queensland thing like here? You grow out of them at about age 10..

 

Fairy Bread, on the other hand..you're never too old!

 

Tommy Sauce on toast is a regular at Bear Towers - and very nice it is too....

 

What's Fairy Bread?

[Erichill16]

Evening All,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIAN, hope you’ve had a great day.

Goodnight

[Ozexpatriate]

21 minutes ago, polybear said:

What's Fairy Bread?

Wikipedia

 

It was (is?) a staple at children's birthday parties.

 

This image is more appealing:

 

 

Edited August 18 by Ozexpatriate

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[polybear]

Bear here....

 

Oodles of "stuff" today - Harry started, Bertie driven, paperwork printed, Larry the Lappy all backed up, ironing done, choo choo's tested, button sewn on strides......definitely a Tick awarded.

 

Harry's Owner Mk. 2 (TBC) plans to visit Bear Towers at 10am tomorrow....he plans to bring a trailer with him.....

I also phoned the Bank as well - they confirmed that once money appears in Bear's Account following an electronic transfer then it's safe to release Harry.

 

ION.....

 

Fellow ER'ers may recall Bear mentioning that a certain Assh0le who owns (but rents out) the house behind Bear Towers had tried (unsuccessfully) to build an additional house on the land (it has a big garden) - a Certain Bear plus various Neighbours managed to put the kybosh on it 😁.  Well he wasn't happy (he spent rather a lot of money on various plans, applications, appeals etc. without joy) so he planted EIGHTY Conifers around the perimeter of his back garden in an attempt to block the light received by the guilty parties concerned (and in doing so the guys that did the job planted them far too close to his fence - so that is getting damaged as the conifers grow 🤣).

 

Well I heard the latest news on Mr. Tw@t from a neighbour earlier.....

It seem that he's *allegedly* topped his missus + a.n.other; he's currently locked up pending Trial.  He also (allegedly) tried to top a third, but it seems they survived - so hopefully will be a rather good witness.

Now if he goes down for that little lot I reckon it's unlikely that he'll see the light of day as a free Tw@t again - he should be well into his 80's before being released.  Oh dear, how sad, wottashame.....

 

I must mention this tomorrow to the Polish Family renting the property (they're really nice people); it may well be that the house comes off the rental market as a result of all this, meaning they'll have to find somewhere else to live - I do hope not as they're really nice people.

 

BG

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Thank you all for the birthday wishes, very much appreciated. 

 

We had a great meal at the Indian restaurant this evening, just the 2 of us, but the company made it really special. Back home afterwards, we made ourselves a hot drink and then decamped to the sofa to drink it. Later on, we opened a nice bottle of Zinfandel and watched a film, all-in-all, I’ve had a great day.

[BSW01]

Goodnight everyone 

[Ozexpatriate]

2 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

I was just past Dalby yesterday

Mum's bestie was born in Dalby. The one in Queensland. 

Quote

The name of the town is believed to come from the village of Dalby on the Isle of Man and reflects immigration from the Isle of Man in the mid-19th century. The name was apparently chosen by Captain Samuel Perry when he surveyed the settlement in 1853.

 

[Barry O]

@PhilJ W the hundred is great for showing people that women and girls can play cricket.. but it is onlynplayed here.. thank you Mr Graves.. it fills a time for mens cricket which means we have lost the plot in T20 cricket, the England team have played no red ball cricket since the last match against the West Indies and are about to start a series against Sri lanka. The T50 cup is reduced to matches including 2nd XI players.. and we lost the T50 World Cup because of it.

 

ECB trying to sell the Hundred as despite them saying it makes a profit I have doubts that it does.. by the way Mr Graves village team  used to play in the Harrogate Evening league.. a 12 over, 8 balls an over (ie 96 balls) league...so why did he go  for the hundred.. which isn't played anywhere else..

 

Make T20 blast better by..

 

Time limit of 1hr 10 minutes per innings.. umpires to be fined if this doesn't happen as they are almost sloth like on the field.

 

Change the recruitment policy for overseas players.

Avoid using some of the IPL/Big Bash T20 Leagues like player changes etc

Get a better white ball. The Kookabarra , Readers and Tiflex white balls are carp...

 

Baz

[Ozexpatriate]

8 minutes ago, Barry O said:

thank you Mr Graves ...

Baz, you say much and little at the same time. (I looked up Mr. Graves CBE and shan't ask you to share more. I looked up where Harrogate is too.)

 

Are there different detailed rules in this Hundred versus T20? (Like the field placement rules and the inner 'circle' in 50-over, ODI-type matches.)

 

I just assume there are some sort of these rules in T20 - I don't know the game. I've never watched.  My question is is separate from league rules about player eligibility like the IPL has.

 

Irrespective of the smash and dash aspect, I will confess to be confounded as to what makes a 100 delivery match (or indeed a 96 delivery match) superior to a 120 delivery match. (17% less of a 'good thing'?)  Unless it fits better in a television broadcast window?

 

Having looked it up, that seems to be the difference:

Quote

Following discussions involving the ECB's marketing team, clubs were instead told in April 2018 that the competition would use an entirely new form of cricket designed to be simpler to follow and shorter to fit television schedules. 

I note the powerplay and the use of the 30 yard circle.