Early Risers.

[Danemouth]

Well these pictures were taken going to Spain on holiday in 1969

 

 

 

For the photographically minded the camera was a Agfa Super Sillette with a handheld Weston Master III exposure meter - didn't graduate to an SLR (Pentax SP500) until 1972,

 

Regards,

 

Dave

[Barry O]

Ooh err a Comet no less!

[Jock67B]

Morning all,

Earlier start than expected due to requirement of grandson's partner to get great granddaughter to quacks for a medicine change, coupled to Joanna announcing that 'oh the fuel light came on yesterday!' (She doesn't do fuel filling - apparently that is my job!). So off to fill up before completing Archie's requirements!

Had a great day yesterday with Ella the now 16 year old - we don't see as much of her these days which is a shame, although this happens as they move through the teens.

Learned to fly with the ATC at a fairly young age, the first plane being a Tiger Moth which wasn't as fast as the motorbike I was riding at the time! Flown on all sorts all over the world due to a passion for travel but normally used Logan airport, Boston for US visits as my brother lived there and it was a handy stop-over as US internal flights were so reasonable then. New York from Boston is like catching a bus in the UK although the landing in Teeterborough (spelling?) airport is interesting to say the least. Landed in LAX twice, once going to Laguna Seca race circuit and the other on a short stop-over en-route to Hawaii. My favourite airline is possibly 'Emirates' who took us to Maldives via a week in Dubai - courteous cabin staff and I loved the graphics on several screens showing you your position relative to the map. Strangest experience was when I took a student flight to Paris in the 60s - a bus ride from Victoria to Lympne, a twin turbo-prop

which took off from a grass strip by flying off the end of a hill and then landed just over the French Coast at Beauvais (where the R101 crashed!), followed by a rough bus trip to Paris! Most of the flight spent on a bus but I suppose it was cheap - can't remember the operator now. Worst landing was on an Aero-Maritime (Subsiduary of Air France) Jumbo on a flight from C.DeGaulle to Martinique - the plane has to land on a runway which runs over a hill so the pilot slapped it down hard on the up-slope and then hit the brakes hard - the feeling in your stomach as the plane goes over the crest of the hill has to be felt to understand the experience! Sadly, my flying days are over as I'm now grounded due to lack of insurance - I loved it and am lucky to have such vibrant memories.

Tony, I hope you and the 'boss' have a great trip.

John,(CB) apologies, I've only just read yesterday's post and both Joanna and I understand how helpless you must feel being so far away. The 'kids' must be devastated even though the poor beast had a 'good innings', at least they have the knowledge that they made her last days comfortable and full of love!

Neil, I hope that Debs visit isn't evidence of a serious problem. Please wish her well from this family.

AndrewC, sorry to hear about George's condition, it must be a worry for you and no doubt comes with the usual hefty vets bill! The responsibility of caring for an animal?

Ian, sounds like you've got to tread on egg shells with such a political situation - friendships have been soured by taking sides in such situations! Good luck.

Today's trivia - J. Clarkson and J. May became the first people to reach the North Pole by car today, in 2007! Does this put them up with Amundsen and the like I wonder?

Enjoy the rest of Friday folks, I've got the Hungarian F1 Grand Prix at Budapest to look forward to on Sunday,

Kind regards,

Jock.

[Robert]

Lovely!  I do believe that's a Comet.

 

Interesting that engines 1 and 4 are running lower RPMs than 2 and 3.

[Barry O]

I did fly Muk Air from Bremen to Copenhagen - a Shorts 330 .. I sat beside a Swede who insisted I got a wine and a brandy (I didn't drink on the flight as I was travelling into the depths of Sweden) So he had his and those then the second round as well.

 

Got on the SAS Fokker 27 to go to Jonkoping and he sat beside me again.. so he had another 4 red wines and 4 brandies....last seen heading for the car park...

[AndrewC]

Flying. Hate it. Loathe it. Will take any reasonable alternative.

 

Worst: Air Canada.

From the Economist.

THERE'S an old but still popular joke about Air Canada's legendarily snotty service, where a man tries to pick up a flight attendant using airline advertising slogans. "Love to fly and it shows?" he asks, getting a blank stare in return. "Something special in the air?" he proposes, getting the same look. He then tries "I would really love to fly your friendly skies," and the woman finally responds: "What the do you want?" The man smiles and sits back: "Ahhh, Air Canada."

 

Best: Gulf Air. Had a full row to myself flying in and out of Bahrain a few years ago during Ramadan. The sky chef was annoyed that there were only about 20 people on the plane and most of us were sleeping instead of feasting.

[Smiffy2]

Morning all, stayed up late last night to watch the Crossrail documentary on BBC2 so I overslept this morning. On the subject of hot/cold meals for many years when I was a youngster the traditional Boxing Day meal was bubble and squeak with cold roast turkey and ham.

Still is in our house!

[laurenceb]

Reminds me of 1992 when, having suffered from numbness in my hands, I ended up having similar tests.  Asked if I were right or left handed I said, "Right-handed".  A series of progressively stronger shocks were passed through my arms, but the tech still wasn't sure.  He called in his supervisor (who looked and sounded like Rosa Klebb from the Bond Films) she cranked it up to max and it lifted me out of the chair.  They still couldn't understand the results.

 

Then I weakly said, "I was originally left-handed, but my wretched primary school forced me to become right-handed."  "Ah, that explains it!", she said and promptly transferred to shocking my left arm!  They then proposed carpel tunnel operations on both hands, which would have meant I wouldn't be able to use either for about a month consecutively.  As I was sculpting model figures professionally for Britains at the time it was hardly an option.  Then a friend recommended a chiropractor in Ludlow to me and three sessions later everything was back to normal and working OK.

 

Moral of the story:  Do remember to tell your left from your right!

Peope who did (I hope that it is no longer done)this should have received the same treatment

Laurence

[Jock67B]

Still no news from or about 'Andyram' since his last post on 'Glen Gillie' 10/7/14, or here 5/7/14 when he said he'd be off air for a week. I do hope nothing horrible has happened to such a likeable character. I seem to recall some worrying matrimonial pressure largely caused by dampness and the pressures of the delayed house move. I don't know if he does any other social media, or indeed if anyone knows a member of his railway club. I do hope we get some good news soon as it seems very odd that such a prolific poster over so many threads should suddenly switch off!

Any ideas?

Kind regards,

Jock.

[Debs.]

Challenge of the day:

How to get a 3 cwt. metal-cutting bandsaw, down safely out of the pup-mobile, through the house and into the workshop, without the help of lifting gear or another 'Amazon' like myself.

 

........for those whom think that Imperial measures are needlessly confusing: 3 hundredweight is about equal to 3.66 Firkin of ale or beer (but not cider or wine).

[Debs.]

Lovely!  I do believe that's a Comet.

 

Interesting that engines 1 and 4 are running lower RPMs than 2 and 3.

Anorak!

[Robert]

Anorak!

 

Yup!

[The Stationmaster]

Challenge of the day:

How to get a 3 cwt. metal-cutting bandsaw, down safely out of the pup-mobile, through the house and into the workshop, without the help of lifting gear or another 'Amazon' like myself.

 

........for those whom think that Imperial measures are needlessly confusing: 3 hundredweight is about equal to 3.66 Firkin of ale or beer (but not cider or wine).

Wanna borrow a sack truck - it copes with that sort of weight of paving slabs?  Regret I'm fresh out of amazons and my usual strong arm assistant (Dr Station Cat) is 'somewhere in Europe'  (she did say something about going to Lictenstein today).

[DDolfelin]

Debs:

Your problem does not compute.

Possible solutions:

Pickfords

New House

Sue whoever put it in the car.

[skipepsi]

Just knock up a trolley that fits through doorways with pneumatic tyres and hitch the collies to the front you push and steer from behind. Simples so much so I expect you have already done it.

 

My Dad not an amazon by any means offloaded a 3cwt crate from his dropside wagon when all the dockers went for a break. Whether it ever got on the right ship after that I don't know... I was only 11 and going to Liverpool after a 3.00 am start was an adventure.

[Adams442T]

Thought this might prove a 'pick me up' for young Debs!

 

[Simon G]

Challenge of the day:

How to get a 3 cwt. metal-cutting bandsaw, down safely out of the pup-mobile, through the house and into the workshop, without the help of lifting gear or another 'Amazon' like myself.

 

........for those whom think that Imperial measures are needlessly confusing: 3 hundredweight is about equal to 3.66 Firkin of ale or beer (but not cider or wine).

Lots of wood to use as levers.  I successfully got an extremely heavy lawn scarifier out of the car onto wooden 'runners' when my back was in a poor state, and it was a doddle.  Using the same principal, I also managed to lift a double oven up to worktop height, using bricks and wooden levers again.  Have also used round lengths of wood to roll an old metal 600 gallon oil tank down the drive for collection - again quite easy with three round fence post type bits of wood. 

[Purley Oaks]

Booked my usual September flight to Chicago, but this time with Virgin and not BA.

Hi Peter

 

We flew Virgin to Chicago this time last year - wonderful flights - but then we were upgraded for the first and probably only times in our lives to Premium Economy, including access to the Virgin lounge at Heathrow which is astonishing - free food, free booze (yes, champagne and malts if you wish), so no wonder it was such a memorable flight.

 

Btw, in more serious mode, did you suffer from any speech problems following your primary school made you switch from being left-handed to right-handed?

 

Mal

[Debs.]

Debs:

Your problem does not compute.

Possible solutions:

Pickfords

New House

Sue whoever put it in the car.

 

It was going 'begging' and I`m a sucker for anything canine (and free)!

[Oldddudders]

Sheena and I agreed to sidestep the relationship issue. She doesn't know Alison has been here twice in the last week, seeking common sense (fat chance). OTOH we found Sheena might take Deb's bike - which I'm not sure she ever got round to riding, is now circa 10 years old, and has seriously flat tyres. I have attempted reflation, but suspect the tubes are well-knackered. Donation seems the best bet, frankly!

 

News from Sherry, who now has the angry daughter, SiL and 4 kids on hand, is not good. After the kids were in bed daughter became increasingly drunk and aggressive, to the point where neither parent could make much sense of her grumpy ramblings. Among other crimes against civilisation, the fact that her sister dared to talk to me on the phone the other week is monumental, apparently. I think she needs help. She will if we ever meet..... I tell Sherry to just get in the car and drive, and if I lived on the same side of the Channel she would, but it is more difficult like this.

[AndyB]

Well, it takes all sorts.

Saw  a post the other day to the effect:

"I know the dirt, I'm special because you lot don't know the dirt, and I'm trustworthy because I won't tell anyone."

Almost by definition I find people who self-promote in that way the least likely person to be trusted. 

I'm guessing the person took their tablets and deleted it a while later. 

 

Virgin Atlantic to Boston once I turned up at LHR having done a middle-of-the-night bottle feed, no doubt looking the worse for wear. 

Perhaps it was the "dad doing his bit" or that they wanted our corporate account, but was told to turn left on boarding.

Very pleasant.

I even had my own room right at the front with a nice big window.....genuinely I spent most of the flight mastering the in-flight entertainment system.   

Jesting aside there was a wine waiter, in-flight massage lass....My only regret was that I'd agreed to be the driver when we got to Boston! 

[bbishop]

My views on flying align with Ian - avoid if at all possible.  However, au contraire, I have equally no interest in cars - learnt to drive in a Marina hatchback (strategically placed matchstick for reversing around the corner) and presently potter around in a Vectra (mutual agreement to 65mph maximum).  Mind you, the Marina could climb, my father taught me hill starts on about a 1 : 3 gradient.

 

Bill

[Pete 75C]

Apparently the cooling towers at Didcot A are due for explosive demolition this Sunday (27th) and I stumbled upon this live webcam link. Then I realised the time of demolition... between 3 and 5 in the morning. Maybe not!

 

http://www.coleman-co.com/news/details.aspx?positionId=485

 

Some things I don't mind getting up early for (F1 etc) but I might give this one a miss and just watch the news video...

[The Stationmaster]

Apparently the cooling towers at Didcot A are due for explosive demolition this Sunday (27th) and I stumbled upon this live webcam link. Then I realised the time of demolition... between 3 and 5 in the morning. Maybe not!

 

http://www.coleman-co.com/news/details.aspx?positionId=485

 

Some things I don't mind getting up early for (F1 etc) but I might give this one a miss and just watch the news video...

I think it might be quite a shock driving down the A4130 to Didcot on Sunday morning as the cooling towers at Didcot A are very prominent in the distance as you come down Gangsdown Hill off the scarp slope of the Chilterns.  Having got used to that distant view over many years it is going to feel quite strange when it goes.

[NGT6 1315]

Ian, I fully sympathise with you and Sherry. It can't be nice to have such ramifications to deal with... I doubt that I can offer you any useful advice, though, as I've never been in quite that kind of situation.