Early Risers.

[iL Dottore]

Morning All,

 

I note that not a few ERs are happy (and sometimes worried) dog owners, so much so I wonder if we are imposing too much matters canine on our paw fellow ERs (or am I, once again, barking up the wrong tree?). But even so they are unlikely to unleash the dogs-of-war on us dog-owners. Although some of us can be accused of turning short tails into shaggy dog stories (including yours truly. What can I say? It's a fair cop, I've had me collar felt).

 

Unlike some other threads on RMWeb, there's no pack mentality here, in fact this thread is pretty much the mutt's nuts of the site, full of purebred types. In fact, as long as we muzzle any propensity towards incoherent growling of topics forbidden, the incessant gnawing away at a bone of contention or the constant whining about models not produced, and providing we remain properly house-trained (thanks Andy Y), then the fur won't fly (unlike on other threads). Not that this means we roll-over and play-dead, far from it....

 

Well, I've got to dash now, iD has just heard His Master's Voice and must lope off....

[skipepsi]

Morning all, already sent one post to oblivion nothing vital in it anyway. Ian I did have the thought you may be able to get the hedge layed by some aged Frenchman for a few cartons of cigs? 

[AndyB]

Morning all,

 

Sounds like a day 'on the halls' with that once well known comic Nosmo King and the good deeds of Herr Stihl (who strims here every now & then).

 

Anyway to more serious stuff for Trev, and in no particular order - the Cumbrian Coast (make sure you go all the way from Carnforth via Barrow (inland there) to Carlisle, superb mix of scenery both inland and on the sea side; Ferryside to Carmarthen on the mainline to Fishguard etc, estuarial but still interesting and a bit if slightly distant seaside before you reach Ferryside; ECML north of Newcastle, clifftop spectacular plus the Royal Border Bridge and superb views of Berwick;  along the coast to Dover - going through the white cliffs as well as alongside them;  Fort William - Mallaig although the best coastal bit is the relatively short stretch with a good view of the white sands of Morar, the rest of the journey is mainly just ordinary spectacular.

 

There are probably some more which don't immediately come to mind - and of them all I rate the Cambrian line north of Dovey Jcn (sea one side, mountains the other plus a few rather nice castles to add some spice), the Devon coast, the Cumbrian Coast, and the ECML north of Newcastle.

 

I think we might be going to waitrose today - the grated cheese we bought last week, in the fridge since then, never opened, has started going an interesting shade of furry blue.

 

Havea  good day one & all.

 

Last time I was in Ferryside it was for a funeral. 

"We're a man down", says the funeral director. "Would you mind stepping in?"

"Who are you missing? Provided it's not the deceased, I'm game."

I may add pallbearer to my linkedin profile someday. 

 

The verger had a very loud singing voice and during one hymn he was separated from his hymn book whilst he lit candles at each end of the coffin.

On returning to his pew he picked up the hymn where he thought it had got to.

For several awkward minutes the congregation battled with the out-of-step verger for vocal supremacy. And lost!  

 

I also remember the cafe at Ferryside whilst visiting an elderly relative who lived in the village. Taking my young children in there for lunch one day with my other-worldly-aged second-cousin we were approached by a local woman with the air of a long-lost friend and started to tell a joke which was delivered with a punchline which consisted of some words we needed to very quickly gloss over in front of our children!

My O-W-A-2nd cousin turns to us and said:

"Did you know that woman?"

"No, we thought she came over because she knew you!"

[Oldddudders]

Morning all, already sent one post to oblivion nothing vital in it anyway. Ian I did have the thought you may be able to get the hedge layed by some aged Frenchman for a few cartons of cigs? 

Well, I do have a resource lined up, but like me, Malcolm doesn't like heights, so a Stihl with a long extension may help us both. Yes, Malcolm is English, from the NW, has a rather posher house than mine (not saying much) - but he and Norma will do gardening tasks for 15 euros an hour, which is darned cheap. They provide a garden maintenance service to several of the Anglais here, including Grant & Gillian, who now live in their native Scotland again, but have a large house here in several acres. it is Grant's long-reach Stihl that Malcolm has used and recommends - having bought a cheap copy and not been impressed.

 

One of this year's phenomena is the bounteous fruit crop. Never seen so many apples, and the elderly soft-fruit tree, which Alison thinks is greengage, has snapped a couple of big branches due to overload. If and when she can work for me again - relations with partner are now beyond awful, and the police say that if they are called again they'll take the kids into care - she will have loads of fruit for her pigs just lying about on the lawn.

[Adams442T]

Idly looked at Amazon for an item.  I mostly use it for prices and reviews these days as I generally prefer to support my local bookshop on the 'use it or lose it' principle.

 

Their 'recommendations' are I think getting more bizarre by the minute.  A Kensington Smart-Fit cooling stand available for 12/13/14/15/15.6/16/17" laptops and tablets.  Recommended because I bought some travelling shaving cream from them about 9 months ago................................

[Rugd1022]

The trouble with having an Amazon account is it becomes addictive, I've currently got over three hundred items in my shopping basket 'on decision'! There's no chance of me buying them all in one hit (my other half would have kittens, as would our postie no doubt) but I find I'm constantly shuflfing things from 'basket' to 'save for later' and back again, or deleting items only to put them back in the basket days or weeks later. Getting distrated by other suggested items along the way doesn't help, but it can sometimes be very rewarding  as I've recently come across some excellent long forgotten films and taken the odd chance on some newly discovered gems, especially European stuff which I'm getting into more and more these days.

 

It's windy out - time for soup. Blimey, the nights will be drawing in soon....

Edited July 31, 2014 by Rugd1022

[45156]

Is the Cambrian Coast line actually open throughout? I thought the bridgeworks at wherever north of Harlech had gone askew, and trains were still not performing?

Cambrian was closed when I last checked, but the Cumbrian is open, albeit a very slow journey to Carlisle!

 

Dog did need toenails clipped, which is, luckily, not a serious issue, hence a bill of a tenner - but if I did it and caused a bleed, then I'd be looking at a much higher bill, for sure.

 

I'm following the niece's progress on Flightradar 24 which is a very clever site which is followed by several on here - she's flying with Mr Branson on one of his 747s.  BA flight preceeding is the BA flight to Vegas, and is a 777 - I know which I'd prefer - no competition - 4 engines every time for me - I always remember an aviation buff who said that EROPS meant engines run or passengers swim!  At this moment, she's about 25 miles East of me which is odd - though she's at 32,000 feet doing about 550 mph.

Edited July 31, 2014 by 45156

[Debs.]

Deb, I didn't know you have synesthesia.  I have often wondered if I have a mild form as certain numbers and days of the week, I see as a particular colour. On a completely unrelated tack, I have, since childhood, also been able to say most words backwards, virtually instantaneously.

 

Almost certainly you do....the grapheme-colour synesthesia (the colour/word/number association) is quite common. I too grew up with the party trick of being able to reverse words, so that too may be related to some aspect of synesthesia.

Synesthesia in general,  is possibly more common that one might imagine, I recall discussing several years ago, mentioning over dinner (with strangers) the indigo-hue I see pervading my vision when feeling sad, and one fellow diner piped-up with; "doesn`t everybody feel in colours, then?"

It`s a fascinating subject and synesthesia raises some profound sensory questions about how and what we really perceive about our world. 

[martin_wynne]

No orange army here. I'm sure that when I watched this in 1969 I didn't notice anything amiss. Now the lack of hard hats and goggles, the general public standing a yard away watching, and fingers inches from being crushed had me wincing all the way through: 

 

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00sc29t/how-they-dug-the-victoria-line

 

Perhaps it was an ad for Elastoplast?

 

Martin.

[martin_wynne]

Morning all, already sent one post to oblivion

 

Ctrl+A, Ctrl+C, Post. Oblivion? Count up to 10, Ctrl+V, Post.

[The Lurker]

I see, Only the words are backwards, One doesn't have to read backwards, i.e. from right to left!

The ancient Greeks originally wrote boustrephedon fashion (lit "as he ox ploughs"), left to right then right to left on alternate rows.

[The Lurker]

The last time I went up the Monument, it was just a staircase and a restricted view.

Can't see what there was to be refurbished really. Perhaps a little metalwork?

Stairs.

 

There are a lot of them and they had become worn away.

 

It was closed for quite a while IIRC.

 

Edit - to add a d to close

Edited July 31, 2014 by The Lurker

[45156]

Am I the only person who was amazed that Chris Evans' listening figures have increased - he just grates with me every time I see and hear him!

 

Oh and HELP - can anybody suggest a way of getting rid of the smell of Jeyes fluid from the two bins that I've treated - I've flushed and flushes with the hosepipe and the Karcher to no avail.

[station cat]

Bung something of equally strong but far nicer fragrance into them?

[Ian Abel]

...My niece flies to Las Vegas and on to Seattle today, and has decided that on her return next week to come straight from Heathrow to extend her holiday with us - better her than me - a flight from Seattle to Minneapolis...

Ahhh, Delta then for the return, I'll wave to her as she flies over the house here The Minneapolis flight leaves at 10:02PM local time here, used to leave much ealrier when it was Northwest which I preferred as it got you in to the UK in the morning around 7-8AM rather than Noon. Time you get there now, through customs and on to a car rental or train, you've lost most of the day <sigh>

 

...Blimey, the nights will be drawing in soon....

Soon??? We've already lost about 25 minutes evening light since the 1st of July, it really seems to be closing in fast here already...

 

 

Our Anniversary today - and we both looked at each other and said "is it 32???", which it indeed is, not sure if it's good or bad not to remember how many years, at least we both thought it was funny

 

Another lovely day here in Minnesota, 16 and heading for a pleasant 26+ with clear skies and a light breeze. Perfect for those who don't have to work!

 

Pity about Eastbourne pier, as already stated, haven't they yet figured out to provide some additional fire prevention/fighting methods and equipment for these remaining icons - it's not as if they haven't had a few "reminders" recently??

 

Enjoy the day everyone

[45156]

Bung something of equally strong but far nicer fragrance into them?

Any idea what - I'm at my wits end...

[Simon G]

Congratulations Ian on your Anniversary!

[BoD]

Any idea what - I'm at my wits end...

 

.......  Rachmaninoff's  2nd and Garlic?

[southern42]

Is the Cambrian Coast line actually open throughout? I thought the bridgeworks at wherever north of Harlech had gone askew, and trains were still not performing?

 

Definitely closed to Porthmadog and Pwllheli - [Edit.  From Barmouth]

 

Continued - seems I pressed the send button instead of full editor.

 

Some of you may remember this from the other day - note the rusted rails due to lack of use, though it looks as though the weedkiller train has passed through.

 

To re-open by September according to this: http://www.modern-railways.com/view_article.asp?ID=8038

 

Today.

No photos of Menai Strait Regatta - we BOTH forgot to pick up our phones.

That's a first. Ah well.

So, instead, I'll post a couple I took yesterday of the keel boats, dinghies and support boats in the dock - when I've sorted them out.

 

Polly.

Edited July 31, 2014 by southern42

[laurenceb]

Happy anniversary Ian

Laurence

[The Stationmaster]

Any idea what - I'm at my wits end...

Bleach might work  but I suspect you'll need a fair bit before you add water and then flush it away.

[Coombe Barton]

Jeyes fluid is a petroleum based disinfectant. Paraffin may dissolve it, but you then have the task of disposing of the paraffin.

 

Try the data sheets at the end of http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeyes_Fluid

Edited July 31, 2014 by Coombe Barton

[southern42]

Menai Strait Regatta boats in Victoria Dock, Caernarfon

 

 

 

 

In the absence of any sailing shots from me, there are some of previous regattas here:

http://www.menaistraitregattas.org.uk/

 

Tomorrow, another race at Caernarfon then the boats will head back for the Port DinorwicTown Races on Saturday, Menai Bridge for Monday's races before returning to Beaumaris for the rest of the week.

 

Then, from the 9th - 17th August there is the Conwy River Festival and another assortment of yachts and motor boats racing in the bay off the west side Llandudno.

 

 

 

[southern42]

Any idea what - I'm at my wits end...

 

How about Febreze.  That's supposed to absorb smells, I believe.

[Debs.]

Jeyes fluid must be like Marmite; `folks either love it or hate it ...........................I quite like its scent (like the carbolic soap we had at Prep. School) and evidently it`s also very good for treating Dropsy!