Early Risers.

[Tony_S]

Morning all,

 

Our eldest and her husband have three children, the eldest, a boy, is at LSE and the cost is horrendous, especially when you add in the living cost element in central London. Both their girls are at public school and look like following in their brothers footsteps as they are excelling at every level.

Jock.

Many young people will be starting their working life with significant debt and possibly trying to raise the money for somewhere to live. I had no tuition fees and a full grant and managed to find holiday jobs too. Matthew did think about living at home and commuting to the LSE but the season ticket v accommodation cost soon came down to living in London. He is in the library until closing time at midnight frequently anyway. He is very concerned about having employment next year and is looking at various graduate entry schemes. He has been to a few job conventions. He has noted that some companies do not present themselves well at all.

Tony

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

... He has noted that some companies do not present themselves well at all...

 

I hope you have checked that he realises that this is spelled 'opportunity'. The best career advice I ever had as a very young man was 'head towards the smoke'; i.e. where the trouble is. Establish a reputation for mucking in and being part of the solution, and it can take you places.

[Barry O]

 

Now off to put on some appalling BO, find our largest rucksack, and head for CakeWycrail.

 

Have a nice day one & all

Heyup Mike... since when was I a clothing manufacturer???

 

disgruntled of Leeds

[Donw]

Morning all. It rained heavily last night but clear skies at the moment, rain forecast for later. Odd what you start thinking about when you have too much time on your hands but here goes. My wife and I were in a small restaurant enjoying our meal when a woman on another table started snapping her fingers to draw the attention of the waiter. I thought that was extremely demeaning, although a waiter did go to her. I would have ignored her had she done it to me. If we have a problem with a meal and a waiter is not nearby I would get up and find one. So what do you more sophisticated types think, is it acceptable or not?

 

Rather rude not just to the staff but also to nearby diners. I have stopped a waiter passing by and said 'when you have a minute please'. Mind you years ago when towing a motorbike and sidecar with my outfit we stopped at a little chef (or similar) and had a meal but couldn't find the waitress to pay. It was very busy so we stood up and loudly said 'If you don't want our money we might as well go' Other waitresses looked but did nothing so the six of us slowly ambled out expecting it to produce some reaction but it never did.

Don

[travelintrev]

Afternoon all,   disaster come coffee time this morning as the biscuit (aka Cookie) tin was empty!   Nothing for it but a twenty minute walk to the supermarket to replenish stocks... (cant survive without Ginger biscuits !)  Trouble was the temperature was around 32c with a real-feel of 40c....but I survived.  And to reward myself made a bacon butty for my lunch.  Now an afternoon nap is called for  - as the sky has darkened and thunder is forecast. 

 

 

Enjoy your afternoon,

 

Trev.

[shortliner]

Tony - your impressions of the HUDL2 please - I read a review yesterday that gave the impression, indeed actually said in their conclusion, that despite a couple of small issues with battery life and one of the cameras - it was the best value for money tablet available currently in UK - a user s opinion would be good

[Pete 75C]

Rather rude not just to the staff but also to nearby diners. I have stopped a waiter passing by and said 'when you have a minute please'. Mind you years ago when towing a motorbike and sidecar with my outfit we stopped at a little chef (or similar) and had a meal but couldn't find the waitress to pay. It was very busy so we stood up and loudly said 'If you don't want our money we might as well go' Other waitresses looked but did nothing so the six of us slowly ambled out expecting it to produce some reaction but it never did.

Don

 

Rudeness is cheap but manners cost nothing at all. I would always wait until someone passes and, like Don, just say "when you have a moment". Probably also ensures my creme brulee arrives without any additional "toppings".

Edited November 1, 2014 by Pete 75C

[Killybegs]

Afternoon all,   disaster come coffee time this morning as the biscuit (aka Cookie) tin was empty!   Nothing for it but a twenty minute walk to the supermarket to replenish stocks... (cant survive without Ginger biscuits !)  Trouble was the temperature was around 32c with a real-feel of 40c....but I survived.  And to reward myself made a bacon butty for my lunch.  Now an afternoon nap is called for  - as the sky has darkened and thunder is forecast. 

 

 

Enjoy your afternoon,

 

Trev.

 

I have to make a concious effort to not attack the biscuit tin as once I start I can't stop. It's the one discipline that really does help me keep the weight down!

 

John

[Smiffy2]

I hope you have checked that he realises that this is spelled 'opportunity'. The best career advice I ever had as a very young man was 'head towards the smoke'; i.e. where the trouble is. Establish a reputation for mucking in and being part of the solution, and it can take you places.

I always used to tell my team the Napoleon dictum, "March to the sound of the guns".

 

Afternoon all. Been up for ages, watching F1 Practice from yesterday, reading and cursing this damned toothache which has come back. Looks like I might be in for the wisdom extraction after all.  I had my top wisdoms taken out in my twenties, in Cheam, and had to get the bus back home. As my mouth was anaesthetised (you got about a quarter of an hour's recovery time) I mumbled and stumbled telling the conductor what ticket I wanted, which lead to an older lady saying to her companion, "Still, it's nice they let them out on their own, isn't it?" Pity I couldn't reply. How attitudes have changed (I hope).

 

Doing major reorganisation work in kitchen and utility today, along the lines of 'if it hasn't been used for years, out it goes!' I hope Julie never applies that logic to me...

 

Trick or Treaters - we had a number, all little and all shepherded by parents. There was one little toddler who seemed rather confused about the whole thing but cheered up when given a packet of chocolate buttons. All in disguise (some excellent vampires this year) and all beautifully behaved and mannered. Even two 10-year old boys, who seemed embarrassed to be doing the whole thing (they took Mars Bars!). And a great visit from Blondie dressed as the White Witch Mistress Tree Blossom. She's hugely excited because her mum is expecting again, so we spent a while on Google and discussing foetuses, placentas and umbilicii. Lovely to see her measuring 9cm (13 weeks) against he mum's bump! I hope all goes well. Blondie is the only one from seven pregnancies, but the hospital are saying that all looks well at this stage (odds of miscarriage 1 in 9000) so we're all hoping. After the terrible trauma of Lol's birth it will be nice if it goes well. The family deserves a bit of luck, but I know it doesn't work like that. In the words of Steve McQueen (Le Mans) "Sh*t happened to you today. That doesn't mean it won't happen to you tomorrow". But here's wishing.

 

Best wishes, all. Have a relaxing weekend.

[Tony_S]

Tony - your impressions of the HUDL2 please - I read a review yesterday that gave the impression, indeed actually said in their conclusion, that despite a couple of small issues with battery life and one of the cameras - it was the best value for money tablet available currently in UK - a user s opinion would be good

I had a rummage round the kitchen and found £65 worth of Tesco vouchers and "doubled them up" so it was even better value. Compared to the cameras in an iPad they are not great but are fine for snap shots to send to family.

Things like websites with video work well. My lowly netbook struggled with some shopping websites like John Lewis and Marks and Spencer but this Hudl is fine. This is my first experience of an Android tablet and if this is a cheap one the pricey ones must have some very special features! Adding apps like Facebook and Twitter is easy. I have worked out how to cut and paste Android style and loaded the app to print to my HP printers. I even loaded a free Sonic the Hedgehog game just to see how it coped and Sonic is still too fast for me!

I bought a 32Gb micro SD card to add to the built in storage. That came from Amazon (£13 and despatched from Leipzig for some reason!)

The Kindle app makes my book purchases look more like books than they do on my Kindle.

I think it certainly is good value and I am sure it will also get used as a wireless throttle at some time on my trainset!

If you have any specific queries just ask!

Tony

Sent from my Hudl2

Edited November 1, 2014 by Tony_S

[Tony_S]

 

Hudl camera. Dog colour fairly accurate. Carpet is more brown in reality.

Edited November 1, 2014 by Tony_S

[trisonic]

Line 6 have come up with a Guitar amplifier where the parameters can be controlled remotely by an iPhone. Not only that but if you play a previously recorded “song” through the App it will come up with several suggestions on how the Amp can be set to achieve that particular guitar sound on the amp. The user then runs through the options provided (without touching the amp) and then the chosen one gets set to memory. Great for “Weekend Warrior” or “Wedding” type bands. I heard that tested with the Police’s “Walking on the Moon” - remarkable, really! Very clever how it sort’s out the guitar sound from the rest of the band. 

 

Jock, You have to pay for everything at American Universities, everything! The trick is to play the Scholarship route - right down to the $500.00 annual allowance for playing in their band.......

My wife is good at figuring all this stuff out but even so when she went to Fordham in NYC she still had to pay her way via McDonalds (which put her off hamburgers for life, btw).  

 

We’ve been squirreling away dosh in a special account for Liz since she was born (it has “Tax Breaks” for this purpose).

 

Best, Pete.

[45156]

 a woman on another table started snapping her fingers to draw the attention of the waiter. I thought that was extremely demeaning, although a waiter did go to her. I would have ignored her had she done it to me. If we have a problem with a meal and a waiter is not nearby I would get up and find one. So what do you more sophisticated types think, is it acceptable or not?

No - that is unacceptable under any circumstances, I worked as a waiter in a four star hotel in my gap year, and then an irate customer started the finger snapping act, the maitre d' came over, lifted the table cloth, and called in a heavy Italian accent, "Here boy, here boy" - and when the offending diner (female) asked what he was doing, answered very politely and in a deadpan delivery "I thought you had lost your dog, madam".

 

Afternoon All

 

I think that a trip to town on the bus was a bad idea, as I'm pretty tired now, and just fancy flopping in front of the TV, so having caught up, and offering some generic greetings, I'll say

Reagrds to All

Stewart

Edited November 1, 2014 by 45156

[shortliner]

Thank you Tony - Having another users view is always, I think, better than simply having the view of a professional reviewer - ( when you never know what "incentives" might have been given)

Edited November 1, 2014 by shortliner

[NGT6 1315]

Leoliner prototype 1302:

 

 

First time I've seen one of the prototypes after their refurbishment. Since the original couplers fitted to them have become unobtainium, they have been equipped such that only the rear end of 1302 and the front end of 1301 have a fully functional coupler, while the opposite ends have a towing coupler only.

[SouthernRegionSteam]

As you all know i've worked out the back of a restaurant/pub for 2 years until 2 weeks ago. The few times I helped out in the restaurant it was a 50/50 split between the lovely everyday people, and complete asshats who thought the world revolved around them. We had a private outdoor function a month ago, even though I had 100s of plates to wash up, I was asked to take more outside, as soon as I got outside someone shouted "At last!" (and not in a joking way). I nearly lost it - I had to go into the car park for 10 mins to calm down. There are a lot of people who want to watch the world burn...

[SouthernRegionSteam]

P.s. Pub staff are some of the lowest paid people who have one of the worst jobs... think about that before you are rude. If it's busy, and they're understaffed - who's fault is that? Not theirs!

[NGT6 1315]

I fully sympathise, Jam. Such folks as you described should be sent far away to a remote island and their boats sunk once they're there. Failing that...

 

 There are a lot of people who want to watch the world burn...

 

 

...I wonder if it might be better to burn them first before they burn the world...

[Tony_S]

Other customers being rude to staff can spoil the "eating out experience " for others. I for instance was fairly content with the food on our Baltic cruise but some people complained about everything. Someone told me that there are people who complain about everything hoping they will get offered a discount on future holidays.

Aditi has had to put up with much rudeness since taking up her new post. Some students seem to think being aggressive is a good way to start sorting out their problem.

[SouthernRegionSteam]

Other customers being rude to staff can spoil the "eating out experience " for others. I for instance was fairly content with the food on our Baltic cruise but some people complained about everything. Someone told me that there are people who complain about everything hoping they will get offered a discount on future holidays.

Aditi has had to put up with much rudeness since taking up her new post. Some students seem to think being aggressive is a good way to start sorting out their problem.

You are quite right, Tony. We've had a few regular customers who always complain at the food just to get it free, or money taken off. Some people really will try anything!

Ones that stick in my mind (you couldn't make these up!):

> One lady wanted money off because her Beef Curry was too "Beefy"...

> Another lady wanted money off because her soup was cold (despite being steaming hot all the way through)...

> One man complained that the Fish Pie was too...wait for it.... yep, you guessed it - "too fishy"!

 

Edit: I might also add, in each of these cases, they all finished their meals!

Edited November 1, 2014 by SouthernRegionSteam

[New Haven Neil]

Portillo was out and about this afternoon on the Electric train up the mountain.

The view from the top was about two feet.

 

 

It's been like that nearly all week!  We had a Japanese TV channel here filming their own version of the Portillo programme, they came to Groudle on Wednesday which was the only sunny day!!  Getting a crew together for a Wednesday wasn't easy, they seemed to miss the fact we're volunteers and have day jobs. 

[New Haven Neil]

Oh yeah, the evening out with my old DI boss was a hoot, he was entertaining the whole place as usual once he had a beer on board.  Great evening, really enjoyed it.

 

Edit - we didn't snap our fingers once at the staff, who were therefore attentive and well tipped.  Really, some people......I'm with Jam!

 

 

Today has been mostly running errands and assembling a new guest bed, the weather has gone right off now, windy and wet, quite nasty really.

Edited November 1, 2014 by New Haven Neil

[Debs.]

Other customers being rude to staff can spoil the "eating out experience " for others.

 

I recall many years ago being in a rather swish (for America!) restaurant and having to endure the quite nauseating antics of a 'brat' (circa 9 years old) whist his clearly doting-parents ignored his appalling behaviour: which included shouting at table-staff like they were slaves, throwing food/beverages at the waitress (and passing customers), calling to diners using derogatory racist names and so-much more!....I`d never seen or heard anything quite like it!!!!

The whole restaurant was like a pressure-cooker of discontent; with much grinding of teeth, fidgeting and muttering from nearly every other customer and the staff seemed nervous of what to do about the situation...........until one fellow could stand no-more; he rose to his feet and from his table some 30ft. distant, he bellowed stentorially at the miscreant family: "Shut that God-damned brat, up!" 

 

......there was a spontaneous round of collective applause.........and the maitre-D strode over (with renewed confidence) and hurriedly-shepherded the family out.

[bbishop]

 "Shut that God-damned brat, up!"

 

 

That is truly appalling.  How could someone speak like that?  That man should have been escorted out immediately!  I mean, finishing a sentence with a preposition.

 

Spent this afternoon making removable coal loads for mineral wagons.  Waiting for the end of the Scummer game, then off to the Southbank for Mahler 2.  Cr4p seat, but what do you expect for £12.

 

Edit - One - nil

 

Bill

Edited November 1, 2014 by bbishop

[iL Dottore]

... My wife and I were in a small restaurant enjoying our meal when a woman on another table started snapping her fingers to draw the attention of the waiter. I thought that was extremely demeaning, although a waiter did go to her. I would have ignored her had she done it to me. If we have a problem with a meal and a waiter is not nearby I would get up and find one. So what do you more sophisticated types think, is it acceptable or not?

Well that - in the opinion of my well mannered wife - marks that woman out (at very best) as "pig ignorant" (and that's a slur on pigs). If that woman thinks it's the done thing because she has money, then she hasn't met the really rich and powerful. I've known a few through work and unfailingly they are well mannered and polite. The done thing is to just raise a finger, and the waiter/waitress will come when they can

...As usual Mrs Stationmaster's porch decorating efforts were greatly appreciated while we introduced one little pair of visitors, and their mum, to our special magic cat with thumbs - they were suitably impressed.

 

So here we are with decorated porch by day and by night plus a picture of said magic cat showing one of his thumbs..

From his expression, the "magic cat" seems less than impressed, no matter the quality of the decorations. This year, fortunately, we were free of any egging by the local "YOOF". Perhaps having Schotty and Lucy got up as rabies-flecked Werewolves saved our bacon?

....Dog colour fairly accurate. Carpet is more brown in reality.

Dog colour looks OK to me, so does dog. Robbie looks quite the aristocrat languishing on the sofa...(edit, was looking at wrong picture)

No - that is unacceptable under any circumstances, I worked as a waiter in a four star hotel in my gap year, and then an irate customer started the finger snapping act, the maitre d' came over, lifted the table cloth, and called in a heavy Italian accent, "Here boy, here boy" - and when the offending diner (female) asked what he was doing, answered very politely and in a deadpan delivery "I thought you had lost your dog, madam"....

I love it. I've always found that if you treat people with courtesy (with a touch of humor), then you get treated well back. Once, just by expressing sympathy to a airline check in girl, who had just dealt with a very rude and unpleasant passenger, I was upgraded to First!

On another note, it's two weeks since we collected Lucy from the animal shelter, and though she remains woefully thin (despite her enthusiastic participation in her "put on weight" diet), she is starting to loose the haunted look she had when we first got her. She still is hyper alert at times, but she doesn't startle or flinch so readily, now.

Well, have a great Saturday evening fellow denizens of ER. I have to finish drying strips of liver into cheap and healthy dog snacks and then Mrs iD and I will have supper (potato gnocchi with porcini).

 

iD

Edited November 2, 2014 by iL Dottore