Early Risers.

[brianusa]

22 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

I remember that but can't remember the name. I seem to think that it was advertised in the Meccano  Magazine. I also think that Jane next door had a set but we weren't allowed to pkay with it often as the mortar ran out.

 

 

 

Jamie

 

Brickplayer, I think!

      Brian.

[Andrew P]

It's going to be a long, and I hope exiting night in front of the Box in the corner. Still we have plenty of snacks in and the kettle is always hot, (it was going to be wine, but were saving that to have with a Take away tomorrow night).

I do love Election programs.

Edited December 12, 2019 by Andrew P

[grandadbob]

Our visitors came after lunch , stayed, drank, ate, drank, laughed, drank, drank* and then went. A good time was had by all. Yours truly has seen off some (possibly more than some) red wine so may well not be sitting in front of the box later watching results but instead will probably be inspecting eyelids. We shall see - or won't see if eyes are closed.

 

*Apart from the designated driver who didn't drink anything apart from tea.

[jamie92208]

Back home from a very pleasant evening at a friends house. I had an orange juice and a modicum of scottish medecine. Beth was on the g&t's but only 2 of them.  She's off to bed. I'just put a couple more logs on the fire and am settling in for a few hours of telly watching.  Hope that Ian has got safely to the land of Fawlty Towers.

 

Jamie

[Ozexpatriate]

10 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

May I ask why folk leave California?  I would expect the other way around.

How long do you have Neil?

 

Los Californios* will tell you there is no better place in the world but this is something they need to tell themselves every day to convince themselves that staying is not madness.

 

* Technically this term refers only to locally born Hispanic residents of the colonial period, but I am applying it to all Californians.

 

California is a remarkable place. It contains many stunningly beautiful places. The weather can be very nice. It has an interesting history and a culture influenced by diversity and creativity. It's easy to see why people want to be there. Having lived there (in my case for five years) it became a nice place to be from. I lived in Orange County in a planned community. It was very pleasant but inhabited by "Stepford wife" personalities (and not just the females) that prided themselves that no where else could possibly be as pleasant. In no other place have I seen "keeping up with the Jones" as much as California. When I lived there (the late 1980s) this was all about having a German car with a built in car phone. (My boss had both.) Now it's probably about a Tesla and the latest Apple products.

 

Meanwhile the population exploded and exploded. There are many fantastic things to do but most of them involve spending hours and hours in traffic where the scenery on the sides of the highway (strip malls, industry and housing developments) does not vary very much for as long as you drive. The suburban San Francisco Bay area (including the south bay and east bay) is little different.

 

As you might imagine with populations this large (37M, more than half the UK), politics are complex.  Metro areas like LA (13M) SF (4.7M) and San Diego (3.3M) tend to concentrate this population. (For comparison, greater London has a population of 9M.) There is a big rural / urban divide. California agriculture is very significant with most of the garden vegetables and nuts supplied to the US coming from California. The politics of water are fierce and have been for a century. If you recall the movie Chinatown you will recognize this.

 

One could apply Samuel Johnson's comment "Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford" to California. I find London a nice place to visit, but I think it would be strenuous to live there. The same could be said of California.

[Ozexpatriate]

7 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

to the land of Fawlty Towers

Torquay ...

Quote

When I pay for a view, I expect something more interesting than that.

 

[New Haven Neil]

I suppose my thoughts were towards the climate, and age.  Entering the age of arthritis myself, somewhere a little warmer and dryer would be nice, but the winters here are mild compared to the north-east of the UK where we used to live.  It's all relative.  I'd be a snowbird I suppose, given the monies to do so - but in my case off to New Zealand, November to March!

[Tony_S]

We had a nice meal in the hotel “bistro “. The lounge looks like it could be the location for the final scene in an Agatha Christie story. I will watch some of the election results programme tonight but won’t be up all night.

I was surprised how quickly the rain turned to snow as we drove along the A66. The road even got slushy for a short distance. I did put the car in snow mode as I haven’t needed it before. I just wanted to see if it made the car react like it did on the Freelander. 
Tony

 

 

[Ozexpatriate]

3 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

Entering the age of arthritis myself, somewhere a little warmer and dryer would be nice

California is warmer and dryer. Many US snowbirds find their way to Arizona. The problem there is that it is so hot for nine months that you pretty much live in air-conditioned isolation for that time.

 

Might I suggest Perth, (the one in Western Australia)?

 

Edited December 12, 2019 by Ozexpatriate

[81C]

Sh!t day, nuff said, PAH, feck, damn and bum. 

                                                                                              I.M. Pisstoff.

[New Haven Neil]

3 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

California is warmer and dryer. Many US snowbirds find their way to Arizona. The problem there is that it is so hot for nine months that you pretty much live in air-conditioned isolation for that time.

 

Might I suggest Perth, (the one in Western Australia)?

 

 

For some reason, that Perth has a reputation here of being a place where people go to, er,disappear for a while.  Like Hotblack Desiato, spending a year dead for tax reasons!

[TheSignalEngineer]

3 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Some years ago my Uncle had one knock on his door (Liberals?) - one of their policies at the time was getting people to transfer over to public transport.

He engaged them in conversation, acting interested etc. etc.  Then the conversation went something likes this:

Uncle:  "So whereabouts do you live?"

Canvasser:  " Er, Findon"

Uncle:  "So that'll be the Number 57 bus then?"

Canvasser:  "Er, I'm not sure"

Uncle:  " So how did you get here today?"

Canvasser:  "By Car"

 

Lamb to the Slaughter......

Sounds a bit like an occasion just after my father retired from his first career. He answered the door and two well dressed gents stood there. Have you a Bible in your house asked the older one.

Yes, Dad said, is there any particular version and passage you would like to discuss? He was on holiday from studying at theological college for his second career at the time.

They always walked past our house after that.

Edited December 12, 2019 by TheSignalEngineer

[tigerburnie]

G'night, no politicking for me...……………….

[Tony_S]

18 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

For some reason, that Perth has a reputation here of being a place where people go to, er,disappear for a while.  Like Hotblack Desiato, spending a year dead for tax reasons!

“that Perth”. Matthew came home from junior school really cross that his teacher had called him a stupid boy for suggesting that the best way to transport a piece of machinery weighing about a ton to Perth ( in late 19th century ) from London. He suggested a train and then horse drawn wagon. She said he needed a ship. She hadn’t even considered the one in Scotland. 

[AndyID]

1 hour ago, New Haven Neil said:

May I ask why folk leave California?  I would expect the other way around.

 

We lived there from 2000 to 2006 but the plan was always to come back here to retire. Some parts of CA are very pleasant but a lot of it is horrible. Unless you have an awful lot of money you're not likely to be in a nice part.

 

Biggest problems are too many people, many of whom are just one paycheck from insolvency, high taxation and rather oppressive regulations.

For example, if I wanted to work on my car I had to do it in the garage with the door closed.

 

We much prefer it here although the Winters can be a bit taxing, but nothing like those experienced by our correspondent in Minnesota. IMO it's hard to beat a snowy day reading a book beside a blazing fire. One of the best things about here is just how quiet it is, particularly at this time of year. We missed that a lot when we lived in CA.

[leopardml2341]

G'mornin....... G'night.

 

What happened in-between I have no idea.

[brianusa]

2 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

May I ask why folk leave California?  I would expect the other way around.

 

It was a great place in the sixties, things were normal then.  The town we lived in Sonoma County was the typical American small town, just like in the pictures; it was featured once in Hitchcock movie once.   None of what would become 'homelessness' then, the nearest thing were 'hobos'.  It was a pleasant place to live then.  When we left (fled?) it had virtually doubled in size with houses, malls, new roads and new houses which led to more people and inevitably more crime.  The only advantage was that our house raised 'silly money' which enabled us to move to another American small town in WA state which sadly is showing the same trends as the previous domicile, which itself will generate more silly money.

      Brian.

[Dave Hunt]

1 hour ago, TheSignalEngineer said:

Sounds a bit like an occasion just after my father retired from his first career. He answered the door and two well dressed gents stood there. Have you a Bible in your house asked the older one.

Yes, Dad said, is there any particular version and passage you would like to discuss? He was on holiday from studying at theological college for his second career at the time.

They always walked past our house after that.

 

Mate of mine had a knock at the door and found a couple of smartly dressed American gentlemen who asked whether he gave much thought to his spiritual wellbeing. "Ah!", he said, "I know who you are - you're the morons aren't you?" In the time it took them to recover he said goodbye and closed the door.

 

I did think about staying up to watch the election results come in but on reflection I have a good book to read, which admittedly is fiction but not as unbelievable as our politicians.

 

Have a good night and for those who are about to watch the Noddy goes to Westminster show, may your God go with you may your blood pressure remain within limits.   

 

Dave

[bbishop]

One is not amused.  Bill

[newbryford]

If you mean the C4 alternative election special - then I agree

 

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. I've managed to avoid the politics today and I intend to keep doing so until tomorrow when the dust has settled.

2 hours ago, brianusa said:

 

Brickplayer, I think!

      Brian.

Thanks Brian, thats the one that I had. I Googled it and discovered that it was introduced as early as 1938 but in a larger scale (1/27). It was reintroduced in the late 40's in 1/48 scale and production ceased about 1960. It was made by Spears, better known for board games (Ludo, Snakes and ladders.) The roofing for the Brickplayer was made of the same glossy coated board as used in the games. Now to catch up on the rest of RMweb.

[Barry O]

Goodnight all.....

Baz

[Dave Hunt]

12 minutes ago, bbishop said:

One is not amused.  Bill

 

Hope I haven't offended you Bill.

 

Dave

[PeterBB]

4 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

Evening.

 

It can get mighty snowy and blowy on the A66, Tony!  Driven over there in some of the deepest snow I have motored in.   Terrified of getting stuck.

 

 

The first time I drove along this road I thought I had it wrong as it was single track ... yes the snow was piled high.  These days I would not touch conditions like this, although I had driven up from London en route to Oban at he time.  Crumbs just realised that this was well over 50 years ago.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Well I managed to get the Christmas decorations put up outside the front door, before the heavens opened up. So I decamped to the kitchen, put the kettle on (it didn’t suit me) and made myself muggertea No2, which I took into the dining room where I sat at the table and played on the laptop. I was still playing on it when Sheila got back from her Zumba class just after 12:30. Other than that, not a lot else has been done.

 

 Goodnight all