Early Risers.

[The Lurker]

Well I tried to post the following yesterday but my system crashed. Fortunately it has all been rememberd:

 

"Greetings all from a damp Sidcup. Work has been very busy, and so no time to go back and catch up - but i do note that Sharon has been awarded her PhD so congratulations there.

 

This is another at school week for Mrs Lurker and Younger Lurker but tomorrow is his penultimate day. He should have been in for 4 days the week after next but apparently so many parents complained that the children who were in the second weekly slot would get one less week that the head has decided that both lots can come in that week..for one day each! The amount of complaining that has gone on has driven the head barmy - they provide packed lunches for the KS1 kids (as they would have been entitled to school meals). One girl in particular does not eat and loudly complains about that and everything else. Protocol is that nothing goes home from school so uneaten lunch goes in the bin. She threw a strop and the Mum complained to the head, who is so fed up she gave in. So protocol broken for a 5 year old behaving like a two year old. I guess roll on the end of term....!

 

Meanwhile Younger Lurker is keenly anticipating the resumption of Formula 1 this weekend. It will widen his interests from the Indycar and NASCAR that he has also been following - and from watching the virtual racing He has even done a couple of F1 "pub quizzes"!

 

enjoy the rest of your day and stay safe!"

 

and it is dry here now but cool for the time of year. It is still busy but slightly less frantic today. I persuaded the people who wanted phonecalls yesterday evening that first thing today worked much better, and my system is no longer crashed of course. However there is not too much else to report!

[jamie92208]

Greetings, the lost relay is found.

To misquote the good book, "There is more joy in Saleignes over one relay that is found than over 99 that ire safely in the shed" 

After Beth had departed for a Dr's appointment I got some left over roof boards from the shed and set to work.  First off I couldn't go straight across the bit of the loft as the joists ran the wrong way. However I created a safe route round the other three side of the rectangle and after investigating several junction boxes, the lost was found.

The said junction box is  on the far side of this picture under the insulation.

This is the useless article in question.

As I had turned off the circuit breaker before going upstairs I then removed it and insulated the tails.

This afternoon I'm off to buy a new one, and may well have a coffee at the railway station along with cake of some sort. My plan now is to get some conduit and run leads across the loft space so that the relay is more accessible in the future.  A dust mask was essential.

 

Happy days.

 

Jamie

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

It isn’t sunny here but it is quite warm. Someone from Waitrose will be delivering food soon. Amazon are seven stops away from delivering a tube of plastic putty. It should go through the letter box. 
Another package is arriving via Hermes. Normally Hermes deliveries here are fine but this one was originally sent via Packlink on 2 day delivery. It took two days to get to Hermes so 4 days in all (assuming it arrives today). 
Tony

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. The postman has delivered  a couple of subscription magazines, one of which I hadn't subscribed too. I had subscribed to 'Model Collector' magazine but had not received anything last month and this months edition was due about now, in fact I was going to contact them to enquire about it. The magazine that I was not subscribed to, Diecast Collector dropped through the door with an accompanying letter explaining that Model Collector has folded due to the corona virus and that subscriptions had been transferred. Another magazine that I subscribed to has been merged with another from the same publisher so I'm quite happy with that. 

4 hours ago, grandadbob said:

Good morning all,

 

 

P.S. I'm thinking of organising a new union:- The Society Opposing Desecration Of Furry Friends or SODOFF for short!

Thinking of asking  Mr Polybear to act as President  and ChrisF as Secretary.

You will also need a treasurer and I am quite willing to step into that role. Donations please in used banknotes, Sterling, Euro's or US dollars preferably but not Roubles or Zimbabwean dollars. Failing that signed blank cheques, diamonds or gold bullion. 

[TheQ]

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

The use of a vang is really more important where you have a shaped sail that requires battening.  On a flat sail, such as a gaff rig they are less important.  If you've ever sailed a Drascombe with a boomless  mainsail then a vang is missing from the equation.  I never found much of a problem sailing a Drascombe lugger in gusts,  mainsheet  and tiller coordination being far more effective.  Likewise you won't find a vang on a lug rig.  It would be yet another control device to slacken off and the re-tension when going about.  the boomless sail, the gaffer and the lug will all require a downhaul attached to the tack of the sail, or the bottom of the boom  but that is completely different operation to that of a vang.

 

I'd suggest that the real risk of uncontrollable sail lift  comes at the end of a fast run before the wind and then having to gybe and then continuing the run on an opposite tack. On a boat with a rear mounted main traveller there is a large amount of mainsheet to control, so loosing control at the point you gybe could  be quite exciting.   In these circumstances the vang will limit the amount of sail lift.

 

 

Having watched two gaffers approaching each other almost head on BOTH on the run, you knew what was going to happen ...

As one got along side it got a huge windshift the sail went up in the air and came crashing down in the middle of the boat so the crew had to duck as they went head to wind..

 

Not all gaffers are vang less or batten less, see the picture below.. Number 123 is the type that were heading towards each other, but the nearer Gaff rigged boat, a Rebel one design has both vang and battens...

 

Some other  (rare) gaffers have a vang  to the gaff, to stop it dropping away from the desired position, this is the same effect as tightening the vang of a bermudan (triangluar) mainsail to increase the tension on the leech (back end) of the sail stopping drop away to leeward therefore gaining more power from the wind.

Oh the rig I'm trying to use is the same as this, you can see both the battens and vang in the picture

Edited July 2, 2020 by TheQ

[TheQ]

1 hour ago, jamie92208 said:

Greetings, the lost relay is found.

To misquote the good book, "There is more joy in Saleignes over one relay that is found than over 99 that ire safely in the shed" 

After Beth had departed for a Dr's appointment I got some left over roof boards from the shed and set to work.  First off I couldn't go straight across the bit of the loft as the joists ran the wrong way. However I created a safe route round the other three side of the rectangle and after investigating several junction boxes, the lost was found.

The said junction box is  on the far side of this picture under the insulation.

This is the useless article in question.

As I had turned off the circuit breaker before going upstairs I then removed it and insulated the tails.

This afternoon I'm off to buy a new one, and may well have a coffee at the railway station along with cake of some sort. My plan now is to get some conduit and run leads across the loft space so that the relay is more accessible in the future.  A dust mask was essential.

 

Happy days.

 

Jamie

hmm purple, red and white I guess they have different wiring standards over there..

[Tony_S]

The Amazon delivery arrived while the Waitrose chaps were here. This wasn’t a problem but they told us it was fun when they and a Sainsbury delivery van arrived  at the same time recently. Some over the road neighbours have Ocado and Waitrose deliveries weekly. They are both very slim, perhaps it is pet food for their cats. Pasta must be back in stock, in fact the bucatini we ordered was on special offer. 
We had a nice surprise this morning. MiL initiated a WhatsApp video call with us. She had wanted to use it but other relatives had told her she was too old to learn it (excuse for not patient enough with her). Aditi did a phone tutorial last week using the landline while giving her Mum instructions. MiL was very pleased, and made a point of telling me I didn’t look ill (I rarely do, which is a problem sometimes!) and that Aditi’s hair looked lovely. Aditi has been having “fringe anxiety”. Unlike John C she isn’t needing a pony tail for the rest of her hair. 
We had a couple of long phone chats yesterday. Aditi’s brother phoned first. It was a day off for him. Actually a day off from working from home. So he was doing child care.  The elder child aged 7 had refused to do her school work and the 4 year old was being very lively. Raj isn’t sure when he will be permitted by the practice manager (Health vulnerability reasons) to return to the surgery not work from home but the practice has a contract with the local crematorium to check paperwork so his first return to working not from home may involve a trip to the local crematorium where social distancing isn’t a problem apparently. 
The other phone call was from our nephew who had just started as a GP in Sussex. His girlfriend also started a new job as a practice nurse just as Covid 19 started. She is now able again to to what she was  appointed to do which is chronic illness patient support. Until recently they were living in Brighton but they now really like living inland in Sussex. Some of their woodland walks have reminded Bianca (nephew Josh’s gf) of where her family (and where she was raised before moving to Italy) farm in Romania. He also said his brother will be arriving from Germany on Tuesday. That nephew has his PhD viva  (via Zoom) next Monday. I am not sure how arrivals via Eurotunnel are treated currently. He was originally going to start a job in Zurich yesterday but negotiated an August start. 
I too have a trip out tomorrow to Canvey Island to have my blood tested prior to an even longer  trip on Tuesday to Leigh on Sea at the nicely named Heart Failure Clinic. 

Tony

[jamie92208]

16 minutes ago, TheQ said:

hmm purple, red and white I guess they have different wiring standards over there..

Yes, white is the live feed to the lights from the relay switch with the red looped from the live feed to the coil. Purple is the neutral feed to the coil from the pushbuttons.  This is all because changeover switches aren't allowed over here so if you need more than 2 switches for a set up lights they use the latching relay arrangement.   Apparently newly wired house have the relays in the consumer unit on a din rail, not in an inaccessible place in the loft.  

 

Jamie

[Happy Hippo]

Looking at the photo posted by The Q, I'd suggest that the two boats in question are not gaff rigged but are both Gunter rigged.  The give away is the sails are more triangular and the sail is attached to a yard which holds the sail, almost vertically, but the top of the yard is much higher than the top of the fixed mast.

 

A gaff rigged boat's mainsail is an irregular quadilateral trapezium!

 

Writing and spelling that last bit hurt my brain

[iL Dottore]

57 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

...You will also need a treasurer and I am quite willing to step into that role. Donations please in used banknotes, Sterling, Euro's or US dollars preferably but not Roubles or Zimbabwean dollars. Failing that signed blank cheques, diamonds or gold bullion. 

All very well and good, but I can provide Swiss Bank Access!

 

Unless "Estuary-Land" is some Carribean Island Inlet

[Erichill16]

5 hours ago, grandadbob said:

 

P.S. I'm thinking of organising a new union:- The Society Opposing Desecration Of Furry Friends or SODOFF for short!

Thinking of asking  Mr Polybear to act as President  and ChrisF as Secretary.

Eric would like to but his name forward for ‘chair bear’

[PhilJ W]

7 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

All very well and good, but I can provide Swiss Bank Access!

 

Unless "Estuary-Land" is some Carribean Island Inlet

There's plenty of offshore islands around Essex, ideal for smuggling.

[TheQ]

25 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Looking at the photo posted by The Q, I'd suggest that the two boats in question are not gaff rigged but are both Gunter rigged.  The give away is the sails are more triangular and the sail is attached to a yard which holds the sail, almost vertically, but the top of the yard is much higher than the top of the fixed mast.

 

A gaff rigged boat's mainsail is an irregular quadilateral trapezium!

 

Writing and spelling that last bit hurt my brain

Don't you be confusin, these Norf'k Bor, they bin havin gaffs, they be gaff rigged, nun of these furrin terms hare Bor..

Edited July 2, 2020 by TheQ

[Happy Hippo]

6 minutes ago, TheQ said:

Don't you be confusin, these Norf'k Bor, they bin havin gaffs, they be gaff rigged, nun of these furrin terms hare Bor..

That's just Normal for Norfolk!

 

They also still persist in calling  a single decker bus a Charabanc.

[Dave Hunt]

4 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Indeed, which is why I was careful to point out that the Smith-Johnson compounds and the Deeley compounds were designed for 100 mile non-stop runs. That did have the consequence that they could no offer the full benefit of compounding once they were relegated from the best expresses. Likewise the Robinson compound atlantics, which were also on the Smith principle.

 

 

One might posthumously take that up with Richard Wagner, whose baltic sustained 125 mph over a considerable distance on the level. But certainly, a well-designed express passenger locomotive must be free-running downhill.

 

And the Compounds' strength when compared with George Vs was their hill climbing capability. The original Johnson engines were specifically designed with 'the long drag' in mind and as Stephen has stated were meant for long (for the day) non- stop runs. When they were finally relegated to stopping trains there were situations where they effectively ran as two-cylinder simples for nearly the whole journey.

 

And I've never heard of a Compound having big end problems.

 

Dave

[Happy Hippo]

14 minutes ago, Erichill16 said:

Eric would like to but his name forward for ‘chair bear’

Please don't forget I am the treasurer for the Central African Sanctuary for Hippos to which donations are always welcome

 

 

[The Stationmaster]

Afternoon all,

 

According to the Exeter wranglers of seaweed we should be having occasional light rain showers -  apparently their definition of 'light' includes 'absolutely hammering down', my education in the meanings of Met Office descriptive terms  has been broadened (very slightly).   And it saves watering the veg patch and might help improve the water level in the water butts - certainly the 'primary' connected buts fed directly off gutters.

 

I'm not a at all sure why 'French (as in SNCF) running conditions should have been translated into '100 mile non-stop running' - the latter was a feature of train running on more than one English main line railway and didn't always involve compound engines.  SNCF operating and running conditions were considerably different from the way things were done in Britain and in many respects still are, just as they differ(ed) from SNCB and DR/DB methods. I'm not at all sure if any British company timed some heavy passenger trains to run at a near constant speed irrespective of all but the most sever gradients with a specific allowance of coal consumption per mile run and paid their drivers according to their ability to maintain the required speeds and rate of coal consumption.  Oh and on a lighter note I do know that no British railway company ever allowed their Drivers a free ration of 2 litres of wine, while on duty, every working day, something which lasted into the diesel and electric traction age (albeit not for too long).   SNCF definitely did things differently (and still do some things differently) as you quickly find out when working with them day in and day out - and you're still finding out even after working with them for several years.  However I would say that, in my experience, their off duty alcohol consumption rates  are nothing like those of SNCB and DB folk but they do tend to eat in far more expensive restaurants when dining  on expenses (especially if they are in very senior posts).

 

I'm informed a Tesco trip might be required later but we're waiting at the moment for the lad to receive a call from the GP so I think I'll break out the mushrooms and bacon.

 

Enjoy the rest of your day one and all.

[The Stationmaster]

33 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

All very well and good, but I can provide Swiss Bank Access!

 

Unless "Estuary-Land" is some Carribean Island Inlet

Worry not about Estuary Land but don't forget that Essex has an offshore 'principality' in the shape of Sealand (also stated by one source to be 'off the coast of Suffolk) which lies in the approaches to Harwich.  Although now within the 12 mile limit it was outside the old 3 mile limit and therefore claimed by its owner to be in international waters.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand

[PhilJ W]

I've just had a reply from the second wheelbarrow supplier. They are sending a replacement and do not want the faulty one returned. I am being inundated with wheelbarrows! The first wheelbarrow could probably be 'fixed' by someone with the necessary skills and tools neither of which I possess. The fault is an 8 mm hole drilled through a steel tube about 1.5 mm out of true. Plenty of thunder hereabouts at the moment but no rain yet.

[polybear]

20 hours ago, Barry O said:

Belated Fathers Day present from Dr Eldest Herbert

 

Baz

 

 

 

It seems that these are available from Amazon, sold by a company called "Hippowarehouse".....

 

6 hours ago, grandadbob said:

P.S. I'm thinking of organising a new union:- The Society Opposing Desecration Of Furry Friends or SODOFF for short!

Thinking of asking  Mr Polybear to act as President  and ChrisF as Secretary.

 

I'd be honoured, sir....

Do I then get to tell people to SODOFF?

 

5 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

They have come to across without health insurance. Another two couples that we know are taking the same risk this weekend.

 

Not a bright move.  I hope they at least have EHIC cards?

 

2 hours ago, The Lurker said:

One girl in particular does not eat and loudly complains about that and everything else. Protocol is that nothing goes home from school so uneaten lunch goes in the bin. She threw a strop and the Mum complained to the head, who is so fed up she gave in. So protocol broken for a 5 year old behaving like a two year old.

 

Throwing perfectly good food in the bin doesn't seem like a good plan to me.  Seems the head has been shown up by a 5-year old......

 

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

You will also need a treasurer and I am quite willing to step into that role. Donations please in used banknotes, Sterling, Euro's or US dollars preferably but not Roubles or Zimbabwean dollars. Failing that signed blank cheques, diamonds or gold bullion. 

 

How's about payment in Jaffa Cakes?

 

1 hour ago, TheQ said:

hmm purple, red and white I guess they have different wiring standards over there..

 

If my next door neighbour's place* near Beziers is any thing to go by (*he says "flat", she says "apartment"; he says "balcony", she says "terrace".....), then yes.  Not sure what UK Buildings Control would make of 13A sockets in the bathroom, but I've a fair idea.  Incidentally, I've been invited down a couple of times; on one such visit he did ask me why the circuit breaker should keep tripping when running both the washing machine and separate tumble drier at the same time.  I mentioned that having both hooked up to a single socket could be a clue; the power shower is also on the same circuit.....

[Tony_S]

I don’t think Essex in historical times needed to worry about the offshore islands. Benfleet was a haunt of smugglers during the Napoleonic era. Small craft could come up the church creek and unload. There are rumours of tunnels beneath the church and pub, though I should imagine they would be subject to flooding. The sea walls are very modern. Like many churches it is built above the flood line. 

The nearest named bear to my test track (currently occupied by a small yellow ancient loco model ) is called Elizabeth. This bear was a souvenir from a trip on a ship bearing that name. Didn’t get a Mary bear for some reason last year!

We used to stay in a hotel in Austria that presented one with a bear when paying the bill. We have a few of their bears. 
Tony

[Tony_S]

59 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

That's just Normal for Norfolk!

 

They also still persist in calling  a single decker bus a Charabanc.

My Grandparents called them charabangs.

[PhilJ W]

23 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

 

 

 

How's about payment in Jaffa Cakes?

 

 

 

Sorry, wrong currency. But bread pudding and Danish pastries are acceptable.

[iL Dottore]

5 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Sorry, wrong currency. But bread pudding and Danish pastries are acceptable.

Pass me a couple of dozen Melton Mowbray Pork Pies, bung me several Black Puddings, a few brace of Haggis and a case of Single Malt Whisky and I'll make absolutely sure that the currency of your choice emerges from the CaptCynicoMatic(tm) squeaky clean....(a)

Our motto is "No Bank Note is Ever Too Grubby To Become SwissClean"

(a) all currency washes of less than the equivelant value of CHF10 Million will be subject to a 25% handling and pre-wash fee

[Florence Locomotive Works]

7 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

As to moss and roofs. It's a pain. The moss builds up means standing water on the flat undertiles. If there is a frost that leads to spalling and eventual cracking. After 45 years that's why we've had to have the roof redone.  Hopefully  the new one will last us out.

Moss on roofs, now that's something I haven't seen in years . . .

 

 

Morning awl,

 

Hot humid and green here once again in Northeast Oklahoma. The ceiling fan decided to be quiet last night, so a better sleep was had,  but still not normal. Broad Gauge signal unit was finished last night, to the accompaniment of much rejoicing by the Works laborers. Ye Olde friend dog came in this morning from her morning walk smelling like she'd just had a bath it was so humid out. But thankfully I don't notice it. Today I hope to start work on the baseboard and fiddle yard for my BG layout, so wish me luck, as it will be the first "proper" mini layout I've yet constructed.