Early Risers.

[iL Dottore]

6 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

...And we still reckon we have to make up Drop Bears to scare the tourists..

 

Well, the answer that is quite simple: as we have seen during this pandemic, there are an awful lot of people who are either recklessly stupid or who have an innate death wish. These are the sort of people who would go and play with a blue ring octopus because “ It’s so pretty and pretty things won’t hurt you“ (or other similar inanity).

As an interesting digression, whilst the various flora and fauna are in Australia  Are - to put it bluntly - nasty and lethal bu99ers, they are also a great and interesting source of molecules (found in the assorted toxins and venoms) that could potentially treat many different diseases, such as cancer.

5 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

Today, I.e., Sunday, is our 51st anniversary...

Firstly, congratulations. Secondly, as  The Stationmaster wrote: “don’t break anything“ and Thirdly, in an age when people seem to split up at the drop of a hat, keeping together for over 50 years is an admirable achievement.  Personally, I blame the media and the younger generation for this lack of marital commitment: the media, because far too often they present a very unrealistic view of what marriage is all about; and the younger generation, because far too many seem not to be equipped to deal with marital difficulties in a mature way.

5 hours ago, Barry O said:

Facemasks.. no peoblemo.. after the safety respirator you had to be prepared to use down a coal mine, face masks are simple..honest!

Been there, done that, got the respirator strap marks on my face! I once had to do a whole day’s training using various hazmat equipment and bottled air supplies and the like.  An interesting experience and one that led me to conclude that a future in the highly specialised business of cleaning up chemical, biological and nuclear waste was not a career choice for me. Furthermore, thinking about it, I wonder how accurate these films, games and television series are when they have soldiers (who are often the “bad guys from the government“) charging around in hazmat suits as though they were wearing standard BDs

58 minutes ago, TheQ said:

...It's been a lot cooler tonight in the house, though Ben the Hot Collie has just moved from his bed to the cold floor....

I’m starting to wonder if “Ben the………Collie” actually exists. Like Mrs Mainwaring in Dad’s Army, Ben is frequently referred to but never seen.  Whilst, I think it is safe to say, Ben has a small but enthusiastic fan club, I doubt that the enthusiasm and numbers are such that Ben has to take steps to avoid the attention of the ubiquitous paparazzi.  So, dear Q, how about a few snaps of our mysterious, but much referred to, canine chum?

18 minutes ago, chrisf said:

...One point on masks which I am not sure has been made: if they are so essential for controlling the virus, how come those who rule us took four months to make their use compulsory rather than advisory?  Anyone would think that some of them do not know what they are talking about...

For anyone “in the Medical/Scientific business“ (so to speak), the changing information about mask wearing was certainly not inconsistent with the knowledge of the virus we had at the time. Advice was driven by, firstly, availability of PPE and secondly what we knew about the virus. Given the very limited stocks of PPE at the start of the pandemic, given that the medical front line took priority and given that it was thought that the spread of the virus was similar to that of a “standard“ influenza, it made sense to say masks would not be necessary for the general public (especially when you consider how the public would’ve panic bought all the available stocks of PPE depriving the front line of essential supplies). We now know more about the way the virus is transmitted and how both droplets and aerosol are the primary vectors of contagion, instructions to use a mask when amongst other people is now perfectly consistent with what we now know about the virus. Our understanding of how any disease “works“ does not pop into existence overnight. Syphilis, for example, was around for quite a long time before we completely understood how the disease was transmitted, what was transmitted (a bacterium) how the disease progressed over time and how best to treat it.
Having said that, neither PHE or the UK government have been particularly competent in getting the right messages out (or even making decisions about public policy based on the known science of the time). If you want to see how scientific information should be best communicated to the public, go to the Swiss Ministry of Health CoVID-19 information pages (they are also available in English) which are a model of clear communication.

[Barry O]

Ey up!

Her indors made a load of masks. They come complete with a metal strip to bend into place for the top of your nose, a little pocket for an additional filter amd are quite easy to wear. I can understand that a lot of people find them very uncomfortable to wear. 

 

Apparently we are to be visited by a plumbing "engineer" today as the joint changed in a plastic water pipe last week has been weeping. As it happens it has stopped but the same type of joint was banned by the company I worked for about 20 years ago. The joints look ok then start weeping...then start dripping ..then..loadsawater....

 

Today we shall "sort" the garage. Frabjoy!!

Have a great day everyone!

Baz

[pH]

27 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

I’m starting to wonder if “Ben the………Collie” actually exists. Like Mrs Mainwaring in Dad’s Army, Ben is frequently referred to but never seen.  Whilst, I think it is safe to say, Ben has a small but enthusiastic fan club, I doubt that the enthusiasm and numbers are such that Ben has to take steps to avoid the attention of the ubiquitous paparazzi.  So, dear Q, how about a few snaps of our mysterious, but much referred to, canine chum?

Ben has featured in these pages before:

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/229-early-risers/&do=findComment&comment=2849020

 

[chrisf]

48 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Having said that, neither PHE or the UK government have been particularly competent in getting the right messages out (or even making decisions about public policy based on the known science of the time). 

 

Exactly.

 

Chris

[Andrew P]

7 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

Today, I.e., Sunday, is our 51st anniversary so we're going to try to find a bit of beach somewhere (probably near Formby) that isn't too crowded and where we can have a picnic. Failing that, who knows? Last year we were in Peel on Fraggle Rock where Jill fell over and broke her arm. We do know how to celebrate!

 

Night all.

 

Dave

Happy Anniversary both.

[AndyB]

9 hours ago, tigerburnie said:

I hope you're wearing a full hazz mat suit and isolation for at least a couple of weeks in a distillery of your choice before mingling................

 

I certainly am. Although I may leave it till next year to try out the fish n chip shop you mentioned in Stonehaven. This time I'll remain in splendid mountainous* isolation.

 

* big hills. 

[AndyB]

8 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

Just sounds like a day at the beach here....

 

 

 

Box jellyfish - this'll have you dying screaming in agony before you make it to the shore

 

Irikanji jellyfish - the size of your fingertip so you won't see it as it bumps into you and gives you a sting rated one of the top 3 in the world by pain experts

 

Stonefish - enjoy your walk barefoot on the reef til you step on this fish disguised as a rock  - apparently hurts like bu99ery and often fatal

 

Cone Shell - Pick up that nice shell, but watch for the stinging barb that shoots out from the pointy end - another bu99er that loves making its sting intensely painful and potentially fatal

 

Blue ring octopus - Pretty little guy that'll kill you in pain  if you let it.

 

Then theres the run of the mill dangerous stuff like seasnakes, saltwater crocodiles and sharks. Much safer to stay on shore. Except for the snakes and spiders and even the platypus with its poisonous spur.

 

And we still reckon we have to make up Drop Bears to scare the tourists..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meant to ask how is the new job at the local tourism board working out?

[Coombe Barton]

Happy Anniversary to Dave and Mrs. H.

[New Haven Neil]

Morning, and a happy anniversary to the Hills.  Dave & Mrs Hills that is, not hills that can be alive to the sound of.....no forget it. We were in Peel yesterday, thankfully without accident, and discovered 'diabetic' ice cream, or more accurately ice cream allegedly suitable for diabetics.  Laced with inappropriate artificial sweeteners no doubt, but on a hot day the occasional treat does no harm!

 

Today we are mostly aching from head to toe after the kayaking yesterday!

[tigerburnie]

Morning, cooler and pleasant here, had a drop of rain overnight apparently, but I slept through, SWMBO was up and heard it, above my snoring, farting and apparently I was also breathing.................................who knew?

I have to have low sugar so I don't get diabetes, looked at the tubs of ice cream "especially made" and found a couple of the supermarkets own brand had half the sugars of the "recommended one"

Anniversary Greetings to Mr and Mrs Dave and commiserations to those in pain from a variety of causes, I tend to think that if I awake in pain, I know I'm still alive. If it's cooler in the The Old Summer House some muddling might take place, or at least some movement of wheels on parallel bits of metal, enjoy the day all.

[AndyB]

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Been there, done that, got the respirator strap marks on my face! I once had to do a whole day’s training using various hazmat equipment and bottled air supplies and the like.  An interesting experience and one that led me to conclude that a future in the highly specialised business of cleaning up chemical, biological and nuclear waste was not a career choice for me.

 

Economy of movement is considered to be a useful skill for people required to work in hazmat suits. Excess movement = unnecessary metabolic rate = raised core temperature = reduced time on task. One organisation I consulted for in this area actively sought candidates who'd previously been snipers.

So I think you made a wise career choice!

[southern42]

' morning all from red mask dragon land.

Sunneeeeeeeeeeeee. 

Masks.

Owz this?

[Photo deleted]

No, I was not avoiding the deadly bug but doing what I did on shed at Betws.  Then, it protected me from the smoke and smut coming out of the loco chimney.  Yesterday, it protected me from the dust, pollen and midges while cutting down the overgrown shrubs in the garden.

 

Time to get ready to go brave it again!

 

Fitt  and  Elfie taking appropriate measures.

 

Enjoy your day best you can.

Take care and play safe. 

_________

Best wishes

Polly

Edited January 5, 2021 by southern42

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Congratulations to Dave and Mrs. H. What makes the masks more uncomfortable is my hay fever, breathing through a blocked up nose as well is very uncomfortable. There is an up side as when I breath through my mouth my glasses don't steam up.

4 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

 plum crumble gas also been promised.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

Does it have that effect?

1 hour ago, tigerburnie said:

Morning, cooler and pleasant here, had a drop of rain overnight apparently, but I slept through, SWMBO was up and heard it, above my snoring, farting and apparently I was also breathing.................................who knew?

 

I would lay off the plum crumble if I were you.

[Coombe Barton]

I see your masks, and I'll raise you El Bandito.

 

 

[polybear]

6 hours ago, TheQ said:

Mooring awl,  Inner Temple Hare, 

6 hours solid sleep so far... 

 

My finger joints are complaining a bit,  it's both hands equally, so  it can't be entirely caused the the physical work I've been doing this week.

 

 

Bears's right paw has been giving grief for a week or two now; it seemed to come on pretty quick - I really hope it's linked to trying to undo the  mega-tight lid on a jumbo jar of Heinz Beetroot, rather than on any onset of Arthritis in my paw.  That would be really bad news.  How the hell Mr. Heinz manages to do up a lid to 500 Ibf is a mystery to me.  The paw seems worse first thing in the morning (I woke in the night and it was a real pain to open it up from the closed position, but once done seemed to ease off a fair bit).  Buggeration.

 

4 hours ago, Barry O said:

Apparently we are to be visited by a plumbing "engineer" today as the joint changed in a plastic water pipe last week has been weeping. As it happens it has stopped but the same type of joint was banned by the company I worked for about 20 years ago. The joints look ok then start weeping...then start dripping ..then..loadsawater....

 

Let me guess - Plumbing Engineers (unless old-school one-man bands) are no longer allowed dangerous things like blowtorches (Mr. Risk Assessment putting paid to that one), especially in people's houses which could easily burn down....

*I notice on my latest House Insurance renewal quote that the excess for "escape of water" has jumped to five hundred quid a year, for no known reason.  Crooks.

Edited August 9, 2020 by polybear

[Coombe Barton]

9 minutes ago, polybear said:

Let me guess - Plumbing Engineers (unless old-school one-man bands) are no longer allowed dangerous things like blowtorches

Some plumbing engineers (my son, who is one) prefer old fashioned copper and soldering to plastic plumbing. They last longer, don't get chewed by dogs (yes, caused a flood) and are more durable.

[skipepsi]

6 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

Some plumbing engineers (my son, who is one) prefer old fashioned copper and soldering to plastic plumbing. They last longer, don't get chewed by dogs (yes, caused a flood) and are more durable.

Done right done once?

[Coombe Barton]

15 minutes ago, skipepsi said:

Done right done once?

Yep

 

[BokStein]

Re. plumbing engineers, I note BarryO's use of "" marks!

 

47 minutes ago, polybear said:

How the hell Mr. Heinz manages to do up a lid to 500 Ibf is a mystery to me. 

 

Simple; he doesn't! Like most bottled products, the container is warmed prior to the application of the lid. As the contents cool, it forms a tighter seal between jar and lid.

[polybear]

 

 

 

[The Stationmaster]

Afternoon all,

 

And it's sunny and hot - again.

 

Taiking of plumbers the insurance plumber from British gas should be here sometime on Mon day - I expect lots of tutting and hmmin before he finally decides they are or arn't going to dig up opart of the floor to try to establlsh exactly which bit of the plumbing is, hmm, 'holed'.  There will then no doubt be debates about excess and which insurance pays for what and if the leak isn't where I hope it might be how much more needs to be dug up or dismantled in order to find it.  T''was only the other day that Mrs stationmaster suggested the utility room could do with a lick of paint - I thing we'll no doubt be adding a new floor and goodness knows what else to that in the hopefully not too distant future plus various walls to dry out as well.  Oh what joy awaits us - probably.

 

In better news the RMweb idiot quotient appears to have reduced slightly - or else they're no longer looking in the same places as me.   As for masks we are where we are - simple as that - and i doubt we could have gone from nought to everywhere several months ago even if it had been ordained.  Let's face it would seem that plenty of care homes, let alone households, had regrettably not even taken the most elementary of infection control measures (some of which they should have been carrying out long before the term Covid entered everyday language).   The big problem through all of this, apart from some inconsistencies between individuals in Govt, is that while official guidance online has usually been fairly clear the media, various, seem to have done their level best to mangle and misrepresent things or put their own take on its instead of using simple explanations.  And some very basic things have been missed such as whenever you issue any sort of safety instruction or guidance the first thing you state is what people must or must not do.  Any exceptions and variations must always be a long way further down the page than the mandatory stuff.   But if you're trying to keep folk happy the exceptions inevitably creep much nearer to the do's and don't's - bad practice in any matter of safety.

 

Have a good day one and all and stay safe

[tetsudofan]

On 07/08/2020 at 22:10, tetsudofan said:

Swab appointment tomorrow morning.

 

Its been a hot day down here, bedroom temperature reached 30c, only second time I've seen that. Aircon is now on and temperature and humidity slowly falling...

 

Time for bed soon, pleasant dreams everybody.

 

Keith

 

 

Afternoon, made it up to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford for my Covid-19 swab but it took some time actually getting to the "big white tent" located in the hospital car park that I was told to look for. Got into the car park, saw the white tent but couldn't get to as it was blocked off. Got the car as close as possible without getting out of the car (as was told not to get out of the car) to the tent and was told that I should leave the car park and return to where I had come from, join the main road  and take the turnoff,  pass a private hospital and carry-on until reaching the blocked off part of car park with the white tent.

 

What surprised me was that there was no signage pointing to the swab centre. Seems as though a lot of patients have experienced the same problem finding access to the tent which gives me the impression that the white tent is mainly for the use of NHS staff (as its quite close to the staff carpark) and they don't want the public with no appointments turning up and asking for a swab.

 

Once I got to where I should be everything went smoothly. At the booked time of 09:57 one member of staff checked my car details, another guided the car to the testing area where another was waiting for me with the test equipment. Somehow I got the impression that somebody would be sticking something in my throat and up my nostrils but this was not so. I was given the little swab stick and told to put it as far as possible in my throat and up my nostrils without hurting myself. Once done was on my way home at 10:02.

 

Must have done everything I should have done as this morning received a text advising that the results were negative. Soon after this another text arrived from the Kent & Canterbury Hospital confirming my appointment at 07:30 on Tuesday. Just leaves me to make sure that I'm ready at 05:30 on Tuesday morning for the Patient Transport to arrive to get me to the hospital by 07:30. Keeping my fingers crossed as the service provided by G4S does not have a good reputation, be the first time I've had to use it.

 

Keith

[simontaylor484]

12 hours ago, Barry O said:

Happy Anniversary Mr and Mrs  Hunt. Enjoy the day!

Good day at the office.. cricket good colleague great.

 

Facemasks.. no peoblemo.. after the safety respirator you had to be prepated to use down a coal mine, face masks are simple..honest!

 

Goodnight all !

 

Baz

The tin self rescuer horrible things but better than nothing

[simontaylor484]

Good Afternoon all 

 

Happy Anniversary  to Mr &Mrs Hill 

Bit cooler here today not feeling to good today. 

My sympathy to those with plumbing problems we have had plenty since we moved in here

 

"Who called the plumber a bu99er more like who called the bu99er a plumber" 

 

Are my feeling towards those who messed with the water in this house we bought from New 

 

What a mistake 

 

[45156]

Afternoon All

 

Sorry I've been absent, but a combination of no mojo for anything related to the computer, the absence of my laptop for data transfer to my new laptop, and more (yes more) decorating - that's three rooms now fully done, and there's enough Laura Ashley wallpaper in reserve to do the rest of the house - mainly obtained at between £2 and £5 a roll - oh and about four pairs of curtains - oh and several tins of emulsion.  I'll be pretty glad when the company finally gives up the ghost, as my credit card is getting a bashing, and the PPI funds are diminishing a bit faster than I'd expected.

 

Oh and I despair of Currys as well, as I bought a JVC telly there last week - only to discover that the brand has been taken over by DSG (ie Dixons Group, owner of Currys) and the quality has really gone downhill - I used to own some JVC kit which was decent, but the current offerings are pretty carp.  The sound was so poor (rattling and distorting) that we ordered a different make, and have just packed the old new one into its box and taken  it back for a refund.  Also I was to be getting the new laptop set up with all the relevant software which I  bought as a bundle, and then a quick tutorial - all cancelled due to COVID 19.  So I will get a friend's son to help.  This is being done on the old laptop.

 

Regards to All

Stewart