Early Risers.

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[The Lurker]

On 13/11/2020 at 15:50, Gwiwer said:

 

I hope those waiting to book supermarket delivery slots are successful.  I am on Ocado's priority list and was offered a Christmas slot a couple of weeks back so we are all booked in there; all that's needed is the final edit to the order a couple of days beforehand and a stand-by plan in case anything critical is out of stock.  We are staying put throughout the upcoming season; it isn't sensible nor viable to consider any other option this year.  I had also been twitching about the more immediate future as we have today's and next week's deliveries booked but beyond that there has been no availability.  Until yesterday when I received a promotional email including the words "Shop Now".  So I tried the link and found I could get a slot two Friday's hence meaning we are fine now for the next three weeks.  

 

 

 

From the point of view of the Lurker household, paying for the Ocado Smartpass works well; we have a Christmas slot and we have not missed a weekly order apart from possibly one at the beginning of Lockdown 1.0.

 

Mrs Lurker is currently in the mid a self isolation period after a child in her year tested positive- Joe Wicks is her exercise salvation at the moment...

 

currently “will you?” by Hazel O’Connor playing on Spotify 

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[BR60103]

The locomotive move went well today, apparently. A friend watched on his computer and said that at one point they managed to put a tender axle off the end of the track. (the local paper referred to the "rear part" of the locomotive.)

We drove by but the parking was non-existant. 

https://www.guelphtoday.com/local-news/a-great-day-to-move-a-locomotive-16-photos-2879346

 

[pH]

The high point (literally) of today’s drive:
 

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all

 

Knowing my luck, the light at the end of the tunnel is the one on the front of the train heading towards me.  Tut, tut, that wasn't very positive, was it?  Well, no.  There is more in prospect than will actually happen.  With one cancellation already in for an event in May, can others be far behind?  Who knows?

 

I have made a bit of progress on researching the next episode of the Class 116 saga and was heartened to stumble across a post on Facebook which was complimentary about it.  Writing the narrative will be fun though.  As light relief from all sorts I have dipped into YouTube and found myself chuckling at the antics of baby koalas and the occasional rhino calf bouncing around its paddock.  I ordered a book from *m*z*n because I understand that bookshops are classed as non-essential for lockdown purposes.  A CD is on its way from the organisers of Towersey Festival.  It commemorates the life and work of the late Roy Bailey, whose control of his audiences was masterful.  Among the good stuff on it is a version of Tom Robinson's anthem "Glad To Be Gay".  Now there's a candidate for sharing with the world at large via the in-car CD player and open windows!  As a taster I found some versions of that on YouTube too.

 

Full marks to BBC1 for showing some culture last night.  I refer of course to Blackadder.  What did you think I meant?  Strictly Come Prancing?  [conspiratorial whisper on] Actually, don't tell anyone but there's some good stuff on Strictly this season.   Will it be won by Bill Bailey or HRVY? [conspiratorial whisper off].  Today I see that "633 Squadron" is to be shown.  I shall time my ribeye steak lunch accordingly.

 

Tomorrow there will be phone calls from medical people which have the capacity to alarm.  Until then, carry on regardless.

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris 

[Barry O]

Ey up!

Won £30 on the lottery last night... now what can her indoors spend it on I wonder?

 

Watched France Women v England Women Rugby yesterday. Some interesting referee interference but a good win for the Red Rose.

 

Highlights of the England Georfia game are on tonight at 11pm... letting that money grabber bozo take the tv rights may have generated more money for the rugby elite but it may end up like cricket ..as in if you can't see it for free people stop getting involved in it..

 

As for today.. well not sure yet but it will involve a few mugsatea and mugsadecaff no doubt.

 

Grab Sunday and enjoy what you can!

Baz

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl, inner Temple hare,

Cool and windy out there, signs of recent heavy precipitation..

 

It took a long time to get off to sleep, so I've just had 4 hours plus 1 hour

 

Ben the alarm clock Collie gave me a lie in of 30 minutes, he didn't spend long out there, but seemed happy charging around..

 

The annual pension report from my biggest pension came in which was mostly good. In payments from employees are twice the size of current out goings..  and the company paid in 1/13th of the current black hole... A little more money in.. £1......billion. The current directors must really regret the actions of the 1980-90s taking pension payment holidays..   Keep paying it in, I will want the money in two years..

 

How I'm going to build the library shelves was running round my brain cell again, a decision has been made. But I really could do with the orange shed reopening it's cutting service, I'm hoping it will happen at the end of lockdown #2. Some measurements will be taken today..

 

As it is I've decided for the purposes of library building, the first equipment trolley for the workshop will be for the bench (disk) saw . So hopefully I'll extract that out of storage today, so I can measure up. I have realized that the saw needs to be sunken into the trolley so it's surface matches that of the work bench.. This will also apply to the band saw, and the lowest position of the pillar drill table.

 

Lowering the equipment has other  advantages such as lowering the C of G of the trolleys, and consuming less wood. Once the store room area is constructed that lowering may allow another shelf above..

 

Time I think to get breakfast..

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from a dryish Charente. It's certainly cooler here and the wind is getting up. The jungle was attacked again yesterday and victory is in sight. The chain saw will be deployed on Monday.  

 

I'm glad to see signs of mojo returning.  

 

No big news here but I may well make a trip to the market this morning. The G word has been banned for today so I may even head for the shed and see if my modelling mojo is hiding there.

 

Regardscto all.

 

Jamie

[AndyB]

Morning all.

 

Yesterday morning saw me and the boy sprawled on the sofa laughing like drains at a sitcom he'd found on netflix. Not sure I approve of the language but in such a woke world it was quite nice to see a modern comedy with few holds barred. Fridaye Night Dinner?

 

Whilst others watched the dancing last night I had my head down in a pile of cardboard and glue at the dining room table. Fingers crossed I'll be able to update my thread later with a photo of my efforts.

 

In the meantime I've a tip run booked this morning.  

[polybear]

1 hour ago, Barry O said:

Ey up!

Won £30 on the lottery last night... now what can her indoors spend it on I wonder?

 

 

 

You owned up to winning money??  Fatal...

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

It is raining and breezy here. I am not planning to go out so not a problem. My personal weather forecaster suggests this afternoon will be more pleasant for walking. The motor racing from Istanbul is quite conveniently timed after breakfast and before lunch. 
Tony

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Sill wet and windy here after a lots of the same overnight.  More to come but it may brighten up later.

Two rugby matches duly watched but I'll keep my thoughts to myself in case anyone watching highlights (Baz) doesn't yet know the results.  France v Fiji today has been cancelled due to Covid in the Fiji camp.  I have recorded the women's match from yesterday so will watch that along with the F1 highlights later. That could be interesting.

A book is due today from Amazon.  It's about the author's battle with autism and I should declare an interest as he is a family friend and is also Steve's partner.

Other than that no firm plans  (yet again) for today apart of course from eggs, bacon etc which The Boss has just offered in a little while.

Have a good one,

Bob.

[polybear]

Just what is wrong with these Bozo's??:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-54943588

 

Perhaps they should read this - but I guess they'd just say it was fake news:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54938735

 

- both are from today's BBC News website.

 

Rant over.  For now...

 

More drilling and chiselling of walls for leccy back boxes (x3) and conduit.  Deep joy.

[NGT6 1315]

Moaning awl from the Far East. Well, not actually!

 

Scattered cloud ceiling and 12ish °C, and I have a sore throat. Probably something Annika brought with her from the kindergarten as she's sniffling as well, though for the moment, I don't think it's anything related to The Virus.

 

And for a bit of comic relief, see the attached image and imagine singing "Hack Job, Hack Job" to the tune of the Stingray main theme…

 

Later...

[Andrew P]

And the weather forecast for South Hampshire is;

 

Edited November 15, 2020 by Andrew P

[tigerburnie]

Morning, dry here at the moment, I can even see small bits of blue amongst the clouds, no plans are made, but as we are not allowed out of the county a walk rather than a drive may be the order of the day, stay safe all.

[New Haven Neil]

Morning.

 

Sun has just shown its face after a very very wet night.  Rain gauge not yet inspected.

 

We had a nice Thai carry-out at Jayne's last night, from the pub a few yards from her gaff.  It may be I had a tincture or twain, very unusual these days when one beer is all I have once a week - a pint whilst waiting for the meal and a bottle of NZ white with the meal.....oops. I was hoping that would induce a better nights sleep, but it was not to bee.  Four bad nights in a row, not sure why, although the very wet weather isn't helping the broken bits.  

 

Mrs H off to an archery competition later, she'll need wellies - the glen is wet at the best of times, it may be too wet to get to all the targets today.  A couple of the crew have called off, more chance of a win!  It is some kind of a handicap thing, I can't pretend to understand how it works, but will be more fair than the last competition where an archer used a compound (steady, Jamie, not that type!) bow which isn't allowed in barebow recurve!

 

Raining again.....

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Overslept this morning, same as others I couldn't get off to sleep last night until about five this morning and only woke up half an hour ago. Sad news this morning, Des O'Connor has died at the age of 88. A bit more of my yoof no longer with us. Now time to run a late bath, be back later.

[greatcoleswoodhalt]

On 08/11/2020 at 10:45, jafcreasey said:

12°C

SE 5kt

 

Weather much calmer than last Sunday, and fortunately so, as we still await a quote for our roof repairs despite a couple of visits now.  Work on the drive commenced as planned though not without issue as our neighbours sought clarification of the boundary and the intended finish alongside their drive - fortunately all now resolved but crippling for the anxiety!

 

With national restrictions now introduced and Mrs C's salon regrettably closed until December, the news that I'll remain in the office was bittersweet, but I'm sure she'll make the most of the break before the build-up to Christmas.

 

Trying to keep some normality at the weekends, we managed to book a visit to Ightham Mote, Sevenoaks later this morning though it seems strange to still be able to go to the National Trust during 'lockdown'.

 

Bachmann's announcement on Tuesday was a welcome distraction - how I would love a layout big enough to see a malachite green ex-LB&SCR H2 Class stretch her legs!

 

Stay safe on this Remembrance Sunday.

 

12°C

SW 21kt, gusting 46kt

 

Showery start to the day though drier and brighter conditions hoped for this afternoon (before the next band of rain, at least).

 

Still we wait for quotes for our roof repair; the second roofer to visit did however clear a lot of debris which has helped no end.  Our drive is now finished, ready for a ceremonial return of cars later today.

 

Mrs C and I had been due to holiday in Cornwall this week, so for a second time this year I'm having to use my annual leave during a national lockdown.  Our first wedding anniversary is Wednesday so a to visit to Wakehurst, Ardingly is planned.

 

For now I return to my coffee and continue to ogle over @NHY 581's Sheep Dip in December's BRM.

 

Stay safe.

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

A sunny start to the day after heavy rain over night, there are lots of muddy puddles in the garden. Like yesterday, we had a lie in and late breakfast. I'm just about to start fitting the LEDs to the control panel. 

 

Stay safe, stay sane, enjoy whatever you have planned for the day, back later. 

 

Brian 

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all,

 

Nothing won on the lottery - as usual.  Maybe I'd get a result if I bothered to buy a ticket but I doubt if it's anything like the two Premium Bonds my mum bought me when they first came out and which have returned absolutely nothing over the years decades.  Ah well lottery tickets not bought = money not spent wasted.

 

Now I'm greatly surprised that our resident Bear did not mention a programme specially broadcast for him last night - all about the largest cake factory in Europe, the Mr Kipling manufactory at Carlton near Barnsley.  Absolutely fascinating programme and the staff seem to really enjoy their jobs which suggests the company is a good employer.  My personal highlight was seeing how they make their exceedingly good Battenberg cakes - absolutely brilliant manufacturing process and apart from some human skill needed to control the mixing of various ingredients actually putting the things together is done on an automated production line with some human check supervision.   The other interesting thing was the sonic cutter used, for example, on the French Fancies line, which cuts strips of cake into individual slices - done that way as using cutting blades would require frequent cleaning.   In one case - limited I think by the length of the production line they made a Battenberg which was not cut into portions for wrapping but remained in a continuous length of 31.5 metres, a wotrld record (they claim).   One of the best programmes I've seen on C5 - watch out for a repeat if you're salivating.

 

Now quite sunny outside so presumably today's monsoon has passed.  it was definitely up to full monsoon standard earlier with swathes of rain being blown down the road - quite impressive (except for the bloke out walking his dog).

 

No major, or minor, plans for today but somehow the mouse has escaped from the corner so a further mouse hunt might be needed.  Not that it would be any use employing the cats to assist.

 

Have a good day one and all.

[Coombe Barton]

Just installed the saucepan hanging rack in the kitchen - but more saucepans to hang - can't at the moment as I've run out of hooks - more arriving tomorrow.

 

[EDIT] I initially thought that a couple of dozen would cover it - I was wrong.

 

 

Edited November 15, 2020 by Coombe Barton

[BokStein]

Greetings!

 

Feel as though I must try and achieve something today; don't know what, though.

 

5 hours ago, chrisf said:

Strictly Come Dumb Prancing?

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris 

 

The irony of a "contact sport" in times of social distancing!

[TheQ]

40mph SWS, heavy rain at the moment...Ben the I want out Collie will have to wait...

 

A couple of more bits of woodwork fitted, but I really do need a couple more packs of battens..

 

Wiring extended connected from consumer unit, to charging station, to lathe supplies, which was already connected to junction box to right hand side of work bench..

Also extended from consumer unit to left hand side of work bench.

All powered up and tested, so the work bench has been cleared of charger, and a couple of other cables.

 

Just the keel on there now, and that has been filled bedded one side, it's got week to set before I get block and tackle out to lower it to the floor.

When that's out of the way, I can get up on the bench, to complete the mains power wiring, and alter the routing for lighting..

 

The weather radar indicates it will stop chuckinitdarn shortly.. so time to drink this muggacoffee before paddling out..