Early Risers.

[BSW01]

8 hours ago, polybear said:

Can Bear ask what brand & type of paint you are using please - is it nice to use?  Bear has a downer on water-based paints as they tend to dry even before you have time to get 'em off the end of the brush, emulsion paint excluded.

 

I'm using B&Q own brand of undercoat/primer, it is water based but I don't usually have any problems with it. The topcoat will be Farrow and Ball 'All White' which I've found to be very hard wearing. This is also water based and as above, I don't usually have any problems. 

Edited February 9, 2021 by BSW01

[Tony_S]

52 minutes ago, tigerburnie said:

Sounds to me like the humans have lost their fear of indigenous wild animals and maybe they should be moved away from the animals domain more like.

When my son first went to Canada (Calgary)he and some friends went walking on some trails not far from Banff. They intended to return the following week but the trail had been closed. Someone had been walking a dog, not on a lead, when a bear appeared. The dog ( Jack Russell) went and irritated the bear. The bear ate a chunk of dog and chucked the rest away. The trail was closed to protect the bears. 
On a previous trip to Vermont the shortest route from our “cabin” to the restaurant was through some woodland. There was a path, it wasn’t exactly wilderness. Aditi wouldn’t go that way so we had to walk round the edge of the woodland. I did say that no one had ever been attacked by a bear in Vermont (according to the travel guidebook) but she wasn’t going to take the risk. 

[J. S. Bach]

8 hours ago, chrisf said:

Greetings one and all ...snip... It got so bad that one stage I proclaimed that anyone saying to me “Oh, didn’t you know?” would face summary execution. ...snip...

Best wishes to all, especially koalas

Chris

I wondered why there were so many job openings at your place of work back then!

[J. S. Bach]

6 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

Indeed!  The error was due to my having initially typed 4-6-6-4, then thought that was incorrect Whyte notation as the driving wheels aren't connected, and failing to alter the whole thing.  D'oh.

 

They were enormous though by UK standards, titanic in fact!

 

JSB, I'd love to see your EF-3's....hint....what make are they please?

EP-3s; unfortunately at this time I have no photos of them. I will take care of that a little later today after a morning on-line meeting. The manufacturer was Baldwin Model Locomotive Works.

 

BTW, the GG1 was called that as it was the equivalent of two G class steamers (4-6-0) back-to-back.

Edited February 9, 2021 by J. S. Bach
To add some information.

[leopardml2341]

16 hours ago, Simon G said:

On the subject of lockdown, a piece of local news made my blood boil this morning.  A mountain rescue volunteer had suffered “life changing injuries” following a fall of about 500 feet.  The reason the mountain rescue team was out was because two wild campers who were breaching lockdown had got into trouble and had called for help.  They were fined £200.  I only hope that they have a conscience between them and make a significant donation to the injured volunteer.

Oh I doubt it - if they had they wouldn't have been there in the first place.

 

There really are some selfish people around.

[Barry O]

Been on the "hunt the prescription" chase.. again. The Marie Celeste said they had sent my prescription to a local pharmacy. So me and her indoors had a stroll up there.. nope.. they are at another pharmacy. The phone line was u/s so herself drove us down to the other pharmacy. Yes they had my prescription ( which they said they shouldn't have BUT they didn't have all of the tablets.. they will send these out "later".... Marie Celeste 1 Baz 0..  p1ss up and brewery come to mind!

 

Baz

Edited February 9, 2021 by Barry O

[leopardml2341]

10 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

An obvious solution would be to have a biometric ID card that will carry the information about your COVID-19 vaccination status (amongst other things). Of course, any mention of the possibility of an ID card to the UK or US public and there will be a predictable outpour of squawking about their “rights” and their “privacy” (often from those who spend an inordinate amount of time promoting themselves and posting their most intimate private details on social media).

Indeed!

 

My personal take on such things is that if people are doin' nowt wrong they have nowt to fear - a bit like CCTV

I'd happily have a biometric ID card - useful for so many things.

[Gwiwer]

G'dafternoon all,

 

It snoweth.  Not heavily but enough to just trouble to ground and cause enwhitenment of the roads.  Once again we have managed to run a full train service despite the sort of weather which once brought trains to a complete standstill.  In fairness there has been much heavier snow elsewhere which has indeed brought transport to a standstill.  Or possibly a slip-still.  

 

Dr. SWMBO has an appointment at the nearby hospital for her Lady of a Certain Age examination tomorrow.  She needs to use some form of public transport to get there and has been persuaded that the bus offers more personal space and more fresh air than the confines of an Uber.  Train is not an option.  Having Googled the actual location she does not have to go to the main hospital and is therefore nowhere close to any Covid patients but is instead booked into the building referred to by some folk as the "clap clinic"   Ah well.  C'est la vie.  

 

Interaction of a socially-distanced nature has occurred with Neighbours (next door) who are in the process of vacating.  The couple are moving across the court to a one-bedroom flat of their own rather than a three-bedroom student flat-share which is home to four people.  They asked me to arrange a large-waste collection for some bits of furniture they no longer consider useful and in the knowledge that I can do so for £20 as a slightly-older person rather than the normal £70 fee.  Not a problem.  In return I was offered "some beer" which was, apparently, bought for a party they have never been able to have.  It is well in date (though the Best Before on beers is of little importance in the medium-term) and can be made use of though I was a little surprised to be offered no fewer than 48 cans of John Smiths Bitter.  No-one's favourite, surely, and 48 would last me into the next lifetime.  I accepted four and the others are now hanging on the gate post with a sign "Free beer - help yourself".  Yes, really.  I wonder how many will be taken.  

 

Address provided for anyone within a Covid-secure "reasonable distance"!!!

 

Back later.  Muggercoffy not getting any warmer.  

 

 

[tetsudofan]

9 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Regarding proof of COVID-19 vaccination, the UK is going to have to do better than a piece of card stamped with a rubber stamp. That is as good as worthless in proving that you have had the vaccination.  Apart from a scrawled doctor’s note, I can’t think of anything easier to fake. Already the criminal fraternity has been getting in on the act by selling fake COVID-19 test results, so it wouldn’t be long before they started to do the same for proof of vaccination. An obvious solution would be to have a biometric ID card that will carry the information about your COVID-19 vaccination status (amongst other things). Of course, any mention of the possibility of an ID card to the UK or US public and there will be a predictable outpour of squawking about their “rights” and their “privacy” (often from those who spend an inordinate amount of time promoting themselves and posting their most intimate private details on social media).

 

 

What I think we need is an up-to-date version (electronic/digital whatever) of the World Health Organisation - International Certificates of Vaccination which, in my travelling days, was a yellow covered passport-size document. One version I had was issued by the Republic of Viet-Nam, Quarantine Office Saigon and covered such vaccinations as smallpox, yellow fever, cholera and a page for others:

 

 

 

Interestingly I also have an additional page in the same format as the above with the wording "Form of Certificate prescribed by the International Health Regulations and supplied in the United Kingdom by the Department of Health and Social Security, London".

 

This document was just as important as my passport and went everywhere with me when I was travelling to and from Asia and was recognised in all the countries I visited.

 

Identity cards are not a problem for me as far as I'm concerned. Apart that the identity card I got in 1945 (found it recently but can't find it at the moment) the first modern identity card (including photograph) I got was issued in Hong Kong the day after I arrived there back in 1966 and the last was the Certificate of Alien Registration issued by the Government of Japan which included a picture, date and place of birth, a thumb print, passport details and name and address of my employer in Japan. On the back of the card were details of my working visa. The card had to be carried by me at all times. Interestingly, the quality of the colour picture on this card is a lot better than the black and white picture on my driving licence which is a copy of the picture on my passport.

 

Keith

 

 

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Its warmed up a bit here during the day and I was thinking that putting off my jab (which would have been about now) was premature but in the last hour or so its got a lot colder and the roads which were a bit slushy are freezing again so perhaps it was the right decision after all. I was going to do a fodder run once I had my jab but thats for tomorrow now but it means that tonights dinner is sausage toad and chips with an apple for desert. I have actually lost weight during lockdown, I think its due to fewer visits to Tess Coes and therefore less of things like vanilla cheese cake.

 

[jamie92208]

3 hours ago, BlackRat said:

Talking of 'hard little coppers' ..... I worked with one who was ex SBS, silent but ohhh so violent when required.

 

I can recall one incident.......when I pretended he was on his way to subdue one idiot, his previous dealings were enough for him to ' come quietly'!

 

Happy days!

Hope you get everything sorted Neil, it's not an easy task and can be emotionally draining.

 

I worked with an ex SAS  lad who would fit that description as well.  Once after someone had resisted arrest and then run into a lampost, we all said what was the problem.  Graham's oppo that night then said, yes he did run into the lampost,......... six times.  As you said, happy days. 

 

Jamie

[Andrew P]

53 minutes ago, leopardml2341 said:

Indeed!

 

My personal take on such things is that if people are doin' nowt wrong they have nowt to fear - a bit like CCTV

I'd happily have a biometric ID card - useful for so many things.

Me / Us too, bring it on, it would also cut down crime and ease deportation of wrong doers etc.

[PhilJ W]

3 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

I believe that I am being discriminated against. Why I here you cry. Well I shall tell you. Are you sitting comfortably children good. It all begins many moons ago when this big bad ogre called Cadent decided that it was going to make walking on the pavement a crime against humanity. So it dug up all of pavements and forced everybody to walk in the middle of the road. That is apart from the stretch outside ours and several of our neighbours. Well isn't that a good thing I hear you ask. No it isn't because the real reason - you didn't really believe there was a big bad ogre called Cadent did you, the holes were needed was to replace our gas supply. We were told it needed to be done three weeks ago and to prove it we had a visitation from the sub contractor, Balfour Betee, then from the sub-sub contractor who was actually  doing the work. Well you won't be surprised if I tell you that we are still waiting. Not everybody though. They have done the people to the left of us, jumped over us and houses either side and opposite, to carry on up the road. Was it something we said. We are definitely put out. We want our holes.

 

Yours holier without.

 

N Holes

Dear Mr. Holes. As a member of the Holes family you should be aware that these things do take time as there is more important things to do such as the company directors counting their enormous bonuses and playing golf. I'm very sorry but you will just have to put up with the mess and inconvenience for a long while.

Yours insincerely R. S. Holes.

[Tony_S]

7 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

 the Holes family

The first time I walked along the High Road in Benfleet back in 1977 there was a slight smell of gas. This persisted until a couple of years ago when instead of patching the bits that produced the most smell a new gas main was laid. However while some holes were quickly filled some were open for longer. Looking into the holes it seemed to be where the piping looked a bit more complex. So perhaps there is a reason why some are not filled straightaway.  

Edited February 9, 2021 by Tony_S

[PhilJ W]

24 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

Hope you get everything sorted Neil, it's not an easy task and can be emotionally draining.

 

I worked with an ex SAS  lad who would fit that description as well.  Once after someone had resisted arrest and then run into a lampost, we all said what was the problem.  Graham's oppo that night then said, yes he did run into the lampost,......... six times.  As you said, happy days. 

 

Jamie

That reminds me of the time when an elderly lady was being pestered by some travellers for payment for work* that they had done and the old lady was getting rather upset. Her grandson was a member of a local rugby club so he arranged for a few of the players to 'greet' them when the old lady told them that she was ready to pay them. When they turned up they were met by half a dozen members of the rugby club and 'taken away for a word or two'. The two travellers were found the following morning many miles away, stark naked and trussed up so that they could only waddle along the country lane where they were found, it was also winter and a very cold night. Their van containing their clothes was found parked on a slipway and had been covered by the incoming tide. Most of the players for the rugby club were serving police officers.

*The work was unnecessary and caused damage to the property.

Edited February 9, 2021 by PhilJ W

[simontaylor484]

Have the headache from hell apparently its a common side effect of the Astra Zeneca jab i took paracetamol after the jab as advised. Had a terrible night but i would sooner suffer slight malady rather catch something potentially fatal

[Ian Abel]

Moaning all.

 

In defense of stupidity.

Court Case # xxxxx

Location -  Florida (what a SURPRISE)!! Tampa to be specific

Event - The Stupid Super Bowl

Prosecution - The entire medical community and the CDC, among others, suggested and recommended against it as it's likely to be a "SUPER SPREADER" event.

Defense - Mayor of Tampa "I’m proud to say the majority of individuals that I saw out and about enjoying the festivities associated with the Super Bowl were complying,” she said. “They understood their level of personal responsibility and they were doing the right thing. I’m very proud of that.”

Witnesses - mostly reporters from various media outlets - a significant number/majority of the crowds in the street and bars were not wearing masks, no-one seemed "bothered"!!

Judgement/Conclusion - STUPID rules the day, and in about two weeks we may see some "side-effects" 

 

Nothing happening here... quiet and relaxed I guess is a way to explain it

 

-24 and sunny first thing with a light dusting of snow overnight. -13 the expected high today

 

Enjoy the day.

 

[tigerburnie]

[Winslow Boy]

8 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

The first time I walked along the High Road in Benfleet back in 1977 there was a slight smell of gas. This persisted until a couple of years ago when instead of patching the bits that produced the most smell a new gas main was laid. However while some holes were quickly filled some were open for longer. Looking into the holes it seemed to be where the piping looked a bit more complex. So perhaps there is a reason why some are not filled straightaway.  

Well that's the weird thing. They dig several holes in advance as you would expect but because they can't rely upon the connection team to a) finish the required number of connections each day and b) turn up we are left with lots of holes - imagine the Somme but with paving slabs rather than mud. The other problem is until they dig the holes they don't know if the pipes need replacing. If they do all work stops while they 'pull/push' a new pipe in. But it is definitely weird about us and the neighbours as they've marked the spots where our holes need to dig but they just don't seem to want to dig them. We suspect it was because we had a funeral at one of the houses so they were asked to make themselves scarce whilst it took place but come on that was only one morning. Could be it put them off their stride and this is revenge. 

 

[Andrew P]

7 minutes ago, simontaylor484 said:

Have the headache from hell apparently its a common side effect of the Astra Zeneca jab i took paracetamol after the jab as advised. Had a terrible night but i would sooner suffer slight malady rather catch something potentially fatal

Sorry to hear that, The only side effect I've had is a pain in the arm.

NOT that arm the Covid was done in, but the other arm from the FLU JAB 2 YEARS AGO.

[The Lurker]

Thames Water were in our street today digging holes. Well I say digging holes. Most of them stayed in their van without moving all day. The one bloke who was out was wearing flip flops and a t shirt. I assume he was a Geordie.

 

 

[tigerburnie]

16 minutes ago, simontaylor484 said:

Have the headache from hell apparently its a common side effect of the Astra Zeneca jab i took paracetamol after the jab as advised. Had a terrible night but i would sooner suffer slight malady rather catch something potentially fatal

I had a headache, not too bad and it went the next day.

[Tony_S]

45 minutes ago, Andrew P said:

ease deportation of wrong doers etc.

I think transportation for criminals ended in the 1860s. People found guilty of crimes if not citizens already get deportation orders at the end of their sentence if appropriate. Most criminals can’t  be deported any way as they are British citizens anyway. 

[The Stationmaster]

7 minutes ago, tigerburnie said:

I had a headache, not too bad and it went the next day.

No headache but a slightly sore and somewhat aching patch of upper arm around the area where she every gently shoved the stuff in.  Just about gone now but until yesterday it was very noticeable if I lifted my arm above shoulder level.   Herself - of course - has suffered noticeable after effects at all.

[tigerburnie]

Another one going for a Darwin award

Climber rescued after falling almost 50ft in Glen Coe - BBC News