PhilJ W

Hello again from Estuary-Land. Great to hear Daves dad is improving and I hope things progress at the same rate. Stopped raining here at last but getting very sticky and the pollen is rising fast. Better uncross them before starting on the engine.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. A very wet and soggy E-L it is. Not much thunder and lightening last night except an enormous flash of lightening with the accompanying thunder at one o'clock only a short distance away to the north approximately near the town centre. It looks as if the rain is here to stay for at least a week, the only 'dry' day will be Saturday. At least its cooler and the pollen has been suppressed. If your going to Hyde Hall by car avoid the A13 and use the A12 instead. The bin wagons dawn chorus is now in full swing so its time to go, be back later.

Goodnight all.

When I took early retirement the HR department faffed and farted about so much that when they told me that it had been granted I told them that I was going to take the two months leave that I was entitled to starting tomorrow and that would take me up to my leaving date. The panic on their faces was a joy to behold. In the end I agreed to work the first month of my leave which meant that I was paid double for that month. Rick, that seems an over complicated way of making pension deductions as tax operates on a weekly or calendar month basis and if your pension deductions are like most not taxable it must create enormous problems for the payroll department.

The rain has arrived and thunder can be heard in the far distance. Strangely enough the police helicopter is buzzing around, that must be a fun ride when the thunder and lightening starts.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. The TV worked normally this evening so I was able to watch the news and the weather news tonight, I wonder if the heat is causing the problem. I particularly wanted to watch the weather news as the thunderstorms are due here very soon. I will definitely be watching them from indoors. STOP PRESS its just started raining as I type this. The police helicopter is buzzing around towards the A13, that must be a fun ride when the thunder and lightening starts. Better get the bin bags out, its bin day tomorrow, not supposed to put them out until the day but I'm doing it now before the storm. Time to put the kettle on, be back later.

Not with the lockdown/travel restrictions.

Dried unicorn dung scones? No thank you!

Hello again from Estuary-Land. The TV keeps going into scan mode again bit I think I may have discovered the cause. The set sits near the patio doors and the back of the set gets full sunlight during the afternoon. So tomorrow I will draw the curtains across in the afternoon* to see if that makes any difference. Just as well the news that I was expecting to watch is on late due to some football match. *Even though tomorrow there might be no sun, thunder and lightening instead.

Not stuck in the Suez Canal I hope?

Been there done that, when I visited the US on a 'fly-drive' holiday many years ago I left a filling station, I didn't drive on the wrong side merely looked the wrong way. A blast on the horn of a passing car soon made me realise my mistake. There was a similar accident here in the UK where a car driven by a USAF civilian employee was in collision with a coach resulting in a couple of fatalities. He at least stayed to face the music and didn't flee claiming diplomatic immunity.

I always thought that the Riley/Wolsely boot would look better on a Clubman giving a more balanced appearance. I do believe that they did just that in one of the overseas assembly plants. (South Africa or Portugal IIRC).

Looks as if the boat took the brunt of the impact as there's not a lot left of it (fibreglass?). If it was something more substantial the outcome might be very different.

It looks as if the chunk of brick parapet in front of the car landed on the bonnet. By the looks of the damage to the bonnet the engine may very well suffered damage as well. The car was almost certainly a write off.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. I had to deal with many different managers when I was working. Undoubtedly the best ones were those who had 'come off of the tools', having worked their way up from tea boy in some cases. They had very little contact with HR other than advertising vacancies but hiring and firing they kept to themselves. All this changed when council services were privatised, most of the managers took early retirement and I don't blame them.

I found out what turned the dial down on the fridge. The dial is close to the hinge side of the door and the top of a pot of yoghurt on the door shelf brushed against the dial every time the door was shut.

Working in the payroll department and also being a union rep I saw HR from both sides. Generally they were quite helpful and we had one really good HR manager but unfortunately he was so good that he was 'head-hunted' by another employer. I was union rep on a few disciplinaries with him and they were usually settled between us before the actual meeting of which many were unnecessary in the first place.

There's the forthcoming 'Sam's coach' from the Titfield Thunderbolt train from Rapido which represents an 1860's coach.

Hamilton is not that far off from retiring, two maybe three years IMHO. Russell is up there in the list of possible replacements.

It says no one was hurt, no mention of the car drivers underwear.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Quite fresh this morning and not too warm (yet) but forecast to get very muggy before the thunderstorms predicted for tonight. I hope young Emily gets the medical attention she needs but there's too many Checkpoint Charline's around, I am fortunate that my surgery have well trained staff up front, the only question they ask is which GP you want to see. Time for breakfast, be back later.

Goodnight all.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Had to throw some food away earlier, some of the contents of the fridge had gone mouldy, almost certainly down to the fridge being accidently being turned down. Still had enough to make dinner even if it was cold which is preferable in this weather anyway. Time to put the kettle on, be back later.

In the film Brian Caton said that his locomotives were superheated. That would make their water usage better and increase the range.