PhilJ W

I too try to avoid cash machines, if I want more than £50 I use the post office. Our local sub-office has a cash machine outside, one of those that charges a fee and people still use it despite there being the free service available. Now for a bit more eyelid inspection before running a bath.

A driver falling asleep is bad enough without one with his throat cut.

Why would black pudding be banned?

I lived a few minutes walk from the Romford Green Line garage in London Road when the RCL's were in service. At the same time I was courting a young lady from Brentwood and made regular use of the 721 service. As she lived not far from the Robin Hood terminus in Brentwood it was virtually a door to door service. They were replaced by driver only RP class, not bad but not a patch on the RCL's. Fitted with proper coach seats but they had thinner cushions and not a lot of legroom. Their replacements were atrocious, a standard Leyland National with slippery and shiny plastic covered seating! By then the closure of the east London Green Line routes had been decided and someone decided to drive away the remaining clientele.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. The sore foot woke me up in the early hours so I've come down for some Nurofen. GDB, make sure your bank is open when you get there. I went to my bank just after the lock down started only to find that due to the crisis they were shutting two hours earlier.

Goodnight all.

IMHO the RMA was the best Routemaster followed by the RMC by virtue of their interior appointments. The RCL comes third but I always think the long Routemasters look odd with the half bay inserted in the middle.

The NBC was formed from two separate bus companies. The nationalised Tilling Group and the privately owned BET group. The Tilling group had two basic liveries, red and green but there was many variations in how colours were distributed even within individual companies. Principally the amount of cream applied and where on the bus. The BET group had a variety of colours and shades but they were required to comply with the corporate image which meant that the distinctive liveries of some companies such as Southdown green disappeared. The vast majority of the BET companies had various shades of green or red but in that there was an enormous variation in shades of colour, red for example varied from an almost orange colour to a deep reddish brown. There was also the problem that blue did not weather all that well.

East Yorkshire like Notts and Derby also disappeared into another group. In both instances before the entire fleet was repainted. The Northern 'Yellow' fleet were painted that colour for routes that were shared with Newcastle Corporation, the original Northern colour was red.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Quite enjoyed the meerkats documentary though it was a bit tragic in places, mother nature can be a hard mistress. Other than the news and weather thats about the only program I've watched over the festival. Talking of weather, some very cold air is coming our way down the east coast and we might even get snow.

Hello again from Estuary-Land. I've eaten my 'second' Christmas dinner which was as successful as the first. I did misjudge the potato and parsnip portions first time round and found myself this time with rather a lot of both vegetables but I managed to eat them. Followed for dessert by a very un-Christmassy yoghurt, now to watch the meerkats on TV, be back later.

Oops nearly forgot. Chips, I use an air fryer so its essential to cover the food in oil before cooking, oven chips come already coated so it isn't a problem, you have to be careful with an air fryer though as it can dry out the food. If you travel through Belgium the further north you travel the thicker the chips become, varying from 'fries' near the French border to very chunky near the Dutch border, I'm inclined to get my chips further north, they are great dipped in mayonnaise. I also prefer them with the skins on as that is where the flavour lies.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Popped down to Tess Coes this lunchtime as I needed a loaf of bread. Picked up a few things while I was there such as half price nuts (roasted almonds) but there was little else I needed. On the way out they were giving away vegetables by the exit, sprouts, parsnips and cauliflowers but I had no use for them so I didn't partake. I'll call my friend to see how the lad is getting on with his radio controlled car. I could hear him opening his pressie and he sounded quite excited by it. Going by the number of youngsters I've seen riding them on the streets electric scooters seem to be popular despite them being illegal. A 'second' Christmas dinner tonight as it was necessary to buy two of most things so I've got to use the second venison steak and the potatoes and parsnips, the only thing not from Christmas is some broccoli. Thats it for now, be back later.

Indeed, but they will if he continues to mis-describe his items.

If your seeking information about the Great War I would suggest signing up to the Great War Forum.

Surely thats an offence under the trade descriptions act? I wonder how he would react if you threatened him with a visit from trading standards?

The NBC colours were rather bland, red or green. There were other colours that companies within the NBC empire could use but only one did so. The Notts and Derby chose blue but it didn't last long as they were soon absorbed into a red or green company.

The winter isn't over yet.

Thanks, I now have the theme of the James Bond movie as an earworm.

Mention of hearing difficulties associated with Autism reminded me. Although my hearing is normal, I do not require hearing aids I do tend to have the volume tuned up on the radio and TV as other sounds tend to drown them out, other people speaking alongside me even if quietly.

I remember the RMA's being hurriedly placed on the 175 route when LT was running short of buses. Inside they had the far more comfortable 'Green Line' seats used in the RCL's with the same grey/maroon moquette. Unfortunately they didn't last very long on the route as the lack of vertical grab rails made it difficult for the conductors. They could certainly move though as they were designed to use the Motorway towing a trailer so were fitted with the AV690 engine.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. The foot woke me up before five this morning but I did manage to get back to sleep and didn't wake up until nearly nine. The Nurofen is now doing its work so I can now walk about without any difficulty. That looks like the tree had a fungal infection, best have the rest of the tree checked out. What is different about the latest rise is that the increase is not now in the usual places one would expect but in wealthy areas such as Brentwood and Epping. As I mentioned above, a sense of self entitlement has contributed to the rise in cases. I hope that these covidiots are caught and have to spend their quarantine in a cold and draughty cell instead of the luxury hotel.

Have you ever considered nipping over to Germany for sausages? In my experience they are every bit as good as British ones. After all you could do much wurst. Hat, coat and ready to go...

Goodnight all.