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Some more photos at Newcastle for today. Newcastle Class 143 ecs Feb 89 J9795.jpg Newcastle Class 108 and Class 143 16th Aug 89 C13858.jpg Newcastle Class 47 Sunderland to Newcastle Aug 89 J10099.jpg A dmu replacement service. Newcastle Class 47 D1962 3rd Sept 94 C19800.jpg Newcastle 158907 Newcastle to Liverpool 1st Sept 92 C18094.jpg

Isn't railway modelling wonderful? My wife just presented me with a broken gadget, a little battery-powered device to take the fluff off fabric. One of the battery contacts had corroded and broken away so I cleaned it up and soldered on a new one (cutting it from a sheet of springy brass). The gadget still wouldn't work so I took it apart and bench-tested the motor using a DC controller - all good. All that was left was a pair of pickups that need to engage the motor, one of which was worked by a switch and needed adjustment. A few minutes cleaning it up and tweaking the pickup to shape and the gadget's back working, rather than being binned. Without railway modelling I doubt that I'd have a soldering iron, 12 v controller, springy brass, various cleaning and bending tools etc. never mind the basic understanding of how an electrical path tends to work.

The lad has had his promotion approved by the MD - along with a nice salary increase (just in excess of 5%) plus his company bonus percentage rate has also been increased. So well done Rob and the Swiss.

Locomotives at rest A4 and J36 sit idle at the entrance to the Caledonian style engine shed at Braeside.

Mike - sorry I'm late responding to this - have a look at Booklaw publications of Nottingham - they seem to be advertising almost every volume at £9.99 - I think they may now be the publishers ? https://www.booklaw.co.uk/yeadon-registers.html?page=all After dad passed away, my brother and I rented out his little bungalow in a sheltered housing development. It is a legal requirement to have an Energy Performance Certificate from a suitably qualified and licenced assessor. As the property had a solid concrete floor there was a recommendation to install floor insulation at an estimated cost of £4-6000 with an estimated annual saving of £39 !! The other recommendation was that we should install solar water heating, again at a cost of £4-6000 with a saving of £42. As the property was so small you would only be able to get one solar panel on the roof. I suppose you can guess that we decided to ignore these recommendations !! .

Wow I wouldn't won't to get on the wrong side of you that's all I can say. If you burnt the hotel down just because they couldn't produce a good cup of tea heaven knows what you might do if I slighted you.

Greetings one and all, with belated birthday greetings to Ian Abel. The hidden costs of lockdown revealed themselves yesterday when the gas bill arrived. Oh boy. My monthly payment has been increased by £12. This comes of not going out nearly as much as I would. It will prompt a hunt for all my thick sweaters and an immediate reversion to the practice of only turning on the heating when I feel cold and not always then. When it starts to get cold, much advice is bandied around concerning the relative merits of having the heating on all day on a low setting or at full blast for not very long at a time. At this point I expect with confidence that expert will disagree with other expert. Bring it on. The discussion on coffee is interesting. I am not at all fond of the stuff and find the current popularity of Costa Packet bewildering. The last time I recall setting foot in a Costa was in Harpenden. More out of rebellion than to slake my thirst I bought and consumed a cup of tea, which I greatly prefer. At home I have a jar of instant in case a visitor would prefer coffee to tea. I do not receive many visitors! Overseas travel presents the occasional dilemma. I can cope with coffee by adding much more milk than it is designed for and by dumping into it large quantities of sugar. At times I have recourse to hot chocolate, especially in Switzerland where they really do not know how to make tea. The lower boiling point of water at high altitudes may have some bearing on that but such an excuse would not have held water [sorry] in a Bristol hotel where I was once subjected to tea Swiss-style. A glass vessel contained water which had probably never boiled. It shared a saucer with a tea bag which the customer was ecxpeced to dunk in the water for as long as it took. When I complained I was told that they used to make tea properly but it took so long to be taken from the kitchen to the table that it was stewed when it arrived. I won't be staying at that hotel again - mainly because it burned down after my last stay. Best wishes to all Chris

Good evening everyone Whilst I was sat reading I nodded off for a few minutes! I could feel my eyes going as I was reading but couldn’t overcome the urge to shut them. I woke up when the magazine hit the floor! Anyway, after that I seemed to be a lot brighter and was able to stay awake for the rest of the afternoon. I spent some of that time get information about my second pension, which will mature in August when I can start to draw it. This is from my first job, the one I started when I left school and will basically be a top up for my current pension. It won’t be a great amount, but it’s better than nowt! It does mean however, that I’ll have to do a bit of research into annuities etc, not something that'll need to be done to gain the full benefit, but I can’t say I’m looking forward to it. As for coffee, I can’t stand the stuff, the smell of freshly made coffee is very nice, but that’s it, as soon as it gets to my lips the taste makes me want to vo..., you get the picture. It’s been that way since I was a kid and my mum used to buy cheap instant coffee, it put me off for life. Sheila feels the same way about tea, as I do about coffee, but will happily drink coffee, usually freshly with a cafetière, so I get to smell the freshly made coffee, but don’t have to drink the stuff. Tomorrow I’ve been tasked with keeping an eye and ears open for the window cleaners, as they’re due about now and Sheila will be busy tackling ironing the duvet set, which for a king size bed is quite large, so is something that once stared, is difficult to stop part way through to answer the door. So this will give me an opportunity to have a play, the plan is to settle down at a table in the cellar and have a play with my DCC controller and a few accessories to see just what I can do with them.

Hello all, As has been mentioned above, we are now furloughed. This is a result of our supplies being depleted over a very busy 2020, resulting in us now being short of enough key components that things have become unworkable. Unfortunately, the furlough rules state that we have to go one way or the other, so we can no longer trade at all. Not that helpful however… We are trying to use the down-time profitably and are working behind the scenes on the new website with online ordering. There’s a lot of tinkering with settings going on, with the usual suite of problems that happen when you touch anything to do with the internet. For example, for a while, you may not be able to view the new site, or the old one, then one or the other might come on, or maybe not… emails may not get to us… and who knows what else! So, apologies for the interruption(s) - we will try and get things sorted ASAP - and thanks very much for your continued support for our business over the years. We fully intend to get things up and running again, and the new system should help us to be more efficient. Being realistic, when we are back on our feet, there’s likely to be a few teething problems with all the new stuff, but they’ll get ironed out and I may even get some time to do some design work?!… We're also working on an Instagram page. Cheers, Chris

I think the dentist found the poorly tooth. I twitched a bit when he prodded it, and he asked me to try to be still so he could investigate further. I did my best. Then he said a filling had come out. I wasn’t aware of that until it started hurting last night. So I had an x ray, started a course of antibiotics, and have to ring back on Friday morning. He wants to see the x ray but thinks it will be an extraction rather than filling. If it hurts I should take paracetamol. Tony

Morning, from a slightly misty rock. Yes, another circuit breaker here, some CV has got into a school so there was a wee panic about that last night, although the break had already been announced. This may give another lead to trace back, there is a missing link at the moment. Untruths have been hinted at. Pfizering went OK, a slight headache last night and a prickling skin feeling. Woke through the night absolutely roasting, lay on the bed uncovered for an hour until it subsided. This morning a sore arm, and any arthritic bits (I have a selection) are feeling VERY arthritic. Nothing to write home about really, hair not purple, I appear not to be broadcasting my whereabouts or receiving instructions from the US - just from the other half as usual. Debs last day at work should have been today, but due to the lockdown was sent home yesterday late afternoon, no point in bringing everything home to take it all back today after doing no work! New job induction on Monday is obviously compromised, her new boss is self isolating as one of his kids is at that school mentioned above! Neither of us drink tea, I can't even stand the smell of it. We drink coffee weak and milky, latte if out and about. We don't have a Star*ucks over here, so can't comment, but Costa have a three branches but we prefer to use independents if at all possible. The only place we get bad coffee is the MSPCA tearooms, a shame as their grub is good! It's like battery acid, not sure what beans they use but it is foul.

Good morning all from a grey and somewhat misty Hill of Strawberries. We are warned of yellow fog but haven't seen any yet. Of tea and coffee both can be made in myriad different ways and both have socio-cultural implications. "Let's have tea" can be a British way of settling minor local differences while an invitation to coffee in some cultures (I know it from parts of Turkey and Iran) means great celebration such as the announcement of a wedding. Coffee seems to have progressed from "Camp" brand chicory and coffee essence which was all that was in the house when I was very young through the various levels of instant to the far more refined cafetiere (or "jug") which is equally at home in a domestic or restaurant setting and the seemingly never-ending range of variants from the espresso machine. We also have capsules, home milk frothers and all sorts these days. Coffee is such a vast subject. We all like it differently and our backgrounds and cultures may influence how and when we drink it. Our Turkish neighbours brew it thick and strong and offer it to us to celebrate the birthdays of their children (in non-Covid times). I'm not a great fan of Costa as they heat the milk first then add the shot which to my mind is the wrong way round. Nero use a blend which I find slightly bitter but while Pret make theirs in a high-volume machine rather than the traditional "Gaggia" type beast it does come out usually rather well. Tea. Where does one start? Milk in first? Tea in first? No milk at all? Same considerations as coffee but for a totally different beverage. "Tea" encompasses so many options. Just as coffee at home might well be instant so tea is often brewed using bags. Then there is the range of herbal "teas" many of which don't come from a tea-plant at all but are similarly-brewed infusions of herbs, petals or fruits. I usually have a "gold" style instant coffee at home and Yorkshire tea bags but there is a choice. Currently I have four different blends of ground coffee, of which one is a decaf for SWMBO, for the jug and a couple of other teas. SWMBO is a big fan of the "afternoon tea" with china cups, saucers, tea-pot and all. She collects sets and finds reason to use them. Of note to @Happy Hippo and @polybear is that such events normally involve c**e I must now finish the current MuggerOcadoColombianGold before it gets cold and before I waffle on any further. Suffice to say I have a slightly stiff shoulder from yesterday's jab but no other side-effects. My phone mysteriously runs on 5G and I have several new and curious appendages growing but that's OK. The governments of the UK and Chine know my every move and I bleep every five seconds. But no side effects

This morning, perhaps appropriately as it is Budget day, we have a picture of a banker. With this load, Mons Meg is entitled to a shove as far as the end of the platform, and the N5 will oblige.

A re-varnished 0-4-2T moves over the viaduct.

Some more ‘outdoor’ photography from shelfie2

Post walk around the village the joints have loosened, but the injection site is now no-touch area! Odd it has changed so quickly. Still don't care! Mrs NHN has arranged an induction day in her own time tomorrow with her new boss as they are both previously inoculated, so have decided they will both run the risk as otherwise it is unworkable next week. Masks will still be worn. We like Illy coffee in the cafetiere, or use Kenco Millcano for instant. This is usually a little pricey but there have been some good offers recently so we have stocked up big time - we get through a lot.

I used to drink a lot of Mc donalds hot drinks out and about remember that. Not because i prefered it but because i used to get them free. How collection of the loyalty stickers on cups folk had thrown away and left them on that i collected when litter picking. I also won over £100 on scratch cards without buying one. I always used to check them when i had picked them up before they went in the bag. One kind soul threw one away with a £40 and £10 win on it only thing was it was wet through i had to post that to Camelot and got a cheque back

Good morning everyone A little late out of bed this morning, but I don’t care, I’m retired, I’m allowed to have a lie in now if I want one, so there It’s quite a sunny sunny day here in England’s northwest, but I’m going to spend the most part of it ‘playing’ in the cellar. I have a few experiments I want to conduct with my DCC controller and a few bits and pieces, so it should be a fun time. However, my first task is to fix the light pull in the bathroom, Sheila managed to severe the cord between the pull knob and the switch, so I have to source some new cord. I know there is some, i saw it a few weeks ago when I was sorting out stuff in the cellar, I’m just not sure where I’ve put it. Stay safe, stay sane, enjoy whatever you have planned for the day, back later. Brian

Dull and overcast in North Somerset this morning. The ground appears wet and it would seem we have had a little rain overnight, but it is dry at the moment. Expecting parcels today, possibly a dozen flag irises to plant around the pond; and so I would like dry weather as they need to go in the ground as soon as possible in order to get them growing properly to maybe flower in May or June. Have 5 Amaryllis bulbs which have sprouted again over the last few days after their winter hibernation. These will be fed and watered regularly now as they grow really quickly once they start. I would like them to be flowering by Easter.

Ey up! Bit misty again this morning up in the North West Leeds Highlands. I will drink coffee or tea at any time. I do like the flat white sold in New Zealand. I has one in Wellington airport. My nexrcone was in Manchester Airport railway station q0 days later. The one in New Zealand was tastier and cost half the price of the one in Manchester. Her indoors likes tea. Once she found out where to be Yorkshire Tea in Oz we could have a decent cupoftea on our visits there. Today is house cleaning day. I must wield the Shark then wash the non carpeted floors in the house. Frabjoy! Enjoy your day if you can. Time to check that all is well with our missing ERs. Baz

Happy birthday to Ian and many more of them. Still having a lot of trouble with sciatica causing loss of mojo so no workshop time today. However, Jill has allowed a carry forward of the pink chit to whenever I'm finally able to contemplate some muddling so all is not lost. Night night everyone. Stay safe. Dave

Quick lets change the subject.... Here is a man looking over the fence at a loco or the sheep of course for his painting...its of course that well known local artist Stan Dare....which he is?

In a moment of madness Bear listened to the Budget. Bear notes with considerable interest that he can now buy ten million quid's worth of diggers and my mate Rishi will then bung me thirteen million quid Anyone wanna buy a nearly new, one owner, delivery mileage only JCB in as-new condition? Used for shoveling cake only; the buckets are a bit sticky but these will be licked clean prior to delivery..... Bear didn't note anything that would shaft the likes of Amazon who've been kicking the ar5e out of the tax system for years. Disappointing.

The object of my search is indeed the PS5. Video games, even at the ripe old age of 45, are still one of my vices (along with beer, whisky, Derby County and model railways). Throughout the first lockdown I regularly indulged in the Call of Duty games after both Amber and our foster child had gone to bed. The games were played, online, with my best mate Mark - chatting over the headsets. At least it was some kind of socialising! Solo gaming these days are usually restricted to the Train Sim World driving game - usually taking the Class 47 or 33 along the West Somerset (no steam trains as yet). Sadly the frustration continues. The "Game" store contrived to kick me out of the store as the stock went live this morning. I have three different bundles spread across three different devices all sat at different stages of the longest check out queue I know. I guarantee that I will complete none of them - and I only want one! Stay safe - whilst I try and stay patient and sane! Andy

I have found that our "ferrari" (a Gaggia coffee machine) woks really well with Lavazza D'or.. not cheap but it makes excellent coffee. Not tried the Rossa or Decaf yet.. Baz

A lot of this is due to spell check. Both my surnames are often incorrectly spelt and the first of these spell check changes a y for an I even after correction. It is frustrating and sometimes official documents appear with incorrect spelling in them - its no joke. One of the problems, particularly with first names is that 'correct' spellings' were inadvertently altered and have become in common usage. There are also of course those who have names that are excruciating long so use different versions of them for different things e.g a student might use one name for enrolment, one name for payment, and yet another of written assignments - working through that lot causes a lot of wasted time. It seems that my reply has become a rant - apologies.

Mooring Awl, Inner Temple Hare, 641 / 401. 5 hours sleep , long gap 1.5 hours sleep pretty good by my standards.. Ben the decisive Collie didn't want to go out this morning, this head appeared looking round the corner from the living room, watching me open the back door, no attempt to walk down the corridor to me.. I asked him if he wanted out.. He said no.. We did have two settings on the heating, 10C overnight 17C during the day (plus coal stove in the living room) But found when the heating went on high , just before I went to get up, it went roaring away for over an hour before it settled. the difference in overall bills was negligible.. This in a house with solid 9 inch thick brick walls. Now it just sits at 17C, only being put down to a low temperature if we're away. We've once been to Star*ucks... . It was only because of Covid. There wasn't a gaggle of people standing around the serving hatch unlike everywhere else, They were serving from a table in the doorway of Star*ucks.. I had a latte, the milk of which, dented the strange flavour of the coffee, SWMBO had tea which was very "flowery", I could smell that without tasting it. It was a rapid unanimous vote not to go there again.. That Stupid red clowns place we don't go to either, again once tried never again.. not because of the coffee but because of sweet tasting buns for the burgers and "fries" not chips. No wonder the USA has a 10%+ diabetic rate.. In normal times You see the twenty something females arrive here at work clutching their cup of Costa Packet or Star*ucks coffee.. quite why, I've no Idea , they can make their own at home or, have free coffee here, machine made from beans with, unfortunately, uht milk. I'm now doing a second major unit this week, due the the different cal periods of some equipments, I had 3 scheduled for a fortnights time, a bit much.. Then yesterday after handing back the first one, I noticed one of those three wasn't in use.. A quick chat to the user, and they had nothing due for work .. So I'm doing that one a fortnight early.. Time to go get started again...

OK, I’ll start. Some years ago the local energy companies were subsidizing energy upgrades to homes. To get the subsidy, you had to get an energy audit of the house before and after, done by an approved inspector. We wanted to replace old single-pane windows with new double glazing, but we asked the inspector at the ‘before’ audit about possibly getting a new high efficiency gas-fired central heating furnace. He advised against spending money on that if the existing furnace was still working well. He said that furnaces use a significant proportion of the gas they do use in heating up each time they fire. With the new window insulation, the furnace would be firing less often, and would run for shorter times. That would mean that a bigger proportion of the running time would be high-consuming heating up use, and that would apply for both the existing furnace and any new replacement. While the new furnace would be more efficient, it would take several years to recover, in reduced running costs, the initial cost of the new furnace. Applying all that to your question, it would seem to suggest running at a steady, lower setting and avoiding repeated heating up from cold.

EWS 66209 shunting wagons at Tees Yard WRD.

Some from today 66739 again, inbound train And reloaded to depart unusual load on the front wagon 196s in store And off at basford hall That’s me until Saturday, on a job in Runcorn

The frightening reality is that COBOL, in particular, is still around in many legacy systems. The sheer incredible expense of replacing/rewriting some systems, that are running perfectly happily as they are, frightens corporate types off from flushing that much money down a replacement toilet. In fact, the ERP system that I work with, until the latest release about 2+ years back, was very COBOL-based, using a hybrid of COBOL code, since the system was first developed in the mid-80s in COBOL on IBM mainframes. All easily migrated through the various generations of systems. You can STILL get an industrial-grade COBOL compiler for the latest Windows servers . Think for a moment, what part of the back-end of ANY accounting/finance department functionality has changed since the quill and paper came into being HUMP day, and with it the realization that I may have to leave, or get banned from ERs. I have to confess I like Starbucks lattes please don't think any less of me! Tea and coffee preferences and habits especially in the US are extremely varied, from totally objectionable to very satisfying vive la difference! (MAYBE!!) Having had rather a larger lunch yesterday than originally planned, we deferred the Indian for my birthday until today, as I knew I'd not be able to do it justice -2 and sunny earlier, high of 5 expected, snow depth rapidly declining, we may see GRASS in a couple of days <whoopee>! Carry on.

Isn't she just and here we see her again shunting a fruit D this afternoon.

And odd to remark I have just managed to get the correct one off the 'net. There is no mention if any green wires in the wiring diagram so that's taht one sorted by default. alas the diagram is a block diagram and it doesn't give the spec for any particular wire and this model is n longer made. Espares will be my next r target - they send me enough promotional emails so they must like me (maybe)

Morning al, Currently cold and misty. but itis promised to warm up later- when the yellow rain arrives. I find coffee the most disappointing drink I have ever come across, the only thing that was in any way worse was some Bulgarian plum brandy I had in Poland in the years before glasnost. My big problem with coffee is that the decent stuff smells very nice but the taste doesn't come up to the aroma hence disappointment. When I'm on the mainland (of Europe) there is really little choice but to drink it as the foreigners have not the faintest idea of how to make tea so I have little choice but to consume black coffee (hoping to find some decent tasting stuff) plus a considerable quantity of sugar. Much to my surprise it took me a long time to find a decent brand of tea for 'home' use when I was working in Aus - there's some right rubbish on the market over there but eventually i found a really good one so ceased to worry about my working visit being extended. As we havea modern bult house we have loads of insulation and, obviously, double glazing, and we got very high marks on the compulsory leakage test after completion. So the boiler isn't on all the time except when it gets really arctic like. we have the advantage too of solar panels for water heating on teh southern end of the roof which also makes a difference. And when we fire up the wood burner it is very good at producing an excellent output and over this winter it is mainly burning the results of the tree surgeon's attentions to our own trees. Kitchen has now been very thoroughly decontaminated by the management and GD and the latter even managed to shift out the range cooker and had a good clean up behind it as well. She found four stray screws, presumably from the cooker which clearly had not been taken out by ratty and which equally clearly didn't have anywhere to reinsert them, strange! there were also two stray ,thin, and very short, earth leads which were only long enough to be attached to the same bits of metal they were attached to at the other end and no where which would take any of four different patterns of screw. I wonder what the odds are of getting a service manual and/or wiring diagram for a 13 year old cooker of a design which is no longer made and where the brand name has been long sold off by the original manufacturer? Have a good day one and all

Morning, foggy and cold again, we should have had the Aurora last night, but not in the fog and cloud we didn't. Of coffee and tea, I no longer drink either much, son in law is a coffee nut, paid a fortune for a fancy machine to make his fancy drinks at home, when out I will join him in Starbucks for a coffee, especially if he's paying, it tastes inoffensive to me. I tend to drink water out of the tap more than anything else these days.

I rang the dentist surgery. I can go for my throbbing tooth to be looked at at 11.30 today. We seem to do well in what some call the postcode lottery of healthcare. Normally we can see the dentist’s surgery but it is shrouded in mist/fog today. The receptionist always recognises my voice so I must sound different to most people round here. They don’t have any caller display technology. Everything is quite traditional (paper filing system, cash or cheque) except for the dental equipment. Tony

A general view of the yard showing a Fordson E1A tractor being serviced in the foreground with a Fordson Standard behind it. Coming into the yard is an Opel rail truck, it is gas powered made from either wood or coal. She is started on petrol but changed over to gas once the engine is warm. A useful method of getting rid of rubbish on the farm. Photo by Chris Nevard. Peter M

Good moaning from a land where high quality pain au Raisins are freely available but not eccles cakes. Great news from France yesterday, Macron has reversed his petulant decision about the Astra Zeneca vaccine and it will now be given to our age group in GP's surgeries from Monday, we may not have to wait till April/May. Work started on the second gate yesterday. I thoughtbitvwould be a simple rub down an repaint job but many of the screws holding the slats on had rusted through. This mornings job is to remove/ file down the rusty remains so that the frame can be rubbed down. I also got started on my last big scanning project, 900 slides taken in the USA and Canada in 78 and 79. The first 84 got done in batches of 12 whilst other jobs got done. It's sunny out at the monent but there is a lot of cloud around. The shed beckons so I will wish Ian a belsted happy birthday and hope that Mike (60806)'s day goes alright. Jamie

MRJ 282 is now at the printers and should be available shortly. From this issue the cover price is raised to £5.50 per issue. In a break with tradition, here is some pre publication information: It is edited by Karl Crowther and features include his Kentside Branch and Hywel Thomas's splendid Morfa Bank Sidings amongst other delights. The cover features a great shot of Morfa Bank Sidings, image available shortly... Simon

Having got to the end - hope you had a happy birthday Ian. Coffee - avoid it like the plague and cannot go near a coffee shop entrance. Tea - Andy P is correct, nobody, sometimes even SWMBO, can make tea suitable for me to drink. Many are surprised when before they discard the bag I ask them to put it in my 1/3 full milked containing mug. A very short stir/squeeze and then remove and discard. This process does not work with one-cup varieties. Heating - prefer the low level overnight but constant disagreement with SWMBO who sets it too high in the day so that between 'heatings' it gets too cold while the boiler is cooling down enough to re-ignite. Early morning rain and now foggy. Telphone call from surgery expecting call for second jab but no, it was to discuss current tablet regime. Pleased that they asked about side-effects and yes, like Baz comments a year to two ago there are some but the alternatives are worse ... conclusion 'stay where we are'. Hard luck Neil - seems there are many dishonest people around who don't like the lockdowns but doing their best to prolong them. Philj comment reminds me of those days when you could also get a fair proportion of chips for 2 'old' pennies.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Neil, I had exactly the same symptoms after my jab, sore arm and stiff joints. The stiff joints didn't last very long but the sore arm took a couple of days to go away. I remember driving through Norfolk when we caught a whiff of fish and chips, or more accurately the beef dripping they were frying them in. We just had to stop and try them, just as well they were as good as the smell.

I have just reached the end of the Game queue, as did Elder Lurker on his laptop. Sold out!

Another coffee drinker, fliter at home, usualy Weatherspoons therefore Lavazza when out. If I go into C or S I allways ask for single shot americano, I know that you are supposed to be able to float a horseshoe on it but I draw the line at the horse & rider as well.

Dry start, and quite bright down here, but Sky Wee is due later I'm told. I had a short walk as back ache started, and then the left Hip said can we go home please, so home and breakfast. Just on my first Mugatea. back later.

Morning all. Greetings from a foggy estuary. I will be phoning the dentist later as I have a sore tooth. I have a routine appointment in a couple of weeks but hopefully I can be seen before that. We used to not have our heating on at night but since changing to leaving it on all the time we have noticed a change in our energy bills. Our smart meter readout rarely indicates as much daily use as it did previously. This could be due to other factors but our bills have not increased by leaving the heating on. This is is a house with an efficient boiler, double glazing and cavity wall insulation. The roof insulation isn’t as thick as the latest recommendation but is ok. Tony

This may help: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/energy-saving-myths/ Should I leave the heating on low all day even when I'm out, or turn it up only when I need it? This is a hotly debated one. According to experts at the Energy Saving Trust, the idea it's cheaper to leave the heating on low all day is a myth. They're clear that having the heating on only when you need it is, in the long run, the best way to save energy, and therefore money. (A timer's best as your thermostat turns your heating on and off to keep your home at the temperature you set.) The key thing to understand here is that it's all about the total amount of energy required to heat your home. It's a given that a certain amount of energy is constantly leaking out of your home (how much will depend on how good your insulation is). The Energy Saving Trust says if you're keeping the heating on all day you're losing energy all day, so it's better to heat your home only when you need it. However, it's not quite that clear-cut. Some specialists disagree – and argue you should keep the heating on constantly for an entirely different reason. They advocate keeping the heating on low all day, turning all radiator valves up to the max and the boiler down to the minimum, and say the problem with turning the heating on and off is that every time it's turned off, condensation collects within the walls. This condensation can help conduct heat outside the home, they say – meaning you leak heat more quickly and so will use more energy as a result.

COBOL skills were in great demand around the time of Y2K. (Most of the applications sensitive to Y2K were written in COBOL since it was primarily a punched card-based system and using two fields for the year was ubiquitous.) I suspect there is still plenty of COBOL out there, but since 2000 much of it would be updated.

Happy birthday Ian, and many more of them. Having once had part of a cup of a strange liquid Starmucks called tea I don't think I'd have anything they were offering even if they paid me to drink it. BTW the only reason i went in was because 'someone'- who'd best remain unnamed - decided to try their coffee so dragged me along in her wake. Apparently the coffee didn't impress her although it was, unlike the 'tea', considered drinkable. Good job we had a takeaway and there was a large litter bin just outside.

This is Little Burford a little commission I've just done, and my first attempt at 0 gauge..

I came across these two photos recently, how much more '70s can you get....?!! Looking back, I remember my Grandad's late '73 M reg's estate in sky blue, my aunt's two Coupes in metallic green and white and one of my middle school teacher's saloon in dark green with a beige vinyl roof.