SM42

Our weekend guest has bought me these Cheeky mare Andy

That is a person is promoted to the maximum of their inefficiency The Dilbert Pronciple is slightly different The least effective workers are systematically moved to where they can do least damage; mamagement Not sure that works for an MP Andy

The Dilbert principle. Unfortunately it doesn't quite work with MPs and they can do a lot of damage Andy

Ttt tttt ttttt tttttt tt ttt! Andy

Sticking with tradition, Mrs SM42 has decided that cooking needs doing ready for tomorrow, so it looks like I won't be doing the kitchen. Like her mother I tell yer, always bring where you need to be. Andy

The West wing is exempt from cleaning at present. No point if you are going to make more mess. Just the kitchen to do now. But first, lunch Andy

It is a time of perturbation at SM42 Towers. Tidying for the arrival of a weekend guests onetime tomorrow is in full swing. Mrs SM42 is doing the wet stuff, I'm dusting and hoovering. "Would you like a drink?" she asked "that would be nice thanks " A few minutes later it arrives. The coaster is far too obvious a place to put it. No that book will look a lot better with a ring on the cover ☹️ I am about to fire up the vacuum cleaner and start the laborious task of doing the entire mansion. This could take a while. Andy

Meanwhile there are some out there that think the law hasn't changed since AD 1215. They're funny. Andy

We may be getting more rain than before but it is not all arriving in one big dollop as a rule Drainage generally seems to work where it has been maintained, mainly why rivers are getting overful, I suspect and the country is not disappearing under flood waters except where one would expect it to when a river is in flood. Not maintaining drains is what causes water to back up and go / stay where it's not wanted. Steady and persistent rainfall should be easily dealt with. Those at the bottom of the system ( hill) may however have problems as a result Huge convective rainfall events that dump 10s of mm in a few minutes do not happen everyday. Yes there is more rain, but it should not be overwhelming a drainage system in the amounts it is currently falling. For instance. Our patio ( around 30 sq m ) drains towards the lawn. At the edge is a land drain that runs to a soakaway at the bottom of the garden. The going is soft on the lawn in general, but where the drain runs it is significantly drier, to the extent that the grass struggles to grow. If that small system can cope then a properly planned, ( we made it up as we went) engineered and maintained system should do so. Yes rainfall amounts have increased, but the fundamentals of water management remain the same. Hear that? It's the chickens coming home Andy

Ti's one of those things that doesn't happen so much now. As a youngster, going down the local cattle market on Tuesday during school holidays to look around and generally entertain ourselves as 8 to 10 years old did, was the thing. One of our number however took more of an interest and before long was helping load and un load trucks and generally helping out around the place. Doing so he probably made a few bob, but also became a regular at the auction ring and by the time he left school had a boltx on career as an auctioneer. The rest of us drifted into various careers in a less gradual manner. Andy

On Monday, Mrs SM42 reminded me that it had been 18 years since our first date and her first exhibition at Ally Pally, 1st April 2006. Andy

It's the start of the migration season when they move up from Africa for the summer and for mating. Saw a few pairs last week in Poland. It's considered lucky to have them nesting on your property in Poland Andy

Some very familiar scenes there. The third from last tram picture in front of the Bosch is at the Most Teatralny stop, by the theatre. The last tram is heading towards the same stop in the opposite direction along Ulica Fredry. The depot may have been the now closed one on Zeylander. Can help looking to see if I appear in the background of one of your pictures, but I tended to frequent routes 2, 17 and 18 to / from Ogrody. Good stuff. Andy

I couldn't resist the latest bit if click bait madness about how you risk a £200 fine for not changing the clock in your car. How so? You wonder Apparently if the clock is wrong people will look at their phone instead. 🤔 The ability to add one to a number is beyond most drivers it seems. Andy

Always wondered why some weren't in green. There was also a 'cucumber' bus that did trips on Sundays as well as heritage trams that sometimes ran. * The building behind the tram in your photo is Poznan's equivalent of the NEC. The main difference is that entry to one show gets you in the others that might be on I did the Hobby show and the Retro Motor show for the £5 entry fee to the Hobby show a couple of years back. Andy *Mrs SM42 tells me these run in the summer months

Wow. I didnt realise how old those Combinos were. Still some Konstals running about but haven't noticed any of the ex German fleet of late, except the Kit Kat special that ran over Christmas. The tram network has seen a lot of work over last few years. The depot on Zeylander has closed and a new fast route through what used to be the carriage sidings at Poznan Glowny has opened. You can now buy and load a prepaid card rather than use paper tickets, although these are still available Works like an oyster card, touch in, touch out, but unlike Oyster several people (IIRC up to 99) can travel on one card. One of our favourite activities if we had an afternoon to kill was to buy 24 hour ticket and get on and off random trams and watch the city go by. Andy

Now you're starting to sound like ground crew. Andy

Well we are back home. 932 miles, 16.5 hours. The standard of driving on the M25 hasn't improved in the last week. That and the endless miles of Operation Brock or whatever they are calling it these days didn't do much for my blood pressure. Why is driving in the UK so fluppin frustrating compared to mainland Europe? Whilst cooling our heels at the Channel Tunnel terminal, the obligatory tour of the duty free shop was undertaken. Mrs SM42 came out covered in various sampled perfumes. They claim our beer allowance has gone up to 42 litres ( it was unlimited 5 years ago) and I also found a bottle of wine with a Hippo on it. Can't post a photo as it was called Fat Ba ( well you get the idea). I have restored the inner man with a sandwich and some alcohol free beer ( work tomorrow, early start) and to top it off there is some homemade cakes left for us by a friend who kept an eye on the house. Result. Andy

Lots, but then I'm not fun size. Chunky is the word Mrs SM42 uses. Andy

Everything is fun size these days. Even trains Andy

Its official I'm full Just enough room for a couple of vodkas to aid digestion. Andy

Drunk More later after dinner Andy

Cake arrived, cake eaten 🤪 Andy

Vodka and cake is imminent 🤪 Andy

Maybe they land in barely populated places as they reckon that if it gets nasty they only have have few locals to take on and if they want to be discreet, a few hillbillies drinking the local brew wouldn't be believed. More intelligent than you give them credit for. Andy