Tony_S

Do you have a kitchen with integrated appliance that look like cupboards? Years ago we were looking for a new washing machine. We were told the machine was available as a version for integrating behind some door or decor panel. Aditi actually said that if she were paying that much, she wanted to see it.

I had an interview for a head of department post at a school in Essex. They were planning to introduce the same sort of IT curriculum I had been supporting in London. It was going really well until they asked if I had any questions. So I asked when the other PCs would be arriving and who would be installing them. The chair of govenors said there was to be no more expenditure. So I gently pointed out the software for the courses they intended to implement would not run on their existing workstations . The chairperson told me I was wrong and she had seen all the software demonstrated by their current head of dept whom had specified the system. I said she must have seen it running on the server as a standalone, not on their network stations. They didn’t offer me the job although the county advisor rang my boss to say if I wanted a job don’t tell the chair of governors they don’t know what they are talking about. He said apart from that I did very well.

What a lovely surprise.

Probably worth checking how to remove a number from a blocklist too.,The other day my wife fumbled picking up our BT Digital Voice handset and managed to block her 96 year old Mum who rings about 3 times a day. While I was attempting to edit the blocklist ,( log on to MyBT account page, not a handset function) mother in law rang using her mobile. Tony

The endoscopy unit used to be on level C in between the fracture clinic and outpatients. Finding a parking place at Basildon usually takes longer than my appointments (not endoscopy, for those I go to the Royal London in Whitechapel).

Perhaps you could do it in 009. Lots of available locos and wagons now.

We have a few examples of honeysuckle. The one in the frame is very strong and survived the previous arch blowing over. The older stems are quite woody. I have just asked Aditi. The honeysuckle is Graham Thomas, it is supposed to be deciduous but down here doesn’t lose all its leaves. Already about to flower, and flowers for ages. The clematis that grows with it is Etoile Violette. I didn’t ask what the rose is but it is red if that helps. Aditi probably knows. Danse du Feu, I am informed. She does seem to know what most of her plants are called. Aditi reckons all the plants on the arch are doing well as we have had lots more rain this winter. Aditi likes,plants because when she was little she used to wander around the garden with her Dad. He loved growing things. His first degree was actually in botany before he then started a medical degree. There must be a family tradition as my nieces seem to help willingly with Aditi’s brother’s garden. The eight year old likes weeding. Though I did once ask if she was totally sure what she was hoeing were weeds.

I know, I saw them at a National Trust garden. They don’t actually look very attractive plants. Surprised anyone ever thought they could be tasty. Wikipedia suggests they were introduced into Europe by Romans trading with China.

It looks like a US short line layout has had Welsh placenames added. As HH mentioned it was one of Iain Rice’s plans influenced by US models. I think any of my smaller US diesel models would handle the curves and inclines. No buffers and Kadee couplers make such things possible.

We must be very dull. We have a honeysuckle and clematis on one side of as garden arch, and a climbing rose on the other side. Aditi sometimes has sweet peas on the rose side. I am now going to suggest some climbing beans with pretty flowers instead of the sweet peas.

Chris or Jo or Sam aren’t even having their time wasted by giving daft answers. They are machine responses not minimum wage humans. Don’t ever answer any query with yes or no, as really criminal types will attempt to use that recording as permisssion to do something. Many of the energy consultants are definitely robots not human script followers. The response to the flippant answer usually starts the process off again. My wife says I should just hang up but I am curious to know how the logic works.

We must be feeling better. We have been out for something other than medical visits today. We cut the grass. I did the very small front lawn and Aditi did the back lawn . The dandelions and daisies were quite pretty but I expect there will be daisies appearing tomorrow, they are quite persistent. There are enough dandelion flowers still for early insect nutrition. The dandelions on our front lawn are quite short and survive the mower blade.I read somewhere that dandelions are a good source of springtime food for bees and wasps. Anything with blossom was cleared yesterday by the gustier spells of wind.

Parsnips didn’t disappear from the vegetable garden like the skirret did though. Potatoes are much easier to grow.

They were in the dishwasher probably…

Other countries have signs stating something like “Stehpinkler Verboten”. Though in Bavaria it would have been streng verboten.

I like the 13 1/2 inch dimension…

We don’t have skunks here but there are polecats about in parts of the country. Bigger than a stoat and can breed with ferrets. Also, keeping a skunk,as a pet is legal here but removing its scent glands is forbidden.

That was the sort of comment I was desperately trying to create! Seemed to be a popular tale at school assembly or Sunday School.

Vegans wouldn’t eat Quorn mince though. I would probably be quite content following a lacto vegetarian diet but wouldn’t have any interest in products designed to look, taste and chew like meat. Any diet for humans that deviates from omnivorous is going to involve a degree of compromise, we just have accept those we are happy with. Vegan diets in Europe probably require food processing and a lot of air miles. Lacto vegetarians have to accept the slaughter of male calves so,we can have their milk. People who choose dairy substitutes have a huge impact on water use to produce them. I am fortunate that I can afford to pander to my whims and choose eggs and meat from happy chickens or pork products from certified British farms. Sometimes packaging and food additives are to prevent food waste, we can’t all live next to a farm or market garden. I have settled in to a state of being a happy omnivore. If I visit a vegetarian household I don’t expect to be served meat. However, I wouldn’t serve meat to a vegetarian visiting us. With the rather multicultural nature of our extended family it does require a bit of thought. Some of Aditi’s cousins don’t eat eggs so eggless cake recipes get made. Careful reading of food labels takes place as not everything is as it seems. We do keep some frozen pizza in case we have to go at short notice to Enfield. However the tomato and cheese one we like states not suitable for vegetarians, due to use of animal rennet to produce the cheese. In the list of that companies non veg pizza the only preservative/additive I can find is in the pancetta, and is I assume part of the curing process. I am really happy I am fortunate enough to be able to eat things I like, not eat things I don’t like and can either cook or obtain them.

It was every much “a thing” last year in Haute Savoie last year. Sprinkles of alpine flowers as garnish on various meals.

I wonder if they had curly skirret fries. The skirret disappeared from culinary use rapidly after potatoes were introduced. Tony

Overnight stays in Southampton have increased significantly since last year. We have booked a hotel 15 minutes from the cruise terminal rather than the usual place 5 minutes away. Seems less frantic about parking too.

There are flights from Luton too, but might be Wizz Air…

It was a good question though. Must have been thought up by some clever lawyers.

We saw something similar while waiting for the Copenhagen Iron Man cyclists to pass. Someone in a van decided to jump the queue and managed to knock over a parcel. The driver tried shouting at the policemen who was controlling the traffic to let him through . The shouting was in English. The police officer gave very clear instructions about getting out of the vehicle. When we next saw the van driver as we passed where he had been taken he was up against the side of a police van getting what looked like a thorough search. He must have been crazy to attempt what he did .