PhilJ W

My success with the NY Times Wordl continues, 7th successive 'win' and this time on the third attempt.

Remember that road tax and fuel duty now goes into the general taxation pot (and if it goes into road repairs it has to pay consultants first).

All he was doing was having a good scratch.

Oops, nearly forgot. @polybear when you go to Lisbon you will have to take a ride on the trams while you are there https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_Lisbon My understanding is on some routes they operate vintage trams, route 15 penetrates the older part of the city with narrow streets and steep inclines.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Getting my stuff together for the hospital trip this afternoon. First of all I will have to book a taxi and specify an easy access as I have difficulty getting in and out of ordinary cars. First I will have to get the rollalong out of the car.

There are signs that the low pay/low tax mantra is beginning to unravel. To work it depended on a pool of unemployed but a combination of Brexit and covid* has made that disappear. The government has no control over what the private sector pays its staff but tries to put the squeeze on the public sector and those parts of the private sector over which it exercises some financial control such as the railways. So we now have the situation where supermarkets, who were once paying the lowest rates have been forced to raise wages whereas the railways cannot as they are being told by the government (who hold the purse strings) not to give and other staff drivers a raise. The drivers being a highly skilled sector gives them some leverage. *Brexit has removed a lot of people from the workforce (mostly from Eastern Europe) who were willing to work for the minimum wage and covid has and still is having a debilitating effect on those particularly at the bottom of the workforce who were more likely to be unemployed.

Goodnight all.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Got to go to the hospital for the endoscopy tomorrow to check if I have a cyst in my bladder. The medics don't seem to be overly concerned so it can't be that serious.

As a one time MRC librarian I dreaded those large 'coffee table' books. Largely because the contents were carp cobbled together from various sources and nobody wanted them. The chains were very fashionable with punk rockers 25 years ago.

I was about to say some of our local charity shops stock knitting wool and as @polybear said above its very popular. A majority of charity shop customers are elderly and female so its understandable.

I had a call from the insurance company about the accident I had in January. The other drivers behavior was suspicious at the time and now he's putting in a massive claim for personal injury. Fortunately there was an independent witness and I was able to give them details that they were unaware of. It was obviously a crash for cash scam but I didn't have a dash cam but the circumstances are so obvious.

Same here, I failed my first test for that very reason. The second test wasn't completed because the (driving school) car broke down. I was therefore a bundle of nerves on my third test. I thought I had failed in the first few minutes and wanted to get it over with so I just went into auto mode and followed the examiners instructions. When the examiner told me I had passed no one was more surprised than me. I don't know if its still done but at the time learners could obtain something from their GP's to calm their nerves. I never considered that but some people did.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. The expected parcel arrived this morning, well before the binmen came round so I put the bin out. The hay fever is back, not surprising as birch trees throw out clouds of pollen after heavy rain as we had last night.

I keep toothbrushes etc. in a cabinet well away from the toilet so particles are not a problem. Best idea is to have the loo in its own room with just a small washbasin for washing hands.

The only wooden posts in my garden are either side of the gate. They are attached to brick walls either side with the bottoms about quarter of an inch above the ground. The tops are covered with zinc flashing (off cuts scrounged when a neighbour had a new roof).

The licencing laws were changed to bring licencing limits in to line throughout the Europe* about twenty years ago. I like your mother I passed my test before the changes came in so I kept the right to drive 7.5 tonne trucks (and minibuses up to 18 seats) under what is known as 'Grandfather rules'** which only applied within the UK. You can take an extra test to cover 7.5 Tonne lorries and 18 seat minibuses if you wish. *NOT the EU but to introduce compatibility throughout Europe. ** Grandfather rules were applied so that those whose job required them to drive those categories didn't have to take the extra test but was applied to all drivers. I took and passed the extra test because it was required by my employers. They ceased at age 70 unless you take a medical.

My car was written off in an accident in January. Suspicions were raised from the other drivers behavior that it was a crash for cash scam. This morning I had a call from the insurers telling me that the other driver had put in a personal injury claim. I gave them the details of what happened and they seem very interested especially when I pointed out that he was the sole occupant and there was an independent witness to that fact.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Slept well last night but when I woke up at six the joints were stiff and had to be eased into use. BIN day today and I'm expecting a parcel so I'm keeping an eye out for the bin lorry and putting the black bin out at the last minute and then taking it in as soon as its emptied. I got the NY Times Wordl again today, that's the sixth one in a row.