Early Risers.

[Kingzance]

3 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

I am not there right now but there was a threat of showers this morning. We need it. We are dreadfully short of rain this June and are headed for our 3rd driest recorded June. (Incidentally, the TV meteorologist went looking for any precipitation across the northwest a couple of nights ago. They only place was the Idaho panhandle.)

That's going to impact on the price of Freedom Fries than, given Idaho's the spud centre of the US!

[Gwiwer]

Evening all from the Hill of Strawberries where we are being entertained by someone called Metallica* performing music up the road in the egg-chasing stadium. 

 

Once again I have not delved into the recent archive but can report that for the first time in six months I am cough-free. Not one has emerged today. Having also indulged in regular afternoon sleeps I am also feeling significantly brighter when awake. 

 

SWMBO has gone to bed with a sleep monitor taped to her hand. Next week she gets the results which is worrying her and spiking her anxiety levels because the last time she was monitored they discovered respiratory failure. 

 

It has been an interesting week at the House of Fun with the Gentlemen of the Union decreeing that their guards shall withdraw their labour. So far we have got everyone where they wish to go by one means or another and have been helped by an obviously reduced level of demand. Some no doubt taking leave, others taking other routes.  Not only that but throughout a week where less than half the published timetable is running we are coping with the annual fancy dress parade which is Royal Ascot and additionally tonight have had an extra 30,000 or so heading for the concert at Twickers. 

 

Neighbour (Upstairs) has gone speed-dating tonight the results of which I may or may not hear about later. 

 

* we cannot actually hear anything. The acoustics are such that most sound is contained.  Which is a shame because I quite like Metallica. 

 

Best wishes to one and all. 

 

[Ozexpatriate]

15 minutes ago, Kingzance said:

That's going to impact on the price of Freedom Fries than, given Idaho's the spud centre of the US!

Don't fret, There's lots of mountains and lakes and beautiful scenery in the panhandle (of Idaho). 

 

To the best of my knowledge, the spuds are to the south.  If you really like spuds you can sleep in this one.

[Coombe Barton]

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2019/06/20/sandys-treatment-day-184/

[bbishop]

Evening awl,

 

I've never quite understood the need to have a pedigree dog, especially when they are a pricked ear, flat ear different from the next breed.  Also the present preference for a squashed nose with all the issues with breathing difficulties.  As a family, we followed a mongrel with three Jack Russells.   The first one was mine, purchased for 18 guineas from a farm on Exmoor.  We were given full details of his parentage going back six generations.  Loved cats, children, beating up German Shepherds, climbing trees and disposing of vermin.

 

I spent Tuesday on the Swanley New Barn Railway, working the signalbox for a private charter.  It is a 7½ inch gauge loop, no bells but a full size Southern Railway interlocked frame.  Great fun!

 

Signing off now because I have a minor medical procedure in Lewisham Hospital tomorrow morning.

 

Keep well awl, Bill 

[Kingzance]

37 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

 If you really like spuds you can sleep in this one.

Kirstie looks tasty but at $200 per night, she is a little beyond my means - and there’s no bathroom for my mid-sleep interruptions either!

[newbryford]

Golf went well. Seniors league home against Berrington. My regular doubles partner is on holiday, so I teamed up with another today. Hole wins were swapped until the 9th when we went on to win the next five and finally finish 4 and 3 winners. Team score was 5 matches to 1. Tomorrow is club singles knockout game against one of our team who were the only losers today. There will be much ribbing/ sledging......

 

I filled in my passport renewal form online last Friday night, including uploading my photo taken at home.

 

Old passport posted late Monday night 2nd class. Emails today at 1210, 1330 and 2100 saying received, approved and sent!

Can't complain at that.

 

School prom parking duty has started - 2 events so far. Top eejit so far goes to the woman in a Q7 that very carefully reverse parked in between a number of no parking cones. 

She was asked to move and then when she did, ran over one of the cones claiming that she didn't  see it.

 

Have a good Friday folks.

 

Cheers

Mick

[lightengine]

3 minutes ago, bbishop said:

I've never quite understood the need to have a pedigree dog, especially when they are a pricked ear, flat ear different from the next breed.  Also the present preference for a squashed nose with all the issues with breathing difficulties.  As a family, we followed a mongrel with three Jack Russells.   The first one was mine, purchased for 18 guineas from a farm on Exmoor.  We were given full details of his parentage going back six generations.  Loved cats, children, beating up German Shepherds, climbing trees and disposing of vermin.

Bill 

In the old days you had a pedigree or a mongrel.  No more mongrels now.  These days it is all Shihtzpoo, Cockerdoodle, Labrasatian etc.  No luv, you have a mongrel!

Our Twatzen Izen hound is an Irish terrier crossed with A N Other, we've had him just over 2 years and in his first 4 years of life he had 4 owners.  He hates cats, dislikes couriers footwear and tries to attack our neighbourhood hedgehog.  

[Kingzance]

Re passport photos, I recently needed to apply for an extension to my driving license. I already had the plastic digital card style license but found that the various offices of The State are now talking to one another as they used my passport photo for the new driving license. This would be understandable if the passport photo was more recent but, in my case, my DL photo was from when it was submitted last year as we had changed address whereas the Passport one was taken mid 2014!

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Just spent an enjoyable evening at the home of one of the SEERS members who has a large garden railway that also occupies his garage and a large shed. I took my friend and the boy with me, the lad thoroughly enjoyed himself being allowed to operate the layout. Earlier today when in Tesco's I had a rummage in the reduced price box and found a DAB radio reduced from £25 to £6.25 due to the mains connector having gone AWOL. However it could also operate on 4 AA batteries. A further rummage discovered the required number and type of batteries also at reduced price. So I now have a brand new working radio at a quarter of the price.

[laurenceb]

Night awl

[AndyID]

2 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Is it raining? What does the view from your deck look like today?

 

 

The view is almost non-existent. It was delightful earlier in the week but today we have intermittent downpours, thunderbolts and lighting. It's cold and we have low cloud.

 

Yes, not a lot of spuds around here. They are in the opposite corner of the state which has a completely different climate. It's much more like British Columbia here. Many glacial lakes and giant conifers grow like weeds, in fact they usually are weeds. Just to the South are the fertile rolling farmlands of The Palouse. Lots of wheat, barley and pulse crops like lentils. This is a slightly obscure part of the US. Unfortunately its natural beauty been discovered recently but you can't blame people for wanting to live in a beautiful place.

 

MrsID is returning from a oil painting workshop in Ogden (Utah) on Saturday. She was planning on taking the fast route up Interstate 15. It crosses the Continental Divide twice and they expect snow on the high bits on Friday. I might suggest an alternative route.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Well the rain didn’t last long, by the time I’d finished the water jug filter, it had stopped and the sun was out. So when I returned from the big orange DIY shed, I put my wetsuit out on the line to dry in the sunshine. 

 

However, my visit to the big orange DIY shed didn’t go 100%, they didn’t stock any screws long (M4 x 65mm long) enough for the job I wanted. They had plenty of shorter ones, but that would mean making a threaded barrel so I could join two together. But that worked out quite expensive (just under £5.00 for a bag of 10) and also involved a fair bit for of work on the lathe. So I ended up buying a length of M4 threaded rod, which cost just under £1.50 and cutting to short lengths and with a couple of M4 nuts, (I’ve got dozens in the workshop) and that worked a treat.

 

After dinner I walked up to our local bookshop and placed an order for a couple of books which I’d seen in one of my model railway magazines. When the site of big strong ladies doesn’t offer a discount on books I’m interested in, then I give my custom to our local shop, that way everyone wins.

 

After tea I went swimming at Salford Quays, the water was definitely warmer than on Monday, but there was more of a wind, making the water a little bit choppy. Also, when you swam faving towards the wind, there was a lot of spray, which made breathing, without getting a mouthful of water a little bit tricky. However, having said all that, I did a mile in my fastest time for the year, 47 minutes, so I’m very pleased with that.

 

Goodnight all. 

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[Ozexpatriate]

46 minutes ago, AndyID said:

Many glacial lakes and giant conifers grow like weeds

I'd like to see a glacial lake grow like a weed. (OK I'm being naughty.)

 

I was going to ask you what the dominant evergreen species was but Google is our friend and I was interested (but not totally surprised) to see the Douglas Fir at the top of the list. The Douglas fir is the dominant evergreen on the west side of the Cascades. It is truly amazing to see them immediately give way to Ponderosa when crossing pass summits to the east slope of the Cascades as the microclimates change.

 

I frequently have to pull magically-appearing, juvenile Doug Firs from my garden, and they are very tenacious for such small plants. I do love them but my house will not if I let them grow. (Coastal Douglas Firs can grow 20m - 100m tall.)

 

Those across the street from me are easily well above 20m and some may exceed 30m. Watching them tossing in a storm the other day had me doing lots of mental rudimentary trigonometry to make sure they were far enough away to not present a existential threat to my home. (I'm pretty sure they are far enough that they don't.)

 

Edited June 20, 2019 by Ozexpatriate

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[chrisf]

Good morning one and all

 

Something came over me yesterday – an outbreak of proactivity.  I phoned the surgery and asked when I might expect an invitation to the diabetes clinic, adding that I had had the required blood test ages ago and hoping that I had not been overlooked.  Between you, me and the gatepost I reckon I had and I don’t think I should have had to ask for an appointment.  The date on which the riot act will be read to me happens to be the day on which I have to submit my next prescription request so I would have been going to the surgery anyway.  It is two days after my nice leisurely walk through the cheering crowds of London.  Perhaps I should wear my Welsh Stonewall T shirt, fresh (?) from its starring appearance at Pride.  Whatever will Nurse Denise say?

 

My friend Mike has kindly given me a tomato plant which he has raised himself.  I’m not sure that giving it to me is a kindness to the plant given the unfortunate state of my garden, for growth has more than undone all the hard work I did a few weeks ago.  I would have expected nothing less.  I appear to have plenty of free time this weekend, during some of which I expect to tackle the triffids, provided there is no rain.  Enjoyment is not an option.  In a free moment I booked tickets for a concert at the Union Chapel in Islington later in the year, featuring the fabulous combination of June Tabor and Oysterband.  I would not be at all surprised if the tour has something to do with a new album which might have the title “Fire and Fleet”.  Detective?  Moi?

 

I returned to the LGBT+Faith group last night.  It tends to be held on nights when I cannot attend but there are odd exceptions.  Parts of the interesting discussion were remarkably candid.  Two of those there will be on a float – well, a bus -  at Pride in London so we will keep our eyes open in case a brief encounter is possible.

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris

[Barry O]

Ey up!

Busy day planned so

TTFN and have yourself a great day

Baz

[TheQ]

7 hours ago, BSW01 said:

Good evening everyone 

 

 

 

However, my visit to the big orange DIY shed didn’t go 100%, they didn’t stock any screws long (M4 x 65mm long) enough for the job I wanted. They had plenty of shorter ones, but that would mean making a threaded barrel so I could join two together. But that worked out quite expensive (just under £5.00 for a bag of 10) and also involved a fair bit for of work on the lathe. So I ended up buying a length of M4 threaded rod, which cost just under £1.50 and cutting to short lengths and with a couple of M4 nuts, (I’ve got dozens in the workshop) and that worked a treat.

 

 

 

Goodnight all. 

Find your nearest Screwfix or Toolstation, either of them is much better and much cheaper than the big sheds for small items like screws.

[TheQ]

8 hours ago, bbishop said:

Evening awl,

 

I've never quite understood the need to have a pedigree dog, especially when they are a pricked ear, flat ear different from the next breed.  Also the present preference for a squashed nose with all the issues with breathing difficulties.  As a family, we followed a mongrel with three Jack Russells.   The first one was mine, purchased for 18 guineas from a farm on Exmoor.  We were given full details of his parentage going back six generations.  Loved cats, children, beating up German Shepherds, climbing trees and disposing of vermin.

 

 

Keep well awl, Bill 

But I bet you choose to select Something of, 

Middle chrome green,*

Apple Green, *

Malachite Green,*

Crimson lake,*

or some shade of diseasal.

and not have any old thing running round your layout..

* other colours of soot stained paint are available.

 

The Collie Rough Breeds , Rough, Smooth, Bearded, Border, have hardly changed since they were classified back in Victorian times, and they definately don't have squashed noses.

 

 

Edited June 21, 2019 by TheQ

[jamie92208]

Morning all from a su ny village but there are clouds in sight. 

 

Good to hear from Rick and good news about the cough, long may it's absence  continue. I had never heard any Metallica until "Nothing else Matters" was played at a friends fu eral, and just hit the spot. I've got one of their CD's in the car.

 

Don't complain about Douglas Fir. The wood is lovely to work with. We used it for the new underframe for the horse tram we restored.  However it sounds as if it's like Cottoneaster is for us.  It pops up everywhere. 

 

Various bits of gardening got done yesterday ands lots more remains to be done. However the strimmer wouldn't start. I did use the chainsaw to sort out a storm damaged branch. 

 

Today it's off to our monthly model railway meeting and the boss is coming with me to see the garden at this particular house. The garden happens to have various tracks in it but is spectacular.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl Inner Temple hare,

 

A poor nights sleep of 3 hours then intermittant dozing on the sofa not good,

 

Ben the Border Collie, Decided he was a deer hound this morning, chasing several deer out of the garden. I then lost him in the jungle and started calling him, only to find him stood behind me, looking at me as though I was mad..

 

Quite chiily this morning with just the odd white fluffy cloud. The car windscreen condensated on both the inside and outside for a couple of miles until the heater did it's stuff..

 

I'm working my way through the reserve master set of shunts I think there is 24 of them 1mA to 100A. In the outside lab everything has been fully cleared back from the wall to be knocked down. they should put up temporary partitions on Monday.

 

Time too... wait another couple of minutes for this current shunt to finish warming up.

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Sunshine and clear blue sky here and a warm and dry day is forecast.

Some domestic tasks to do for a couple of hours and then I hope to head to the shed. The mitre saw has been tested and does what it is supposed to and will come in very useful. All digits are still attached.

Have a good one,

S.T. Illhobbling.

 

 

[Kingzance]

Mawning dawning ( well, it did a few hours back),

 

In the grand scheme of things, nothing of consequence is likely to happen in the presently sunny and bright world of Kingzance. CowboysRUs are busy erecting scaffolding for the next levels of the concrete fish tanks/block houses/affordable housing across the way. Given the level of intelligence being shown, I wonder why they weren’t doing that during thunderstorms. 

 

The nice guys at our local garage called me regarding the SiL’s wheel around 3:15, enquiring which side of the car it belonged on and called again at 4 to say it was ready. Four cracks welded and a new monstrous (325/30R21Y) run-flat tyre sorted at less than daughter had been quoted for a tyre alone so a good result, hope next Tuesday’s service on mine goes as well and as economically. I must get the car washed and cleaned in preparation at some stage today.

 

My local purveyor of delicious meats came up trumps again yesterday with the slab of pig for next weekend’s anniversary celebration. It is in a freezer now until Tuesday when it will be placed in a refrigerator ready to be cooked over a Friday night. A beautiful piece of slow, outdoor-reared pork shoulder on the bone weighing in at just under 6kg was acquired in exchange for £31 which works out at barely £5 per kilo. I will enjoy cooking that, even if I won’t be eating it.

 

Like many others, I can’t help but feel moved by John Colby’s blog. We are but grains of sand on the beach of life but that won’t ever ease the pain of a close one’s suffering. Today would have been my mother’s 94th birthday but she was taken by pancreatic cancer a decade ago and last night our eldest grandson was mentioning his memories of her - he was three at the time of her death! I don’t seek sympathy as I think she enjoyed her life overall and both my parents instilled a sense of getting on and making the best of the cards you get dealt.

 

Have a good day all and one, particularly Baz at Headingley as he warms up for the anniversary bash.

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

It’s a bit of a dull start to the day here in the northwest of England. Today will hopefully be a day of rest, but first I will tackle Asda and the Trafford Centre for a few bits and pieces that we can’t buy at Sainsbury’s. Then I will call at the butchers on my way back to pick up the weekly meat rations and hopefully a pastie for my dinner. Sheila rarely partakes in such things as too much pastry can have an adverse effect, as she occasionally suffers from IBS. Believe me when I say when that kicks in she can be very ‘IRRITABLE’. She had a bout last weekend and I didn’t half take a lot of flack, generally for things she’d usually ignore. When this happens I just duck or keep out of the way!

 

Back later.