Early Risers.

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Today’s weather wasn’t a nice as yesterday’s, lovely sunshine this morning, but quite dull after dinner. Anyway I managed to get all my gardening tasks done, I even found the time to reposition the box hedge in the back garden. I’d moved it last year when I relaid the patio and did intend to move it back, but never got round to it. Luckily the box aren’t very tall, I think they are all under 2ft tall and didn’t take much effort to move, but they are very well established now. They were only about 6in - 9in tall when we got them, probably around 15 years ago, but once they were all repositioned and firmly back in the ground, I clipped them. I must admit it does look a whole lot better know the hedge is closer to the patio, it also gives the plants behind it a bit more room to grow too! Just recently we’ve had a cat in the garden using the area between the box hedge and the patio as a toilet. Well it won’t be doing THAT anymore now.

 

Once I’d finished for the afternoon, I packed up and came inside for a well earned muggertea. This was swiftly followed by another eyelid inspection and again just like yesterday there were no reports of pigs in the living room. This was followed by tea, which tonight was pork steak, roast potatoes and 2 veg, which went down very well indeed.

 

Rain was forecast for some time around 6:00 this evening and it was almost right, we got the rain just after 6:30, so it was only out by 30 minutes. It was quite heavy and lasted for most of the evening, only stopping a few minutes ago. 

 

Goodnight all 

[Ozexpatriate]

Sunset on the solstice found me airborne and headed north to Portland. Naturally the sun took a very long time to set. The landscape was very hazy - which created interesting effects - like Mt Shasta looking like a giant sundial - projecting a monstrously large triangular shadow in the haze and a strange view of what I presume was the night separator appearing as a dark band in the haze on the horizon, despite a blue sky.

 

Then a mostly lazy weekend for me. Saturday was really lovely, and I roused myself enough to run some errands in the afternoon. I slept in this morning, waking to watch Señor Lopez' double effort at Queens. I missed the other 37-year old's title match in Germany and a fellow south-east Queenslander's contest with her doubles partner in Brum, both of which occurred before i surfaced.

 

Back to work tomorrow.

 

Edited June 23, 2019 by Ozexpatriate

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[AndyID]

#2 daughter and SiL hired a tour bus and took their friends on a brewery crawl south of LA to celebrate their combined age of 90 years. The bus was full. (Daughter on right.)

 

 

 

 

[AndyID]

3 hours ago, pH said:

 

Relatives of my wife bought the Stewarts' house near their garage in Dumbuck, though not directly from them. There regularly were cars pulling up outside, with occupants looking up at the house. (If you know the road, not a particularly smart thing to do, in my opinion.) And one of the sons of the family met Jackie Stewart at a business function years later and they swapped childhood memories of the house and surroundings.

 

The garage was still there the last time I passed. Was the house on the main road too? You'd have to be nuts to stop there if it was.

[pH]

2 hours ago, AndyID said:

The garage was still there the last time I passed. Was the house on the main road too? You'd have to be nuts to stop there if it was.

 

Having checked with my wife (I should have done that sooner, shouldn't I?), I have to modify slightly what I wrote in my previous post. The house her relatives owned was not the house Jackie Stewart was born in, but the one he and his wife moved to soon after they were married, a couple of houses away from his childhood home. 

 

Both houses are in a short row of four, between the exit from Dumbuck quarry and the garage (now Lindsay's), on the main road, the A82. And yes, you'd have to be nuts not to be keeping up with the traffic on that stretch of road.

[chrisf]

Good morning one and all

 

For once, let me begin with a couple of irritations.   My broadband connection went down three times yesterday.  I’m not sure that a wireless connection would be any more robust than the cable on which I rely at present but if there is to be an epidemic of the router flashing lights coloured other than blue I shall have to give it some serious thought.  The other gripe concerns TV schedules.  It is already an established fact that the Radio Times is a waste of money during Wimbledon fortnight because matches over-run, especially if Sir Andy Murray is playing, and get switched between channels at a moment’s notice for the same reason.  Now we have women’s football, with listings such as “If a match is shown …”.  Last night both BBC1 and BBC4 were running very late because of football coverage.  There is no obvious solution except making up ones mind what is to be shown and when, which is clearly not as easy as it sounds.

 

There is plenty in the diary this week.  This afternoon I have my postponed appointment with Professor Oncologist.  I hope that no nasty news is awaiting me.  Logically, if it was not so good news my audience with the great man would not have been postponed.  On Wednesday evening I am in London for an album launch, that of “The Way Is Clear” by the rising young singer-songwriter Elliott Morris.  I’ve had my copy for a few months, possibly because I took part in the crowd funding process.  On Thursday I’m in Stevenage with Poorly Pal and the toolkit, which I loaded into the car yesterday morning.  The following day I have my 12-weekly appointment with Sister Syringe for the Zoladex injection that is keeping my cancer at bay.  For Saturday, watch this space.  I might need to borrow a Tardis.

 

Don’t mind me.  I’m growing anxious and excited about a forthcoming event.  There are instructions in the pipeline and they will be with me all in good time.  I hope …

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris

[Robert]

Morning All,

 

It is a nice bright morning in this part of the world.  At the moment, the temperature is quite pleasant, but we are supposed to get 39°C by the middle of the week. Won't that be fun?!?

 

Time for a coffee.

 

Have a good day everyone...

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl Inner Temple Hare,

1 hour solid sleep followed 5.5 hours sleep by another 1.5  in the sofa...The unusual thing is because of the events  ChrisF mentioned on TV , I went to bed at 19:30, to read a book or two. Falling asleep at around 20:30 the first time.. with the second book on my chest..

 

Ben was happy out on his patrol this morning until he heard gun fire, at 05:50 ... definately not bird scarers so I suspect poachers down toward the  farm that keeps pheasants and near the trees where the deer are..

 

it's dry and slighly overcast at the moment quite humid again.

 

I built my boat 20-25 years ago in Saudi, I didn't get to sail it much because they then posted us up into the mountains. Back then on shift work and living in a hotel I had plenty of spare time, I can assure the Hippo that it would take a lot longer to build another one than rebuild this one.. Other than the control console, keel, and a small dress panel , reconstruction work is almost complete. It's almost time for sand, paint sand, paint, sand, varnish , sand varnish, sand varnish.

I'm hoping next week to do a trial mast fit and see what rigging I need,... Now where did that Ormiston splcer go, I last used  it 20 years ago..

 

One major system to do this week..

 

Time to go see if I can prise it off of them..

[Barry O]

Ey up!

Bit wet here but it should be ok for various cricket matches to be umpired this week.

 

Crust earning then eye appointment with Doctor Clumsy (he always has a problem using the machine which presses a steel needle against your eye to get accurate eye pressure readings.)

This afternoon, following the appointment, may involve more eyelid inspection.

 

Enjoy your day everyone!

Baz

[roundhouse]

6 hours ago, AndyID said:

#2 daughter and SiL hired a tour bus and took their friends on a brewery crawl south of LA to celebrate their combined age of 90 years. The bus was full. (Daughter on right.)

 

 

 

 

Thats one brewery on our to do list, done many in the LA metro area but still plenty of them to visit. This upcoming trip it will be back to Denver, Salt Lake City and the NW including meeting up with Andrew C's brother and other half, as we are staying in their town this trip.

 

Good morning from another warm and sunny Surrey. The storms didnt happen over the weekend so apart form a day out on Saturday to visit numerous pubs and bars in Bristol ( I needed a beer to ease my back pain after spending time on an IET from reading to Temple Meads), we even visited a new brewery and tap room on the site of the old St Georges brewery.

 

Back to shed news, the cladding is now complete on one side and well on its way to completion on the other elevations. Power is now on and yesterday I ran the ethernet cable though the wall of the house then in a hose pipe up the side of the garden and in through the shed walls with all penetrations filled with sealant. Still requires a couple more cables to be run through the trunking to allow for the CCTV and TV computer. All old computers that had been lying around but now have a use and if they got stolen then  they are worthless to anyone but the shed is pretty secure and will be even more so by the time I am finished.

 

Currently typing this from the shed. The old portable fridge was moved into the shed this morning and is cooling down. First bi of furniture arrived over the weekend and now assembled and as its very suitable I will be getting another table like it for the spray booth etc. Shelving to be sorted next.

 

Off to mums to see brother as hes up form the West. Two more large bags of topsoil to move aswell.

 

With the forecast high and humid weather in parts of the UK, try to keep cool this week all.

[AndyID]

And there goes another few hours that I'll never get back, which at my age is an ever increasing percentage of the remainder. I was trying make the wireless connection between MrsID's Nikon and her Chromebook work. Nikon makes good cameras but their software applications are a festering pile of dog....

 

 

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

Well the rain has stopped, it got quite heavy just as we were going to bed last night, but thankfully the days exertions meant that it didn’t wake me. In fact I didn’t even hear the radio come on this morning!

 

Breakfast has now been consumed and I’ve vacated the kitchen so that Sheila has it to herself whilst she gets ready for her Zumba class. Once she’s gone a bit more pottering about in the cellar is the order of the day. Mainly organising stuff and packing away items that aren’t immediately required. I may even get an hour or so in the workshop if I’m lucky. 

 

Tonight the plan plan is to go swimming at Salford Quays, where I’m hoping that the water has warmed up a little from the last few weeks. 

 

Back later, enjoy the day. 

[Dave Hunt]

A bit of a grey start to the week in North Swampshire but like most parts it's forecast to get hot and humid later. Off to take The Toe to see the practice nurse in a few minutes; had a letter from the podiatrists saying that they are very busy and it will be about four weeks before they contact me again to make an appointment! I suppose that they are hoping the problem will have gone away by the time I actually get to see them.

 

Not much else on note planned until Thursday when I'm off to Leatherhead to see No. 2 son and family with a day in London on Friday for a reunion pissup lunch and home on Saturday. In the meantime maybe if I'm very good some quality workshop time may be possible?

 

Here's hoping everyone out there has a good week whilst my thoughts and prayers are for those who can't. Chris - good luck with the medical appointment.

 

Dave

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. I'm with Chris on the way the BBC throws the schedule out of the window whenever there is a major sports event on. What made it worse last night was when I switched the TV on for the news at 6:35 the final whistle had been blown on the match but we still had to endure another fifteen minutes of talking heads discussing every minute detail of the match several times over when most of those with any interest were on their way to the pub. On to other things, my friends daughter is going to Orsett for a brain scan so I will have to drop her off before the appointed time and she can give me a call when shes finished.  The reason I will not wait is the parking charges most of which goes into the pockets of the private company running the car parks on behalf of the local health authority. Thats it for now, be back later.

[jamie92208]

Morni g all from an overcast Charente.   We are promised a 'Canicule" or something like that this week with temperatures  in the high 30's.  Apparently it's some form of heatwave. It was in the mid 30's yesterday and the pool was above 30. Time to fit the ladder and make use of it.  The grass round the house vot mown in the heat yesterday. Then our friends arrived and a good meal was had with mych liquid refreshment  taken. I managed half the washi g up last night and finished off this morning. 

 

The sparky arrived on time at 09.00 and is sorting out the 3 phase in the shed. I know my limitations.  By tonight all the 3 phase wiring will be decommissioned but I will be able to use the wires as extra 240 volt feeds where I need them.  Beth has set off to the doctors following  a phone call after her blood test last week.  I may even get some muddling done  today.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

[Happy Hippo]

2 hours ago, TheQ said:

Now where did that Ormiston splcer go,

Not Robbo Ormiston-Chant by chance?

[81C]

Morning All

I paid a trip to my daughters yesterday to see Zeus he's cleaver one that's for sure and judging by those legs and paws going to be a big one he looks small in the body at the moment but he was one of 10 

[81C]

Part 2 

Her is round shortly we have the estate agent here to do the photo shoot I'm sure nothing will be right when IT turns up I have left it as she did last night

I was still tidying the cave  at 11pm last night I found space under the bed for 6 storage boxes so that's less to move around for this bod later.

I was at the other surgery this morning they joined earlier this year with my regular one what a different staff all together pleasant, polite, helpful and friendly 

off to Specsavers Wednesday to have my hearing sorted out as Chrisf knows what a nightmare it's been for me we had to give up on a conversation at a show

a while back.

 I need to write a shopping list for this weeks food, BBQ tomorrow with other daughter and SiL her seemed jealous when I mentioned it so it a few burgers & buns 

some sausages and there is several cuts of meat in the freezer to rustle up.

Must get on enjoy your day L Aidbac 

[southern42]

' Morning all from red dragon land.

 

A few pics from Friday below.  Taking note that it was the longest day, and that it was a "nice day", I suggested we spent the afternoon at the National Slate Museum in Llanberis with ride on the Lake Railway behind a Hunslet.  Idea duly taken up, with lunch in the famous mountaineer's cafe, Pete's Eats and ride behind Dolbadarn. Hunslet Elidir's boiler was receiving some attention outside the shed -another beautiful engine we road behind earlier in the year.  In light of my current cakebox challenge attempt, my focus in the museum was on the slate wagons, a few from the Ffestiniog Railway and a couple sporting the letters GWR.  We also inspected and inquired of the incline, the only one in preservation in Wales (UK?) that is in working order.  Tea and bara brith also devoured.

 

As last year, the weather, though somewhat chillier, was good enough to go out for a walk to catch the evening sunset.  Again, as last year, there was a band of cloud on the horizon which permitted little in the way of a spectacular one.  However...we did see across the Irish Sea to the Isle of Man and the Lake District as we went round the mountain to the north - I did wave in case any of you were out there waving at us!     

 

Foxgloves and red campion taking on a deep hue in the evening sun, the cloud just enveloping the sun.

 

As the camera saw it.  It was a lot lighter than this to our eyes but there you go!

 

Saturday at West Shore with several members bringing their locos, a 31/2" gauge steam tender loco, Torquay Manor, 4MT and a Ruston 4WD battery-electric shunter.  A great down-on-the-beach-day so passengers were a bit sparse at times but we gave a good number of rides overall.

No let up on Sunday as we helped out on the Conwy Valley Railway. Hot and humid when the sun came out and rained as we put the stock away.

 

Time for some m*ddling, today.

 

[bbishop]

Morning awl,

 

Long day at Lord's yesterday.  I spent the day in a treatment centre as I couldn't lift.  Mildly out of my comfort zone, but the manager let me take observations that are technically out of my remit and I was complemented by a doctor for the quality of my handovers.

 

Wound cleaned and elastoplasted, off to a couple of meetings, training tonight, then another long day at Lord's tomorrow - this time in a foot patrol.

 

Bill

Edited June 24, 2019 by bbishop

[TheQ]

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

Not Robbo Ormiston-Chant by chance?

Only if he looks like this...

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all,

 

Somewhat grey out there but no rain as yet although we havea yellow thunderstorm warning.  According to the Met Office predictive radar it is going to absolutely chuck it down early tomorrow - I wonder what sort of seaweed drive their 'puting engines use?

 

Little else to report the lad bumped into one of my former colleagues (our Driver Manager from my final mob) yesterday at the GCR so no doubt we'll be in touch before long hearing how he is getting on trying to sort something on East Coast.  And the Good Doctor is scheduled to return home tomorrow so we'll no doubt gradually hear teh full details of her travels over the past month.  No other plans currently in mind.

 

Have a good day one and all;.

[Happy Hippo]

6 minutes ago, TheQ said:

Only if he looks like this...

If that is something for producing 4 mm scale copper caps for  GWR chimneys, then Robbo would have approved.