The Night Mail

[jamie92208]

11 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

This is real load carrying equipment, rather than the rhino scr*tums that were seen at Warley:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the aforesaid rucksack on it's first transatlantic trip.

1978, in Vancouver.

 

6 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

I hope that you were using “pants” in the American sense, i.e. trousers….

I strongly suspect not.

 

Jamie

[SM42]

19 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

I hope that you were using “pants” in the American sense, i.e. trousers….

 

Nope. 

 

Used all four sides. 

 

Andy

[jamie92208]

9 minutes ago, SM42 said:

 

Nope. 

 

Used all four sides. 

 

Andy

Thought so.  

 

Here we have evolved a system of packing.  Beth packs the luggage, after first commenting on and changing my chosen items.  I pack the car. This requires communication and planning as to what is required when on the journey. 

 

However once we set off from here, with a very. Full car, expecting to make it back to Leeds that night. Various things delayed us plus horrendous bad weather in the UK.  We therefore used Late Rooms. Come,and ended up paying not a lot for a room a a rather posh De Vere hotel near Harwell.  I managed extract Beth's tabletsobut washbags and spare clothes were impossible at midnight during a potential downpour. Items were turned inside out and re used the next morning. 

 

Jamie

[iL Dottore]

10 hours ago, Tony_S said:

 ….. Although we try to take enough clothing to not need to use the ships laundrettes, I suppose we could take less.  

The problem I’ve found with sending clothing out for dry cleaning/washing whilst travelling is not so much the cost, but the turnaround time and/or that the chemicals used for dry cleaning/washing are much harsher and more damaging to clothes than those used “at home”

 

My late father, when on business trips to S. America, would only take a few of his oldest suits to wear - well knowing that at least one suit would be on it’s very last legs upon his return home after having gone through several S American hotel laundry services.

 

I do, however, recommend both travellers’ laundry detergent gel and drip-dry/rapid drying shirts. The gel is great for washing out your smalls in the hotel bathroom sink (even if you have enough clean ones to last the trip, used undies and sweaty socks benefit from a quick cleansing dip before going into the suitcase) and for washing out drip-dry shirts. The latter are a godsend when it’s very humid. Japan in June can be very humid indeed (as it was last June) so three drip-dry shirts were in (to use the D.J. Term) “heavy rotation”. Once dry, a quick once over with an iron and I was good to go.

 

Interestingly, many [a majority?] of the hotels I stayed in whilst in Japan had an iron and ironing board in the room - even though these were far from being budget or mid-range accommodation. I assume that as a crisp white shirt is part of the Japanese work culture*, even expensive hotels will provide an iron so that you can make sure that your shirt (and suit?) is “just so” before leaving for your day’s activities.

 

* back when I started my career outside the clinic, a well-pressed suit, a crisp white shirt, a silk (not polyester) tie and highly polished shoes were de rigeuer. Even for just a day in the office.

[iL Dottore]

I learnt my lesson early in the 1990s when, on one business trip, BA delivered me - but not my luggage - to SFO. So now, like HH, I have a crash-out kit (although until I read HH’s post I had always referred to it as a “bug out” kit). It usually goes with me whenever I head out anywhere where’s there a remote chance of me and my luggage ending up with different itineraries.

Depending upon the length of my stay at the destination, I take either the full-size or the stripped down version of my bug-out kit. The completely stripped down version of my bug-out kit can easily fit into my Tardis bag and the contents are:

• shaving kit and toothbrush & toothpaste - these are those one use only mini sets you get in many hotels - perfectly sized for the bug out kit.
• one pair of socks
• one pair of underwear (both can be rolled up very small indeed)
• One t-shirt (also compressible and serves as nightwear)
• Any meds needed during my stay away.

The full sized bug-out kit is in a small 4-wheeler suitcase (carry on size) and has enough clothes/supplies for 3 days (longer if I can wash things out)

[Happy Hippo]

Bug out/crash out are totally interchangeable

[Winslow Boy]

25 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Bug out/crash out are totally interchangeable

So you can out a bug then? Or perhaps crash a bug? You learn something new everyday.

[New Haven Neil]

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

a well-pressed suit, a crisp white shirt, a silk (not polyester) tie and highly polished shoes were de rigeuer.

 

You wouldn't believe how much I don't miss that!  Crisp clean and smart office wear was a must in my old job, as calls to court could occur at very short notice as well as 'expectations' of certain senior colleagues - we were the visible frontline.  As half our team wore police uniform when necessary they also had to toe the line.  The juvenile probation officers however, could dress to be 'down wiv the kids' unless also called to court. Pah!

[New Haven Neil]

The Very Last Time I wore smart office wear, jacket already dumped, NHN's leaving lunch.

 

[Winslow Boy]

2 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

You wouldn't believe how much I don't miss that!  Crisp clean and smart office wear was a must in my old job, as calls to court could occur at very short notice as well as 'expectations' of certain senior colleagues - we were the visible frontline.  As half our team wore police uniform when necessary they also had to toe the line.  The juvenile probation officers however, could dress to be 'down wiv the kids' unless also called to court. Pah!

Now Neil I could just see you in a pair of old jeans with holes in and a ZZ Top t-shirt, baseball cap on the wrong round of course. Yep definitely.

[Winslow Boy]

3 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

The Very Last Time I wore smart office wear, jacket already dumped, NHN's leaving lunch.

 

Looks like your 'officiating' at a wake Reverend Neil.😋

[newbryford]

3 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Hell?

Surely not, Dear Fellow!

 

There are some who might agree with you................... 👿

Edited February 9 by newbryford

[Tony_S]

When Matthew used to return from a year (or two) overseas he did look a bit like he was about to invade, with a huge rucksack, a medium rucksack front mounted, and a couple,of wheeled cases and a laptop bag. He was always stubborn about not needing any help to get to the car, though he did appreciate being collected from whichever airport he had arrived at. He had always given loads of stuff away too, usually to homeless charities. 

[PhilJ W]

11 hours ago, BR60103 said:

Dayle has decided that our heirs will have little interest in our scrapbooks and photo collections. We also have bits from 3 "households" -- a trailer, the motorhome, and our house. 

They should be kept, and where and who should be noted I have several old family photos but no idea of when and where.

[PhilJ W]

This a photograph of me, my sister and brother. I've no idea when it was taken but at a guess about ten years ago.

I'm on the right.

[Happy Hippo]

25 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

This a photograph of me, my sister and brother. I've no idea when it was taken but at a guess about ten years ago.

I'm on the right.

That'll be the distinguished looking gentleman.

[New Haven Neil]

4 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

Looks like your 'officiating' at a wake Reverend Neil.😋

 

The black bit is my ID card holder, which was about to be ripped up.  The tie is actually blue, with Tiger sticking out his tongue, expressing my thoughts about what was happening to the department I was leaving.  Seems I am surrounded by blonde women there too, although holding up the prezzie handcuff cufflinks and tie pin should not be taken as a portent of things to come.  The lady next to me was one of the sergeants I worked with, and could handle herself in a pub fight - not to be judged by the cover.

 

@iL Dottore will note the crisply ironed white shirt.....not worn one since, 9 years......

[New Haven Neil]

4 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

Now Neil I could just see you in a pair of old jeans with holes in and a ZZ Top t-shirt, baseball cap on the wrong round of course. Yep definitely.

 

Cargo trousers and T shirt yes, baseball cap no!

[Tony_S]

7 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

The problem I’ve found with sending clothing out for dry cleaning/washing whilst travelling is not so much the cost, but the turnaround time and/or that the chemicals used for dry cleaning/washing are much harsher and more damaging to clothes than those used “at home”

I have noticed that the machines provided in hotels or on ships belong to the beat the clothes to death variety. On ships we select the most gentle program and use our own soap as ,the supplied stuff is awful. 
When we went to New York by ship there was a special offer 2 days before arriving of 20 items for $20 from the ships laundry. They use some chemical free process that is like dry cleaning but with water. I don’t understand it but the white shirts (probabl6 soup stained):I sent came back perfect. We are both convinced that all the stuff that Miele advertise about their washing machine drums is true, and clothing does last longer. I am sure other manufacturers now have similar technology but we won’t know,as we are keeping what we have. 

[Tony_S]

14 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

Cargo trousers and T shirt yes, baseball cap no!

I had to buy a baseball cap on holiday last year. I lost my nice Tilley hat in Italy. The only item on board the ship that I  could get before the next shore excursion was a beige baseball cap. There were other hats but with designer brand names that were ridiculous prices. I got a replacement hat when I got home, in a sale too.

Edited February 9 by Tony_S

[J. S. Bach]

7 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

I learnt my lesson early in the 1990s when, on one business trip, BA delivered me - but not my luggage - to SFO.  ...snip...

That reminds me of an early jet-age joke:

Breakfast in London , lunch over New York, dinner in Seattle, baggage in Rio de Janero.

 

[J. S. Bach]

8 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

 ...snip... Interestingly, many [a majority?] of the hotels I stayed in whilst in Japan had an iron and ironing board in the room - even though these were far from being budget or mid-range accommodation. ...snip...

A lot of the low-budget motels that I usually stay in have wall-mounted ironing boards and irons; I am referring to Days Inn, Super 8, Baymont and such.

[New Haven Neil]

3 minutes ago, J. S. Bach said:

That reminds me of an early jet-age joke:

Breakfast in London , lunch over New York, dinner in Seattle, baggage in Rio de Janero.

 

 

Got that,......um.....Uniform!  NHN in Marseilles, baggage, with uniform, in Ulan Bator or somewhere.  Took three weeks to catch up with me.

[AndyID]

Gratings from Sandy, Utah. I'm staying with friends who have a house near the Little Cottonwood Canyon. There are two ski areas there, Alta and Snowbird. A serious storm has passed now and it dumped a lot of snow up there.

 

Despite our close proximity to the ski resorts it took two hours to get there yesterday. The road was closed due to avalanche control work and by the time it opened there was an enormous line of cars. We still managed to run out of skiing energy well before the lifts stopped running.

 

Tomorrow we plan to ski at Deer Valley although I prefer to call it "Dear Valet" because it's rather posh.

[Dave Hunt]

18 hours ago, newbryford said:

 

And paint stripping models.

 

As well as scrubbing metal models using Vim prior to painting.