Early Risers.

[Oldddudders]

Anyone got any loan goats?

Yes, both Sheena and Alison have goats.

[Smiffy2]

We're near St Hilaire du Harcouët, Ian, so almost into Brittany. Verdant isn't in it. A bit over an hour to Le Mans, did it last year to go to the Classic. 

[PhilJ W]

Morning all,

 

A sunny start to the day. Eye test later so before someone tells me I can't see I took some photos of the garden. 

 

The first photo shows our wildflower patch growing nicely. 

 

May garden II 007.JPG

 

 

That looks like my lawn.

[Tony_S]

Tony, my eldest daughters son is just taking his first year exams at LSE. He's been in halls and seems likely to stay there for another year as he has been selected to mentor a fresher (think that means show him round the pubs etc.). He has had a fantastic year and would recommend it to anyone so let's hope your lad gets his grades and makes it! Not only one of the UK's best teaching establishments but all that London has to offer on the doorstep!

Kind regards,

Jock67B.

LSE was where Matthew really wanted to study and he seemed almost surprised that they accepted him! He should be able to achieve the required 2.1 . The final exam now is only part of the grade, he already knows what his grade average is at present. 

LSE have already put the intake for the Matthew's proposed course in contact with each other and he has been chatting online.

Aditi seems very amused that Matthew will be living on a Monopoly board location (Northumberland Avenue).

Tony

[Tony_S]

I think chickens are quite good at keeping grass short too. Aditi's Dad kept 6 chickens in a paddock. The grass/vegetation in the poultry run was very sparse.

[PhilJ W]

I think chickens are quite good at keeping grass short too. Aditi's Dad kept 6 chickens in a paddock. The grass/vegetation in the poultry run was very sparse.

And it will keep the local fox population happy.

[Oldddudders]

We're near St Hilaire du Harcouët, Ian, so almost into Brittany. Verdant isn't in it. A bit over an hour to Le Mans, did it last year to go to the Classic. 

I think you might find ER member Ashcombe/Sherry has been to St Hilaire on occasion - a decent market there, perhaps? Must admit I find the Classic, maybe  a little less so the LM Story, meetings have more interesting cars than the annual race, where it's much more about atmosphere. At the first LM Story meeting in 2005, which seemed a bit under-managed on the Friday, Deb and I were on the pit-wall with cars practising past our ears. No fence, no marshals, nothing. Irvine Laidlaw circulating in an ex-Jacky Ickx Ferrari 312P comes to mind.

[Smiffy2]

The Classic was - interesting, but a participation event, really. Lots of wonderful cars and the first race was good, but essentially the same groups of cars ran the same races three times over the 24 hours.

We were discussing whether or not to go to the 24 hours this year or next (we had just arranged to go to the Heritage GP meeting at Brands in a couple of weeks) and no-one was that enthusiastic. We remember Group C. After that it's a bit pale. But the atmosphere is amazing.

 

Yes, there's a big market at St Hilaire, good for seafood and live poultry. Where they sell aluminium frying pans by weight... We often shop in St Hilaire and our current favourite resto is there, the Anacapri.

[edcayton]

 

Aditi seems very amused that Matthew will be living on a Monopoly board location (Northumberland Avenue).

Tony

 

A friend's daughter lived in Mornington Crescent whilst at Uni-and she didn't have a clue!

 

Ed

[Jock67B]

Hopefully this will quench your disappointment, Jock.

 

http://www.blanquette.co.uk/product_info.php?pid=16

 

Andy

Love it Andy but once again way over priced in the UK thanks to the duty on sparkling!

Thanks mate,

Kind regards,

Jock67B.

PS Ian, I fully agree and love the stuff but sadly am no longer able to make the regular forays across the channel due to the dreaded! Used to come home with boot loads. Perhaps that's why I'm bitter about the price here - better stick to cider!! (Incidentally another favourite from Normandy as well as Calvados - Oh well!)

J.

Edited May 15, 2014 by Jock67B

[Ashcombe]

I can't enable the "reply quoting this post option" but would like to add my response re the market at St. Hilaire: absolutely excellent!!

 

and to Jock's comments re the Saumur fizz and the Normandy cider: big favourites with me!

 

Just back from a very pleasant morning where I led an Assembly at the school associated with our church; the topic was "Using Words Wisely" which gave me scope to entertain with jokes (theirs and mine) tongue twisters read by the children and Chinese Whispers. Since the Headteacher wasn't present, the staff were very happy to sit through a longer than average gathering and all seemed to enjoy listening to Boney M's version of "By The Rivers of Babylon" for the Biblical quotation in the middle of it that was relevant to the theme.

 

Now to invent an Agenda for our Pre School Committee Meeting this afternoon; good thing I enjoy creative writing.......!

 

Have fun in the sun!

[AndyB]

Love it Andy but once again way over priced in the UK thanks to the duty on sparkling!

Thanks mate,

Kind regards,

Jock67B.

PS Ian, I fully agree and love the stuff but sadly am no longer able to make the regular forays across the channel due to the dreaded! Used to come home with boot loads. Perhaps that's why I'm bitter about the price here - better stick to cider!! (Incidentally another favourite from Normandy as well as Calvados - Oh well!)

J.

 

Agreed pricey, but so would the petrol be to France (ok you'd be going there anyway).

How long ago it seems when there was a list of what you could bring back "duty free" and how grateful we all were for the perk!   

So tonight to add some bubbles I'll be re-kindling my acquaintance with Lambrusco - not the nightmare watered down version of 70s Britain -  the proper stuff. Used to quaff it like Ribena when at Uni down in Modena. We used to see how far the corks would fly out of my 5th floor window. Quite far is the answer.  

[Oldddudders]

We used to see how far the corks would fly out of my 5th floor window. Quite far is the answer.  

A road-sign occasionally seen in France is "Risque de bouchons" meaning potential for a bottleneck ahead. Deb had this lovely idea of lots of jolly chaps in the hedge opening bottles and firing corks across the road!

[trisonic]

Went to the High School for my daughter’s Spring Concert with the Symphonic Band.

 

One of the pieces they performed was Hector Berlioz’s “March to the Scaffold” from "Symphonie Phantastique”. Not having heard this piece, or indeed the whole work for about 40 years I’d forgotten just how good it was. The “M t t S” describes an opium induced dream where the composer believes that he has murdered his wife and is enroute to the Guillotine. Climaxed by having his head removed - it’s actually a jolly piece!

 

This is not their version:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBBlXMMJ8Rg

 

In this version the Conductor treats the tempo with a certain elasticity....Listen closely and you can hear the head falling off and bouncing around about 5:00 minutes in. You’ll probably end up whistling parts of it; or at least remember one of the themes....

 

Best, Pete.

Edited May 15, 2014 by trisonic

[AndyB]

Energised by last weekend's trip to France Mrs B is planing on learning French. I've been giving her a list of nouns and verbs to memorise each day as a start.

 

I was reminded of a story from Colditz where to avoid boredom - and possibly increase escape chances - captives would offer language lessons, or take a course - generally as a direct swap. "You teach me French, I'll teach you Polish."

One budding student without any language but English to trade had the enterprising idea of teaching an obscure language that no other inmate knew but, of course, he invented every word, phrase, verb and all the grammar. His student lapped it up and he could barely keep up...until one day he really couldn't having been accosted by his student jabbering away in fluen gibberish! Exit stairwell left tout de suite!

 

Dare I...    

[Tony_S]

 

Dare I...    

I have mentioned before the friends who were ejected from a restaurant in Italy after accidentally enquiring about what type of dog they were being served. I confused liver and leather when ordering a dumpling soup in Austria though that just amused the waitress. At school Matthew was being nagged by one of the dimmer elements to teach him something insulting he could yell at Asians. The phrase Matthew taught him translated to "I am stupid" which wasn't bad considering he only knows the names of food.

Tony

[Debs.]

Just had a shock surprise: whilst browsing the fulsome Flikr collection of an RM-web`er, I suddenly came upon a picture of me aboard a pair of Class 25`s whilst on a shed-turn, way back in March`79........Oh dear! I do feel old.

[Simon G]

Just had a shock surprise: whilst browsing the fulsome Flikr collection of an RM-web`er, I suddenly came upon a picture of me aboard a pair of Class 25`s whilst on a shed-turn, way back in March`79........Oh dear! I do feel old.

My father once summed up getting old rather well when giving a public talk.  He said that you know you are getting old when your offspring have grey hair - whilst looking at me all grey haired in my late 40s!

[Tony_S]

My father once summed up getting old rather well when giving a public talk.  He said that you know you are getting old when your offspring have grey hair - whilst looking at me all grey haired in my late 40s!

I am 40 years older than Matthew and he did once ask "Dad, have you always had white hair?". My response was "only since 1992..".

 

It only took a him a few moments to associate that year with the date of his birth.

[Ian Abel]

Morning all - it's 5 a light breeze, clear and sunny. Might make 10 if we're lucky and expecting 2 or maybe a smidge lower over night tonight!

The stalled front resulting in much cooler than average/normal temperatures and warnings of frost again this evening.

 

Even MORE dire warnings of "I told you so..." from the local celebrity weatherman who always INSISTS that you shouldn't plant any annuals until Memorial day (May 26th. this year) in Minnesota. Lesser mortals have suggested they can be planted after Mothers Day (last weekend) and will now incur the wrath of those early adopters  

 

Jock had inquired about the full moon this way, and it showed up almost on schedule, so here's a couple of shots I took - there was some cloud cover earlier, so it was "late", duly noted in the drivers log;

 

 

 

 

Standard disclaimer, no wolves were heard/observed or harmed in any way that I am aware of, during the filming...

 

Question: It it actually "filming" any more since no film is involved?? May be better to say "digitizing"!!!

Photograph/photographing is, of course, correct given its meaning of "drawing with light", but what about "filming", inquiring (bored/dumbass/ER) minds want to know ??    

[Debs.]

Question: It it actually "filming" any more since no film is involved?? May be better to say "digitizing"!!!

Photograph/photographing is, of course, correct given its meaning of "drawing with light", but what about "filming", inquiring (bored/dumbass/ER) minds want to know ??    

 

I think Dave {our 'Beast'} has called it "capturing pixels" (or somesuch)...........I really like that latter-day description of the art!

Edited May 15, 2014 by Debs.

[trisonic]

Just had a shock surprise: whilst browsing the fulsome Flikr collection of an RM-web`er, I suddenly came upon a picture of me aboard a pair of Class 25`s whilst on a shed-turn, way back in March`79........Oh dear! I do feel old.

This post is useless without a “link”!!!!

 

Surely it should be “Converting to pixels”? I still like “snaps"......

 

Best, Pete.

Edited May 15, 2014 by trisonic

[New Haven Neil]

Agreed, Pete, we need the link!  We need to see our forum footplate-ette in action.

 

One thing is for sure, it'll be a better view than the one I posted of myself last week!

[NGT6 1315]

Jock had inquired about the full moon this way, and it showed up almost on schedule, so here's a couple of shots I took - there was some cloud cover earlier, so it was "late", duly noted in the drivers log;

 

FullMoon-1.jpg

 

FullMoon-2.jpg

 

FullMoon-3.jpg

 

Standard disclaimer, no wolves were heard/observed or harmed in any way that I am aware of, during the filming...

 

Question: It it actually "filming" any more since no film is involved?? May be better to say "digitizing"!!!

Photograph/photographing is, of course, correct given its meaning of "drawing with light", but what about "filming", inquiring (bored/dumbass/ER) minds want to know ??    

 

Cold Moon over Blackwater!

 

Afternoon all. Some finishing touches about to be put on two lesson plans...

 

I have just obtained some new reading stuff as well: "We" by Yevgeniy Zamyatin, "The City and the Stars" by Arthur C. Clarke, and Cordwainer Smith's "The Rediscovery of Man". And all that while still being on L. Sprague de Camp's "Lest Darkness Fall."

[AndyB]

I think Dave {our 'Beast'} has called it "capturing pixels" (or somesuch)...........I really like that latter-day description of the art!

I still "video" programmes using our hard-drive DVD thingy. 

Mind you, my Z3 has a tape recorder in it. Well, tape player anyway!