Early Risers.

[Simon G]

Wind is now getting up here, and is likely to stay that way for a while!

 

All the posts on Christmas parties etc - we had a works one last Friday, so after the 'do', I stagger out of the hotel/restaurant at midnight to look for the right minibus to get me home.  I am directed to the furthest one away, and ask the driver to confirm that it will get me home to St Bees.  He replies that it is the right bus, and he was glad to run into me as he had some Triang and Hornby locos that wouldn't run and wondered if I could fix them!  Now even in my inebriated state, I didn't think that I was famous for fixing locos, but eventually realised that we had met before when he was in a different line of work!  Anyway, hopefully he will turn up with said locos at my local club soon, and we will see what can be done.

[Barry O]

Back from playing trains :-)

 

Terrible time for all Andy.. never good to lose anyone .. even worse if its a young one..

 

Blowing a hooley, M62 awash and lorries doing the odd wobble or three on our way back to our side of the hills.

 

Baz

[New Haven Neil]

Good evening, good people.

 

A tragic story about the youngster - we lost a young client when I worked in youth justice, just so sad a waste of a young life.  Hope the other kids cope OK, it's awfully young to learn one of the harsher lessons of life.

 

A very windy day and night here on Fraggle Rock, and more gales to come, up to severe storm force.  Look out Stewart, we're on our way!

 

Jock, that is great news, needed some of that just now, things not good with Jayne.

[jamie92208]

Andy, sorry to hear your news.  When i was working a child fatal road accident always seemed to leave a shadow on everyone at the small station i worked in at the time. 

 

Anyway despite rain and wind here objectives seem to have been achieved.   The great tidy up has continued and I have discovered a 7mm Claughton kit part built that I had mislaid.   I've also managed to shut the wardrobe doors for the first time in several years.   We even maanged to get Christmas shopping done smartly with only pain in the wallet area for me though SWMBO needed some Gin adding to the glass of Tonic water that she'd not finished at tea time.  I consoled myself with some Jamesons.  

 

Jamie

[pH]

I think everyone who mentioned education is right. Not just about food, cooking sell by dates and the rest but the whole family budgeting business. I did see on TV the other day that some schools are including this in their curriculum, not before time.

 

Our kids did that in Socials in junior high school. All the kids in the class were randomly assigned a 'life situation' - job, wage, married/single, housing, debts, savings etc. (Some were set up as married couples.) They then had to go through several months handling income and expenses, showing e.g. grocery shopping using supermarket flyers. It certainly opened their eyes. One of their friends took the idea with him to his job as a teacher in a Melbourne inner-city school, where it was greatly praised.

 

One of said 'kids' (mid-30s now) is about to move with his fiancee to a new job several hundred miles away from Vancouver. He amazed us by telling us they've been using a spreadsheet to run through various scenarios like sell/rent their Vancouver apartment, buy/rent where they're moving to, keep/sell their second car etc. He's always seemed so casual - perhaps it's his fiancee's influence!

[DDolfelin]

Can't be worse news for all concerned than the death of a child.

Shocking news.

[PhilJ W]

Very sad news from Andy B, the loss of a child is tragic. A friend of mine lost a 15 year old daughter to cystic fibrosis and it left a deep hole that can never be filled in the lives of everybody who knew her.

[Ashcombe]

Very sad news indeed about the loss of a young person; all the more poignant for the family at Christmas time. My nephew died from cystic fibrosis at the age of 23; an inspiring young man, the memory of whom still burns brightly.

[laurenceb]

Parents are not supposed to bury their children

[Jock67B]

Morning all,

Very sad end to a busy day as I've inherited my father's love of youngsters and I get desperately affected on my monthly chemo visit when I see youngsters stricken before they've had a chance to experience 'life'! Andy, I truly hope that your wee one hasn't found the experience too upsetting, I'm sure you are watching closely for any signs. Although they will never know us, it never ceases to amaze me how much love and humanity beams from these pages when such events are reported! I shall certainly go to sleep thinking of the desperate sadness felt by the little ones parents, teacher, friends and classmates. Life can be terribly unkind at times!!

Don't feel much like posting what was going to be some quite humorous drivel so instead I'm off to stiffen the nightcap!

Hope we are all luckier than some as the week progresses,

Kind regards,

Jock.

G'night Pete!

[iL Dottore]

Morning All,

 

Sad news indeed about the youngster.

 

Back when I worked in A&E /Rescue Squad (a very, very long time ago), one always pulled out all the stops when it came to children. On one call (from a paediatrician's office no less) we coordinated with the Police - who blocked off all side roads on the road that lead to the motorway, thus allowing us an uninterrupted run to the University Hospital (hospital of choice for the really serious stuff...) which was just off a motorway exit. I recall we hit 100mph at least once or twice on our way in... Not bad going for a heavy ambulance with all the aerodynamic qualities of a brick...

 

Feeling a bit lousy this morning, I've been coughing up junk off-and-on all night. It looks like my first seasonal URTI has arrived - deep joy! My own fault, I suppose, for not being adequately wrapped up for "Her Ladyship's" 04:30 garden based ablutions.

 

Wolfpack snoozing, awaiting first light for their breakfast walk; Mrs iD shipped off to the salt mines and time enough for another coffee whilst contemplating what work I can avoid doing today.

 

Have a good "hump" day.

 

iD

Edited December 10, 2014 by iL Dottore

[NGT6 1315]

Ah, yes. The heat it until it goes black or goes bang school of cookery.

I know it well.

Something I might suggest for our Interdisciplinary Week next year!

 

Morning all. Dark.

 

Andy, I certainly feel for you. That is one bit of news no-one should ever have to receive and I can't imagine how terrible this Christmas must now be for the family in particular...

[travelintrev]

Morning all,  

 

Not much to be added to whats been said over yesterdays sad news. My GF unfortunately lost two of her children (one in her early teens, and one in his early 20's)...I just cant imagine what goes on in ones head when that happens. 

 

Still it's hump day, lets try and make the best of what life throws at us today.

 

Trev.

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Very wet & windy night but dry at the moment. A cold, blustery mainly dry day with long sunny spells is forecast but chance of some more showers.

No major tasks planned for today so I may will visit the railway room for a couple of hours.

Have a good one,

Bob.

[Barry O]

Power out over night..but it seems the wind has dropped for the moment!

Have as good a day as you can everyone!

Baz

[Robert]

Morning All,

 

Another chilly morning here, but there doesn't seem to have been a frost.  Some snow has been reported in parts of Hessen, but none to be seen here.

 

Very sad news from Andy - it must be terrible to loose a child, and I hope I never have to experience it first hand. 

 

Today looks like it is going to be one of those days where there is too much to do.  I am in the office until Monday - then I have to use up this years annual leave, and there seems to be a lot more than four days work to do!

 

Have a good day everyone...

[Coombe Barton]

Before we met Sandy lost a daughter to cot death. Thirty seven years ago, but it still affects her on anniversaries.

 

Cold and why am I up so early - oh yes, teaching at 9 - wonder how many of them will turn today?

Before we met Sandy lost a daughter to cot death. Thirty seven years ago, but it still affects her on anniversaries.

 

Cold and why am I up so early - oh yes, teaching at 9 - wonder how many of them will turn up today?

Edited December 10, 2014 by Coombe Barton

[Tony_S]

Morning.

The wet and windy weather arrived here late yesterday. I think it stopped raining at about 6 this morning.

I have another courier delivery to wait for this morning, not trains, though the ordering was as advised by a fellow ER.

Matthew telephoned at about midnight, one of those "are you still awake?"calls. He has to do a presentation today andnjust wanted to have a moan about some of the other people in his presentation team.

Tony

[AndyB]

Thanks to one and all for your thoughts. We're a relatively small community and pretty much everyone is affected. 

No matter how we all feel, I can't imagine what the immediate family are going through.

 

In a funny sort of way the children absorbed the news and started to move on. Whereas the adults have been reflecting on the "What if it'd have been me?"

I understand the plan is business as usual at the school today. I've suggested to my daughter that her class will have to look out for each other in the days to come.  

 

Thanks once again for your support when it was much needed. Andy

[martin1]

morning all,sorry about the news Andy,like laurance says none of us should have to bury our children......blowing up outside,still wet,still cold,still waiting for heating to be fixed,everything else is tickety boo,keep safe everyone.

[Smiffy2]

Top of the milk to you all.

Well, it's light here, which is an improvement, and no frost.

 

Just got a text message from Homebase saying they've refunded us for the chairs. Yes, we know, we were there when they did it. Or does that mean a refund of the second payment? That's another frustrating phone call to come.

Then making IKEA cupboards. And the car may be done.

 

Losing kids that you've taught is hard. Over the years I think about half a dozen. I've twice had to tell my own kids that a very close friend has died (we tend to get to know first) and then there's doing the assembly, which is hard. We had one lad killed on the premises, and that was traumatic for the whole school. The head of RE and I stood vigil whilst the kids brought floral tributes. I'll always remember the heaps of flowers, football shirts and teddy bears with a hundred kids standing silently in a spontaneous tribute. Possibly the toughest was a girl in my year who knew she was dying and wrote an assembly for me to give after her funeral. If you can get through that and leave the kids feeling just slightly better, then you've earned your money that day.

 

But enough of sombre.The world is your oyster. Go and chuck it on the barbecue of opportunity.

[Ohmisterporter]

Morning all. After the sombre news yesterday I thought twice about writing something trivial, but we just have to move on. In the last few weeks at work there was a big push to PAT test all the electrical equipment that is used in the departments. It was completed last week, job well done. This week dozens of Christmas trees have appeared all over campus, from being hidden in store cupboards and brought in by individuals and not one has been tested. I imagine a similar scenario in work places all over the country. Lots of them will be in offices where they will be left on at night when the staff go home. And every year there are fires caused by faulty tree lights. So if it applies in your place of work please make sure they are turned off at night, and if they are old lights get them PAT tested. At home we never leave our tree lights on if we leave the house or got to bed. Stay safe and have a good day.

 

Edited spelling.

Edited December 10, 2014 by Ohmisterporter

[Killybegs]

Not a great night's sleep, if it wasn't the howling gale it was the hail hammering on the windows. As I was already awake, I beat the alarm clock and took the dogs for a very early walk. By sheer chance we timed it just right, clear sky, full moon and not toooo windy, However, once the moon disappeared behind the clouds, it was only a matter of time before the wind picked up and the hail arrived. We nearly made it back to the car in time! The sea is busy eroding the dunes again. The wind builds them and a combination of gales and high tides knocks them down. The severe weather at the beginning of the year pushed the dunes back 50 feet. Over the summer that 50 foot stretch has got about 6 foot higher. This morning, 20 foot of it had gone again. A different story at the top of the dunes, the route up from the beach completely filled with sand leaving a small 'cliff' which had to be negotiated on all fours!

 

I think today is the day the heating has to go on. I think the continual wind must suck the heat out of the house as the temperature is no lower outside than it has been but the inside temperature has dropped dramatically. There's a limit to how many clothes you can wear!

 

Go carefully today.

[AndrewC]

Morning all from the boring borough.

 

Andy, what a kick to the head for all concerned. A bad time of year. Then again there isn't a good time for any child to die. Give your daughter a big hug from all of us.

 

Not much to say other than that. A few sniffles doesn't compare.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all. Bright and sunny this morning here in estuary-land if a bit windy. As I've got older the death of a child or young person, even if I know them only as a grainy photograph in a newspaper seems to affect me more. Perhaps the greater ones life experiences you appreciate what has been lost but this is nothing to what that child's parents must be going through.