RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted October 23, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 23, 2015 Morning all. Dreadful news from France, a coach-lorry accident in which over forty citoyens de la troisieme age have died along with the coach and lorry drivers. Horrible. An accident black spot by all accounts. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted October 23, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 23, 2015 Ahh, "The Eddy", now that's a blast from the past. Celebrated my graduation there in 1987. Can't remember how I got home, but suspect it was the usual train back to Rayleigh and a 5 mile bike ride. Looking at a map of Stratford it looks like a number of the ones I frequented have not withstood the test of time, succoming to the need for extra estate agents premises. Strangely the "Manby Arms" has. Stratford is very different now. I remember in the late seventies going shopping there and not hanging around. Also standing in Stratford station waiting for the train to Ilford after getting off the tube always seemed to coincide with chilly easterly winds!Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Morning All, Nice to see golf club economics working normally. £300 for a new driver that gets you 10 yards further in the wrong direction or 10 lessons with the pro to get you 20 yards further in the right direction with your existing g club? Cheers Dave One very happy punter. Tried out all the latest gismo's and despite their best efforts the gains were minimal so my hard earned £'s stayed in my pocket. I certainly agree with your comments, but you have to try some of these things, if only to confirm your suspicions re the marketing hype.... No golf until Monday so three full days to get some woodwork under way....unless Jackie finds something else for me to do. 17 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Happy Hippo Posted October 23, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 23, 2015 A feature that saved the life of Charles de Gaulle. 22nd August 1962 the OAS attempted an assassination at Petit-Clamart outside Paris. In a hail of machine gun fire one of the rear tyres of the DS19 was blown out, but the car was able to continue at unabated speed, with De Gaulle sitting ramrod-straight in his seat, because, as he said to his wife beside him, it is important never to show fear... But he always wore brown trousers! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixoh8sixoh Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 (edited) Morning all from an overcast Scottish HQ. Today sees GF pick up the keys to her new flat and take on the slumped shoulders, furrowed brow and light wallet of the mortgageholder for the first time. She also starts swimming lessons this afternoon. Popped to Waitrose last night for one ingredient. Came away with several, but not the one I wanted which isn't in stock in any branches of Waitrose any more. I'm rather disappointed that I completely missed a BBC series called 'Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands' when it was first screened. Tonight, BBC2 HD ran the final episode as a repeat and it was fascinating. Tonight's programme had Paul Murton travelling to the Inner Hebrides on board one of the last surviving ocean going steam 'Puffers', 'VIC32', skippered by a man who served on them during his working life. They went to a fairly much forgotten Island, Kerrera, only about 4 miles long but extremely important to the Allied efforts in the Atlantic during WW2. It was here that the Sunderland and Catalina flying boats were based to both bomb the u-boats or rescue sailors and downed airmen. They famously kept the 'Bismarck' in sight until the capital ships caught and sank her. He also went to islands like Seil, Easdale, and the Garvellachs* (*anyone who doesn't know them, but is interested in history and religion should Google them and read about the settlement on one of them, Eileach an Naoimh [isle of the Saints] formed by St Brendan in 542AD and thought to be the oldest in Scotland, pre dating that on Iona! St Columba's mother is thought to be buried there.) I suppose it meant so much to me as we visited several of the Inner Hebrides on the 'road rail' holiday I mentioned in an earlier post. There I go, drifting down memory sound again, apologies! Kerrera now houses a parrot sanctuary! I've not set foot on Kerrera, but my [scottish] isles list so far is: Cramond, Inchcolm, Islay, Great Cumbrae, Bute, Scarba, Seil, Luing, Eigg, Rum, Mull, Skye, and Tanera Mor (I think - it's either Mor or Beag). Still a few to tick off! Pleased to hear that Ian's safely in the sou'west, and good luck to Mal on Monday. Hope everyone else is well / improving. Bad luck Gordon on the interactions with alcohol, will keep fingers crossed it's only 2 weeks! I took advantage of the 20% off on eBay last night and bagged myself a K type Pullman brake third for just over £30. Here's hoping for an E in the POETS day today... Edited October 23, 2015 by sixoh8sixoh 15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted October 23, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 23, 2015 (edited) G'day all, Well it's Friday so that of course meant Waitrose but with a varaiant as we first checked various accounts in case the Talk Talk debacle has had any impact (the only one they have anyway is my credit card and fortunately they keep an eye on unusual purchases), thence to see Dracula's daughter in my case while herself commenced a solo navigation of Waitrose. But before heading up the hill to the surgery I visited WHS and duly purchased a copy of MRJ from the six they had on their shelves - not bad for a mag that cockwomble told me yesterday 'we don't stock it'! And then a visit to Tesco for the sort of things we don't buy in Waitrose and then home - with hot dogs promised now underway for lunch. Nice to see Jock mention VIC 32 - it's the sort of trip I quite fancy with a good excuse to spend a few days on the shovel or have a turn on the wheel but i don't think the level of the amenities is quite up to Mrs Stationmaster's ambitions and they seem to have a habit of sailing from one relatively out of the way place to another although some of their ads say they will arrange Land Rover transport back to where you left your car! But a smashing little ship and it was built in Yorkshire and runs on coal - what could be better! http://savethepuffer.co.uk/holidays/ Have a good day one and all Edited October 23, 2015 by The Stationmaster 16 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDolfelin Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Nice to see Jock mention VIC 32 - it's the sort of trip I quite fancy with a good excuse to spend a few days on the shovel or have a turn on the wheel but i don't think the level of the amenities is quite up to Mrs Stationmaster's ambitions and they seem to have a habit of sailing from one relatively out of the way place to another although some of their ads say they will arrange Land Rover transport back to where you left your car! But a smashing little ship and it was built in Yorkshire and runs on coal - what could be better! http://savethepuffer.co.uk/holidays/ Have a good day one and all I'm exhausted just reading that link, Mike. Silent steam? Not much good if you want to whistle at a tanker on a collision course. Strange how we all have our different ideas of a holiday. I've checked and shovelling coal doesn't appear on my priority list. 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Gwiwer Posted October 23, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 23, 2015 Stratford is very different now. I remember in the late seventies going shopping there and not hanging around. Also standing in Stratford station waiting for the train to Ilford after getting off the tube always seemed to coincide with chilly easterly winds! Tony I have been back a few times since those days. I still have a couple of friends in the area and we've met for dinner followed by drinks in the aforesaid establishment which is remarkably similar inside. I even managed to leave the Eddy at 23.10, stride purposefully the quarter-mile via the shops to the tube station and thanks to the good speeds and frequency on the Jubilee and Victoria Lines managed to catch the 00.05 Victoria - Brighton back to the folks. You wouldn't have done that in the 80s with only a 15-minute headway on the Central Line to choose from Yes a lot has changed and mostly for the better. Stratford shopping centre was a place you didn't hang around in without a local accent and connections. The station was draughty, yes, and remains one of those spots where I prefer not to wait at night though it's busier now which helps take the edge off the occasional substance-driven acts of violence, abuse or other reprehensible behaviour. More than one of the places I lived in has gone. Ironically it was only built in the 1980s to replace older slum housing much of which still stands but the new estate was in the way of some athletic event or another and was bulldozed. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killybegs Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Today sees GF pick up the keys to her new flat and take on the slumped shoulders, furrowed brow and light wallet of the mortgageholder for the first time. She also starts swimming lessons this afternoon. Are these two items related! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edcayton Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 (edited) Today sees GF pick up the keys to her new flat and take on the slumped shoulders, furrowed brow and light wallet of the mortgageholder for the first time. She also starts swimming lessons this afternoon. Well, at least she'll be able to keep her head above water. Ed Sorry John, you beat me to it! Edited October 23, 2015 by edcayton Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lurker Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Greetings all, I was late in to work this morning as Mrs Lurker needed blood tests done and Younger Lurker has finished for half term so needed watching. Best wishes for the Welding this weekend and I hope Mal's chemo goes well. Likewise that Gordon is able to choose whether to have a beverage or not soon (sounds so much better than wishing him back on the booze...!) . We'll celebrate the end of the half term with a curry, hurrah. Sympathy to Andyram for the parents' evening - I hear that Younger Lurker's teacher had to ask parents to leave a consultation this week, for the first time in a long-ish career. She wasn't having them undermine her authority over a misbehaving pupil. Good for her I say, and I shall be disappointed if the head doesn't back her to the hilt. Have a good weekend all Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium New Haven Neil Posted October 23, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 23, 2015 A'noon, old farts bike club attended, I was the third youngest there of some 20 or so! Nice to see Mike mention Great Cumbrae, I had never heard of it until I met Jayne, who spent her early years there up until her early teens. Her father taught there, but when it was realised Jayne was going to be very academic they moved to mainland England to support her edumocation. One MSc later.... John my boss/friend has had a holiday on VIC32, reckoned it was superb, (he likes shovelling coal, he used to own a quarter of 'Taw Valley' and also 'Ugly' 62 in his past) the chef was apparently Michelin star quality, on a break from high pressure kitchens! Now, should I go into the seething metropolis of Douglas to see if MRJ is in? I suspect it might not have reached Fraggle Rock yet. 17 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 If the chef is Michelin quality then their Advertising and PR people need a kick up the backside. The second picture down looks like a pub Christmas lunch from the 60's........:-) 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium New Haven Neil Posted October 23, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 23, 2015 It was a while ago that he sailed on her, Gordon, to be fair. Like, 6 or 7 years ago I think. Much may have changed in the interim! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Even more reason the marketing material and photos really need updating. It reminded me of those low budget ads for local Indian or Chinese restaurants you used to see at the cinema before the feature film. I'm sure it's an enjoyable holiday, but their marketing pics are very dated and poor quality. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted October 23, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 23, 2015 Even more reason the marketing material and photos really need updating. It reminded me of those low budget ads for local Indian or Chinese restaurants you used to see at the cinema before the feature film. I'm sure it's an enjoyable holiday, but their marketing pics are very dated and poor quality. I have a suspicion that top notch cuisine might not be one of their main marketing planks (although obviously very nice if you get it and of course the food has to be part of what justifies the price). In general I would think that passengers go because it is something afloat and very different from the run-of-the-mill sea cruise, some will be there for the scenery and watching it slowly pass by, some will very definitely be there because it is a coal fired steamship, some will be there because it's small, and some for the sheer quirkiness of it. We find on the 'Patricia' that other passengers - like us - have their reasons for choosing it and while for some it is the novelty of going to sea on something different (and to add to all the other 'different' voyages they have made) most of the repeat customers do it because they are interested in what the ship does and it isn't shared with huge crowds or lots of the things you get nowadays on cruise ships. The food & drink are in many respects incidental provided they are good (and with the new catering contract they are very good indeed) and while people clearly want to see what they perceive as value for money 'fine dining' never seems to have been the ambition of most passengers, the odd glutton apart. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Happy Hippo Posted October 23, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 23, 2015 Fine dining? That would be stretched out in the muddy hollow with a decent cup of tea and a couple of freshly baked, home made cinnamon rolls. Failing that, same location with a tall glass of Pimms and a smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwich. 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 It's OK Mike, I wasn't expecting The Waterside, just surprised by the dated appearance and the surfeit of sprouts...:-) I'll get back to my woodwork.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiffy2 Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Parents evening story: Mother and boy show up, he wearing a Chelsea shirt, she an Arsenal shirt. I'm doing this as head of year, so it's already a bit edgy as I get so see the difficult cases. Me: "Before we start I must say that you were told to wear school uniform, certainly not a football shirt, and that is the sort of thing..." She: "And it's a sh*t team anyway."He: "Not as sh*t as the Arsenal. They're complete f******ing sh*t" She "No they're not you little sh*t, they're the best team. Chelsea is sh*t" A couple more exchanges like that and I invited them to leave before I called security... We had to expel him a few months later. Some kids don't stand a chance. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium New Haven Neil Posted October 23, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 23, 2015 Dick, a scenario I became only too familiar with in my past employment. They don't have a snowball's - no wonder they become offenders. Our probation officers did their very best to instil some values into them, sometimes with success, sometimes not. Sad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold BoD Posted October 23, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 23, 2015 She "No they're not you little sh*t, they're the best team. Chelsea is sh*t" A couple more exchanges like that and I invited them to leave before I called security... I can understand your quandary. She should have said Chelsea are sh*t 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jock67B Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 I wondered that as well! I have just taken the precaution of changing my bank account password. The risk of problems is probably quite low, but it seemed to make sense to change it. Dull morning here, so indoor tasks beckon. I will also have a go at converting an insulfrog point to electrofrog, following a suggestion on another thread I started on this site. Sensible precaution Simon! If the conversion works, could you point me to the thread because I believe I still have a couple of insulfrogs which might convert and save some funds? Thank you, Kind regards, Jock. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Abel Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 (edited) POETS here and will be taking significant advantage, not necessarily by choice, see below. Before that, an addition to the "getting bumped" story from yesterday evening; SO, fresh off the "bump" with a receipt for $700 in hand, and the boarding pass for the next flight, I wander over to the new departure gate. As I get there, they announce "we need two volunteers to give up their seats we'll pay $600. We'll provide overnight hotel accommodation, and you'll be on the 8AM flight tomorrow...", visions of a couple of additional Hornby locos sprung into my sight and I dutifully went to the counter and confirmed there was both free transport to the hotel, a voucher for dinner, accommodation, AND a seat on the morning flight. My "mistake" was in deciding to check with the Mrs first, in case she really wanted me home in the evening for some/any reason. Took a little while to track her down/contact her. Probably for the best to not be too greedy, once I'd chatted with her, and discovered it was fine either way, others had taken the option. Surprisingly it did take several announcement before they found two willing though while I was on the phone frantically trying to contact the Mrs. POETS day - well, I will POE today, in fact in about 2 hours, making a total of no more than 3 hours worked today. Turns out the Project Manager <insert any and ALL of Andrews favourite accolades> announced yesterday that we (everyone on the project) can only work 40 hours a week "to stay within the monthly budget". So even though I work rather longer hours when I'm out in Long Island, and would then general work a normal day on Fridays back here, I now can't do that, to keep the 40 hours intact! Thing IS, we're on a tight/difficult schedule and without working some extra time, we'll likely be "on budget", but potentially "miss the deadlines" - seems daft to me???? The "weekend" is going to be interesting, steps as follows... i) When I POE this morning, I'll then go pick up a 16' truck that will be used to propel Jemma and her "worldly goods" to Billings, Montana. ii) Late afternoon/evening load truck, Trevor coming over to help iii) Tomorrow around noon, me at the helm of said truck, Jemma and Mrs following or more likely preceding in her car, we do 1/2 the trip stopping in Bismarck, North Dakota, overnight. Amazingly/handily, Bismarck is almost EXACTLY half way between here and Billings, so a good convenient place for a stop/break. I figure 6+ hours driving a 16' rental truck is going to be about my arse limit iv) Sunday, remainder of trip arriving around 2PM, unload "worldy goods" into her new apartment. Boyfriend already there having set up some necessities (including INTERNET)and then unpacking v) Monday and Tuesday I'm working out of the apartment whilst Mrs and Jemma unpack/arrange/fart about/etc. vi) Wednesday, leave around noon in a newly acquired (promised to be the previously touted, I'm hoping for RED, Ford Fusion) rental car, stopping again in Bismarck overnight vii) Thursday arrive back in the Twin Cities, probably rather overdosed on DRIVING!!!! Approx. 850 miles each way. viii) <PHEW>!!! OK, so a little more work to do before I kiss the work-week goodbye, then I HAVE actually been told, by Jemma and Mrs, that the rest of the day, save picking up the truck, is mine to "play trains" or whatever I want - how generous my family are Have a lovely weekend everyone - I'll be reporting from the road when I can. Since I'm taking ALL my technology with me that should be easy. Edited October 23, 2015 by Ian Abel 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 (edited) Parents evening story: Mother and boy show up, he wearing a Chelsea shirt, she an Arsenal shirt. I'm doing this as head of year, so it's already a bit edgy as I get so see the difficult cases. Me: "Before we start I must say that you were told to wear school uniform, certainly not a football shirt, and that is the sort of thing..." She: "And it's a sh*t team anyway." He: "Not as sh*t as the Arsenal. They're complete f******ing sh*t" She "No they're not you little sh*t, they're the best team. Chelsea is sh*t" A couple more exchanges like that and I invited them to leave before I called security... We had to expel him a few months later. Some kids don't stand a chance. The proof that nothing changes - away back in the very early 70's, I worked on a RAF station near Bournemouth, and we had a WRAF corporal who was a RABID Chelsea fan - If they had won on a Saturday she would come into the canteen on Monday morning, punch the air, and shout "CHELSEEEEA !!!" and the entire canteen would explode "$H1T !!!" Edited October 23, 2015 by shortliner Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Shedman5 Posted October 23, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 23, 2015 Afternoon, lazy morning followed by shopping but at least it was food and drink shopping. Grey all day but at least dry, had a look on the govmt website where you can enter an old car reg and see if its still running and its MOT status, of the three vehicles I checked all are still on the go albeit one has either had a new engine or its been clocked!! Due to having a new company car every two years and if im honest I couldnt remember the reg of most of them I only managed the last three plus my first ever car which sadly does not exist. The memories of the joy of getting it and certain activities which took place within it are still exisent though! Hope those who are ailing feel better today. Enjoy the weekend folks Alan 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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