Early Risers.

[Barry O]

Chucking it down here. Off to do some indoor cricket umpiring at Headingley today. The university games are hard fought.

I shall be wearing my new specs but I fear varifocals and umpiring don't mix!

 

Enjoy Saturday everyone. I hope to see some of you at Warley in 3 weeks time.

Baz

[DDolfelin]

Interesting to read about horses associated with different folk.

One would think that most of those quoted could afford more than one horse.

Although, Roy Rogers (Trigger) Hopalong Cassidy (Topper) The Lone Ranger (Silver) and others seemed to make their horses last a long time.

 

Presumably bronchitus wasn't much good at cross country events.

[Tony_S]

Morning all. Off to breakfast and then heading off to the Louvre.

Weather is pleasant. It was showery when we arrived yesterday but blue sky with some high cloud today.

Tony

[lightengine]

Bronchitis may be better at dressage.

[Gwiwer]

 "Diaper Poultry".  Does anyone else have visions of chickens in nappies?

 

 

 

Upon first encountering the neighbourhood sign "Meals on Wheels" many years ago I envisioned a chicken heading down the road on a roller skate.  

 

Morning all.  I have been unable to attend today account the heavy cold which has been developing over the past week.  Nothing serious, more of an inconvenience, but on the railway safety must come first and when exacerbated by other recent events and post-over-the-counter medication I have found myself uncommonly drowsy.  Herr Doktor Kvack (real name withheld ) has given me a signed piece of paper authorising my absence until Moan-day late afternoon.  

 

Today I have mostly slept.  I intend to return to bed and attempt to do more of the above.  Please accept all good wishes as ever.

[Oldddudders]

Morning all

 

Yet another windy and wet morning. It has been like that every day recently, it seems. But every evening has been dry, calm and clear. We dined in the Buccaneer again last night with the lights of Exmouth and Lyme Regis again clearly twinkling. Anyway, that's where we think the lights are!

 

Gelder's pies and the van. Not far from Trisonic Pete there is/was a recording studio run by one Rudy van Gelder.

 

Baz - not everyone is born to relish varifocals. I hope you adjust to them as I have been lucky enough to do.

 

Chris F's PSA @ 1.8 sounds marvellous. Anything below 4 is normal. A very reliable indicator of prostate health.

 

Deb and I toured the Louvre a couple of times. The division into eras and styles, I think, enables the visitor to skip those of less interest and avoid fatigue.

 

We leave for Plymouth late afternoon. As Lightengine has reported from a few miles up the coast, it is blowing quite hard now, so we have to hope the wind has again dropped for our trip to St Malo.

 

Hope everyone has a relaxing weekend.

[edcayton]

Jock, the problem with cul-de-sacs with pedestrian egress is that the local kids find it, they turn into yoofs and then yobs and worse, with bikes and then motorbikes, on which they can escape from the Police! Be grateful for the tranquility that a proper c-d-s brings, although in my experience the residents get very upset about parking and turning!

 

Was hoping to get to Wycrail, but have to go in the opposite direction to collect my van after its service and MOT. Couldn't go yesterday as my cardio appointment went on too long. Have a good day/weekend all.

 

Ed

[Purley Oaks]

Morning all

 

I shall refrain from showing any tartan or leg - but being a Stewart (almost as many here as Smiths) there are enough from which to choose; the red of the Royal, the white of the Dress, the green of the Hunting, the blue of the Ancient. Others are available depending on where you're from. Tartans are only a Victorian romantic view, anyway, but better than a dress suit imho.

 

The trip to London went well yesterday - the 0540 Flying Scotman was 12 minutes late because (shock!) we had to wait at the Newark crossing for a local train, then managed to get stuck behind a VTEC slower service which we passed at Grantham. Reached Croydon at 11, registered the death, went to my father's house to get rid of things like milk and veg that were going off in the fridge and to check that all was secure, then a quick visit to the lawyers to drop off death certs and keys. Managed to catch the 3 o'clock home with a minute to spare. Knackered last night, as much because of the early start, but slept like a log for the first time in about 10 days so feel really refreshed this morning.

 

Great to see that Tony and Aditi finally made it to Paris.

 

ChrisF - good to see the results, long may it continue.

 

I love my varifocals - paid a bit more, but have great Nikon lenses and very light Lindberg frames.

 

Hope your trip to St Malo is duckpond smooth, Ian & Sherry

 

Have a good weekend wherever you are.

 

Mal

 

edited to add the O to Malo

Edited November 7, 2015 by Purley Oaks

[Gwiwer]

Well done Mal.

 

A very long and no doubt a very trying day, and would be so in any circumstances but given your recent medical history as well ......

 

Tell me, for the benefit of the terminally iggorant, is there any difference between a Stewart and a Stuart?  I know there's all the difference in the world between a MacDonald and a Burger King

[trisonic]

Morning all

 

Gelder's pies and the van. Not far from Trisonic Pete there is/was a recording studio run by one Rudy van Gelder.

 

Hope everyone has a relaxing weekend.

Rudy is responsible for the “sound” of modern jazz as we know it.......He’s recorded everyone from Miles Davis to John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter to Horace Silver.

 

At an amazing 91 years young he is still doing it.

 

Best, Pete.

[Purley Oaks]

Tell me, for the benefit of the terminally iggorant, is there any difference between a Stewart and a Stuart?  I know there's all the difference in the world between a MacDonald and a Burger King

Hi Rick

Stewart derived from the Steward to Robert the Brus. Stuart is, I believe, the French bastardisation of the name in the 16th/17th century via Mary, Queen of Scots. Another variation is Steuart but that is rare. So, you could infer that Stuart is the more Roman Catholic.

Am pleased to be corrected on any of the above.

Hope you feel better soon, btw.

Mal

 

Edit: re the burgers? Just avoid both...

Edited November 7, 2015 by Purley Oaks

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Going to the Finescale later and hopefully on to the Romford exhibition if the traffic isn't too bad. There was mentioned on the TV a few days ago that some more words had been added to the dictionary, it wasn't mentioned but I couldn't help wondering if 'cockwomble' has made it into the dictionary yet and what exactly would be the definition.

[Tony_S]

Hi Rick

Stewart derived from the Steward to Robert the Brus. Stuart is, I believe, the French bastardisation of the name in the 16th/17th century via Mary, Queen of Scots. Another variation is Steuart but that is rare. So, you could infer that Stuart is the more Roman Catholic.

Am pleased to be corrected on any of the above.

Hope you feel better soon, btw.

Mal

 

Edit: re the burgers? Just avoid both...

Robert the Bruce, good Essex boy allegedly!

[NGT6 1315]

By the way, this is what the East Circuit (commonly called Georgiring) frequently looks like these days due to the scheduled diversion of Lines 4, 7, 12 and 15:

 

 

And there were two additional services waiting at the platform behind me. The up direction for Central Station, just visible in the background, is not much better off. After all, this stretch currently has to handle roughly the double number of lines.

[emt_911]

Morning all. A bit late on parade this morning and on my second coffee already.

 

Jock - Thanks for the comment. Although I think that the plans for the weekend may be going down the pan rapidly. Dads car has decided to stop working and a weekly shop is required so as I still haven't managed to convince him to use the internet for this purpose, I'll end up taking him. On top of that, several jobs have been identified around their house that come into the realms of being urgent. The home health team visited my mum a couple of days ago and wanted to fit several hand rails. They were told that 'we' (me) would sort this out.

 

chrisf - Although I don't know what the numbers mean, it sounds like good news. Just seen Ian's post so it is good news.

 

Ian & Sherry - I hope that the weather doesn't cause any problems with the travel plans.

 

For all ER's going to Wycrail, have a good day.

[BoD]

..........I envisioned a chicken heading down the road on a roller skate

It was just 'Poultry in Motion'

[Coombe Barton]

It was just 'Poultry in Motion'

Groan button, please.

[Coombe Barton]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Going to the Finescale later and hopefully on to the Romford exhibition if the traffic isn't too bad. There was mentioned on the TV a few days ago that some more words had been added to the dictionary, it wasn't mentioned but I couldn't help wondering if 'cockwomble' has made it into the dictionary yet and what exactly would be the definition.

Maybe the definition of "cockwomble" would be satisfied by a few examples of the genre.

[NGT6 1315]

Maybe the definition of "cockwomble" would be satisfied by a few examples of the genre.

 

I could offer those two cock-ups of left-turners who felt like cutting across the track right ahead of me yesterday as I was approaching!

[Gwiwer]

Upon first encountering the neighbourhood sign "Meals on Wheels" many years ago I envisioned a chicken heading down the road on a roller skate.  

 

 

 

 

It was just 'Poultry in Motion'

 

 

Groan button, please.

 

​"Poultry in motion - see her gently sway

No number nine love potion - could ever move that way"

 

I'll never be able to look at my chickens the same way again!

[Gwiwer]

Maybe the definition of "cockwomble" would be satisfied by a few examples of the genre.

 

See http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Cockwomble

[Happy Hippo]

Okay guys, I've had a quick peek at I, Claudius by Robert Graves. He has Caligula's horse as Incitatus. It is a work of fiction, but I'm inclined to trust it.

 

Bill

Just to put the record straight, it's all to do with playing on from Bluebottle's initial wit.

 

Extending the original joke with further daft puns, and my rotten sense of humour for blaming my wife.

 

Caligula elected his horse to the senate, so by definition, horsey was a Senator.

 

 

One hopes  we are all standing on the same platform again

Edited November 7, 2015 by Happy Hippo

[bluebottle]

Robert the Bruce, good Essex boy allegedly!

 

That chestnut turns up every time the Bruce gets a mention.

 

From the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography:

 

Robert I [Robert Bruce] (1274–1329), king of Scots, son of Robert (VI) de Brus (1243–1304) and Marjory, countess of Carrick (d. in or before 1290), was born on 11 July 1274, probably at Turnberry Castle in Ayrshire.

In 1286 Bruce's links were with his mother's earldom of Carrick, and the first occurrence of his name in record may well be as witness, with his father, to a confirmation (c.1286?) in favour of Paisley Abbey of a grant of the church of Kilkerran in Kintyre (now Campbeltown) by Alexander MacDonald, eldest son of Angus, lord of Islay. The connection between Carrick and those western isles which, like the peninsula of Kintyre, lay to the south of Mull and Loch Linnhe, and also the connection between Carrick and the northern part of Ireland, exerted a profound influence on Bruce throughout his life.

 

Any dissent, and I'll upload Nigel Tranter's  Bruce Trilogy in its entirety.

 

You have been warned.

[Smiffy2]

I think that Caligula threatened to make his horse a senator. It was just a finely-crafted insult. Caesar had a lot of tridactyle horses, apparently un-named. He had them bred specially because horses with thumbs were reckoned to be lucky. They were all white, and with his characteristic red cloak it made him highly visible to the troops.

 

Anyway...

 

Morning all.

 

Been up a while, dealing with the cockwombles (crims actually) who phoned us a few weeks ago to sell us a 'nuisance calls interception device'. It arrived today with a bill for £78. A moment's Googling established that it costs £4.55 and doesn't intercept calls, just display caller numbers...

 

Phoned the company, gave their answering machine a piece of my mind. Contacted Worthing trading standards to inform them of the scam, then called my bank. It seems they have already set up a direct debit to claim back the £78. That's cancelled.

 

And I've just written a letter to them which ends: 

 

"I have contacted Worthing Trading Standards and informed them that you have sent me goods that I declined, with a demand for payment.

I spoke to my bank and discovered that you have, on November 2nd,  initiated a Direct Debit, against my wishes, to take the ‘scheduled’ payments. That has been cancelled. I must inform you that if you in future set up or attempt to set up a further direct debit against my account I shall report it to the police.

 

This letter, which you may take as a formal refusal to accept your ‘offer’ and the device, is being sent by registered post. I would be grateful to receive a reply at your earliest convenience in which you inform me of how you justify this course of action.

 

Apart from that I do not wish to receive any further communications from your company or any associated companies. If you do communicate with me I shall refer the matter to trading standards with a  copy of this letter. If you make any further attempts to set up direct debits or any other form of money transfer on my account I shall inform the police.

 

I hope that this clarifies matters."

 

I think that should do the trick.

 

Apart from that, my spray booth has arrived, so I'm off for a play. I wish you all the best of days, hopefully pain and distress free.

[BoD]

Nice one Dick.

 

Does anyone know the name of Robert the Bruce's horse?