Early Risers.

[The Stationmaster]

I have to admit I thought Land Use/Transportation planning represented the future while working for BR(E) CCE's in the early 1960s at the time when we had close connections with Dutch Railways (with work at Parkeston and the Hook) and had a number of exchange visits.

 

Working on their Ronstadt railway based urban strategy, the Dutch were already airing the merits of 'floating' built development versus wholesale polder reclamation (it was only 8 years since the disastrous East Coast Low Countries killer floods).

 

Nowadays it seems that raft-type ‘floatable’ built development has become the Dutch norm, grouped around attractively planted recreational water bodies on a floodable landscape - rather than trying to keep their fingers in higher and higher dodgy dykes.

Particularly attractive are Dutch recreational/commuter village parks. From my Northern fastness, I can’t understand why we don’t go that way in hard pressed areas like the South East and the Thames Valley.

 

dh

There was a house on 'Grand Designs' recently which is designed to float in floods.  It visits on a concrete box which is inside another concrete box and as the outer box fills due to rises in the water table/river (Thames) level so the inner box also rises floating on that water, and it really does work.  The floating box part is fitted with guides to keep it in alignment and they came from Holland.  Seemed a very clever idea but it cost a very large amount of money (the bloke who commissioned it is 'in I.T.')

 

http://www.dezeen.com/2014/10/15/baca-architects-amphibious-house-floating-floodwater/

 

Edited December 7, 2015 by The Stationmaster

[BSW01]

Ooooo we're not allowed naked flames or any other source of ignition on most sites due to the risk of explosion. We even have spark proof hammers. But that doesn't stop them have boilers located within the perimeter. However they are located well away from possible gas vents, leaks etc.

Edited December 7, 2015 by BSW01

[newbryford]

Morning all,

 

Brians arriving one after the other - will someone go for a hat-trick I wonder (and welcome chaps).

 

 

 

My surname is Bryan - does that count?

 

Cheers,

Mick (yes another Mick B )

Edited December 7, 2015 by newbryford

[Happy Hippo]

I see that the Prime Minister visited Cumbria today.

 

Haven't the residents already suffered enough this past week?

[New Haven Neil]

Evening.

 

Good to see my friend Matt/Brian/Brain here (yes Matt, Mike is dyslexic - as well as a terrible p*ss taker!) as he and I have corresponded for many years.  Since Laura had blue hair in fact!

 

Odd you should have a Moooose,  I used to get told off when going around Ikea picking them up and putting the antlers on my head and going 'Moooose' to all the kids......those snakes were fun too!  Donk must meet up with him.

 

Weather now just peeing it down in normal amounts here, the bus is still stuck upside down under the bridge, and we had the busiest day ever at work - I did get to speak to GDB briefly though!

[Barry O]

Evening all. 

 

been busy doing trains for me today in between odd jobs for others. Got a Black 5 working again(following rewheeling), a Jubilee but defeated by a Scot with a shifted wheel..

 

Nightcap required then early to bed as I feel somewhat tired.

 

Sleep well everyone

 

Baz

[Tony_S]

No trains adjusted here today. Aditi asked if I wanted to go to Lakeside. So I said no. She then asked if I wanted to go to IKEA so I said no. She then said she was going and would like me to go too. So I did. The Lakeside visit was to return something that didn't fit and IKEA was to get some kitchen drawer liner plastic stuff. I did say that if we walked through the toy department one more time I was going to demand a panda. We even saw a replacement lampshade (to replace the temporary one from our old house) we quite liked. Of course it wasn't in stock. If we have waited 25 years to find something we both like I am sure we can wait a bit longer!

Tony

Edited December 7, 2015 by Tony_S

[brianthesnail96]

Evening.

 

Good to see my friend Matt/Brian/Brain here (yes Matt, Mike is dyslexic - as well as a terrible p*ss taker!) as he and I have corresponded for many years.  Since Laura had blue hair in fact!

 

Odd you should have a Moooose,  I used to get told off when going around Ikea picking them up and putting the antlers on my head and going 'Moooose' to all the kids......those snakes were fun too!  Donk must meet up with him.

 

Weather now just peeing it down in normal amounts here, the bus is still stuck upside down under the bridge, and we had the busiest day ever at work - I did get to speak to GDB briefly though!

 

I seemed to recall he is- I think Brain just became habit though (ref. terrible  p*ss taker!). I do miss the GSM coffee room, part the reason I decided to poke my nose in here That and they put up with you so they must be an alright bunch really...

 

That's a lovely image, by the way- surprised they let you back in the shop. Presumably Fraggle is an Ikea free zone, another good reason to live there (and probably goes someway to making up for the weather). Moose seems excited at the prospect of meeting Donk.

 

Looking forward to seeing how they recover that bus. I suppose it might end up being cut up in situ. There was an interesting one at one of the steam rallies this year, someone managed to put a Burrell Showmans in a ditch (on the way to the pub as well). Obviously a little delicate to extract, and not an easy recovery (had taken the front axle off I believe). Two Scammell Explorers and an S26 recovery plus an ex military Foden recovery to get it out, all from the show- don't think the drivers had to buy much of their own beer for the rest of the night.

 

Been fairly dry here today, although our troubles are extremely minor compared to other corners of the country it'd be nice if it dried up a little bit- our front garden/ driveway (gravel over soil) is getting decidedly soft, bizarrely at the top of the slope. Given that the house is at the bottom I'd rather it's this way around, but it is a little odd. It's getting to the point where a certain amount of momentum is needed to get the Marina out without it sinking!

[BoD]

So I did.

A quick learner then

[BSW01]

Just completed the sainsburys Grand Prix this evening, the shopping has all stashed away now. BTW the photos I posted earlier, were actually of this mornings work location. I'm often to be found lurking in hedgerows or climbing over fences in and around the North West in my HI-vis jacket and toting my little yellow box of tricks. Maintenance on our remote pipeline monitoring equipment today, I'll be doing the same again tomorrow. I'll definitely need my wellies again.

Good night all.

[BoD]

According to the announcement on the National Rail service disruption page tonight.

 

Poor weather in Wales - normal service resumed.

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[jamie92208]

Just completed the sainsburys Grand Prix this evening, the shopping has all stashed away now. BTW the photos I posted earlier, were actually of this mornings work location. I'm often to be found lurking in hedgerows or climbing over fences in and around the North West in my HI-vis jacket and toting my little yellow box of tricks. Maintenance on our remote pipeline monitoring equipment today, I'll be doing the same again tomorrow. I'll definitely need my wellies again.

Good night all.

It's a good thing you didn't make that statement about wellies on here a few days ago.   We were heavily involved in a discussion abut what could be called animal husbandry and involved sheep and wellies, or is there something that you want to tell us all.

 

Jamie

[pH]

Sitting here watching the large afternoon flight of crows from east to west, back to the rookeries a couple of towns over. They gather in a big clump of trees on the shore here, then fly west together. Presumably there are other gathering places in other towns, because there are a lot of birds spend the nights in the rookeries.

 

Back in the days when I worked, at certain times of the year (depending on the light) while standing at the bus stop in the morning, I could see two separate streams of birds in flight. The crows would be flying at a fairly low level from west to east, from the rookeries to forage on the shore and in the local woods and gardens. Higher up, gulls would be flying east to west, from the inlet where they had spent the night to the garbage dump in the next town.

 

Talking of crows, a couple of weeks ago we saw a 'funeral' for a crow. Approaching some trees on a walk, there were crows gathered around and above a spot on the ground, and making a lot of noise. When we got close, we could see a dead crow lying on the ground. I've heard of crows doing this, but I can't remember seeing it before.

Edited December 8, 2015 by pH

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Just been browsing Facebook, a pic of some stupid prat in a Chelsea tractor driving through a flooded street at some speed creating a bow wave, as if the residents of the street don't have enough problems. I hope he got stopped or at least his number taken. On my facebook page I've posted an Australian drink driving film from a few years ago (2009), the Aussies certainly don't pull their punches. Now time for bed so goodnight all.

[Two_sugars]

Goodnight Everyone . . . .Sleep well.

 

John.

[Gwiwer]

With all of this water around the UK I am reminded of 1987 when a younger and fitter Gwiwer was among 120 participants in an organised John O'Groats - Land's End cycle ride over two weeks.  Despite being mid-summer we encountered a lot of un-summer-like weather including the result of an overnight storm near Tarporley, Cheshire.

 

 

Speaking of water a decent amount has fallen here overnight allowing the tanks to be topped up and obviating the need to water the veggies for a couple of days.  Among the happiest sounds in the Australian summer is that of of rain hammering onto a tin roof and running off into tanks.

 

Flash flooding happens here too.  Rainfall can often be violent and very heavy.  Some homes are raised on stumps and (particularly in Queensland) some are built on stilts well above the ground.  Queensland experiences tropical weather systems which don't reach this far south and has severe flooding somewhere almost every year.

 

Last of nine days attendance at the Palace and it's hot and humid with the promise of storms later.  A predictable result of that is a lightning strike on a signal box and flash flooding of the tracks .... jus about the time I'll want to head home at quarter to 21 o'clock tonight.

 

Smile and the World smiles with you - frown and they'll think you're brewing a fart.

[Jock67B]

Morning all,

First I'd like to say that my thoughts are with all the poor souls, like 'big jim's work colleague, who have suffered such loss and misery through the latest 'once in a lifetime' storms. I only hope that the government will ensure that the insurance companies play the game, and don't wriggle and squirm to avoid their responsibility.

Starting with some comments on older posts :

Pete(pH), thanks for the information on the sad passing of the Kilmarnock born teacher, poet and writer William McIlvanney. He wrote some gripping stories, and it's a shame that Stewart (and not forgetting Geoff who presumably also lost power in Lancaster) isn't around to make a comment as he was at Kilmarnock Academy (as was I) but before Willie taught there.

Mike (SM), ref. your comment on being put up in a hotel, it actually happened to my father when his train jammed in a compacted snowdrift filling a cutting at some time in the fifties. I'm not sure permission was sought but there was a hotel at the other side of the field and he, the fireman and guard marched the meagre trainload over to it, where they billeted until rescue late the following day. I was young and can't recall the exact location, but I do remember my mother's distress in those days without mobile phones. It was some time before the hotel somehow got word to the shed! Dad was always convinced that BR recompensed the hotel.

Neil(NHN), sounds like some very hard work at Groudle Glen - very impressive from a largely volunteer workforce! I really wish you all well for the coming 'Santa Special' season. Is Deb's over her discomfort? I wondered if you'd seen 'Peach James's post in the 'Lunester Asylum' thread about on board ship electrics - thought it might bring back some memories for you.

Bill, hadn't listened to the Bruckner 8 for some considerable time, but your post prompted me to dig it out and put on the headphones this afternoon! My version is the old DG version with Von Karajan conducting the Vienna Phil sublime! The ability to easily access such concerts must be one of the real joys of living near the major venues, especially when viewed from the cultural backwater that I live in!

Matt (brianthesnail96), a warm welcome, with all I said to Brian in post #108960 plus, it's nice to welcome someone who will reduce our average age on here.

John(KB), that is a very brave move, taking on a completely untrained dog like Mica. You might be doing some cleaning up over the next few weeks!

Simon, I've never forgiven America for sending Piers Morgan back over here! No doubt that he behaves like a complete aerosol all the time. Good luck with both your trek and the outcome at the hospital on Wednesday.

Ian (OD), good news that you seem to have the feline situation sorted, and can hopefully now continue as planned. No problem with cards here, as Joanna decided last year that the expense of the whole issue was getting out of hand, and so she informed everyone on our list of her decision to estimate the total, and make a donation in excess of that amount to a deserving charity. The heart foundation was chosen as we already have standing orders to Cancer Research and MacMillan. Amazing that more than a third have followed her lead! I then get the task of e-mailing the season's greetings to all concerned. Hope your journey over is trouble free, and the famous shop in Camborne will be delighted that they'll get to dip in your wallet.

Dave (r-a-r), thanks for the history lesson, I'm now embarking on further research! As a Scot, born in to a lowland rieving Clan, I've decided to refrain from comment for now.

Mike(SM), I thought your post on living on a flood plain was very interesting and the floating house is certainly an extreme solution. A large area of Clacton on Sea, relies on a drainage ditch (Picker's Ditch) which happens to run past the bottom of our cul-de-sac. Having viewed this for over thirty years, I've noticed a radical change in the depth of the water over this time, especially when they built a large retail park alongside the ditch, upstream from us. The land was previously used for farming, and then a large caravan park, which allowed rainwater to drain naturally. When further updtream still, a large housing development was allowed, all this hard landscaping has meant that any significant rainfall sees the water running near the top of the banks with flooding in some places. They are now talking about allowing over 1000 more homes in the same area! Just to complicate matters further, the ditch outfall to the sea is below sea-level at higher tides - crazy! I'm very pleased that we live at the top of a hill.

Anyone seeing the images on the news over the last couple of days, can't fail to be moved by the plight so many have found themselves in, especially so close to a time of 'good cheer', which I can only imagine will be difficult for them to enjoy.

I do hope we hear from our awol ERs soon!

Best wishes to all our ailing souls,

Kind regards,

Jock.

G'night Pete! G'night fellow sheep counters!

[NGT6 1315]

Mawnin' awl. Insomnia didn't let go following a rough dream. Will probably need to double coffee intake to get going. Oh well!

 

Be back later…

[DDolfelin]

According to the announcement on the National Rail service disruption page tonight.

 

Poor weather in Wales - normal service resumed.

 

Yep.

After a lovely Springlike day for a lot of yesterday, the rain started again in the evening.

[emt_911]

Morning all. I haven't disappeared from the face of the planet, no internet access for the last 24 hours.

 

I'm hoping that it will be sorted by the time I get home today.

 

Have a good day everyone

[Robert]

Morning All,

 

It is a rather chilly morning here - the temperature is down to 0°C and there is quite a thick fog in places.

 

Did anyone see the person from the Environment Agency on the news - who was trying to claim that the flood defenses in Keswick actually did work because they gave people more time to "get out".  Where do they find these people from?

 

My Grandfather always maintained that centralising the regional river boards was a huge mistake.  He said that graduates controlling operations from London wouldn't be an adequate substitute for a man on the ground who knew the area, and did the same as generations before him.  I can't help thinking he was probably right.

 

Still, I guess that is wandering too close to politics.

 

Have a good day everyone...

Edited December 8, 2015 by Robert

[chrisf]

Good morning one and all, and belated welcome to the two Brians from a relatively new ER inmate.

 

The GP visit went well yesterday until Dr John told me that he will be leaving the surgery at C-----mas after 17 years.  This was quite a shock.  Although I took a dislike to him on our first meeting we have been thrown together many times since then and I have come not only to like but to respect him.  It was his rapid reaction back in June that got me referred and my cancer diagnosed.  For now he is taking time out but may have other plans not to leave medicine behind entirely.  Who will be my new designated GP?

 

Another nuisance phone call interrupted my afternoon reverie.  It was a recorded message about new boilers where you press 2 to talk to someone and 9 to be removed.  Thing is, I have pressed 9 three times already and guess what, number withheld, so reporting the call to the information commissioner [never easy because the webshite is not fit for purpose] is that much more difficult.  I had a real beauty the other day.  This overseas woman started reciting my name, address and postcode and asked me if I am over 20.  My response was to ask where she got my number.  She chuntered on some more so I asked her again, this time yelling at her.  Unless I am very much mistaken she replied "From your father".  As Pa has been dead these past ten years I rather doubt it.  Fortunately she ended the call at this point so I was denied the pleasure of being rude to her.

 

I have been watching "London Spy" on BBC2 and grew increasingly bewildered as the weeks went by.  The final episode last night was disappointing.  I am all for suspense provided that al the loose ends are gathered together at the end and in that respect I felt that the production fell rather short.  As all five episodes are safely taken down in my digi box perhaps I will subject myself to a full re-run.  On the other hand I have other things to do.  One is to speak again to Poorly Pal, who is back home but clearly not on full power.  More of this anon.

 

Good health to all who need it

 

Chris

Edited December 8, 2015 by chrisf

[Barry O]

Hey up!

Time for a mug of tea, breakfast and a trip to do some layout testing.

 

Her indoors has a number of cancelled school visits as it gets closer to Christmas. Then she gets the odd call " Can you come on x instead as we need you to help the children in their Carol concert" ... Nothing like planning ahead.

 

Rick, hope the shift worked out OK.

 

Robert, the Environment Agency has offices across the country and are very regionalised. With 14" of rain in a day not sure what else they could do other than asking us to move away from flood areas which isn't that practical.

 

Trip to Barrow cancelled as the workmen are struggling to finish some plastering.

 

Have a great day.

 

Baz

Edited December 8, 2015 by Barry O

[roundhouse]

Morning from a wet Surrey.

Bus 15 late and normally gets later as it gets closer to our stop so we had to walk to the station otherwise we would miss the train as today I am on Thameslink as have a meeting in Covent Garden area. Train on time so far unlike last nights 15 minute late arrival into Redhill with no announcement as to why. The next bus was late getting us home aswell so after leaving work at 5pm we got into the house just before 7pm. A total distance of 20 miles.

Last night was spent sorting out it various US N scale locos including adding them to the JMRI roster.

A little work done to another Beattie well tank plus decals added to a TT scale Czech wagon.

 

EDITED for ipad autocorrects and me missing them!

Edited December 8, 2015 by roundhouse