Early Risers.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Not a lot to report this morning, only need to set up the dash cam and thats it. Thoughts are with the ailing and missing this morning. Thats it for now, be back later.

[petethemole]

I googled 'nose muff'. They exist, but I wonder what respect might be given to an umpire wearing one. I also found this interesting site https://athabaskang07.wordpress.com/2014/11/30/

 

It wasn't frosty this morning for the first time after several days but the wind is still chilly. No comparison with the snowbound North and Scotland where no doubt public transport is at a standstill and fleets of cars are abandoned by the roadside. Or possibly not. The South has had late April snow in the past http://www.theweatheroutlook.com/twocommunity/default.aspx?g=posts&t=16256

 

In other news, Mrs mole's trailer sale is on. I may get the money I'm owed....

 

More coffee is required and there are things that need doing. Whether they all get done is another matter but I should start.

 

Have a good POETS day.

 

Pete

 

PS it would seem I'm not entirely inaccurate

 

Edited April 29, 2016 by petethemole

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all,

 

Late April snow isn't at all unusual although it has never been a regular event - even in the south of Britain (I have seen a white easter - back in the 1970s and Easter was late that year.

 

The problem of parental attention transfer when a new offspring arrives is an old one and seems to vary enormously and we found the key to it was not to reduce attention to the first while giving plenty to the second but as one was a girl and the second a boy that perhaps made it easier.  However I do agree with others who have suggested advice from mum, or someone outside the immediate family might be more positively received than advice from dad because however you do it it could still have that hint of 'you need to do it my way' which could be resented.  The other thing of course is to get Daisy as closely involved as possible in helping to look after her little sister.

 

Late Waitrose visit yesterday as I had managed to scrape in to see Drac's daughter who was very thoroughly organised with multiple phials awaiting my hard won corpuscles;  however as i was leaving I had to remind her that she also owed me a p***ing pot as the diabolic review also needs a sample of that.  The day continued on an uproarious note as playing their usual tricks laddo's boss rang to advise himself was heading home but started with the question 'what's for dinner?'  The two of them sound very similar on the 'phone so I instantly replied 'Indians' dinner' - without realising I was talking to Amal instead of Rob and Amal's dad is - hmm - Indian.  Much hilarity ensued and today Rob has been tasked with explaining why, in this house, we refer to curry as 'Indians' dinner' - which goes back to a very young Good Doctor taking a considerable dislike to curry at one time and expressing it as 'don't want Indians' dinner' on several occasions.

 

Have a good day everybody

[Smiffy2]

Morning all, bright and overcast here.

 

Thanks to you for the kind comments on the domestic problems, especially Ed and Dave (and Tony). Daisy is seven and Rose just coming up to 1. There's no problem of resentment from Daisy as far as her sister is concerned, or nothing ever gets to the surface.

 

I don't really see an answer, just a long haul of palliative measures. I'm up for that, and so is Julie. The frightening thing is that I find myself looking at a mirror image of myself sixty years ago, with a cold and distant mother favouring a younger sibling and me finding comfort and love by running off to my Grandparents, especially my grandmother. I have to ask if I've somehow manufactured this situation.

 

I also see in this situation my own reaction to stress when my kids were young. Julie says that at one time I didn't smile for two years...

 

When I was working with 'difficult' kids I used to come to a stage where I understood their problems and feelings, and empathised with them. That was always tough, because you might be punishing them in life-changing ways when you knew that, whatever their behaviour may be, inside they were in turmoil and pain. That's the stage I've reached with Daisy. I am feeling her distress, partly I suspect because I once experienced it myself.

 

So thanks for kind words and sound advice. I'm going to continue with two strategies that always served me well, masterful inaction (whilst watching very carefully) because sometimes things do get better, and a 360º Grin campaign. I decided many years ago that some problems were too complex to deal with in the time available, so got myself and key colleagues to grin and smile whenever they saw particular kids. I never analysed it overmuch, but it works and costs little.

 

I think that pastoral care teachers are like sheepdogs. Behaviour is instinctive, and the desire to intervene never goes away. I once saw a retired sheepdog trying to herd visitors to a b&b. That's how I feel. Herding clouds.

 

Off to try out Waitrose. Get some more galettes. I'm also trying to track down a Delia frying pan (that's not a pan for frying Delias, you know very well what I mean). Old-fashioned pans are becoming rare, and very expensive, and I think I'm giving up on non-stick.

 

Thanks again for the kindness, have a good day.

[Tony_S]

Dick. Frying pans, we have lots, some non stick and some stainless steel. Aditi wanted a non stick whisk to use in some non stick pans and although she could find them on Amazon she wasn't sure which one was the size she wanted. However in Utrecht there are a few kitchen shops that sell everything including the whisk (made in UK too!). We also bought back coffee cups that are exactly the right capacity for our coffee machine. Hope you get your Delia pan. A lot of ours are Jamie Oliver but they are Tefal really!

[trisonic]

I’m afraid that I admit that I have no answer to Dick that is satisfactory. Family ties are still strange to me and I don’t think I’ll ever understand them now before I kick the bucket.

 

Frankly I’m surprised that most of us end up as well adjusted as we do (that does not include me, I’m still ambivalent about my late Mother even though I loved her dearly when I was a youngster)....

 

Best, Pete.

Edited April 29, 2016 by trisonic

[Barry O]

snow now gone.. but it was here honest!

 

 

Morreasons attended, Sister Dracs' little helper has taken blood, notes from a meeting I attended as an observer last night to be written up.

 

See you all later

Baz

[trisonic]

Morning all,

 

Late April snow isn't at all unusual although it has never been a regular event - even in the south of Britain (I have seen a white easter - back in the 1970s and Easter was late that year.

a good day everybody

I can remember Snow stopping play at Colchester during an Essex match - which I think was in June! Wind off the Urals is the usual excuse in Essex....

 

Best, Pete.

[NGT6 1315]

Cheers all. Was awake too early for my taste and went back in for a nap after tidying up some. Sunny, fairly balmy and some clouds today, which should make driving unproblematic.
 
Yesterday I had 1213 "Rostock" once again…
 
 

 
…and while riding up from Markkleeberg needed to stop on the route just after entering the single track engineering section on Bornaische Straße as some fuckfaces had moved several warning beacons from the site signage to the middle of the track. I was able to move them back out with the friendly help of a volunteering passenger, but it did kick me out of the timetable for good.

 

Have a good one, troops…

[Judge Dread]

didn't you tighten the brakes then John. Taught by my ole mad and it takes more time taking the wheels off!

 

Baz

I did start to jack the car up to do just that when one of the professional restorers we had with us took the job off me.

The only true "breakdown" happened to two lads who had to try and drive their Minor like a rally car. They smashed second gear and jammed the gear box. So much so that the car had to be towed back to the campsite. Several teeth had gone and gearbox internals were the only spares not brought over from the UK. The same restorer who adjusted my car took the gear shaft to a local blacksmith and was allowed to use his grindstone wheel to remove the surviving second gear teeth. Upon refitting the gear box, second was now none existent but the box did not jam anymore.

They made it home after several people took most of their baggage to lighten their load.

As an RAC man once said to me, "The only way to stop a Morris Minor is to club it to death!". 

[Judge Dread]

Evening.

 

1c here too on the way home this evening, snow, sleet, sunshine, rain and wind all mixed up in one big......collective word for four seasons in one minute?

 

Dom, I agree with AndyID - use an arrow on the dashboard to show which side to drive on.  There are a lot of German bikers that come here for the TT races, and they all seem to use that. 

 

I did once meet one face to face on a back road though, and when we stopped almost wheel to wheel he shouted a lot of what sounded like abuse at me and then realised.....the look on his face was something to behold as he realised that had it been a busy road (the roads here TT week are CRAZY) we would both have been dead.  The words I could not understand became much more considerate in sound!

I asked that question about which side of the road of a taxi driver in Malta. He replied "We drive in the shade usually!".

Edited April 29, 2016 by Judge Dread

[Smiffy2]

Waitrose was horrible...

[The Lurker]

Alternating sun and cloud here but the wind is cold, especially in the vaults under London Bridge where the effect that the Shard has on the local wind is magnified.

 

The car has not yet been taken by the repairers as the guy who was supposed to pick it up is off sick. If Direct Line had assigned the local BMW garage as an approved repairer rather than one in Kentish Town it would be done by now.

 

I saw  on cricinfo the other day the picture of the Windies team that was over in 1975 for the world cup looking astonished at the sight of snow in June. I'm guessing that was at Buxton.

 

I certainly remember a white easter in Kent in the 70s - which given I've only seen a couple of white Christmases down south makes it even more remarkable.

 

From the distance I'm at, it sounds like Dick has settled on the best option - being there and never stopping loving.

 

 

I'm looking forward to a long weekend now, which is a shame as I can't go home yet! Have a good weekend all

[The Stationmaster]

Waitrose was horrible...

 

Tesco was alright ... (especially so for a Friday but both our local Waitrose and the one we use in Tilehurst aren't so pleasant on Fridays, in fact we can't even get in the car park at the local one on most Fridays)

 

Next supermarket report?

[sixoh8sixoh]

Afternoon all from a damp (and sometimes snowy) Scottish HQ. I did pass some cars on my walk to work this morning that had half an inch of snow on them, probably come in from the Pentland Hills.

 

I remember snow in Durham in June too, though I don't think I was watching cricket at the time...

 

The office is like the Marie Celeste today, very few of us in. Many don't work Fridays or work from home. I had my end year review this morning. No need to be packing my desk, thankfully! Popped out at lunchtime to post my A4 Empire of India to somewhere in deepest darkest Lincolnshire as it sold on a "best offer" on Ebay.

 

Have a good POETS day!

[skipepsi]

I remember it snowing in June I failed my driving test trying to drive a Capri in snow well more exactly parking the thing at the end.

[Tony_S]

Supermarket report. I went to Tesco in Pitsea just before noon. No trouble parking and it was busy but not busy enough to need to queue at a till. Usual complaint from me that they have moved everything again but not the over aisle notices telling you what is in the aisle. I then took Robbie down to the park. Quite a few notices about a poisoner at work leaving baited biscuits and sausage.

The house looks nice and tidy ready for visitors tomorrow.

Tony

[Tony_S]

I remember it snowing in June I failed my driving test trying to drive a Capri in snow well more exactly parking the thing at the end.

Was that 1975? I am sure it snowed when I was at Keele for my PGCE year.

[BoD]

 Usual complaint from me that they have moved everything again but not the over aisle notices telling you what is in the aisle

Tony

 

You mean you don't methodically go up and down every aisle twice looking for bogofs and putting random items in your basket 'just in case'?

You are obviously not a seasoned  supermarket shopper like Mrs BoD

[leopardml2341]

.......the over aisle notices telling you what is in the aisle.

Tony

Saw this some time ago; for some reason it amused me

 

 

The other side, of course, read 'Polish Baby'

[Shedman5]

Afternoon, after a dusting of the white stuff this morning then rain and hail its now dry but quite windy and still feeling cold.

 

Visited the local model shop this morning picked up some paints and once home painted various bits on a kit I am building. I might start to assemble later tonight or in the morning.

 

Youngest coming home for the weekend so other half is busy baking, so Choclate Cake,Millionaires Shortbread and Lemon Cheescake are in various stages of production and items  are in the fridge that we dont usally purchase.

 

I always look forward to the boys coming home or should I say my stomach does!

 

Enjoy the bank holiday weekend and be safe

 

Alan

[Andrew P]

Very interesting reading all these Supermarket reports,......................I DONT DO SUPERMARKETS.............

 

Drop off the Good Lady, walk the Dogs, and go back in as she comes through the Check out, easy peasy lemon squeezy, no hasle, no kids, no bashed ankles from trollies, no OLD PEOPLE, (whoops I'm one of those), and no looking for tings in the Wrong ASILE as they've moved it for Easter / Summer / Christmas / Whitsun / August / INSET WHAT YOU WANT.

 

I find Supermarkets very Claustrophobic.

[leopardml2341]

......other half is busy baking, so Choclate Cake,Millionaires Shortbread and Lemon Cheescake are in various stages of production.....

So, if I send you a box and sufficient to cover return postage?

[The Stationmaster]

You mean you don't methodically go up and down every aisle twice looking for bogofs and putting random items in your basket 'just in case'?

You are obviously not a seasoned  supermarket shopper like Mrs BoD

 

That sounds a bit disorganised to me.  

 

We - either in tandem or individually - check the things we would buy if they are reduced but don't buy them if they are at 'normal' (i.e. the higher) price.  This approach works because various of our regular purchases are occasionally discounted so we only buy them then - but in sufficient quantity to last, hopefully, until they are next reduced.  We do not buy stuff because it is reduced - only if it is something we would normally buy or know we will need.

[BSW01]

On the subject of Supermarkets, we both go, usually on a Tuesday evening. Once there, I take the shopping trolley and list and start to get the required items, Sheila goes off to look at all the shiny things that supermarkets sell, but that you don't necessarily need. By the the time we meet up, I've usually completed (or very nearly) the shopping. I'm then get invited to "come and look at what I've seen" to see what I think. Quite often I manage to talk her out of said item, but occasionally I'll give in.