Early Risers.

[andyram]

Morning all. Cloudy, but mild here this morning. I have read, with interest, the recent comments about the postal service. Our final collection is still 5pm from the local post office. However that is a 15 minute walk away. It seems that the provision of a post box was not included in the plans for the new housing development where we live.

The delivery service has much changed over the years. I remember a time when we had two postal deliveries each day. The first post usually arrived by 8am, with the second delivery early afternoon. Once the second post was abandoned the delivery slipped to later in the morning, although it would usually be before lunch. Times certainly have changed - in recent weeks our post has been delivered at various times of the day. On Wednesday it arrived at 7pm!

[DDolfelin]

In Victorian times, a one penny stamp would have a letter delivered anywhere in London in under an hour if posted there.

Often the address would read something like "Mr N. Roberts, Shoreditch".

I expect the roads were less jammed then.

[Horsetan]

In Victorian times, a one penny stamp would have a letter delivered anywhere in London in under an hour if posted there.

Often the address would read something like "Mr N. Roberts, Shoreditch".

I expect the roads were less jammed then.

Certainly puts a whole new light on " going postal".

[TheQ]

I wo

 

In Victorian times, a one penny stamp would have a letter delivered anywhere in London in under an hour if posted there.

Often the address would read something like "Mr N. Roberts, Shoreditch".

I expect the roads were less jammed then.

I wouldn't bet on it, traffic flow speeds are about the same now as then.

 

[Happy Hippo]

Our post arrives when the postman does.  It is collected at around 1300 from the local box.  that is it.

 

For differing multiple collection times, we have to venture into darker parts of Telfland.

 

A most enjoyable change was spent at Quarry Bank Mill yesterday.

 

Such a nice change for a National Trust property to be looking at industry and how the workers lived rather than the usual wander around a crumbling pile.

 

I've now re-clad the other garden shed that was a crumbling pile, and now need to depart for B&Q where I can get the particular shade of gray to finish everything off.

 

With the new planking already painted in one colour and the rest of the shed(s) painted in the old scheme, it looks a bit odd at present.

 

We have finally removed the boxes of china from the workshop and taken them to have them valued.

 

We'd previously had a disappointing experience of valuations at a local well know auction house where we were told the stuff might make a few pounds on Ebay or it might as well be given to a charity shop.  So we did Ebay it and made over £1000!  so much for expert valuation.

 

This time, having good quality china we arranged to take it to Hanson's at Etwall (He of Bargain Hunt and other antique programmes fame).

 

What a difference!

 

We were greeted and shown to seats, sat down, given coffee, the valuation took well over an hour, it was all catalogued for us, Charles Hanson came over a number of times to see that everything was going well, and suggested that the lots would be better put into various types of auctions to give them more chance of realising the best price.

 

Afterwards we took a rather good late lunch.

 

Sadly the proceeds of this round of sales will not be funding any more 7mm stuff.  Neither did I see any railwayana on display.

 

I did suggest I might be auctioned off as a military relic, but they declined to give an estimate.

 

So, getting back on track, I now have space in the workshop once more, and am busy trying to allocate space in the cupboards for my various bits of stuff.

 

It also looks as if a fridge freezes is going to make the trip from kitchen to workshop in the near future.

 

It will take up some space, but I am hoping that things such as cake, gateaux, trifle, ice cream corned beef, pasties and cider might be placed in this as overflow from the other fridge.

Edited October 28, 2016 by Happy Hippo

[Horsetan]

....I wouldn't bet on it, traffic flow speeds are about the same now as then.

 

The emissions were rather different, though.

[sixoh8sixoh]

Morning all from Scottish HQ!

 

Apologies for prolonged absence but work, holidays, life, pub quizzes and other things have severely curtailed what little free time I had!

 

Last weekend I was in London with a group of friends to do the Crystal Maze - thoroughly recommended if you can get a slot. Also went to see The Woman In Black at the theatre, which was good. I'll have to get round to watching the movie at some point.

 

Over the last couple of weeks my iMac has gone kaput. It looks like the hard drive which I had installed in it (way back when) has expired. I now have to make the difficult decision of whether to repair an 8 year old computer or bite the bullet and get a newer one. Neither option is cheap, but I'm beginning to suspect that repairing may be the less sensible option in the long run. I still have the original hard drive and could have that reinstalled but the labour costs I've been quoted are pretty astronomical...

 

Hope everyone is well and those recovering from operations are doing so speedily. I've no idea when my last post is, and when I asked it to go to first unread post it took me back to post #1... I think reading from there would be a bit of a time-consuming option!

Edited October 28, 2016 by sixoh8sixoh

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all,

 

Interesting, and worrying, to see that ChrisF has also been given almost the same postbox collection time as us (ours is 09.30 and has been for a little while).  Presumably the efficiency idea is that no one will use the post boxes so therefore they won't need t be maintained and there'll be a good excuse to remove them so they can be sold off as 'collector's items' - just a bl**dy great shame Royal Snail is too s*ddin' idle to bother to collect anything from them at a sensible time of day.  As some folk will be aware I have quite a collection of postcards and the content of some of them is staggering to our minds as 'instant communication' is hardly a new idea - for example my paternal grandfather posted a card in a rural Yorkshire post box in late morning - the postmark is timed 12.30 - arranging to meet a young lady who lived in York (later my maternal grandmother) at 5.0pm the same day; as she kept the card one can but conclude their meeting went well.

 

Perhaps I should pay greater attention to more modern communications as I was worried to see that Baz had coked his breakfast - all was restored when I read with greater care  (but I can think of someone he'd no doubt be very keen to see coked judging by exchanges on another thread, and i don't blame him one bit).

 

Have a good day folks.

[Happy Hippo]

 I was worried to see that Baz had coked his breakfast - all was restored when I read with greater care  (but I can think of someone he'd no doubt be very keen to see coked judging by exchanges on another thread, and i don't blame him one bit).

 

 

Judging by what the good Mrs Baz did to her Christmas cake, I'm convinced they have some strange habits in Leeds when it comes to food preparation! 

[PhilJ W]

Belated greetings from Estuary-Land. Still sorting out the stuff from the shed, I'm completely amazed with what I've found, most recently a planer/sander attachment for an electric drill still in its box with the instructions, I can't ever remember purchasing such an item so perhaps it was my dads, and he died 26 years ago. It will come in handy for when I prepare the shed for the builders and a few other jobs when he's finished. Bye for now, be back later.

[Coombe Barton]

Visit to nursery this morning to diagnose a sebaceous cyst on my back - now on antibiotics four times a day. To be taken on an empty stomach - one hour before or two hours after eating.

 

That's bu99ered up all the snacking, then

[PhilJ W]

Just had a phone call from Halfords, my trailer has just been delivered. Seeing as the order only went in at 17:17 yesterday thats quite impressive, well done Halfords. Now they only have to let me know when its assembled and I can collect it.

[BSW01]

We appear to be very lucky, as we have a post box at the top of the road, about 200 yards from the front door, last collection from the box is 5:30pm. Our only delivery of the day can arrive anywhere between 10:30 and 15:30. Parcels that are to heavy for the postie, usually come around 7:30 - 10:00 via a man in a van. We also have a sorting office in the town centre (less than a mile from home), where we can collect undelivered parcels too!

 

I idea of tidying the cellar was abandoned, instead I ended up designing radiator covers. Mrs W wants two of them, one each for the living and dining room, but at approximately between £250.00 - £300:00 a piece (I don't think so!), I've decided that I can make my own for a lot less than that! So after an hour or so with a tape measure, some graph paper, a pencil, a rubber and a ruler, I showed Mrs W my efforts and BROWNIE POINTS have been earned, I just need to buy the wood now, so once I can drive again it's off to the DIY shop. The only down side is, she now wants one for the kitchen too!

 

HH. Quarry Bank Mill really is a great place isn't, we've been several times as it's not to far from home, it does make a change from the big houses that are the usual sort of NT property.

 

Back later.

[Rugd1022]

Morning all from Scottish HQ!

 

Apologies for prolonged absence but work, holidays, life, pub quizzes and other things have severely curtailed what little free time I had!

 

Last weekend I was in London with a group of friends to do the Crystal Maze - thoroughly recommended if you can get a slot. Also went to see The Woman In Black at the theatre, which was good. I'll have to get round to watching the movie at some point.

 

Over the last couple of weeks my iMac has gone kaput. It looks like the hard drive which I had installed in it (way back when) has expired. I now have to make the difficult decision of whether to repair an 8 year old computer or bite the bullet and get a newer one. Neither option is cheap, but I'm beginning to suspect that repairing may be the less sensible option in the long run. I still have the original hard drive and could have that reinstalled but the labour costs I've been quoted are pretty astronomical...

 

Hope everyone is well and those recovering from operations are doing so speedily. I've no idea when my last post is, and when I asked it to go to first unread post it took me back to post #1... I think reading from there would be a bit of a time-consuming option!IMG_9910.JPG

 

You didn't say it was a 'celeb' edition of the Crystal Maze Mike... is that Harry Enfield to your right and 'a member of ELO' on the extreme right...?

 

Tonight's job (the HOBC at Leagrave) has been caped so having done all the chores I can hover around RMWeb and have a play with the Mini this afternoon!

 

Stay safe all.

Edited October 28, 2016 by Rugd1022

[Mike Bellamy]

Happy Hippo, on 28 Oct 2016 - 10:52, said:

 

This time, having good quality china we arranged to take it to Hanson's at Etwall (He of Bargain Hunt and other antique programmes fame).

 

What a difference!

 

We were greeted and shown to seats, sat down, given coffee, the valuation took well over an hour, it was all catalogued for us, Charles Hanson came over a number of times to see that everything was going well, and suggested that the lots would be better put into various types of auctions to give them more chance of realising the best price.

 

Afterwards we took a rather good late lunch.

 

 

 

 

Hanson's is just a couple of miles down the road from home. No personal experience of buying or selling there but he has a good reputation locally. Pleased to hear he's back at work after recent problems following birth of his son, particularly as they also suffered a stillbirth a few years ago.

http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/tv-celebrity-charles-hanson-shares-baby-joy-after-anxious-hospital-wait/story-29796716-detail/story.html

 

May I ask about your lunch venue? If it was the pub next door that's where my son met his future wife when she was assistant manager there . . . . . .

 

Mike

 

.

[Neil]

Good afternoon all.

 

There has been a notable increase in traffic over the last couple of days in normally sleepy mid Wales, almost all of which comprises either 'performance cars' or over equipped 4 wheel drives of the sort which appeal to the gentleman disappointed with their genitals. They hurry about in an inconsiderate  manner attaching themselves as close as possible to the rear bumper of any vehicle they perceive as not being driven briskly enough (viz. lower than the speed limit) as though their self importance was somehow time critical. In a couple of hours time barriers will be erected across the road leading home; passage will only be permitted on presentation of papers to the cro-magnon, jobsworth, rent a thug staffing said checkpoint. Yes deep joy, for the Wales Rally GB returns in its full magnificence to blight the valley for the weekend.

 

I've been Angry of Aberllefenni, thank you for staying with me through the rant, I feel much better now.

[TheQ]

It's poppy time again, so this appropriate poem is ripped of from another forum I go to, but is populated by many many who would get banned from here and give the Mod's a heart attack so I won't link to it.

 

Giant’s shadows
They died, so we could live,
They gave, all they could give,
A little poppy, is our pride,
To hold the love, we hide inside.

 

Just one man, and thousands more,
Would defend, our nation’s shore,
Standing strongly, as our shield,
Fighting bravely, on the field.

 

They are weak, in stature now,
Bent and weary, wrinkled brow,
Though their stance, is rather small,
Still their shadow, ten feet tall.

 

Poppies worn, in our lapel,
Silent stories, they do tell,
“We are here, we haven’t gone,
Let our glory, linger on”.

 

Wear them proudly, on that day,
Never let them, fade away,
Britain’s saviours, buried deep,
Britain’s freedom, – we must keep !

 

“We will remember them”

 

Mick
( Copyright Michael Westwood 2015 )

 

 

 

 

[sixoh8sixoh]

You didn't say it was a 'celeb' edition of the Crystal Maze Mike... is that Harry Enfield to your right and 'a member of ELO' on the extreme right...?

I'm not sure if Andy's been referred to as Harry Enfield before...! The chap on the extreme right was "The Baron", who was our MazeMaster (the Richard O'Brian role) for the evening.

[grandadbob]

Good afternoon all,

Later here today due to various interruptions this morning as well as finishing clearing up after last night's visitors. We had a great meal, Mrs GDB created two very acceptable curries and they went down well. Young Joe actually had 3 helpings and delighted his Nan by saying it was the best curry he'd ever had. He has got a great sense of humour as well and had us stitches with some of the things he was saying. It's not surprising that he's a very popular kid at school and has loads of friends. (actually all three of my grandchildren are very popular which is great)

One interruption this morning was a visit from a friend and neighbour who knows of my dabbling in this hobby and asked if he and his two kids could see the layout.  A very enjoyable hour was spent and the children (aged 9 & 5) seemed enthralled with the trains. Tony is a Tube driver and has asked if I'd be interested in seeing his 12 inch to the foot trainset and will apply for the necessary permit. 

Not doing any track painting today as my back is playing up a bit and leaning over the layout won't help.

Must admit I do occasionally watch Bargain Hunt and other similar programmes and without a doubt Charles Hanson is my favourite auctioneer and always manages to make me smile. I do get annoyed though with the con about the so called fantastic discounts they appear to get. I'm pretty sure that if I went up to some of those dealers and asked for the same I would get a two word reply with the second being "off!"  (Wouldn't blame them either because that is what I'd say)

Have a good one,

Bob.

Edited October 28, 2016 by grandadbob

[Happy Hippo]

May I ask about your lunch venue? If it was the pub next door that's where my son met his future wife when she was assistant manager there .

Mike,

 

it was indeed the Seven Wells we dined in.

 

Sometimes you can be disappointed with the food when it arrives, as the anticipation often outweighs the final product, but this was not the case.

 

The Obergrumpenfuhrer declined to eat potato with her salmon, and asked instead for some extra vegetables.

 

She got a very large helping of such, and they were cooked to perfection.  Not boiled to death as some places feel you have to eat them.*

 

We are desperately trying to find more suitable stuff so we can have a return trip, but know we have to leave the Ming at home..........

 

And in case you are wondering that is not the Chinese type of Ming!

 

*(I've heard from my brother that my mother has already got the Brussel sprouts on the stove for Christmas lunch)

[Happy Hippo]

It's poppy time again, so this appropriate poem is ripped of from another forum I go to, but is populated by many many who would get banned from here and give the Mod's a heart attack so I won't link to it.

 

Giant’s shadows

They died, so we could live,

They gave, all they could give,

A little poppy, is our pride,

To hold the love, we hide inside.

 

Just one man, and thousands more,

Would defend, our nation’s shore,

Standing strongly, as our shield,

Fighting bravely, on the field.

 

They are weak, in stature now,

Bent and weary, wrinkled brow,

Though their stance, is rather small,

Still their shadow, ten feet tall.

 

Poppies worn, in our lapel,

Silent stories, they do tell,

“We are here, we haven’t gone,

Let our glory, linger on”.

 

Wear them proudly, on that day,

Never let them, fade away,

Britain’s saviours, buried deep,

Britain’s freedom, – we must keep !

 

“We will remember them”

 

Mick

( Copyright Michael Westwood 2015 )

As an old soak/sweat/veteran/ex serviceman/retired officer/effing rupert (please delete those not applicable) I long ago came to the conclusion that although there is a duty to remember the sacrifice made by those killed in the service of their country, those that were left behind got quietly forgotten about (until more recent times).

 

Those that I refer to are the shell shocked, the blinded the maimed and those driven mad who are left out of most of these poems.

 

Only rarely is their sacrifice remembered.

 

'And the Band played waltzing Matida' being a song that goes a small way to redressing the balance.

Edited October 28, 2016 by Happy Hippo

[Ian Abel]

I’m copying your post to Donald Trump Jr.  Also he is an Anglophile ( I dunno what his Dad is) who hates people changing sides...............

It can be useful to say: “ I can’t vote!” - covers a multitude of sins...

 

Best, Pete.

Pete - no need to copy "him". I'm sure any spies he has are already well aware of my considered opinion(s) as I'm not someone who maintains a low profile 

On him being an Anglophile, I didn't know that. Then again, with the huge list of things he "is", nothing would surprise me   Fortunately, most of those things aren't politically biased, mostly crimes against good taste, humanity and decency, so we won't be censored for mentioning them

 

On to the POETS day report...

Yesterday the "package" finally arrived containing my EPROM to upgrade the eBay sourced older Smart Booster for my NCE system. Duly installed, working correctly, and I'm now ready to rewire the power districts to include the breakers and booster. Sadly, I will have little or no time to do that until somewhere around the weekend of Nov. 19th! Gone this weekend (see below), and out of town the next two work weeks, followed by my lightning trip to the UK on Nov. 11th.

 

Escorted by Jemma and the Mrs I successfully obtained some "approved" shirts and casual trousers in the evening.

I wasn't shopping for a suit, but somehow, these two were deemed "DEFINATELY NOT" even when spotted in passing...

  

 

Planning a POE today (around Noon) as we're heading to Iowa for the weekend to visit friends who've moved down there. About a three hour drive, should be pleasant and an enjoyable visit. Due home Sunday evening, then off to Nashville to see a new client Monday morning through Thursday evening.

 

8 and cloudy this morning, 20 and partly cloudy the forecast for the day.

 

Enjoy the POE if you manage it, possible reporting from the "road" this weekend if I have access.

Edited October 28, 2016 by Ian Abel

[45156]

from 31st October the last collection will be 9 am.  For some strange reason this has not been headline news but it should be.  This represents a considerable worsening of service and will render next day delivery a happy memory.  If this is meant to be an improvement in the service offered by Royal Snail I would love to hear their idea of making things worse.

It's happening everywhere, Chris.  The logic is that the secondary boxes are now cleared by the delivery postment, not by a dedicated collection van.  This means that depending on the location of the box, and the time that the postman gets there, it can be any time from 9 onwards.  In reality, the box near us shows 9am but is normally cleared between ten and eleven.

 

I thought that all areas were meant to have a later collection box, in our case outside the former Post Office with a 16.30 collection.  Also letters can be handed in at the local PO in our village store now, and they can also be dropped in up to 16.30.

 

The big problem is now also that the delivery here is MUCH later than the collection, and I was starting to type this response at about the time that the post van pulled up outside the house - about 15.30.  Wow, so now if I have an urgent letter which needs to be dealt with, I have about an hour to get the response done, then a five minute walk to the PO or fifteen to the "late" box - and this is progress!

[45156]

I do get annoyed though with the con about the so called fantastic discounts they appear to get. I'm pretty sure that if I went up to some of those dealers and asked for the same I would get a two word reply with the second being "off!"  (Wouldn't blame them either because that is what I'd say)

So do we all, Bob - see my comments on the "Bargain Hunt" thread, where the "logic" of these ludicrous discounts is set out - from the horse's mouth, as I got all the info from the dealers concerned as I do have some experience of the antiques and collectibles market.

[shortliner]

Escorted by Jemma and the Mrs I successfully obtained some "approved" shirts and casual trousers in the evening.

I wasn't shopping for a suit, but somehow, these two were deemed "DEFINATELY NOT" even when spotted in passing...

Suit-1.jpg   Suit-2.jpg

I cannot believe that ANYBODY (not even a Texan!) would wear either of those - and the models are entirely the wrong shape for the average denizen of that continent - according to those we see on our TVs anyway