Early Risers.

[Ozexpatriate]

One morning our HR director found a car in his swimming pool.

Why am I thinking of this:

 

A townhome I rented in Irvine had garage doors that opened onto an alley. The front doors all opened, not on the street, but a common green belt. The alleys were too short for use as drag strips.

Edited March 19, 2018 by Ozexpatriate

[pH]

One morning our HR director found a car in his swimming pool.

 

Did Keith Moon live round there?

[Robert]

Morning All,

 

It snowed over the weekend.  Yesterday morning, there was about 30cm of it piled up in the street - primarily due to drifting.  It took me ages to clear!  However, although the temperature hasn't got much above freezing, a fair bit has melted.

 

As for clutch safety switches - When I first bought my Toyota, I didn't even realise it had one.  I was taught to always put my foot on the clutch before starting the car.  It was only much later that I realised that it was actually necessary to do so!

 

Have a good day everyone...

[Gwiwer]

Morning all. Welcome to a cold white Moanday Yawning.

 

It would appear my employer is managing to run trains. I had better get rugged up and out there. See you later. Stay warm.

[chrisf]

Good morning one and all, with apologies for absence yesterday.

 

I was on the road for Nottingham by just before 6 am, having tutted to find an overnight dusting on the car.  I chose the A6 via Kettering and found it more than passable with only one dodgy bit, near Finedon.  Donnington services were treacherous and one car had come to rest at a rakish angle, leaving one to speculate how much control its driver had had of it.  Inside, the grill at the Harvester had failed, leaving a disappointing choice for breakfast of beans on toast or scrambled egg on toast.  The M1 was satisfyingly clear and I was at the venue by 9 am.  At the show I caught sight of one inmate while I was eating my sandwiches in the sanctuary afforded by Sutton-in-Ashfield Town and my cousin 88C but I could not yell with my mouth full.  With some apprehension I chose the road via Northampton for my homeward run and encountered no problems save one of my own making.  At Watford Gap I bought a bag of fruit pastilles, one of which promptly took out a filling.  As it happens, I had planned to make an appointment with the dentist today.  It's a sign, I tell you.

 

The week ahead has much to occupy me.  Tonight there is a railway film show in Kettering which, like most of those presented by Rob Foxon, looks interesting.  On Tuesday The Fureys are in concert at The Stables and on Wednesday there is an Area Group meeting in Bedford.  I think that's it before Ally Pally on Saturday, save for the routine things such as the fodder run.  An Important Package is on the way and I must sigh for it when Postie brings it.   The contents are m*d*ll*ng requisites and are eagerly awaited.

 

What did you do on Saturday, Chris?  Watched Waterloo with not much enthusiasm.

 

Let there be more encouraging news of Debs and of all others who are ailing, recovering or missing.

 

Chris   

[Barry O]

Hey up!

Took it easy with the van on the way home last night as it was a tad windy. Long wheelbase hi roof transits tend to act as sails in the wind.

 

Mugatea being drunk then I need to get ready to take the van back. Such is life!

 

Chris, hopefully we can have a longer chat at the ally Pally fun house next week. I hope it is warmer by then.

 

Have a great morning, afternoon, night wherever you are.

 

Baz

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Cold & frosty here and snow still lying around apart from our drive and garden path which seem to have underfloor heating as well. A cold breezy day forecast with the chance of some sunny intervals later.

Yesterday we had an enjoyable lunch out and then went back to Nicki's for a few hours. She was intending to go back to work today but is definitely not right yet and a phone call in the evening to one of her senior colleagues has persuaded her to stay off for a couple more days. As her hospital job involves dealing with seriously ill people this seems a sensible move. She feels she's letting  people down by her absence but this is the first time she's been off sick in the seven or eight years she's been there so I don't think she can be criticised for that.

I don't intend to go very far today or even venture outside unless I really have to. The Boss has been so informed. I'm waiting for her response. 

Have a good one,

Bob.

[AndyB]

Morning all. 

Not much to report, save for a for a further dusting of snow. 

That was bound to happen as I'd cleared the cars of snow yesterday in preparation for the working week. Doh.

And as I'll be leaving early to give myself a bit longer to get into the office than usual, I'll wish you all a pleasant day and be on my (almost) merry way. 

Have a good one.  

[jamie92208]

Good morning awl from a brightish village with even a few patches of blue stuff up above. Some of the white stuff has gone and no new bits have fallen overnight. Much tidying was done yesterday with 4 more boxes filled and all the remaining shelves in the modelling room dismantled. I've just got to clear the floor now. Various tasks today then an evening at the club.

 

Keep safe out there and don't eat the yellow ice that the Beeb are warning us about.

 

Jamie

[roundhouse]

Good morning from a white Surrey. Pavements lethal and bus that late we had to walk to the station. My other half is terrified of the ice so we had to walk in the road a goid part of the way.

 

 

Whilst in Denver it reminded her where she fell over in the ice a few years back and she still suffers from that. She did nearly fall over in another spot this trip where there was a sunken manhole cover but I managed to stop her falling. That was before we even had our first beers that day!

 

Back to horrible Thameslink seats. A full week at work but at least Easter is around the corner.

Edited March 19, 2018 by roundhouse

[TheQ]

Mooring awl, Inner Temple Here.

About 7.5 hours sleep which was good,

The garden inspection this morning with Ben the Border Collie, Shewed that there is a small amount of snow left in hidden places. The ground surface is frozen with soft soggy soil beneath. One Small group of daffs has opened and braved the cold.

 Roads dry and well gritted, no ice......

 

It's just been on the local news that 5006 homes in North Norfolk are second Homes, thats about 10% of the housing stock. This expains why monday morning at around 06:00 and Friday evening around 19:00 the traffic is much more busy that any other days of the week..

Mean while near by several are about to go to the beach..

http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/weather/picture-of-hemsby-devastation-1-5440053

 

The A/C for the lab has failed again, most equipment switched off in here, but I've a days work I can do before I need stuff that is switched off. The Boss will be informed when He comes in , his first day back since his Dad died, He'll need more time off for the funeral later this or next week.

 

Time too, go do some work...

Edited March 19, 2018 by TheQ

[45156]

Morning All

 

From a totally snow free village - well it never did come to much here.  Windy though and with the wind chill it feels like about minus five,

 

Unusually, all posts read and rated, and usually it is generic greetings all round. 

 

Matters domestic prevail today, plus a follow up visit to the vet's. 

 

Not a lot more to say today, and quite a few phone calls needed.

 

Regards to All

Stewart

[NGT6 1315]

Mawnin' awl. Sunny but chilly outside and a bit of the snow has disappeared. Side streets but are treacherous due to being blanketed with compacted and frozen-over snow. Thankfully, I don't think we'll need to go anywhere by car today.

 

Not much else to report from here, but this tram accident in Kassel could have turned out very much worse than it did: https://www.hna.de/kassel/oberzwehren-ort131291/unfall-zwischen-tram-und-lastwagen-in-oberzwehren-9706620.html Cause seems to be unclear at this time.

 

Later… 

[tomparryharry]

Good morning Folks, from a slightly grey, but quite sunny Newport. Roads here are clear, and the visibility is very good.

 

After a weekend off, I'm back to the decorating today. This week sees our gas fitter arriving to change a boiler, then I'm into final niggles to finally finishing off.

 

Have a great week folks, and stay safe.

 

Cheers,

 

Ian.

[grandadbob]

Further to my earlier post I did get a response from The Boss in the form of a request to empty all the bins. I was also told to be careful as it's "slippery out there."

No Sh!t Sherlock!  I very nearly went base over apex on the ice so then spent a few minutes spreading salt. (I have a dustbin full of the stuff as I've always believed in being prepared - although my preparation was rather lacking as I didn't spread it 2 days ago!)         Also checked my condensate pipe which is OK at the moment - I will get around to insulating it at some time.

I am not going out again. 

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

It isn't snowing. It is just above freezing but feels a lot colder outside. I only stayed out long enough to feed the birds. I don't think we will be going for a walk today.

Aditi enjoyed the ballet yesterday. The ballet company was from Siberia. They probably thought it was quite pleasant in Southend yesterday.

Matthew rang last night. His former tutor in Utrecht has asked him to submit his Masters dissertation for an award. Matthew thinks he has no chance of winning but felt it was nice to be asked. He only has to submit it "as is" so hasn't got to rewrite it.

I have just had a yellow weather warning appear at the top of my screen. Basically don't go out in Benfleet overnight. Matthew always said there was nothing to do in Benfleet at night anyway.

 

Tony

[PeterBB]

Morning guys,

 

I too was at Nottingham yesterday on the GCR 'Crossing the Canal' stand but had no visions of either Baz or Chris.  I had misgivings at the start of the journey having to remove 6" of snow from the car. and very very careful until on a 'main road'  Other than that and apart from drifts across the A444, following a snow plough up part of the M1 and a slight problem at a set of traffic lights somewhere in the Nottingham conurbation the journey was easier than expected.  Quiet day for us and on rotation had a chance to actually see layouts ... compared with some shows where the isles are so close you cannot get near them. 

[Tony_S]

I just saw a cheerful comment on Twitter reminding us all that in 3 months the days start getting shorter again.

Tony

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all,

 

The white stuff which arrived yesterday plus the remains of the earlier deposit seem to be going, time now to sweep the salt off the front path to somewhere it will help the weeds in the gravel alongside.  The Good Doctor duly set off (it would seem) before 06.00 and we;ve heard no reports of problems so the freezing can't have been too bad.  The lad leaving nearly 2 hours later would appear to have had an entertaining time clearing his car of two accumulations of snow, I think I'll let mother nature get on with mine as there's no need to shopping today (unless orders are received to that effect).

 

It's now quite bright outside so no doubt the feathered friends, assorted varieties, will be eating us out of bird food soon however resupply is due today all being well.

 

Have a good day one and all

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Still cold but the ice and snow seems to be disappearing at a steady rate. Not much else to report so best wishes to Debs and any other ailing ER's.

[TheQ]

A most interesting conversation with my boss, I've been promoted, so I'm one grade higher than I was, It makes only a tiny bit of difference to my pay as you go from what ever level you were to the same in the next as the levels over lap a bit, unless you were below the next pay grade band.

This still puts me one grade below what he thought I was, until I pointed it out after the assessments last year.

It looks as though the HR were, as I expected lying, as they kept telling him I was a higher grade in previous years... A member of staff he was talking to last year has since left.....

[Gwiwer]

Welcome back.

 

Relatively easy morning all things considered and now the sun is shining though its heater is still not working.

 

Moving right along there are some sausages which will not cook themselves and floors which are not yet self-vacuuming. I’d better scarper before anyone finds me here!

[81C]

Further to my earlier post I did get a response from The Boss in the form of a request to empty all the bins. I was also told to be careful as it's "slippery out there."

No Sh!t Sherlock!  I very nearly went base over apex on the ice so then spent a few minutes spreading salt. (I have a dustbin full of the stuff as I've always believed in being prepared - although my preparation was rather lacking as I didn't spread it 2 days ago!)         Also checked my condensate pipe which is OK at the moment - I will get around to insulating it at some time.

I am not going out again. 

Bob do you think your Bosness wanted you to go @rse over head by sending you out in the ice,  you need to check there is not a dolly under your bed with pins stuck in it like there is under mine,

 quick she's coming hide !!!                                             

Edited March 19, 2018 by 81C

[Barry O]

Morning guys,

 

I too was at Nottingham yesterday on the GCR 'Crossing the Canal' stand but had no visions of either Baz or Chris.  I had misgivings at the start of the journey having to remove 6" of snow from the car. and very very careful until on a 'main road'  Other than that and apart from drifts across the A444, following a snow plough up part of the M1 and a slight problem at a set of traffic lights somewhere in the Nottingham conurbation the journey was easier than expected.  Quiet day for us and on rotation had a chance to actually see layouts ... compared with some shows where the isles are so close you cannot get near them.

Peter

spent a lot of time operating the layout and not much time roaming the show unfortunately. Herculaneum Dock worked reasonably well.. first time I have ever had point switches affected by the cold!

 

In other news today her indoors has used some of "our" money to buy a newer second hand car. a 1.4l Jazz with an automatic gear box....4 years old, 16000 miles on the clock..a snip! (or so she says!)

 

And just think in January we were basking in the 43C dry heat of Mount Gambier

[Tony_S]

I did do some research for a replacement car recently, probably just for something to do I suppose but initiated by various car comments on ERs. I think I will keep the Freelander for another year. Some of the vehicles I am interested in are fairly new, so there shoukd be a few more nearly new vehicles to choose from next year or even in six months. Even small cars are quite big now, and not much shorter than the Freelander. Everything seems to be more economical and cheaper to insure though!

Tony