Early Risers.

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone

 

It’s a beautiful sunny day here in the northwest. As soon as Sheila has got herself ready, we will go and collect Ava and Evie then head straight to the Trafford Centre. No doubt they will want to visit girlie thing shops etc, which is why we did our shopping yesterday, as Ava gets bored very quickly if she has to do ordinary shopping.

 

Baz. I did plan to call and say hello, but thanks for the offer.

 

Back later.

[JohnDMJ]

And those to avoid?

 

(Waits for the obvious answer............) 

 

A36 B18 (it's got some concepts guys on it!)?

 

Off to Portsmouth to see if I can find any of you there (Roundhouse, ChrisF, etc.)

[AndyB]

Morning all,

After a somewhat busy week, rather glad its the weekend.

 

I'm hoping that one of you kind folk might be able to point me in the right direction...

 

My 90+year old mum is after a book to help her learn how to use her iPad. 

She's not really after anything too techy (so I think the dummies series may be too much for her) but one that will explain to her how to do the basics.

She's interested in accessing news websites, reading and sending emails and looking at photos of her grandchildren etc. She sometimes gets into a pickle and can't retrace her steps to where she wants to be on the various navigation methods. 

 

A particular problem she has relates to using fingers to select icons or drag up and down on pages - she has a tendency to carry on keeping her finger on an icon rather than tapping it lightly. 

 

Any tips or recommendations would be very welcome. Ta in advance. 

[Tony_S]

Morning all,

After a somewhat busy week, rather glad its the weekend.

 

I'm hoping that one of you kind folk might be able to point me in the right direction...

 

My 90+year old mum is after a book to help her learn how to use her iPad. 

She's not really after anything too techy (so I think the dummies series may be too much for her) but one that will explain to her how to do the basics.

She's interested in accessing news websites, reading and sending emails and looking at photos of her grandchildren etc. She sometimes gets into a pickle and can't retrace her steps to where she wants to be on the various navigation methods. 

 

A particular problem she has relates to using fingers to select icons or drag up and down on pages - she has a tendency to carry on keeping her finger on an icon rather than tapping it lightly. 

 

Any tips or recommendations would be very welcome. Ta in advance.

 

I don’t know of any books but if she is tending to tap for too long or is having problems with dragging perhaps altering the settings in the accessibility menu would help. MiL would love an iPad for,the same reasons as your mother but refuses to pay for one and has said if we buy her one she won’t use it. She just thinks they are too expensive for someone of her age.

She was using her PC but one of the more paranoid family members altered it so it was difficult to use and put passwords on everything.

Tony

[Tony_S]

Next summer we are off to the US and Canada. Just for something to do I looked to see what documentation we needed for Canada in case it was different from when we went in 2013. As we will not be arriving in Canada by air we won’t need any visa or electronic visa waiver. I then looked at the latest version of the US ESTA visa waiver form. It has certainly grown since I last filled one in. Does RMweb count as social media use? There is a question about that although it is “optional” to answer . Aditi as a child had an Indian passport. However it was 50 years ago and she has no record of its number. It had to be surrendered when she got a British passport. However Google supplied the answer. Enter UNKNOWN for the number and 0000 for the expiry date.

Tony

[Tony_S]

Update for iPad guides. . I looked on Amazon and iPad for Seniors in Easy Steps (7th edition ) seems to get generally favourable reviews. Previous versions for older iPads are still available.

Edited November 17, 2018 by Tony_S

[AndrewC]

Greetings all from the boring borough. It's a pleasant but cool November Saturday here. Brekkie consumed at the very nicely reborn cafe nearby. A quick run to the shops for a few items and a visit to Screwfix for some.... err  screws to fix stuff to the walls. An antique plant stand that almost matches our umbrella stand was spotted at the local SELKENT branch. Basically it's a house and business clearing shop that usually stocks furniture that would be too ugly and trashy even for a Nevada brothel. Sometimes though there is a gem amongst the crap. A quick haggle and I was carrying it home. Result. The recently deceased model shop appears to be transforming into a travel agent. The children's dance clothing place has moved and a new coffee shop looks to be moving in. Hopefully it will be a coffee shop and not another cafe. The high street already has 8. See I told you the area was boring. 

 

Time for a break then onto hooking up the shed's consumer unit to the newly laid cable. One more thing off the list of stuff the incompetent sh*tweasel left unfinished. The hole(s) in the kitchen wall have now been filled. 

 

Enjoy the day. 

[Barry O]

Good afternoon.

 

We stayed in Romaldkirk last night at a really nice Hotel (The Rose and Crown).

We ended up in a suite in a cottage.

 

Food excellent, staff brilliant, friends..great!

 

We also Had a walk around Bishop Auckland as herself is looking for a hall stand. Two found but not to the required shape and size.

 

Off to prepare for the arrival of some friends so might not be back on here until tomorrow so...take care of yourselves!

 

Baz

[jamie92208]

Next summer we are off to the US and Canada. Just for something to do I looked to see what documentation we needed for Canada in case it was different from when we went in 2013. As we will not be arriving in Canada by air we won’t need any visa or electronic visa waiver. I then looked at the latest version of the US ESTA visa waiver form. It has certainly grown since I last filled one in. Does RMweb count as social media I

I've just renewed our US Estas and didn't answer the social media questions and had no trouble with either Esta.

 

Jamie

[Ashcombe]

...................I’m hoping that one of you kind folk might be able to point me in the right direction...

 

My 90+year old mum is after a book to help her learn how to use her iPad..............

 

..... A particular problem she has relates to using fingers to select icons or drag up and down on pages - she has a tendency to carry on keeping her finger on an icon rather than tapping it lightly.

 

Any tips or recommendations would be very welcome. Ta in advance.

 

Some people prefer to use a stylus on an iPad. Would that be easier for your mother? Edited November 17, 2018 by Ashcombe

[Tony_S]

I've just renewed our US Estas and didn't answer the social media questions and had no trouble with either Esta.

 

Jamie

I am sure you were fine. The previous employer question is interesting. My last employer was in 2000. I don’t think anyone there would know me!

We have always found the US immigration staff to be pleasant but that was in the Obama years when the ESTA was just worried about moral turpitude.

Even if you don’t complete the voluntary social media query the immigration people can ask for your phone/tablet/ computer and passwords when you arrive. Fortunately I don’t think Aditi or I are on any naughty lists. Matthew went on a university field trip to New York once. He had no problem at immigration but saw one of his friends being led away. Someone the friend shared a house with had signed him up to a lot of extremist and violent groups “for a laugh”. He was on a list. Fortunately he was able to convince the authorities he was the victim of a “joke”.

Tony

Edited November 17, 2018 by Tony_S

[Purley Oaks]

Afternoon all

 

Meant to mention that we saw the Netflix film Outlaw King at our local independent cinema this week. It's about Robert the Bruce and his struggles against the Edwards 1 & 2. Chris Pine (Unstoppable) plays an unfeasably handsome king getting to grips with power and his new wife, Elizabeth, played by Florence Pugh (the lead in BBC's Little Drummer Girl). Unsure if I should add that the sold-out showing we saw was applauded at the end. It's no Oscar winner, but certainly shows Scottish scenery to fine effect; yes, it was filmed here rather than Ireland.

 

Something completely different: the other good thing about the new 380s on the Edinburgh-Glasgow route is that the trains are 8 coaches long, even during off-peak. Before we've had to put up with 3-car 156s (doubles up in rush-hours) and occasionally 2x158s (4-car). Personally I preferred the push-pull 47s and DBSOs in the '80s, but the 380s will do.

 

Hope your days go well

 

Mal

[The Stationmaster]

Afternoon all,

 

A successful visit to the big city although its shopping streets continue to go rapidly down hill - maybe it should be retitled the Slough of Despond but that might confusion with the equally terrible place further east.  But Mrs Stationmaster's visit to the audipthingamybob was interesting and she will get a trial machine in a couple of weeks time once one has had various parts made to fit her at which point the Good Doctor and I will definitely have to carefully moderate our conversations and the price, if s herself decides to buy, is definitely in ouch territory although not with three noughts after the leading number.

 

I meanwhile made my way to Waterstones wherein £20 was spent on a new photo album about the GWR which has some excellent, never published before in many cases, illustrations with good quality printing.  A visit to Clas Ohlson later produced a fine mesh tea infuser at about a third of the price of the same thing online - for our friend in West London who has some Indian leaf tea of a very fine leaf size to deal with.  And yesterday evening we attended, en famiille, the locally apolitical party's quiz night which inadvertently clashed with the WI's night in the hall (they were wrong, they hadn't all found out their day has  changed to a Monday.  a well organised quiz complete with on screen Excel driven scoring but a well and various other things also on screen - the Council's projector worked admirably (which is more than GWR's bloke can usually manage with it for some reason).  To much discussion the quiz master got one answer wrong - we of course got it right and in the end our team tied for 1st place which led to the Deputy Mayor who'd invited us along to join his team inviting us to the join his team at the Golf Club's quiz night next month.  The worrying thing about his performance was that he obviously at times hadn't paid much attention when he was taught by my mother in junior school and he'd equally obviously spent too much time listening to pop music when he was apprenticed to my dad- definitely music question for our generation.

 

Today I'm the winter cleaner's mate as cushion covers are changed and all the soft firnishing are c vacuum cleaned ready for their winter covers - the cushions are next on my list so I'm told.

 

Have a good afternoon/evening one and all. 

 

PS I simply can't get on with tapping an iPad - always have problems so a n alternative might be something which can use a mouse?

[TheQ]

Afternoon Awl,

Lazy Kate completed, about an hour,

Weaving beam built 3.5 hours whereupon SWMBO said it was incorrect, another hour later and she was happy, though it's not complete yet

Four battens added to the carriage,

Four hand holes for lifting, cut.

Design of door changed, it will now lift up with a leg dropping down to support.

Door built and fitted, but not the leg as I don't have suitable hinges, another two hours.

 

Ben the Border Collie has now been walked on the beach.

 

Now time to go order more hinges..

[jamie92208]

I am sure you were fine. The previous employer question is interesting. My last employer was in 2000. I don’t think anyone there would know me!

 

Tony

I also wondered about the previous employer one.   West Yorks Police was put in for both of us.  I left in 2002 and Beth in 1980 in the days when Police women were routinely "persuaded" to resign when they became pregnant.  Totally illegal but hundreds of female officers were got rid of that way.   Rant over.

 

Jamie

[Ian Abel]

 Morning...

 

Today we're consigned to the house in all probability. My sinus infection is easing, but the Mrs still has a shocking sore throat, headache and cough.

Had to cancel brunch with Jemma, she returned form her trip last night and is off again tomorrow afternoon, and also a catch-up dinner with our travelling companions, eager to hear of our UK expedition...

 

For those waiting with baited-breath to hear the exciting weather developments in this near arctic location (UK friends STILL staggered that people can actually live and survive in such "conditions");

Awoke this AM to a light dusting of snow and -5C but sunny    High expected to reach a balmy -3 today then dip to -12 overnight.

May have to retire the shorts and t-shirt for the year    

 

Enjoy the day, I'm thinking of some flight simming, given I can do that and still tend to the Mrs if she needs anything. Closer than the basement railway location...

[newbryford]

Brian W ..if you need somewhere to leave purchases come to demo area. Mick, me and various other RMWebbers are at Warley demoing.

 

 

 

I will be elsewhere than the demo area......

But the offer to store stuff is also available.

 

By this time next week, we will be not far from finishing the first day.

 

The tyre change wasn't comparable to F1 pitstops and the return to the golf course included a detour to avoid roadworks around Clitheroe. [*] I got stuck for about 15 minutes in them going into town, but thanks to my local knowledge back road detour, I managed to avoid them on the return to make the tee with about 10 minutes to spare.

Cold and breezy, but dry. A reasonable round ensued - the highlight was a 15" tap-in for birdie on the 400 yard par 4 14th hole.

 

[*] There are three main access roads from the A59 into the town, south, east and north. East is currently in the middle of a 6 month closure to install a roundabout to cope with the extra traffic from the large housing developments being built on that side of town

So what do they do? Temporary traffic lights on the southern approach into the town, as they're installing a new junction on the main road out to cope with the new houses for the other side of town.

It's not the first time this has happened, as just as the 6 month job started in September, temporary traffic lights appeared at the northern road into town for 6 weeks.

 

Somebody in Lancashire Highways Planning wants a good kicking.

 

There will be some checking of bits of plastic and metal in readiness this evening for a small display of them next weekend.

 

Planning a "get up when I can be bothered to" lie-in tomorrow morning.

Home hockey in the evening. I will be without my usual gameday companion, but she's slumming it at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn watching the NY Islanders take on the Dallas Stars.

 

Have a good Sunday folks.

 

Cheers,

MIck

Edited November 17, 2018 by newbryford

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Had a good day at the Southend show today. Disposed of quite a few modelling tokens while I was about it, one of the traders was selling some rather good dioramas, I grabbed a petrol station/workshop one for £18, and it turned out to have a couple of 'ready-to-plant' resin buildings either of which were worth the money for the whole thing. My friends young son snaffled another with a couple of shops and a piece of roadway for his model buses. Thats it for now, be back later.

[JohnDMJ]

Evening All,

 

Achieved goals at Portsmouth; coffee with ChrisF (Thanks, I owe you a beer in Interlaken! Oh and glad you liked the gift; sorry, only six colours!) and passing acknowledgement with Roundhouse (rule 2: never interrupt anyone concentrating on operating their layout!)

 

Met up with several others, including Martin of Falcon Figures, Darren of Model Shop Portsmouth, Simon Luke and Paul of Frome Model Centre and Ted on the Scale 4 Stand as well as several other known punters.

Edited November 17, 2018 by JohnDMJ

[JohnDMJ]

Any one know if there's an RMWeb meet at Warley on the Saturday? @ Wetherspoons, I hope?

[roundhouse]

Evening All,

 

Achieved goals at Portsmouth; coffee with ChrisF (Thanks, I owe you a beer in Interlaken! Oh and glad you liked the gift; sorry, only six colours!) and passing acknowledgement with Roundhouse (rule 2: never interrupt anyone concentrating on operating their layout!)

 

Met up with several others, including Martin of Falcon Figures, Darren of Model Shop Portsmouth, Simon Luke and Paul of Frome Model Centre and Ted on the Scale 4 Stand as well as several other known punters.

Good to see John and Chris although only briefly as we had a skeleton crew today so plenty of operating for me and no chance of viewing the other layouts.

 

A very good one day show and very busy too.  Excellent lunches aswell.

 

Even our vehicle worked fine but now need to take it back to the garage for them to check the steeling column oil leak to make sure it is Ok to take ot Warley and back if they dont get the chance to change the parts beforehand. Back up plan also discussed.

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[The Stationmaster]

Any one know if there's an RMWeb meet at Warley on the Saturday? @ Wetherspoons, I hope?

 

Usual plan is to meet up there at 13.00 but in recent years the number attending has been pretty minimal - I think two of us is the current 'low' record!  A third would be most welcome of course.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone

 

We only had one visitor today, Evie wasn’t feeling too well and decided to stay at home. As it happens, we didn’t stay long at the Trafford Centre, it was busier than yesterday and Ava doesn’t like crowds, so we left early and came home for a late morning drink. After which she sat and watched an old episodes of Dr Who before dinner and a couple after too! Just before I took her home Mike and Sarah turned up. They were stopping for tea, but we hadn’t said anything as she would have got very excited had she known before hand.

 

In other news, Charlie was successful in his job interview on Wednesday, he now has a full time job at the cinema at the Printworks in Manchester, he’s just waiting for the paperwork to come through. He’s accepted the job, but he is still looking for an electrical apprenticeship.

 

Goodnight all

[laurenceb]

Night awl