Early Risers.

[PhilJ W]

There is a massive water main burst just a couple of miles from me. Slightly worrying is that its only a couple of hundred yards from our clubroom.

https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/live-basildon-a132-east-mayne-4362036

[laurenceb]

Someone said had the change to customer was because of the introduction of passenger infomation system

Belated birthday greetings to The Lurker

Night awl

[newbryford]

17 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Whatever happened to puncture repair outfits..... 

 

 

I used to repair punctures, but nowadays, the repair kits are so carp that it isn't worth the effort or time these days, [*]

And as my punctures are usually as a result of hitting a rock at speed, trapping the tube at both sides on the rim, the double hole is called a "snakebite" and difficult to repair.

Nothing worse than a repair failing and that's not something I want when I'm travelling at 30mph or so down a bumpy trail.

 

[*] Having said that- a "big day out" will see two spare tubes and a repair kit in my back pack

Edited July 24, 2020 by newbryford

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Both of my packages arrived this morning before 11 o’clock, so once the contents had been checked I took everything to the workshop and packed it all away. I then spent the rest of the day in the garden, dead heading and pruning were the tasks that needed doing. I managed an hour in the workshop this afternoon, where I made some alterations to a new rotary switch that arrived today. This has 12 switch positions, but it also had a stop between the No 1 and No 12 positions. So I dismantled the switch, located where the stop was and removed it, resulting that it will now rotate 360 degrees, the switches remained in-altered. This will now be used for the turntable positioning instead of the one I’d already been using as it is a lot smaller in size, so will give me lost more room for everything else. 

 

I quite like the fact that we talk about the everyday things on here, it’s helped me in the past to have some friendly ‘ears’ that would listen to me. It’s the sort of thing you’d chat about whilst having a drink with your mates.

 

Belated birthday wishes to The Lurker.

[newbryford]

12 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

You forgot people talking about their sex lives.

 

Where's Oldudders and his tales of Alison and her beau when you need them.................?

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[newbryford]

11 hours ago, Barry O said:

watching and listening to a live stream of the Yorkshire v Lancashire "friendly". 

 

 I note (correctly) the use of inverted commas.

 

[newbryford]

12 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

Just got back from Sainsbury's

 

Everyone was wearing a mask.

 

Just a question ...

 

What was so difficult about doing it last week?

 

There are a few F words, so don't view if you will be offended by a reference to "baked beans can sideways........."

 

 

[newbryford]

3 hours ago, laurenceb said:

That's the thing about ER's there is alwats someone listening.

 

Pardon?

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry - couldn't resist 

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[newbryford]

DIY done - check.

MiL taken for a drive out - check.

Bought ice creams for me and MiL - check (technically she bought them, but didn't give me enough money)

Grass cut - check. (Coincidentally with above conversations and gardening power tools, a trip had to be made to the local supplies to purchase a new reel of plastic cord for my strimmer)

12" long pink thing [*] received - check

Virtual Zoom pub meeting - check.

 

Friday done - check.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[*] As i'm not allowed to mention small things that run on parallel bits of metal -here's a picture of the real 70' long pink thing.

 

 

 

 

[The Stationmaster]

Once upon a time I worked on  a railway which had both passengers and customers.  The passengers were the people who had tickets and travelled on passenger carrying trains.   The customers were the people who sent and received parcels and other passenger rated traffic or who sent and received freight traffic.   You'd need to be pretty stupid to confuse a passenger with a customer.  In my experience any of the customers who had any sort of reason to express dissatisfaction would often be very quick to make the point that they were a customers and therefore needed to be treated accordingly .  And picking up on Lawrence's point I have long contended that the main reason for switching to the term customer for self ambulant traffic was because somebody eventually realised that reference to various Passenger Information System(s) then under development or coming into use could have an unfortunate connotation when referred to by the use of an acronym based on the initial letters of those three words.  Fortunately in the early days most of the systems had much longer names so the short acronym wasn't much of a problem - probably on named in such a fashion on purpose.

 

Belated happy birthday to The Lurker.

 

Ths afternoon I ventured into a supermarket - going as far as almost 30 feet from the entrance - for the first time since 14 March.  Very quiet in Waitrose and I was in & out in less than 5 minutes, which suited me down to the ground. as I have little wish to repeat that process although I might have to visit one on Sunday morning for the papers - preferably as quickly.

[newbryford]

10 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

 And picking up on Lawrence's point I have long contended that the main reason for switching to the term customer for self ambulant traffic was because somebody eventually realised that reference to various Passenger Information System(s) then under development or coming into use could have an unfortunate connotation when referred to by the use of an acronym based on the initial letters of those three words. 

 

CUstomer Needs Traintime System isn't brilliant either...............

[J. S. Bach]

6 hours ago, Barry O said:

Feels very close here - thunder storm could be coming along.

Baz

Been and gone.

 

And belated birthday wishes to The Lurker.

Edited July 25, 2020 by J. S. Bach

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[BR60103]

21 hours ago, pH said:

Apparently 1.30 pm on a Thursday afternoon is not the time to go shopping at Costco - who knew?

The gas station attendant at our Costco said the best time was 7:00 pm, but I forget if he said weeknight or Friday/Saturday.

 

[J. S. Bach]

Good night owl from the Piedmont.

[BR60103]

7 hours ago, pH said:

I once heard a lecturer, making up a multiple choice exam, say “It’s _ _ _ hard thinking up three wrong answers!”. (There is a word missing - “plausible”.)

 

I always assumed that the wrong answers came from previous years' non-multiple choice exams.

I also think that there should be one obviously wrong answer.

 

[BR60103]

We bought a dehumidifier today as SWMBO thinks the basement is a bit damp.  There is a tag on the plug that tells us to wait 24 hours after moving it before turning it on.

I visited a bookstore today. I didn't find anything but she did. The young lady that was checking us in and out asked me if I found everything. I was polite, but told her that one of the magazines I like (MRJ) had a note that the next issue would be on sale Feb. 20th. She said she'd have someone check it.  I was told that the the magazine section is now run by a separate company. 20 years ago I managed to get them to carry a magazine I wanted.

 

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Goodnight all, from Greencountry.

 

 

Douglas

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all, with belated birthday greetings to Lurker.

 

As they used to say on Ready Steady Go, the weekend starts here.  Clearly what I have just said is flawed, for RSG went out on Friday nights and this is Saturday morning.  Oh my, I remember going out on Friday nights [sighs].

 

There will be a fodder run today.  For once, I have some idea of what I would like for Sunday lunch so I need to procure the ingredients.  Whether or not to have breakfast out presents a dilemma.  The car parking situation in this street is rapidly declining to normal standards now that more people seem to be going to work and look to this street as a place to avoid paying to park their cars.  Loft conversions have been taking place at two nearby properties, meaning that lorries and vans swoop eagerly into spaces vacated by residents who have gone shopping.  In a way, it is good that things are returning to normal.

 

Yesterday's visit to the bank had two purposes.  One was to print a statement, the other to finish the process of installing the Barclays app on my phone.  For this I was most grateful for the assistance of a very patient member of staff.  Like many, I dread the day when online banking prevails, for I would far rather argue with a human than a computer.  Thanks to Little Britain, they have a certain reputation for saying No.

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris  

[PatB]

27 minutes ago, chrisf said:

Yesterday's visit to the bank had two purposes.  One was to print a statement, the other to finish the process of installing the Barclays app on my phone.  For this I was most grateful for the assistance of a very patient member of staff.  Like many, I dread the day when online banking prevails, for I would far rather argue with a human than a computer.  Thanks to Little Britain, they have a certain reputation for saying No.

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris  

Whilst I can see the benefits of face to face banking, when our local branch closed down, I wasn't particularly worried because painful experience had shown it to be a convenient gulag for those staff too incompetent to be trusted with anything but too long-serving to economically fire.

[TheQ]

Mooring awl inner Temple Hare, 

Woke after 3.5 hours with John kettley finger joints forecasting rain.  There has been some,  now at 06:07, it's actually getting darker, I suspect that's why Ben the I want out Collie, dragged me out half an hour early. 

 

Ben had a bad night,  lying in his bed , getting too hot,  Getting up , lying cold floor,  getting uncomfortable, going back to bed and repeat. 

 

Multiple choice papers I don't remember any at school,  and certainly not part of SCEs or Highers.

 

  The RAF used them a lot in technical training, but there were six ( mostly)  or more answers to choose from and the pass mark was always  80%..

 

The company I work for now, uses them online,   with varying numbers of answers between 3 to 6, and a pass mark of 75%.  But since you've just read the training 30seconds before you'd have to work hard to fail. 

 

The next course has arrived in the works in box, " security considerations and digital compilation". 

 

The Temperature has just noticeably dropped,  Ben has got up and hidden in his cage,  I suspect a heavy downpour is imminent.. 

 

I think its time for me to get up and head for the kitchen,  what will accompany a Muggacoffee, I'm not sure,  but it will involve bacon. 

 

Time to.... Move.. 

 

 

 

[Oldddudders]

6 hours ago, newbryford said:

 

Where's Oldudders and his tales of Alison and her beau when you need them.................?

Well, funny you should say that..... I'm not sure where I last updated ERs, so a resumé might help. 

 

The latter part of 2019 was marked by several key events in Alison's life. As some will know, I tend to travel by Eurostar to and from Blighty, and when I got back last August she met me off my local train from Paris and told me she was pregnant. At 54. A pro-life sort of person she carried the child, of course. When she eventually told François he initially said he would support her - yeah, yeah, yeah - but basically did what he always does when life gets tough and disappeared into his farm. At about 20 weeks, I think, Alison was out one day when she got tell-tale twinges and went straight to hospital, where the baby was lost. Naturally it was I who picked her up in a very distressed state and took her home to her boys. 

 

But something more positive had already begun - she had been asked to provide sickness cover for the English teacher at a local secondary skool. A fully paid legit job would help her application for citizenship, albeit losing her social security claim for some months. The incumbent - French, of course, and not possessed of great English, in all honesty - proved to be an awkward cow, and A knew the kids were not getting the best of deals. Sadly after no more than 10 days of teaching A developed chest pains, and guess who took her back to the local hospital? As had happened in 2016, she was transferred to a Le Mans hospital, all the heart tests were done - no real fault found.  So again I picked her up a couple of days later. She was then signed off until the New Year, but the new term did see her succeed in teaching for the required 6 weeks, and the school were pleased with her performance, to the extent that she will now teach three days a week from September. I think I mentioned Sherry and I were guinea pigs at a skool exam. 

 

So by mid-Feb she was back from teaching, and on Feb 15 - yes, the day after Valentine's - François moved in. Of course, he'd moved in for nearly two weeks last Summer, but wifey got stroppy so he meekly went home. This time he stayed three months, but towards the end of that period became increasingly distant and grumpy, so when he left - after two days of both of them in tears, sigh - it was almost a relief. This coincided with the lifting of lockdown, and he knew his wife was now going to pursue divorce, with the threat of his precious farm being at risk. Of course she didn't do that, but continued to hold the threat over him. Then he got all brave again and moved back in for the third time in late-June. This time he stayed 12 days. You couldn't make it up could you? But during that time A managed to get him to see a lawyer about starting divorce proceedings.

 

And, as of two days ago, he has moved back in for the fourth time. Hey, they came for a social visit here on Thursday afternoon. Sherry was not very impressed on her first meeting with F. The marital fat does seem to be in the fire, but he is a pitiful man. Wifey is also a business partner, and holds all the purse-strings, in both business and marriage, so he has no access to cash. She holds all the key data to running the farm, because he has no idea how to turn on a PC. Milk yields and all sorts of stuff about acreages, needed by law, are a complete mystery to him, because it's all online, of course. A tractor has just been repaired, but she has refused to sign a cheque, so it may have to go back and be sold to pay the bill! He has for some weeks been locked out of his own house - only allowed in when wifey is home. He has not been allowed to close the loo door, because he might just be texting A. Who would want such a drip, you ask? Such is love, apparently, 

 

Phew. 

[5 C]

Morning awl from a not-yet-locked-down Luton.

 

The week's big news from here (other than the Hatters securing Championship survival against, ironically, fellow not-yet-locked-downers Blackburn), is of course the rise in virus cases. Mid-week there were social media posts from the council concerning the LU4 postcode. As news unfolded, it emerged the focus was on eight or so individual postcodes which all relate to one road in the town, which suggested they were working with some very specific information. Overnight the position has now changed so that anyone in Luton can now get a test - with or without symptoms.

 

Unsurprisingly, local social media was alive with all sorts of rumour and comment, along with some compromising pictures of the mayor and two other councillors attending a very non-socially distanced private event with a number of other individuals. Although everyone was outside, food was being shared and no protective items were in evidence - apart from a mask being worn below a chin. After a day of deafening silence, the three concerned have admitted their involvement and apologised with a pretty weak explanation for their actions.

 

Today would have been gym opening day but not in this town. I hadn't intended going anyway for reasons I've previously discussed on here but also because of other people's poor behaviour and lack of hygiene standards. The fact I recognised one of the individuals at the aforementioned gathering simply underscores my position. I'll be particularly annoyed if we have further measures imposed as I'm barely 150 yards inside the borough boundary.

 

I also paid a visit to the office again this week to review the return to work plans. I was joined by some colleagues who I haven't see in person for four months and our on site facilities people who were very pleased to see some new faces in the building. It was a real lift. I've had several conversations with colleagues this week who really want to get back to the office. Here's hoping we can.

 

Carpe your diems, good wishes to those who ail and pats on backs to those doing good deeds.

 

Regards to awl.