Early Risers.

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Just downed a chicken tandori and about to partake of some fresh raspberries for desert.  Its just come over very dark and grey so some of the wet stuff might be falling soon, apparently there's been some flash floods around the southern bit of the M25 this afternoon. And so to continue with dinner, be back later.

[Tony_S]

We could hear a rumble of thunder at about 6.30 but no rain. The weather radar app showed lots of clouds heading towards us but as often happens they divided and passed either side of our location. We don’t water much of the garden but do water the tomatoes and courgettes and also the one hanging basket we have by the front door. The only green in our lawn is from clover and some daisies. The bees like the clover. 
MiL rang me earlier. She couldn’t lock the patio door that goes from the lounge to her terrace. It did shut though. I suggested it may have been the heat. I did suggest going out through the kitchen door and hosing down the lounge door but she decided that it wasn’t a security problem as it a third floor penthouse flat and no one is likely to be able to get on the terrace. I am not sure why she asked me when there are other family members nearby. 
Tony

[New Haven Neil]

Evening.

 

Some improvement noted in Grace's condition in this evening's report, with just a hint of optimism creeping in. We've run out of fingers to cross. Mum allowed home, Grace now in a less I, ICU.  

 

No rain here today, and the breeze has made the humidity drop to ....oh dear, still 78%.  Pah.

 

Mrs NHN in dock tomorrow for an injection into a hip bursa, so no doubt I will be on hand-and-foot duties.  Last time this was done in hospital, however the new GP is doing it this time - we'll see how that works out.

 

 

[brianusa]

10 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

s a relevant digression, the British - at least here in Switzerland - have a reputation for very bad teeth (although the younger generation tend to have better teeth). One Brit I knew had brown, scraggly, "tombstone" teeth and halitosis that could strip paint at 5 meters and he was always complaining that his dentist (yes, surprisingly, he did sometimes see a dentist) wanted to "do unecessary work" on him and that his teeth were "perfectly OK, thank you very much". Clearly, Colgate and the like weren't making much money off him....

 

How true; you have only to watch certain programmes to verify this fact and although as you say its improved with a younger generation, its still obvious in a lot of people!  Which considering the availability of the NHS, is rather a shame.

      Brian.

[Coombe Barton]

... and delivered for eternity ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2020/08/13/postcards-from-the-periphery-2020-19/

[iL Dottore]

6 minutes ago, brianusa said:

 

How true; you have only to watch certain programmes to verify this fact and although as you say its improved with a younger generation, its still obvious in a lot of people!  Which considering the availability of the NHS, is rather a shame.

      Brian.

But don’t you have to pay for much dental work, even on the NHS?
Clearly, there are a lot of people who will pay squillions on designer this, that and the other, but begrudge a few pounds for dental cleaning (let alone anything more...)

 

I had mentioned that I have a dental bridge, done some 30 years ago, and I am still miffed about it. I had a large granuloma in the palatine process of the maxilla and they had to remove 2 healthy teeth to be able to excise the granuloma. Nowadays, they could probably remove it using pin-hole surgery.

 

Finally, it is starting to cool down a bit. We currently have a light drizzle and although the air is fresher and cooler, the inside of the house is still doing a remarkably good impression of a sauna. So once again, sleeping in the living room on a sofa will be my fate tonight. Alas, I foresee conflict between the Dowager Duchess (Lucy) and the great unwashed (me) over possession of the sofa. Lucy believes that it is her divine right to annex any sofa or sofa-like piece of furniture that she fancies. One of us will end up sleeping on the floor!

 

And on that note I bid everyone a good night

[Tony_S]

23 minutes ago, brianusa said:

Which considering the availability of the NHS, is rather a shame.

For quite a while round here many dentists were not accepting NHS patients. At one time our dentist was the only local NHS dentist, and he wasn’t accepting new patients. (You won’t find an NHS chiropodist either). Orthodontic NHS work  changed a lot about 10 years ago and only severe tooth irregularity was eligible.  
Tony

[Erichill16]

Evening All, 

Sounds like things are looking a bit better for Grace so that’s a bit of good news.

On the home front a busy day was had. First a visit to Mils, she’s still not A1 but a bit better and then down to Bils to help out with Sils garden project which involved 4 railway sleepers. Didn’t get back till 8:30 so bath, tea and catch.up here. Strange weather here in South Yorkshire, looks grey and misty, like October but quite mild. 
good night 

Robert

 

[tigerburnie]

G'night all

[Adam88]

My dentist for many years, nay decades, ran a single practice with perhaps two or three other dentists, a couple hygienists and a receptionist.  I think he did much of the admin himself, he was often there long after everyone else had gone home.  The day came about four years ago when he retired and sold the practice to a group of five or six practices in a number of small towns in the region.  Since then the other dentists and hygienists have all left and I rarely see the same person more than twice running.  To make converstaion I ask where they live and they often commute twenty or so miles, if they can get work in a more local practice they take it.  Now I know that any inspection/treatment stands in its own right but I feel that I am missing something and that continuity of relationship is an intangible benefit which I am missing.  Oh, did I mention that the new organisation's professional fees notched up?

 

I imagine that the day of the owner/practitioner are over for ever, it must be too much to take on but I'm sure we're losing out in may ways.

[The Stationmaster]

Rain, thunder, lightning - we've got the lot and Poppy doesn't like the noise one bit.

 

G'night all.

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. I could hear Thor's hammer earlier this evening but far away and not getting any nearer. It feels a bit cooler than last night and if Arthur Itis is anything to go by the wet stuff should arrive in the early hours. Sad news about the puppies dumped at Rochford both have died. Both were suffering from severe parvovirus and despite the best efforts of the vets the infection was too bad.

[Dave Hunt]

Well, that was a fun day. The visible part of the shed floor is now dry although there are areas where the water got under the floor paint and lifted it and despite strenuous efforts there is still some water under and behind fitted cupboards. The rugs and carpet pieces spent the day on the patio drying out and the smaller ones are now OK but the large fifteen feet long piece is still very damp and has been brought into the conservatory to continue the drying process. Some of my stocks of wood, foam board etc. are write-offs as is some of Jill's art stuff and it's amazing how far up a sheet of plywood the water has wicked its way. Fortunately there is no damage to the layout itself except for some rusty track and water soaking about six inches up the baseboard legs but that will dry eventually. Also the machine tools are OK. The dehumidifier has so far dragged something like 60 litres of water out of the atmosphere - incredible really - but the worst thing is the smell, which is a musty, marshy pong that I hope will diminish once the drying out is complete.

 

If the orange idiot needs more water I can send him some!

 

The news about baby Grace is uplifting and my prayers are for her continued progress. Good to see GDB and Andyram back too.

 

Have a quiet and peaceful night one and all and thanks for the messages of concern.

 

Dave 

Edited August 13, 2020 by Dave Hunt

[Erichill16]

I know there’s a lot of bad sh!t going off in the world, but the demise of the puppies is very sad news.
 

Robert.

[andyram]

Evening all. I am starting to catch up on one or two things and repeat my good wishes to NHN and family, I have my fingers crossed for baby Grace and also for an ex pupil who I hear, via Facebook, is currently in an induced coma in QMC although I am not sure of the reason. These incidents certainly put life in perspective.

 

 I read that Grandad Bob has been absent and I pass on my good wishes to him too.

 

 Yesterday was our annual fostering review which, following the last few months, was never going to be easy. The agency have decided, following the recent incidents, that Sarah is not resilient enough to be considered for us to have further foster placements without a series of training.  Unfortunately Sarah does not feel up to facing some of these so it could be the end of our fostering career which is disappointing. 
 

 Meanwhile my brother has just had a book published. Written during lockdown, it is an adventure story for 8-12 year olds. Good luck to him. I hope it does well. At least that is a positive to come from lockdown. 
 

Best wishes

 

Andy

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

It hasn’t been quite as warm hot today than it has of late, which was quite refreshing, but it’s still been waaaaaay toooooooooo hot for my liking! It didn’t take long to prepare the wall behind the bathroom radiator and then to apply a bit of paint to it. After I’d done that I stayed downstairs in the cellar and did a bit of work on the old computer, mainly amending a few drawings and circuit diagrams etc. Which nicely filled in the space between washing my paint brush and dinner. 

 

After dinner I then re-fitted the radiator, replacing a fibre washer in the leaking valve. This morning I noticed what looked like a water stain under on of the valves on the landing radiator. Suspecting that this too was starting to leak and whilst I’d got all the relevant tools and washers to hand, I decided to change both the washers in that radiator as well, Sheila is now a very happy bunny. 

 

After tea I watered the plants in the back garden, whilst Sheila watered the ones at the front door. We then retired to the sofa and started to watch another Scandinavian drama whilst enjoying a glass of rosé. 

 

Glad to read some positive news about Grace, fingers crossed that things improve further. 

 

Goodnight all 

[laurenceb]

Thoughts with little Grace & her Family

Good to see GDB and andyram back amongst us. Keep the chin up Andy!

Night awl

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Evening all,

 

My bedroom was turned upside down, sorted through, dusted, and then turned right side up again. Now my shelves are far less cluttered, and I can even fit the Weeden on its own special shelf now, instead of it taking up valuable desk space. My two Lionel engines have also been put on display, as have my larger Marklin locomotives, which have there own fairly large layout. Unfortunately the room said layout was in was turned into the cats playroom (against my wishes) without much thought for the layout. So it needs some serious tlc, a job for the future. As you can see I also used to collect W. Britains toy soldiers, my largest set being the Egyptian Camel Corps. The Burlington & Ohio RR lamp was also polished and reassembled, but the internal lens carrier could really use a bath in some rust remover.
 

Here’s a challenge, try to find the small American outline passenger train on the shelves, winner gets, err, bragging rights. As always, best wishes to Neil and Grace.

 

stay healthy,

 

 

Douglas 

[J. S. Bach]

56 minutes ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Evening all,

 

My bedroom was turned upside down, sorted through, dusted, and then turned right side up again. Now my shelves are far less cluttered, and I can even fit the Weeden on its own special shelf now, instead of it taking up valuable desk space. My two Lionel engines have also been put on display, as have my larger Marklin locomotives, which have there own fairly large layout. Unfortunately the room said layout was in was turned into the cats playroom (against my wishes) without much thought for the layout. So it needs some serious tlc, a job for the future. As you can see I also used to collect W. Britains toy soldiers, my largest set being the Egyptian Camel Corps. The Burlington & Ohio RR lamp was also polished and reassembled, but the internal lens carrier could really use a bath in some rust remover.
 

Here’s a challenge, try to find the small American outline passenger train on the shelves, winner gets, err, bragging rights. As always, best wishes to Neil and Grace.

 

stay healthy,

 

 

Douglas 

Upper right on the top shelf; try to catch the SSN.

[J. S. Bach]

After that, good night owl from the Piedmont.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

27 minutes ago, J. S. Bach said:

try to catch the SSN.

Might I ask what the SSN is? It's probably something really obvious.

[BR60103]

Douglas: A couple of the Lionel bits match ones from my first Lionel set (tank, caboose, transformer).

 

We acquired a small fold up tent today. This was ordered 3 weeks ago, with a delivery date of September, possibly from a source in the far East, through W**Mart. The intent is to provide a place to use if bathroom facilities are unavailable or unappetizing.

To go with it we needed a port-a-potty (Thunderbox?).  The first one we bought turned out to be a toilet seat with 3 legs and no bottom. A plastic pail was acquired but was too low and not easy to detatch without a bit of discommoding. We found another one with a larger built-in pail and some "Double Doody" bags to line it.

We may now go on some excursions that take longer than 2 hours.

 

[iL Dottore]

7 hours ago, Tony_S said:

For quite a while round here many dentists were not accepting NHS patients. At one time our dentist was the only local NHS dentist, and he wasn’t accepting new patients. (You won’t find an NHS chiropodist either). Orthodontic NHS work  changed a lot about 10 years ago and only severe tooth irregularity was eligible.  
Tony

You’ve pretty much confirmed what I suspected: that many will not pay to keep themselves in good nick. Unless they can get it “for free” on the NHS, they won’t bother. So it would seem that the mindset would be that of “repair when necessary” instead of “routine preventative maintenance” - one of the curses of modern life... 
I know that my body is a temple (in other words ancient and crumbling, probably cursed or haunted) and I haven’t neglected or abused it too badly, but still the wisdom of old age makes me think that I should have done a better job in maintenance...

5 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

I know there’s a lot of bad sh!t going off in the world, but the demise of the puppies is very sad news.
 

Robert.

How we treat the vulnerable and helpless says much about the quality of both the society and the person. Those who puppy farm (and even some “reputable breeders” who insist on the most perverted of “breed standards”) are the vilest of individuals and are deserving of the harshest of punishments. An Old Testament retribution “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth” would more than appropriate here. Having a few puppy farmers die, slowly and painfully, from an avoidable disease would be fitting punishment indeed...

5 hours ago, andyram said:

...Yesterday was our annual fostering review which, following the last few months, was never going to be easy. The agency have decided, following the recent incidents, that Sarah is not resilient enough to be considered for us to have further foster placements without a series of training.  

Ooh, ooh, let me guess: the people making that decision have never actually fostered a child themselves, but are up on all the trendy PC/Woke jargon and attitudes...

Or am I being a tiny bit cynical here?

4 hours ago, BSW01 said:

..... We then retired to the sofa and started to watch another Scandinavian drama whilst enjoying a glass of rosé. ...

That sentence is so wrong on so many levels...

Scandi Crime Dramas are endured, not watched...

The only fitting alcoholic drink to accompany a Scandi Crime Drama is Akvavit (Danish, or Swedish or Norwegian equivalent) not a glass of rosé 

I will concede that the Danish/Swedish/Norwegian policewomen are, to use an expression borrowed from today’s yoof, “right fit”, but the Scandi Crime Dramas, like Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, start off full of despair and hopelessness and then things go downhill...

 

I guess my preference is for the more traditional, less realistic, and gentler crime drama like Midsomer Murders (although if body count is anything to go by, Midsomer County has a higher murder rate per capita than South Central LA or Chicago’s Southside).

 

Well time to break out the sawn-off shotgun, tool up and take the doggies out for their walk in the lawless badlands surrounding Schloss iD

 

Enjoy POETS day

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all, with a warm welcome back to Grandad Bob and continuing warm thoughts to baby Grace.

 

Today is the 53rd anniversary of Black Monday.  On this day, 14th August, in 1967 Radio London ceased broadcasting.  Big L, as we knew it, was one of the pirate stations that changed the face and sound of British pop music radio.  It transmitted from a former US navy minesweeper, the MV Galaxy, moored three and a half miles off Frinton.  I was working for Green Shield Stamps in Edgware on that fateful day.  Shortly before 3 pm I sneaked out of the office and went down to the car park under the building.  Reception on my very basic tranny was patchy but I caught the important bits – most of “A Day in the Life” by the Beatles and the final announcement by Paul Kay: “Big L time is three o’clock and Radio London is now - closing down”.  The familiar station theme, a jolly Hammond organ piece known as Big Lil, ran its course and then there was nothing but static.  I went back to work but found it difficult to concentrate.  There was a riot at Liverpool Street station that night when the train carrying the DJs arrived and was met by hundreds of fans lamenting the demise of their favourite radio station.  It was all over the morning papers.  Somewhere in the crowds was Keith Skues, who had gone there to meet his former shipmates for a quiet pint.  No chance!  He ended up hiding in a toilet until the melee had subsided.

 

I count myself extremely fortunate in having lived through the watery wireless era.  Three months earlier I had managed to wangle a visit to the Big L ship and saw at first hand how it was all done.  I also met Tony Blackburn but you can’t have everything.   

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris