Early Risers.

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

It may have been raining all night as it was when we closed the curtains last night and opened them this morning. Garden looks suitably watered and I don’t think the new hose will be required for the hanging basket. 
I haven’t been informed of any tasks today, though I suspect a walk will be suggested even if it continues to rain. We have lots of clothing for wet weather. 
Tony
 

[Barry O]

Need to re-book the Gasman. In "fixing" our problem he knocked the pressurised  water tank thermostat off.

 

Bugggrrrrritt!

 

Not happy about it at all as he spent a while telling us our CO monitor is in the wrong place.. his colleague who did our annual service said it was fine.......PAH!!

 

Baz

[Coombe Barton]

At least it's lighter this morning - can have the power off to do the connections.

 

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Been pouring with rain all night, still is and looks like it will be for the rest of the day.

A bit late here today as I had a lie-in and didn't get up till 9.00am which is very unusual.  Wasn't going to rise until I heard the magic words "If you want me to cook some breakfast you better get a move on!"  So a move on I got!    Now suitably refuelled with eggs, bacon, tomatoes, toast and coffee I can face the world.

A further visit to The Shed is on the cards and then possibly some rugby to watch.  A couple of games have been called off due to Covid but I think the televised ones are still on.

A small package is due today containing a steel safety ruler.  You'd have thought that given my "reputation" I'd have one of these in my armoury already but haven't and continually dice with self amputation with an ordinary steel rule and scalpel.  Other packages are due including a delayed additional birthday present for The Boss which should have arrived yesterday and some household supplies.  

Have a good one,

Bob.

Edited October 4, 2020 by grandadbob

[Andrew P]

11 minutes ago, grandadbob said:

Good morning all,

Been pouring with rain all night, still is and looks like it will be for the rest of the day.

A bit late here today as I had a lie-in and didn't get up till 9.00am which is very unusual.  Wasn't going to rise until I heard the magic words "If you want me to cook some breakfast you better get a move on!"  So a move on I got!    Now suitably refuelled with eggs, bacon, tomatoes, toast and coffee I can face the world.

A further visit to The Shed is on the cards and then possibly some rugby to watch.  A couple of games have been called off due to Covid but I think the televised ones are still on.

A small package is due today containing a steel safety ruler.  You'd have thought that given my "reputation" I'd have one of these in my armoury already but haven't and continually dice with self amputation with an ordinary steel rule and scalpel.  Other packages are due including a delayed additional birthday present for The Boss which should have arrived yesterday and some household supplies.  

Have a good one,

Bob.

Cut resistant stainless steel gloves any good for you Bob?

 

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Woke up with a wunny dose so not much will be done today. ChrisF, hotels are usually fully booked up for Christmas by now. I know because I tried to book a Christmas stay a few years ago a bit earlier in the year than now. Best bet is to sign up for the Travelzoo newsletter for last minute bookings and at bargain prices too.

[roundhouse]

Morning

 

Been booking hotels for our upcoming trip around the country. First two nights should be in Chester which is now on the Covid watch list but if that goes into lockdown then that may change to Lincoln or Nottingham area. One night in Derby then one night in Bakewell so we can visit the Thornbridge brewery tap room. All the rest to be decided depending on what other areas go into further resrictions.

 

yestrday plenty of brambles cut back in between rain at other halfs Mums. The brambles are up in the trees so its going ot take a number of visits to clear but at least parts of the garden that have not been visible ofr years now are visible. Car wasnt ready to collect yesterday so we stopped off at Arundel Brewhouse on the way home. First time in there and was well worth the visit as some nice beers on tap and my other half was doing the driving. Back home we then went for a pub crwal around town. Penultimate pub was almost deserted but the last one was reasonably busy but a noisy group  spoilt it a bit that were well under the influence by 8pm and the manager had to have a word with them. They had spent quite a bit on the various Thai dishes that they were eating. This ies exactly what I thought would happen as people just start drinking earlier and possibly quicker ot beat the 10pm curfew. At least plenty of distance between peopel in the pub htough and we were gone before 9pm heading home.

 

Today been in the shed as its been continuous rain . Due to go out shortly for a walk through the ground of the mansion house at the end of our road and the first time that we will have done so. This path is off limits to the public except for the first Sunday of the month and today is the last one of the year plus its advance payment so we will risk getting soaked. Most of it will be under trees.

[Winslow Boy]

I didn't think you could block rights of way or is it a private footpath?

[jamie92208]

2 hours ago, BokStein said:

Morning!

 

Having seen puddles lakes in places I've not seen puddles before, my guess is that there has been a little precipitation recently!

 

£sd - a wonderful mix of bases 12 and 20 (21 if you can stretch to guineas!). Where would sport and the railways be without imperial measurements?

 

Cricket pitch = 1 chain (22 yards)

Railways: 80 chains = 1 mile

Horse racing: 1 furlong = 10 chains, 8 furlongs = 1 mile.

 

As for weight, bases abound!

 

16oz = 1lb

14lb = 1 stone

8 stone = 1 cwt (hundredweight)

20cwt = 1 ton.

 

At least with the SI system, Napoleon did not get his way with 400 degrees in a circle!

Yes I remember them well from primary school. the joys of having to learn how to do long division of pounds shillings and pence (there I used the posh full name as lsd has acquired another meaning).  Also tables had to be learnt.  1 to 12 times plus 14's and 16's.

 

Jamie

[TheQ]

2 hours ago, BokStein said:

Morning!

 

Having seen puddles lakes in places I've not seen puddles before, my guess is that there has been a little precipitation recently!

 

£sd - a wonderful mix of bases 12 and 20 (21 if you can stretch to guineas!). Where would sport and the railways be without imperial measurements?

 

Cricket pitch = 1 chain (22 yards)

Railways: 80 chains = 1 mile

Horse racing: 1 furlong = 10 chains, 8 furlongs = 1 mile.

 

As for weight, bases abound!

 

16oz = 1lb

14lb = 1 stone

8 stone = 1 cwt (hundredweight)

20cwt = 1 ton.

 

At least with the SI system, Napolean did not get his way with 400 degrees in a circle!

And the UK Mark worth 160 pennies.

Plus barrel sizes

1 gallon 8 pints. 

pin: 4½ gallons = 36 pints.

firkin: 2 pins = 9 gallons = 72 pints.

kilderkin (frequently 'kil'): 2 firkins = 18 gallons = 144 pints.

barrel: 2 kilderkins = 36 gallons = 288 pints

Hogshead =66 gallons,  528pints.

Edited October 4, 2020 by TheQ

[polybear]

2 hours ago, Barry O said:

Need to re-book the Gasman. In "fixing" our problem he knocked the pressurised  water tank thermostat off.

 

Bugggrrrrritt!

 

Baz

 

Nah, 'course he didn't.  Must've been faulty/done by someone else/insert other excuse.  He could fix it - for a price....

 

1 hour ago, grandadbob said:

"If you want me to cook some breakfast you better get a move on!"  So a move on I got!    Now suitably refuelled with eggs, bacon, tomatoes, toast and coffee I can face the world.

Bob.

 

What, no sausages, chips, beans and fried bread?  You've been robbed....

[chrisf]

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Woke up with a wunny dose so not much will be done today. ChrisF, hotels are usually fully booked up for Christmas by now. I know because I tried to book a Christmas stay a few years ago a bit earlier in the year than now. Best bet is to sign up for the Travelzoo newsletter for last minute bookings and at bargain prices too.

 

Thanks, Phil.  It didn't look too good while I was googling yesterday.  I'm already in 'he who expects nothing' mode.  Travelzoo rings a bell ...

 

Chris

[The Stationmaster]

Good Afternoon all,

 

Well good if you're duck.  But firstly belated congratulations to Peter and Mrs BB.  First task on the list will be to get the Good Doctor's car back into the drive as I had to move it in order to allow the lad out in his to visit the town for breakfast (his regular Sunday treat to himself) and to do the shopping - which saved us older folk the bother.  The Good Doctor is, hopefully, asleep after last night's 13 hour shift and with two more night turns to come with the associated pleasure (not) of driving to and from Oxford in the horrendous weather.

 

And so to £sd.  If today's juveniles and even some of the spreadsheet wranglers saw the sort of stuff we had to do in the olden times of the 1960s with such entertainment as Daily Parcels Balances with enough columns to keep any spreadsheet happy - the one you never forgot 'cut flowers in the Ledger Label (LL) 6 column unless they were going to Norther Ireland in which case they went in the Paid On Customs Declaration column.  Weekly, fortunately replacing daily, booking office balances gradually came in from the mid 1960s onwards with the trusty ready reckoner by your side to aid multiplying up the price of umpteen Day returns to London, and then you had to bring the whole lot into the 4 weekly accounts and balance that as well - to the last 1d.  By the last time I was involved in managing booking office staff all that was needed was to press a few buttons to get the debit off the machine and count the (by then decimalised) cash etc to strike a balance - even easier since then with cards automatically accounted by the machine and not much cash to count.  They really have it easy nowadays.

 

And yes - even in the 1990s and subsequently I was working on railway distances in miles, chains, and yards - beautifully simple system to understand and of course it fitted nicely with mph.  And we still seem to manage quite well with multipliers of 60 or 24 when it comes to time - which is dead easy to convert into mph, one simple division you can do in your head.

 

Ah well back to earth - get the girls' car in and then head for the kitchen and the nmushrooms and bacon on toast.

 

Have a good day one and and and all and do your best to stay safe

[roundhouse]

1 hour ago, Winslow Boy said:

I didn't think you could block rights of way or is it a private footpath?

Its a private estate and path

[Coombe Barton]

1 hour ago, TheQ said:

kilderkin (frequently 'kil'): 2 firkins = 18 gallons = 144 pints.

 

I though the firkin was also a measure of excess.

 

As in "Too firkin hot", "Too firkin heavy", ...

[Coombe Barton]

Son has just been telling me of a customer's installation of a gas hob he condemned.

• DIY job
• Owner had coupled hob to gas supply with hose meant for taps.
• Should have been stainless armoured.
• And it leaked.
• So he used gaffer tape.
• He ensures that he takes photos of the "before".

 

 

[TheQ]

1

4 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

I though the firkin was also a measure of excess.

 

As in "Too firkin hot", "Too firkin heavy", ...

18 gallons X 8.3 pounds is,  150lbs ish  plus no doubt the weight of an iron bound oak barrel, yes for me that's too firkin heavy... 

 

[TheQ]

12 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

Son has just been telling me of a customer's installation of a gas hob he condemned.

• DIY job
• Owner had coupled hob to gas supply with hose meant for taps.
• Should have been stainless armoured.
• And it leaked.
• So he used gaffer tape.
• He ensures that he takes photos of the "before".

 

 

[AndyB]

55 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

I though the firkin was also a measure of excess.

 

As in "Too firkin hot", "Too firkin heavy", ...

 

So today's job was to tackle a freezer which (unknown to us) had defrosted a while back due to a power outage/fuse tripping.

 

Swmbo came with me to sort it out and from the way she threw herself at the back door moments after opening the freezer's lid I think we can say it was "too firkin smelly". 

 

Hours later I can still smell the concentrated over-ripe death cheese odour on our clothes. 

 

I think we may have invented a new mass COVID test. Hands up anyone in this - or neighbouring - postcodes that can't smell this freezer. 

Edited October 4, 2020 by AndyB

[Gwiwer]

1 hour ago, The Stationmaster said:

And so to £sd.  ..... miles, chains, and yards - beautifully simple system to understand and of course it fitted nicely with mph.  And we still seem to manage quite well with multipliers of 60 or 24 when it comes to time - which is dead easy to convert into mph, one simple division you can do in your head.

And "A mile a minute" or 60mph was very easy to reckon as "Even time" namely travelling 60 miles in 60 minutes or the equivalent of that over a shorter distance.  

 

I have never had a problem with Imperial measures.  I can recite rods, poles, perches, chains, furlongs and most of the others which were still in common use 50 - 70 years ago.  I even explain to our younger staff today what a "chain" is when they enquire about those numbers you see painted along the railway or structure plates with a cryptic message such as "6m 17c" on them.  I think in "old money" though prefer not to convert it by relative value these days as it makes a takeaway coffee seem even more expensive than it is.  Currently £2:6:4d to the nearest (old) penny.  I'm sure it used to be 3d in Lyon's Corner Houses.  

 

I worked in cellarage for a short time and knew the sizes there too.  Albeit we invariably referred to them as "an 11", "a 22" or a "36".  

 

Where is the array of nicknames for our currency today?  Where, for instance, is the tanner or bob?  And how many below a certain age have the slightest idea what a florin was or how proud a child would have been to receive a half-crown pressed into the palm by a visiting uncle as a gift.  

 

Time for this old fart to brew another muggertee.  And yes, it is still raining.  

[45156]

Afternoon All

 

Had to skip a few posts, and we are, apparently, the owners of a rather beautiful 1/12th scale model dolls house, made by the late John Croake, which will be paid for tomorrow, as the shipping costs are not totally unreasonable. - debit card will be taking a hammering when the dealer is open tomorrow.

 

Meantime, I have had an issue with one of my guitars, an Ovation, for some years.  The electrics packed up about ten years ago - the dealer who sold it to me told me, as did TWO other Ovation dealers, that it had a passive pre-amp built in,  So I assumed that its silence was due to a broken wire somewhere.  Took it to my new-found repairer yesterday, and he immediately said that it appeared that the guitar had an ACTIVE pre-amp - took the strings off, and found a little box inside, screwed to the back if the instrument. - and opened it to reveal a very dead and very, very corroded PP3 battery.  New battery, clean up, and it is now working for the first time on ten years, and he only charged for the battery.  So that in turn meant that we had to get the Marshall combo amp out of the eaves, a nightmare job to say that least.

 

Now need to go and sort out the money, as we need to get the current account fettled with enough to pay for the purchase.

 

Generic greetings,

Regards to All

Stewart

[Tony_S]

19 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

d "A mile a minute" or 60mph was very easy to reckon as "Even time" namely travelling 60 miles in 60 minutes or the equivalent of that over a shorter distance.  

Strangely enough 60kph is a kilometre a minute...

[chrisf]

22 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

 

 

Where is the array of nicknames for our currency today?  Where, for instance, is the tanner or bob?  And how many below a certain age have the slightest idea what a florin was or how proud a child would have been to receive a half-crown pressed into the palm by a visiting uncle as a gift.

 

In some quarters the pound coin was once known as a 'maggie'.  The explanation: thick, brassy and thinks it's a sovereign.

 

Chris

[The Stationmaster]

27 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

 

 

Where is the array of nicknames for our currency today?  Where, for instance, is the tanner or bob?  And how many below a certain age have the slightest idea what a florin was or how proud a child would have been to receive a half-crown pressed into the palm by a visiting uncle as a gift.  

 

 

Bob of course is still very much with us - but he's a Grandad now.

[roundhouse]

5 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

Bob of course is still very much with us - but he's a Grandad now.

Along with a few scrapes and scratches