Early Risers.

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. I had my ears lowered a couple of weeks ago. A #2 cut all over, my ears are still feeling the cold and I can't find my woolly hat. As I'm used to spending Christmas alone lockdown hasn't impacted me a great deal. The only problem I have is delivering my friends young sons Christmas present, I might need to leave it on their front doorstep sometime next week. Thats it for now, be back later.

[Tony_S]

43 minutes ago, chrisf said:

 

You can prove anything with statistics ...

Not really true. People can lie and claim a statistical proof but they are still not  true. 

[monkeysarefun]

14 hours ago, TheQ said:

The point is the huge number of passengers through the UK before anyone knew what was happening meant it was well established in the UK before the first lockdown.

 

I don't want to seem to be harping on about this but its interesting to check the figures for August 4th/5th. UK new cases totalled 670 on 4th August. Australian new cases 5th August was 715. You almost had it beaten. You are an island, if only you'd put up the drawbridge to all but non returning residents, implemented testing/isolation regimes for incoming transport drivers like the states did here for interstate drivers and  seriously quarantined returnees, think where you'd be now.

 

At that time while Australia saw 715 as a looming disaster and locked down all of Melbourne, the UK government called 640 'job well done' and let you all go off to Europe.

[BokStein]

49 minutes ago, chrisf said:

 

You can prove anything with statistics ...

 

There are lies, damned lies and statistics, I agree, but it would appear that the cautionary approach in these new times may warrant a consideration of the current mortality and infection rates of the population.

 

Switzerland, for example, have closed all restaurants, for example.

 

Reminds me, must get some eggs and bacon for the fry-up on the 25th!

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, chrisf said:

 in high places thought less about statistic

I am not exactly in a high place but looking at how the graph of current infections over time is following the graph generated by the predictive model to me is of great concern. Governments can’t really base plans on wishful thinking about perhaps it won’t turn out as bad. They have been doing that somewhat as not wanting to be the people that killed Christmas. As soon as the Government extended the furlough scheme to Easter it seemed clear to me this wasn’t going to end at Christmas and I fully expected some change to the Christmas relaxation. 
 

[monkeysarefun]

6 hours ago, TheQ said:

Gone are the days when film actors could play a military serviceman properly.. Because they had been one and knew how to behave...

 Nothing to do with movie actors but that did remind me of Australian cricketer Keith Millers quote to Michael Parkinson.

 

Parkinson asked him how he handled the pressure of cricket and Miller who had served in the RAAF in WW2 and flew combat missions over Germany with RAF 169 Squadron replied "Pressure is a Messerschmitt up your arse, playing cricket is not"

[Tony_S]

6 hours ago, TheQ said:

Gone are the days when film actors could play a military serviceman properly.. Because they had been one and knew how to behave.

My Dad was almost on a newsreel. Somewhere in Germany a camera crew wanted some footage. They wanted a young officer to point at something. The officer wasn’t handsome enough so much to his amusement Dad had to wear his jacket and pose in an officer like manner.  He suspects the footage was never used. They were not even near any battle at the time anyway. 
 

[Coombe Barton]

Yes, I'm on my own, but will bake a gammon on Christmas Eve, have Turkey Crown on Christmas Day, then the remains will go into a variety of dishes, including turkey and ham pie (some to freeze). Now I have the posh mixer, making pastry is much less effort.

 

Will go shopping on 23rd and 30th, and, considering the day, may well have buttered scones for tea..

Talking of baking, tomorrow am making a chocolate log for neighbour, and another on Monday for another friend, unless I can squeeze two in in a day. It's not the baking that takes the time but getting the three varieties of chocolate and caramelised hazelnuts in place.

I have said this now as bears and hippos are quite welcome, as long as they can stand in the front garden. Let's see what turns up.

 

[Coombe Barton]

13 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

As soon as the Government extended the furlough scheme to Easter it seemed clear to me this wasn’t going to end at Christmas and I fully expected some change to the Christmas relaxation. 

Boris mentioned Easter as a possible point of interest. Can't remember the words but 'over by Easter" springs to mind. I don't believe him. 

[PhilJ W]

9 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

My Dad was almost on a newsreel. Somewhere in Germany a camera crew wanted some footage. They wanted a young officer to point at something. The officer wasn’t handsome enough so much to his amusement Dad had to wear his jacket and pose in an officer like manner.  He suspects the footage was never used. They were not even near any battle at the time anyway. 
 

My dad told me that the only bit of WW2 film he featured in was taken on the day that Japan surrendered. The film was of a convoy of tank transporters winding their way up a zig-zag mountain road (Burma Road?). He couldn't be certain as to which one he was driving as he didn't know it was being filmed until some years later.

[tigerburnie]

G'night

[Erichill16]

Really hope things pick up big style Rick.
Robert 

[The Lurker]

Greetings all from Sidcup. Our world is unchanged; we were going nowhere and no-one was coming here. Well not quite true; I was going on my own to my parents for a few hours one day in the permitted period but that has now changed. And the accounts have not been signed off by our dear auditors either. One assumes that they don’t warp commit because COVID could cut any business down and they could get told off. Ironically if they put their pen to paper life would be easier for us too. But hey ho, what do I know. Worse things happen at sea.

 

I have finished for Christmas now (subject to a year end panic) and so shall be sitting around twiddling my thumbs except for the daily exercise walk.

 

Younger Lurker has done all his homework; I got a little bit carried away with the help I gave(wrote out for) him on Thomas a Beckett but I think he got a bit bored of me doing a Brian Blessed voicing of of “Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?”

 

[Barry O]

Goodnight all!

Baz

[laurenceb]

Night awl

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[J. S. Bach]

1 hour ago, Coombe Barton said:

Boris mentioned Easter as a possible point of interest. Can't remember the words but 'over by Easter" springs to mind. I don't believe him. 

No, he is correct, he just forgot to add 2023!

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

The weather was kind to me today, although it was dull and windy, it remained dry all the time I was in the workshop. I’d not been in the house about 10 minutes when it started to rain, so I think I was very lucky. I have a remote controlled plug in the workshop that the heater is plugged into. I switched it on 15 minutes or so before I went out to it, so the workshop was nice and warm when I got there. I keep the controller for it on a shelf beside the upstairs cellar door, so I can use it as it m making my mid morning muggertea, which I take with me to the workshop. 

 

There’s been more progress made on the turntable control panel, all the wiring from the output modules to the LED control boards has now fitted. I then made a start on the wiring from the LED control boards to the LEDs. When this is completed (hopefully tomorrow), I’ll start to fit the wiring between the switches and the input modules. 

 

The kitchen smelt wonderful when I came in for dinner, as by then the stew had been on for a couple of hours. Today for dinner I had something that I usually eat when we have the girls round for the weekend, pancakes and maple syrup, oooh it made a lovely change and there’s enough left for me to have the same again tomorrow, mmmmmm. 

 

The stew tonight was absolutely delicious and there was enough left over  for another meal, which we will probably get eaten sometime between Christmas and New Year.

 

Sheila, aka Vidal Baboon (she gave herself that name) has been cutting my hair with clippers for many years now. It’s now usually done without a guard, so when it’s cut, it’s very short (about 0.5mm) indeed. 

 

The evening was rounded off with a nice bottle of wine which we consumed whilst watching a couple more episodes of French police drama we’ve started watching. 

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all

 

Welcome to another day.  In its cold light we can only come to terms with what is being done to and for us.  Feel free to disagree but it would not surprise me if we are still in this unholy mess this time next year.  We have every reason to feel sorry for ourselves but I would be the first to accept that many others have more cause than I do.  My warmest thoughts are with them but as far as those who rule us are concerned I am minded to fashion an effigy from Blu Tack and stick pins into it, just in case voodoo works.

 

The result of Strictly was always going to be close.  Bill Bailey was the worthy winner but I was rooting for HRVY all the way!  When the programme was first created I was rather put off it because I was never a fan of Bruce Forsyth and I have not followed it at all closely until this year.  Chris Mason has just described it on BBC Breakfast as escapism and he is spot on.  I do recall the precursor of Strictly, Come Dancing, from the days when the late Peter West used to present it.  My father got to know him quite well having met him through work.

 

Having not entirely given up on the C word, I went looking for a seasonal cake yesterday.  What I found was a Bailey’s chocolate yule log.  I need look no further!  Later I caught part of a remarkably elderly Hairy Bikers programme – 2011! - showing how to glaze ham.  The rescheduling I mentioned earlier means that the bacon joint is now set to be the centre piece of dinner on Christmas Day, leaving me to find something for Christmas Eve.  An early trip to Tesco on Monday morning would seem to be a good idea as I still need a few ingredients to complete the feast.  Let inspiration strike!

 

Bah humbug

 

Chris

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl, inner Temple Hare,

4 hours sleep which was early, then internment dozing, caused by back pain. I forgot to put the back belt on and didn't notice until walking across the beach with Ben.

 

Ben the I want out Collie, has already been on patrol, it's a cloudless sky, cool but dry.

 

Our Christmas is unchanged and would not be if moved from tier 2 to 4. We're not going anywhere until both ends of a visit are vaccinated.

 

We had emails from family yesterday saying had we gone to tier 4, because one of the broadcasters had displayed a map showing the whole of the South East and East Anglia in tier 4. I replied no it wasn't East Anglia,.  just Greater, Greater London,     aka Milton Keynes, to  Kent and south Essex.

 

There was an interesting bit on TV yesterday about a shop in Barnet, which looks like any other high street shop, but it was found the timbers were cut  between 1315 and 1362.. An amazing survivor, especially as the black death arrived in 1348 and 30 to 45% died within 2 years. You would have thought house building would not be high on the list of priorities in 1362, there must have been plenty of vacant buildings.

 

Plans for today, 

More doors in the workshop 

More keel work, I forgot to say the lifting tackle now works easily.

I may do the fan belt on the car, but that may be put off to Monday afternoon as once the rain clears through as it's supposed to be the warmest time this week.

 

Time to.. do nothing till breakfast.

 

 

[iL Dottore]

12 hours ago, Tony_S said:

....Aditi being positive said they at least now know how to unblock someone. 
Tony

Surely that should be “being positive said they at least now know how to block someone”

12 hours ago, TheQ said:

....What's left of my hair I trim with scissors when it gets annoying. If it needs to be neat SWMBO is a qualified dog groomer, though she's never done it commercially. So anyway for neatness out come the dog clippers....

Mrs iD, who is not qualified to do anything remotely connected with hair, does my hair and does a very good job (we have Wahl clippers). She refuses to let me do hers, though (can’t think why). Oddly enough, despite having a full set of dog grooming tools (bought in a fit of optimism when we got Schotty), the dogs never get more than a brushing - which they barely tolerate (and as for being showered when muddy or filthy, let’s just say that if they could call the RSPCA helpline when we get out the dog shampoo and shower hose, they would)

12 hours ago, jonny777 said:

......Who is going to do a long two-way trip just to eat some turkey and go home again before the end of the day? Not our offspring anyway. ...

Well, quite. I wonder how these enforced restrictions will affect people’s perceptions of what Christmas should be all about. It may have started out as a religious festival, but now seems to have turned into an 0rgy of mindless consumerism, badly cooked and bad for you food consumption, excessive alcohol abuse and strained family get togethers that even UN Peacekeepers would find hard to police. I say let’s dump this whole Xmas schtick, bring back Saturnalia and have done with it.

10 hours ago, polybear said:

 

So basically you scoffed it without inviting your buddies round.....

Hmmm....

As you are well aware, my ursine friend, these are not normal times, alas. But when we are back to a somewhat saner world, I’ll bake a couple of my (almost) award winning traditional boiled fruit cakes and bring them to the next Brains Trust, to which you are cordially invited to join (and thus sample a decent chunk of cake)

10 hours ago, chrisf said:

... It is high time that certain folk in high places thought less about statistics and more about people.  What they have done had better be worth the grief.

 

Chris

Jeez, don’t you think it’s time to put things into perspective? There has been not only an increase in infections but also of hospital admissions as of late, across Europe hospitals are running out of ITU beds, front-line medical and nursing staff are burning out, life saving operations are being cancelled because there are no ITU beds for post-op care and a new variant of the virus has emerged which appears to be more infectious than the original strain (but hopefully nothing else) and you’re bemoaning the fact that people can’t get to see Aunty Mabel and eat overcooked turkey on Christmas day.

I am the first person to recognise that the UK government’s response has been chaotic and unclear, but what would you have had them do? Let Christmas go ahead as normal and then send round the flat-bed lorries in January and February with gowned and masked officials ringing a bell, yelling “bring out your dead”?

9 hours ago, chrisf said:

You can prove anything with statistics ...

No. You. Can’t. This is a common, trite, saying trotted out by people who have no idea of what statistics is about (or what statistics can or cannot do). Most people just about grasp what an average is, some may understand the concept of median, but when we get to things like Standard Deviation, mode, Fisher’s t-test and the like, most people are so far out of their depth, their toes don’t touch bottom... How you present statistical data? That’s another thing

 

Too many people’s behaviour and attitude during this pandemic has become pretty appalling. TBH, I think we should really get radical: either by requiring all those who want to socially get-up-close and not wear masks to register to do so and thus be banned from getting medical treatment when (not if) they get infected OR by imposing martial law, detaining all those who go out maskless or don’t wear the mask properly and rigorously breaking up all gatherings by any means necessary - up to and including the use of lethal force. A few high profile detainments and summary executions would do wonders Pour encourager les autres!

Edited December 20, 2020 by iL Dottore
Censoring software that removed the word 0rgy

[roundhouse]

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

 

 Most people just about grasp what an average is, some may understand the concept of median, but when we get to things like Standard Deviation, mode, Fisher’s t-test and the like, most people are so far out of their depth, their toes don’t touch bottom... How you present statistical data? That’s another thing

 

That brings back memories of maths. However I have now forgotten how they are calculated as not had any reason to make use of such even at work.

 

Is there any Govt guidance about wearing face masks outdoors?? If there is then I have missed it. We tend to keep clear of others even last Friday when large groups (20+) of school kids  weren't socially distancing and were blocking pavements so we had to walk in the road into busy traffic till we could cross to the other side where it was much quieter. If we had known the schools were closing mid day then we would have walked into town later on.

 

Morning from tier 4. Its raining. guess whats on the news, yep Covid and Brexit. How depressing life is at present.

 

No beer yesterday as we had plenty Friday but today will see us open a few bottles to cheer us up.

Edited December 20, 2020 by roundhouse