Early Risers.

[grandadbob]

5 hours ago, polybear said:

 

What Bear wants to know is how GDB managed to establish the profession of said neighbour?  Or did she happen to drop it into the conversation....

As for the neighbours avin' the 'ump at the parties, it's probably cos' they never got an invite.

 

I was actually informed by another neighbour who used to work with her at a popular clothes emporium many years ago before she left to become surgically pneumatically enhanced to take up her new profession.  

[PhilJ W]

Hello again from Estuary-Land. I've eaten my 'second' Christmas dinner which was as successful as the first. I did misjudge the potato and parsnip portions first time round and found myself this time with rather a lot of both vegetables but I managed to eat them. Followed for dessert by a very un-Christmassy yoghurt, now to watch the meerkats on TV, be back later.

[Northroader]

Doctor Flavio, sir, just asking for a friend, you’ll understand, as where you live you’d know about such things. It seems in Alpine meadows there are delightful small furry creatures called marmots, and at this time of year they live in burrows in said meadows, and hibernate. Now, just imagine that a large retriever should happen to come over, got very attracted by a scent, and maybe started digging. There’s a chance you might be left with a half chewed, half awake bundle of fur, just saying. In such circumstances would the locals put this back in the depression and cover it over with a handful or two of snow?

Edited December 28, 2020 by Northroader

[brianusa]

7 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

invite them to the Member's Dining Room at Westminster once such things are possible again.  That has been one of our favourite spots for dinner in recent years - not least because obtaining a public reservation is rarer than rocking-horse manure.  The service, food and drink are all also outstanding.

Once, when very young, I was treated to lunch with my maternal grandfather and a member to lunch on the terrace by the river.  Although not into politics at the time, it was worth it for the experience and the view.

       Brian.

Edited December 28, 2020 by brianusa

[pH]

4 hours ago, Ian Abel said:

... as always, his pattern of handling things has confused the entire population of the US, gladly we've less than 24 days to put up with this !@$!@%$!@#!@#$ - hooray!!  

Sorry, Ian, but this song title comes to mind:

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w3fRBzRngdc&list=RDw3fRBzRngdc&start_radio=1

 

[polybear]

1 hour ago, grandadbob said:

 

....... before she left to become surgically pneumatically enhanced to take up her new profession.  

 

So that's why the other ladies on the street don't like her.....

In other news:

Bear has finally completed the EML-ing of the lounge wall around the doorframe ; the EML managed to get it's own back on Bear a couple of times (it's effin' spiteful stuff if you're not careful) - I'm sure GDB also has the same T-shirt.  Just a few off-cuts remain now, some of which will be used up in the kitchen - whoever the cockwomble sparky was that installed the electrics many moons ago saw fit to chase a particularly wide channel for one of the sockets & cooker supply cable; I've already filled it with mortar but I'll run some EML over it too, hopefully to prevent any risk of cracks appearing in the future.  Not a job for tomorrow though.

[iL Dottore]

56 minutes ago, Northroader said:

Doctor Flavio, sir, just asking for a friend, you’ll understand, as where you live you’d know about such things. It seems in Alpine meadows there are delightful small furry creatures called marmots, and at this time of year they live in burrows in said meadows, and hibernate. Now, just imagine that a large retriever should happen to come over, got very attracted by a scent, and maybe started digging. There’s a chance you might be left with a half chewed, half awake bundle of fur, just saying. In such circumstances would the locals put this back in the depression and cover it over with a handful or two of snow?

I know little about Marmots, good Sir, but I do know that disturbing a hibernating creature can be detrimental to the animal (hibernating animals are on a knife edge in terms of stored energy reserves and awakening a hibernating animal could be fatal to it)

If at all possible seek a vet’s advice (or even take the Marmot to the vet).

Perhaps the RSPCA helpline could advise?

[Ozexpatriate]

29 minutes ago, pH said:

this song title comes to mind ...

/politics alert/ Are you thinking of Wednesday week pH?

[pH]

1 minute ago, Ozexpatriate said:

/politics alert/ Are you thinking of Wednesday week pH?

Not particularly - any day between here and January 20th.

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, Northroader said:

ould the locals put this back in the depression and cover it over with a handful or two of snow?

In less enlightened times the marmot would have been taken home and eaten after the body had been rendered down for fat. It was considered to be an ointment effective for aches and pains in joints. The product now sold as Murmeltierfett doesn’t contain Marmots. I know this from reading labels in shop windows. 

[Gwiwer]

6 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

8 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

 

Well that rules out 90%+ of chip-shop chips. I think I’ve only encountered a properly cooked chip-shop chip once or twice in the numerous fish suppers I’ve had in the past.

Quite by chance, and remembering that Dr. SWMBO does not read this topic, she asked if I would like fish and chips for dinner tonight. 
 

Having established that our local was open and (as it usually does) offering delivery I was very happy to accept. 
 

And as has always been the case from this business the chips (sized as per my earlier description) arrived hot, crisp and perfectly cooked with no hint of excess oil. Likewise the fish was perfectly cooked and in a fresh crunchy batter. 
 

For those playing at home Mr. Cod’s of Teddington is the establishment in question.  Just a modest and perfectly average suburban chippy. 
 

While in Australia our then local was another standard suburban shopping-strip chippy. Not as good as we currently enjoy but the shop layout allowed me to see that they did indeed use two fryers for the chips. They were started at around 170C and finished at around like 180C before being drained in the basket rather than dumped straight into the hot cupboard. Aussie chippies cook everything to order meaning there is never a supply of pre-cooked chips going limp as is sometimes the case in the UK. 

One other place deserves a very honourable mention. Lil’s Chippy in the Cornish town of Pendeen is a small village shop run by the elderly Lil, her husband and a couple of helpers for many years. We both agreed that we enjoyed the best fish and chips we had ever had from there in October. Crisp, evenly cooked, chunky chips, batter which crunched without being hard and no residual grease. 
 

 

 

[Coombe Barton]

... The next couple of weeks will involve experts telling the government to close the schools in January which it will strongly reject before agreeing to it ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2020/12/28/sounds-of-the-season-30-holy-innocents/

[Tony_S]

There is a fish and chip shop not very far from where we live. Once upon a time the man who owned it was quite unpleasant. I once saw him ban someone for life as he put it for making a joke about his price increase. His fish and chips were good though. He eventually sold the business to a young couple who were really pleasant and really cleaned the place up. However they couldn’t cook well. So we stopped going. They are still in business though. I suspect the school children coming for lunch is quite a steady income. 

[BoD]

17 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

... The next couple of weeks will involve experts telling the government to close the schools in January which it will strongly reject before agreeing to it ...

... and letting the schools know the night before.

[pH]

31 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

And as has always been the case from this business the chips (sized as per my earlier description) arrived hot, crisp and perfectly cooked with no hint of excess oil. Likewise the fish was perfectly cooked and in a fresh crunchy batter. 

Ah, but do they do ‘scraps’?

[Tony_S]

23 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

... The next couple of weeks will involve experts telling the government to close the schools in January which it will strongly reject before agreeing to it ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2020/12/28/sounds-of-the-season-30-holy-innocents/

Before the return after lockdown 2 the NEU made some proposals for keeping schools open safely. This involved reducing student numbers on site by alternate week in and online teaching. This was probably ignored. Now until the week before Christmas our local comprehensive of 1600 students plus staff can have been the only local place where large numbers of people were congregating in a fairly small space. They had tried to reduce movement by making lessons longer and staggering start and end of day times but as PhilJW has commented this area has very high Covid rates. Perhaps some of the high numbers are due to positive tests of non symptomatic young people but they can still infect others. There is a programme of testing all secondary school children and parents underway that is supposed to be complete before start of term (for exam year students) I don’t know how that is going. I will ask a neighbour when I see her. 
I know keeping education going is important and I know some children are less able to access online work than others but “Keeping Our Schools Open” seems to be a political thing rather than something taking notice of those actually in the schools. All of our local schools remained open through lockdowns but something is different now. Perhaps it is this new variant Covid affecting young people more.

Tony

Edited December 28, 2020 by Tony_S

[laurenceb]

Night awl

[Gwiwer]

22 minutes ago, pH said:

Ah, but do they do ‘scraps’?

Of course

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Quite enjoyed the meerkats documentary though it was a bit tragic in places, mother nature can be a hard mistress. Other than the news and weather thats about the only program I've watched over the festival. Talking of weather, some very cold air is coming our way down the east coast and we might even get snow.

[leopardml2341]

Moff to bed; G'night.

 

If recent performance is owt to go by; see you at about 02:30......

Edited December 28, 2020 by leopardml2341

[tigerburnie]

We have rain while all around us is snaw..............oh well

G'night all

[Barry O]

Goodnight all!

Baz

[Erichill16]

Evening All,

Not done much today.Took Sydney for a short walk as his ‘family’ we’re going to take

him for a proper walk this afternoon. I spent a bit of time doing some paperwork, I know it’s a bank holiday but it’s got to be done, and it’s best done when I’ve got nothing better to do. After tea watched tv as the football match I was looking forward to listening to on the radio has been canceled due to the ‘bl00dy’ virus. 
I’m glad I didn’t watch the programme on meerkats if it was a little sad as I’ve noticed something in Sydney that has upset me greatly. I hope I’ve interpreted things incorrectly but I’ve seen it twice now.
Can’t decide what to do tomorrow, I’d like to stay in bed,  but that’s not going to happen and I should really go and give the relief pharmacist a hand and pick up some paperwork. If I did I could fetch some fish and chips home, would make a change from turkey.

On that thought I’ll bid you goodnight.

Robert

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Well the snow is still here, but there are still bits on the roof of the workshop and shed, but the snow on the ground has all gone, just a few large puddles remain now. 

 

I managed to get the tree down and everything packed away before dinner, so that left the afternoon free, so I went to the workshop and brought a few bits to the cellar so that I will be available to answer front door when Sheila is unavailable herself. I will now spend the next few days working on the turntable control panel in the cellar, hopefully I’ll get it finished by the weekend. 

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.