Early Risers.

[The Lurker]

No snow here in the fold on the side of the hill but it is colder than it has been; the breeze was a northerly today when we took our perambulation earlier. Shaun the Sheep is on the telly and we are doing the traditional sitting around that seems to fill time off at this time of year, particularly with the lockdown.

 

Mrs Lurker is hoping primary sctgo back; it makes her one to one support much easier. In her experience about half the kids do the online work in the lockdown; mostly this is due to parents not being able to or not being bothered to get their kids to work; the school provided print outs of work for those that claimed they had no online access or couldn’t get Google classroom to work but very little of it was picked up and done. Cynically, this makes little difference to the kids because that attitude to education suggests that they are not going to take best advantage of it. 
 

it has certainly done Elder Lurker good to go to his new secondary school for the last term, socially as well as educationally. He’ll be home working for a week at least while they sort the testing out; it will be interesting to see how he copes with that. And how I cope with supervising him while working full time. At least I am up to helping him with year 7 work if he gets stuck; at least as long as it is not arty-crafty!

 

I would guess that the new variant Covid not only transmits more easily but more easily among children because that is where the mixing is taking place in society-  at least during term time.

[Happy Hippo]

39 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

They're situated on the fields above the Jam Butty mines and next to the Broken Biscuit repair factory.

 

On another note, it appears that the Covid super spreading ski party has now done a moonlight flit from Verbier and headed for France. I hope that they have the correct attestations. I can't see the Gendarmarie  being very sympathetic.

 

Jamie

 

 

I think they should all be deattestated,  Preferably with a rusty and very blunt pair of secateurs.

 

Those with memories spans greater than a tickturd will recall it was a skier who was castigated this time last year for encouraging the spread of the virus.

Edited December 29, 2020 by Happy Hippo

[polybear]

4 hours ago, jonny777 said:

Fish and chips? I buy fillets of hake from the fish man and make my own batter. It is really just flour salt pepper and water (sparkling if I have any) with a spoonful of cornflour to lighten it up a bit. Occasionally I use beer instead of fizzy water, but can’t say I notice much taste change. 

 

Whilst on the subject of F&C, how much does your local chippie charge for medium cod & chips?  Mine is £8-70 (jeez - glad I don't like fish); a portion of chips is two quid.

Me?  It's large chip roll & saveloy; £3-70 to you, sir....

 

2 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

Snow here outs8de.

Soon to be snow, or white anyway, as I'm on with the plastering.

 

 

 

You can plaster?  Respect.....

Or are we talking just a small patch repair here?

 

[Tony_S]

Just one final black pudding post from me. Now when eaten here it is grilled or fried. However when I was young and living it the Midlands we would have black pudding sandwiches made with slices of the black pudding. I assume it is still “ready to eat” . Supermarkets seem confused about which fridge to put it in, sometimes with raw stuff and sometimes with the cooked meats. 
 

[Winslow Boy]

36 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

I think they should all be deattestated,  Preferably with a rusty and very blunt pair of secateurs.

 

Those with memories spans greater than a tickturd will recall it was a skier who was castigated this time last year for encouraging the spread of the virus.

That would impinge on their human rights but as we're now out of Euroland can't we just leave them there as punishment for stealing our fish

 

[jonny777]

23 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Whilst on the subject of F&C, how much does your local chippie charge for medium cod & chips?  Mine is £8-70 (jeez - glad I don't like fish); a portion of chips is two quid.

Me?  It's large chip roll & saveloy; £3-70 to you, sir....

 

 

 

 

Goodness, that is expensive. 
 

Here at the local chippy cod and chips is £5:80, with large cod and chips £6:85. 
 

I shall not be cooking any today as I have a pizza to consume later. 

[Winslow Boy]

Just now, jonny777 said:

Goodness, that is expensive. 
 

Here at the local chippy cod and chips is £5:80, with large cod and chips £6:85. 
 

I shall not be cooking any today as I have a pizza to consume later. 

I believe it is because PB lives somewhere 'down south' and that fish & chips is perceived as 'foreign' and therefore very heavily taxed.

[Coombe Barton]

37 minutes ago, polybear said:

You can plaster?  Respect.....

 

Plaster - sand - plaster - sand - pla...

[leopardml2341]

9 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

Plaster - sand - plaster - sand - pla...

Nah, yer want 4:3 mate

[Winslow Boy]

1 hour ago, jamie92208 said:

They're situated on the fields above the Jam Butty mines and next to the Broken Biscuit repair factory.

 

On another note, it appears that the Covid super spreading ski party has now done a moonlight flit from Verbier and headed for France. I hope that they have the correct attestations. I can't see the Gendarmarie  being very sympathetic.

 

Jamie

 

 

You've gone and done it now. He will be despatching his minions to scour the Penines in search of them now.

 

Come to think of it that might not be a bad idea as it'll leave the Strategic Cake Store unguarded.

 

Er HH I think I might have a business opportunity for you and your sidekick PB.

[Barry O]

Our local chippy does a "lunch" medium fish, chips and peas for £4.80. Normal F & C costs £6.60 and peas costs £1.30.. Why they also do Spam Fritters, Onion rings, pineapple rings, fish cakes.. 

 

and they can do GF stuff as well (separate fryer used)

 

Baz

 

With all this talk of F&C and black pudding I need a mugadecaf and a suitable piece of cake(!)

[southern42]

 

On 26/12/2020 at 11:40, The Stationmaster said:

Morning all,

snip

 I've also met Polly (Southern 42) although to my eternal shame I didn't latch on to who she was until afterwards so I also missed a possible opportunity to become acquainted with Jones The Steam.   No doubt I have forgotten somebody for which I humbly apologise and there are numerous other members of RMweb some of whom might very occasionally  visit this place and some ERs unknown to me might have been bored by my natter at the RMweb Members' Day at Didcot GWS.

 

Enjoy the rest pf your day one and all.

 

That may be entirely my fault, Mike, as I turned up at the cafe much later than everyone else.  I had donated a couple of items to Didcot's Museum and was being spoilt in there, thus I had just enough time to grab a coffee but was still a little behind the group for the RMweb tour.  But at least we know who we are and great that is, too. And of course, I met the two Bobs - GDB and 81C - as well.  Jones the Steam says to say, 'Hello,' by the way.

Over the years, it seems I have met up with quite a few RMwebbers but on ERs, Debs and Andy Mod were among the first.  At some point, I descended on the weathering lad, our young man Baz, and also came across other Warley attendees including Ian RH, Jamie92208 and Mick Newbryford.  At other events - AndyP, PeterBB, and Richard, the Happy Hippo himself.  If I have forgotten anyone, please remind my ageing braincells, they do get bit rusty away from places filled with chuffings, rumblings, whistles and horns... That said, it has always been a friendly and most enjoyable occasion.

 

Polly

[southern42]

' Afternoon all from red dragon land.

After wind, rain and snow, we are now in sunneeeeeee territory. 

 

I have been endeavouring to catch up on here between meals and coffee times, etc, but so far have only got a little way through Saturday, so having a break to let you know things went smoothly (mostly, anyway) for us in Dragon Den over Christmas...although it is still ongoing, turkey pie to be made this afternoon, for instance.

A few meddling skills called upon in the paint dept. on the Christmas tree that should have gone on the cake.  It is lit by a battery operated LED - RED - but it shone through the base with very little light on the tree!  So, paint base black, then back to white. This will need another coat in a creamier colour since the icing tends towards cream, and a bit creamier than usual - the lemon turned out to be rotten from the inside, so I substituted some juice from a clementine!

 

I also managed a post on GWRd which had been lying dormant for a few months due to summer induced ailments.  Hopefully, things will pick up on there again, especially since the family have sent me various meddling bits and pieces.  Ray is busy working on a fuddle yard for the new layout - chopped down in length to fit home rather than the exhibition hall.  If it works, it will be full st**m ahead!

 

Well, time to get cracking' on the turkey pie.

 

Fitt  and  Elfie in need of some exercise...

Be good, play safe.

Polly

Edited December 29, 2020 by southern42

[Gwiwer]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

Whilst on the subject of F&C, how much does your local chippie charge for medium cod & chips?  Mine is £8-70

£7.50 delivered for a medium whale cod and chips.  Plenty for the average Gwiwer.  Or £8.50 for a larger version of both which we have on occasions found happily feeds two of us though is below their minimum delivery order value of £10.  Cue addition of £1.00 portions of mushy peas and curry sauce   

 

So far nothing has been achieved today beyond further resting and recovery.  I didn't sleep well last night but managed to spend half the morning inspecting my eyelids on the sofa.  

 

By "nothing" I don't mean nothing.  Intermittent conversation has occurred throughout the day with Former Neighbour (Upstairs) who is with her mother in Dorset for now.  She had apologised for being "unavailable" recently which is entirely reasonable when teaching Year 1 children approaching C*******s and trying to maintain an electronic relationship with US boyfriend.  Both, it seems, are behind her.  She awaits Boris's pronouncements on when she can expect to return to the classroom.  And US boyfriend is (at least for now) ex-boyfriend after she took exception to several quite unpleasant things he allegedly called her.  We are working towards a face-to-face meeting when ever circumstances allow.  She needs a friend and an empathetic one without agenda, baggage, judgement or limit.  There is some very confidential history which she has shared with me and which needs to be aired but not with a partner, potential partner nor even a professional "listener".   She needs a friend but on her terms and in her own time.  It will happen.  When the time and place are right.  

 

Dr. SWMBO has departed for her afternoon walk.  I shall defer visiting the Great Cold Outside until tomorrow but must do so then in order to maintain the recovery process which will see me back at the House of Fun come next Monday.  I hope.  

 

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Spent the afternoon playing with testing a RC car. One slight problem with inserting the four AA batteries in the controller. The battery cover is held on by a screw that required a very small crosshead screwdriver. It must be years since I required such a screwdriver and I wasn't even sure that I possessed one. However I found a small flat screwdriver and I was able to open it and install the batteries. Unlike the one I purchased for the young lad this one the car clips into the controller to be recharged. I don't know what effect this has on battery life but they seem to require little power.

[iL Dottore]

3 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

Sorry iL Dottore its not available for export. If you purchase any off the black market make certain its correctly marked ' produce of Yorkshire'

You do realise you are addressing “Captain Cynical“ (TM) of Switzerland? The good captain does not operate on the black market. Through numerous “connections“ he “acquires“ what he needs and wants.  You’ll be surprised what sort of generous gifts one is showered with after arranging a Swiss Bank Account “for a friend“

3 hours ago, leopardml2341 said:

A bit like Henderson's Relish (for those in the know)

Dammit 2341, Now you’ve let the cat out of the bag. Soon they will all be wanting to try some. Fortunately cognoscenti such as myself have adequate stocks in well secured locations.

3 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Mention has been made of sausages, a bit of bad news all down to BREXIT:-

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/brexit-ban-british-sausage-makers-23232052#source=push

Two things: firstly I doubt that there will be any ban on taking an adequate supply of breakfast bangers with you to the continent when you cross the channel. And even if there is, you can always arrange for shipment through a helpful, neutral, third party (please PM Captain Cynical if you want to know more about special Swiss privileges for discerning customers).

 

Thinking back to the Cold War; Switzerland was a convenient, neutral, third country for the opposing factions to come together and have some discreet discussions - quietly arriving at mutually advantageous solutions (So was Sweden, but I don’t think there are any Swedish railway modellers on our forum).

 

As we move into 2021, the Cold War will be replaced by the Kanalkampf, and as a good citizen of the world, working tirelessly for world peace, Captain Cynical is very happy to “facilitate“ the movement of foodstuffs, model railway items, Swiss chocolates and the like between the UK and the Continent (and vice versa) All, of course, for a very, very modest fee.

 

iD

[leopardml2341]

1 hour ago, Barry O said:

Our local chippy does a "lunch" medium fish, chips and peas for £4.80. Normal F & C costs £6.60 and peas costs £1.30.. Why they also do Spam Fritters.................

 Are you an aficianado of that Leodian delicacy of battered mushy peas?

[New Haven Neil]

A'noon. Ish.

 

Tea? Hideous stuff.

 

Was up early doors for my diabetic eye test.  I'm diabetic BTW, not the eye.  OK ish, issue I have isn't associated with the diabetes but an earlier viral infection many moons ago - needs a second opinion, but the optician thinks it is OK but just wants to be sure.  So the rest of the morning was walking about in shades looking like One Eyed Jack.

 

It is again a beautiful crisp sunny winters day here, this shot appeared by local lad Mike Quine (lot of Q surnames here, Q would blend in) of the Lake District hills from Ramsey prom, SimonG can't be seen waving as he is just below the horizon unfortunately!  4c in the sun, lots less in the shadow.   Must have been a very long telephoto lens, its something like 24 miles.

 

 

£6.75 for regular cod n chips here, or £8.50 for large.  Portions not as large as UK norm.

Edited December 29, 2020 by New Haven Neil

[iL Dottore]

3 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

....On another note, it appears that the Covid super spreading ski party has now done a moonlight flit from Verbier and headed for France. I hope that they have the correct attestations. I can't see the Gendarmarie  being very sympathetic....

I hope the Gendarmarie is very unsympathetic. What they did was inexcusable and whilst the Swiss authorities have been studiously neutral about the matter (even to the point where a representative of the Verbier tourist board said he “understood the Brits situation“) the general feeling of the Swiss Vox Populi is very much on the lines of “hang them and quarter them“

2 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

I think they should all be deattestated,  Preferably with a rusty and very blunt pair of secateurs.

 

Those with memories spans greater than a tickturd will recall it was a skier who was castigated this time last year for encouraging the spread of the virus.

Unfortunately, it seems that the people who did the runner were rich and self entitled, so any punitive experiences they may undergo are likely to be limited to some official p1llock in the UK waving his finger at them and saying “you were very naughty! Don’t do it again“ Countries with a more robust and sensible approach to such transgressors would have probably already welded them into their little quarantine cells for the next 14 days (if not 28 days-just to make sure!)

2 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

That would impinge on their human rights but as we're now out of Euroland can't we just leave them there as punishment for stealing our fish

Sadly, although human rights legislation was first conceived as a response to the atrocities of the Nazi regime, with the hope that it would prevent any sort of re-occurrence, it has – alas - been hijacked by shifty little yuman rites shysters (aka sleaze-bag lawyers) as a relatively easy way to make money by defending the indefensible.

 

Returning to the entitled cockwombles fleeing Switzerland, they do still have to get through all the various official checks and controls at the French border. Wouldn’t it be beautifully and deliciously and wonderfully ironic (and more then fitting and appropriate) that these turds-thinking that they have gottennaway clean – get picked up at Calais and returned to Switzerland for appropriate punishment (or even better, stuck in some French jail, in somewhere like Guyana)

[Chris116]

40 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Wouldn’t it be beautifully and deliciously and wonderfully ironic (and more then fitting and appropriate) that these turds-thinking that they have gottennaway clean – get picked up at Calais and returned to Switzerland for appropriate punishment (or even better, stuck in some French jail, in somewhere like Guyana)

Hopefully in a cell that has a faulty lock meaning the door cannot be opened once they are inside.

[simontaylor484]

Devils island perhaps.

 

 

Well the snow hasnt departed yet 

Rolo the dachshund has a little cut on his front left leg caused by a bit of ice we think on his morning security patrol.

Had to ring the drs re my left leg got a locum and may have well mot have bothered. 

 

Could right eat chippy chip sausage and scraps right now

 Most of the local chippies and sandwich shops shut til new year 

[Ian Abel]

9 hours ago, leopardml2341 said:

If anyone was in any doubt about karma........

 

 

Best make sure I drive carefully

 

6 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

For those currently bereft of the stuff, this is what we call ein bißchen schnee!

By Alpine Redoubt (tm) standards, just a light dusting...

Ah yes, both a light dusting...

We got another dusting of a couple of inches overnight to add to the 8+ we already had on the ground, and more forecast.

Typical Minnesota late December/early January <sigh>

 

Nothing to report from yesterday, boring, boring... I DID manage to somehow get locked out of the client servers though and "IT" (the infamous 'have you tried turning it off and back on') have yet to reply to my email requesting help

 

Today more of the same, bill them for the inability of the IT department to respond, and folks wonder why healthcare is so expensive here

 

-19 first thing, -6 now as I watch the short-line trundle by, and -4 the expected high with threats of light snow/flurries.

 

Onward...

[Tony_S]

3 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

That would impinge on their human rights but as we're now out of Euroland can't we just leave them there as punishment for stealing our fish

 

 

I am sure you will be relieved to know that the UK is still a full member of the Council of Europe and the European Human Rights Court which is not the Same as the EU ECJ which settles disputes between EU states. When I last looked all European Countries were in the CoE except Belarus. 

[Barry O]

1 hour ago, leopardml2341 said:

 Are you an aficianado of that Leodian delicacy of battered mushy peas?

Of course I am... minted pea fritter...

Baz

[TheQ]

Afternoon Awl.

Manx along with Scottish and Irish gaelic, are Q-Celtic , Goidelic languages.

Whereas, Welsh, Cornish, Pictish, Cumbric, and Breton. Are P-Celtic Brittonic languages.

So names or words or names in Manx that begin in Q would in Cornish be likely to begin in P.

This is part of the evidence that St Patrick is of British Brittonic descent not Irish, as St Paddy would have been called St Quaddy.

 

Neither of which affects my name as that's based on a Cushitic language.

 

Mary Janes in Cromer charges £9.90 for Cod and chips, but that is sat in the restaurant, where you can also choose between house red or white wine,!!!

The takeaway price is much less but I don't know the prices.

 

One shelving unit assembled and is awaiting the glue setting, when done I'll bring it in to test it in situ,  before assembling the other one I have MDF for.

 

Several hours were spent sanding one side of the keel, then a batch of filler ( resin + colloidal silica) was carefully spread, and smoothed over. It too is now setting.

 

I'm being bullied by Ben, he wants something..

 

Time to find out what he wants..