Early Risers.

[PhilJ W]

Hello again. One of the worst hotels I have ever stayed in was on Corfu, and that was on a package holiday. It was half board but it was the same evening meal every other night, burger and chips, the burger was more than 50% fat and the chips limp and soggy. There was a swimming pool but you couldn't see the bottom because of the algae. It was a package holiday organised by Club 18-30 so no one was there for the food.

[PupCam]

2 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

Bonuses are that it uses a load less gas and you don't run out of hot water.

But have to replace the boiler every 3 or 4 years maybe (from the experiences of friends and relatives)?

 

As with everything in life, a systems engineering approach is always required (Puppers being, amongst other things, an ex-systems engineer) and the CBA is never straightforward when you look at the full context.   Now, where did I put those solar panels ......

[PupCam]

3 hours ago, polybear said:

Bear's work buddy had a hive installed;

 

One of Pupper's friends has gone OTT with Alexa.   He can't move for tripping over the blxxdy things.   

 

When having video calls (how modern!) with said friend Puppers takes great delight adding things to his shopping lists, introducing him to new genres of music and changing the colour and intensity of the room lights.   Although Puppers was most disappointed when he couldn't order a dinosaur for him

[jamie92208]

3 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Morning all from Estuary-Land. A bit nippy this morning but the sun is up and the frost has gone. My new combi boiler is a Valiant and is a great improvement on the previous boiler, heat and hot water comes on a lot quicker as well and its using a lot less gas.

Unfortunately the links have slipped and there's not much contact now. This is down to an ageing demograph and the passing away of our one French speaker. They do have a Facebook page however:-

  https://www.facebook.com/Rail-Club-de-Meaux-210497129024338/

I can see no mention of an Exhibition currently IIRC one was planned for last year but cancelled because of Covid.

 

As mentioned above, no complaints and a great improvement on its predecessor. 

 

Meaux is in the worst hotspot fot Covid, the greater Paris region. I hope they are OK.  We also like Brie de Meaux and will be buying some from the market tomorrow.

 

Grass has been cut, no more pottery hens have been seen but the real ones have given us 2 more eggs.

 

Jamie

Edited April 17, 2021 by jamie92208

[Coombe Barton]

24 minutes ago, PupCam said:

But have to replace the boiler every 3 or 4 years maybe (from the experiences of friends and relatives)?

Really does depend on how many plastic, rather than metal, bits there are in it.

Plastic is cheaper, obviously.

But son has been telling me than many of the boiler failures he sees are caused by the plastic bits failing. Repacking them often costs more than a new boiler because of the complexity of fitting those to existing installations.

Edited April 17, 2021 by Coombe Barton

[PupCam]

8 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

Really does depend on how many plastic, rather than metal, bits there are in it.

Plastic is cheaper, obviously.

But son has been telling me than many of the boiler failures he sees are caused by the plastic bits failing. Repacking them often costs more than a new boiler because of the complexity of fitting those to existing installations.

I rest my case about the "wider context" .......

 

[The Stationmaster]

G'day all,

 

Bright and sunny (most of the time) out there and the temperature has risen a bit - double figures are promised and have (just about) been achieved in the porch.  Good to hear that Dave's f dad has been getting some much needed attention and I hope it will now be onwards and upwards and that Gordon is at least in a steady condition.

 

As far as payment, or more is concerned, the strangest I have unfortunately come across was a B&B in weymouth where herself and I spent the night before going over to Cherbourg the next day with a group of work colleagues one of whom had arranged the whole adventure (he worked for Sealink at that time).  The B&B owner had pretensions and that included wearing a red cummerbund when serving breakfast  but the nasty bit was that you had to put coins in meters for things like the tv electric power and even hot water;  I duly expressed surprise when at the breakfast table that the cutlery didn't need a coin in a slot to release it.  Fortunately I forgot to return the key and duly posted it, without a stamp, after we'd returned from France.  The civic reception (yes, really) lunch in Cherbourg wasn't anything to right home about but we went on to Dinan where we found a fantastic creperie. 

 

Seeing Flavio's enthusiasm for Tom Kerridge's eateries could be well served in Marlow where he has three, plus a butcher's shop.  the last time I looked (pre-Covid) the waiting list fir a table for lunch at the hand & Flowers (his first pub) was three months.  I think The Coach (next door to Mrs Stationmaster's follicle trimmer) might be more accessible as might The Butchers shop.  So some choice and despite having four establishments  there, including a private dining room. (Brains Trust perchance??). Marlow is definitely not a Kerridge-ised in the way that Padstow has morphed into Padstein.

 

Off to watch the tv - have a good day one and all and stay safe if you're venturing out.  Covid test kits are being freely dished out in various local establishments today, the lad brought home a supply.

 

PS Condensing boiler - hot water cylinder in the airing cupboard with water heating from either the solar panels (primary choice), or the boiler (secondary choice), or (in emergency if needed) an immersion heater.

Edited April 17, 2021 by The Stationmaster

[Gwiwer]

3 hours ago, Andrew P said:

after a couple of minutes the hot goes to warm, then cold for a few seconds, and back to boiling hot

This was the beginning of the end with ours.  A heat-exchanger fault was diagnosed.  That was attended to and it worked fine for a day and no more.  It was looked at again. The fitter determined that it was "not the heat exchanger, then" and went off to write up a quote for replacement of the entire thing.  It was, in fairness, 21 years old and apparently beyond its designed service life.  

 

If I know I am using the least amount of fuel reasonably possible I am happy to have the place at a near-constant temperature though we don't want to be poached in bed overnight.  It takes much more fuel if one allows the place to cool then re-heat it (and repeat as necessary) so in theory a set temperature of around 22C and reducing to 14C overnight ought to be ideal.  According to a couple of You Tube videos relating to setting this model of thermostat.  We shall give this a go over a few days.  

 

Eco mode turns the burner off until hot water is demanded at which point the water in the system will be delivered through the tap which therefore goes cool after a few seconds.  Until the burners warm the in-flow and that reaches the outlet by which time enough water has potentially been wasted to be a concern.  It's fuel or water - which do we waste?  There wasn't a choice of boiler.  The landlord determines what we get and it was a combi for a combi.  There is nowhere here to have a storage / immersion heater nor airing cupboard.  

 

In other news it's a gloriously sunny day Upon the Hill of Strawberries.  The Chairman of the Resident's Association just paid us a respectfully-distanced visit in passing and has been provided with the agent's email address in order to take up the matter of the back fence (only held up by dead ivy and a prayer) and the litter in the car park on the other side of it (which should be cleared by our handyman paid for within the service charge).  We'll see if anything changes.  

 

Dr. SWMBO noted a few Union Jacks / Flags flying on her morning walk though none was at half-mast.  In fairness it's quite hard to half-mast a flag draped in your front windows as a curtain.  

 

A package has arrived from Camborne.  It was only ordered yesterday so the Express Pigeon must be in service.  

[Gwiwer]

8 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

As far as payment, or more is concerned, the strangest I have unfortunately come across was a B&B in weymouth

It sometimes bemused non-locals when I was a Cornish bus driver that we exchanged farm produce for travel at times.  It wasn't at all unknown to be hailed at the farm gate and offered a bag of carrots or a couple of caulflowers in exchange for a ride into town.  It was also accepted that we sometimes stopped at farm gates or produce stalls and purchased our own supplies - I sometimes ended the shift with a 50lb sack of spuds, purchased somewhere during the day, which had to be offloaded and carried to the car.  

 

One more than one occasion I was in charge of the morning bus out to Mousehole which passed through Newlyn on its way.  If the tide was right and the catch was good a couple of the local fishermen would hop aboard after a night at sea and proffer a plastic bag.  This was accepted as payment knowing the contents would be freshly caught and good for that night's meal.  The best I got on that run was a dozen mackerel some of which were shared among friends.  

[JohnDMJ]

Some interesting developments since I was last here!

 

5 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Some wax rhapsodic about Wetherspoons, but I’ve always found their offerings to be rather poor, most of the menu being of the “industrial food nuked in a microwave” category.

 

For me, the best menu change JDW ever made was dropping the Sunday Roast! To this day, I am unable to understand how they managed to serve soggy carrots and broccoli!

 

IMHO, the likes of carrots, broccoli, cabbage and, dare I mention, Brussel Sprouts should be served after an introduction to heat lasting no more then 5 minutes! For these and other similar veg., it is more than sufficient to put them into a suitable pan, turn on the cooking device and 'introduce' the veg. to the heat from at least 12" distance! Any closer and they run the risk of being over cooked!

 

3 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Those of you who have read my previous posts with something akin to mild curiosity, will remember that I have alluded to the poor quality of the university graduates that I have interviewed since about 2010. The article I read today, neatly illustrates what is going on in your universities. https://thecritic.co.uk/is-grammar-elitist/

 

The use of English is deteriorating rapidly. Even within this parish, the distinction between your, you're, yaw, and yore along with their, they're and there seems to be often absent.

 

What I would describe as 'Quality Control' also seems often to be lacking; the space bar, for example, is often replaced by any one from 'XCVBNM,'! Close, but no cigar!

 

31 minutes ago, PupCam said:

 

One of Pupper's friends has gone OTT with Alexa.   He can't move for tripping over the blxxdy things.   

 

 

What's this Alexa thing?

 

On boilers, I have a Worcester Combi which, a few months ago, gave me an error code to diagnose. The technician arrived the following day and, eventually, concluded that the condensate trap was full - of sand!. (It seems that the components of the boiler are sand-blasted after casting but the residue sand is rarely washed off!) Technician washed the trap out and the boiler is now back to normal. All this (call-out and more than an hour  on site with no 'I just need to go and get these bits') for less than £70; I've added him to my phonebook!

 

Regarding thermostats, I have a Honeywell CM907 which allows me to set 6 temperatures for each day of the week. It also has a 'holiday' (depicted on the LCD screen as a suitcase) mode allowing me to ensure that the house does not freeze whilst I am away over the December break, along with a 'stay at home' mode (depicted by a rocking chair graphic) which, basically, sets it to the Sunday settings for the duration specified.

 

Without going to hive, I note elsewhere that a Salus thermostat has been mentioned, can any of you recommend an alternative thermostat with all of the features of the CM907 but with smartphone access, please?

[jamie92208]

Sitting watching the military assembling at Windsor. There has just been a section featuring the Garrison Sgt Major. When my middle son was in the Colstreams, that personage was apparently  known as 'god'.

 

Jamie

[BSW01]

Good afternoon everyone 

 

Very late on parade today, due in part to breakfast in bed and then getting out of bed late. 

 

I then went straight outside and made a start filling the path trench with rubble. This has been made by breaking up some old lumps of concrete and old bit I'd stone and bricks etc. I've been popping in and out during breaks but knocked off early and had a late dinner. 

 

We never travelled for work other than on training courses, all meals and rooms were paid for but not drinks. On one occasion, I was travelling to Derby in the evening, so had tea at home and drove later to miss the rush hour. Most of my colleagues had arrived in time for that evenings meal, I met up with them later at the bar. We all used to charge drinks to our room and settle up at the end of our stay. On thus occasion, my drinks bill matched that of the first nights meal, so I wasn't charged at all, one of my oppo's was charged over £30.

 

Stay safe, stay sane, enjoy whatever you have planned for the rest of the day, back later. 

 

Brian 

[The White Rabbit]

Afternoon all,

 

I've missed much of the last week I'm afraid, urgent paperwork has been filling the evenings. But commiserations to Dave H, positive thoughts to him and father, also to Gordon and any other ERs in bad times. Sorry if I've missed others' troubles, triumphs or news. 

 

Much of the blame for the last week is down to starting the probate process, it's got me down rather badly. I'm not unaccustomed to official forms but I found the process for probate is on a different level. When many of those completing it are feeling upset and vulnerable, it's a particularly bad time to be unsympathetic or unnecessarily complex when asking for information. I managed it without any harm other than getting cross and having three late nights but wondered several times how many others would be pushed into depression or even suicide. It seemed like it was deliberately designed to provoke people into saying * it and going to a solicitor to ask them to complete it. Generating more business for them. Very unimpressed. 

 

I was also unimpressed by the energy assessor for the house. Just how can you assess a house's energy efficiency when you don't look in the loft? He obviously tried - and broke the loft hatch's catch - but did not get in. I managed it this morning in two minutes. I still got his bill though. Another jobs programme for muppets, courtesy of those who rule us? Words will be had... 

 

More happily, it's a fine sunny day outside after a chilly week. Plenty of signs of life, both masked and unmasked. Many of the latter not social distancing, so guess what will happen in a few weeks' time? It's not rocket science. I know we're all fed up with the restrictions but they are there for a reason. 

 

Plenty of birds hopping about in the garden. We have a new bird-bath - nothing fancy, just a large plant-pot saucer - and yesterday I saw the blackbird had a prolonged splash about for a couple of minutes, followed by several minutes preening on a trellis. The bird equivalent of a 'Hollywood shower'? The bluetits and finches are active too, though they use another bath, smaller and with some pebbles in to perch on. 

 

I've not much experience of expenses or travelling on work. Barring three or four short train trips to another office, I think the last time was some years ago when working for a certain model railway company. All very civilised and reasonable, presented the paperwork requested, expenses paid promptly, never gave it any further thought. Being hassle free helps the blood pressure but doesn't add to your fund of bar-stories. 

 

A few minutes silence/contemplation for HRH. A little G-word done. Some more due. However, a mid-afternoon nap sounds very tempting... 

[Winslow Boy]

6 hours ago, polybear said:

 

I worked with a Ferranti Radar guy from Edinburgh (IIRC they became GEC, and are now Leonardo) - he told me (in the GEC days I think) that they wouldn't pay for ANY drinks with a meal - not even a soft drink)

 

 

Negatives include no hot water cyclinder - so no option of an immersion heater for when the combi goes wrong....

Also only last approximately 8 - 10 years after which you have to fork out for another - oh no sorry forgot no more being installed after 2035 I think so it would have to be heat exchanger or some other equivalent expensive box of tricks. Something tells me jumpers are going to become very popular.

[PupCam]

2 hours ago, JohnDMJ said:

What's this Alexa thing?

 Extremely irritating ......    But to answer the question;

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/b/?ie=UTF8&node=14526211031&tag=hydrukspg-21&ref=pd_sl_9o6br60icu_e

[JohnDMJ]

11 minutes ago, PupCam said:

 Extremely irritating ......    But to answer the question;

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/b/?ie=UTF8&node=14526211031&tag=hydrukspg-21&ref=pd_sl_9o6br60icu_e

 

Thanks!

 

My question was very much tongue-in-cheek; alexa will never enter this household!

Edited April 17, 2021 by JohnDMJ

[tigerburnie]

I would like to buy a new car that does not have a tv screen for a dashboard, I don't want sat nav, though having the phone work hands free through the radio is handy, virtually impossible, when I suggested an analogue speedo, the guy had no idea what I was talking about. 

[PupCam]

33 minutes ago, JohnDMJ said:

My question was very much tongue-in-cheek; alexa will never enter this household!

So that's at least two* households then, the nosey bxtch!

 

Technically, she has snuck into the Pupper's household  via the Amazon Firestick necessary to make a Samsung Smart television Smart again but she is never engaged

[JohnDMJ]

12 minutes ago, PupCam said:

So that's at least two* households then, the nosey bxtch!

 

Technically, she has snuck into the Pupper's household  via the Amazon Firestick necessary to make a Samsung Smart television Smart again but she is never engaged

 

As far as I am aware, I only have one amazon intrusion in the shape of my ring doorbell. I aim to keep it so!

 

Alexa, bixby and any other similar such tools are NOT welcome here!

Edited April 17, 2021 by JohnDMJ

[simontaylor484]

2 minutes ago, tigerburnie said:

I would like to buy a new car that does not have a tv screen for a dashboard, I don't want sat nav, though having the phone work hands free through the radio is handy, virtually impossible, when I suggested an analogue speedo, the guy had no idea what I was talking about. 

You remind me of my Grandad he hated all these modern gadgets in cars even a radio until his last car that would have cost to delete it. 

More to go wrong was his reasoning.

 

Watched most of the funeral this afternoon a good send off to a great man. The Armed Forces did him proud as ever.

 

I felt sorry for the bearer party carrying the coffin up the steps i would hate to think of the weight of the oak and lead coffin.

At least they had dry calm weather when we were in the Dominican republic i watched some of tge ceremonial for Sen Mc Cain there was a plastic cover over his casket as they removed it from the capitol building wind blew one of the corners up covering the head of one of the bearer parties heads. That Serviceman did not flinch nor did the cover get removed until the casket went into the hearse.

[TheQ]

Polybear is correct in that GEC wouldn't pay for soft drink with a meal, some hotels would lose that by charging for a higher cost meal than I'd had. We had a mini bus in Saudi, we couldn't carry BAE employees who worked in the same bay as us, as we weren't insured for carrying anyone but an employee. ( Until we got taken over by Bae).

 

We have too have a vailient combi boiler, it replaced the traditional boiler we had and cut the gas bills by about 1/3 . However, after about ten years it was very nearly condemned by vailient, as so much was wrong. We are in a very high chalk area.

Vailient engineer ? Yep being a tanked lpg system there are very few engineers round here that will touch it. Vailient if you go online have their own travelling engineers working on a fixed price for all repairs except a write off...

The combi boiler meant a huge chunk of a bed room became available, that bed room originally was a bed room through which you accessed a bathroom.  Unfortunately the new boiler is a lot further away from the new bathroom (1984)  than the old tank, so there is a fair bit of cold water to go through first.

 

The Regimental Sergeant Major was God, as were the equivalent RAF Station Warrant Officer's. No one except a Station Commander or equivalent would go against a RSM / SWO.

True RAF SWOs no longer exist, the job was done way with, it's now an honorary post for the most senior Warrant officer on station.

 

Grammar / spelling as mentioned by IL Dottore, we had a very clever engineer out in Saudi, who was never going to be promoted.. Why? Because he was of that generation who went through school  during the period of " Don't teach them about spelling,  they'll just look at words an understand" . Hence his spelling and grammar were carp. He'd never have been able to write the three different monthly reports I had to do.

 

And to today,

Ben did not appreciate the Funeral, whistles and bagpipes had him running for his safety cage.

 

Shelves made painted now drying..

Boat lifted, keel now sitting partly under the boat. It slid off the trolley wrongly, requiring a lot of levering to where I wanted it.

The boat was clean and spotless when I packed it away six months away, now it's very dirty. How did that happen under the covers?. Tomorrow it may get a clean.

 

I measured the sheave position at the top of the mast with a micrometer. The mast being obsolete, the wheel is not available from the current owners of the company. I've eventually found a supplier in Hong Kong with something the right size and not too expensive.

 

Ben enjoyed his long patrol,  it was noticeable some big tracked machinery had been around, more ditches have been cleared out.

I'm about to head for bed to straighten my back ... Taking a glass of Port with me..

 

Oh Alexa is on our tablet computers, she's never been turned on by me, which is not a surprise...

 

Edited April 17, 2021 by TheQ

[jonny777]

Very very late visit from North Somerset, where it has been sunny all day. 

 

Yesterday was advised that Dad's care home had called out the GP. This was because Dad was not eating anything and kept falling asleep. The Doc couldn't find anything obviously wrong, so the staff put him to bed and hoped he would be more comfortable there rather than sitting in his wheelchair. 

 

I spent a rather fretful night wondering if I was going to get another phone call, or a barrage of text messages from my brother when I woke up this morning. 

 

However, the news this morning was that he had a bit of breakfast and is a little less sleepy today. Fingers crossed. 

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. I didn't watch the funeral this afternoon, the TV went on the blink. I switched on and all that came on the screen was 'Scanning don't power off.'  and there was a moving bar going across the screen going from 0 to 100%. until it reached 100 but then it started again! The only way to stop it was to unplug it. After several attempts at switching it off and then on it was still the same so I went out to look at getting a replacement  TV. I didn't see anything I fancied so I came home and tried again and it worked perfectly. I'll have to keep an eye on it but fingers crossed.

23 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

Sitting watching the military assembling at Windsor. There has just been a section featuring the Garrison Sgt Major. When my middle son was in the Coldstreams, that personage was apparently  known as 'god'.

 

Jamie

That reminded me of a former colleague, Len Williams. He signed up for army service in the late twenties and would normally have left the service about 1940. But by then the war was on and he was asked to stay on for the duration. When he left the army it was as a RSM in a guards regiment. He then joined the police and rose to sergeant and when he retired from the police he then joined the council as a security officer/bailiff. He lived on till his late 90's so he certainly got his moneys worth out of the three pensions. He always used to walk about with his back ramrod straight and someone once quipped that he must put a snooker cue down his collar every morning.

Edited April 18, 2021 by PhilJ W

[BSW01]

1 hour ago, PupCam said:

So that's at least two* households then, the nosey bxtch!

 

Technically, she has snuck into the Pupper's household  via the Amazon Firestick necessary to make a Samsung Smart television Smart again but she is never engaged

Make that 3!

[iL Dottore]

Evening all,

 

Just dashing by.
 

By coincidence, an acquaintance sent me the following this afternoon. I thought you might enjoy it:

 

> Spelling and grammar: the difference between “knowing your sh1t” and “knowing you’re sh1t”<

Scatalogically amusing, I thought.