Early Risers.

[tigerburnie]

Morning, olddudders posts on the Song Title thread most days, GDB might be hiding from me as my rugby team gave his a damn good thrashing on Saturday (if that doesn't provoke a response nothing will lol).

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

It was sunny a few minutes ago, it now gone a bit dark and looks like it could chuckinitdarn at any minute. 

 

So, plans for today are to go to the tip and get rid of a couple of large, but broken plastic plat pots along with some other rubbish, one run should do it. Then I’ll call at Screwfix for an outdoor socket, then it’s onto the big orange DIY shed for some more pavers for the wheelbarrow run. Hopefully I’ll be back in time for my mid morning muggertea,  then I can get started on laying the pavers. It’s only 24ft long so I’m hoping a couple of days should see me finish it, but that’s if the weather holds. 

 

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

 

Brian

[Coombe Barton]

11 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

All I did was add the numbers up again and hey presto the book balanced. Didn’t amend any of the entries, just added them up again, weird.

Wondered where my TYPOMAN outfit had disappeared to

[Coombe Barton]

3 hours ago, chrisf said:

former submariner Cyril Tawney.  The first verse will suffice:

Someone I've actually heard of - and saw when he had a gig at the University

[Coombe Barton]

3 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

GDB is lurking

Hope he's not lurking under a bench where the inevitable is likely to happen.

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all,

 

Yesterday vanished in an u nusual way.  i'd just about got here n by lunch time but then departed to deal with teh mushrooms and bacon and by the time I'd got back another (human for once) member of the household had taken over the 'puter.  

 

Then the lad rang from the house where he and another GCR member were going through huge quantities of paper work and ephemera left behind by a former work colleague who died recently.  So the next two - three  hours were spent on the 'phone telling them what to do with each item as they came across it.   Very sensibly the family, including his brother (who rose to great heights in our industry) had made it clear that while they were  happy for some past work related stuff to go to 'trusted people' who would keep it private they did not want the 'wrong' stuff to get into the public domain.  So stuff was being sorted into things which would or could go to other known people, items which could 'safely' be sold, and things which should be destroyed.  In some respects some of the latter might possibly be regarded as having some relatively recent historical value but even then only to a very small number of people and what is on the public recotrd would render most of it superfluous so it will be heading for the bonfire.  Difficult decisions in a few instances but a lot iof the stuff really shouldn't ever reach a wider audience for all sorts of reasons.   When the deceased's brother arrived later and was told what had been do so far and on whose advice he was more than happy that I had been saying what should be done with various stuff.

 

Herein there is perhaps a good reminder for those of us disposed to squirrelling away documents from our past working lives - try to make sure that some guidance is there about what to do with it for those left behind.   Various items, in several cases, related to his past jobs such as various manuals for signalling equipment and long out of date operating publications are making their way to new 'safe' homes where they will be used (I'm already getting original source information out of one that is useful for a current RMweb thread and, for further example, a  manual for Webb & Thompson staff machines will be useful to somebody else while there area pile of standard circuit drawings which might be useful to somebody.

 

Little more to add - thoughts remain very much on a positive basuis for all who are ailing or on a long path to recovery particularly Gordon and Dave's dad.  havea godo day one and all and do your best to stay safe while the world around us goes more than a little barmy as lemming like behaviour becaomes all too common.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. I could hear the Muntjac deer again last night, but I've yet to see one. They are very shy creatures so thats no surprise. A package arrived this morning containing something that runs on two parallel strips of metal from E-bay, good going as I only paid for it on Friday. Best wishes to Dave's dad and Gordon, be back later.

[Barry O]

I Hate BTInternet! What a bunch of timewasters!  They have been randomly blocking some email addressed to both me and herself.  No way of finding out what is going on.. their chatline is very understaffed.. and the phone lines.. well just forget it.. I feel the call of another supplier coming along!

 

Next doo have had loads of shale delivered (at 07:30 this morning) for their front "garden".. doubt that the grass shown in their plans will grow on that.. He had to shift his van this morning as the police were busy checking it out.. not sure why but if its like the rest of the way he works they will have forgotten to insure it!

 

 

Baz

[jonny777]

Dry and sunny here in North Somerset. 

 

The BBC website recipe for LDC looks very good. I will give it a go sometime. SWMBO made ginger biscuits yesterday and I can honestly say they were the nicest ginger biscuits I have ever eaten. Quite gingery and knocked spots off anything I have bought. 

 

Have just removed another large branch from the yew tree. It is being dismantled in stages. I saw about 3/4 of the branch and leave the rest to gravity, but have to be careful where I saw the cut in order to make sure it falls in the right direction. 

 

If anyone tells you yew is slow growing, they know nothing. This 3ft high seedling from 15 years ago, is now about 20feet tall. It looked ok for a while but is now beginning to shade out half the garden. It has to go, or at least become a strange shaped bush which can be easily pruned. 

 

The church bells were tolling earlier. Apart from the clock striking, it is a sound I haven't heard for a long time. 

 

 

[Gwiwer]

Morning all,  

 

Sixty-four laps of the sun safely completed as of today.  And with perfect timing the Borismaster has re-opened the insides of pubs, restaurants and cafes allowing me to enjoy the day at least in my mind.  I shall have to wait a few more weeks yet as Dr. SWMBO insists no indoors venues until Second Jab-plus-two-weeks.  She is off for hers later today.  I get mine on Friday.  I did however receive a very welcome surprise invitation first thing this morning from Former Neighbour (Upstairs) who I didn't think even knew the date but who offered me drinks to mark the occasion at a mutually convenient time in the near future.  A lovely start to my day.  

 

And so we move to the next "irreversible" step on a path which has proven to be as slippery as it is tortuous.  Should I link to "The Long And Winding Road"?  Nah - I'll go with the obvious .....  

 

 

The House of Fun wasn't as busy as it had been last week - or at least if the numbers were the same they were smoothed by the modest increase in train services we now enjoy.  A few folk were caught out by time-changes and a few more by changes to stopping patterns.   Notably not all suburban trains stop at Earlsfield any more after having done so for some years now.  Upper Halliford becomes a one-way station with the Down platform closed for rebuilding (followed later in the year by the Up once the Down reopens) and fewer trains stop at the once race-days-only halt of Kempton Park.  Southern has some very strange stopping patterns; Sussex coastal trains which for years have served all stations now alternately skip either Fishersgate or Aldrington but stop everywhere else.  Direct trains resume to Weymouth and Exeter via Basking Shark Basingstoke (blame auto-corrupt for that one!)  but are shorter as a factor of being more frequent.  So little or no net gain in capacity.  Ah well.  I'm not the suit that makes the decisions ..... 

 

Stay well all.  Special wishes to our MIAs and those known to be on sick leave.  

 

.

Edited May 17, 2021 by Gwiwer
stuff, ya know

[Barry O]

Happy Birthday Rick!

 

Baz

[simontaylor484]

Morning all

 

@Oldddudders has been seen on the Hitachi thread.

 

Hitachi thread doesnt it sound like a Japanese motor bike.

 

Not much happening here.

 

I haven't brought much documentation with me from previous jobs. Most of it in my head i can remember rates we used to charge for things but i wouldn't divulge those. I have a copy of the Highway code and a book on the securing of loads. 

Oh and a headful of stories that i ought to write a book of. All true .

Like the guy Smurf who announced in the canteen he had been bitten by midgets.

 

This  Smurf has been mentioned before i could get a chapter out of him.

[iL Dottore]

G’Day All,

 

i had a reasonable weekend in the kitchen, working on my pie making skills. All were fairly edible, though Mrs iD thought that the Mince & Onion Pie too dry, the Fruit Pie (Raspberries and Blackberries) had the wrong sort of pastry (probably a good call by Mrs iD) and found the Steak and Kidney Pie a bit too moist (although flavours on all the pies were spot-on).

 

Below is a photograph of yesterdays simple supper: Steak and Kidney Pie with triple cooked chips and a salad.

The homemade triple-cooked chips weren’t really crunchy enough as the fryer wasn’t up to the job - despite the temperature control on the fryer being all the way up to 190°C. According to my professional temperature probe, the fryer struggled to get above 180°C. This fryer is now in a box in the cellar ready for recycling and I am looking for a new, and better, deep fat fryer (I knew it was a mistake to buy a domestic fryer)

The recipe for triple cooked chips couldn’t be simpler: you cut your chips, wash off the starch and let dry; parboil for about six minutes, drain and let dry, then when dry fry for about 5 - 6 minutes at 130°C, remove from fryer and drain on kitchen paper (you can complete the first two steps at any time that you want and complete the last step just before eating) The last step is to increase the oil temperature in the fryer to 190°C then fry the prepared chips for about 4 - 6 minutes until golden and crunchy. The net result is a crunchy exterior and a fluffy interior.

Maybe a little bit more faff than chucking a handful of ready-made frozen chips into the fryer, but the results are far, far superior, taste much much better, have no artificial additives or preservatives and, unlike the ready-made chips from a freezer bag, don’t leave a layer of scum on the fryer.

 

As you may have already noted, I used puff pastry for the steak and kidney pie, I think next time I do a steak and kidney pie of this type, I will use the somewhat more robust suet pastry. Puff pastry might be a little too delicate for a pie with such bold flavours.

 

After that rather self-indulgent and carbohydrate loaded weekend, tonight‘s dinner will be relatively virtuous: I am doing a cream of celeriac soup and a salad with croutons.

 

iD

p.s. if any ERs have any suggestions as to a decent deep fat fryer, I’m all ears.

[iL Dottore]

Gwiwer, Gosh, you’re all grown-up now...

My, how times fly. It seems only yesterday that you were a wet-behind-the-ears young whippersnapper of 50 or so

Happy Birthday, Rick...

[Barry O]

I have a lot of "knowledge in my head.. not much paperwork as places I have worked have been decidedly not happy if you take anything out of work. It does have an affect about some destinations .. like China and Russia but I have no desire to revisit Russia or go to China..

 

I have some of the reports issued during my time at JET. if anyone is into Nuclear Physics they are a fascinating (but quite dry) set of notes from setting up various diagnostics used to find out if (and then when) Fusion was achieved.. no need for that.. the cheer from the Scientists was loud enough to be heard all over Oxfordshire!

Baz

 

[Dave Hunt]

Just a quick visit to wish that young lad Rick a happy birthday.

 

Dave

[jonny777]

12 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

 

 

iD

p.s. if any ERs have any suggestions as to a decent deep fat fryer, I’m all ears.

 

Sadly not, I'm afraid. I am old school and use a chip pan filled with dripping/lard on the hob. 

[Andrew P]

Many Happy Returns YOUNG Rick.

 

Co blimey, 64, I just about remember being 64 once, it was long ago. 

 

Have a good day.

[Tony_S]

Good afternoon.

Happy birthday, Rick.

I know it is afternoon as I have been fixing a clock. Nothing skilled about my repair, I removed the quartz mechanism to measure it for a replacement and it started working again, so I reassembled it.  

otherwise not a lot happening. Aditi went to the dentist assuming it was a checkup but it was a 45 minute appointment to remove filling, do something to a cracked tooth and have a new filling. there were no other patients and Aditi and the dentist, his wife (both Indian) and receptionist were asking whether she had been educated in Delhi. She told them no, except for Kindergarten which she had  escaped from. The kindergarten nuns who were searching for her didn't find her, one of her Grandmother's servants saw her wandering round a local market. Aditi likes this story to show how much she liked travel at an early age.

 

[Coombe Barton]

48 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

p.s. if any ERs have any suggestions as to a decent deep fat fryer, I’m all ears.

Chip pan on top of the stove - a darned sight easier to clean - and a load less costly

 

[polybear]

6 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

Chip pan on top of the stove - a darned sight easier to clean - and a load less costly

 

 

Open freezer door, get frozen chips out and bung 'em in the oven.  Works for Bear, though is sure to horrify iD....

[simontaylor484]

Sorry @Gwiwer forgot to say Happy Birthday 

[The Lurker]

Happy Birthday Rick

[Tony_S]

2 hours ago, Barry O said:

randomly blocking some email addressed to both me and herself.  No way of finding out what is going on.. their chatline is very understaffed.. and the phone lines.. well just forget it.. I feel the call of another supplier coming along!

BT and other ISPs will block emails from insecure servers or ones that are spamming them. I assume they have some system that kicks in when a certain proportion of spam is detected. If you change supplier I don’t see how you can know if they behave the same too. I would suggest that if you really need these emails, set up a Gmail (or similar) account and ask the organisation to send your emails to that address. 

[Sir TophamHatt]

Well, time for a new TV.

 

Have looked and chosen a Sony OLED as I wanted something really different to my current set, so another LCD (some people call them LEDs - they're not :P) simply wouldn't have cut the mustard.

 

Boiling in the office today.

Maybe I should sit here shirtless...  then again, maybe not!