Early Risers.

[Winslow Boy]

It is interesting as pupcam has already stated to learn about what people believe might have been. Just like if someone turned left rather than right at some crucial point in history. There are quite a few authors who have proposed alternative histories. In deed I once remember reading about what would have happened if America had lost its war of independence and Britain had as a result become a commonwealth. Possibly no world wars?

 

Many thanks to Chris F re the custard powder scarcity. I suspect that Bird's - not the feathered variety before you ask, may have something to do with it as there product seems to now dominate. It is unfortunately too sweet for my tastes. I will continue my search.

 

So on that note I bid you good night and hope that tomorrow brings a change in fortune for my fellow ER's.

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[The Stationmaster]

4 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I read with some amusement a newspaper article shared by Chris Packham on Twitter about how the inhabitants and tourists of Henley are being terrorised by giant birds. There was a picture of a toddler with a scratched hand as evidence. I did think our local  ER representative probably would have agreed with Mr Packham’s thoughts on the article. 

As I read neither twitter nor Packham I don't know what he said but the local press is well and truly stirred up by some anti-kite characters.  Having seen the claws of a red L kite fairly close up and having actually had a slightly smaller raptor land on my hand when i was wearing a leather gauntlet i would have thought the child would have been more likely to have had some real wounds and not just scratches of a kite had done the deed.  This week some woman has moaned in an hysterical diatribe to the paper that a kite took a biscuit out of her hand.  Simple fact is that kites aren't interested in biscuits, not their thing at all although some will take large pieces of bread (put out for smaller birds) if they are really hungry.

 

This hawk - sitting on my hand - is a lot smaller than a kite but still had some pretty effective claws although his real interest was in eating the mouse he had taken from between my fingers without harming me at all.  He was after what was between my fingers and not the fingers

 

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Well, apart from watering the plants this morning and late this afternoon, once again I’ve spent the day the rest of the day in the cellar, but things are now progressing at a quickening rate. The last 2 sheets of plasterboard that I had left have been cut and fitted, apart from the 2 thin strips which I didn’t have time to fit. These are for the narrow strip of wall on the other side of the inner door. They have been cut ready and test fitted, but will be fitted permanently tomorrow. I also think that there are enough decent sized offcuts to do the front of the chimney breast. So I’ll check these and measure them up tomorrow and if there is enough they will be cut and fitted too. I’ll then take some photos of the current state of the cellar when I’ve fitted these and post them tomorrow evening. At this point, all I have left to do is one complete wall, which will need just 3 sheets to complete.

 

After tea this evening, we settled down on the sofa, opened a bottle of Malbec and watched a couple of films. The first was ‘My Week With Marilyn’ which was very good cast and well acted. We then watched ‘Manchester By The Sea’ again another good cast and also well acted. We both thoroughly enjoyed them and would recommend them.

Edited June 5, 2021 by BSW01

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[The Stationmaster]

4 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

It wasn't to fight alongside the French that Britain entered the Great War. It was to defend Belgium which Britain had agreed to by treaty. In fact if one French soldier had set foot on Belgian territory he would have found himself facing British soldiers. It wasn't until later in the war that French soldiers were on any Belgian territory and then only under special circumstances. If Britain had stayed out of the war it probably have developed as you described but other factors would make it a very different society. The development of our democracy for one thing. One result of the war was female emancipation. Would this have happened in 1919? probably not (though it was bound to come but may have taken longer). There was also technical developments such as aircraft that were forced forward by war. War is also one way of keeping the human race in check. If all those young men hadn't died and carried on to produce offspring what would the world population be now? 

Various formations of the French 5th army was in Belgium by mid August 1914and were first engaged by German forces on 21 August in the vicinity of Charleroi.  Various French units were also deployed to the west of the BEF to reinforce Belgan forces and were involved in various in battles in Belgium, including First Ypres in 1914 and into the winter

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[iL Dottore]

19 hours ago, polybear said:

....Bear understands all too well just how significant this must be for you - Momma Bear had C. of the Oesoph. so I got to see first hand the effects, albeit (I suspect) a much more severe example.  I'll leave it at that....

I’m really sorry to learn that about Momma Bear, it must really have been very rough on a young bear to see that happen to a loved one.  

 

Perhaps one of the nastiest aspects of advanced malignancy is how the patient’s situation impacts on their loved ones. Modern medicine can do an awful lot to keep a patient in end-stage cancer comfortable, but it can’t help the patient’s loved ones deal with seeing the patient being hollowed out by the disease.

Since I started in oncology (my first oncology experience was in 1978 and then pretty much full time since 1995) many types of cancer have gone from being death sentences to being eminently treatable and curable if caught early enough.  Sadly, there are still a few cancers for which there are no adequate treatments.  Although, as our knowledge and understanding of the various types of cancer cells and their cellular mechanisms and pathways becomes better, the closer we get to having treatments for currently untreatable malignancies. But it’s a long slog, one step at a time.

 

To use a military analogy: the war against cancer is a war of attrition, not a Blitzkrieg!

Edited June 6, 2021 by iL Dottore
Typo

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all

 

I am too easily distracted in my old age.  Aspirations of better things, such as ironing and the G word, were displaced by Channel 4’s streaming facility.  There I was looking for and found “Cucumber”, another drama by Russell T Davies.  Absorbing as I knew it would be, I did not expect it to occupy me for over eight hours.  It did, though, and my light salad lunch had to wait until 5.30 pm.  What the weather was like I have no idea, but it was probably ideal for the tasks that still await my attention, both in the jungle and at the ironing board.

 

Today’s lunch, at whatever hour distractions permit, will be gammon steak.  This is quick and easy.  Sharing those properties is the nominated dessert, frozen Jaffa cake.  Its existence came as a surprise to one more familiar with the way that Jaffa cakes are normally presented.  I commend it to the House!  As I type this there is evidence of it being a slow news day.  On BBC Breakfast the presenters are wittering about railway lost property, comprising a monkey discovered at Cambuslang station.  It’s what makes Britain great, I tell you.

Best wishes to all, especially all the sick and missing.

 

Chris

[iL Dottore]

10 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

It wasn't to fight alongside the French that Britain entered the Great War. It was to defend Belgium which Britain had agreed to by treaty...

Thanks for jogging my memory, Phil. I had overlooked that (although, presumably, professional historians who know this period of history inside out would have not overlooked “Plucky Belgium“ [as the tabloids put it back then] when forming the contention that Britain could’ve stayed out of the First World War).  However, now that you have reminded me about the violation of Belgium’s neutrality as being a major reason for Britain entering into the First World War, for the life of me I can’t remember why Britain signed such a treaty with Belgium in the first place. I vaguely recall it being one of the consequences of defeating Napoleon.

10 hours ago, polybear said:

...Also, if Germany had  won WW1 they may well have gone on to think "Well, we did alright last time so let's have a crack at another country and see what else we can get...."

An interesting thought, although with the continent effectively being under control of Berlin (and I think that a German dominated continent would have eventually morphed into an EU like structure)  Imperial Germany would have probably looked to Africa (expanding its “interests“ beyond Namibia) and also to the Far East – competing with Britain to create a large empire.

14 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

....BTW for those who are interested in such things a fascinating fact thing about the Great War was that its result brought the British Empire to its greatest ever physical extent while it probably gave the landed aristocracy more of a boost than the loss of its sons might suggest.  Another often overlooked fact is that a very large percentage of British loans to other nations during that war have never been repaid. [my emphasis]

 

Have a good day everybody and stay safe

Now here’s a thought: given that post pandemic the UK could do with a cash injection, what about calling in some of the IOUs? After all, the Americans didn’t cut Britain any slack post WWII after UK had spent so much men, resources and treasure keeping the Nazi Regime at bay while the Americans tooled up for an industrial war... I wouldn’t be surprised that, after totalling up the owed monies and adding compound interest on top, calling in these IOUs could be quite advantageous  for the UK.

9 hours ago, The White Rabbit said:

....Sadly, few decision makers had the necessary knowledge of modern warfare to advise this was a very bad (and very expensive) idea. .....Given time, another option may have been found. But the events of 1914's summer didn't give many people time to think at length....

Wouldn’t this be the political equivalent of that criticism made against the generals preparing for WWII, that they were preparing for a future war by re-fighting the previous one?

With the benefit of hindsight, it was clear that the red flags warning against the devastation of industrialised warfare were there (the American Civil War, the Boer War, the introduction of the Gatling Gun et cetera). Very, very few politicians are both prescient and erudite enough to foresee the likely outcome of action (or, for that matter, inaction), Churchill and his early 30s warnings about the rise of the Nazi state being one of the few that were.

9 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

With the exception of the Soviet Union during WW2 it is remarkable how little the terrible cost of both world wars did to restrain global population growth......What is quite dramatic is the sustained increased growth rate after 1950. It makes me wonder just how much difference medicine, particularly the introduction of antibiotics, made to population growth....

9 hours ago, Mark Saunders said:

Or is it the number that survived due to the medical advances but the habit of producing children did not!

Whilst I agree that modern medicine has done much to improve people’s lives, I would argue that better hygiene, sanitation and nutrition has been behind the post 50’s population growth. Over the centuries high infant mortality has meant that having a lot of children was the only guarantee of having any survive to young adulthood, removing the need for large families (i.e. removing infant mortality by better hygiene, sanitation and nutrition) without removing the societal impulse for large families, is a recipe for unbridled population growth (interestingly, rabbits breed like, well, rabbits because of the high mortality from predation - at least in a balanced ecosystem).

This sort of change in environment without a change in underlying behaviour can often have quite interesting consequences. Quite a while ago (60s, 70s?) Glasgow was known as the “Heart Attack Capital of Europe” which was attributed to diet. Yet the Glaswegian diet hadn’t changed since the heyday of shipbuilding. What had changed was the environment: no unheated tenements, no hard physical labour, no walking everywhere etc., etc (and, yes, I know I’m simplifying).  Small things have large consequences (certainly they do if you believe in Chaos Theory).

 

Anyway, I’m off to bring the London Underground to a crashing halt by having a second cup of coffee (Chaos Theory again!)

 

Enjoy Sunday

Edited June 6, 2021 by iL Dottore
Typo

[Andrew P]

Damp ish but not real rain, and no wind, (the weather here abouts, not me) so it looks like the Car may get more exercise than me this morning.

 

Great time in the Garden with our Visiting family yesterday, and other than that a quiet day was had.

 

Chocolate cake had been purchased in readiness for the said visitors, but much was left over, now this is NOT going to help me diet, but sometimes sacrifices have to be made to help the Good Lady dispose of it.

 

Have a good day one and all and stay safe and well.

[Andrew P]

It was good to see Chris,  @chrisf on here this morning after the reports of the attempted murder in Bedford yesterday. https://news.sky.com/story/bedford-man-repeatedly-stabbed-while-sitting-in-his-car-12325851

 

Not seen Pete, @trisonic or Andy @andyram, or Ian @Oldddudders or Bob @grandadbob and  a few others, on here again of late, I hope they are all well.

[Ref44]

11 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Could alterations and aids in your present house be an alternative perhaps?  The SWMBO of Bear's buddy next door is an Occupational Therapist, and I believe this involves assessing people in their homes with a view to such alterations etc.  Is a week long enough - perhaps a little longer may see benefits?  In any case I hope it works out for you both.

 

 

Also, if Germany had  won WW1 they may well have gone on to think "Well, we did alright last time so let's have a crack at another country and see what else we can get...."

 

It was discussed earlier when she went into hospital. The layout of the house makes a lift (a stair lift wouldn't be safe given lack of coordination) impractical. We also need to consider that a wheelchair is likely to be needed at some time in the future. Downsizing with relaese of funds for bespoke alterations if needed is the best way forward.

[pH]

41 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Now here’s a thought: given that post pandemic the UK could do with a cash injection, what about calling in some of the IOUs? After all, the Americans didn’t cut Britain any slack post WWII ...

What could the UK do to compel repayment? I’m reading a very interesting book: 

 

https://www.amazon.ca/Britain-Alone-Path-Suez-Brexit/dp/0571341772

 

which makes it clear that the US could pressure the UK in several ways, few (if any) of which would appear to be available now to the UK.

[chrisf]

23 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

 

Any possibility of a link? 

 

I am flattered that you think me clever enough to make one.  The best I can do is offer some directions:

 

In YouTube, select 'search' and enter 'EM Gauge Society'.  There you should find several videos.  Select 'Lecture 4 - first generation dmus' and prepare to be captivated for the next 50 minutes.

 

Chris

[Andrew P]

Turned out nice again!

 

Well no, but at least it was dry, and I've convinced my self that the walk for the paper did my back some good, well it does feel a little less fragile.

[jamie92208]

Good moaning, editor cleared.  Not brilliant as I've just discovered that I've been a potential victim of online fraud. I got an email purporting to be from DHL on Friday evening, asking me to pay, what looked like a customs charge. We assumed it was for a fathers day gift. I entered my bank details, then smelt a rat. However there have now been 4 attempted transactions. Fortunately  my french bank has a system whereby the send me a code via a text to authorise any new payees.  I didn't enter any of these codes and have just rung the banks security line. I was quite pleased that I managed to do the majority of the conversation  in French.  The card  has now been stopped and a new one is on the way.  

 

Anyway it's sunny and warm and we are off to the market soon.  It will be nice to sit and have a coffee with friends.  Yesterday the hens were allowed out into a larger open air area that I've fenced off. They seemed to enjoy the freedom and 4 eggs were forthcoming, that's one each.  I did announce on Farcebook that Cluckingham Palace has now got a garden.

 

Thoughts with those that need them, @Ref44 I don't envy you. We had to get 38 yrs worth of accumulated detritus out of our loft and it took 2 skips and several tip runs, that's before I started on my muddling room and the garage.  I wish you luck.

 

Jamie

[polybear]

9 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

I don’t want to get involved in the ‘great British inventions debate’.......but,

most of the items, Concord, the Harriers, Centurion tank, Inter City 125 and the hovercraft are either mainly out of service and 50 years old. Think I’d better get my coat, tin hat and run!

 

 

Bear can recall an instance where the British Government were not prepared to fund the development of British inventions, but thought them worthy enough to slap an "Official Secrets Act" sticker on them to stop the inventor going overseas with the idea.

 

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

Now here’s a thought: given that post pandemic the UK could do with a cash injection, what about calling in some of the IOUs?

 

Most definitely without getting into the rights and wrongs of the Gov. policy change to overseas aid funding, presumably the current financial sh1t the UK is faced with would mean that any funding would mean borrowing money only to immediately give it away again - so the final bill would actually be final bill+interest?

 

In other news:

A late start for Bear; I watched "Escape from Sobibor" for the nth time yesterday, meaning bed-e-buys was a little later than usual.  Added to that Bear does have a slight loss of Tigger Bounce today, no doubt due to being darted yesterday - fortunately the loss doesn't equate to being in the "feeling rough" camp (and hopefully it'll stay that way too).

Painting will feature today, namely the lower edges of decorative end panels.  That's not too energetic, though the two tall panels are standing vertical (on the edge that needs to be painted) and will need to be manoeuvred thru' 90 degrees accordingly - not easy cos' (a) they're nearly as tall as the room, (b) bl00dy heavy, and (c) has to be done without whacking the panel or anything else in the kitchen.

Apart from that, Bear has some stuff to sort thru' (from buddy next door) before it goes to the charity warehouse - is it ok/squeaky clean/working etc.?  There are also four tomato plants waiting to go into larger pots.....

[leopardml2341]

Mornin'

 

Back to South Derbyshire grey' with distinct wetness

 

That means today's job list will have to be re-imagined, and no doubt still not completed.

 

As this particular leopard is feeling more than a mite fed up, I'll just wish all well for today and hopefully my mood will have improved enough for me to look back in later.

Edited June 6, 2021 by leopardml2341

[Dave Hunt]

Visited Dad in the care home yesterday and was pleased to hear that he had managed to walk about 25 yards in stages with a Zimmer frame, which is a quantum improvement in about four weeks. He is now able to get in and out of bed unaided and take himself to the bathroom but is still not able to stand without using the frame. Thus the concern is that he isn't yet strong enough to ensure that another fall wouldn't be likely but the way he is going gives hope that in a few weeks' time he could be ready to go back home. And all this, or at least a lot of it, has happened due to the nice lady in social services who went in to bat for us. Thankfully there are those like her out there.

 

We are waiting to see what will happen on June 21st as we are supposed to be going to the RAF club in London four days later for a Squadron reunion dinner providing the easing of restrictions goes ahead. It will be the first social occasion outside the family we have attended for eighteen months so we're hoping it doesn't get cancelled.

 

Dave

[JohnDMJ]

Good Morning, although whilst the latter is, undoubtedly true, there is some much over the former!

 

Introducing the strimmer to the back garden is planned at some stage today although having seen @Andrew P's post, I fear my opportunity is diminishing.

 

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Thanks for jogging my memory, Phil. I had overlooked that (although, presumably, professional historians who know this period of history inside out would have not overlooked “Plucky Belgium“ [as the tabloids put it back then] when forming the contention that Britain could’ve stayed out of the First World War).  However, now that you have reminded me about the violation of Belgium’s neutrality as being a major reason for Britain entering into the First World War, for the life of me I can’t remember why Britain signed such a treaty with Belgium in the first place.

 

I recall a GRJ  trip to Brugge with a local tour guide. He told us that the second (preferred) language of Belgium is English! This, apparently, stems from the centuries old wool trade between Belgium and England!

 

1 hour ago, chrisf said:

I am flattered that you think me clever enough to make one.  The best I can do is offer some directions:

 

In YouTube, select 'search' and enter 'EM Gauge Society'.  There you should find several videos.  Select 'Lecture 4 - first generation dmus' and prepare to be captivated for the next 50 minutes.

 

Chris

 

How's about this:

 

 

Happy Sunday!

Edited June 6, 2021 by JohnDMJ

[southern42]

1 hour ago, chrisf said:

I am flattered that you think me clever enough to make one.  The best I can do is offer some directions:

 

In YouTube, select 'search' and enter 'EM Gauge Society'.  There you should find several videos.  Select 'Lecture 4 - first generation dmus' and prepare to be captivated for the next 50 minutes.

 

Chris

 

Thanks for the link, Chris.  Despite my leanings towards steam since days too long ago to remember, as a proud owner of the 117, 121, 122, 128, and GWR railcars, and former commuter on some (the grown up version not the model!), I found this additionally informative and highly enjoyable - and excellent material for accompanying this morning's breakfast.

 

 

Edited June 6, 2021 by southern42

[polybear]

Bear started preparations for painting, but in a moment of madness decided that trimming the top off the last remaining tall end panel would be a Good Idea.  And it was - just in time too, as spots of rain started landing on proceedings just as I was packing away.  Job done

Now for painting....

[southern42]

' morning all from red dragon land.

Currently sunny but large covering of darkish colour clouds so the yellow thing in the sky looks likely to disappear sometime soon. I knew mentioning the G word to Ray this morning was a mistake!

 

Feeling a bit washed out so I am having to give the CVR a miss today - so no playing t***ns today.  Unfortunately, I ate an egg a few days ago which had a slightly stronger taste than usual - but since I have noticed that some eggs do taste different from others, even from the same batch, I stupidly ignored it!  It must have been a bad 'un because an upset stomach was in pursuit afterwards but fortunately not debilitating - I consider myself lucky to have got away with it mildly, this time, with just a 24hr fast!  Nonetheless, I am taking each day cautiously.

 

Some gloss varnishing to do on the bus to Portmeirion, today, in preparation for adding some decals.  This will be my first attempt at doing this and is in anticipation of adding them to some things that run on parallel bits of metal.  I would rather ruin a £6 toy than an expensive "this is not a toy."  

 

Toot on the flute with the new tune showed promise yesterday.  I hope it does not take several steps backward, today!

 

Some G word later this afternoon to water some pot plants and assess where some of them can be planted in the ground.  I do not always make the right judgment, but hey ho, always worth a try.   Main problems - strong winds and too many slugs just about sum it up. The soil is great if a little stony (over ex-ice age boulder clay), light, fibrous, easy to dig.  Get the right plant and it generally does very well. I bought a lovely fragrant Skimmia years ago after a visit to Portmeirion - after a few years there was not much leaf left on it! So many plants from local suppliers have had short lives. And that reminds me of another problem - Sheeeeeeeeeep!  They also are partial to what you have on offer, hence some of my border plants were replanted behind others that were not a sheep delicacy!  The saddest one was when the kids grew some sunflowers from seed. The sunflowers grew beautifully indoors in their pots. Come planting out and the tops disappeared within a few days of budding! Then came the strawberry plants - a present from youngest - and the only fruit was devoured before I could harvest it!  Why do we bother? This might answer that question:

 

https://www.my5.tv/kew-gardens-a-year-in-bloom/season-1/episode-1-8d8a92e1-a03c-46d5-ac75-a5c16cb861c5

 

Fitt  and  Elfie taking care of the bugs...    

 

Take care all and play safe.  

_________

Best wishes

Polly

 

 

Edited June 6, 2021 by southern42
typo