Early Risers.

[polybear]

Firstly, special Beary thoughts are with David (BR60103)  - so sorry to hear of your loss.

 

9 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Evening all from Estuary-Land. After behaving itself for the last couple of weeks the TV has been behaving itself until a third of the way through Antiques Roadshow when it just switched off. Switching it on again it just went into scan mode and kept doing so so I watched the rest of the program online. I will almost certainly be absent tomorrow afternoon/evening as I will be having a dilation eye test and probably won't be able to see well enough to use the computer. Furthermore my internet supplier is doing some cabling work on Tuesday and not only will the internet and TV not be available I won't even have a land line. Time to put the kettle on, be back later.

 

Bear suggests it might be time to ditch that Telly and plug in the new one - before the warranty runs out....

 

7 hours ago, brianusa said:

It didn't take long for even one of the most loyal to give up on the virtual avalanche of ads now encountered on these pages; it was possibly only a matter of time for this to happen.  TBH, I would miss RMW if it wasn't here and I would hope that  there are no more such intrusions planned for others may have similar thoughts!  As others have noted, some ads play havoc with the site making it even more arduous to open certain content.  Surely a more satisfactory balance can be achieved between the content and the ads before others feel as GWIWER does.

      Brian

 

Many moons ago - and after reading a recommendation by one Martin Wynne (Mr Templot) - who has forgotten far, far more about computer thingies than this Bear could ever hope to know - I started using Firefox as a Browser.  Never had any issues with it, and in the settings there is tracking protection that can be customised (Bear runs it on "standard").  Not sure when, if ever, I've seen an ad on RMWeb.  Could be worth a try - it's free after all.  If it doesn't work then delete it.....

 

In other news:

Bear awoke to discover that the "+" multi-quote symbol had mysteriously re-appeared overnight (all I do is put the laptop into hibernate) - and it works too   Weird.

Well, Mr. Tiler is due today (late morning) to grout the tiles and finish the job - I've a bit of prep work to do before he arrives, mainly masking off some bits to make sure they stay clear of grout and also to keep the cupboards dust free (ISTR grouting can be dusty, though the Tiler reckons it won't be "too dusty").  Me thinks I'll play safe.

I've also a parcel to pack for Fraggle Rock, and Mrs Hermes is due to collect one from Bear sometime today.

After that I'll just make it up as I go along.....

[TheQ]

I suspect, Chris, you will be arriving up the A11 to Norwich , the show you wish to attend, I think, is to the north with a little bit of west of Norwich. So the only supermarket fuel I could recommend is:

 

To turn right on to the southern bypass, towards Great Yarmouth,

At the next junction turn left onto the A140 towards Norwich, 

And a couple of hundred yards on your right is Tesco's Harford bridge, where I used to work.

 

On fueling up turn back up the hill to the southern bypass,

rejoin it heading towards GY, 

At the second junction , that's the first after the river bridge.

Take the left Turn onto the NDR A1270.

After crossing 6 roundabouts, take the A140 slip road and head towards Alysham.

Yep the A140 that you were on at Harford bridge, but  going through Norwich is not easy anyway, and a major junction en route in town is being rebuilt.. it's chaos...

After that you need your map because I've forgotten the name of the village and the email invitation to the event is not on this computer.

 

However,  I'm going to miss the tie... Sadly I had intended to be at the event, involving small more accurate than commercially produced items, but instead I shall be doing more mile's than you are, and not arrive back till show closing time.

 

As for driving. Recent trials of the E10 fuel are not encouraging, a long journey Saturday indicated that at motorway speeds our little 1300 drops to 28mpg.. that's significantly down on 35mpg previously.

 

Ben the I want out Collie has taken me for his morning patrol, during which I suffered, yesterday he got a longer than normal long walk and my right hip is telling me about it.

 

No problems with adverts, but now I have a white bar across the top so if I hit the three horizontal bars, the result disappears beneath the bar so I can't do anything about it.

 

Time to reboot this computer strange other things are happening..

 

[polybear]

13 minutes ago, TheQ said:

As for driving. Recent trials of the E10 fuel are not encouraging, a long journey Saturday indicated that at motorway speeds our little 1300 drops to 28mpg.. that's significantly down on 35mpg previously.

 

 

 

 

Sounds like a few calcs may be worthwhile to see if Super Unleaded would work out financially - that's still E5; IIRC the Esso option is actually E0 (no ethanol - so theoretically the best mpg?) though because of regs the pumps are still marked E5

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from the Charente.  Wet underfoot, there has obviously been a decent amount of rain overnight but it's now getting brighter.  We did go the the market yesterday then called at a friend's for coffee and cake.  A bitbof unspecified potterring was accomplished then after tea and after thechens had been put to bed, we chatted to Martin and Katie for nearly an hour and a half. Nothing major but very nice. Then watched Vigil .

 

Today the first task is to tidy the dining room. Not having had visitors staying for some time, 2 years worth of stuff junk has somehow gotbonto the table and any other surface it can find. We may be some time. If it stays clear some grass mowing may takevplace after lunch.

 

Very sorry to hear about your SiL Dave.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. A bit nippy this morning but not cold enough to start the heating up, the thermometer is showing 23C. which at least shows that the house is well insulated.

3 hours ago, BR60103 said:

My wife's sister died yesterday.

(sorry to be a downer)

She's been in the hospital most of this year in intensive care.  It looks as if it was lung cancer (she'd been married to 2 smokers) and she was not allowed to swallow. She went into palliative care on Thursday.

Her son flew in and managed to see her before she went -- or was she holding on until then?  Dayle went in to see her on Thursday and had a bit of a successful conversation.

 

Very sorry to hear that news, condolences to you and your family.

44 minutes ago, TheQ said:

As for driving. Recent trials of the E10 fuel are not encouraging, a long journey Saturday indicated that at motorway speeds our little 1300 drops to 28mpg.. that's significantly down on 35mpg previously.

I've noticed a drop in fuel consumption since I started using E10 and I only just refilled on Saturday. Next time like PB I'll go for super unleaded. The car did seem to run better when I accidently filled up with super unleaded a couple of years ago. I won't be using the car until tomorrow at least as this afternoon I'm having a dilation eye test so I won't be here until later this evening when hopefully I can see the screen. Tomorrow my internet, TV and even land line will be down for a few hours so I might have to do some railway modelling.

 

[chrisf]

Thanks, Q.  From my base in Bedford I will be heading up the A1 to the Peterborough area and then taking the A47 round Kings Lynn towards Melton Constable.  A bit further on is Briston where the event is.  Most of the route is through unfamiliar territory and I am coming to the view that I should set off from Bedford with a full tank.

 

Chris

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

It’s a bit foggy this morning and it’s also a lot cooler than it’s been just lately and the fog appears to be getting worse as the day is progressing. If the fog fog persists I won’t be painting the fireplace as the air is too damp, I shall have to wait for a dry, sunny day with little or no wind. However, I do have to go out this morning to collect my new glasses, which I ordered and paid for just over a week ago. But in the current ‘climate’ I couldn’t just drop in and collect them, oh no, I had to book an appointment to have them fitted, so I will be attending at 10 o’clock. 

 

After that, as I am in the town centre, I’m going to do the Sainsbury’s Grand Prix and I should just about have finished putting the shopping away when Sheila gets back from her Zumba class. We were given a load of apples last week, so I need to do something with them before they start to go off, I gave Vickie half last Saturday, so I shall get cracking with that task, there’s only about a dozen or so, but they are quite large, so I expect to get a decent batch of stewed apples by dinner time. 

 

As for the afternoon, I’ve no firm plans as yet, but there is always work to do in the garden. 

 

Back later. 

 

 Brian

 

PS. David, so sorry for your lose

 

 

Edited September 20, 2021 by BSW01

[PhilJ W]

The weather reports on BBC breakfast are coming from the Chelsea flower show. It was mentioned about it being on in autumn instead of its usual spring time show. I was thinking what about two shows a year or perhaps alternate spring/autumn shows.

[Dave Hunt]

Regarding the advert problem many people are having with RMW, I've found that for some reason if I use the iPad to access the site the only ad that appears is the one across the top of the page that offers the World of Railways subscription from RMW itself. Whether it's to do with the fact that it's a fairly old iPad with only a small memory I don't know - maybe one of our more knowledgeable IT savvy members would.

 

As others have stated, whilst appreciating that this site has to pay for itself somehow it does seem somewhat counter-productive to be losing members due to over intrusive advertising. And on a similar vein, does anyone know why Baz has dropped out of ERs?

 

Dave

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

It looks damp out and is rather cloudy. The weather shouldn’t affect my loft clearing unless I run out of space in the spare bedroom being used to temporarily store stuff and have to start using a shed. 
Aditi has loaded her car ready for a trip to the tip. She plans to go after school traffic has subsided. 
I can’t comment on the fuel economy E10 theme as we don’t go anywhere that makes a comparison possible.  I think E10 was standard in other countries we drove through a few years ago and didn’t notice anything then.

Tony

Edited September 20, 2021 by Tony_S
Grammar

[laurenceb]

4 hours ago, BR60103 said:

My wife's sister died yesterday.

(sorry to be a downer)

She's been in the hospital most of this year in intensive care.  It looks as if it was lung cancer (she'd been married to 2 smokers) and she was not allowed to swallow. She went into palliative care on Thursday.

Her son flew in and managed to see her before she went -- or was she holding on until then?  Dayle went in to see her on Thursday and had a bit of a successful conversation.

 

Condolences to you and yours David

[simontaylor484]

Good morning all 

An early check in from me just done the school run and now having a mug of decaf.

Firstly may i extend my condolences to Dave for his loss.

 

I have a white banner ad across the top of my screen on my phone i cant see if I have any notifications on Rmweb.

 

Having just got back driving and a new car I have been experimenting with fuel (diesel) working out cost per mile on an excel spreadsheet by multiplying the litres filled by cost per litre divided by the mileage. I have filled up at 4 different stations now Including a supermarket the next stage is a premium diesel such as Shell vpower or equivalent so far with the limited data set I have there isnt much difference in cost per mile.

 

[TheQ]

58 minutes ago, chrisf said:

Thanks, Q.  From my base in Bedford I will be heading up the A1 to the Peterborough area and then taking the A47 round Kings Lynn towards Melton Constable.  A bit further on is Briston where the event is.  Most of the route is through unfamiliar territory and I am coming to the view that I should set off from Bedford with a full tank.

 

Chris

So that'll be A47, A149, A148. If you need it, there's a Tesco filling station just off and visible from, the Hardwick junction, where you leave the A47, for The A149. Very easy to access especially heading north toward the show.

 

That's the point we'll cross routes as I'll be coming down the A17, joining The A47 at the junction before, then I carry on the A47.

I could carry on round the A149 to within 5 miles of home. But that is a very long way round.

Edited September 20, 2021 by TheQ

[The Lurker]

Greetings all from Sidcup which is grey and cool and has been slightly damp.

 

Condolences to David.

 

I am not particularly fussed by the adverts - they are a minor inconvenience for free access to the site.

 

Baz' last post here was along the lines of "So Long and Thanks for all the fish". Assuming we are not destroyed by the vogon constructor fleet, he'll find us here still, and be welcome.

 

Anyway, time for the first work meeting

[45156]

Morning All

 

The waiting game has now started, as I have placed offers with the agents dealing with the two properties which I would like to buy.  One almost gave me a heart attack, as the first person I spoke to said "it went under offer at the weekend" - however, when I spoke to her colleague, it transpired that the offer was, in fact, mine.

 

And of course, generic greetings are on offer from an ad free 45156, as I will now persist with using uBlock - which is currently blocking 6 ads on this page.  How I wish that we didn't have to resort to such measures, as I would accept a few ads, paticularly here, but I fear that the ads are going to be a permanent feature now, as Warners cannot support the site ad free.

 

Regards to All

Stewart

[Pacific231G]

Condolences David on the loss of your sister in law.

 

Good morning all from a slightly damp but rain free West London.

 

I've decided that today's the day I'll start preliminary work on the December edition of the Journal I edit- mostly twisting a few more arms  to get writing. Hopefully it won't be too much of a deadline rush as the day for sending it to the printer in late November starts approaching at full speed with no brakes pinned down but that'll probably still happen. 

 

On the E5-E10 question, I've noticed a small drop in MPG from when I first bought the car last November but I'm not sure when E10 was introduced. It's still far better than what I got from my previous car- also a Ford Focus-  and far less than the difference in price between standard (E10) and premium (E5) fuel.

In theory, I've always undersood that a higher octane rating alone shouldn't make any difference to the performance of an engine whose compression ratio makes it capable of handling the lower octane fue, a higher octance simply makes it possible to use a higher compression and therefore more efficient use of fuel (why diesel engines are more fuel efficient) and higher power from the same size engine. There may though be other factors at work particularly in modern engines (with variable timing ?) and in cars fitted with turbochargers which mine now is than my simple suck, squeeze, bang. blow, understanding of the four stroke Otto cycle. 

 

[TheSignalEngineer]

22 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

 

I know the site costs money and I know there is a way to reduce or remove adverts.  For the amount of input and enjoyment I currently get from the site (ERs excepted) I feel it isn't worth that for now. 

 

If I'm not logged in l get all sorts of problems on my phone and using some browsers on a laptop or desktop.

The paid version doesn't seem to give any problems and when I joined that it was cheaper than the magazine subscriptions included.

 

On the desktop or laptop I use Firefox or Brave. Both are free and can be set for blocking ads which helps. 

I've noticed recently that some other sites have become almost unusable pn my phone because of ad banners blocking where buttons or content should be.

 

I understand our leader is currently looking into the issue and will report back later, unless of course one of the ads manages to devour his site access permissions. 

[PhilJ W]

Hello again from Estuary-Land. A parcel has just arrived, the third such parcel from Oxford Diecast. They are offering £100 worth of models for £50 which is pretty good value but its pot luck what you get in the parcel. As a result I now have three Eddie Stobart AEC tipper trucks, one arrived in each box. Not too concerned as I can either sell them on or use them for code 3's. 

Edited September 20, 2021 by PhilJ W

[polybear]

Bear's fun so far has included ensuring that all tile grout joints are clean and completely free of adhesive, dross etc. (I can afford to spend much longer doing this than the Tiler can/would).  Then all the base units were covered with one of those plastic drop cloths that are a quid in the cheapo shops - that should keep any dust out.  The wall units will have to take their chances.  Now I'm waiting for the Tiler to appear - he did warn he'd be late.  As a result of all this fun I forgot about a certain kitbuilt item that was ending on the 'bay - and missed out - it sold for a fairly bargain price too, though of course the buyer could've paid a lot more if Bear had submitted a bid.  I subscribe to a sniping site too....

The parcel to Fraggle Rock is all packed up & ready to go - after Bear adjusted a cardboard box measuring 46cm to one measuring under 45cm in order to keep RM happy... .  All I need to do is drop it off at the Post Office - postage is already paid online; four quid to FR for a signed parcel seems like a fair deal.

Then the postie delivered new clock hands to fit the new clock mechanism fitted to Bear's railway room clock (no surprises there then).  It's now back on the wall and telling the time quite happily, complete with pendulum wobbling back n' forth.  Happy Bear.

 

edit:  Bear's "Multi-quote" (+) symbol has disappeared yet again - all I did was go and do something else for a couple of hours and it goes into a strop....

Edited September 20, 2021 by polybear

[PhilJ W]

I got the time wrong for my eye dilation test, its not until an hour and a half later  . Could be worse, I could have got it wrong the other way.

[Tony_S]

51 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

I got the time wrong for my eye dilation test, its not until an hour and a half later  . Could be worse, I could have got it wrong the other way.

At least it isn’t a sunny day. Mine always seem to be on really bright days. For the last one I fully intended to walk home but it was so bright it was very uncomfortable so I phoned Aditi who came and found me standing in some shady shrubbery. 

[simontaylor484]

I think I will be down loading a free ad blocker for Google chrome because the ad situation is getting silly

[AndrewC]

I've been using a blocker for a long time. Every time I try to switch it off for RMweb, my security starts thowing wobblers at some of the embedded advert code. So, it stays on. I think the day that the site starts detecting and blocking the blockers, and very likely that will be a next step as more people get fed up with not the adverts themselves but the volume of them, will be my farewell. 

[simontaylor484]

Afternoon all 

 

Some more pyracanthus clippings that were made yesterday have been cut up small clippings have gone in the garden bin larger branches to the bonfire pile.

I started filling a sack yesterday with clippings so I thought I would continue filling this morning. It had been left on its side last night. I stood it on end and started clipping then I saw the bottom of the sack move grabbing the shovel expecting a rat or mouse to come tumbling out I emptied it out and found a frog of all things he was quickly encouraged in to the thicker grass round the lavender bed.

[45156]

4 hours ago, 45156 said:

Morning All

 

The waiting game has now started,ended for the moment.

Offer on one house accepted - apparently the vendor liked us - well it does help. 

 

Solicitor advised and let's hope that all goes ahead;.

 

Stewart