Early Risers.

[Barry O]

White Rabbits!

 

Lummy December already! We should have been getting ready to fly off to the Antipodes, alas that plan hit the buffers ages ago. Never mind we will get back there at some point.

 

Cricket was umpired last night. Interesting games..the first one lasted all of 25 minutes due to one team having its best players away watching kickball.

 

Managed to wake up with horrendous cramp in one thigh. A glue or ywo of no sugar Indian Tonic Water sorted that.

 

We are off to Rutland today for a Family Christmas present swap. It involves going to a very nice gastro pub..the Jackson Stops Inn and eating lunch..should be back ready for a trip to the MRS tonight.

 

 

@chrisf.. Ihope you a find a Christmas lunch location.

 

Stay safe!

 

Baz

 

[Gwiwer]

8 hours ago, Tony_S said:

The Birmingham Hippodrome wasn’t for Hippos!

Just as the Birmingham Bull Ring was not for bulls. 
 

Good moaning all. Still cold. Clear bits of sky lit by the crescent moon suggest it may become a reasonable if nippy day. 
 

The season has arrived to unearth festive decorations, untangle the mess I probably put them away in and prepare for some sort of festivating. Plan A is under review. Plan B us not yet written. And I am not home to do anything anout either right now. 
 

I do feel for @chrisfat this time; lightning may not strike twice but this ruddivirus seems capable of it. 
 

Back anon. But first - a long hot muggercoffy. 

[polybear]

Right.......

Bear's Rant (submitted @ 06:42 on Wednesday 1st December 2021)

 

Bear awoke to discover that my Paypal Resolution Centre Case against the seller of dodgy replacement Drill Batteries (which turned out to be supplied by Amazon, and not by them....) had been found in my favour - the seller has agreed to a refund 

BUT (and it's a BIG BUT) I first have to return the battery to them, with a tracking number - and they refund once they've received the battery.  Only the return address isn't their supposed warehouse in Portsmouth (which is empty and "To Let" - and nothing to do with them anyway) but to:

Return shipping address

Panyuqu Shawanzhen Dexianlu 818 Hao, wanke jinse chengpin C8-803guangzhouGuangdong 511400China

- and I have to do this by 10th December (it's a little ambiguous as to whether or not this is the despatch date or the arrival date).  Naturally if the seller (a) does actually exist at that address (and if it's even a real address), (b) actually receives the battery (c) Bear could even find a courier to take it (it's a battery, so RM won't touch (d) at a cost of less than a zillion quid 

- then the seller would then claim to "Test" the battery and find it to be "No Fault Found" - and charge a 25% return fee IAW their T's & C's..... 

(Incidentally, this Bear has no inclination to even attempt such a return to a non- UK address; it was posted out by Amazon and so it'd go back to them - but as I didn't actually buy it from Amazon  then I can't do that.....

 

Am I beaten?  Am I F.......

I'll be onto the Paypal Contact Number/Direct Message option as soon as they open - hopefully they can sort it. 

 

Rant Over

(Which is naturally ineligible for the Rant of the Day - but it doesn't stop a VERY P1SSED OFF Bear from Rantin'......)

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Dry start after a fair bit of rain around midnight.  A breezy day with one or two brighter spells and more rain seems to be on the menu.

Well, it's happened.  Around 3.30 am I completed 73 solar orbits.  All in all it's been a pretty good ride although there have been quite a few bumps and mishaps along the way.  No complaints though because I'm a lot luckier than many.

Today we always declare Christmas "open" in this house and normally put the decorations up.  However we made an early start last week but the "official" lighting up ceremony is today.  Kids and grandkids are visiting for a small family only celebration tonight but there will be a another "do" to include friends in a couple of weeks time. 

Lots to do in preparation including baking my own birthday cake and I've opted for a simple Victoria sponge with raspberry jam and buttercream as that's one of my favourites.

More tea needed so farewell for now,

Have a good one, I know I will....oh and 24 sleeps to go!! 

Bob.

 

 

 

Edited December 1, 2021 by grandadbob

[New Haven Neil]

Morning from a very wet and windy rock, the professes to be 7c but feels like 3 according to the twirlo-app.

 

Rochelle railcam now set on new TV so I can watch while on here on the lappy........traaaainnn, eastbound manifest on the UP, 2x SD70ACe's, yess.......sorry, nothing like a bit of trainspotting with breakfast. Lush.

 

Today is 'try to get into the GP surgery' day, oh dear.  Be interesting to see if the GP has actually read the letter from the hoof & hip surgeon.  No prizes for correct guess.  This used to be a great surgery, but it is really slipping and I don't think it's covid related.  Retirement and loss to other jobs of the leading/senior GP's that knew how to run it to blame mostly I fear.  Practice manager talks the talk, and then fails to produce the goods.

Edited December 1, 2021 by New Haven Neil
wet not eat

[New Haven Neil]

HB Bob!

[BoD]

Many happy returns, GDB.

[New Haven Neil]

UP (Onion Specific) westbound signalled, approach medium so going into G3 yard.  Oops, trains....

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl, Inner Temple Hare,

A very good nights sleep of 7.25 hours helped by some little pink pills...

My fingers seems somewhat dyslexic this morning, I've correctyed abotu 20 erros so Far..

 

Ben the I want out Collie was waiting by the back door again...  He's getting very brave going out into the darkness, once I'd assured him I'm come with him..

 Wet, very windy, around 50mph at the nearest weather station and dark as the 1/8 moon showed only for a second or two before being swallowed by soggy clouds. Water running down the roads again on the way in, the fields are now full and it's running out onto the roads..

 

Names, I know all about odd names, being the only one as far as I know, with a name being of an obscure battle during ww2..

Not good in the 1960's /70s when everyone else is Mathew, Mark, Luke, or John and the odd Edward.

 

Christmas lunch dinner will be of the traditional Turkey and all the trimmings. Most of it already is cooked and in the freezer. We are not spending all day in the kitchen on Christmas day for the 3 of us. Yesterday's  shopping on the way home, was mostly meats for between then and now, along with a gammon for Boxing day. SWMBO will carry out a huge cooking session tomorrow, cooking that lot which will then be sliced and diced as required to produce the required size packs of meat.

 

There appears to be some sort of palace revolution going on at much higher levels of the company in the USA and Europe, lots of people leaving and being shuffled around.. Many emails about who's now in charge and where in the upper echelons of the family tree.. all emails headed to the Bin..

Meanwhile I have a must attend webinar on racial diversity, the email for the event starts with ..

 

"XXXXXX has made creating a strong and inclusive culture a priority for our company. With the recent number of changes in reporting structure, there is an even greater importance on everyone having an understanding of these concepts and how best to work within an inclusive, diverse, global environment. "

 

Since the event is USA time and as usual the culturally unaware in the USA have scheduled it for out of my working hours here, I will not attend and see what happens..

 

Also another online meeting today... XXXXXX and your future... I've sent back an email turning it down, I'm retiring..

 

Meanwhile,,

I'm re running a small section of the overnight cross check which had a hiccup.. Measuring a special Cal 1 G Ohm resistor for a Japanese customer, and about to starts a 8 piece current shunt set.

 

That Resistor has almost settled

 

Time to type in some numbers..

 

 

 

[Coombe Barton]

1 hour ago, Gwiwer said:

Just as the Birmingham Bull Ring was not for bulls. 

Quote

 

 The name Bull Ring referred to the green within Corn Cheaping that was used for bull-baiting. The 'ring' was a hoop of iron in Corn Cheaping to which bulls were tied for baiting before slaughter.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_Ring,_Birmingham

[Gwiwer]

A happy birthday to GDB from the wet wilds of Buckinghamshire. 
 

Don’t ask

[Dave Hunt]

1 hour ago, Barry O said:

We are off to Rutland today for a Family Christmas present swap. It involves going to a very nice gastro pub..the Jackson Stops Inn and eating lunch..

 

I was there last Friday Baz and jolly good it was too.

 

Many happy returns to GDB.

 

Off now to the market to get in the comestibles. At least it beats sweeping, raking, gathering and otherwise disposing of bl**dy leaves!

 

Dave

[Barry O]

Happy Birthday GDB!

 

Hope it all goes well.

 

Pah! Humbug!

 

Christmas tree etc will go up not long before Christmas.. 

 

Baz

[AndrewC]

11 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

You can blame the Belgians. This is the CAMRA nightmare come to pass.  I can see a Britain where for many the only options for a "pub" are cookie cutter corporate chain outlets selling Eurolager and North American rice-beer.

 

In the US the survival strategy for niche 'craft' breweries is to be acquired by AB-InBev or their one pseudo competitor, Molson-Coors.

 

"Global beer for a global world". (It isn't their slogan*, but it might as well be.)

 

* Bringing People Together for a Better World - which like many of their beers is, just, yuk.

 

Spoons is the exception. Think of them as the Walmart of pubs. Stacked high and sold as cheap as possible. At the moment there are 139 independent breweries inside the M25 alone. In a reversal of fortunes, Molson just sold off the Hop Stuff brewery and tap rooms to Salt brewing. The Hop Stuff brand will be retained and brewed somewhere. May of these smaller breweries are evolving from the cold and industrial tap rooms and picking up unloved pubs.  (Big Smoke Brewing for example) There are also a number of community initiates to buy and run other pubs. (the Bevy in Brighton is a good example) The other thing is the massive growth of the micro-pub. In the boring borough alone there are currently 14 with plans for more. 

 

There will be a few that go under, get swallowed, or merge, but there are enough brewers of varying sizes to ensure the long term survival of craft and real ales. On that note, there are a number of larger business that have swallowed up breweries just to gain more product range to sell. A prime case of this is the Dutch firm Swinkels. A family company that has picked up several of the Netherland's smaller brewers but left them alone as they are more interested in gaining more product to sell. (de Molen, T'ij, Het Uiltje are their most recent purchases) Other small brewers sell out to protect themselves from the likes of inbev by joining other, more hospitable corporations. The case of Sleeman's and Unibroue selling to Sapporo to prevent a hostile inbev takeover is well known. 

 

CAMRA has basically become an anachronism. A slowly shrinking group of grumpy old men who would drink yak's p*ss if it was cask conditioned.  Apart from their sponsorship of festivals, they really no longer serve any useful purpose. I won't go into all the petty politics of some many regional branches. 

 

In the US the big problem for smaller breweries is shelf space in supermarkets. The big boys put a lot of pressure and money to ensure they have the prime real estate in the store. A good example of this is Super-1 Foods. If you want anything other than mass produced fairy urine, you have to go to the middle of the aisles or the out of the way fridges to find the good stuff. At least the big one in Colombia Falls, MT has a "Made in Montana" section where local beers are promoted along with other products. 

[PhilJ W]

Happy birthday Bob, and many more of them.

[Tony_S]

Happy birthday Bob. Enjoy the cake. 
Tony

[tigerburnie]

Happy Birthday GDB

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Opened my computer this morning to find the history had been wiped . I must have pressed the wrong button when I deleted the cookies on the site last night. At least I've kept my saved passwords and can sign in to things like Farcebook and E-bay and a few others. Only thing is is that I have to go through the rigmarol of clicking on pics of traffic lights before I can get on the sights.

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

It’s wet outside and quite windy too, it’s been blowing hard all night. Well my first task of the day will be to get the Christmas tree and decorations from the cellar. I will then assemble the tree and put up the decorations. This will probably take me until at least dinner time, if not part way through the afternoon. Still, it keeps me out of mischief doesn’t it 

 

Happy birthday GDB, you share it with the twins, Evie and Max, who are 13 today. 

 

Back later. 

 

Brian. 

[simontaylor484]

11 hours ago, Brian D said:

 

Bad press imho. Apparently all said Tarquins are insulating something or other by supergluing them selves to motorways. A lot of em look like an age group who should know better, or is it "early onset", or has the world gone mad? 

Recently the Daily Star had been calling them Road Tarquins on their front pages along with lots of Ha ha s when they finally got the stretches inside they thoroughly deserved

[Compound2632]

12 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I did notice the autocorrect had corrected first to flirt. 

 

I'm seriously concerned for your spellchecker.

[grandadbob]

Many thanks for all the birthday greetings.  Good start to the day as when I came downstairs  I discovered The Boss preparing eggs & bacon so that was a pleasant midweek surprise. Cake has been altered slightly as I’ve just remembered that one of the family has a bit of a dairy intolerance so I’m ditching the buttercream.

[simontaylor484]

Happy birthday Grandad Bob

[PupCam]

Morning All!

 

Birthday greetings to GDB!

 

Today is:  MOANSDAY not Wednesday

 

Received the Permagrit tool set from those nice people at Pemagrit last night.    I only placed the order on Sunday evening so that is very good indeed.    What was far from satisfactory though was the fact that it was delivered by DHL and the "parcel" (well, thin plastic bag) was decidedly distressed.    Looks like the DHL van got stuck in a snow drift and they used MY PARCEL as a wheel chock to try and get some purchase.  

 

Clearly it worked as

a) the the van delivered it and

b) the evidence is clear to see on the parcel!    

 

And to think I was charged something like £6-50 for the pleasure of that "service" !!!

(Note:  This may be considered to be a rant by a certain bear @ 11:18am GMT, 1/12/21)

 

Fortunately because Permagrit tools are basically lumps of steel with tungsten carbide brazed on to it they are as tough as old boots and were not damaged during the process.   Good really because, as I mentioned, they are a gift for Junior Puppers.       Apparently Puppers (if he is very good) may be receiving a large, precision optical device for looking at things in the night sky.   I blxxdy well hope DHL aren't delivering it!

 

Anyway,  I'll be on to Kay or Tracey in "Customer Service" just to let them know that there courier is seriously letting the side down.

 

Yes, this is exactly how it arrived ...

 

 

 

 

 

In other moans:

 

I have to try and have another go at claiming from RM for an undelivered parcel.   Their tracking said it had been delivered to the house number and postcode it was addressed to.   As the recipients were at home on the day of so called delivery they can confirm that no parcel was delivered  i.e.   doorbell rung, person opens door, postman hands parcel to person.   If delivery was "Chuck it out the van and leave it on the open driveway at the front in full view of Johnny Scumbag the thieving scrote just walking by" then perhaps it was "delivered" but even that scenario is not for certain.     When I tried before, the only way I could see to follow this up was to put in a claim which I attempted to by going through the nauseous process of filling in a web form uploading a number of photographs only to be told that the website hadn't accepted the data (no reason given) and that I should refresh the browser.   Refreshing the browser returns you to Go! but you do not collect £200 ...

 

Tomorrow I may have to get on to Amazon / Hardware store trader / Royal Mail if the delayed battery bought from said trader somewhere in Kent via Amazon doesn't turn up.     I can see a theme developing ...

 

Then I have to try and reclaim some money for a faulty aerosol can.    Seems they forgot to fill it with propellant or it leaked out in transit.     You should see the evidence "Customer Services" need to make their customer happy!   Well, I've got all day and it's the principle not the cost so they can flippin well do something about it.

 

Here endth the rant!

 

Alan

 

[PhilJ W]

Oh bu@@eritt. I thought I'd deleted the history on my lap top last night. Instead what had happened was that the automatic restore had been cut out. But since this morning I had shut down and when I started up again I realised what had happened and switched the automatic restore back on. only problem is that it can only restore the last session.