Early Risers.

[PupCam]

Well, my mission this morning was only partially successful.  I searched in vain for Esso Supreme and then it looked like I would be searching in vain for any form of petrol!    Eventually I found some BP Supreme.  5% Ethanol is better than 10% in an old bike ....   I'd much rather have 0%!

 

40 minutes ago, polybear said:

I wonder how the great unwashed actually get to the various demo locations?  I very much doubt they all walk or use a push bike....

 

Like the "'80s Luvvy" who flew across the Atlantic to join a climate protest and then immediately flew back a few years ago.  Can't remember which one it was now, it doesn't matter anyway.  Just highlights the SFB qualities of some "activists" thoughts and actions as has been highlighted again recently here on ER.     I can't get the image of a Tanker driver munching on a Yorkie bar as he drives past the "WARNING - Low Bridge Ahead" sign 🤣

 

Alan

[BSW01]

Good afternoon everyone 

 

Once again I'm late on parade today, but I've not been idle. I was picking Ava up this morning, but called at Sainsbury’s to see if they had any Rhubarb, which they did, so that was purchased along with some Strawberries. Once back home with Ava, we set to and made a batch of Rhubarb and strawberry jam. 6 jars in total, the smash bit left over will be put on our pancakes at dinner. 

 

No plans for the afternoon as yet, but that may change. 

 

Back later. 

 

Brian 

[TheQ]

Afternoon Awl, 

A somewhat knackered Q again.

With the acetal rod due in a signed for delivery and one of our two posties being frightened of woof.

I spent nearly 3 hours clearing the area outside the old gate,  I reckon there's about the same to do again.

Having reached the knackered stage I sat inside the gate with a muggacoffee, having a rest before continuing in a slower pace.. I'd just restarted when Ben woofed at the sound of approaching postie van. It was the timid postie..

 

Acetal rod signed for, a solid 30mm bar wrapped in bubble wrap, wrapped in card, wrapped in bubble wrap, wrapped in card, wrapped in bubble wrap, wrapped in card!!! Yep that was well protected.

Also arriving at the same time, a booklet from the Amateur Yacht Research Society about rudders.

In a bubble wrap envelope, completely wrapped in sellotape...

Both packages needed a sharp knife to enter...

 

Ben went for his long walk but cut it short, probably because he was knackered from chasing the wheelbarrow.

 

I've decided to move the old gates to the new position of the fence, as soon as I can, they can act as a hording protecting the work area. Also it means all the work will be inside the garden, so Ben can supervise, and I can leave tools out hidden from the road.

 

Time to relax. With a glass of red.

 

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. I will be venturing out to Tess Coes in about an hours time. I should have the store virtually to myself this afternoon. Something to do with 22 overpaid prima donnas kicking a bag of wind about, something that counts about level with watching paint dry to yours truly. Must remember to top up on tokens for tomorrow.

[PupCam]

6 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

I should have the store virtually to myself this afternoon.

 

Good luck with that Phil!

 

I've just got back from the local Sainsburys and it was absolutely heaving.     In a strange and perverse way, they didn't have what I was looking for (actually I had been instructed to go and fetch ...) which meant I didn't have to stand in the snake of a queue for the self-service tills.    And on that subject, if I'd have wanted to be a "Till Operative" I'd have got a job there and get paid for my efforts .....    Is it just me that objects to self-service tills? 🤔

 

Rantette timed at 14:40, 16/4/2022  😆

 

Alan

[PhilJ W]

1 minute ago, PupCam said:

 

Good luck with that Phil!

 

I've just got back from the local Sainsburys and it was absolutely heaving.     In a strange and perverse way, they didn't have what I was looking for (actually I had been instructed to go and fetch ...) which meant I didn't have to stand in the snake of a queue for the self-service tills.    And on that subject, if I'd have wanted to be a "Till Operative" I'd have got a job there and get paid for my efforts .....    Is it just me that objects to self-service tills? 🤔

 

Rantette timed at 14:40, 16/4/2022  😆

 

Alan

But the match doesn't start until 3:30, before the match starts the supermarkets are heaving until about half an hour before the start when they magically empty. 

[jamie92208]

3 hours ago, polybear said:

ll all Dado Rail cut & fixed - apart from one short length that goes on the side of the boxing-in; there's a load of pipes inside that one so Bear is treading carefully - I have a load of piccies to refer to before drilling any holes for screws.  If all else fails I'll stick it on.

...

At least you haven't  called it what a friend of ours did, a di1do rail.

 

Jamie

[The White Rabbit]

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. I will be venturing out to Tess Coes in about an hours time. I should have the store virtually to myself this afternoon. Something to do with 22 overpaid prima donnas kicking a bag of wind about, something that counts about level with watching paint dry to yours truly. Must remember to top up on tokens for tomorrow.

 

I have an even stronger aversion to such events, perhaps akin to inserting one's *******s in a wasps nest... I stay well clear. 

 

1 hour ago, PupCam said:

...  Is it just me that objects to self-service tills? 🤔  ....

 

No. #Me Too... 

 

15 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

At least you haven't  called it what a friend of ours did, a di1do rail...

 

a) Maybe in the bedroom but the living room? 

 

b) I can hear a certain Yorkshire Lass now, paraphrasing that line from Jaws, "It's too small for that, you're gonna need a bigger shelf". 

 

🃏

[iL Dottore]

Turdycurses, to quote “The Bear”

 

The Crème Pâtissière for the Mille Feuille I was making turned out too soft - despite resting in the fridge for 90 minutes - not sure why. It’s either not enough time cooking or not enough Maizena (corn starch).

 

It took me two tries to get the puff pastry just right - the first time (following a recipe) the pastry was overcooked. The second time (30 min @ 180*c) turned out just right. The icing came out acceptably, but the chocolate piping didn’t.

 

The recipe says that it should rest in the fridge for 3 hours before serving. So this pastry has until 8pm for the filling to firm up or it goes in the bin. 😠

 

Failure is not an option!

 

I hope tomorrow’s Hot Cross Buns are less problematic.

[iL Dottore]

1 hour ago, PupCam said:

.....    Is it just me that objects to self-service tills? 🤔

 

Rantette timed at 14:40, 16/4/2022  😆

 

Alan

Nope, #MeToo.

 

Apart from allowing the supermarkets to cut a lot of front line jobs (and thus - ahem - “save” on costs), what advantages do SSTs bring - none that I see (it certainly doesn’t translate into savings on shopping).

 

Interesting factoid: in Switzerland the budget supermarkets (Aldi and Lidl) only have till service, it is the more expensive supermarkets that are moving over to self service tills. Make of that what you will!

[tigerburnie]

11 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Turdycurses, to quote “The Bear”

 

The Crème Pâtissière for the Mille Feuille I was making turned out too soft - despite resting in the fridge for 90 minutes - not sure why. It’s either not enough time cooking or not enough Maizena (corn starch).

 

It took me two tries to get the puff pastry just right - the first time (following a recipe) the pastry was overcooked. The second time (30 min @ 180*c) turned out just right. The icing came out acceptably, but the chocolate piping didn’t.

 

The recipe says that it should rest in the fridge for 3 hours before serving. So this pastry has until 8pm for the filling to firm up or it goes in the bin. 😠

 

Failure is not an option!

 

I hope tomorrow’s Hot Cross Buns are less problematic.

Try Birds custard powder, works every time....................................................exits stage right swiftly....................................

[iL Dottore]

8 minutes ago, tigerburnie said:

Try Birds custard powder, works every time....................................................exits stage right swiftly....................................

That’s not a bad idea, especially as the ingredients of Bird’s custard are very similar to that of a Crème Pâtissière, (minus, of course, the egg yolks) But the trick would be to make it thick enough to pipe without it tasting of flour or starch.

For mass production, Bakers sometimes use a ready-made Crème Pâtissière powder to which they add liquid (not sure if cream, milk or water, or a combination), it gives a perfectly acceptable result with the added benefit (at least for the Baker) of being less expensive than making a Crème Pâtissière from raw ingredients and - perhaps more critically - takes a fraction of the time (and like with everything else, in cooking time cost money). At the local trade supermarket (where I sometimes shop) I’ve seen single use bags of this powder for sale, with each individual bag making about 10 L of Crème Pâtissière.

[Tony_S]

25 minutes ago, tigerburnie said:

Try Birds custard powder, works every time....................................................exits stage right swiftly....................................

It works well with any cake that hasn’t turned out quite right.

[iL Dottore]

1 minute ago, Tony_S said:

It works well with any cake that hasn’t turned out quite right.

Presumably as a pouring sauce - thus turning a cake into a pudding.

[simontaylor484]

Afternoon all 

 

We too had a chippy dinner chips and opened a can of corned beef and a bit of pickled red cabbage.

Only thing missing was the wrestling on the t.v. and I would have been back at my gran and Grandads on a typical Saturday.

 

Got some pansies reduced from Asda so we have planted them out in pots in the front and tidied the existing pots up deadheading and weeding and putting fertilizer round the olive trees.

 

Hopefully it stays dry tomorrow then I can cut the grass and then overseed some patches.

 

[TheQ]

1 hour ago, simontaylor484 said:

Afternoon all 

 

We too had a chippy dinner chips and opened a can of corned beef and a bit of pickled red cabbage.

Only thing missing was the wrestling on the t.v. and I would have been back at my gran and Grandads on a typical Saturday.

 

 

And the only day of the week we were allowed a glass of fizzy pop.. delivered of course by the Corona wagon...

[tigerburnie]

My grandmas world war 2 pudding, line a bowl with ginger nut biscuits, then pour over hot Birds custard, allow to cool and the custard to set, eat as it is, for real luxury grate a bit of Fry's 5 Boys chocolate on it (you might struggle getting last ingredient so a choccy of your choice will do). I eat this at least once a month and have done since the early 1950's.

[pH]

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Apart from allowing the supermarkets to cut a lot of front line jobs (and thus - ahem - “save” on costs), what advantages do SSTs bring - none that I see (it certainly doesn’t translate into savings on shopping).

I have posted this before. However, given the discussion on self-service checkouts, I hope people don’t mind me posting it again.

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=C3pem71R-9I

 

[Winslow Boy]

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Nope, #MeToo.😋

😋

Apart from allowing the supermarkets to cut a lot of front line jobs (and thus - ahem - “save” on costs), what advantages do SSTs bring - none that I see (it certainly doesn’t translate into savings on shopping).

 

Interesting factoid: in Switzerland the budget supermarkets (Aldi and Lidl) only have till service, it is the more expensive supermarkets that are moving over to self service tills. Make of that what you will!

 

Sorry Herr Doktor Aldli & Lidl both do self service tills here in the Greater Mancunian Conurbation. Maybe they can't afford them in Switzerland he says tongue in cheek.

[polybear]

4 hours ago, PupCam said:

I've just got back from the local Sainsburys and it was absolutely heaving.     In a strange and perverse way, they didn't have what I was looking for (actually I had been instructed to go and fetch ...)

 

Does this mean that Puppers failed on the "fetch" command?  

 

2 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

Only thing missing was the wrestling on the t.v. and I would have been back at my gran and Grandads on a typical Saturday.

 

 

Those were the days - Kendo Nagasaki, Mick McManus, Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks, The Deaf Guy (can't recall his name).  Who were the others?

 

56 minutes ago, TheQ said:

And the only day of the week we were allowed a glass of fizzy pop.. delivered of course by the Corona wagon...

 

And the bottle goes back to get your deposit back.

[Harlequin]

Evening all,

 

First Bank Holiday mission accomplished: Swift nest box built (from 12mm birch ply offcuts) and installed:

 

Summer just wouldn't be the same without the swifts, swallows and martins so I hope they appreciate the effort I've gone to for them!

 

[PhilJ W]

Hello again from Estuary-Land. I was right, Tess Coes was emptying when I got there I went through the manned tills as most of those buying cans of beer were using the self serve tills. Every one of them had to wait for the attendant to 'clear' that they were old enough to buy booze. It would have been quicker if they'd gone through the normal tills. The only hold up was when I went to get some tokens from the post office. A short queue of two when I joined the queue but when it started moving there were twenty in the queue. The reason, two people posting a heap of parcels, one of them with a shopping trolley full and it took me twenty minutes just to draw some cash.

[Adam88]

Until today I never knew they entrusted LDC to the railways in days of yore.  One small box for the railway, one giant replenishment for PB.

 

[Coombe Barton]

... The comedy today was to try to encourage a rather large bee to go outside and earn it’s keep by pollinating where it should. ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2022/04/16/schools-call-for-free-testing-return/

[polybear]

37 minutes ago, Adam88 said:

..........one giant replenishment for PB........

 

 

"Giant Replenishment?"

Elevenses.....