Early Risers.

[Tony_S]

2 minutes ago, polybear said:

ready for tonight's visit......

I have had to delay my refilling of the bird feeders today. We had a visitation from a lot of starlings this morning. I have no problem with feeding the starlings, watching the parents coping with unruly offspring is quite amusing. However the squawking youngsters sitting on the clothes line left a lot of deposits. As a lot of washing was due to go out, doing anything to encourage a return of the starlings wasn’t allowed this afternoon. Also I pruned one of the pear trees some other bird feeders are located in. The wood pigeons have been able to sit in a branch and they can empty a feeder very quickly. A bit of trimming still left some thin branches near the feeders but they won’t take the weight of a wood pigeon. On their return this afternoon a few of them landed in the tree and stared for ages at the bird seed holders trying to I suppose work out why they couldn’t reach them anymore. They gave up and just pecked about eating what other birds had spilled. 
Tony

[Gwiwer]

1 hour ago, simontaylor484 said:

Happy Birthday @BlackRat and happy anniversary to @jamie92208.

Likewise.  As he said.  

 

Evening all.  It feels  strange to have had a Thursday off as a Ban Collar Day.  It feels like a Saturday.  We watched the colour being trooped from the comfort of the sofa, a location from which we could also see pretty much the entire event without fretting about where the nearest toilets might be nor how long the queue ..... We did spare a thought or two for those who waited hours (even overnight) for some action only to see a thousand hands raised in their line of sight all pointing phone-cameras at something.  Being at home means missing the sense of event but also means we weren't in a crowd for hours on end and only seeing the tops of bearskins marching past for a couple of minutes.  

 

The fly-past flew past here as well but just a little to the north.  As we watched the helicopters fly over The Mall so there was an abrupt silence from Heathrow as the airspace was commandeered.  We heard but didn't see the Memorial Flight and heavy aircraft passing by.  Minutes later the queue from Heathrow's runways was released and once more we had jet after jet skimming the roof.  

 

I'll admit to not having felt the best today either.  Hayfever is playing hard-ball this year meaning every time I put my head outside I end up sneezing, wheezing and temporarily unable to see clearly.  I'm at maximum dose on all meds so all I have left is to stay indoors and be bored.  I did manage to get the bins out as they are usually emptied early on Friday whether or not it's any sort of holiday.  

 

Tomorrow is another day.  The pollen count might be lower or there might be a different mix of spores.  I'm hoping to get a decent walk in but only if I'm not sneezing and miserable in the morning.  

 

Watch this space.  

[polybear]

54 minutes ago, PupCam said:

There is only one way to travel to Paris and that's by Eurostar (although I'm sure Bear knows this from when travelling OCS).     

 

Bear only once got a company jolly to France - and that was to a shipyard in Cherbourg via London City Airport (a journey which turned into a right tram smash cos' the flight to Le Havre was cancelled, so Bear had to fly to (I think) CDG then get a train from Gare du Nord (IIRC) to Cherbourg, getting there about 9pm at night.  A real adventure).  So no Eurostar jollies for this Bear ☹️  All for a one-nighter - undo six screws, swap some leccy connectors around (there wasn't many to choose from) and put the screws back in again.  A nice little earner....plus two days out of the fun factory.  A result.

About the only time I *might* have been on Eurostar was a cheapo beano to Buddy ex-next door's Flat, sorry Apartment in the south of France (just a few miles away from Beziers Airport, where Ryanair fly to); we went thru' the Chunnel with his Honda CR-V  (is that the Eurostar?) - a long drive, even over two days.

 

Bear's fun for tomorrow will probably see paint coat number 2 on the door frames.  Yippee.  Skirting has now been ordered - that's a hundred a twenty-odd quid that Bear won't see again......Turdycurses.

I also need to get the now-unwanted Picture Rail I ordered listed on the 'bay - it seems that they have a deal on fees this weekend which might just save a Bear some money.  I also have a few other bits that I can off-load as well.  Hopefully.

[brianusa]

On 01/06/2022 at 13:13, monkeysarefun said:

 

Yesterday our Queens representative, the Governor General swore a minister  into  our newly created ministerial position of Minister For The Republic, who  has the job description of seeing us transition away from the monarchy  sometime during a potential second term of the Albanese Labor  government, assuming they get reelected and/or there isn't an annual leadership spill.

 

The time frame relies on the delicately phrased strategy that the  Queen will be shuffling off her mortal coil around that time, and relies on getting  everything sorted before King Charles and Queen Camilla get the chance to book a tour down here to stroke the koalas and get sucked up to by Phillip Benwell MBE and his mates in the "whatever  happened to the  1950s!?" Constitutional Monarchy League.

 

 

 

Be careful what you wish for!  Take a look at this country, the US, and see what a political state it is in.  Unscrupulous politicians from a president down may happen to you too and likely Australia might suffer the same consequences, going from a widely respected democracy to a close imitation of an autocracy with a Putin or a Trump type attitude.

The Queen and other royals over the years have at least kept the UK on the straight and Narrow and while not perfects, maintains continuity which beats electing a relatively unknown new president every four years.

     Brian.

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. The fox cub has returned several times to scratch on the glass of the patio. It always seems to be the same one, distinctive because of its white markings on chest and front legs. All three cubs have a lot of energy chasing each other up and down the garden. I saw one trying to tip over the garden waste wheelie bin but it failed. Thats it for now, back to Farcebook.

[simontaylor484]

Well I think a day of puppy proofing the garden will be in order for tomorrow not that she will be going out yet. The garden is Rolo the dachshund proof but not Pebbles the dachshund proof. I think the scrap deck boards we have will be meeting the table saw and chop saw to make little fences to keep her out of the pyracanthus as a starter for 10. I also have some buxus hedging to plant.

 

[Ozexpatriate]

34 minutes ago, brianusa said:

The Queen and other royals over the years have at least kept the UK on the straight and Narrow and while not perfects, maintains continuity which beats electing a relatively unknown new president every four years.

I'm not sure the monarchy makes any difference to who ends up holding the reins of power. Perhaps it made a difference when GVIR asked an unelected Winston* to form a government** but not these days anyway.

 

* He was not Leader of the Conservative Party until October 9, 1940 but became PM on May 10.

 

** It's worth remembering that HM's first preference (Lord Halifax) declined.

 

Edited June 2, 2022 by Ozexpatriate

[Winslow Boy]

Well that's me for the day, time to turn in.

 

Been a long but preductive day. Managed to get ahead of the curve and finish all of the front gardens pruning. What's more is all been shredded as well ready for composted. Now all I need to do is to complete the the 'revised' border- mainly planting with a bit of angle grinding and soil improvement for variety and I can say the front garden is done. Hopefully this weekend.🤣

 

That'll just leave the back garden pruning, seasonal bedding and hanging baskets to do. Fab joy.

 

Yes what is it this year with the hay fever. One minute it's fine next minute I'm sneezing like a trooper. 

 

Anyway Zzzzz....beckons.

 

[Ozexpatriate]

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

However the squawking youngsters sitting on the clothes line left a lot of deposits.

I'd not considered the contra-indications of bird feeders and clothes lines.

 

My friends in Central Oregon have many bird feeders - with a variety of feeds for different species including suet*.

 

* I don't remember which birds like that.

 

They are hung from a large juniper tree which their deck overlooks. Ladders are involved because they have to be high enough to be out of range of the bucks' antlers**.

 

** White-tailed deer (I think). There are many resident deer.

 

The bird bath is a popular spot. It is equipped with a small solar-powered fountain, which includes a battery for cloudy periods. The original version (without a battery) stopped operating anytime the sun disappeared behind a cloud.

[woodenhead]

My trip to the Trafford Centre was by car, I thought it was a nice day to walk, but Mrs Woodenhead asked how I expected to bring back the two lights we were purchasing.  Turns out she was right, I barely reached the car with my arms aching and we were only parked 8 rows from the side entrance.

 

Fitted three toilet seats earlier, rather liking the new style fittings that they come with - a rubber bung for the hole, screw goes in to lock the bung in place and then you fit the seat - no having to tighten a nut from underneath anymore, so much more civilised.

 

Tomorrow, I have to fit a new kitchen tap - the old one hasn't got a flexi hose so I will be reconfiguring the piping a little and sticking on a couple of isolators.   Had a mild panic when I couldn't find the hot water turn off valve on the water tank - but I've read that because there is no cistern all I need to do to remove the water pressure is turn off the cold (and drain the pipes from three floors....).

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

The wha s been glorious today, typical, as we were been out and about this morning. Anyway, shopping was shopped and plenty of modelling tokens have been spent. But, I got ma new shirt and Sheila some new perfume, so we’re both happy. 

 

Charlie turned up just after 2 o’clock and after he’d had a quick chat with his nana, we both disappeared down the garden to the workshop. That’s when I noticed a load of muck on the decking and path between the shed and workshop. It would seem that a bird has had a lovely time, rooting through the debris in the workshops gutter looking for scraps to eat, 🤬🤬So whilst Charlie got himself organised at the workbench, I had to swept up the mess, once that was done, I took my seat at the workbench. Some more control wires were added to the Tiger Moth and then painted the upper half of the upper wing, as that was still unpainted. I then went over the wheel centres and the propeller and painted the exhaust pipe. These have yet to be added to the plane and are drying separately. I then turned my attention to the base, last week I’d given it a couple of coats of varnish and a coat of textured earth coloured paint. Today, I applied some static grass, using my homemade static grass applicator. I’m quite pleased with how it’s turned out, considering the patress block had holes in it and was in 2 pieces. I’ve added a photo, so you can make up your own minds. 

 

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[andyram]

Good evening all. As the day ticks beyond midnight I will have to offer belated birthday wishes to  @BlackRat and anniversary wishes to @jamie92208.

 

Today has probably been my first full day off from the combination of shop and college work since the start of the year. Mum and Dad covered the shop for me and, based on my spying moments via the CCTV, things appeared to be much quieter today than on Tuesday. 
 

My day was spent tackling outstanding jobs in the garden. The lawn was cut and one of the overgrown flowerbeds completely cleared. Weed proof sheeting was then laid and a liberal layer of slate chippings added on top. There was not quite enough bags of slate to finish the job so that will have to wait until one day next week. However, at least the apple tree, planted in memory of a dearly departed pet cat two years ago, will no longer be under threat of being swamped by weeds. 
 

I feel fairly pleased to have made progress in the garden, but sad that my battles with the black dog and efforts with business and education work have taken away time and motivation for such tasks over the last couple of years. I had so many plans for a garden that was a blank canvas when we moved in. Some progress had been made but the subsequent neglect has left it an overgrown mess and I am back to square one.

 

On the positive front, the time in the garden allowed me to observe the blackbirds coming and going from the nest. I even managed a sneaky peek through the branches and got a nice view of the three chicks, mouths open awaiting the next worm. Nature can be so amazing at times.

 

Tomorrow it is back to the shop before Jubilee celebrations in the evening.

 

Take care.

 

Andy

[Erichill16]

Belated birthday wishes Blackrat  and congratulations to Jamie and his Mrs.

And  goodnight to you all,

Robert

 

 

[J. S. Bach]

2 hours ago, BSW01 said:

Good evening everyone  ...snip... Today, I applied some static grass, using my homemade static grass applicator. I’m quite pleased with how it’s turned out, considering the patress block had holes in it and was in 2 pieces. I’ve added a photo, so you can make up your own minds.

And here I thought that was a photo of your dinner!

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[iL Dottore]

5 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

Well I think a day of puppy proofing the garden will be in order for tomorrow not that she will be going out yet. The garden is Rolo the dachshund proof but not Pebbles the dachshund proof. I think the scrap deck boards we have will be meeting the table saw and chop saw to make little fences to keep her out of the pyracanthus as a starter for 10. I also have some buxus hedging to plant.

 

Before we got Schotty (even though he wasn’t a puppy and thus not so inclined to explore the world with his mouth) when the lady who was vetting us to see if we were suitable to take on a rescue dog visited the house, she also checked the garden to ensure that there were no plants in the garden that would be toxic to a dog. 

 

With Pebbles being a young pup, she will explore the world by tasting everything, so any toxic-to-dogs plants in the garden should either be fenced off or removed. Better safe than sorry.

 

Whilst Lucy and Schotty would cheerfully and eagerly eat as many Frankfurters or as much boiled chicken breast and rice as they could get their greedy little paws on, they also enjoy their garden nibbles: sometimes Lucy eats grass as an aid to digestion and - lately - Schotty after his dinner will lie amongst the dandelions in the garden and have a Dandelion desert!

 

iD

p.s. More pictures of Pebbles, please.

Edited June 3, 2022 by iL Dottore

[BR60103]

We taped the Trooping today to be able to watch at a civilised hour.

I got extremely annoyed at the presentation.

A shot of one group marching down the Mall was obscured by the presenter talking.

The discussion group said that there was a new march composed for the occasion, then talked all the way through it.  They also talked through most of the rest of the music, except for the royal anthem.

Nothing was left unexplained for the masses, except for whatever I was interested in.  They spent a long time trying to add up the 21 and 20 and 84 and ... gun salutes, which were then barely shown, about 3 shots.

 

[iL Dottore]

19 minutes ago, BR60103 said:

…..A shot of one group marching down the Mall was obscured by the presenter talking.

The discussion group said that there was a new march composed for the occasion, then talked all the way through it.  They also talked through most of the rest of the music, except for the royal anthem.…

Fortunately, I was able to avoid watching the televised celebrations: I absolutely loathe modern television presentation as it always seems to be focusing on the “talking head“ running their mouth (and being “oh–so-clever”) and not on the event itself. As far as I am concerned the best television coverage is one that focuses on the visual (it is teleVISION after all) with commentary limited to the occasional interjection to explain something that is not visually obvious.

 

One of my morning routines is to look at the online newspapers over a BIG cup of coffee – reading a right wing paper and a left wing paper in order to get an impression of the spectrum of opinion. But lately, what I have noticed is the complete and total absence of nuance: papers have become either unashamedly sycophantic or viscerally anti-. It doesn’t matter, really, what the subject is – the newspaper will have “the party line” and the journalists (or really “hacks”) will frequently tie themselves in knots in order to make the narrative about a certain set of events fit the party line. This I saw also happening to the coverage of the Jubilee celebrations.

 

But I suppose the above – whether with television or print media – is inevitable when the medium becomes more important than the message!

 

I suppose the above is a rant, but it’s too early in the morning to get it “Beary Award Ready“

[iL Dottore]

Good Morning Campers!

 

Hurrah, hurrah, today is POETS day and a fun filled weekend awaits! With Mrs iD and the Wolfpack being in the Holiday Hovel I am now free to do those little jobs I have always been intending to do that get shoved to “the back burner“ due to Mrs iDs insistence that I do X or Y during the weekend.

 

One of the tedious jobs awaiting me is to clear out the store cupboard of date-expired jars and packets. It used to be that many of the dried and tinned/bottled ingredients I needed for cooking were only available in the UK – so I would stock up during my travels. Now, most of that which I sourced in the UK is now readily available in Switzerland. The contents of the jars and bottles will be thrown into a rubbish bag and the jars and bottles washed for recycling. I expect to gain some considerable cupboard space by this activity.

 

A more pleasurable task awaiting me is to start designing my pedal board. Having acquired the right sort of guitar effects pedals to get that “David Gilmour Sound“ I now need to chain them together. I plan on building a wooden pedal board for the effects and I’m also investigating the possibility of adding a foot controller which would allow me to bring effects in an out of the effects chain as needed. 
 

Another pleasurable task (I think that it will be a pleasurable task) is to open the box of the Revell 1/24 scale Routemaster bus and start identifying those parts that will most definitely need to go through the paint shop. I suspect airbrushing the bus exterior will be a bit of a challenge, because I intend to illuminate the interior of the bus and thus must ensure that I do not have any light bleed through (any suggestions on how to achieve this will be welcomed).

 

Well, it’s now 06:00 Time for another BIG cup of coffee and then off to work.

 

Enjoy the day!

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl,

6 hours near solid sleep after a rough start. Have woken with pain from left knee, and otherwise general aches from the physical efforts of the last few days.

 

Of deer, a muntjac  is wandering around the garden this morning, near to the spot one sheltered from the weather the other day.

 

We don't feed feathered dinosaurs or Harry's, the biggest recipient would be rats, we have constant battle against them.

That's why for a shed, the eNgauging loom shed is having extensive foundations, a concrete slabbed floor, with the any changes of the wall design being covered by steel sheet.

 

If I'd known what problems we'd have with the barstewards, the foundations and floor of the main muddling shed would be very different. As it is there will be a series of anti rat measures taken for that shed and the mobile home mostly involving concrete and steel sheet..

 

Plans for today,

A visit to a local car boot, known as the late one it doesn't start until 11:00. So I've a couple of hours or more working time before then, what ever I do it won't be heavy duty due to the left knee.

 

I thought Brown eyes was about to demand out, but he's just found a more comfortable position.

 

So for now, 

Time to find a more comfortable position for my knee...

 

 

[chrisf]

After popping out for a few minutes to buy a copy of The Times containing the honours list I spent most of yesterday enjoying the TV coverage of the Jubilee celebrations.  There is more today but I find church services less than interesting.  This evening one of my favourite films is on TV.  "Pride" is based on the true story of a bunch of gay and lesbian activists who showed solidarity for the miners during the 1984-85 strike.  It is more amusing than the subject matter may suggest but I'm not sure I would describe it as a comedy.  Although I have the DVD I shall probably watch the screening.  10.25 pm, BBC2.

 

Chris

[jamie92208]

Good moani g from a rather damp Charente.  Groting is on thecagenda this morning then plumbing.  First off though is muggacoffee time.

 

Enjoy your day.

 

Jamie

[polybear]

12 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

The garden is Rolo the dachshund proof but not Pebbles the dachshund proof.

 

 

Hopefully Rolo approves of his new doggy companion?

Pebbles?  Whatever happened to doggy names such as "Satan", "Fang" and "Spike"?  🤣

 

6 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

One of the tedious jobs awaiting me is to clear out the store cupboard of date-expired jars and packets. It used to be that many of the dried and tinned/bottled ingredients I needed for cooking were only available in the UK – so I would stock up during my travels. Now, most of that which I sourced in the UK is now readily available in Switzerland.

 

Are they really dead n' buried?  Bear finds that many such items are good for YEARS after the so-called "Best Before" date and in practice you'd not know the difference.

 

Bear here......

First job of the day will be fitting dado rail to the walls, which will be a Big Tick moment.  Hopefully.  Then there's the opportunity to dangle on the end of a paint brush yet again.....

Edited June 3, 2022 by polybear