Early Risers.

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from the Charente. Gnashers got mended and a more permanent repair to be done in the UK courtesy of a dentist friend. Some Cognac will be taken over as reccompense. Today will be various faffing jobs, Beth's car in for service, possibly some ironing and packing.  Then after dropping the car off cognac to boy and cake to be bought and eaten.

 

Ttfn.

 

Jamie

 

 

[iL Dottore]

Interesting comments about drinking cultures.

 

There’s definitely a (European) North-South divide in regards to drinking cultures. North of the Alps getting “rat-ars3d”, getting “hammered” is not an uncommon part of social behaviour, whilst the Nordic countries are world beaters in binge drinking.

 

South of the Alps/southern Europe, getting sh1t-faced is definitely frowned upon. Spain, Italy and Greece all have relatively low levels of alcohol abuse (https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/alcoholism-by-country), whereas the real p1ss artists are the Eastern Europeans, the South Koreans and the Americans (USA). The Brits don’t even make it into the top 15. Interestingly, in some of the countries with some serious levels of alcohol abuse (such as Switzerland coming in at number 15 [probably due to ETOH use in the German part]), there’s almost no abusive, disruptive and violent public drunkenness - quietly drinking yourself to death seems to be favoured (although “robust” police response to public drunkenness may also be a factor).

 

But in terms of social disruption caused by alcohol use and abuse, I wouldn’t be surprised to find the UK placing much, much higher. Interestingly enough, as I was wandering through the various statistics on alcoholism (I like to get my facts straight), I did find some data that indicated that British women overall were heavier drinkers, and were involved in more alcohol related “incidents” than men – which seems a bit surprising. But this may all be down to how the statistics are collected. As jjb1970 pointed out in his post, there seems to be quite a permissive attitude to drunkenness in the UK, So I wonder if, in the UK, drunken women are regarded slightly differently for the purposes of data collection than drunken men.

 

I think that one of the reasons for low levels of alcohol abuse in countries like Spain, Italy and Greece, is because alcohol is introduced to children at an early age in the form of very watered down wine at mealtimes, so children grow up regarding drinking alcohol as nothing special – just part of a decent meal. So there’s no impetus, as there seems to be in those countries where drinking alcohol is prohibited in the under 18s, to go out and get hammered once one turns 18.

 

 

[polybear]

Bear here....

The Paw was actually "reasonable" last night and I managed to zed until 5am, at which point I gave up and tigger bounced crawled out of the Bearypit for yet another day of action and excitement.....

Today sees Bear attempting to do some H, S & L once more - though a strict policy of "slow n' easy" will be in place.  Today's fun includes sizing the walls in preparation for papering them.  Hopefully.

I see that our glorious (other words are available...) Gov. are to be testing a new Emergency Alert System in the coming weeks by sending an alert to all smart phones.  Which is great if you (a) have a smart phone, and (b) it's a 4g or 5g one cos' the system won't work on older phones.  There may well be a Rant there.....

Bear gone.

 

[polybear]

8 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Not done a lot today but I did manage to put away last weeks washing, tomorrow there'll be another lot out to dry. .

 

 

 

25 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Interesting comments about drinking cultures.

 

There’s definitely a (European) North-South divide in regards to drinking cultures. North of the Alps getting “rat-ars3d”, getting “hammered” is not an uncommon part of social behaviour, whilst the Nordic countries are world beaters in binge drinking.

As jjb1970 pointed out in his post, there seems to be quite a permissive attitude to drunkenness in the UK,

 

[jjb1970]

There are some rather heavy drinking cultures in Asia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and China for three, but the sort of behaviour which is just a part of night life in British cities is very rare. People in Asia generally have no issue with people getting drunk as long as they don't act like asses in public and bother others. I've walked around the nightlife areas of Seoul and various Japanese cities and never felt threatened or seen anything beyond a bit of exuberant behaviour.

 

In Singapore, it is very much like a microcosm of the society as a whole, drink and have a good time but do not step outside a line. In the nightlife areas like Clark Quay you see a bit of exuberance but it is high spirits, anything more or anything that could be seen as threatening by others is stamped on pretty fact. And if people go home on the bus or MRT then they sit (or stand quietly) and do not cause a problem. The Police are very visible and they don't mess about, in some ways it's like schools where teachers who made clear they wouldn't take any nonsense rarely had to raise their voice or get mad because the kids knew what was permitted, people know the Police will not take backchat or allow any obnoxiousness in public and behave themselves. Every now and then people overstep the line and find out that it's not idle threats that the place has a robust attitude to law and order. 

 

Funnily enough, and people might think I'm just being contrarian but I'm not, I find drinking culture much less problematic in the US than in Britain and other parts of Northern Europe. Yes, I know the US has problems of its own but in terms of drunken disorderly behaviour I have found it much less prevalent than in Britain and local Police tend to be pretty firm in stamping on it when it does arise.

[BoD]

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

So there’s no impetus, as there seems to be in those countries where drinking alcohol is prohibited in the under 18s, to go out and get hammered once one turns 18.

Or younger if you or a friend could convince the local grocer/off-licence that you were eighteen.  Some didn’t take much convincing at all.
 

Forbidden fruit and all that.

 

I understand that things are much stricter these days with proof of age ID being commonly requested.

 

 

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Looks like another grey day and it is forecast to be wet and breezy.  9°C rising to 13°C.

A great day had at Nicki's yesterday and both mum's enjoyed themselves and were also quite touched by the presents bought for them by their respective offspring.  

Today I need to pick up a couple of items from Asda and will attempt the walk in the hope that it will do some good.

Glad to report that The Back problem has eased slightly and moving around is not too bad.  Hope it's better by Thursday as I'm due to go to London town for a school reunion.

I've always enjoyed a drink or several but like others get really disgusted by the behaviour of those who can't control the amount they drink and then show themselves up.  Maybe it's because I was brought up in a pub and was allowed the occasional sip and a weak shandy when I was a nipper that I've never felt the need to get ratar$ed and pubs were places to be on your best behaviour.  I can remember my Dad saying that any customers looking like misbehaving in his pubs were given short shrift and were told that they were guests in his house and would behave accordingly, if not they were marched out very rapidly.  He didn't have to do that very often but that was back in the 50's,  times have changed.

Have a good one,

Bob.

 

 

 

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl,

Five hours sleep which started soon after 20:00, I was just that tired. Long awake followed by intermittent dozing. Got a headache during the night so took some pink pills, that encouraged more of the dozing and has reduced other aches and pains.

 

It's when you are retired and some idiot on the till wants proof you are over 21....

 

The one problem with 5G is shorter range, so many more transmitter towers are needed, especially out in the countryside. We are right on the limit of range for the current transmitters, ( if you stand upstairs in the bathroom). So new sites would be needed, there is a lot of the Norfolk Broads with extra planning restrictions near us.  Our nearest suitable place would be the church.. However it has no electricity ( or water) 

 

Ben the maybe I want out Collie, wasn't that enthusiastic, not surprising because it's raining..  We didn't stay out long...

 

Work for today. Two shelves, two under stairs panels, need making and installing. 

Some consideration whether some smaller shelves will be made.

 

But first.

 

Muggacoffee number 2 is required.

 

 

[Winslow Boy]

9 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

Ah but we had travel bans on all incoming non-residents which were enacted in March 2020 and still in force when this took place, (which is why we were COVID free for most of 2020), so these were Brits who were already here and therefore werent jabbed.....

 

 

Hence my last sentence and as there already there you can get them to pay for it as well.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Not much trouble (again) from arthritis/sciatica. Just the odd twinge or sharp stab of pain that didn't last very long. Still got the stiffness of the joints though but a bit more exercise should help. Spring equinox today, that means the days will be longer than the nights.

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

Another dull start to the day here in England’s northwest corner, the temperature is currently 10C and there doesn’t appear to be much wind, but the sky is grey and miserable. Not much planned for today other than the Sainsbury’s Grand Prix and making stewed apples this afternoon, which will use up the last of the apples that are currently stored in the cellar. 
 

Back later.
 

Brian

[southern42]

' morning all from red dragon land.

Overcast wet, 9.7C.

 

Mother's Day lasted the whole weekend with visit of daughter. We did the R**lway Museum, yesterday, where I had "the day off" 😁, Ray doing the steam rides, leaving home early to fire up.  When we two arrived, there were large, rather than the usual, small family groups coming onto, and going off, the site. So, we went for an early lunch at the Alpine Coffee Shop. Yes, we got there early, yet Daughter was in the queue for nearly half an hour before getting served with drinks. Lunch was served fairly soon after. We choose a table for two outside under the canopy between their two buildings, the second building (nicely done out annex) closed - staff shortage. It is not somewhere I would go again when it is that busy. The place is bad enough on a quiet day, but with a continuous stream of larger groups of passers by in both directions while we were eating and chatting, it was a bit much.

After lunch we had a walk round a few of the sports shops. I kept an eye out for an extra item of clothing which I wanted. No price on the box, so I googled it - twice the price I paid for the one I was wearing! I left it on the shelf! On the way back, we stopped off at the Garden Cafe for a round of LC (no D) and two coffees to take away. Ray took his LC back to the cab, while we two sat on one of the benches by the platform and ate ours, half anyway. It was kind of filling and tasted equally good when I finished off mine when I got home.

 

Time now to think muddling - some grubbiness to add to the other three orange boxes with flange wheels. But I must not forget to get the bins ready for Bin Day, tomorrow.

 

Mugadecaf first.

 

Take care. Be good (yeah, yeah!). Stick with it.

Polly

[monkeysarefun]

3 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

Hence my last sentence and as there already there you can get them to pay for it as well.

They ain't got no time to have fun in jail. They are out here to work for us, whether it's  hard labour on a central west solar farm or slaving away in a Queensland tropical fruit mine.

Edited March 20, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[DaveF]

 

A dull morning here but the forecast rain hasn't turned up (yet).

 

Yesterday I woke nice and early, had the usual e mails and phone calls and then went to church.  There were daffodils for all the female members of the congregation as it was Mothers Day, but there were too many flowers so all the men and children also received a bunch.  It seemed a bit strange not buying Mum a card and chocolates any more.  Then I went to the beach and had a pleasant walk along the promenade, it was warm enough to sit on a bench again and watch the world go by.  There were more people than usual, a lot of families had been to the fish and chip restaurant to buy coffees to take out.  I went home for my coffee as it is only a couple of minutes drive away.

 

There was time for a salad lunch then I went to my monthly model railway group meeting at Longhirst in the village hall which was enjoyable, its only half an hours drive each way mainly along quiet roads.  What I think of as quiet probably means empty roads to many of you, a busy road to me would probably be thought of as quite quiet in many places - I think it is busy when there are more than two cars in front of me at a roundabout. 

 

I returned home in time for tea and to make another couple of phone calls and then setled down with a crossword and some TV until bedtime.

 

David

[Hroth]

Woke up 4am, cold and shivery, stayed in bed all morning then got up and staggered downstairs. Couldn't persuade myself to eat anything so went back upstairs and dug the covid kit out (still valid), and adminstered a test.

 

Negative

 

Got a thermometer out, High temp, so its probably "just" flu, but I still feel effed up.

 

Such a Happy Monday!

 

[Winslow Boy]

2 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

They ain't got no time to have fun in jail. They are out here to work for us, whether it's  hard labour on a central west solar farm or slaving away in a Queensland tropical fruit mine.

 

Better that then down the treacle mine or the Eccles cake plantation up on the moors.

[TheQ]

Afternoon Awl,

Two complicated shelves fitted under the stairs,

 Basic Parts cut for two more shelves, which will be trim to fit,

Cladding boards cut will also be trim to fit.

 

Took Ben for his long walk while rain had ceased.

Cut short walk because Ben was frightened by the bird scarers, he's asleep cuddled up to me on the sofa.

When we got back SWMBO was on the phone, the older of my sisters calling...  She had just been informed by my brother's wife, he has been given weeks to live, he been sent home from hospital. they can't do any more now...

My elder sister has just had to go to my parents  to tell them.

 

Just had to photo  my signature to a bank, knew it was to happen ,they sent an email, I clicked a link,

That got them to send a phone message with a number, which happened immediately, I typed that number into a box, that was confirmed, a page came up with a blank space for the signature, pasted that in.. clicked ok ...done...

 

Also today for the second time in two weeks a dealer in muddling stuff rang to say I hadn't put the house number down on their ordering page.... Then they realised this house doesn't have a number just a name....

 

 

 

 

 

[Gwiwer]

9 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Interesting comments about drinking cultures.

Further to iD's comments it always seemed to me that Australia had set itself up to fail when it came to drinking culture.  What is known among the indigenous peoples as "Whitefella's Grog" was unknown until it arrived with the First Fleet.  It is often said, though I have not studied the science to be sure, that the indigenous population has zero alcohol tolerance through isolation.  

 

What ever the truth of the matter if you mix a hot climate with cold beers (almost always ice-cold fizzy yellow beers even when labelled "ale" or "bitter" you have a recipe for binge-drinking and alcohol-fuelled violence.  It is, sadly, devastatingly endemic.  Far too many people have been seriously hurt or killed by what was called the "King Hit" but was re-branded the "Coward Punch" in an attempt to stigmatise its use and reduce the number of such incidents.  The alcohol-related road trauma per capita is, I believe, astonishingly high.  

 

There are measures for service but not in the way many nations know them.  In the UK a lined or brim-measure glass must be used for draught beers.  In Australia there is no standard measure but the most common is the "pot" (also known as "glass" or "schooner") which is around a half-pint but may be more or less according to local convention.  Pint glasses are usually available on request but are not necessarily a measured pint by UK or US standards.  It is common to order a "jug" when drinking with friends and to pour into as many glasses as are around the table continuously from that until empty.  Small glasses mean there is always pressure to re-order which, in turn, means there are plenty of bar jobs for those who want them.  And means it is very hard to keep track of how much one has actually consumed.  

 

If I drink a pint and have another I know I have had two pints.  If I start with a pot and the jugs keep coming, my glass keeps being topped up and I am more focussed on conversation than quantity I have no reliable idea of how much I have drunk.  

 

Until I start slurring, wobbling or falling over, become involved in a heated discussion which turns nastier and then involves fists, feet and sometimes other weapons.  

 

Most areas of indigenous land are "dry" and it is an offence to transport alcohol into them.  Some areas, Alice Springs being one, have quite restrictive service hours; one cannot purchase alcohol until after 2pm for example and it must not be take out of town.  

 

We had an incident one night with the neighbours across the back fence.  They were not averse to partying through the night.  On this occasion we had managed to get to sleep at a late enough hour despite the noise outside until woken by what sounded like heavy hail or some sort of gunfire.  I looked out to see a sheet of flame rising from their backyard amid cheering.  The beer fridge, which they in their wisdom kept out on the lawn, had overheated and was in flames.  The popping sounds were the exploding beer bottles within some of which had become without and were sending tin caps, glass and contents violently into the night air.  

 

I was on the phone to the fireys within moments.  It took them just five minutes to arrive.  Piling into the backyard among the partygoers they were met with cries of "what ****ing fire?" and "**** off ya b*****ds". They had to call the police in order to do their job without being attacked.  A hot night?  yes.  It was around 25C minimum.  And there were perhaps a hundred partygoers, mostly young men we think, all making a thorough nuisance of themselves.  Until the police turned their backs and  the fireys turned their hoses on them to cool their spirits.  

 

 

[Dave Hunt]

I remember reading a book once where a group of people who had just about had enough of drunken yobs stopped at gunpoint a train of football hooligans who were busy wrecking it from within. They ordered the yobboes off the train into a field in the middle of nowhere then turned water hoses on them and sent the train on its way, leaving the soaking wet sh!theads to walk to wherever they wanted to go in a cold winter's night. I can't recall what the book was called but it struck me as a pretty good idea.

 

I hope that my back takes a lesson from GDB's as for the last week my sciatica has been playing merry hell and I'm more or less chairbound with hot water bottles and industrial quantities of codeine and paracetamol. The GP has referred me to an orthopaedic hospital but Lord alone knows when I'll get an appointment there. Maybe going private could be considered....

 

Dave       

[polybear]

2 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

Better that then down the treacle mine or the Eccles cake plantation up on the moors.

 

Oh, I dunno.....no killer snakes/spiders/crocs/sharks/plants....

And I'd hazard a guess that @jamie92208 would be up for a stint on the plantation - and at least several fellow ER'ers would be smugglin' sponge into the mine...

 

Bear here....

Numerous walls on the landing "sized"; I guess I spent a couple of hours or so working then decided not to push it and stopped - the Beary Neck was a bit "iffy" earlier as a result but seems to have settled a bit (but not enough).

Postie delivered the new, spare soldering iron handle for Bear's Temp Controlled Soldering Station, along with a spare heating element (it was only six quid, and seemed like a sensible idea).

 

A question for fellow ER'ers:

Does anyone (HiFi experts, maybe?) know of an inexpensive 5-pin DIN Plug switching unit by any chance?  What I need is some form of Y-splitter that's switchable between "Output A" or "Output B" - that way I don't need to keep unplugging one iron from the Solder Station and plugging the other in when I need to use a smaller bit.

 

In other news....

I received a note thru' the door earlier from a buddy who lives 3 doors away to report that his mum (known to Bear for ever as "Auntie Kit") had sadly died following a fall at home several weeks ago 😢; she was in her 90's so has had a pretty innings, but a shock all the same.

 

And finally.....

VSBT's to @TheQ and family....

 

Bear gone.

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Arthur Itis and Si Attica have been quiet for most of today, only giving the odd tweak or two. Still having difficulty walking and going up and down srairs.

36 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

I hope that my back takes a lesson from GDB's as for the last week my sciatica has been playing merry hell and I'm more or less chairbound with hot water bottles and industrial quantities of codeine and paracetamol. The GP has referred me to an orthopaedic hospital but Lord alone knows when I'll get an appointment there. Maybe going private could be considered....

 

Dave       

Si Attica does like the cold.

[AndyID]

10 minutes ago, polybear said:

Does anyone (HiFi experts, maybe?) know of an inexpensive 5-pin DIN Plug switching unit by any chance?  What I need is some form of Y-splitter that's switchable between "Output A" or "Output B" - that way I don't need to keep unplugging one iron from the Solder Station and plugging the other in when I need to use a smaller bit.

 

Might be simpler to kludge one up for yourself. Sockets easily obtainable from the big ladies. Course you will have to do a bit of weilding if not welding.

[southern42]

10 hours ago, DaveF said:

It seemed a bit strange not buying Mum a card and chocolates any more. 

 

I still feel an emptiness, and for Dad too on Father's Day, but I overcome it with something special for them. This year it was with a bunch of silk Daffs in memory of all four of our parents who have a birthday or anniversary this month. I find it helps and keeps them in mind. In my early years, Mum worked in a couple of nurseries, so there was never a shortage of flowers growing at home while she was there and Dad loved roses. One of the nurseries is on the east side of the former GWR branch line to Uxbridge Vine Street.

This recording about Lowe and Shawyers nurseries informs me why and when Mum had to change jobs!  

ttps://www.facebook.com/UxbridgeFM/videos/history-show-ken-pearce-the-lowe-and-shawyer-nursery/2812322589058528/

I had not realised how old the nurseries were. Ironically, Mum's last job was at Brunel University which sits on the sight of the nurseries. Photo of the nurseries, including the railway line, is at the bottom of the article on this page:
https://www.brunel.ac.uk/about/our-history/memorials/documents/pdf/greenhouses.pdf

 

Quite an informative afternoon, I must admit.

 

Today's toot on the flute surprised me. I managed to speed up my playing on my main song. Tomorrow, I shall get the beat box out again and find out if I can play along with it at a faster speed. This is the speed I am aiming for though it may be a while before I get that far.

The beat is for a 4 beat cycle of which I have to fit in 4 notes, one per beat; 8 notes, two per beat, 16 notes, 4 per beat; plus extra (twiddly) notes making up to 8 notes per beat. You are now  getting nearer to driving in formula 1 mode!

https://youtu.be/VC77YxQ3esw

 

Time to complete bin sorting... it is just starting to rain.

 

 

 

Edited March 20, 2023 by southern42
typo

[jamie92208]

Beth did actually have contact from all three kidscyestetday and a cardcis waiting for us in the UK. However the day is always a bit poignant forces as itis often near to 15th March which was the daye that both our mother's died.on.  Add in 9th March for my dad and 23rd Feb for Beth's it's  time of memories.  We usually have a good meal out and raise a glass to absent friends.  This year it was actually on the 15th and a glass of Montepulciano was raised.  

 

A good lunch was had.

 

Jamie

 

 

 

[petethemole]

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

I remember reading a book once where a group of people who had just about had enough of drunken yobs stopped at gunpoint a train of football hooligans who were busy wrecking it from within. They ordered the yobboes off the train into a field in the middle of nowhere then turned water hoses on them and sent the train on its way, leaving the soaking wet sh!theads to walk to wherever they wanted to go in a cold winter's night. I can't recall what the book was called but it struck me as a pretty good idea.

I remember reading that, in the '70s IIRC.  The 'group of people' were what we would today call 'extreme right wingers' trying to build a movement/private army to take over the state.