Early Risers.

[Erichill16]

Evening All,

A great deal of traffic on here today so haven’t been able to read all posts especially as most of the day was spent with Mum down in Newark.

A pleasant enough day but her hearing is getting worse and it’s not easy having a conversation with here if there’s any background noise. Anyway she was pleased to see us all, SWMBO Hovis, Sydney and myself.

Spent a birthday voucher from last year a the ‘special interest’ shop there.

Not much else to report so goodnight.

ps  @iL Dottore can you ask CC when to expect the payments for my book?

 

[Tony_S]

38 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

The only reason for changing it is my mobility is getting less making it difficult to get in or out of the car, that is why I considered a van.

MiL has restricted mobility but every car seems to be different. She can’t get in the back seat of the Enfield relatives Toyota Corolla, the rear door opening doesn’t open enough. She seems fine in the front of Aditi’s Fiesta though she drops onto the seat as it is quite low. She has no trouble getting in or out of the Evoque rear and said it is very comfortable, though she can’t see anything, the front seats very much block any view forward. As for vans, Aditi has a terrible time getting in to minibus type taxis unless the driver has a step!

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Like yesterday, the weather has been lovely, I’ve wall to wall sunshine all day and got loads done. All the new plants have been planted and watered in. The new solar light have been installed and all came on for the first time this evening. Sheila was delighted with how they looked too, so that’s a result. The 3 new wall plaques we bought have all been hung up and a fourth one, that has been in place for years has been re-sited. The two trucks that we used yesterday have been also cleaned and put back into the shed ready for next year.
 

After dinner, the nematodes that I bought yesterday, were applied to the garden in an attempt to sought out our slug population. Completing all those tasks today, has earned me a few brownie points. I even managed an hour in the workshop, but I was alone today, as Charlie had been out wit,he mates last night and was suffering from the after effects of that. 

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[PhilJ W]

21 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

MiL has restricted mobility but every car seems to be different. She can’t get in the back seat of the Enfield relatives Toyota Corolla, the rear door opening doesn’t open enough. She seems fine in the front of Aditi’s Fiesta though she drops onto the seat as it is quite low. She has no trouble getting in or out of the Evoque rear and said it is very comfortable, though she can’t see anything, the front seats very much block any view forward. As for vans, Aditi has a terrible time getting in to minibus type taxis unless the driver has a step!

I have difficulty getting into ordinary cars now. The Vauxhall Zafira I tried out today has adjustable height driver/front passenger seats. 

[skipepsi]

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

I have difficulty getting into ordinary cars now. The Vauxhall Zafira I tried out today has adjustable height driver/front passenger seats. 

Not the most exciting car we have ever had but good enough to consider replacing it with a second one. It lost out to a C4 Picasso in the end.

[jjb1970]

MPVs may not have excited petrol heads but they were hugely practical and sensible family cars. There seems to have been a blending of the MPV and SUV. At one time the packaging of many off road vehicles and SUVs was dreadful, huge vehicles with mediocre interior space given how big they were. These days many SUVs have basically been designed like MPVs inside, with clever seating, family friendly features, big boots etc.

[BR60103]

19 hours ago, pH said:

 Watfor/Watfiv?

Watfor, and before that Forgo.

 

[Ozexpatriate]

4 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

A great deal of traffic on here today

91 posts by my count.

[BR60103]

Today's weather prediction was thunderstorms over most of the area.  Then we started to get tornado watches and warnings.  We had one very heavy downpour with lots of thunder but no tornado (that I've heard of).

I have to sneak off somehow and find birthday cards for Dayle (from me and the cat). 

 

[Ozexpatriate]

Bit late to the party, but:

14 hours ago, polybear said:

Mixing Baked Beans with Mushy Peas then nukin' 'em together does work

I like baked beans but that does sound revolting.

 

12 hours ago, polybear said:

Add some mint sauce and you're really singin'

I love mint sauce but now that sounds disgusting.

 

Edited July 21, 2023 by Ozexpatriate

[Gwiwer]

9 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

Better get a plumber pdq.

There’s a national shortage of sky-plumbers. 

[TheQ]

11 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

 

But that happens. For a motoring example, the requirement to fit a catalytic convertor. There's plenty of legislative change that has a direct cost to the individual, for example changes in taxation.

But when cats came in you were not forced to fit one to your old car, neither are old diesels forced to fit a dpf. In fact if you do it, your vehicle still won't be permitted to enter a ULEZ, as your vehicle  is only classed in its original format. It was only a slight increase in cost when you chose to buy buy your next car.

 

There have been some real oddities in this where a private car can't enter the zone due to the classification, but a commercial vehicle with exactly the same engine and emission controls can. 

 

Normally laws are not back dated to affect ownership and use, the only time I can think of this happening was the banning of private ownership of handguns 

 

As some one else said, it would be simpler and more equitable to allow anyone inside the zone to keep a vehicle bought before the law was changed. There's not that many of a reducing percentage.

Edited July 21, 2023 by TheQ

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from a bright and sunny Charente.  Shoulders are aching a bit as the main hedge was trimmed yesterday.  It'2 metres high and between 5 and 6 feet thick. Need a step addrer for the top doing one side at a time. However it looks OK.  There are more to do tomorrow but a lot lower.  In the afternoon our friend and her three lively youngsters 8 8 & 4, came for a BBQ which went well.  We all ended up playing boules and a good time was had.  

 

Today looks to be a good day.  Model tray e club meet some distance north of us.  Good company and some radio controlled toys to play with. 

 

Regards to all. 

 

Jamie

[NGT6 1315]

Moaning awl. Very worried here as my mum had to be taken to hospital following cardiac arrest. That's about all I know right now, though.

[jamie92208]

5 minutes ago, NGT6 1315 said:

Moaning awl. Very worried here as my mum had to be taken to hospital following cardiac arrest. That's about all I know right now, though.

Thoughts and prayers are with you and your mum Dom. 

 

Jamie

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl,

4.5 hours sleep, 2.5 hours sleep not to many wake up and turn overs. Pink pills had to be taken to achieve this.

 

I suppose our two house purchases and one sell, went quite well in the form of timing. The solicitor for the purchase of this house did loose some historical documents for this house which have never been recovered. The purchase of this house took 12 weeks. Which seems a lot, but fitted in well , because I found the house on one trip home from Saudi, and moved us in on the next trip home from Saudi.

We did 15 weeks out there 15 days back, and the keys became available just before my next trip home.

 

The hedge that was not trimmed yesterday is in 4 sections  each is now growing rapidly over 6 ft high , they should be 4 foot, and I need to chop one trunk of each plant to keep the bottom of the hedges filled in by resprouting.

 

In a few minutes it's time to get up, as it's museum day., 

Interruption, Ben the I'd like to go out Collie appeared,

Blue Welkin, light breeze, very soggy under foot as we had heavy rain yesterday evening / overnight in short batches. 

Ben enjoyed a full patrol, he's back in his pit asleep.

 

I see the weekend is meant to be spectacular in the form of rain in many areas with high winds. Maybe it was a good Sunday to be visiting RAF Cranwell and RAF Digby in a nice warm coach.

 

Time to get moving..

 

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

@NGT6 1315 hope your Mum 8s OK Dom.

 

Apparently it will rain today.. absolutely hammer it down tomorrow and just rain for the restof the weekend and next week  PAH!

 

I await the appearance of the hedge trimming team. My tasks today include mowing the grass and washing the Beast. We bought the Outlander after a trip to Oz. We wanted a Toyota Highlander but they weren't available in Britain .. they are now. I can get in and out of the Outlander and use it on battery power for getting about Leeds.. power source..  our solar panels.. 

 

Timevto get up and going methinks.

 

stay safe!

 

TTFN from the North West Leeds Highlands. 

 

baz

 

 

 

[iL Dottore]

Good morning all,

 

A day of (semi–) retirement, beckons!. I have nothing to do until a teleconference at 4 pm, and then I am free until my next teleconference on Wednesday at 4 pm. A trip to the gym and a cashpoint await. I might also do some food shopping - the fridge is pretty empty with only a cauliflower, a box of mixed mushrooms, some carrots, some onions and some ginger lurking in the recesses of the vegetable drawer. Given that they are looking rather sad, I have 3 options: soup, curry or bin them. Curry is the firm favourite at the moment - I need (a) something with a bit of grunt for supper and (b) I have a big bag of frozen allotment chillies grown by a friend to work through.

 
I might also do a little on my woodwork/kit building/m**** r****** projects.

 

Trivia aside, after reading diverse posts on this matter on ER I’ve been ruminating upon London’s ULEZ scheme. TBH I think that it is a purely a cosmetic (and money grubbing) exercise; the real solution would be to get as many vehicles OFF the road as possible by providing a joined-up-thinking network of metro, underground, tram and bus (possibly electric bus). Additionally, restricting heavy vehicle access to central London to those hours where there is very little traffic would also help bring down pollution. However, I don’t see that happening at all, because to achieve a fully integrated and joined-up public transport network you’d need serious infrastructure investment and coherent long-term planning - both things British governments of all hues have failed to master!

 

A significant part of the problem in the UK (and in the US - and possibly other Anglo-Saxon countries) are the “vested interests” (remember what the Road Lobby did to British Railways?). Now, democracy is all very well and good (and as Churchill said “democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the others that have been tried”) and great for individual freedom; but for the benefit of the population and the country as a whole, enlightened autocracy has advantages. I somehow doubt that the People’s Republic of China would’ve been able to lift so many millions out of poverty into a reasonable quality of life over the past 30 years had it been a democracy. When the PRC decides that a town or city needs a state of the art Metro and bus system, that town or city gets a state of the art Metro and bus system. 
 

When the PRC says that it will become carbon neutral before 2060, you know it will be carbon neutral before 2060 - whilst the Western world is still ******* around with CO2 credits, ULEZ and the like.

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, Barry O said:

Apparently it will rain today.. absolutely hammer it down tomorrow and just rain for the restof the weekend and next week  PAH!

 

Will it be raining in Manchester? Oh dear what a pity just when its looking like England had the upper hand.  What a shame.

 

 

[Hroth]

3 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

Will it be raining in Manchester? Oh dear what a pity just when its looking like England had the upper hand.  What a shame.

 

 

 

No one likes a bad winner!

 

[monkeysarefun]

22 minutes ago, Hroth said:

 

No one likes a bad winner!

 

Its YOUUR weather !

 

 

 

Just papped @polybear  -( looks pretty smug  gotta say).

 

 

 

Edited July 21, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[polybear]

10 hours ago, PupCam said:

Great news Rick.  That must be the one exception; a  smooth, quick  and agro-free house purchase that proves the rule that buying and selling property is generally one of the most stressful things a human can do.    Very pleased it's worked out so well but I'm sure we'll miss the reports of the comings and goings from the Hill of Strawberries and I'm sure they'll be a lot of bewildered passengers on a certain station now the friendly font of knowledge has hung up his uniform.   By the way, hopefully you'll be able to afford the cost of a return train ticket to London for "visits" 😉

 

Bear's one and only house buying experience was about as smooth as they get cos' we were already living in the house (and had been for many years) and had the keys, so just a paperwork shuffling exercise with no buyers (except us), no chain and no estate agents.

Oh yes, and a thing called "right to buy" made it "quite nice" as well.

Definitely a Big Tick.

 

10 hours ago, PupCam said:

Scrappage - personally I think scrappage schemes suck as they completely miss the fundamental wider picture under the pretext of saving the planet.   No, the real reason IMVHO is to keep Joe Public putting his hand in his pocket buying new cars (not clapped out second hand jobs) to keep the motor industry going.     

 

Scrappage is wonderful when it occurs exactly at the right time, namely when Ricky the Rover had been summoned to the Great Recycling Centre in the Sky 😢 but still had an MOT and was driveable(ish).

 

9 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Fortunately my car is ULAZ compliant despite being fifteen years old. Yet if I was to sell it I would get less than two grand for it despite the low mileage (less than 40,000) and being serviced every year. 

 

Now I'd call that a very attractive second hand buy for someone.

 

5 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Bit late to the party, but:

I like baked beans but that does sound revolting.

 

I love mint sauce but now that sounds disgusting.

 

 

A third contender for the Beary Taste Test.....

 

1 hour ago, TheQ said:

But when cats came in you were not forced to fit one to your old car, neither are old diesels forced to fit a dpf. In fact if you do it, your vehicle still won't be permitted to enter a ULEZ, as your vehicle  is only classed in its original format. It was only a slight increase in cost when you chose to buy buy your next car.

 

There have been some real oddities in this where a private car can't enter the zone due to the classification, but a commercial vehicle with exactly the same engine and emission controls can. 

 

Normally laws are not back dated to affect ownership and use, the only time I can think of this happening was the banning of private ownership of handguns 

 

As some one else said, it would be simpler and more equitable to allow anyone inside the zone to keep a vehicle bought before the law was changed. There's not that many of a reducing percentage.

 

It appears that a certain prospective member of the Big House lost out last night - the word on the street being because of the expanded ULEZ zone; it seems the natives are sufficiently p1ssed off about it to swap sides.

 

Bear here....

 

Firstly, VVVVSBT's to @NGT6 1315 - with best wishes for a happy outcome.

 

In other news.....

Bear's first mission of the day is the re-framing of two piccies (conversion from clip frames to proper frames) and then danglin' them on the stair wall.

After that it'll be MIUABGAD, which may well involve searching of Bear Towers for stuff to go to the Hospice Charity; they are due to arrive with their van in the Village next week - they visit every few months and park by the library for people to drop off their stuff.  Seems to work well too.

 

BG

[Tim Dubya]

Mornin',

 

all laptop toys have arrived and softwares shoved into it.

Day off (from paper) today, so housework and fiddle about type of day it is.

Cider juice for tea made it not possible to say goodnight yesterday as I was already having one.

😉