Early Risers.

[southern42]

5 hours ago, polybear said:

I'll even get carried away and clean the tops of the kitchen wall cupboards (just how do things that are only 12" away from the ceiling manage to get so dusty??).

 

It is carried up on all that hot air...

[The White Rabbit]

3 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

This is what concerns me over my late brothers property. It has now been empty for six months but last time I was there it was in pretty good order, nothing other than a lick of paint will take care of. But all of the time it remains empty it could be deteriorating and might attract the scrotes looking for easy pickings.

 

3 hours ago, grandadbob said:

The good thing about this road is that a lot of us are friends and keep an eye on things.  I can see the house from where I'm sitting at the moment, as can The Boss.  There are quite a few people around, those of us who are retired and at least three who still work from home periodically.  Another neighbour (close friend of his sister) has a key and checks frequently for post and junk mail and his sister and brother visit to keep the garden under control.

 

Empty houses do have a certain air about them. Lights on timers with thoughtfully positioned curtains (including nets) can help. Also the obvious hiding of the pile where the post lands (but not by putting up an old sheet/cloth over the door window, that's a dead giveaway). 

 

I think the best 'defence' is the co-operation and help by neighbours, both 'keeping an eye open' and simple practical things, like parking a car on the drive occasionally, mowing lawns and basic weeding, wiping window ledges or rinsing window panes. And, dare I say it - removing spiders' webs from doorways and opening windows! If someone's got keys, moving the positions of curtains and any ground floor room contents visible also helps. 

 

It's also a good idea to run the water taps every so often to reduce the risk of Legionnaires disease and have the central heating working ditto (even in summer, just at a low temperature or briefly) just to keep mechanical things working, inactivity can cause problems. And for anyone in this position, I'd strongly recommend checking the house insurance policy, often if a property is unoccupied, they want someone to check on it at least weekly, it's a common term imposed when you notify them of the death of the policy holder and can they amend it to provide cover while the place is sold. 

 

Edited August 22, 2023 by The White Rabbit

[Compound2632]

3 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

Adder bites are rarely fatal but can have some very unpleasant side-effects and, I am told, are extremely painful.  There are a few bites every year but it is not considered a problem. 

 

Unless, I suppose, you happen to be the person bitten?

[Hroth]

58 minutes ago, southern42 said:

 

It is carried up on all that hot air...

 

Hot air is a problem...

 

[Tony_S]

10 minutes ago, The White Rabbit said:

And, dare I say it - removing spiders' webs from doorways and opening windows! If someone's got keys, moving the positions of curtains and any ground floor room contents visible also helps. 

I think the front of our house looks tidier when we are away.  Our neighbours take keeping an eye on our house very seriously. 

[jjb1970]

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

When we lived in Singapore I was sitting in the lounge one day chatting with a neighbour when Jill came running out of the bathroom shouting, "There's a spider in the bath." The interesting bit was that she didn't have any clothes on. When she had departed to the bedroom and neighbour (male) and I had got over the delight shock we went to investigate and found a rather large (about 4 or 5 in leg span) bird eating spider trying unsuccessfully to climb out of the bath. We trapped in an upturned bowl and piece of card and released it in the garden. It took Jill a while to live that one down.

 

Dave

 

I have genuinely never felt threatened or at risk from people in  Singapore,  I happily walk down deserted streets in the quiet hours,  use night buses etc without thinking.  However the noises which come from wooded areas at night are a different matter,  I tend to avoid going off footpaths and taking shortcuts after dark not because I worry about being mugged or getting lost but because I would rather not find out what's making all the  noise. Some of the bugs are rather scary looking and although the lizards are very docile when left alone I'd rather not find out how they react if stepped on.

[Tim Dubya]

11 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

I think the front of our house looks tidier when we are away.

 

My parents always knew we'd been partying when they went away, as the house was usually tidier and the carpets cleaner than when they went.  There was that one time though... I was still at Stonehenge fezzy... but that's a story for another day...... man 🤯

[jjb1970]

Another tip on names of countries,  if you ever visit 'Laos' or meet Lao people you get brownie points if you call it Lao. The full name is  Lao People's Democratic Republic, often shortened to Lao PDR but just Lao is fine.  

[TheQ]

Spider eviction involves an old plastic mug, and a thin sheet of plasticard in our house.

 

Afternoon Awl,

The shed refelt is now complete, it was interrupted by an unforecast shower during which I had lunch.

Ben is asleep on the floor sunbathing. Easing his old bones in think.

 

I'm surprised more people don't change the battery on their phones, rather than replace the whole phone, it's something I did on this tablet computer which can be bought as a phone.

 

 

Edited August 22, 2023 by TheQ

[jjb1970]

Does 5G mobile telecom add anything to the user experience? Genuine question.  My new phone is 5G and my contract makes a big deal of standard 5G access. Despite all the marketing spin I have discerned no difference whatsoever in speed of apps and online services,  buffering, network access, stability or anything else compared to the 4G network of my previous phone.  The only difference is a tiny little  '5G' in the header part of the screen. Presumably  5G does something better but is it anything the user might notice?

[Hroth]

5 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

Does 5G mobile telecom add anything to the user experience? Genuine question.  My new phone is 5G and my contract makes a big deal of standard 5G access. Despite all the marketing spin I have discerned no difference whatsoever in speed of apps and online services,  buffering, network access, stability or anything else compared to the 4G network of my previous phone.  The only difference is a tiny little  '5G' in the header part of the screen. Presumably  5G does something better but is it anything the user might notice?

 

If you'r part of the culture that streams everything on their phone, is heavily involved in social media, video calls and so on, I suppose that there is some extra bandwidth and speed benefit.

 

If you use it as a more or less conventional phone, for emails and texts, in other words "old fashioned" usage, than its probably a bit overkill.

 

[jjb1970]

3 minutes ago, Hroth said:

 

If you'r part of the culture that streams everything on their phone, is heavily involved in social media, video calls and so on, I suppose that there is some extra bandwidth and speed benefit.

 

If you use it as a more or less conventional phone, for emails and texts, in other words "old fashioned" usage, than its probably a bit overkill.

 

 

That's the thing,  I  watch videos on the train to/from work and if in places like airport lounges if not working and the 4G network allowed me to watch Netflix etc to my hearts content in superb quality with no buffering, freezing or drop out or anything. I am not a gamer but the boy is and he has never complained about bandwidth, latency or anything on 4G. I  am really struggling to identify any advantage.

[Hroth]

11 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

 

That's the thing,  I  watch videos on the train to/from work and if in places like airport lounges if not working and the 4G network allowed me to watch Netflix etc to my hearts content in superb quality with no buffering, freezing or drop out or anything. I am not a gamer but the boy is and he has never complained about bandwidth, latency or anything on 4G. I  am really struggling to identify any advantage.

 

I fall into the "old fashioned" category, and so even 4G is dangerously modern for me!  With the switching off of the 3G network in the UK (I suppose to free up bandwidth for 5G) its something we have to put up with...

 

[southern42]

52 minutes ago, TheQ said:

Spider eviction involves an old plastic mug, and a thin sheet of plasticard in our house.

 

Toilet roll tube and sheet of scrap paper/card/other in our house.

[Ozexpatriate]

8 hours ago, polybear said:

HMAS Melbourne damaged (and subsequently written off)

HMAS Melbourne was repaired and served as RAN flagship until it was decommissioned in 1982 - more than 10 years after the collision with USS Frank E. Evans. The RAN wanted to replace it with HMS Invincible, but HM's Government reneged on the offer to sell her, discovering that she was a more useful ship than they realized.

 

Cockatoo Island dockyards had plenty of experience by then in repairing Melbourne's bows.

 

Edited August 22, 2023 by Ozexpatriate

[jjb1970]

2 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

HMAS Melbourne was repaired and served as RAN flagship until it was decommissioned in 1982 - more than 10 years after the collision with USS Frank E. Evans. The RAN wanted to replace it with HMS Invincible, but HM's Government reneged on the offer to sell her, discovering that she was a more useful ship than they realized.

 

Cockatoo Island dockyards had plenty of experience by then in repairing her bows.

 

 

The light fleet carriers had remarkably long and storied careers given their genesis as cheap ships to bulk up numbers next to the more expensive fleet carriers. 

[southern42]

Just dilly dallying <<don't mind me!>> ...putting off examining the next set of toot on the flute twiddly bits. Spiders, 3G 4G 5G, and such like or grasping new note combos, phrases, rhythms, fingerings...?  Still, if I want to get to the end of the section...

I had better set up the video and gerronwivit.

 

Edited August 22, 2023 by southern42

[jamie92208]

Bon Apres midi. It's scorchio here about 37.  Shutters are partially shut  and fans are on.  We went to La Rochelle.  2 plus points.  Beth does not need an operation. Physio and an I ejection prescribed.  Secondly the surgeon was silvery easy on the eye as well as being very competent and pleasant

 

Sitting doing not a lot now. 

 

Jamie

[polybear]

2 hours ago, The White Rabbit said:

I think the best 'defence' is the co-operation and help by neighbours, both 'keeping an eye open' and simple practical things, like parking a car on the drive occasionally, mowing lawns and basic weeding, wiping window ledges or rinsing window panes. And, dare I say it - removing spiders' webs from doorways and opening windows! If someone's got keys, moving the positions of curtains and any ground floor room contents visible also helps. 

 

It's in the Neighbour's interests as well - get a load of Squatters in a house and it could cause real problems for them as well.

 

2 hours ago, The White Rabbit said:

And for anyone in this position, I'd strongly recommend checking the house insurance policy, often if a property is unoccupied, they want someone to check on it at least weekly, it's a common term imposed when you notify them of the death of the policy holder and can they amend it to provide cover while the place is sold. 

 

 

On Policies I've had in recent years there's been a 30-day clause about being empty - any more and it could cause problems if not declared.

 

2 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I think the front of our house looks tidier when we are away.  Our neighbours take keeping an eye on our house very seriously. 

 

Back in the early 70's there was a house in the same street as Grandad Bear's (a street of Bungalows in Worthing, all very sedate n' all that) that had a sign on the gate post which read:

 

Warning To Burglars:

Guard Dog

Burglar Alarm

Observant Neighbours

 

1 hour ago, TheQ said:

I'm surprised more people don't change the battery on their phones, rather than replace the whole phone, it's something I did on this tablet computer which can be bought as a phone.

 

In the past day or so I've discovered that Bear's iPhone is suddenly seeming to go rather flat (as in dead flat) every day (TBC), despite only being switched on but with no calls/texts made or received or photos taken.

I've a sneaky suspicion that it's close to death; the phone is so old (and 3g) that battery replacement won't make sense - it's looking scarily like I might have to splash the cash 😱

 

42 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

HMAS Melbourne was repaired and served as RAN flagship until it was decommissioned in 1982 - more than 10 years after the collision with USS Frank E. Evans. The RAN wanted to replace it with HMS Invincible, but HM's Government reneged on the offer to sell her, discovering that she was a more useful ship than they realized.

 

Bear screwed up** - thanks, duly corrected.

(**It happens sometimes, amazingly.....)

Edited August 22, 2023 by polybear

[DaveF]

Hot today for Northumberland's coast, 24C at lunchtime in my garden.

 

I visited the cemetery and checked the grave is OK.  It still hasn't been grassed over so when I got home I rang the cemetery people at the council, they just checked the plot number and date of burial and asked if there was anything on the grave besides a headstone.  So I said no, it should be just grassed over.  She will arrange for the maintenance team to level it and put grass seed on. I'll go again the the autumn to check on it - it's just across the road from the beach so it's no problem to go there.

 

After the cemetery I went to the beach and had a walk along the promenade.  I got a takeaway coffee from one of the two new coffee shops as a small treat and sat on one of the benches while it cooled down enough to drink.  It's not often there is a day warm enough to enjoy doing that.  Back home I had another coffee and finished a crossword, then had lunch.  There were several families at the beach, it was interesting to see how the children reacted to the water.  Some just dipped their feet in and that was enough but one family's children all had wet suits - they were probably 8-10 years old and were enjoying themselves swimming, floating and just messing about.  It was clear they knew what they were doing, they didn't go further than chest deep and not on the bit of the beach with a strong current.

 

I felt tired then so I had a short nap.  The plumber came just after 3, she brought the boss with her who is semi retired.  He too is a railway modeller so we ran trains and chatted while she put a new unit in the cistern and fitted a new central heating control system - just a programmable wireless thermostat, I don't need anything I can control from my phone.  I just have it so it comes on in the morning when I get up and goes off at bedtime and keeps the house comfortable.  That used to be 19C in winter, now it is 21C as I feel the cold - I wear wollen socks even indoors in winter or my toes go numb.  I had enough cash to pay the bill which was handy but must go to the bank tomorrow and then buy something small to get some loose change - I think I have about £2-50 in cash left.

 

Derek, the boss, has bought himeslf a 3" scale traction engine which he keeps in his garage, his next project will be to build a larger scale one from a set of parts.  He reckons it will take him about 4 years.  He's also been setting up things to give him extra income when he retires fully and his son takes over - several flats which he rents out.

 

I've just watered everything, next it will be time for some tea then a quiet evening, I haven't decided what to do yet but it may well be another book.

 

David

 

[Hroth]

At 5pm the sparrows come to feed...

 

Its a flock of about 10 birds that come to eat de-shelled sunflower seeds from my birdfeeder. Messy eaters, they dig the seeds out and what doesn't go into their beaks ends up on the ground to be fielded by the birds waiting their go at the feeder.  Others wait in a bush or on top of the shed.

 

After they've had their fill, the pigeons drop by to tidy up.

 

Thought it might be a bit different to all this spider talk...

 

 

 

[polybear]

Bear here......

 

The Kitchen is now squeaky clean 😁 - Bear very happy.  Humongous Tick Awarded.

I've had a subsequent email from the Council, saying that my enquiry is now "resolved".  T0ssers.

 

I also had a brief visit from the rather nice 😉 NNND, bringing Bear a block of Cheese from Portugal in return for looking after her house and watering the plants.  That's a Tick.

 

BG

[Barry O]

What a day!

Forgot an early appointT the Marie Celeste (her indoors got me there in time.. just.) Then a lot of emailing to do.. then a meeting withan ECB colleague,  then off to Barnsley.

 

Had a spot of lunch watching the cricket.. whatever it was I ate it didn't stay long with me.. so herself drove us back home..4 hours sleep and now feeling almost normal..

 

A zoom tonight,potential meetings organised for the end of September...how time flies when you are having fun!

 

Spiders.. no problemo even the ones in Oz, bees.. I can move these bygetting them onto my fingers and heading outside..wasps.. well I just hate wasps!

 

Need to try a snackette... starting to feel the need for it!

 

 

@jjb1970the marketers change company names Skoda, Hyundai etc to make them sound "different. Dealings with military stuff in these companies as well as Qatar really opened my eyes to how advertising can destroy local pronunciations...

 

 

a bit like slowit and linfit in Yorkshire..  (Slaithwaite  andLinthwaite)

Baz

[polybear]

From MSN:

 

A man banned his partner from farting in the house because he felt it is “unladylike”. Writing on the Reddit forum, a woman revealed that a huge argument arose with her boyfriend after she broke wind in the kitchen. “I feel like I should be able to fart in my own home without judgement,” she said. “Ah, women, we can finally vote, pay taxes, and purchase properties”, said LadBible, “but my god, some men can’t deal when you let out a little backdoor breeze”.

 

🤣🤣

[Tony_S]

50 minutes ago, polybear said:

Bear a block of Cheese from Portugal i

We took a block of soft nougat from Portugal round to one of our neighbours today. She was very pleased as she is the only one in the family that likes it! She is a very nice person and has been really busy recently dealing with family things and today was especially “difficult” so I think the nougat was a pleasant surprise.