Early Risers.

[DaveF]

 A cloudy morning here, jobs are all done, photos placed on the web, in a few minutes I'll have a walk.

 

Yesterday evening a white van stopped outside my house, courier got out carrying a package in a large white envelope - but I hadn't ordered anything.  It turned out to be a magazine plus supplement running to just over 300 pages - a copy of "Living North" magazine.  The envelope said "delivered by Royal Mail"  but that was partly covered by a Yodel addresss label.  I suspect the package was chaeaper to send by Yodel than Royal Mail.  For £3-45 an issue the magazine is good value - a typical regional lifestyle magazine but it does contain a lot about "What's On" and has good sections on specialist shops.

 

Later on I'll look at yet more of my old photos with my coffee , I'm not sure yet about this afternoon.

 

I slept a bit better last night but itched - itching and poor sleep are withdrawal symptoms from cetirizine.

 

It is interesting reading about whereb other people live and what is near them.

 

David

[Coombe Barton]

20 minutes ago, grandadbob said:

You'll never guess what happened next!

Go on ... surprise us ... :)

 

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

A bright, sunny start to the day here in the northwest corner of England, the temperature is 14C with an expected high of 22C this afternoon. I’ll shortly be setting off to collect Ava, who we haven’t seen for 2 weeks! No doubt she’ll be telling us about her recent holiday in Lanzarote etc. The plan is to bake a lemon drizzle cake this morning, some will be eaten after tea tonight, the rest will be sent up to Vickie and Ian’s. 

 

Back later. 

 

Brian

[grandadbob]

40 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

Go on ... surprise us ... :)

 

Peelers have got little plastic safety covers over the blades which are quite stiff to get off.  Did two but the third was a bit harder and when I gave it a bit of welly managed to get the end of my thumb stuck in the bl##dy thing!  You couldn't make it up....well unless you know me and then anything could happen. 

 

Coleslaw has now been made with no mishaps.

I've got some raspberries to decorate my cake later on.... that shouldn't present any major hazards.

 

Edited September 2, 2023 by grandadbob

[Hroth]

4 minutes ago, grandadbob said:

 

Peelers have got little plastic safety covers over the blades which are quite stiff to get off.  Did two but the third was a bit harder and when I gave it a bit of welly managed to get the end of my thumb stuck in the bl##dy thing!  You couldn't make it up....well unless you know me and then anything could happen. 

 

Coleslaw has now been made with no mishaps.

 

 

You should include some beetroot, just to cover up any little mishaps...

 

[Coombe Barton]

13 minutes ago, grandadbob said:

I've got some raspberries to decorate my cake later on.... that shouldn't present any major hazards.

 

[Gwiwer]

2 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

I myself watched the Lady Collingwood players going around on the telly last night (Queue  @Gwiwer!) 

When I knew about it the words “Lady” and “Collingwood” could not be used in the same breath 🤣

 

In other news the NSW “Green Slip” system of compulsory third-party insurance applies to New South Welsh vehicles where ever they are in Australia. There are no reciprocal requirements which means a lawfully-uninsured Victorian vehicle may drive into NSW and the driver be directly liable for all costs arising from their actions. 
 

The lack of a physical reminder on the windscreen is no different to the British system. Our tax discs were replaced some time ago since when it has been a case of remembering to renew and not just binning the letter from “Swansea” when it arrives. 

[polybear]

58 minutes ago, grandadbob said:

 

Peelers have got little plastic safety covers over the blades which are quite stiff to get off.  Did two but the third was a bit harder and when I gave it a bit of welly managed to get the end of my thumb stuck in the bl##dy thing!  You couldn't make it up....well unless you know me and then anything could happen. 

 

Do you get told off if when you utter naughty words?

 

58 minutes ago, grandadbob said:

I've got some raspberries to decorate my cake later on.... that shouldn't present any major hazards.

 

 

Can we quote you on that?

 

Bear here.....

Ears lowered, Co-op raided (= discount LDC 😁) and USB adaptor delivered; Izzy Mk.2 is currently on charge.

And then Bear played Bunny catching - a young girl called at Bear Towers from the house at the bottom of the back garden, announcing that Brownie the Bunny had done a runner and was currently scoffin' the grass in the back garden.  Ever tried catching a Bunny?  Devious little s0ds - and mighty fast too; this particular variant apparently didn't like carrots either, so that trick didn't work.

Eventually Bear's cunning + a girl that was used to such antics won the day though, and Brownie is safely back at home; a very good thing, since the hole under the fence (that Harry most likely uses) has real scope for Bunny getting into the road very, very easily.  The risk now is that the neighbours may block that hole up - which is in their front garden so bunny has to escape from their back garden to the front first, before getting into Bearland; that would mean no more visits from Harry ....😭

 

BG

 

 

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, Gwiwer said:

When I knew about it the words “Lady” and “Collingwood” could not be used in the same breath 🤣

 

They do need to work on their tackling technique. 

 

Edited September 2, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[Tony_S]

37 minutes ago, polybear said:

mean no more visits from Harry .

Perhaps make a Harry sized hole into a tunnel , instead of a bunny sized hole. 

[iL Dottore]

I feel a huge amount of sympathy for @Grizz’s cub. I too have had flights cancelled from underneath me (literally in one case), Happily, I have always been in the lucky position of flying up at the pointy end* thus I’m a “priority passenger” for ground staff.  But even given that, it’s frustrating as all get out when you need to be somewhere and you know you won’t arrive through no fault of you own.

 

I used to fly BA a lot, but now find them no better than a LCC, I fly squezzee jet only if there is NO alternative (including that of driving or taking a bus or train) and I have never, nor will I ever, fly O’Leary Air! Now I only fly SWISS within Europe (and I’m still in the fortunate position of being able to fly at the pointy end), which means pretty good support if things go pear-shaped.
 

Unfortunately, since Lufthansa took over SWISS has become the “unwanted step-child” of the Lufthansa group. Many destinations once served directly by SWISS now are destinations that you can only go to via Frankfurt or Munich and some very useful flights (such as the BSL-LCY run) have been completely removed from the schedule. The consequence of this retreat means that BSL has become a destination airport for squezzee jet and O’Leary Air!

 

And if I may add a coda to my mini-aviation “rant-ette” above: don’t you just absolutely hate it when you’ve booked your flight from - say - LHR to Singapore on “Shiny All-New Airlines” and you turn up at the airport only to find that your flight is a codeshare with “Crap Air” on whose aging 747-100 with 1970s seats you’ll be flying (instead of Shiny Airlines’ nice new Airbus A340 [voted best service and plane for all classes of travel)].

 

*company policy - so we could arrive “fresh as a daisy” even after a 12hr flight and thus go immediately to work straight off the plane.

[Tony_S]

30 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

airport only to find that your flight is a codeshare with “Crap Air” on whose aging 747-100 with 1970s seats you’ll be flying (instead of Shiny Airlines’ nice new Airbus A340 [voted best service and plane for all classes of travel)].

I don’t fly enough to have experienced that but I have experienced the “or similar” after booking a reasonable car to continue our journey at an airport and being presented with something “similar” only in the number of wheels. 

Edited September 2, 2023 by Tony_S

[The White Rabbit]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

... Ever tried catching a Bunny?  Devious little s0ds - and mighty fast too; this particular variant apparently didn't like carrots either, so that trick didn't work. ... 

 

I could have told you that. 😉 Did you try tempting it with treacle tart? It's like tigers with tuna sandwiches... 

 

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=P%2fOqd83v&id=B9174ABB616502B085BE350CCDAC701AD6BFE5A5&thid=OIP.P_Oqd83vtoZI-9858FsidwHaCV&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fi.pinimg.com%2f736x%2f60%2f92%2f73%2f60927302a993541a7467bd8267c6c7b3--tuna-fish-sandwich-calvin-and-hobbes-comics.jpg&cdnurl=https%3a%2f%2fth.bing.com%2fth%2fid%2fR.3ff3aa77cdefb68648fbdf39f05b2277%3frik%3dpeW%2f1hpwrM0MNQ%26pid%3dImgRaw%26r%3d0%26sres%3d1%26sresct%3d1%26srh%3d410%26srw%3d1300&exph=221&expw=700&q=calvin+and+hobbes+images+tuna+sandwich&simid=608012299887272297&FORM=IRPRST&ck=737F0D4F939009C98A8F1378DB7DB4D3&selectedIndex=1&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0 

[Gwiwer]

36 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

I don’t fly enough to have experienced that but I have experienced the “or similar” after booking a reasonable car to continue our journey at an airport and being presented with something “similar” only in the number of wheels. 

It is the words "Or similar" which allows car rental companies to basically give you what ever they like.  It should be in the same group - a fact which you can check on the spot if you which because the paperwork they ask you to sign will include that information as does the internet if you search "Hire car groupings".  If they genuinely cannot offer you a vehicle of the booked group or better then they are obliged to refund you the difference if you accept a downgrade.  

 

It does work both ways.  I have hired all sorts from various operators in the UK and Australia.  I have usually been presented with a perfectly acceptable vehicle though very seldom with the actual model the website suggests - it is almost always an "or similar".  Sometimes there has been an upgrade.  To a Dacia Duster (Group E) from a Ford Focus or similar (my standard Group D booking).  Sometimes I have wondered about the groupings but it is based upon power, facilities and costs as much as size.  When I first booked the "Focus or similar" and was introduced to a Kia Ceed I thought that was a bit of a downgrade as it is a smaller car at first sight.  It turned out to be the best small car I have ever driven, perfectly OK for size although without much wriggle room inside due to the mouldings which effectively kept you in the seated position they wanted you in.  

 

It also crosses borders.  Dr. SWMBO, no stranger to being invited to address conferences on the international stage, was once requested to attend an event in Montreal.  The invitation came in the style of "We wish to invite Dr. XXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX or similar ..... " which has been a bit of a standing joke ever since.  She went.  She is going back to Montreal next year but this time was asked for without the "Or similar" so perhaps they have learned something!  

 

Of the airline industry I have not enough experience to comment upon the practice of "fronting".  That is to imply that one will be flying with "Shiny-New Aviation" aboard the latest model of silent super-jet but then at check-in (or at another late stage when it is too late to change) one realises that this is a code-share flight and the carrier is "Back-of-a-Yak" airlines using a repurposed model from the 1970s.  Of all the flights I have made every one has clearly identified that the carrier is who it is and that they codeshare with partner airlines.  In the case of Emirates, our carrier of choice, they also identify the codeshare flight numbers such that even a QANTAS customer booking through the QANTAS website will be clearly informed that their carrier is Emirates.  The clue is sometimes - not always - in the flight number.  Emirates-operated flights are numbered from EK1 - 2999; codeshares are numbered from EK5000.  QANTAS number their long-haul flights from QF1, their domestics (iirc) from QF200 and codeshares from QF8000.  So if you book on EK001 you will be on an Emirates aircraft; if you booked QF8001 you will be on the Emirates aircraft operating EK001.  Or QF9 / EK5009 vice versa.  

 

Simples.  As an irritating meerkat is wont to say.  But not absolutely foolproof.  

[Gwiwer]

2 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

They do need to work on their tackling technique. 

That's one in the eye for the opposition! 

[BoD]

I hope that result cheered you up a little bit @Barry O

Still keeping everything crossed for Mrs O.

[jjb1970]

23 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

You speak of "anonymous" sources. For reputable journalists with contacts who are willing to make 'off the record comments' there is nothing wrong with anonymous sources - provided that diligent fact checking is possible. There are plenty of massive historical headlines that depended on "anonymous" sources. Watergate and the Pentagon Papers come to mind.

 

Journalism is not dead. Unfortunately it is concentrated in a handful of major newspapers and media outlets. Some media outlets still attempt to investigate and report the news. Others are thinly veiled* propaganda outlets.

 

* or transparently so

 

 

I think the real crux of the matter is whether an anonymous source a tool used by the journalist, or is the journalist a tool used by government, business or other interested parties. Anonymous sources have indeed always been a part of journalism but good journalists did due diligence, did not rely on single anonymous sources and followed up with their own digging. Now these anonymous sources more and more use journalists to plant stories, and there is no shortage of journalists who happily take what they're fed and just publish in a way which makes them an extension of an official press department. I have seen stories in the media (including serious media) for which I'm pretty sure I know who actually wrote the material from the syntax. That is fine if the article states 'according to department spokesman joe blogs, blah blah blah.....' but it's rather naughty when presented without such a statement. It's had a corrosive effect in another way, once journalists become dependent on sources then their priority is to maintain that source, creating ever greater dependence. And if anything the specialist media is worse.

 

A consequence has been the rise of 'independent media', that covers an entire spectrum ranging from tin foil hat wearing conspiracy theorists and propagandists through to excellent journalism disenfranchised by the mainstream media and with everything in between. Some independent media is dreadful, others very good but fundamentally I think the main problem is a lack of trust in traditional media which is creating demand for alternatives.

[jjb1970]

I've been remarkably lucky with flying, especially given that I fly far too much. I do try and fly with airlines I have a certain degree of confidence in (I prefer Asian carriers because they still place an emphasis on customer service) and as with Il Dottore if flying at the pointy end they tend to look after you reasonably well if necessary. All things being equal my default would be Singapore Airlines but their pricing is bonkers for Singapore ticket sales so I use airlines like ANA (superb), China Airlines (even more superb for service), Asiana (very good) and Vietnam Airlines (very good, much better than many might expect) more than Singapore Airlines. Recently I've made a few flights with Air India and found it very enjoyable, the food at the pointy end is quite superb (assuming you like Indian food) and the cabin staff friendly and enthusiastic (which counts for a lot in my book). After Singapore my next preference is ANA, they have that Japanese polish and attention to detail and the flight attendants are like a microcosm of the service ethos of Japan, very attentive and professional, completely efficient but without being ostentatious or obsequious. 

[polybear]

2 hours ago, The White Rabbit said:

 

I could have told you that. 😉 Did you try tempting it with treacle tart? It's like tigers with tuna sandwiches... 

 

 

Give up some of Bear's T.T?  Bvgger that for a game of soldiers - Bunny can carry on mowin' the lawn at Bear Towers.....

 

Bear here.....

This afternoon's fun has revolved around setting up Izzy Mk. 2 - sadly the autofocus hocus pocus method of placing old Izzy close to new Izzy didn't work - it seems that Izzy Mk.1 is far too old for such cleverness.

It wasn't overly painful, however - i just wonder how many people use even a fraction of the gadgets/settings available - or even understand them?  😕

It was good to confirm that "Battery Health" was firmly at 100% - as indeed it should be for a phone that, despite being described as a "Grade A return" (inside the 14 day cooling off period) is indistinguishable from new in every way.  I'll call that a Very Big Tick - it saved me ninety quid in the process.

 

BG

[jjb1970]

I've been re-watching the old documentary series 'The World at War' with the boy, he's doing WW2 as part of his history syllabus and has found it very useful. They don't make many documentary series like that, it's much more than just a documentary series as the interviews made for the series put in the category of valuable historical document.

[jjb1970]

5 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

It wasn't overly painful, however - i just wonder how many people use even a fraction of the gadgets/settings available - or even understand them?  😕

 

Many years ago at the technical committee of a classification society (the body which has to approve class rules, which govern ship design and construction) a fine fellow from a famous Finnish equipment supplier provided one of the best answers I have ever heard in such a forum. People were whinging about the number of alarms on ships, alarm overload, control functionality which is over the top to the point of being more liability and asset etc, and this splendid chap stood up and said asking why they put so many alarms and functions on their systems is like asking a dog why it licks its balls - because it can. I thought that summed things up to perfection. If I look at most of my gadgets (phone, camera, computer, increasingly household appliances) I only use a tiny fraction of the functionality. Now if people use the functions I've never heard or or have no interest in then great, but for example with a phone I want it to work as a phone, a web browser, digital music player and with a decent camera and it's really very hard to find a phone that doesn't meet those requirements.

[polybear]

4 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

.........and the driver be directly liable for all costs arising from their actions. 

 

Paws up all fellow ER'ers that have been near blinded by those ^$%G*&$$£ LED headlamps that are the scourge of modern cars now?  Whilst many are standard fit on cars now, many are owner "upgrades".

What they fail to realise, however is that failure to declare it to the Insurance Company as a modification (and for them to accept it) makes the policy invalid in the event of a claim.  Now whilst a claim for a bump in Tess & Co's car park is unlikely to focus the Insurer's attention, anything serious (= expensive, and possibly involving a personal injury claim) and they'll be all over the car (especially if the injured party utters words along the lines of "the pr1ck coming in the other direction had headlights brighter than a WW2 Gun Battery") looking for a reason to invalidate cover and walk away.

At this point the 3rd Party is faced with claiming direct from the Tw@t - at which point those light bulbs start getting very expensive indeed as he waives bye-bye to his (or her) house.  Obviously the news isn't quite so good for the injured party if the scrote is a teenager driving a beat up wreck, with nothing to his name except a gold ring thru' his nose.....

 

There are a few warnings from motoring organisations, publications etc. about it on the 'net; I wonder if it's actually happened though?

 

BG

 

 

[TheQ]

Afternoon Awl,

Knackered I is, two days on my feet, left knee is complaining as is right ankle.

Today was Sheringham show, it was what I'd call a 2 hour show which for a fiver isn't too bad. Though I had arranged 3 hours of brownie point consumption, so another lap of the show and muggacoffee.

 

Came away with 4 books second hand, of parallel bits of metal in geographically, Highlands of Scotland, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire , and the Somme..

 

I was surprised to not see low flying Bears, there were large quantities of LDC, plus LDC Gluten free, available in the cafe.

 

Materials for the manufacture of coleslaw were purchased on the way home. No blood will be spilt as SWMBO uses a wizzy machine.

 

The above was typed over an hour ago, but an unplanned eyelid inspection occured.

 

Dinner I'm told is about to arrive...

 

[jjb1970]

I've been on a bit of a curry-thon lately. Japanese shabu shabu pork curry today, yesterday was Singaporean curry fried chicken and the day before a splendid Indian curry. One of the slightly odd things here is curry is just curry. So the stall I went to yesterday was a Chinese Singaporean stall and the curry is the local form of rather spicy sauce using coconut milk and is served with a brown sauce derived from worcester sauce (a throwback to colonial times) but it's just 'curry'. The Indian the day before has lots of dishes and a dish of the day (which I always go for, I've never been disappointed) but it's just 'curry'. The Japanese places just use 'curry' too but with Japanese curry it's clear what you're getting, in the case of local Malay/Indonesian, Chinese, Singaporean and Indian food places here curry can mean almost anything. When it is annoying is if you get a properly great curry and you don't know what yo look for again as even if you ask the cook as far as they're concerned it's just curry.

[The White Rabbit]

42 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

I think the real crux of the matter is whether an anonymous source a tool used by the journalist, or is the journalist a tool used by government, business or other interested parties. ....

 

I rather think it's a bit of both. All part of 'the great game'. 

 

43 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

... and there is no shortage of journalists who happily take what they're fed and just publish in a way which makes them an extension of an official press department. I have seen stories in the media (including serious media) for which I'm pretty sure I know who actually wrote the material from the syntax. That is fine if the article states 'according to department spokesman joe blogs, blah blah blah.....' but it's rather naughty when presented without such a statement. ....

 

I've seen this first hand. As some of you know, I was i/c press and publicity for a certain self propelled object on parallel lines for some years while we restored it from 'hen-hut' condition to a going concern. I lost count of the number of times I briefed journalists and provided detailed notes, only to see my words more or less repeated in the finished article. I didn't mind, it was all good publicity for us and I know many journos are under serious pressure these days.  I suppose I should find it complimentary that my prose was good enough to be used as the basis for pieces in the national press and online media but I did find it faintly worrying that they didn't have the time to do any digging and or elaborate on my information with a particular angle.