Early Risers.

[Gwiwer]

3 minutes ago, Hroth said:

 

I'm not familiar with Modern Image liveries below Birmingham, but if its a South Western Railways train, why does its logo apparently* point to the North East?

 

Hat'n'coat'n'off to get my tea...

 

* Yes, If you squint at it, its a stylised route map, but still...

Yes it is a stylised route map. Very stylised.  The “fingers” are supposed to point to Reading, Exeter, Weymouth, Alton and Portsmouth representing the limits of the operation; they converge in London which lies to the north-east of them all 

When Stagecoach somewhat controversially lost the franchise to the First / MTR consortium there was speculation as to the trading name and livery to be used. GWR had not long previously been revived using its drab dark green scheme but traditional name. “London &” was not used by SWR who wanted to appear less London-centric; the hoped-for LSWR salmon pink livery also didn’t make the cut. 

 

[TheQ]

Definitely a railway station for me, if someone says train station to me, I ask when the next train of camels is due in..

 

Just checked the Union Jack club , the hotel for service and ex-service personnel just outside Waterloo station, £72 for an ensuite single room , £101 for a double .

 

Afternoon Awl,

Spent most of the day wrestling with the new GPS radio, not with the electrics but with software.

The main problem was it was not remembering the Google login and requiring it again when going onto Google play but rejecting it. The secondary problem was not being able to get very close to the door of the house with the car. It needed that to pick up the WiFi, so the WiFi link was slow.

 

Eventually the Google play app was reloaded, and it finally let me in. Navmii is now installed, tested by driving round the garden. The only problem with that is so far It's not been persuaded the unit to put Navmii as the default navigator , it currently defaults to Google maps. The pre loaded instruction manual doesn't say much more than what the button do.

The radio is set up and I find remarkably good. 

 

Confirmed it's a 64Gb unit which is good.  I've not fitted cameras yet, because it needs the right one for the front. As that's an optional extra.

 

Soon after finishing that I stepped over a 2 foot high plant pot... thigh decided to go into spasm or cramp either way it hurt.

 

So workshop time was cancelled, instead a long hot bath was had which has eased thigh a lot. It being decidedly cool outside, today was the first time for several months the bathroom heater was turned on.

 

Dinner has just been consumed, therefore eyelid inspection is immanent.

 

 

[PupCam]

Afternoon All

 

7 hours ago, Barry O said:

Doctors had a "lovers tiff" on if it goes in from the front or the back. Could be interesting admitted the doc doing the job.

 

Could be more interesting if it goes in the back and you lay & sleep on your back 🤔

 

But at least you won't have to rely on a siphon  ......

 

5 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

I did have a go at him over that particular item but he complained that I was merely picking on him because of my size advantage.

 

Please Sir.  I did look at it a number of times as I walked towards the Yamaha.  Does that count?

 

5 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Now if a certain Bear were to hide his bike keys (all his bike keys....) until he can prove he's made a reasonable start....

No more bimbles might just focus his attention somewhat.

 

You see Bear the joy of owning very old bikes (66.6667% of them are over 70 years of age) is they don't have keys or anywhere to stick them 😁

 

Nice try.   Close, but No Cigar!

 

4 hours ago, Sidecar Racer said:

 

 BBC News article .   https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66873982

 

Using the details from that I've found this which appears to be the bridge in question

and the creek .   https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@35.7815555,-81.2829893,3a,90y,190.68h,80.07t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sArMLkfbz7t5rV67EagZqmA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu

 

Are drivers unlike pilots no longer responsible for their own terrain avoidance?       If the bridge had been down for 9 years then surely "the Authorities" are more responsible?   Shouldn't they have put a barrier and signs up?     Might have been useful unlike 75% of the signage that proliferates these days.

 

4 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

The same is currently true in mid-Cornwall. The single-lane Carland Cross - Chiverton Cross section of the A30 is being replaced with a new dual-carriageway with associated frequent changes to junctions and turns. 

 

More than one vehicle has gone the wrong way around the relocated Chiverton Cross roundabout which is now a half-mile east of its old location and will eventually be beneath rather than a part of the A30. 
 

Signage hasn’t bern exemplary. I have driven through a few times and found it confusing. No direction signs, very little to indicate that the traffic cone in the middle of the tarmac was actually a roundabout (!!) but several big “Do Not Follow GPS” signs some of which were supplemented with “Local roads unsuitable for through traffic”. As indeed they are. 

 

I'm always amused travelling up the A11 on the last bit to be dualled which was some years ago now.  My very old Garmin (with lifetime updates which you can't update because it's too old despite the fact that it still works and yes that's a RANT!) indicates that I'm driving quite fast over the middle of a field.  And to think, I haven't even got a Range Rover.

 

3 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

There's a skill to needle work. 

 

Last time I was in hospital they were taking blood samples every day and I had six IV feeds in me which seemed to last not much more than a day before being changed for some reason (my veins are clearly as awkward and bloody minded as the rest of me). There was one lady who took blood and I barely felt it, she hit the vein first time cleanly, got the sample and was out. Others were all over the place and needed several attempts (in fairness even the lady who was faultless told me I had veins from hell, though it didn't stop her). Similarly some nurses could get the IV canula in first time quickly and cleanly, minimising discomfort, others were all over the place.

 

The worst bit was they ran out of veins in my arms and ended up using a sonar device to get into deep veins in my feet, that was awful. Although the worst part wasn't needle work but on the night I was admitted they put a plastic tube down into my guy through my nose, I didn't enjoy that.

 

Yes I've found there's a great variability of the needlework done by the staff.   If only all could be up to the "Do it once and in a manner the patient won't notice" standard.    A forlorn hope it would appear.

 

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

I'm in a bit of a grumpy mood - both due to commercial reasons!

 

Firstly: I'm looking to replace my aging workshop hand-held vacuum cleaner with something more. So, I researched the various articles entitled "best hand-held cordless vacuums in 2023" (or similarly titled) and I narrowed the search down to 5 models - which only turn out to be not available in Switzerland. Looking for them at Amazon (UK, DE and IT) results in three types of results: (1) the item is "unavailable and we don't know when it will be back in stock" (which seems to be the case whenever I look for anything that has had a good consumer review); (2) the item IS available but "This item cannot be shipped to your selected delivery location. Please choose a different delivery location" - presumably because I am in Switzerland* or (3) the searched-for name-brand item doesn't turn up in the Amazon search engine, instead they try and flog me a SGXMON cheap rip-off. Sometimes, I plug the same item name & number into Amazon.UK/DE/IT at the same time and get all three of the above mentioned responses.

 

* sometimes Amazon.UK won't ship the item to me, but Amazon.DE will - "protectionism" seems to be alive and well....

 

If the selected devices are manufactured by a company that's name is 5 characters in length and starts with a D*  I'd say you have had one splendid result!    In My Very Humble Opinion said products are over-priced, over-hyped, nothing special in design, and poor in the execution.      Talking of which, you may recall I was forced sometime ago to disassemble** repair and re-assemble the knuckle joint between the brush attachment and the tube of our Fxxxxxxx Dxxxx vacuum cleaner***.   The repair is still working and involved replacing the relatively stiff, broken wires passing over the flexible joint with more flexible wires over the flexible joint - the clue is in the name.    Still that's innovation and entrepreneurial skill from a 'British' company for you.

 

*         Sounds like a round of product Wordle 🤣

**       No mean feat in itself

***     How I was ever persuaded to buy it given our previous experience withe the brand I shall never know

 

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

Probably more train stations than pedants now. I am pretty certain I say railway station but I just don’t care if anyone uses train station. 

 

I have to say I'm not a supporter of "train station" although there is a certain degree of logic to it.   After all, buses stop at a bus station not a road station don't they?    And you go there to catch a train not a railway.

 

However, the one that really gets my goat is "airplane" and I'm hoping there will be a good number of our more air-minded members who will agree with me on this.

 

N O !    It's an aeroplane or, if you must, an aircraft on this side of the Pond thank you very much.

Just as an illustration, this is a photograph of one of the most iconic British aeroplanes ever to grace our skies - it is not an "airplane".

 

 

56 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

 

 

Is the feeling of impending freedom so good that, like New York, you named it twice? 😆

 

Seriously though Rick.   Congratulations and best wishes for a long and happy retirement at the new Distant Signal (West) - you'll love it.

 

ION

 

I have mostly been wrestling with a front disc caliper today.   I think I can claim a points victory.  It is off of the bike.   the mounting pins have been removed as has the piston and seals.  The piston is badly pitted and the seals (as expected) are shot and so all will be replaced.  The only slight problem is the steel hydraulic pipe union that is rusted into the aluminium housing and the spanner hexagon  is now almost perfectly circular.     A job for another day then!

 

Sausage and Mash for dinner and I'm on sausage duty!

 

TTFN

 

 

 

 

Edited September 21, 2023 by PupCam

[Ian Abel]

BIN day, all sorted.

 

Yesterday, just busy with work and nothing else to report.

 

Today, the Mrs is off to a meeting of friends around 2pm, I'll be dropping her off, Jemma picking her up and then dropping off Whitney with the Mrs back here.

Me, off to happy hour with a few choir members before we head to rehearsal. With just three (I missed the first one) rehearsals under our belt as the seasons starts, we sing for the first time this Sunday.

 

Tomorrow I have a six-month Dr. appointment, apparently 'required' so they can prescribe my rescue inhaler. Don't quite get the point, it's always "under control" and I only use it infrequently, though was placed in more frequent service during the severe smoke alerts this summer.

Anyway, forced to go every six months for a wellness check. Pah!

 

Weather at BIN time 16c and sunny, expected to reach 30c later, small (meaning none really) chance of showers later today/this evening.

 

Carry on.

[Tony_S]

4 minutes ago, PupCam said:

And to think, I haven't even got a Range Rover.

My previous Freelanders came with Off Road Maps options on the Sat Nav. My Range Rover doesn’t. We went on some new bit of the A1 a few years ago, lots of “ignore your Sat Nav”  signs. At least the maps showed we were on the dotted line for the proposed route. I get monthly updates for the cars sat nav. We did buy a TomTom years ago for the other car but although it had maps for life, life was defined rather differently than I would.  

[Tony_S]

13 minutes ago, PupCam said:

You see Bear the joy of owning very old bikes (66.6667% of them are over 70 years of age) is they don't have keys or anywhere to stick them

My 1963 BSA C15 had a key. However virtually anything flat and about 1/4 inch wide would do instead. Someone once stole the rather nice chain I used to immobilise it leaving the padlock and bike behind. 

[Tony_S]

38 minutes ago, Hroth said:

I'm not familiar with Modern Image liveries below Birmingham

Our local logo is very informative.

This route was once operated by the Midland Railway!

[Sidecar Racer]

54 minutes ago, PupCam said:

Are drivers unlike pilots no longer responsible for their own terrain avoidance?       If the bridge had been down for 9 years then surely "the Authorities" are more responsible?   Shouldn't they have put a barrier and signs up?     Might have been useful unlike 75% of the signage that proliferates these days.

 

 

Barriers that were normally placed across the bridge entrance were missing due to vandalism, according to the Charlotte Observer.

[Tony_S]

2 hours ago, PupCam said:

I'm on sausage duty!

I  am now,it appears sponsoring a dog called Sausage. I was concerned as this usually means the previous sponsored dog had gone. It did sound as if the psychopathic Jack Russell had gone “to a farm” but it was a property with a very large garden and he had been successfully adopted after (I think) 9 years with the Dogs Trust. Sausage isn’t a Dachshund, rather  Labrador/Spaniel cross. Very food oriented, now there is surprise. 

Edited September 21, 2023 by Tony_S

[polybear]

55 minutes ago, PupCam said:

Please Sir.  I did look at it a number of times as I walked towards the Yamaha.  Does that count?

 

 

Let's see now.......

 

No!!

 

55 minutes ago, PupCam said:

I have to say I'm not a supporter of "train station" although there is a certain degree of logic to it.   After all, buses stop at a bus station not a road station don't they?    And you go there to catch a train not a railway.

 

So what about those who refer to it as a "Choo Choo Station"?

Just askin' for a friend......

 

55 minutes ago, PupCam said:

ION

 

I have mostly been wrestling with a front disc caliper today.   I think I can claim a points victory.  It is off of the bike.   the mounting pins have been removed as has the piston and seals.  The piston is badly pitted and the seals (as expected) are shot and so all will be replaced.  The only slight problem is the steel hydraulic pipe union that is rusted into the aluminium housing and the spanner hexagon  is now almost perfectly circular.     A job for another day then!

 

 

Could be a good time to put new seals in the master cylinder as well - they might just be as old as the bike.

 

54 minutes ago, Ian Abel said:

Tomorrow I have a six-month Dr. appointment, apparently 'required' so they can prescribe my rescue inhaler. Don't quite get the point, it's always "under control" and I only use it infrequently, though was placed in more frequent service during the severe smoke alerts this summer.

Anyway, forced to go every six months for a wellness check. Pah!

 

 

If Bear were cynical then I might just suspect it's so they can send you (or the insurance company) a Bill....

But I'm not, so I won't......🤣

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

Bear were cynical then I might just suspect it's so they can send you (or the insurance company) a Bill....

But I'm not, so I won't..

At our GP surgery we get an annual face to face review of any medications for chronic conditions. This is either with a nurse practitioner or the practice pharmacist. Some of my repeat medications have to be reviewed each time by a doctor but not face to face if they have a recent (within 12 weeks) blood test. Aditi is due for a review soon and I will attempt to remind her to ask if her asthma medication is adequate. Rather than admit it is worse she says it is because she had been in the garden or it’s my car air con or other similar excuses. 

Edited September 21, 2023 by Tony_S

[Coombe Barton]

Scheduled for a flu jab on Saturday, and probably a Covid at the same time if hey ahve vaccine stocks. I was going to S4um in High Wycombe on Saturday, but am now postponing it until Sunday in case of jab effect.

[PupCam]

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

Our local logo is very informative.

This route was once operated by the Midland Railway!

 

"TRENITALIA" !        Sounds more like gynaecology than a railway company!

 

37 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Let's see now.......

 

No!!

 

I did wonder if Bear would have a view 🤣

 

37 minutes ago, polybear said:

Could be a good time to put new seals in the master cylinder as well - they might just be as old as the bike.

 

We appear to be on the same wavelength Mr Bear.    And a new diaphragm and maybe even a new reservoir, plate,  cover and other items too

 

25 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

At out GP surgery we get an annual face to face review of any medications for chronic conditions. This is either with a nurse practitioner or the practice pharmacist. Some of my repeat medications have to be reviewed each time by a doctor but not face to face if they have a recent (within 12 weeks) blood test. Aditi is due for a review soon and I will attempt to remind her to ask if her asthma medication is adequate. Rather than admit it is worse she says it is because she had been in the garden or it’s my car air con or other similar excuses. 

 

Fortunately I'm still under two hospitals so I don't have to rely on the GP for such ......      The hospitals appear to shout Jump!  The GP just says how high?

 

6 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

I was going to S4um in High Wycombe

 

Hmm, now there's an idea.   I haven't been to the aforementioned event since it was at Leatherhead and I think the last time I went must have been 20+ years ago.    I wonder?  🤔

 

TTFNQ

 

 

 

[Coombe Barton]

41 minutes ago, PupCam said:

Hmm, now there's an idea.   I haven't been to the aforementioned event since it was at Leatherhead and I think the last time I went must have been 20+ years ago.    I wonder?  🤔

 

I'm going for the final bits to construct and for some advice.

[Coombe Barton]

... And I do remember a time when fake news was about art forgeries, not lies about seven bins. ...

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2023/09/21/nothing-new-on-the-zoe-front-official-figures-show-a-decline/

[zarniwhoop]

13 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

I concur that once you get to languages using different alphabets (like Cyrillic), some level of Anglicization (or equivalent) is necessary. My point was more related to towns/provinces/countries that are relatively easily pronounced using a Roman alphabet - like Roma, Milano, Napoli, etc. Germany starts to get harder where towns like München are more difficult to interpret with an English language mindset. Yet there's no real 'need' to turn Braunschweig into Brunswick and is Bayern really too hard that we need to invent Bavaria?

 

Sometimes, there are reasons why names differ. In the case of Bavaria I searched for the etymology: quoting https://www.etymonline.com/word/bavaria "German Bayern, Medieval Latin Boiaria, named for the Boii, the ancient Celtic people who once lived there"

 

So it was the upper classes somewhere, who spoke mediaeval latin - maybe the church - wot named it.

 

And according to Wikipedia (so maybe untrue) "Braunschweig from Low German Brunswiek, local dialect: Bronswiek [ˈbrɔˑnsviːk])" - dialect variations across german-speaking areas are still very pronounced, but to me Brunswick sounds like a reasonable English attempt at the real name.

 

OTOH, I still remember my surprise at village names in Slovenia when I made a couple of day trips from Austria - looked as if there was a shortage of vowels, e.g. they call the city which is now in Italy but was part of the Habsburg empire 'Trst'.

[Compound2632]

3 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

Yes it is a stylised route map. Very stylised.  The “fingers” are supposed to point to Reading, Exeter, Weymouth, Alton and Portsmouth representing the limits of the operation; they converge in London which lies to the north-east of them all 

 

It's actually an ancient rune signifying "delay". 

Edited September 21, 2023 by Compound2632

[Andy Hayter]

31 minutes ago, zarniwhoop said:

 

 

OTOH, I still remember my surprise at village names in Slovenia when I made a couple of day trips from Austria - looked as if there was a shortage of vowels, e.g. they call the city which is now in Italy but was part of the Habsburg empire 'Trst'.

 

Yes as I posted earlier with Srbija and Hrvatska, Slavic languages can use "r" as a pseudo vowel.  The Croat for a square or place (as in an address) is Trg, which I struggled to pronounce correctly according to a Croat I was teaching some English to.  My pronunciation  (probably close to terg) was it seems something rather rude.   

[Dave Hunt]

3 hours ago, PupCam said:

 

Just as an illustration, this is a photograph of one of the most iconic British aeroplanes ever to grace our skies - it is not an "airplane".

 

 

 

 

As nice to fly as to look at.

 

Dave

[Dave Hunt]

4 hours ago, Tony_S said:

IWe were planning a short holiday in November, originally in Yorkshire. Probably go to Paris now, it will be cheaper. Flights from Southend start soon. 

 

Last week we had a stay in a very nice inn in Yorkshire for £129 B&B for two per night.

 

Dave

[Dave Hunt]

3 hours ago, PupCam said:

Please Sir.  I did look at it a number of times as I walked towards the Yamaha.  Does that count?

 

'Fraid not. With current tales of muddling activity at Bear Towers (as yet unconfirmed) it appears likely that Puppers will be replacing Bear in the naughty corner with torture equipment supplied by CC Industrie GmbH.

 

Dave

[figworthy]

4 hours ago, PupCam said:

I have to say I'm not a supporter of "train station" although there is a certain degree of logic to it.   After all, buses stop at a bus station not a road station don't they?    And you go there to catch a train not a railway.

 

 

And what would you imagine happens at a work station ?

 

Adrian

[Tony_S]

15 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

Last week we had a stay in a very nice inn in Yorkshire for £129 B&B for two per night.

 

Dave

I should have been more specific than Yorkshire.  Aditi wants to revisit some of the early childhood  places she lived in, along with a visit to Harlow Carr. Harrogate isn’t cheap, probably due to the conference trade. This break planning has been erratic. Initially Aditi wanted to go to Vienna, but decided it might be better to go in spring, then she thought Paris would be nice, then had the nostalgia thing for Yorkshire. I am now thinking perhaps a nice walk on the sea wall at Canvey. At least there is a proper caff!

[Tony_S]

15 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

Puppers will be replacing Bear in the naughty corner

I am sure I read somewhere he had been making Jinty locos move in a silent manner. 

[tigerburnie]

All partied out, no jelly and ice cream, but I was a brave soldier as there was tons of cake............................................too late Bear it's all gorn....................it was a cake looking like a dog, just like their Sprocker(yes I know, I told them not to buy it too) and Grandson insisted Grandad got the dogs butt piece...................................now enjoying a quiet 10 year old Ardbeg to calm a furrowed brow.