Early Risers.

[Tony_S]

18 minutes ago, Barry O said:

The gas person did not arrive.. never mind!

I expect a visit tomorrow. 

 

Baz

According to the song that would be the carpenter following on from the gas person. 

[Coombe Barton]

45 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

According to the song that would be the carpenter following on from the gas person. 

Oh, it all makes work for the working man to do...

[New Haven Neil]

5 hours ago, Hroth said:

The ferry company probably doesn't want another Ellan Vannin

 

Indeed not, but to listen to the whiners on Faceache, you would think they want one.  Of course if they were actually on board in weather (as opposed to riding it out on their keyboards) they'd be the first calling for Huey.  Much to the amusement of the sea going folk. 😁

[Hroth]

8 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

Oh, it all makes work for the working man to do...

 

And you have to wait two whole days to rectify the mess the painter made!

 

[Hroth]

2 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

Indeed not, but to listen to the whiners on Faceache, you would think they want one.  Of course if they were actually on board in weather (as opposed to riding it out on their keyboards) they'd be the first calling for Huey.  Much to the amusement of the sea going folk. 😁

 

Stand to windward and wear your wellies....

 

Of course, the cruel would encourage them to express themselves over the windward rail!

 

[New Haven Neil]

1 minute ago, Hroth said:

 

Stand to windward and wear your wellies....

 

Of course, the cruel would encourage them to express themselves over the windward rail!

 

 

I was actually feeling quite unwell once myself (I'm ex-Merch) on a very rough crossing but the state of the rest of the passengers was not good!

 

I was never actually physically sick when I was at sea, although felt very unwell indeed a few times, never missed a watch though.  I generally found to have three days or so of feeling poorly at the beginning of a voyage, but then not again for the rest of the time away - we did 4 month trips.

[Coombe Barton]

... Sufficient to say that money talks, with the Oxford English Dictionary (at least the version on my Mac) says “proverb - wealth gives power and influence to those who possess it.” It does not, in this or any other definition I’ve searched, says that money talks truth. ...

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2023/12/19/sounds-of-the-season-2023-17-covid-who-to-believe-about-60-million-and-some-anniversaries/

[PhilJ W]

3 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

Oh, it all makes work for the working man to do...

 

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Went down to Tess Coes for a few essentials, eggs and milk were OK but no bread. I'll try again later in the week. Petrol is still 136.9 a litre, the filling station was not too busy when I got there but was packed when I left so fingers crossed that it won't increase in the meantime (due to shipping avoiding the red sea after terrorist attacks). I have half a tank of petrol, more than enough to see me through the holidays.

[jjb1970]

On seasickness, my own view is that everyone is susceptible under the right (or wrong) conditions. It's not just the motion, there's a  cumulative effect from going days without sleeping properly, not eating well and general fatigue. I can't remember ever being seasick on container ships (despite their size they can have violent motion in rough weather, especially if they get into parametric rolling conditions) but there were a few times on offshore vessels when I ended up on the white telephone to the good lord.

[jjb1970]

I don't want to worry anyone, but there appears to have been a catastrophic climate change event over the last 24 hours which has triggered global Colding and darkening and which tells me the world is about to end. 

 

This is real, yesterday the weather was the same as it always is, a plenty warm 32C with healthy 100% humidity, wholesome skin cancer causing sunshine alternating with torrential downpours. Normal weather. Tonight it is freezing cold, and it was dark at 4 o'clock, unheard of conditions! I posit that during the flight to London the earth's exis of rotation shifted catastrophically, triggering global darkening and Colding. There's no other rational explanation, you can't argue with science!

 

The evidence is clear, the world is about to end and at this rate it's only a matter of time before something really bad happens,  such as Hornby using the wrong shade of black on their new black 5 model. I only hope that the SLW class 25 is delivered before the world ends.

Edited December 19, 2023 by jjb1970

[TheQ]

Evening  Awl,

As well as Coldingham it's going to be very Wymondham tomorrow and Thursday.

The only thing stopping the frost is the wind, 30mph and climbing.

 

MRC went well, hopefully that's the last of being a fencing contractor.

 

After Flanders and Swann, there was Hinge and Bracket, with their demise, sadly there appears to be no one capable of amusing clever song writing any more..

 

Never been sea sick myself, and that includes in a 29ft yacht round the top of Scotland in gales. Also in Hebridean ferries where a 3 hour journey took 5 hours as we were crabbing along. The other ferry out that day, tipped on her side and recovered. Iirc that was the MV Suilven.

I have been sick on board a boat, on a lobster boat in the Atlantic off Benbecula, I was the one who found out salt bilge water had got into the drinking water tank...

 

muggachoccy gone

good night Awl.

 

 

 

 

[Hroth]

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

 

 

I've a tape recording of me shouting "The Gasman, The Gasman!!" because it was going to be played on the wireless and I liked it very much.  Luckily its on a reel to reel spool and I don't have a reel to reel tape recorder any more!

 

 

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, jjb1970 said:

This is real, yesterday the weather was the same as it always is, a plenty warm 32C with healthy 100% humidity, wholesome skin cancer causing sunshine

 

Same here. Yesterday was 34 and sunny, today its currently 18 degrees and pouring with rain.

[Tony_S]

The artwork on a local postbox is the nearest we are going to get to a white Christmas here. 

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[Adam88]

1 hour ago, jjb1970 said:

I don't want to worry anyone, but there appears to have been a catastrophic climate change event over the last 24 hours which has triggered global Colding and darkening and which tells me the world is about to end. 

 

This is real, yesterday the weather was the same as it always is, a plenty warm 32C with healthy 100% humidity, wholesome skin cancer causing sunshine alternating with torrential downpours. Normal weather. Tonight it is freezing cold, and it was dark at 4 o'clock, unheard of conditions! I posit that during the flight to London the earth's exis of rotation shifted catastrophically, triggering global darkening and Colding. There's no other rational explanation, you can't argue with science!

 

The evidence is clear, the world is about to end and at this rate it's only a matter of time before something really bad happens,  such as Hornby using the wrong shade of black on their new black 5 model. I only hope that the SLW class 25 is delivered before the world ends.

 

Going the other way I was shocked to see that Orion had been turned over.  I don't know how that happened either.

 

[Ozexpatriate]

19 hours ago, Barry O said:

The gas person cometh.  Between 8 and 1 t the gas "engineer" will be coming to service our boiler,  hob and last remaining gas  fire.

The term "technician" (often abbreviated to "tech") is used here for a lot of such positions that don't have a clear trade designation like electrician or plumber - rather than "engineer". (Railroads excepted, though I'm not sure how much it is used formally there.)

 

The local transit agency employs "Light Rail Vehicle Operators". The UP employs "train crew" comprising of:

• Switch-person
• Brake-person
• Conductor
• Locomotive engineer

 

Edited December 20, 2023 by Ozexpatriate

[Ozexpatriate]

17 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin in the early hours of Christmas Morning  and destroyed the entire city -  I remember a Christmas morning of presents and the usual christmas  fun that you have when you are 10, while on the radio was a continual updating description of destruction and tragedy.

Yes it was a weird Christmas. And (if I recall correctly) it snowed on Kunanyi/Mount Wellington above Hobart the same night. Two weeks later the Tasman bridge collapsed after being hit by the Lake Illawarra.

[Ozexpatriate]

14 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

I partly blame Amazon, but also the general public. “Cheap at Any Cost” seems to be the mantra - leading to Victorian sweatshop working conditions (for many)

Amazon are notorious for their warehouse working conditions - and retaliate when workers try to organize.

 

Having said that, UPS drivers have died in Texas heat because there is (or was) no air-conditioning in UPS trucks - one of the reasons for their recent labor dispute.

 

All the Amazon deliveries here are by branded grey delivery trucks, though occasionally by a USPS Grumman-LLV, contracted for Sunday delivery. According to Amazon, every Amazon-branded delivery truck is equipped with air-conditioning, though they have had their share of heat-related problems with drivers.

 

There is a distribution centre not too far away. At the right time of morning there is a convoy of grey delivery trucks starting their rounds.

 

I'm not sure I understand the complaints that people have around delivery drivers not standing on the porch with a smile and a parcel until people shuffle out to open the door in a non-deterministic amount of time. Here, they all (Amazon, UPS, USPS, FedEx, DHL) put packages on the porch and leave - many of them do ring the bell or knock, but none of them wait - they have routes to complete. The Amazon drivers photograph the package on the porch and their system sends an almost-instantaneous email with the photograph. UPS sends emails (if you have signed up for them) without the photographs. Some shippers who use USPS Priority Mail also send emails that packages have arrived.

 

The partner of a colleague is a FedEx Ground driver. It is hard, demanding work.

 

Edited December 20, 2023 by Ozexpatriate

[monkeysarefun]

The 2019 Ken Loach film "Sorry We Missed You" is an enlightening  depiction of  what life  is like as a contract delivery driver in the gig economy...

Edited December 20, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[BR60103]

Tomorrow (today in some parts of the RMWeb) I shall be 77.  We expect to see a festival of lights in Stratford, if the weather behaves as forecast.

 

Last week we had a parcel from wife's nephew. The postie rang the bell and handed it to me.  We do not have door-to-door delivery.  Today I had a book left on the front step.

 

[Ozexpatriate]

1 hour ago, BR60103 said:

Tomorrow I shall be 77.

Happy birthday! Many happy returns.

[iL Dottore]

3 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

I'm not sure I understand the complaints that people have around delivery drivers not standing on the porch with a smile and a parcel until people shuffle out to open the door in a non-deterministic amount of time. Here, they all (Amazon, UPS, USPS, FedEx, DHL) put packages on the porch and leave - many of them do ring the bell or knock, but none of them wait - they have routes to complete.

I don’t have any complaints about them ringing the bell, putting the parcel in front of the door and moving on; I’m very much aware that they are on very tight schedules. If they ring and wait it’s because the parcel either has to be paid for OR (@#&@#**%#) I have to pay Customs charges on delivery.

 

I also have the advantages of living in a low crime country (I don’t think I’ve ever come across a Swiss German term equivalent to “porch pirate”), working from home (actually for me home = office and office = home), so I’m nearly always in during delivery hours, and as our neighbourhood has a mixture of retirees, working-from-homers and go-to-office types, the place isn’t devoid of life during delivery hours.

 

I really don’t like Amazon, but in a “small market” like Switzerland for far too many things Amazon has a monopoly (especially as many small company alternatives to Amazon for obtaining “X” that exist outside of Switzerland, can’t, won’t or don’t deliver to Switzerland).

 

However, Switzerland now has BRACK and Galaxus as alternatives to Amazon and I have started to use them where possible. You do pay a bit more than with Amazon, but you know that’s because Swiss employment law doesn’t allow the sort of carp Amazon gets away with. A price difference worth paying, I reckon.