Early Risers.

[Robert]

Morning All,

 

I have been meaning to drop in and wish you all a happy new year for a while now but haven't got around to it up until now.

 

Reading about Hattons on Twitter this morning caused me to drop in.  Although I haven't bought from them for a number of years now (customs charges and all that), I must admit that I am shocked. 😲

 

Have a good day everyone...

[southern42]

' morning all from red dragon land.

 

Sunny. Breezy. 1.6C - Double Brrr!

 

A walk is on the cards though I will leave that decision until this afternoon when the pine cone pundits say it will be a tad warmer. 

 

Yesterday, had a great chinwag with a friend over coffee in a local garden centre cafe. We decided before Christmas to continue to meet at 11 instead of 12 in order to get a parking space. It also means that we can have something to eat off the breakfast menu!

 

A very short walk on the level, afterwards, as the wind was an icy easterly. I stopped where the stream goes under the main track, flowing left to right and down the hill.

 

 

Ye ole kissing gate

 

Off to get Henry out - some DIY under the stairs residue that has been trapped into the main room for him to suck up. Then it will be a toot on the flute in front of the fire.

 

Take care. Be good. Keep warm / other (tick as required).

Polly

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. A good night last night only one call out from bladder control. It was then that I heard a strange noise. I was wondering what it was and then realised, I had put the washing on before going to bed and the machine was going into spin cycle. Bright wall to wall blue sky at the moment but freezing cold. Will have to visit Tess Coes this afternoon for essentials (bread and milk) so its winter drawers on.

Edited January 9 by PhilJ W

[PupCam]

Morning All!

 

"We'll pop to Sainsburys to pick-up a few bits".     £99 later  🙄

 

Now listen very carefully I vill say zis only wunce ....

 

With the help of Mr Google  I found the new appointment booking  triage website for my GP this morning .     I completed the online form, responded to text prompts/codes sent to my phone and selected the first appointment offered.     I now have an appointment (presumably with a doctor, it doesn't actually say) early one morning next week!         My flabber is well and truly ghasted, I need to go and lie down for a while.

 

TTFN

[Gwiwer]

14 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I remember getting parcels wrapped in brown paper tied with string from them. Not sure when they went over to taped cardboard boxes. 

That occurred when they left Smithdown Road for the warehouse 

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, southern42 said:

 

Under arm a joke? Hmmm!

In my working days, I played in the annual department's cricket match (group A v the rest of the world, the latter including me) with the order - in all seriousness - as a non-cricketer I was to throw underarm. Came the end of the match and I got awarded "man of the match," presumably for my "excellent" bowling technique that got opposition batters out! I am sure you can imagine the scene...

Now if that does not make you laugh...🤣

 

 

 

But just try it on New Zealanders and they get all uppity and want to take back Russell Crowe and Phar lap.

[Gwiwer]

G’day all. 
 

Still cold here but the sun has hidden itself behind grey matter and the wind is back. 
 

I can stay home unless I choose to go out. There are smoke and heat alarms to fit and that will mean there is making-good paint to apply. The new ones are much smaller than the old. 
 

I note @Smiffy2 is back. Are there still Whelkmen to report upon?  
 

In other news the news from the Hill of Strawberries has sent shockwaves through the village. The first serious incident there that anyone can remember. London’s safest suburb has regrettably had to record a crime.  
 

 I am awaiting comment from friends in the area but they tell me the whole village is locked down and will be for some time. 
 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-67920780.amp?fbclid=IwAR3aba-ciHLPQvC2s4z2C0z1NTiXX2zgG9giM-jWB3SJgZkQm2Qhw4Fu6YM_aem_Ac2gNk8lAAH9e3y2dCyv6kkF2TMCEzXQuphZW-r5L-1wRKVGcO7FOekqke00eN_eTG8

 

 

[Hroth]

1 minute ago, Gwiwer said:

In other news the news from the Hill of Strawberries has sent shockwaves through the village. The first serious incident there that anyone can remember. London’s safest suburb has regrettably had to record a crime.  

 

You move out, and the place goes to the dogs.....

 

[monkeysarefun]

4 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

I used to interact with Greek shipowners regularly, and I mean shipowners rather than employees of Greek shipowners. The Greeks have always been viewed as rogues by North European people and you can find plenty of stories about their less attractive side no doubt. However I will say this, they live and breathe shipping and although they're in it to make money they know their industry and are not just using shipping as a casino game. They are generally private family companies spanning several generations. Something that struck me was just how many knew their crews, not just masters and chief engineers but deckhands and cooks. And many of their offspring do cadetship to learn how ships work. I don't want to get too carried away as I also saw their other side but I found much more to admire than most of the corporate leaders I observed in large publicly listed companies I have worked for or with.

 

 

 

Tenuous link from Greek shipowners to Canadian TV series, but can the Canadian ER's enlighten me to a Canadian TV series that ABC used to show here in the 70's?

 

It was basically about logging and had a comical bad guy in it, plus a woman who ran the local store called some thing Reach from memory, she also had a Greek guy  with a moustache as a love interest. I think there was also a young indigenous guy in it. 

 

Gotta say, Australian TV series are heaps easier to describe - "It has a kangaroo called Skippy or something in it" or " its about a place where everyone are  neighbours". 

Edited January 9 by monkeysarefun

[monkeysarefun]

16 minutes ago, Hroth said:

 

You move out, and the place goes to the dogs.....

 

 

 

 

No - dogs don't stab people.

 

 

Cockatoos on the other hand...

 

 

 

(Not my photo - I dont give mine access to sharp things).

 

 

Edited January 9 by monkeysarefun

[Hroth]

14 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

Gotta say, Australian TV series are heaps easier to describe - "It has a kangaroo called Skippy or something in it"

 

Or a dolphin...

 

(Or was that the American rip-off?)

Edited January 9 by Hroth

[monkeysarefun]

5 minutes ago, Hroth said:

 

Or a dolphin...

 

What!? ?!?! Maybe you are  thinking of Flipper, Flipper Faster Than Lightning? That wasn't one of ours.  

 

WE did have the short-lived "Kevin the Huntsman Spider " but  BBC Kids  didnt take it up  so it got canned after the pilot episode. 

Edited January 9 by monkeysarefun

[jjb1970]

Two memories that show the different sides of the Greek's (and I suppose how we all differ as human beings) were meetings I attended as a bag carrier for them (despite sounding like a menial task it was one I quite enjoyed as they don't do economy travel and like good food so it was a step above most business trips).

 

One was with the then UK shipping minister, when the minister in question (who would have struggled to identify the difference between a peddle boat and an oil tanker) told this fine fellow that he didn't understand the shipping industry and gave him a most patronising (and ill informed) lecture about hy he knew nothing about the industry. I was staring at the floor thinking of anything that would stop me from bursting out laughing but he took in his stride and was utterly charming and basically just humoured her and waited until we were safely in a car before observing that it helped explain the state of the country. 

 

The second was bonkers, a senior Eurocrat tried the same spiel with another Greek who exploded, I have spent a lot of time in places like drydocks, in power plants during outage times when they swarm with scaffolders and such like and can say the guy in question was an Olympic class swearer. Seldom have I listened to such prolific use of the F and C words, the poor old Eurocrat was visibly shaken and white faced and really didn't know how to respond. Inexcusable and awful, the fact the recipient of the abuse was a bully who usually threw their weight around and dished it out didn't really justify such an aggressive and abusive meltdown. 

 

Jeckyl and Hyde.

[Hroth]

4 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

What!? ?!?! Maybe you are  thinking of Flipper, Flipper Faster Than Lightning? That wasn't one of ours.  

 

WE did have the short-lived "Kevin the Huntsman Spider " but  BBC Kids  didnt take it up  so it got canned after the pilot episode. 

 

Mea culpa. I did query it after posting...

 

As for Kevin.  If it had been called "Kevin the Killer Spider", the BBC 3 Yoof channel would have been on it like a shot!
 

 

[New Haven Neil]

Brief fly by - nice to see @Robert and @Smiffy2 look in, man I miss those whelkmen.

 

Not much to report, both awaiting important medical tests that will define our immediate futures. 

[Andy Hayter]

7 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

This is disturbing:

 

CNN: Bottled water contains thousands of nanoplastics so small they can invade the body’s cells, study says

 

 

Worrying indeed but I am not sure I buy 100% into plastic shedding from food and drink packages.

 

Of the 7 polymers they have identified:

polyamide, polypropylene, polyethylene, polymethyl methacrylate, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, and polyethylene terephthalate.

 

AFAIK 2 - polyamide and polymethyl methacrylate - are not used in food packaging and a further one PVC is being widely withdrawn from this use (at least in the EU if not N America) 

 

All three of these are however widely used in clothing nylon, acrylic and in the case of PVC various insulating garments.   It has been a personal concern that, since the potential risks of micro and nano plastics had been identified, a major source of these particles was from the exit of the washing machine.   Too small to be taken out by water treatment plants the smallest particles end up in rivers and seas.  

[monkeysarefun]

30 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

the guy in question was an Olympic class swearer. Seldom have I listened to such prolific use of the F and C words, t

Swearing is an art-form here, the F and C words get thrown around like confetti. The all important issue is the context - it all depends upon the tone  as to whether its meant to be offensive or an  offering of eternal mateship.

 

The first time I experienced  industrial level swearing was when I was working for an oil exploration company and got shipped 800km west of Brisbane to the middle of the outback.

 

I was in the passenger seat of one of the company Landcruisers when the bloke who was in charge of grading  lines in the scrub so the seismic survey could get placed pulled up beside us.

 

"Open your f *@($*en window, ya  f#*%$(*%n   c*#t ! " he  yelled to me so he could talk to the driver. I  was taken aback and  wondered what I had done to offend his sensibilities but it turned    out that compared to what got mouthed around  when tempers got  frayed  that was a term of endearment.

 

After 6 weeks, (which included 2 weeks of gastro due to the bloke responsible for restocking the camp water getting it from a farm dam that had a a dead sheep floating in it)  I went home and the first week back it was all "pass the f#*$& en salt please!" to my mum until I had re-acclimatised. 

 

All up, the  outback is a brilliant place of unimaginable size, beauty  and isolation, just as long as you don't get put off by flies ,snakes and all the swearing.

Edited January 9 by monkeysarefun

[monkeysarefun]

17 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

Brief fly by - nice to see @Robert and @Smiffy2 look in, man I miss those whelkmen.

 

Not much to report, both awaiting important medical tests that will define our immediate futures. 

 

 

Fingers crossed!

[woodenhead]

5 minutes ago, Andy Hayter said:

 

Worrying indeed but I am not sure I buy 100% into plastic shedding from food and drink packages.

 

Of the 7 polymers they have identified:

polyamide, polypropylene, polyethylene, polymethyl methacrylate, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, and polyethylene terephthalate.

 

AFAIK 2 - polyamide and polymethyl methacrylate - are not used in food packaging and a further one PVC is being widely withdrawn from this use (at least in the EU if not N America) 

 

All three of these are however widely used in clothing nylon, acrylic and in the case of PVC various insulating garments.   It has been a personal concern that, since the potential risks of micro and nano plastics had been identified, a major source of these particles was from the exit of the washing machine.   Too small to be taken out by water treatment plants the smallest particles end up in rivers and seas.  

The end of the article addresses this, they don't believe it all comes from the packaging, some will come from the processes of making the plastic and others will have come from the water source.

 

They suggest drinking tap water as it contains less, avoiding plastic packaged food and drink and wearing clothes that are of natural materials.   Genie is out of the bottle, we've been using plastic for so long now and I don't see how you are going to remove these nano particles, I would imagine they also pass to babies in the womb if they are so well absorbed into our bodies down to cellular level.

[monkeysarefun]

15 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

The end of the article addresses this, they don't believe it all comes from the packaging, some will come from the processes of making the plastic and others will have come from the water source.

 

They suggest drinking tap water as it contains less, avoiding plastic packaged food and drink and wearing clothes that are of natural materials.   Genie is out of the bottle, we've been using plastic for so long now and I don't see how you are going to remove these nano particles, I would imagine they also pass to babies in the womb if they are so well absorbed into our bodies down to cellular level.

 

 

 

I've stopped worrying about any of that stuff. 

 

At the risk of being a Debbie Downer,  my  2024 planner goes basically - Trump wins election, all his hardline heroes invade all the places they have their eyes on knowing the US wont stop them, the world erupts in a nuclear apocalypse and we are all dead by Christmas.  

Edited January 9 by monkeysarefun

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

 

But just try it on New Zealanders and they get all uppity and want to take back Russell Crowe and Phar lap.

What about the Pavlova?

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, monkeysarefun said:

WE did have the short-lived "Kevin the Huntsman Spider " but  BBC Kids  didnt take it up  so it got canned after the pilot episode. 

Perhaps it bypassed the terrestrial channels and went straight to the web?

[woodenhead]

33 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

I've stopped worrying about any of that stuff. 

 

At the risk of being a Debbie Downer,  my  2024 planner goes basically - Trump wins election, all his hardline heroes invade all the places they have their eyes on knowing the US wont stop them, the world erupts in a nuclear apocalypse and we are all dead by Christmas.  

[Tony_S]

47 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

Swearing is an art-form here, the F and C words get thrown around like confetti.

My son was rather impressed by its use in the Melbourne office establishment he had an internship in to get some experience of a workplace before he started a Masters course at the LSE. 

[monkeysarefun]

21 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

What about the Pavlova?

 

 

No that is ours, New Zealand can get f*#$ed.

Edited January 9 by monkeysarefun