Early Risers.

[New Haven Neil]

Morning, I got my ER's badge back!

 

-1c on the rock and 5mm - yes mm - of snow, so travel chaos, roads closed, stuck cars everywhere.  Useless.

 

My new chair is supposed to be delivered today, having blown many Deltics on it, it better had.  as the shop is in Peel, way out west,  this may be an expedition for them to battle though the snow driftlets that may reach 10mm in depth.

 

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

Still no snow here....but very icy.

 

I hope my new lenses appear soon.. its a PITA not being able to focus properly.

 

Today willlbe.. not doing a lot day. I have some culinary work to undertake but that's about it.

 

Good luck with the car @New Haven Neil.. and I hope they sort your insuranc3 out pdq @PhilJ W.

 

Time to a m9veon!

 

TtFN!

 

Stay safe and well.

 

Baz

[Hroth]

Thr BBC weather app predicted wintery showers for last night.  The Met Office app predicted 30% snow.  Guess what, we've got 30% deep'n'crisp'n'even* lying about outside.

 

And, I've another dental appointment this morning.

 

Hey ho...,.

 

* Perhaps not "deep", it looks more like NHNs 5mm...

 

[RobAllen]

Morning folks. it's -4ºC, so I'm in no hurry to go outside! Another day with an interview-type call today, so hopefully will see movement on work-stuff next week.

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl,

Great difficulty getting to sleep,  had about 6 hours with several wake ups and turn overs...

 

Ben I'm comfortable here Collie didn't request out, but I needed some air so we went on patrol. It's white out there, but mostly in tyre tracks of the vehicles and in the lee of any obstruction. 

Still dark outside, but a glimmer orange to the east, below the clouds.

 

0C at the moment, Forecast of snow, sleet, rain, later.

 

We are attempting to go out later, but that depends on the road conditions, our roads is never cleared or gritted. Single track with ditches either side in some places, now there's no absolute need to travel to work, choices will have to be made, especially as the "  Little Red Driving Machine"© Gwiwer appears to not be very good in slippery conditions.

 

The trip out is to get the Ramipril,  a new driving licence, printer paper, plus general  shopping,  the licence  will have to be renewed at age 70 which is long before its due to hit their 10 year life, so it may as well be done now, before the price goes up again..  Had I thought of that before it would  have been  done when SWMBO's was done.

 

I've registered for the website that was referred to yesterday about D-Day radar, so it can be accessed for futher information. Then I'll copy all the witness statements and download all the photos .

The witness statements include odd mentions of technical aspects of the radar which will help in modeling them.

First this gadget needs to be cleared  of some data and programmes as it's getting a little full.

 

Now I'm somewhat warmer it's time to make breaky,

 

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Frosty here but the sky is clear and a sunny but chilly day is forecast.  App says it's -5°C * and may reach 3°C.

*If it's right that is quite cold for here.

A peaceful night for both me and The Boss, she seems to have recovered from whatever was ailing her and already I "needtogettamoveon!!"

Dentist visited successfully yesterday and the tooth has been repaired.

Various neighbours are out defrosting cars,  I certainly don't miss doing that at 04.45 when I used to take The Boss to work.  My car will stay where it is until Saturday as I'm still obeying doctor's orders not to drive for 10 days after the op.

Only one bin lorry due today and they're later than usual.  We are also expecting an Ocado delivery, The Boss having kicked Sainsbury's into touch (for now).  Just had a text confirming delivery is coming with no missing products or substitutions so that's a good start.  The only downside is that they are a bit more expensive and also as The Boss gets a 10% discount from Sainsbury's the total bill is about 15% more than we would normally pay.  Whether or not Herself will be happy about that remains to be seen but Sainsbury's have gone slowly downhill over the past few months so IMHO we will have to put up with it.  I would far rather pay more if the quality of goods and service is better.  There is a possibility other supermarkets will be tried out although a couple are on The Boss's "over my dead body" list due to previous tryouts (although these were in-store, not deliveries).

Oh dear, things are really getting better...."YOUREALLYDONEEDTOGETTAMOVEON!!"

😂😂

Yes dear.

Have a good one,

Bob.

Edited January 18 by grandadbob

[Gwiwer]

Good morning from the Distant (Signal) West where something very unusual took place overnight. 
 

 

 

But don’t worry - the clearing crew has arrived 

 

 

And there’s snow place like gnome 

 

[DaveF]

A lovely sunny morning, -4°C overnight and -3° now.  Shortly I must deice the car and go to church.  As it may only reach 0° today I may not have my walk afterwards.  A thin covering of snow.

 

Yesterday I mentioned having my blood test at 10.30a.m..  This morning at 08.25 I had a text from my GP with the results.  The PSA level is well within the normal range (0.6ug/l) so no further action.  The other things tested for were also normal.  We will see how things go with the waterworks after my hernia is fixed.  I am feeling relieved and might relax a bit.

 

I don't have much planned for later today, hopefully work on a model, reading and so on.  Until it warms up I will not be going far.

 

I hope everyone else gets on OK today.

 

David

Edited January 18 by DaveF

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Still minus four Celsius here with a very sharp frost, warm and cosy in here though. I've a list of things to do, mostly to do with getting a replacement car so I better getamoveon as per @grandadbob.

[jjb1970]

Funnily, since we are discussing the state of camera shops on another thread, I just bought a new camera. I have been wanting to change for a while and had my bonus in December, additionally I had a mountain of Singapore Airlines frequent flyer points which I can use via their payment app with local retailers (one of the ironies of frequent flyer programs is that after accumulating enough miles for good rewards I would rather not doing any more flying than I have to) which offset the cost significantly. Mrs JJB offered the sage advice that if I wanted a camera I would be better off buying one I really like than going for something cheaper and then not being that happy with it. So I bought an Olympus OM-1 with a very nice Olympus Zuiko 12-100mm lens (24-200mm equivalent), now I just need the weather to improve here so I can get out and about with it.

[Ohmisterporter]

Kath had another night in hospital following another slight seizure yesterday. Still no idea what is causing this and we are awaiting results from the lumbar puncture, which may take another two weeks. Visiting time is two o'clock so I may find out more then.

Stay safe all.

[tender]

 

Mrs Suvvern tells me that there are a few on here that may be interested in my attempts at astrophotography. 

Here’s one I took last night during a rare break in the clouds for a change.

30min exposure (180x10sec) quickly processed with astrocooker and iPhoto.

If anyone wants more (photos or info) just ask.

IC434 Horsehead Nebula.

Edited January 18 by tender

[Darlington_Shed]

9 minutes ago, tender said:

my attempts at astrophotography

 

Excellent 👍

[Sidecar Racer]

 Something for the sky photographers to dream about  .

 

 

 

[grandadbob]

Bright sunshine here but it's a bit chilly.  Just put a thermometer outside in the shade and it's currently reading 0°C.

 

Ocado delivery came early but he did text and ask if that was OK.  Nottaproblem said I.  Nice polite and friendly driver and everything was delivered to the satisfaction of Herself so a provisional order has already been placed for next week.  It seems she fully intends to "give them a chance for now" so she must really be hacked off with Sainsbury's.  Hmm, for now, watch this space.

Muggatea now and I'm going to do a bit of "star gazing"  via a further look at my Apollo Remastered book.

Edited January 18 by grandadbob

[PhilJ W]

I now have the finance to cover a replacement car so I should be mobile soon.

[petethemole]

5 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

To get round a corner the frinks cabinet had to be moved. Thus all the ornaments on top of it and the glasses inside had to be safely relocated.  It was moved and a large amount of black mould was found in the corner.  This was all cleaned off with dettol and then alcohol and during the day two coats of anti fungal paint were applied.

The cabinet is probably blocking air circulation into the corner, causing a localised cold spot where moisture condenses onto the wall.  I had the same problem years ago behind a bookcase.  The wall will still get damp even if you prevent the mould, so you might want to consider relocating the cabinet.  Also, check the back of the cabinet for damp and mould; my bookcase was affected, along with some of the books.  I still have it though, in this very room.

[TheQ]

And I picked up a pork pie for lunch...

 

My book cases I constructed with a 1/2 inch ( other types of measurement are available)  gap at the back  for air circulation.

 

Left here 1/2 inch of compressed snow on our road, tricky to drive on, local road after that  hints of gritting , not to bad, main road clear all the way to North Waltham.  Parked up 10:02, walked 100 yards to post office , photo taken, details taken, paper receipt for driving licence issued, out at 10:09!!!

 

Had a stroll round market. My favourite stall was there, cheap local bacon,  cheap cheeses, and local pork pies, twice the size of Tesco's standard Melton Mowbray, for only 15 p more. Only 1/3 had for lunch.

 

Went to Lidl,  short-circuited SWMBO's slow search of everything by wandering around, returning to her and the trolley with the known items we went for.. Left NW 1 hour and 5 minutes after arrival.

Road from NW now under 2 inches of snow except for the bit under tyres, which was mostly white  only 20mph until we got near,  Stalham where roads were clear of white stuff as we arrived.

 

Into doctors, seen almost immediately as some hadn't turned up due to weather, slight worries about bloods,  my heart rate has been variable over the last few years and also to protect my kidneys.  Spent longer in the pharmacy queue to be issued with Ramipril as a trial for one month then more vampire work.

 

Parcel arrived from" fair price models" , looks good , will do a trial dry run on the unmentionable later to see if it fits. 

But first, a muggacoffee 

Then

Ben's long walk.

[BSW01]

Good morning afternoon everyone 

 

Finally found the time to post on here today. After the usual round of eye bathing and eye drops I went to the Trafford Centre for a few bits and bobs that I can’t get locally. I would normally do this on a Friday morning, but I’m off to Widnes tomorrow morning to pick up a large order, there are a few items in said order that the PO won’t deliver and the cost of a 3rd party shipper is about the same as I’d use in fuel, so whilst there, I’ll pop into the shop and see what they have left to tempt me further. 

 

It was -5C when I got up this morning and had risen to -3C when I went out, it’s currently 2C at the moment, with bright blue skies and no clouds. 
 

Dinner time now, which will be followed by another session of eye bathing and drops, then a relaxing afternoon. 
 

Back later

 

Brian

[Rugd1022]

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

I now have the finance to cover a replacement car so I should be mobile soon.

 

Here you go Phil, dirt cheap, never raced or rallied.... honest... 😁

 

[New Haven Neil]

A'noon, wandered into the Bright Lights of Royal Ramsey for comestibles, icy under-paw in the shade, lovely and sunny out of it, 2c.

 

Delivery operatives came with my new armchair, looks great but the bum cushion needs running in a bit, the one in the shop was much softer - better than being soggy though, you don't want a soggy bum.  Don't these things look smaller in the shop than in your own lounge - glad I didn't go for the 'snuggler', while it would have fitted in the gap, it would have been overpowering.

 

Having cleaned and re-assembled the lounge, having a bit of a retro-rock afternoon, Led Zep 2 getting the dust out of the speakers.  

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, grandadbob said:

Bright sunshine here but it's a bit chilly.  Just put a thermometer outside in the shade and it's currently reading 0°C.

 

Ocado delivery came early but he did text and ask if that was OK.  Nottaproblem said I.  Nice polite and friendly driver and everything was delivered to the satisfaction of Herself so a provisional order has already been placed for next week.  It seems she fully intends to "give them a chance for now" so she must really be hacked off with Sainsbury's.  Hmm, for now, watch this space.

Muggatea now and I'm going to do a bit of "star gazing"  via a further look at my Apollo Remastered book.

 

 

Rejoice at least in having a decent range of grocery chains to keep the prices honest. 

 

Here we have just 2 that make up the vast proportion of the market. 

 

Those people who  stand outside concerts or major sporting events  and sell tickets at vastly inflated prices have absolutely nothing on them and just look at them in admiration at their daylight robbery  skillz.

 

These 2 chains are at least  equal opportunity pirates, they rip off those on both sides of them -  the producers on one side and the customers on the other.  They've made record profits this year while blaming "transport costs", "The wet weather", "Whatever else we can think of" for constant price rises that far exceed the  inflation rate. What THEY are paying farmers for their produce has in many cases fallen but that saving is not passed on:

 

“While a farmer’s payment for cattle (eastern young cattle indicator) has fallen from $10.21 per kilo to just $3.65 per kilo over the past 12 months, at the supermarket it still costs around $36 per kilo for grass-fed rump steak, $25 per kilo for beef rump roast and $19 for a kilo of humble grass-fed beef mince.

“A farmer’s payment for lamb (national trade price) has fallen from $8.39 per kilo to $4.82 per kilo (carcase weight), yet families at the supermarket are paying $27 for a kilo of grass-fed graze lamb boneless shoulder roast, $18 for one kilo of lamb loin chops and $8 per kilo of lamb leg roast,” 

 

And to rub our noses in it one of them has a big bin near the checkouts with a sign encouraging US  to donate some of the non-perishable foods that we've just paid their  rip-off prices for to those struggling with the cost of groceries.... 

 

Coles and (*$(@* Woolies - 0 stars.

 

 

Edited January 18 by monkeysarefun

[monkeysarefun]

18 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

Having cleaned and re-assembled the lounge, having a bit of a retro-rock afternoon, Led Zep 2 getting the dust out of the speakers.

 

 

 

Spotify has spent the last 3 hours feeding me a continuous  stream of Jake Thackery, Ivor Cutler and Vivian Stanshall for no apparent reason, but I'm liking it.

 

 

And as I type this William Shatner has been added to the mix - all up, a perfect soundtrack  for my party of one!

Edited January 18 by monkeysarefun

[monkeysarefun]

52 minutes ago, Rugd1022 said:

 

Here you go Phil, dirt cheap, never raced or rallied.... honest... 😁

 

 

 

 

 If its like here you'll soon be over-run by USA good-ole-boy  pickups so get in first.

 

 

 

Edited January 18 by monkeysarefun

[jjb1970]

Supermarkets here are competitive and there are several chains but prices are very high, largely because almost everything is imported. The supply chain is sea based with air freight for high value fresh food, something you can notice sometimes is certain products get very thin on the ground or can even disappear and then reappear if stuff sells out before the next shipment arrives. People here accept it as part of how the supply chain works.