Early Risers.

[Hroth]

 

Looks like ER is doing it's mental hiccups again.  Pages 12853/4 are identical at present...

 

Update:  Now its been forced onto a new page, I think its re-indexed itself. 

 

Edited March 19 by Hroth

[Flanged Wheel]

33 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Oh dear!

 

Not the fact that you’re off to Japan, but rather that you have chosen to go in June (been there, done that, got the sweat-soaked t-shirt).

 

Sadly it’s the only time that it will fit into our plans so we will try and make the most of it. We weren’t expecting to make it to Japan when we set off but we found some cheap flights and it’s probably our only chance (at least as a family). Our eldest son loves history and is very excited by the prospect so I suspect that we will be seeking out the air-conditioned museums. These days, our children are generally better behaved than I am…

 

Having spent the last eighteen months in mainly tropical locations, we should be reasonably acclimatised. Last August we were in Baja California (very very hot) and northern Thailand/Lao is currently sweltering too. Fortunately most of our accommodation in Japan has washing machines so hopefully we can avoid being too anti-social.

 

Thank you @iL Dottore for the other top tips too! I have to say that we were encouraged to visit by your reports of last year’s trip and I definitely agree about the language points. Even a few words can make a transformative difference to relationships with locals - this was very true in Indonesia.

 

 

[Ozexpatriate]

4 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

It always amuses me to see various posters on ER go on about “posh” supermarkets, shops, restaurants and the like.

There certainly are "high-end" / boutique supermarkets in the US.

 

There are real strata for supermarkets in the US - while many will carry the same basic shelf-stable items, price-points, particularly for specialty items will vary dramatically:

• budget
• box-marts with a food section - Walmart, Target
• semi-national large chains (historically regional where most people traditionally shopped)
• Small chains focused outside major metropolitan areas
• larger high-end chains (often absorbed into the semi-national chain corporations (like Whole Foods / Amazon)
• boutique small chains

The biggest differences are observable in specialty areas like the fish counter, meat counter, bakery and delicatessen.

[polybear]

Bear here.....

 

Fairly silly o'clock (0530) out of the Pit for (what I thought was going to be) a day working at the Hospice; however it seemed that an another, unexpected person arrived at lunch time for an afternoon session so Bear took voluntary redundancy and baled out early - a quick session in the local diddy Tess & Co on the way home then Bear was back in his Castle.

 

That concludes fun for the day so far - must try harder....

 

BG

[iL Dottore]

@Flanged Wheel PM me if I can provide any (vaguely, barely resembling an) insider tips.

19 minutes ago, Flanged Wheel said:

Our eldest son loves history and is very excited by the prospect so I suspect that we will be seeking out the air-conditioned museums. These days, our children are generally better behaved than I am…

The Tokyo museums are superb (and - if I may be contrarian - have managed NOT to go “woke” and spoil things).
 

One of the delights for children (and not just children it has to be said) are the Gachapon: little plastic spheres containing a collectable ranging from the weird (cat kitchen appliances) to the wonderful (miniature replicas of famous Japanese landmarks). They normally cost between ¥200 (£1) and ¥500 (£2.60), a few cost as much as ¥1000 (£5.22) and some require intricate assembly.

 

The reason I mention them is that at the museums the Gachapon they sell tend to tie in with the museums’ subjects (at the Tokyo Natural History Museum there was a range of Gachapon of the dinosaurs in the museum’s collection) .

 

The Tokyo Metro (Underground Railway) Museum is a small delight and has a HUGE N-Gauge model railway representing a small slice of Tokyo. If you want to see it in action, check the running times as it is run only at certain times of the day.

 

The Pot Noodle Museum (I went to the one in Osaka) is also fun. There’s one in Yokohama near Tokyo.

35 minutes ago, Flanged Wheel said:

Thank you @iL Dottore for the other top tips too! I have to say that we were encouraged to visit by your reports of last year’s trip

That’s very flattering and kind of you to say so.

If I may offer one or two other tips:

• if you can, go very early or very late in the day to the most popular sights. They are definitely worth seeing, although the undisciplined mob of tourists, not so much. If you can visit outside the peak visiting hours (and the place is open) it’s very rewarding. Some Shinto shrines are open 24/7 and are magical at night.
• Be a bit leery about organised tours, they can be very much The Proverbial Curate’s Egg. One “food tour” I went on was great (Osaka), the other (Tokyo) rather pathetic - both, surprisingly, organised by the same company. I suspect how one views the tour depends upon how knowledgeable one is about Japanese food.
• A private tour guide can be an affordable luxury for a day (I had a couple during my visit), generally good but some get lost as to what to cover if you do know something about Japan.

I enjoyed my trip so much that I’ll be going back in Autumn to Northern Honshu, thence to Hokkaido and finally a dash down to either Kyushu or Shikoku.

[Erichill16]

8 hours ago, Barry O said:

Ey up!

 

Off to take Beast for his annual service and MoT!

Wish me luck!

 

Baz

Clutch needs replacing on Nemo van and cam belt ought to be changed at same time. A lorra , lorra Deltics!  And I'm not really going to get the benefit.
Its done 105k miles and hard ones at that, probably 50 stop starts a day but only about 30miles per day.

 

[Gwiwer]

4 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

It always amuses me to see various posters on ER go on about “posh” supermarkets, shops, restaurants and the like.

There was nothing "posh" about the Waitrose in Twickenham.  We used it a few times.  It could, however, be described as "push".  It seemed to be the proving-ground for everyone intent on competing in the antisocial Olympics.  Once you had got inside, which wasn't always as simple as walking through the doors, if you dared to stop at a shelf you were jostled or rammed out of the way by elbows, bodyweight or someone else's trolley.  or any combination of the above.  We never enjoyed the experience.  

 

Latterly Dr. SWMBO decided to try a newly-opened Lidl in Fulwell.  Much the same there, we found, except the prices were cheaper and some of the food was simply awful in quality.  

 

A busy watch this morning with everything wanting to transit the shipping lanes.  Far more trawlers than usual were out fishing, there was the usual assortment of freighters, ROROs / Anglo-European ferries and a tanker, the first crossing of the year for Scillonian III and the first two yachts of the year.  Apparently racing each other from Brittany to Ireland but not engaged in racing anyone else.  Good luck to them - that's not my idea of fun at all.  

 

 

[TheQ]

5 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

 

 

Also, I suspect the same sort of mental gymnastics is going on with the ER definition of “posh“ as happens in the Guardian with their definition of “rich“. Just as “rich” to a Guardian columnist is “anyone who earns more than me”; so on ER “posh” equals “costs more than I’m willing to pay”.

By my standards I believe that will mean any named Gruinad staffer is posh.

 

Afternoon Awl,

 Museum went well, basically a bull night. Hovered, polished and cleaned the history room and a bit of other rooms.

Even did a little muddling at the end.. While in there the house electrician was investigating why one equipment wouldn't switch on and blew fuses... Fault? Someone had drilled through the mains cable....

 

Neighbour came round totally lost with her emails... She'd been Microsofted.. yep unauthorised updates had changed her settings... This really worried her as she's in the middle of a dispute with EON who say she's £600+ in credit, then says she is £87 behind on payments.. 

Anyway, after asking how she had it before, I set it all up again. Ben didn't mind, she has a cupboard with doggy treats in it, so you know where he was sat and staring.

So when I was finished he got his treat...

 

The tractor with the side pusher to fill in trenches is bringing trailer loads of soil onto the concrete pan, they must be digging trenches somewhere.

[woodenhead]

36 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

Latterly Dr. SWMBO decided to try a newly-opened Lidl in Fulwell.  Much the same there, we found, except the prices were cheaper and some of the food was simply awful in quality.  

 

Try Aldi, having seen evidence of Waitrose packaging turning up in an Aldi it would appear that fresh veg and fruit come from the same supplier and you can add Sainsburys to that list as well probably.

[Coombe Barton]

9 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

Now it’s a pat-test for His Furship on demand. Including at 3am. 

Not a PAT demand?

[PupCam]

"The Pot Noodle Museum"  and "I went to the one in Osaka"  (said  il Dottore)  now  that has to be an oxymoron doesn't it? 🤣

 

 

 

Hey, nice E numbers! 😉

 

 

52 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

A busy watch this morning with everything wanting to transit the shipping lanes.  Far more trawlers than usual were out fishing, there was the usual assortment of freighters, ROROs / Anglo-European ferries and a tanker, the first crossing of the year for Scillonian III and the first two yachts of the year.  Apparently racing each other from Brittany to Ireland but not engaged in racing anyone else.  Good luck to them - that's not my idea of fun at all. 

 

I've rumbled you Rick!    This new "volunteering" business, protecting the coast is really just an excuse for a new form of train spotting (now there aren't many actual trains to spot) isn't it?    

Is there an equivalent of the Ian Allan  Combined Volume for boats?

 

ION

 

A  short thrash was thrashed with a stop off at a local bike shop.      Each year in the summer they hold a "Two stroke" day and invite a number of interesting two strokes to be displayed.  

Seems like a certain ~50 year old, RD200 has got an invitation ....  😀

 

Mrs Puppers has just visited the garage .........  😬

 

It would appear that I got a "Highly commended" for my Henry Hoovering this morning!      Now that is a result!

 

TTFN

 

 

 

[Gwiwer]

6 minutes ago, PupCam said:

Is there an equivalent of the Ian Allan  Combined Volume for boats?

Not these days but there used to be.  I have - in my school days - had one or two of these and become frustrated at not being able to "cop" more than a handful of vessels.  I now know that the same few vessels always worked the same "runs" so it was normal to see the Winchesterbrook or the Ian M multiple times a year whereas a trip into town might mean I could see a different "Western" or "Warship" almost every time.  

 

 

Edited March 19 by Gwiwer

[DaveF]

I visited one of the local garden centres this morning for coffee, the first time since before Christmas.  It was enjoyable, I don't think I've ever had such a strong cappucino, twice the usual amount of coffee grounds must have been used, it was very good.  Then I had a walk round and found a couple of cheap books.  No plants as I cannot do "real" gardening for some time to come.

 

Going I went the "easy" way which has two sets of temporary traffic lights.  I came back the "hard" way which only has one set of temporary lights, they are no longer three way so it is a bit easier but still slower overall.  I will be very pleased when the roundabouts and the new bridge over the railway by the new station are finished and the level crossing closed.  I also found out that the temporary speed limits have been changed yet again.  Fortunately there are no speed cameras as no one seems to know how fast to go.

 

It was warm enough to be outside and have a good chat with a couple of neighbours after lunch.  I also put weedkiller on some dandelions as I cannot dig them out at the moment.  When I came back in I did a crossword.  

 

Next will be something simple for tea then TV, book and so on.  So continues my (not) exciting life, it is quite pleasant much of the time.

[DaveF]

12 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

Not these days but there used to be.  I have - in my school days - had one or two of these and become frustrated at not being able to "cop" more than a handful of vessels.  I now know that the same few vessels always worked the same "runs" so it was normal to see the Winchesterbrook or the Ian M multiple times a year whereas a trip into town might mean I could see a different "Western" or "Warship" almost every time.  

 

 

 

 It is the same when I go down to my local harbour, there is a limited range of likely ships, mainly support ships, Arklow ships, A2B ships and so on.  Even the other ships  such as small tankers, cement carriers etc repeat regularly.

 

David

[iL Dottore]

1 hour ago, Gwiwer said:

Not these days but there used to be.  I have - in my school days - had one or two of these and become frustrated at not being able to "cop" more than a handful of vessels.  I now know that the same few vessels always worked the same "runs" so it was normal to see the Winchesterbrook or the Ian M multiple times a year whereas a trip into town might mean I could see a different "Western" or "Warship" almost every time.  

 

 

Those bring a tiny tear of regret for those lost years of late childhood (before adolescence hit with all the force of a runaway, nitroglycerin stuffed, 18-wheeler), when all was right with the world.
 

Old enough to be independent, young enough not to have to worry about females and other adult ”responsibilities”. And, as you have illustrated by those book covers, a life full of interesting things to read about, hope to see and learn more about.

 

I pity kids nowadays, unless incredibly lucky in their choice of parents, they’re doomed to a life glued to a smartphone, their existence dictated to by “influencers” and the self-appointed professionally offended.

 

The internet’s fine, it’s the soschul meejia that’s gonna b****r-up the grandkids…

[Sidecar Racer]

A definition of posh .

 

 A B&B establishment is , a room with the usual facilities , a breakfast with

all the usual parts , eg, juices , cereal , fry up , toast , tea or coffee .

 

 The locations . Two coastal resorts .

 

 Blackpool ,   £15 per person per night .

 

 Bournemouth , £32 per person per night .

 

Both do what they say .

 

Which should be defined as posh ????? 

[zarniwhoop]

2 hours ago, woodenhead said:

Try Aldi, having seen evidence of Waitrose packaging turning up in an Aldi it would appear that fresh veg and fruit come from the same supplier and you can add Sainsburys to that list as well probably.

Maybe, maybe not.

 

I don't often go to Waitrose, except in January when I'm looking for the first blood oranges. The supply of those at the nearest (smallish) branch can be a bit erratic but I can usually get some before Sains' and Tess'. The last time I went there they didn't have any - but some very small items were in the citrus shelves. On one side it said blood oranges from (Supplier name's) Sicily supplier. I was dubious at the small size of them, and turned the label over - pink onions from the same supplier's Brittany supplier!

 

I'm sure much of it does come from the same suppliers or wholesalers, but other things (the fruits and vegetables which are less common in this country's supermarkets) do differ. While I would not look for pink onions, apart from that one occasion I've never noticed them anywhere.

[iL Dottore]

1 hour ago, PupCam said:

"The Pot Noodle Museum"  and "I went to the one in Osaka"  (said  il Dottore)  now  that has to be an oxymoron doesn't it? 🤣

 

Err, no.

 

Just like the Wehrmacht Generals had “friendly visits” to other armies for the purpose of sussing out what any future enemy is up to, so I scoped out the whole pot noodle business.

 

I am sure that you won’t be surprised to learn that the Japanese Pot Noodles (made by the Japanese, for the Japanese and [mostly] only available in Japan) are miles ahead light years ahead of anything sold in Europe. 
 

In the DIY “build your own pot of pot noodles” hands-on section for kids, the ingredients you could choose from were various freeze dried veggies, fish and meat.

 

In the name of Scientific Research I did once have a seafood pot noodle from a Kombini (it was about £5) and it actually tasted of dashi, noodles and seafood. It was certainly much more than edible (unlike the cheapo pot noodles in Europe but quality isn’t cheap: the most expensive pot noodle I saw in a Kombini was about £10). As interesting and enjoyable as it was, it’s not something I wish to eat many of.

 

Pot Noodles are produced and sold widely around the world and according to the Observer food critic Jay Rayner, there is a hierarchy of pot noodles with the best being considered the Japanese pot noodle.

[Barry O]

3 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

Clutch needs replacing on Nemo van and cam belt ought to be changed at same time. A lorra , lorra Deltics!  And I'm not really going to get the benefit.
Its done 105k miles and hard ones at that, probably 50 stop starts a day but only about 30miles per day.

 

at 6 years old Beast has to have a new cam belt.

 

BUT he has passed the MoT. Service team have not finished the Service due to "illness" but.. they rang to ask where the wheel lock nut was at 4:30pm... its in the handbook holder (where it is for all Mitsubishi cars etc).. I feel a discount being" negotiated"...

 

A good walk from the garage to town for some shopping was undertaken. Bacon sarnie and frothy coffee had for breakfast in a greasy spoon in Leeds Market (I saw a "medium breakfast" on offer at £6 including tea or coffee.. two of everything .. loads of buttered toast etc.. I just couldn't eat that anymore!). New suit , wedding party for the wearing of, was purchased in Next.. in the sale.... (£69 instead of £150). Staff have been thanked on the on line survey..

 

Herself found a handbag for her "wedding mother of the bride" set up.. not too expensive.

 

Nice coffee and a great Focaccia based cheese/ salami/ham and rocket sandwich for me and lasagne and fizzy water for her was enjoyed with an Italian owned Coffee Bar in town.. excellent!

 

A bit more walking about then a bus home.. all in glorious sunshine this afternoon!

 

This means the storage batteries are now full.. great ...

 

@BSW01 I have looked at the Hornby mag - I hate the added "smoke" on the photos of Shap not like the real thing at all.. but nice to be mentioned and some of my stock is in the photos.

 

Similarly a copy of the Toddler has been bought.. pictures in there are superb! and nice mention from "Red Leader" in both articles.

 

Now .. its time for tea!

 

Baz

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 19 by Barry O
spellung

[PupCam]

Hook, Line and Sinker 🤣

 

 

[iL Dottore]

6 minutes ago, PupCam said:

Hook, Line and Sinker 🤣

 

 

Maybe so.

 

But the Japanese can turn junk food into superb dishes. You have KFC, the Japanese have Karaage - proper fried chicken for Grown Ups!

[Barry O]

12 minutes ago, PupCam said:

Hook, Line and Sinker 🤣

 

 

Rod, reel, fisherman's hand, fisherman's arm, fisherman's stool.....

 

Baz

[PhilJ W]

5 hours ago, Hroth said:

 

Looks like ER is doing it's mental hiccups again.  Pages 12853/4 are identical at present...

 

Update:  Now its been forced onto a new page, I think its re-indexed itself. 

 

It was very slow to load this morning and then it went down for a couple of minutes after which it was back up to speed.

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. After doing the shopping this afternoon I started sorting out a few things on the car while it was still light. The boot light wasn't working, more than likely a blown bulb so I'll have to source a replacement. While fiddling around in the boot I came across another lighter socket, obviously for powering things like cool boxes. I will not be using it for that but its handy for the electric tyre pump if I need to pump up the back tyres.

[jjb1970]

One big difference between a lot of Asian (including Japanese) chicken dishes is they tend to go for chicken thighs and/or meat on the bone in preference to breast meat. The thighs have a more developed flavour rather than the blandness of breast meat.

 

Instant noodles are probably second only to rice as the dietary staple of SE and East Asia.