Early Risers.

[Ozexpatriate]

11 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

A shed is mentioned but not that it has to be insulated and heated plus big enough for your planned layout etc.

Be careful about that shed climate management - lest it become a "she shed".

 

Yes, it is a thing - whatever your Ladybird books might say.

 

I've seen the fancy display homes so equipped.

[iL Dottore]

7 hours ago, woodenhead said:

This was the tea I made this evening.

For those interested dessert was some plain and simple strawberries (no sugar, cream or ice cream) and a banana.

 

Bedtime now, night all.

Tea?

But where are the cucumber sandwiches, scones, clotted cream & jam, Victoria sponge and pot of Earl Grey?

 

Looks like a splendid dinner to me…..

[iL Dottore]

Good Morning,

 

A busy day awaits: paying work (😁) followed by some work on an Imbiss I’m building in O gauge for @bbishop of this parish. Today I’ll finish painting the chip fryer, seeing if I can turn the countertop griddle I made into a free standing one and finishing off the German style beer pumps. Then some Japanese language revision followed by - at about 6pm - a brief sojourn the kitchen to make dinner: a lightly spiced broccoli soup (note to PB: using only onions, garlic, a little olive oil, some vegetable stock, a dash of cream and a big chunk of fresh broccoli I can make in 40 minutes a superb - industrial additive free - broccoli soup. And of that 40 minutes only about ten is spent in the kitchen “cooking” [the prep and finishing the soup]).

 

Returning to housing/accommodation. Why are we (i.e. us “old folks”) under so much pressure to “downsize” when we reach pensionable age? Even in the absence of sprogs (who presumably would want to get their grubby little protuberances on the family estate) there is pressure to give up a perfectly decent sized house.

 

I see NO reason (except for physical limitations) to give up a perfectly serviceable dwelling. Plus, consider this: you have spent your entire life working your b*****ks off, looking forward to enjoying all your hobbies and activities when you retire; then along comes some clever clogs*, who “advises“ you to downsize! So, if you do, where the &#@# will you do all those activities and hobbies you were looking forward to doing in retirement?

ION

I’ll have to get a copy of the Frank Whittle biography mentioned in dispatches by @PupCam. I have read a bit about the history of Britain during this period and one thing does stand out. Is how the post war British governments (1st Labour and then Conservative) threw away all the technological advances and leadership in so many aerospace and other engineering areas. David Kynaston has written some interesting and unsentimental histories of the postwar years 1945-1951

 

*often in the position to trouser ££££ for his/her “advice” and subsequent sale of your property.

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl,

1 hour, 3 hours , 3 hours sleep..

 

Ben the I'd like out now cos it's not raining Collie. Took me on patrol, every time i got in front of him he stopped and waited only when I was behind or along side him would he proceed..

 

I've got a couple of those drawer towers displayed by the Bear for several years . One is at the MRC with my consumables in, the one at home in the muddling shed has more long term storage of unmentionables in it.

 

My big suffered from a land grab at one end as an artists studio.. much effort is required to stop that expanding...

 

Museum day, where I suspect the doors will be open , as it will be warmer outside than in..

 

Time to get blazer and tie on.

[Barry O]

Ey up!

In between getting soaked by the sea fret and blasted by the wind an enjoyable stroll to see some friends was achieved yesterday. This was followed by tea and wads .. including a rather nice piece of simnel cake.

 

Today will involve packing, shopping and a return to home where washing will be undertaken.

 

A good few days away.. but boy 4 days at York Railway show was so tiring!

 

Our 1920s house was well laid out and included a space to extend into the loft. We had a set of stairs fitted which now leads into my loft workroom, a bedroom (full of railways currently) and an en suite.

 

4 bedrooms, a house bathroom and a separate loo on the first floor. Ground floor has entrance hall (with piano as it was the music teaching room). A kitchen, a a store room, a dining room  and a sitting room. A small conservatory acts as the laundry/drying room. Does for us!

 

Stay safe!

 

Baz

 

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

Up early again today, this time for a blood letting appointment at the surgery, thankfully it’s not raining, so at least I won’t get wet! Once back from the surgery I’ll pick up my wallet and head off to the butchers for the weekly meat rations and a pork pie for my dinner. This will be followed by a quick visit to the Trafford Centre for a few more bits and pieces. 
 

Land grabs! Yes, yes, I’ve also suffered from land grabs. I originally planned to put my railway layout in the big attic room, as at the time, I was using the small attic room as a modelling room and model store room. Then Sheila decided that the small attic room was needed for household storage and as I had the cellar, she’d and workshop, she was going to use the large attic room as a sewing room. This was the main reason for all the refurbishment work I’ve done in the two cellar rooms. However, when I sat back and thought about it, the idea of carrying all the timber etc needed to build a layout and the fact that it gets very hot in the attic during the summer and quite cool (Sheila would say ‘cold’) in the winter. I’m now glad to be using the cellar, the ambient temperature is far more stable, which has a variation is just a few degrees AND I also have valuable direct external access to the cellar from the back garden. This negates the need to carry ‘stuff’ (particularly large sheets of plywood) through house, risking the possibly of damaging things as I do so. As a bonus, the cellar is slightly larger than the attic, albeit an odd shape, but I think it’s a win win really. Sheila has been down to the cellar and had a look, she’s very impressed with how it looks now, compared to how it looked 5 years ago, but I’m saved from further land grabs, as she doesn’t like the stairs, as the hand rail doesn’t reach the top, stopping when it reaches the ceiling, as seen in the photo below!
 

 

The hand rail and spindles were all added by myself, the cellar originally had none at all. 
 

Back later. 
 

Brian

Edited April 5 by BSW01

[polybear]

2 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

Whilst driving yesterday I listened to an item on Radio 4 about the sad demise of the Little Chef chain.  It made me think of our late friend  Chrisf who loved them and their breakfasts and lamented their passing. 

 

Absolutely - more than a few Olympic Brekkies have passed Bear's lips (a fact which I'm sure will come as no surprise to iD.....) - 99.999% of which were paid for by The Great (not) Empire, which made them all the more yummy.  Come to think of it, they were paying Bear to scoff them.....😁

 

A buddy at work knows of the owner of the chain - a Grade A a***hole according to him.  Apparently the chain was still making a profit - though I'm not 100% sure on that one.

 

2 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

I was going to say "no it isn't" (around 6:30am BST) 

 

Then this happened out of the blue:

But back again quickly.

 

EDIT;

 

Then it happened again and was quickly available - plus the last two pages were duplicated.

 

 

At 0430am I was seeing repeated "This Page is taking too long to respond" popups - asking if I'd like to wait or exit the page.

 

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

Returning to housing/accommodation. Why are we (i.e. us “old folks”) under so much pressure to “downsize” when we reach pensionable age? Even in the absence of sprogs (who presumably would want to get their grubby little protuberances on the family estate) there is pressure to give up a perfectly decent sized house.

 

I see NO reason (except for physical limitations) to give up a perfectly serviceable dwelling. Plus, consider this: you have spent your entire life working your b*****ks off, looking forward to enjoying all your hobbies and activities when you retire; then along comes some clever clogs*, who “advises“ you to downsize! So, if you do, where the &#@# will you do all those activities and hobbies you were looking forward to doing in retirement?

 

*often in the position to trouser ££££ for his/her “advice” and subsequent sale of your property.

 

Absolutely - if it ain't busted then don't fix it.  Assuming you have some disposable income then in this Bear's Book it makes far more sense to stay put and divert all the fees and costs involved in moving to people such as gardeners & cleaners to help with routine maintenance.

[polybear]

Bear here....

 

After Bear's exploits over the past couple of days I was really, really pondering if I actually wanted to go for a piddle in the pool at silly o'clock.  In the end I did set the alarm for 0430 ☹️ but actually woke at 0330; the next hour was on & off zeddin' - but of course when that b1tch Alexa did her stuff I was well asleep again....😒

I did manage the usual 30 piddles up & down the pool (1Km) but it was a bit of a shock to the system - it's almost 2 weeks since I last went so I'd "had enough" by the time I'd finished 😴

 

Once back at Bear Towers I was all set up for a nice brekkies - but that had already happened 4.5 hours earlier.  Piggin' Turdycurses 😡  The best I got was tea + one bikky.  #Cheated Bear.

 

Right, Bear's swim stuff has just finished being washed so I'd better get off my furry ar5e and start wrigglin' - the Bear Pit needs fixin', then it'll be MIUABGAD.

 

BG

 

 

[Winslow Boy]

28 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Absolutely - more than a few Olympic Brekkies have passed Bear's lips (a fact which I'm sure will come as no surprise to iD.....) - 99.999% of which were paid for by The Great (not) Empire, which made them all the more yummy.  Come to think of it, they were paying Bear to scoff them.....😁

 

A buddy at work knows of the owner of the chain - a Grade A a***hole according to him.  Apparently the chain was still making a profit - though I'm not 100% sure on that one.

 

 

At 0430am I was seeing repeated "This Page is taking too long to respond" popups - asking if I'd like to wait or exit the page.

 

 

Absolutely - if it ain't busted then don't fix it.  Assuming you have some disposable income then in this Bear's Book it makes far more sense to stay put and divert all the fees and costs involved in moving to people such as gardeners & cleaners to help with routine maintenance.

The councils in Manutopea have taken, for once, the quite wise decision to provide features such as steps, handrails etc to enable the old folks to stay in there properties. This is because they've worked out that it's cheaper to do that than to have them shipped off to the old folks home. Trust the bean counters to do a cost benefit analysis. 

[PupCam]

Morning!

 

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

ION

 

I’ll have to get a copy of the Frank Whittle biography mentioned in dispatches by @PupCam.

 

If you can keep up with all of the characters, their changing attitudes, their motives and their real intentions you're a better man than me Gunga Din!   

 

 

Just now, Winslow Boy said:

The councils in Manutopea have taken, for once, the quite wise decision to provide features such as steps, handrails etc to enable the old folks to stay in there properties. This is because they've worked out that it's cheaper to do that than to have them shipped off to the old folks home. Trust the bean counters to do a cost benefit analysis. 

 

Having said that though there is a great incentive to keep people in their own homes if possible and that is because many of them are/will be far more happy and content in familiar surroundings.    Puppers' mother is still living in her home of 50+ years, with very modest local physical assistance (cleaning, gardening), some remote assistance (from Mr & Mrs Puppers) and is generally happy and content.   Such safety aids as mentioned have been provided  albeit in this case by me and not the council but that's perfectly fine.       The topic of going into a home has been discussed many times over the years and it always comes back to the contentment of living in one's own home rather than somebody else's.   While she can do it long may it continue!

 

We'll be writing to Buck House very shortly to request a card from KC ...... 

 

ION

 

We're being visited by SiL and hubby today.    He's from a similar engineering background to Puppers albeit choose a very different career path  later on.  

I dare say they'll be a good deal of putting the World to rights and, unfortunately, I guarantee the World won't be listening AGAIN.   Its loss .....

 

Back later no doubt.

 

TTFNQ

 

 

Edited April 5 by PupCam
Added reply to WB

[DaveF]

A dry sunny morning after the nearly 2" of rain so far this week.  It's milder,11°C at 9.00.

 

I've done my foot exercises and made sure the strapping tape is still attached but I think a real improvement will take time.  I am seeing the MSK person at the surgery on Monday morning, I've just received a text to remind me.  I assume MSK means musculo/skeletal practitioner.

 

It is far too wet to walk anywhere on soil or grass so have decided to go for a short walk along a footpath along an old 17th century waggonway just outside town as it has a tarmac surface.  I shall be able to see if there is any interesting wildlife in the hedges and watch the golfers nearby.

 

After that it depends how I feel.  I cannot do anything at all in the garden, it resembles a quagmire and is almost wet enough for it to start to form a peat bog as plants die off.

 

David

 

Edited April 5 by DaveF
typo

[jamie92208]

44 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Absolutely - more than a few Olympic Brekkies have passed Bear's lips (a fact which I'm sure will come as no surprise to iD.....) - 99.999% of which were paid for by The Great (not) Empire, which made them all the more yummy.  Come to think of it, they were paying Bear to scoff them.....😁

 

A buddy at work knows of the owner of the chain - a Grade A a***hole according to him.  Apparently the chain was still making a profit - though I'm not 100% sure on that one.

 

 

At 0430am I was seeing repeated "This Page is taking too long to respond" popups - asking if I'd like to wait or exit the page.

 

It was a very interesting programme and there have been several owners some better than others. It would be worth finding it on BBC sounds. I think it was at 12.30pyourvtime yestetday a series called toast.  

 

Also on Radio. Bore ©Beth, this morning Desert Island Discs will be of great interest to @iL DottoreTheDottore The guest was Prof Spector  who was talking about UPF and made a lot of sense.  09.00 UK time this morning. BBC sou ds maybe worth looking at again.  

 

I will really miss Long Wave when the bean counters switch the transmitter off at the end of this month. 

 

Jamie

 

 

[woodenhead]

5 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Heinz Veggy Soup?

Under that vegetable covering was some very tender lean braising steak and a 4 lean back bacon slices.

 

It was yum though I say it myself, good old cooking learnt from my mum all those years ago.

[jamie92208]

3 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Be careful about that shed climate management - lest it become a "she shed".

 

Yes, it is a thing - whatever your Ladybird books might say.

 

I've seen the fancy display homes so equipped.

The only she shed that I have come across was in the late Mike Storey's garden.  He installed an in ground pool for his wife. But also wanted a planning permission for agarden railway.  This was granted on the condition that there was a branch line for delivering bottles of wine to the bosses she shed.  This did work. 

 

Jamie

[woodenhead]

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

ION

 

I’ll have to get a copy of the Frank Whittle biography mentioned in dispatches by @PupCam. I have read a bit about the history of Britain during this period and one thing does stand out. Is how the post war British governments (1st Labour and then Conservative) threw away all the technological advances and leadership in so many aerospace and other engineering areas. David Kynaston has written some interesting and unsentimental histories of the postwar years 1945-1951

 

Threw away or perhaps were rather forced to give away lest our friends across the pond should call in those loans they made to us in the war.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Another good night without interruptions, about six hours sleep as I my body clock isn't adjusted to BST yet and it took a while for me to get to sleep. I contemplated downsizing not long after retirement sixteen years ago but I didn't fancy the hassle and anyway I've filled the house with books* and models so much so that its bursting at the seams! The only thing now that would make me move would be if I could no longer manage the stairs or needed assistance.

*I stopped counting when I got to 5,000, and that was only just past the halfway point.

Edited April 5 by PhilJ W

[PhilJ W]

3 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

Threw away or perhaps were rather forced to give away lest our friends across the pond should call in those loans they made to us in the war.

And we were cash strapped anyway and couldn't afford to develop things such as supersonic flight which was handed to the Yanks on a plate.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_M.52#

[Dave Hunt]

I have suffered a partial land grab in my shed. It was probably my fault as I did offer some space for an artwork bench, which was eagerly taken up, but what I wasn’t prepared for was the introduction  of an ironing board, clothes horses and other paraphernalia to do with washing. The main snag with that is that when the weather dictates that the washing is put out to dry in the shed instead of outdoors the atmosphere gets very humid to the detriment of some workshop equipment and modelling materials. I have therefore invested in a decent sized dehumidifier that is deployed when wet washing is put in the shed and it is amazing how much water it sucks out of the air.

 

Dave

[Coombe Barton]

Downsizing - too much hassle -  it's finding space that's the problem.

I can empathise with the books. And the modelling - and the workshop - and the storage for caravan stuff.

Isn;t retirement going to be fun!

[tigerburnie]

29 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

I have suffered a partial land grab in my shed. It was probably my fault as I did offer some space for an artwork bench, which was eagerly taken up, but what I wasn’t prepared for was the introduction  of an ironing board, clothes horses and other paraphernalia to do with washing. The main snag with that is that when the weather dictates that the washing is put out to dry in the shed instead of outdoors the atmosphere gets very humid to the detriment of some workshop equipment and modelling materials. I have therefore invested in a decent sized dehumidifier that is deployed when wet washing is put in the shed and it is amazing how much water it sucks out of the air.

 

Dave

We have two sheds, one each....................................................

[Sidecar Racer]

35 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

Downsizing - too much hassle -  it's finding space that's the problem.

I can empathise with the books. And the modelling - and the workshop - and the storage for caravan stuff.

Isn;t retirement going to be fun!

 

 Simple solution , live in the caravan and just use the house for storage .

[iL Dottore]

7 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

And we were cash strapped anyway and couldn't afford to develop things such as supersonic flight which was handed to the Yanks on a plate.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_M.52#

Mainly because the Americans made damn sure the UK was down to its last few farthings before they handed over some clapped out ships in what became the first of the lend-lease programme.

 

Whilst it is undeniably true that the US and the UK share much in common and frequently have the same geopolitical interests, America has never been (as much as some politicians wish it otherwise) Britain's "greatest friend" - the "Special Relationship", much championed by Churchill, has frequently been mostly one-way (in the US's favour). There was significant anti-British sentiment prior to WWII (probably fueled in part by the large Irish diaspora in the US) and even now there is a tendency towards anti British sentiment in some parts of US society (https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/2588075/why-is-irish-america-so-anti-british/,

 

We should heed the words, spoken in a moment of unguardedness by Henry Kissinger "America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests".

 

The sooner the politicians in Westminster grasp the geopolitical realities of the world, the better.

Edited April 5 by iL Dottore

[jamie92208]

5 hours ago, woodenhead said:

Threw away or perhaps were rather forced to give away lest our friends across the pond should call in those loans they made to us in the war.

I believe that Attlee allowed the transfer of an Avon engine to the USSR and the copies they made powered the early Migs in Korea. 

 

Jamie

Edited April 5 by jamie92208

[polybear]

6 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

I be that Attlee allowed the transfer of an Avon engine to the USSR and the copies they made powered the early Migs in Korea. 

 

Jamie

 

Rumour has it the USA were somewhat unhappy (other words are available) about that little stunt....

[polybear]

Bear here....

 

A morning of, well, useful dross....yet nothing exciting (not even close in fact).

 

However, it's may be possible that Bear has actually achieved a home-prepared, UPF-free din dins - which if correct may well amaze a certain fellow ER'er @iL Dottore:

 

Cheese n' sliced Tommy Omelette (not sure if the sliced-from-a-block mature cheddar falls fouls here) with fresh Broccoli, Cauli, Peas/Green Beans/Sliced Carrot (ok so those bits were frozen - but I think that's allowed)

 

The only bit that iD may frown upon is the Mint Sauce out of a squirty bottle - but hey, cut a Bear a little slack.......

 

However, Bear has just learned that Whiskey is apparently a UPF.  Bear thought he'd just mention that little snippet....🤣