Early Risers.

[Jock67B]

Dave(TG), please give our best wishes to Is, the precautions will be worthwhile and, as in my case, simply require an adjustment in lifestyle so that they become habits!

Good luck to you both,

Kind regards,

Jock.

[lightengine]

Our new Wetherspoons opens on the 21st. The Jolie Brise is in Station Road in Teignmouth and has a small seating area at the front but a mahoosive seating area at the back. In fact there are 2 seating areas at the back, a groundfloor area and a 1st floor area on a specially built balcony. I imagine that counting all the inside and outside seating space it could probably accomodate the total seating space of all the pubs in Teignmouth combined. There are only about 14 pubs at present, so you can imagine the seating area of the Jolie Brise!

Saturday night was another staff training day and they were giving out free meals and drinks vouchers for next weekend. So next Saturday and Sunday will be big staff training days when the place will be full with hundreds of free loaders, ourselves included.

Whilst the front of the Jolie Brise will only look out on the taxi rank of Station Road, the rear terrace will have sweeping views of the back of Waitrose and its raised car park.

[lightengine]

The outward trip was sullied by some very chavvy young female making an extended airhead phoncall. As she seemed quite uninterested in the journey, why had she paid an extra £2 to be in the observation car? She had some regalia for another Torbay attraction, and wonder whether she was on a reciprocal freebie.

Maybe the young woman on the train is the one currently showing on FB and Youtube. She is so naturally gifted that her boyfriend/partner videod her as he asked her "How long will it take to travel 80 miles if you are travelling at 80MPH?" For over 5 minutes she pondered this question with various answers of 8 minutes to 80 minutes, 8 divided by 10 and other ideas. He kept repeating the question and even though he was giving her the answer she couldnt quite grasp it even when she eventually got it.

The 80 mph Riddle || That's Example of Cuteness o…: http://youtu.be/PxfheDXg12E

Edited July 14, 2015 by lightengine

[lightengine]

Poor thing. Sounds like a candidate for the next Big Brother auditions.

What was the answer, btw?

It depends if you are fully laden (not bin laden).

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all,

 

Rain seems to have abated but still cloudy.  Good to see that Dom is also getting experience driving when there are leaves on the line - they can have a serious impact on the relationship between wheels and rail under braking.

BTW one thing I didn't mention about the brewery is the way the name is pronounced - which leads to problems with the spelling;  it is (as Neil spelt it) 'brake - spear', not, as sometimes seems to be the fashion nowadays, 'brack-spear'.

 

And yes I agree with the various comments about meeting 'fellow members' of RMweb - the old Members' Day was great for that but I doubt it will ever reappear although the Taunton one goes from strength to strength and is great fun while a certain nameless member (called Colin ) of this part of the site recently did the donkey work setting up a very nice day out for a number of us who frequent another thread so these things are possible and there is of course the upcoming Members' visit to the GWS at Didcot on 26 July.  So such things are possible although rather difficult for the 'overseas' contingent but a number, including iD & OD, and Rick all the way from Aus(!), have made to either an RMweb event or to meet others at shows.

 

Have a good day one & all

[Tony_S]

Matthew is left handed and dyspraxic. He has been known to phone home with things like "I was preparing stuffed peppers and I just stabbed myself". Being a kind person after saying something like " were they that awful?" I of course did ask where and how much blood had appeared. Light bulbs and corkscrews seem to still confuse him but I don't think it is the left handedness that is a problem.

[trisonic]

I’m left-handed (but ambidextrous by force of will). I have some weirderies which I’m definitely not going into here as no one will believe them!

 

Just checked on long range forecast and El Nino now reckoned to be very strong this year. Will mean some amelioration of Calfornia’s drought (but not the Pacific North West in general). Milder than usual Northern US and Southern Canada. The UK (and Northern Europe) will be colder than normal but not as cold as we had last Winter. More Snow.

 

Reiterate the greatest Jazz Station in the World - WBGO Newark is available online to anyone (click on Pinkish box on the right) - it also has the advantage of having a history of what you’ve listened to:

 

https://www.wbgo.org

 

Stuff happens, Pete.

Edited July 14, 2015 by trisonic

[Gwiwer]

Pluto and Tassie Tex have both been reached.  And I leave it to your imagination to figure out which is the more remote and harder to contact

 

Left-hander here but I grew up aware of the implications of that in many parts of the world not least the Arab nations and Indian sub-continent where you eat with your right hand (no utensils - you use bread or rice instead) and clean with your left.  I actually learned to and still do most tasks right-handed; it's only the pen which goes in the left.

[Shedman5]

Afternoon, Cheers Pete for the long range forecast cheered me up no end the thought of winter!

 

Busy morning getting quotes to ship some stuff to Cyprus for the mother in law,  now over to over half which company to choose!

 

Going to have the joy of cancelling a Sky contract on her behalf this afternoon, something she should have done 6 months ago, will be interesting to see how easy it is given the reason publicity on this topic.

 

No rain and the sun is trying to shine.

 

Enjoy whats left of today

 

Alan

[gordon s]

Good luck with that Alan.  Of course it could be a very quick conversation as they may not talk to anyone but the person on the contract….

 

Just a matter of hours now BoD and then we can all raise a glass to you...

 

Had a fun day yesterday.  Played a match against Windlesham and my new trolley packed up before I got to the first tee much to the amusement of all my golfing pals.  They have watched me doing battle with trolley's for 18 months.  Then to complete my day, I managed to play an 'impossible' shot and stuck the ball on the green.  My happiness was short lived however as in doing so, I smashed the graphite shaft of my 8 iron into the trunk of an adjacent tree and it now has erectile disfunction…..

 

Superglue and duct tape will not repair this one, so no doubt there will be a £100 bill for a new iron.  Should have stuck to modelling.

 

Off to inhale some solvent cement as I play with plastic pipes and try to understand fluid dynamics.

Edited July 14, 2015 by gordon s

[Shedman5]

Amazed! Managed to sort Sky! they did ask to speak to mother in law but when I mentioned wife has POA they were fine, had to answer a few questions re date of direct debit etc but a very smooth process much to my delight.

The afternoon is mine now!

[lightengine]

Good luck with that Alan.  Of course it could be a very quick conversation as they may not talk to anyone but the person on the contract….

Of course, over the phone one voice will sound like any other especially when the speaker cannot be seen. I have known this to be done when the person was not compis mentis enough/deaf to be able to deal with phone calls.

Strangely the 'pen pushing type' on the other end can willingly talk with the 'voice' whilst only confirming d.o.b.

[AndyB]

Afternoon all,

Industrious proceedings here today. swmbo mentioned in passing that a bit of housework wouldn't come amiss.

I've tidied the lounge by throwing extraneous furniture out of the back door (ooh, you can AndrewC raising an eyebrow). Not to worry I then transported it elsewhere!

Then vacuumed till a warning light appeared on the vacuum. I took this to meant that it was somehow monitoring my blood pressure and that I should cease.

Then sanded down the dining room table and re-waxed it.

Just got to spray some chemicals in the direction of the kitchen - a classic technique for simulating cleanliness - and the place should pass inspection!

 

Did a bit of admin at the school today as one of the teachers had got a lot of tasks on his plate.

 

Catchya later!

Andy  

[45156]

Afternoon All

 

Back for another catchup after having carried out numerous tasks at home - these have included resealing the bath (had to stop as I ran out of sealing strip), making the dinner (leftovers korma), walking the dog (twice) and doing all of the hoovering - no warning light came on, unfortunately, washing and pegging out (washing machine 6, 45156 105 is the current score, and I think we;ve got it cracked now what not to load in combination), and doing the bins/recycling.  Now who said retirement would be boring and taken up with uninteresting things like modelling, daytime TV and generally relaxing a bit.

 

Now waiting for a call from 30747 who is at the doc's and who might want a lift home - if she doesn't, then a nice glass of beer is indicated.  She has as I was typing, and is heading for the bus, so no driving today.  I was a bit off routine yesterday, as I got the shopping in then, instead of today - great idea (not) as it was p1ssing down yesterday and the shopping got soaked, and today, though not too bright, is at least dry with sunny bits. 

 

Best go and get the second load out of the drier, and get it pegged onto the line.

 

More generic greetings, I'm afraid, but I am certainly learning a lot about driving trams in Leipzig thanks to the indomitable Dominik - great stuff there.

 

Regards to All (again)

Stewart

[bluebottle]

Pluto and Tassie Tex have both been reached.  And I leave it to your imagination to figure out which is the more remote and harder to contact

 

Left-hander here but I grew up aware of the implications of that in many parts of the world not least the Arab nations and Indian sub-continent where you eat with your right hand (no utensils - you use bread or rice instead) and clean with your left.  I actually learned to and still do most tasks right-handed; it's only the pen which goes in the left.

 

Still, probably safest to put your pen down before you go to the toilet.

[Ian Abel]

Love reading the "Dom Chronicles".

One thing it continues to highlight for me, sadly, is the pitiful state mass transit is in the US (excepting a couple of major cities) compared to elsewhere <sigh>. We've just two light-rail lines at present, fairly limited in their length/scope, and everyone is fighting hard to obstruct the THIRD one from getting built on a sensible routing - favouring the NIMBY responses from most of the communities involved...

 

On with the report;

Not much to tell from yesterday - typical as work dominates.

The evening saw us watch '1776', a tradition this time of year, dating back to when we helped provide some history lessons for a school group (Jemma was gone on the 4th. so we delayed it until she got back). For anyone interested in musicals AND history, it's a good show, and has the bonus of being quite close to factual, giving a very good insight into how hard it is to give birth to  a nation...

 

We're at 22 already at "newspaper retrieval time", clear and fairly low humidity, expecting 27. All that changes later in the week as we are expecting 34+ by Saturday <phew>

Edited July 14, 2015 by Ian Abel

[Tony_S]

My day turned out to have more to do than I thought. Matthew returned from collecting his new glasses just after 1pm to receive an email from the academic managing his dissertation project informing him there was an important meeting at 2pm today and would he attend. Obviously the concept of students not being in residence in London at this time of year escaped him. So I dropped Matthew at the station after he had informed the so called management dept he would be there at three.

I then went to the park and met a man who was also walking his dog but was being followed by a very large white bulldog. We both thought we knew who owned the dog and roughly where he lived. The bulldog seemed to want to walk with Robbie and we managed to get a lead on him and head towards his home where en route we met his owner who was in a state of some distress. Then the person who was helping her search had her dog run off and attack some other woman's dogs. At this point the first chap and I quietly departed and commented how relieved we were to have calm friendly dogs (he had a Labrador).

Then a neighbour asked my advice about why his computer wasn't connecting to his printer anymore after a trip to the PC shop. I sorted that out. I am sure at one time they seemed speedy but a 7 year old PC running Vista seems slow now.

Tony

[southern42]

Good afternoon from red dragon land.  Now, contrary to what I heard, it's gloriously sunny. 

 

Afternoon all

It's very muggy here.


I noticed you were a week behind us at half term.
I've just 3 days of term left.
Come to think of it, I've just 3 days of teaching left.
I've done my last Monday morning 'get up for work'.
I think the word I'm looking for is Yahooooooooooo! *

* feel free to add as many more exclamation marks as you like.

 

Is that the same as Yabadabadooooooooooooooooooooo?

If it is, I know wha' ya mean. 

 

A bit of pottering about in the kitchen this morning but I won't bore you with the details............erm................washing up, emptying and loading the washing machine, sorting out the recycling, tidying up....................    Well, I did warn you............

 

After lunch, a bit of checking out SR Merchant Navy 35027 Port Line which spent the first 3 days of 2011 in bits in the yard at Southall

https://flic.kr/p/b5wpSV

https://flic.kr/p/8tEnss

 

before going to the East Lancs railway on a low loader............... and yes, I guess I'll be looking for a pic or two of that next.......................* 

Will it appear on GWRd?  Hm???????????????????????

 

 

* I'm quite happy using more than 3 stops, thank you..................    

 

 

Easy salad for tea tonight but cuppa first.

Enjoy the rest of your day or just take it easy..

[gordon s]

Following a topic on here re gas and electric prices with Ovo, I thought I'd take a look.  Having just renewed our contract with Scottish Power with a fixed deal to July 2016 I felt confident that the savings wouldn't be worthwhile, particularly after have gone through the various price comparison sites.  Very surprised to have saved 25% and pleased that everyone who has used them before have given very favourable reviews.  No cost whatsoever to change as there were no cancellation charges etc from Scottish Power.  

 

Well worth a look and the savings will more than pay for a few broken golf clubs…:-)

Edited July 14, 2015 by gordon s

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon from Estuary-Land. Gordon talking about gas and electricity suppliers reminded me about my supply from the co-op. I am more than satisfied with them and a third cheaper than British Gas.

[trisonic]

Then a neighbour asked my advice about why his computer wasn't connecting to his printer anymore after a trip to the PC shop. I sorted that out. I am sure at one time they seemed speedy but a 7 year old PC running Vista seems slow now.

Tony

My iMac is pushing 9 years and works just fine.......I am tapping my head, however.

O/S hasn’t changed that much (that a user would notice) - my MS Office Suite is practically unusable, that figures...

 

Best, Pete.

[roundhouse]

Just bought a 2nd hand Apple Mac Mini. Works wonderfully and picked up using very easily, probably after using ipads since htye first came out. Still like my WIndows PC's but not Vista.

 

Windows 7 probably the best of the bunch (of Windows) though.

[PhilJ W]

My computers twelve years old and running windows XP. Reliable and does what I want so I'm happy.

[trisonic]

Hot News Dept:

 

The big snow pile in Boston, Mass finally melted today:

 

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/07/14/boston-snow-pile-finally-melts-after-historic-winter/

 

 

Best, Pete.

[gordon s]

Following a topic on here re gas and electric prices with Ovo, I thought I'd take a look.  Having just renewed our contract with Scottish Power with a fixed deal to July 2016 I felt confident that the savings wouldn't be worthwhile, particularly after have gone through the various price comparison sites.  Very surprised to have saved 25% and pleased that everyone who has used them before have given very favourable reviews.  No cost whatsoever to change as there were no cancellation charges etc from Scottish Power.  

 

Well worth a look and the savings will more than pay for a few broken golf clubs…:-)

 

Now had time to look at Ovo's figures in detail and had some surprising results.  Their monthly payment figure was indeed 25% lower than my current supplier, but having now entered all the data into a spreadsheet and compared detailed costs it threw up some interesting figures.

 

They quote a simple monthly budget number at the front end.  This is very attractive, but the actual unit costs and standing charges were in fact fractionally higher than my current supplier. To arrive at the monthly figure they use, they make some estimates of your usage and in my case they underestimated my electricity by 15% and my gas by 25%.

 

Of course using their monthly payment figure, would mean we would have underpaid by 25% at the year end and either the monthly payment would increase or there would be a significant shortfall.

 

They may well prove cheaper than your existing supplier, but I would suggest you look behind the headline rates and check the actual costs versus your usage.  You could get a totally different picture….