Early Risers.

[AndyB]

Afternoon all, and it's a rainy one here today.

 

DIY a plenty has been the order of the day, starting with dawn patrol of weed spraying. The requisite 6-hours elapsed before it rained. 

Next up was to fit shelves into the youngest's bedroom. This required a trip to the diy shop as the shelf-vendor had not included any fixings. I opted for 50mm sprung toggle; I think it was AndyiD who put me on to those a few years back? 

 

The first drill hole went straight into one of the batons, meaning that an alternative location for the bracket had to be found and hole filler purchased. 

Apparently my facial expression was maniacal as I wielded the drill which I'd mistaken for a kango. 

 

Several hours later the shelves have been loaded with Dr Who memorabilia and have clung in position. Result!

 

Flushed with success I tackled the bathroom extractor fan which through either excess moisture and/or rust had started to pulse instead of being either on or off. 

Slight problem was that the fan has been replaced a number of times so the ceiling in peppered with screw holes. Result was that not one screw held properly and the intake cover kept falling off. After xpelingair* and curses I recognised that a new section of ceiling was needed to provide a more robust fixing. After the hols I'll get some chipboard and do the job properly. 

 

* other brands are available.

 

Anyway greetings to one and all, especially any newlyweds out there! 

Edited July 23, 2017 by AndyB

[New Haven Neil]

My surname is also possessed by half of Aberdeen!  Debs' is common throughout England, but her Paternal grandmother was Mallory-Thames, which is possibly less common!  My maternal side are possibly the most common name on the Isle of Man - Christian.

 

I had bad news on Friday, having learnt that a good friend in Kent (who we visited just a week and a half ago) had a heart attack whilst riding his motorbike, and was thus killed.  This prompted me to get on my bike today for the first time in 7 months - new boots had been bought in the UK visit, as my foot won't fit in the old ones now - a little ride to Ramsey and back put that demon to bed and reminded me of the pleasures of motorcycling.

[trisonic]

My name is as common as muck (I blamed my late Father), even though he was related to a famous architect.

 

On my Mother’s side we can be traced back to King James IV of Scotland - though on the wrong side of the sheets due to that old bike, Lady Janet Stewart   . I probably still have a better claim to the throne (like half of the UK) than the Saxe - Coburgs and a bunch of Greeks. 

 

Actually an interesting ancestor was a big cheese in the John Wesley brigade and some of his tracts can still be found online (here in the ‘States). My first name is from him.

 

Debs, Congratulations to you and Passepartout!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

And another thing, how come Chris Froome has never received the recognition he deserves in the UK? Every other cyclist seems to have done so and one of them was born outside the UK too. Chris has always had a UK Passport.

 

Best, Pete.

Edited July 23, 2017 by trisonic

[Loconuts]

There is no pleasure in motorcycling these days, it is cold and wet and the roads are full of idiots, other motor cyclist!.

[New Haven Neil]

There is no pleasure in motorcycling these days, it is cold and wet and the roads are full of idiots, other motor cyclist!.

 

20c, sunny today, mostly quiet roads here! (Outside of TT week).

[Gwiwer]

Neil - sorry to hear the news.  But also a positive in that you got back into (or onto) the saddle yourself.  

[Happy Hippo]

 it's now sitting in a "Hippo Bag" on the front drive.

Thank you for part financing my next 7mm scale loco.......

[Ian Abel]

Morning (barely).

 

Yesterday quiet, peaceful, punctuated with a short trip to Jemmas' apartment and a failed exercise in setting up her cable internet/TV.

The company (Comcast) said she could do a "self install" as their database said her townhouse already had service connections. After about an hour faffing about and another 45 minutes on the help line with a service rep, conclusion was a technician is needed to connect the service! Tuesday afternoon, earliest available, and with Jemma heading out on her next trip about the time they can arrive, yours truly will supervise - aren't dads "useful"

 

Another peaceful and quiet day today hopefully. Trevor and Meagan are over this afternoon to have a brief chat about their wedding invitations etc., personally we think it will extend into a more hands-on overall planning session as I think they need some help and as yet have been reluctant to ask. We're more than happy to do whatever it takes...

 

23 and mostly cloudy, headed for a much preferred 25 for a high.

 

Hope your Sunday proves enjoyable.

[Tony_S]

Afternoon all.

Now pouring with rain here.

I went to sleep after lunch and so missed the cricket.

I must have been rather tired after today's little walk. I went with Aditi and Robbie to the nearby fields. It was a very pleasant walk.

I wasn't particularly interested in tracing my ancestors and I think there was some name changing. Mum's surname was not at all common and they thought it was perhaps of French origin. They didn't seem very happy about that so I did some research and it appeared that it was probably Welsh. They were not interested. Aditi's family would have had records going back hundreds of years as they were landowners in the Punjab. However this was in the bit of the Punjab that became part of Pakistan and all would have been lost when they moved during Partition.

Tony

[DDolfelin]

Are you feeling better, Tony?

[Tony_S]

Are you feeling better, Tony?

Quite a lot better I think. No coughing but I don't think my lung capacity is fully restored. No fever now either. I still get tired easily but do feel like doing things, though putting socks on seems like an extreme sport at the moment. I am still managing to avoid visits from family. Aditi did think about going to see her mother today but MiL was going out to lunch.

Tony

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone

 

Once again I went straight outside after breakfast, making use of the sunshine after last nights rain, again. I finished removing the paving slabs from the edge of the pond and then made a start on dismantling the waterfall. One half has now gone, but an afternoon shower put a stop any further gardening, so I retreated to the workshop and built up the pony truck for the K Class.

 

My surname, although not rare, is not particularly common either. For a time, there usd to be a footballer who played for Man United with the same surname, I've been asked on more that 1 occasion if I was related to "Norman". The only ones with my surname at school were myself and my 2 younger brothers. My mothers maiden name however, is very rare in th U.K. as her paternal grandfather was Portuguese! As far as I know, there are only 2 with it, both are her cousins. Although googling it now would bring up one of my cousins, who is a computer wiz kid in the US, owning his own company, after having recently sold his former company to the company C.A. for a staggering (8 figure) amount! On my fathers side we've only gone back as far as the early 1800's.

 

I'm prescribed omeprazole & gaviscon for acid reflux, as I'm not suffering from acid reflux so I'm not currently taking them. But both of the drugs I was on for my cancer treatment had depression as side effect. I managed quite well throughout my treatment, but not long after it ended, it became really tough. Things started to become very weird and I struggled to concentrate, not good in a job like mine. I ended up seeing a counsellor and taking 5 months off work!

[45156]

Evening All

 

Late on parade today and AWOL yesterday, due to a most hectic weekend, which started off with an early trip to town on Saturday to drop 30747, then to Morecambe to go to the bank to check for rogue transations, as one of 30747's colleagues' husband had a four figure sum removed from his bank account via PayPal by a hacker.  Lancaster bank is still closed until further notice.  Then back to pick up 30747, and a quite long session of bank reconciliation.  So I gets the laptop fired up, and just as I get logged in, the ominous words "You know that paint we got for the bedroom..."  So then it was move the furniture, root out the dust sheets, on with the old clothes.  Then, of course, the job had to be finished today, after the pathetic car boot.  So now I am caught up, and I also missed the passing of Duchess of Sutherland through Lancaster last night.

 

So it has to be generic greetings, but all your posts and contributions are read, and rated.

 

Back tomorrow.

Regards to All

Stewart

[Barry O]

That was a great soirée last night.

Everyone turned up, drank most of the beer and wine and ate a lot of food.I must have enjoyed myself as I was helped to get to bed.

 

University Friends returned for lunch. Great conversation and some discussions on our next group trip away.

 

Watched the Indian innings and all I can say is our men's team should take note of how the women never gave up.

 

Time for some tea and probably an early bed time.

 

Sleep well.

 

Baz

[grandadbob]

Evenin' all,

Rather a pleasant afternoon here spent playing with trains for a while until I remembered that the cricket final was on. I missed England's innings but saw the rest and as Baz said our men should take serious note. Great effort by the girls and they should be very proud of themselves.

 

And another thing, how come Chris Froome has never received the recognition he deserves in the UK? Every other cyclist seems to have done so and one of them was born outside the UK too. Chris has always had a UK Passport.

 

 

Couldn't agree more Pete.  He seems to be a great sportsman who respects the opposition and had some nice words to say about the French even though they don't seem to like him much.

It was also nice to see him respecting the National Anthem and standing still whilst it was played unlike Lewis Hamilton who is always playing with his hair and fidgeting.

 

All this enjoyment was followed by a couple of bottles of Bishop's Finger and an excellent curry accompanied by a nice Shiraz. What more could a man want?........

 

 

....another Bishop's Finger might do!    

Edited July 23, 2017 by grandadbob

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Went out to do a bit of shopping today and decided to pop into the local Smiffs for this months Back Track. I got 'caught short' and had to use the facilities in the local shopping centre. The detour took me past the local Debenhams were I espied another branch of Patisserie Valerie ensconced. Somehow I found myself walking in to purchase some of the delights.

[andyram]

Evening all and firstly my condolences to NHN - what tragic news. 

Today has been a very enjoyable first full day here in South Devon. After a relatively late start we strolled into Brixham along the quayside, calling in at the RNLI shop on the way. The morning was spent browsing the shops before a restful lunch in a coffee house on the main shopping street. After that we spent a little time trying to win sweets and pointless tat on the 2p machines in the arcade. An enjoyable ice cream followed before a visit to the Golden Hind museum boat.

 The walk home was broken by a visit to the Prince of Wales pub for a swift pint (although Tribute is a Cornish ale rather than a Devon one!). Amber enjoyed a little more paddling and shell hunting down on the beach before we completed the journey home. As we headed back to the apartment the town reverberated to the sound of a steam engine hard at work and whistling regularly. A quick check online tells me that it would have been Tornado on the way back to London from KIngswear. Shame I did not get to see it - never mind.

 The sun is shining and the sea looks a lovely blue colour as I sit looking out of the window. The stresses of last week are rapidly disappearing. 

 

Enjoy the rest of your evening.

[Barry O]

My mother was given the name of "Asenath"  always shortened to Zen..My grandma wouldn't tell me why. Her middle son had Kitchener as a middle name...

 

so when it came to naming me I was supposed to be a Brian but they decided I should be Barry...with my family name also available as a christian name I have been booked into hotels as BO or OB  - hey ho! ( but both of my Herberts have middle names to make sure they didn't suffer (as I did) at school due to unfortunate initials.

 

Sleep well all

 

Baz

[grandadbob]

Bu##er! Some thieving sod has drunk all the Bishop's Finger. I'll just have to put up with Pride or Speckled Hen for now.

Edited July 23, 2017 by grandadbob

[Tony_S]

Aditi wasnt given a middle name but when she was at school in Yorkshire she noticed that other children did. So she told the teacher that her middle name was Kumari. So the letter saying she had passed her 11+ to her family had this name on it too. No one could argue as she didn't have a birth certificate.

By the time she went to school in Nottingham she said she had got fed up of writing down a middle name so dropped it. She went to three secondary schools in one year when her father had various locum jobs before becoming a GP in Nottingham.

[Gwiwer]

Bu##er! Some thieving sod has drunk all the Bishop's Finger. I'll just have to put up with Pride or Speckled Hen for now.

 

Nowt wrong with a pint of either.  Though a pint of Tribute or HSD would slip down even more of a treat.

 

Bottled Tribute accompanied dinner tonight partly due to the need to reduce the supplies in the kitchen in favour of pots and pans which are emerging from the last of our boxes to be unpacked.  Fewer than 20 remain.

 

An early start in the morning as SWMBO has a wardrobe - or more specifically the parts for me to assemble a wardrobe - being delivered between 7 and 9am.  In respect of which it's time to inspect the eyelids now so goodnight and sleep as well as you can.

[emt_911]

NHN - My condolences. What terrible news.

 

East London tomorrow which means that an early start is on the cards to get through the Blackwall Tunnel at a reasonable time. 

 

Night all

[Ashcombe]

Evening all and firstly my condolences to NHN - what tragic news. 

Today has been a very enjoyable first full day here in South Devon. After a relatively late start we strolled into Brixham along the quayside, calling in at the RNLI shop on the way. ..........

 

Enjoy the rest of your evening.

I went to Brixham today, arriving on the number 12 bus in time to meet a friend at the Rock Fish restaurant. Wonderful fish and chips AND mushy peas!! Hope you enjoy your holiday - let me know if you'd like any recommendations of places to visit, especially in Torquay.

[Andrew P]

I went to Brixham today, arriving on the number 12 bus in time to meet a friend at the Rock Fish restaurant. Wonderful fish and chips AND mushy peas!! Hope you enjoy your holiday - let me know if you'd like any recommendations of places to visit, especially in Torquay.

SORRY wrong button first time, !   IT'S MY AGE YOU KNOW

[andyram]

I went to Brixham today, arriving on the number 12 bus in time to meet a friend at the Rock Fish restaurant. Wonderful fish and chips AND mushy peas!! Hope you enjoy your holiday - let me know if you'd like any recommendations of places to visit, especially in Torquay.

 

We walked past that cafe early in the day when Amber was making one of several trips to the public toilets near there! It looks a nice place and we may try "Rock Fish" later in the week. We ended up in "The Coffee House" along the main shopping area today because we did not want fish and chips for a second day running. Any recommended eating places around Torquay, Brixham and Paignton would be most helpful. I believe tomorrow we will be off to Paignton Zoo.

 As I mentioned earlier - we had a great day today. I thought I would add one or two photographs from our day.

A very proud young lady after completing the treasure hunt challenge on the "Golden Hind".

Amber in control!

The Golden Hind

Brixham Harbour

A view from the cliffside as we walked back.