Early Risers.

[Ozexpatriate]

6 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

By the way grwat to hear Tom Lehrer being mentioned. I have two live LP's and am a great fan.

CDs for me. Trying to identify the show where Daniel Radcliffe sang "The Elements" led me to this mashup of Tom Lehrer (perhaps during the Copenhagen show) with Daniel Radcliffe on the Graham Norton show.

[TheQ]

The little pink pills worked,  two hours more sleep was had . 

 

Bacon butties were had, as I changed my mind on a bacon and egg breakfast,  as we are short of eggs.. 

Muggacoffee 2 is about to be consumed. 

 

After that it's padded overalls and Kevlar gloves,  it's a darn chilly wind easterly wind and there's nowt between the garage and Denmark to slow or warm the wind,  Also there's brambles in this section of Ivy on the garage.. 

 

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Many congratulations to Sharon on completion of her thesis.

Blue sky and sunshine here and it should stay that way for most of the day.

No weeds were harmed yesterday as Management deemed internal domestic tasks more important and she asked for assistance as she's feeling a bit under the weather. Just a cold we think (and hope) as she does not have a cough or high temperature.

We have enough supplies for probably 3 weeks although bread and milk may be a problem. Sainsbury's have joined the other supermarkets in offering a "Happy Hour" to oldies and infirm  on 3 days a week but I was under the impression we should be staying indoors. Yet to hear from them about getting priority for online delivery orders but they've said they are working on it to identify those people who qualify from the  data they already hold.

The hour also applies to NHS staff but Nicki has told me that she's due at work on those days so will have to just try and shop when she can. . She works on the admin side at one of our leading cancer hospitals organising beds and appointments and is like everybody else working longer hours. She has already said how difficult and upsetting it is there at the moment, particularly for the medical staff and of course those patients whose appointments/operations are having to be postponed and rearranged

Not sure what "we" have planned for today, Daily Orders have not yet been posted.

Have a could one,

Bob.

 

Edited March 21, 2020 by grandadbob

[JohnDMJ]

6 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Presumably they could offer 'first come, first served' timed access passes to limit the number of attendees  during the day.

 

Can just visualise the gate keeper saying "we've allowed our maximum quota in, please form an orderly queue"!

[BlackRat]

Replace all supermarket trollies with baskets....... problem sorted.

[Shedman5]

Morning,  a nice dry here though a cold wind is present. More outside jobs today including lawn mowing, though we await the post with interest other half might be getting a letter asking her to consider returning to work, I am outside the 3 year period so won't have any decisions to make.

 

Shopping has been okay and we won't be going anywhere until Wednesday thank god, did notice a lack of vegetables yesterday in our supermarket but as we live in an area of market gardens we just went to the small farm shop and got what we needed.

 

Strange times and I think this is going to be a long haul.

 

Enjoy your day and stay safe

 

Alan

[5 C]

Morning awl,

 

Apologies for not being on here much over the last couple of weeks but I've been rather busy. I've been WFH since Monday and life has been pretty manic. I know internal and corporate communications can attract suspicion and derision (sometimes with good reason) but in the current environment we are being pushed very hard. The company I'm contracting for has a well developed culture of virtual, remote and distributed working so it's not been too much of leap to work in a new way. Nevertheless, people still want and need to be kept informed and engaged - even more so right now. We're also very close to the front line of what's happening.

 

On Tuesday I was given less than 24 hours notice to organise a 600 person virtual town hall using Zoom. Oh and by the way, can you moderate and run the Q&A as well? Thing is, I've never actually actually used Zoom before. I don't even have one of the company's licences for it (as an aside, if you haven't already heard about Zoom you certainly will in coming weeks). So Tuesday afternoon was spent learning as much about Zoom as I could and working out how we were going to use it to run the event.

 

In the end it all seemed to work quite well. The Q&A was a bit manic. The volume of questions and interaction was way more than we'd ever get with a conventional town hall but we got through it. I think it's indicative of how much people need to feel connected at the moment. I wasn't sure how it was going to be received but I've had loads of positive comments from colleagues, which is very reassuring when you're sat alone at the kitchen table.

 

In other news, I suspended my gym membership on Thursday, just hours before Doris did it for me. Even before all this started, my gym felt like somewhere you could catch something. A combination of penny-pinching club management and other people's lack of hygiene standards. Simple but vital repairs go unaddressed for months and if there's a corner to be cut, they'll cut it. It's part of the chain run by a certain former Dragon and comments on their social media pages suggest my club is not unique. I had to pay £20 for the privilege of suspending my membership and I'm wondering if I'll now get that back. I doubt it as their total lack of customer service is legendary.

 

Today involves rest and getting outside for fresh air and vitamin D. I may risk a walk to Sainsbury's later. Not to panic buy you understand, just to pick up anything I need they might have available.

 

Regards to awl.

[PeterBB]

9 hours ago, pH said:

 

It would be a good time to slip something controversial through, wouldn't it?

Like a big tax increase to pay for it all!

[81C]

Morning All

overcast and the sun trying to get through 

Yesterday as I was passing I picked up some milk in a Tesco's Express normally I pay £1.20 for 4 pints, those rip off B'stards £1.80 won't be using those stores again. 

I've food for 2 weeks in the fridge/freezer apart from milk I will ease of my consumption of it to save a daily battle to find some 8 pints in the fridge is normally 2-3 days worth

I should be able to stretch that a bit.

Better get on stay safe I. Wusrooked 

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

It is a nice sunny day here. It does sound as if there is some wind though. 
I think there may be some gardening occurring today but for me that will be tea making or biscuit delivery. We had a walk to the nearby fields yesterday. It was very easy to comply with avoiding people. It was deserted.

Tony
 

[Stubby47]

Just bought 2 x 4pints at Tesco- £1.10 a bottle.

 

Mind you, no beans...

[Barry O]

7 minutes ago, Stubby47 said:

Just bought 2 x 4pints at Tesco- £1.10 a bottle.

 

Mind you, no beans...

The lack of beans may help with air purity in Stubby Towers!

Baz

[Happy Hippo]

56 minutes ago, BlackRat said:

Replace all supermarket trollies with baskets....... problem sorted.

Telf families are so large, they'd arrive in a bus and pick up two baskets each.

 

[Northroader]

I can qualify for an early riser this week, as I’ve been out with my shopping bag by 7. Thursday Sainsbury’s had an early shop for pensioners, so I was there just getting routine stuff. It was as busy as mid morning on Saturday, and there were noticeable gaps in the shelves. The other thing was there were several elderly couples there with deep trolleys overflowing with goods, but obviously searching round for stuff as they didn’t know the store layout, having stripped the big town stores bare they were coming round to the country places.

Come Friday night, and I was thinking about what was needed for the weekend, mainly fresh fruit and veg, so I thought to go that evening before the place closed, that way I’d avoid getting in a crowd. That part of the plan worked well, as there was hardly anyone there, but the shelves, you wouldn’t believe how empty they were, just like Russia in the good old days. The staff said it had been like it from all afternoon, but there was a delivery six this morning. So back to an early start today, and it was really refreshing to go in, staff running round and all what I wanted nicely stocked up. All the customers had the genuine slightly run down, scruffy local look too.

Then round to the butchers, what’s this, queueing at 7:30? No beef burgers, and when I commented on the queue, the butcher said it has been like it all week, I’ll be glad to get home tonight. Off to the paper shop and pay for my delivery. I said “I hear you might have some toilet rolls?” (They never stock them) She says “They’re kept in the back room for the regulars, give us your bag” Back she came with a pack of Andrex quilted discreetly tucked away. Memories began to stir, going shopping with mum up the High Street in the Forties.

[Kingzance]

Good morning all,

 

I last looked in around 6pm yesterday and it has taken an hour this morning to catch up with the threads I follow - we are certainly not socially distancing on here and that is very good to see as this is a perfect way of helping avoid loneliness. Even if it means being glued to a screen, that screen is (generally) not spouting paranoia like the current affairs / news channels seem to be. Let's keep a bit of sense about this, it is not good but it is something we will overcome. Of course there are many who are in less comfortable circumstances that the KZ household and I do have great sympathy for each and every one of them. I too am developing a hatred of the "f**k you" brigade who are so selfish in their outlook that they are causing many of the problems wit the availability of food and other essential items. Someone suggested that supermarkets ban trolleys - not a bad idea I think!

 

As to the person that some are calling "mop head" and even less salutary names, he is what this country elected through a long-standing system just over three months ago. He may not be your cup of darjeeling or jasmine but the need to address these issues we all face falls on him as Prime Minister. In a choice between the elderly allotment holder and the mop head, in December and now in March, the country needs leadership and a recognition that there is a much bigger part of the nation outside the M25. Rant over. 

 

To Rick's Sharon, congratulations. Several years back, I typed up and processed a friend's dissertation for her OU Masters so I know how much work goes into such documents. I rummaged through my unmentionable boxes two days ago, yesterday saw the Royal Mail act in unison with Deluxe Materials and so, when the weather is less pleasant, I have things to do without places to go. Whilst it is bright and breezy this morning, I shall wander round to my village store and purchase some milk and see if they have some baking yeast whilst taking the opportunity to post some unmentionable slippery things to a person who will make more use of them than I could.

 

Stay safe and active and, as suggested earlier, keep in contact!

[81C]

Seeing that bog reminded me of these p!sspots

[PeterBB]

1 hour ago, BlackRat said:

Replace all supermarket trollies with baskets....... problem sorted.

Looks like a great idea but thoughts:

1  Bit late now

2  Fine for the fit and healthy but not practical for the vulnerable

 

Getting adequate groceries is proving more than impossible for the numbers needing as well as the 'TP problem'.

 

Great news that Sharon has posted her PhD thesis and working it through as well as having very busy work responsibilities.

[Tony_S]

30 minutes ago, Stubby47 said:

Just bought 2 x 4pints at Tesco- £1.10 a bottle.

 

Mind you, no beans...

That pallet at the end of the shelf looks like baked beans ...

[The Lurker]

Greetings all from Sidcup, where it is sunny and as Younger Lurker does not have a swimming lesson I am running out of excuses not to do some gardening!

i am pleased to report Ocado arrived on time and fairly well stocked; one interesting substitution was replacing one small tin of baked beans with a three pack of the same brand. Loo rolls, spaghetti, rice and beer all delivered although Mrs Lurker is less happy because her skimmed milk has been replaced with semi-skimmed which she can no longer stomach. She is going up the road later to see if she can find some.

 

stay well all

[NGT6 1315]

Cheers all. Hope you’re holding up .

 

Sure is unusual to see roughly as many people on the streets on a weekday as you‘d at best expect on a Sunday! As public transport ridership has significantly dropped as well, railway and other public transport operators have begun switching to reduced timetables, also to help protect their own staff.
 

We‘ll be moving to an augmented Sunday timetable by Monday, meaning with a number of additional services on weekday mornings. I certainly don’t envy the planning staff who I’m sure must have had a rough couple of days this week!

 

I‘ll be out for food purchases for the next few days later, so we may reduce unnecessary trips. My idea is to use my scheduled non-working days for such shopping trips, so that we need to cover only three to four days at a time and don’t need to resort to anything which could be interpreted as panic buying.

 

I wouldn’t say I’m alarmed or scared in any way, but this situation does make one think about the lifestyle we as a society led up until this point. Perhaps there’s indeed a few lessons we might learn, such as better honouring professions now proving to be more important than ever but notoriously underfunded and understaffed in the past...

 

Be safe, everyone!

[polybear]

17 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

That pallet at the end of the shelf looks like baked beans ...

 

You can tell that Tony is a modeller.  Attention to fine detail....

[Barry O]

 

While we were in Kerala it was clean and tidy - apart from the fish market

 

or look for the UNICEF wash hands video...

 

Baz

[Gwiwer]

8 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

Good night owl from a decidedly warm (88° F) Piedmont.

 

Last night I accidentally posted my GN in the Forum Jokes section, this should have been posted here:

If it were my creation, the thunder box would be situated right in the middle of the "vortex"!

 

You really REALLY don't want to find that behind the door when you're feel more than a little quirky and no sure whether Up or Down is best

 

[Gwiwer]

Morning all,

 

Not the best of night's sleep was endured last night resulting in something of a headache this morning.  I may return to horizontal mode later in the hopes that will ease.  

 

Breakfast was followed by an excursion in search of supplies.  And Surprise Surprise Supplies were Successfully Sought.  The corner shop provided bread (both white and brown), milk, eggs, bacon, toilet rolls, sanitiser (albeit at £3.99 for a tiny bottle) and toothpaste (marked £1 but somehow costing £2.59).  Not particularly busy either except for having to negotiate newly-arrived stock parked in the already-narrow aisles.  I was expecting to have to go farther though had no intention of tackling Waitrose this morning - it's busy at the best of times on Saturday mornings.  There is the farmer's market as well - we have seldom used it because it is neither large nor very interesting but there has been a bread stall there.  In the end it wasn't required - at least not for today.  

 

Ocado are due next Sunday so we should now be well supplied until then.  How much of the order arrives is in the lap of the deities of choice of course but reports suggest most items are being supplied or at least substituted with something similar.  

 

Waiting to hear from Former Neighbour (Upstairs) this morning just to see how she is.  And numerous other friends from around our home rock who I have made the effort to contact more often than previously.  I'm no expert but possibly having daily contact - even just a "Hi, how are things?" message - might help keep someone from mental distress in challenging times.  Knowing someone has your back and is thinking about you.   

 

I smell coffee.  It must be that time of day.  Stay well.  See you later.  

[Dave Hunt]

Nothing much to report from a sunny and springlike North  Salopshire. So far we are weathering the situation with the help of some good friends but even in this backwater the 'f**k you Jack' brigade are causing some problems with supplies. However, I'm sure we won't exactly starve. Reading the various posts regarding the unfolding events and opinions on how our leaders are doing, I can't help thinking that although there are a lot of people who are being disadvantaged, not to say put in very difficult situations, by governmental decisions, I'm not sure that I would like to be in the position of deciding the nation's immediate future. Whatever we think of our politicians (and I freely admit to not being in their fan club most of the time) they are being faced with a very, very difficult situation and I'm sure that they are genuinely doing their best to help everyone. It's very easy for us to criticise without carrying the burden of responsibility for the whole country. I suppose that what I'm saying is give them a break. What I do have no time for, and hope that there is a special circle of h**l reserved for, are the sods who are putting everyone else in jeopardy by their selfish actions.

 

Sorry if the above isn't the most uplifting post I've ever made; I'll try to make it lighter next time.

 

On a much happier note, congratulations to Sharon - maybe a proper celebration will be in order when the world gets back to normal (or whatever usually passes as such).

 

Stay safe and well everyone.

 

Dave