Early Risers.

[The Stationmaster]

Evening (?) all,

 

Condolences Simon.

 

I suspect our two superior quadrapeds would be rather upset by a catio as it might remind them of being incarcerated in a shed while waiting for a some new slaves to take on their care and to wait on them hand & foot.

 

When I was a lad the bungalow had a dining room, which for years was the main room leaving the front room for special occasions.  But the arrival of a tv set changed all that and the front room became the main room for living in - but was still called the front room.  Things changed round again when we built our present house on the site of the bungalow - the dining room is on the site of the front bedroom; the kitchen is on the site of my old bedroom at the back; the living room is spread over the site of part of the or old front room, the old. dining room and the old coal house which later became the freezer room (within the building but accessed from outdoors); and the study is on part of the site of the original front room.  Mrs Stationmaster does not like the term 'lounge' although that is what I am often accused of doing in the living room - maybe that's why she refuses to have it called 'the lounge'?

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[newbryford]

43 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

 Things changed round again when we built our present house on the site of the bungalow - the dining room is on the site of the front bedroom; the kitchen is on the site of my old bedroom at the back; the living room is spread over the site of part of the or old front room, the old. dining room and the old coal house which later became the freezer room (within the building but accessed from outdoors); and the study is on part of the site of the original front room.  

 

Confused?

I am.

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[J. S. Bach]

Good night owl from the Piedmont.

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all, with condolences to Simon

 

Today is an important anniversary.  On Friday 31st March 2006 I took early retirement from the Civil Service.  I did not get on well with my line manager and life had become steadily more uncomfortable. To be fair to her, she only criticised me for two things - everything I said and everything I did.  I had been diagnosed with clinical depression the previous summer and work, or stress arising from it, was undoubtedly one of the causes.  It may even be the case that working with her contributed to the confidence issues from which I still suffer.  Just before Christmas 2005 an e-mail came round headed “Early Exit”.  Fleetingly I thought that it was referring to assisted suicide but I read on.  It turned out to be an invitation to apply for voluntary early severance.  There was no chance of my not going for it!  Had I stayed in the job much longer I could well have found myself on a manslaughter charge.  I don’t know what management is like now.  Then there was more than an element of double-think.  “Take ownership of the task, Chris” they said.  If only they had let me get on with it.  Fat chance of that!  Now my final workplace, the Government Office for the East of England, has been abolished and the staff dispersed.  I can see it being revived in another guise before much longer.  The day after I grabbed my freedom I was at Ally Pally and told a friend what had happened.  He remarked: “You’re looking better already!”

 

As gentle readers will have gathered, I have been feeling down at losing my trip to Dublin despite my determination that it should go ahead.  I realised why yesterday: all the excitement and anticipation involved in putting it together has gone, especially being prompted to find somewhere to stay that was far from obvious but perfectly located.  This is quite apart from the buzz that would have been generated on the day of the parade.  It is not easy to describe the thrill of marching with thousands of other people along a route lined with thousands more, all voicing enthusiastic support, but feel free to take my word for it.  As things stand, I plan to have another go next year but I don’t see how it can be the same.

 

Out of the blue yesterday came something that will make me concentrate.  That something is a set of photographs which need captions!  This could not have been better timed.

 

Best wishes to all.  If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

 

Chris

[Gwiwer]

Good morning all. In case of confusion it is Tuesday. 

[TheQ]

Mooring awl inner Temple Hare ,

5 hours plus 1.5 hours with a long gap in the middle.. 

It would have been longer but,  Ben the desperate Collie summoned me.. 

 

It's very chilly out there with just the odd cloud, the wind has shifted more to the east.  Roll on the weekend when we can have some heat warmth back. 

 

A bowl of white hot lava aka porridge is cooling  on the side table to be eaten when safe. 

 

Today,  there will be more inkle and keel work, during which some plywood will be cut for the layout,  that is the hillside shaped end plate,  and it's duplicate for the final main board.  Further work on the layout will mostly be scribing stone on walls.  I may,  clear more Ivy from the roof of the garage... 

 

Time for that porridge.. 

 

[roundhouse]

Morning.

 

Reading Chris Fs post reminds me of similar issues that was part of my reasons for packing in work. A number of you also know about the journey issues aswell.

 

Just over a week ago I was dropping some items off at a friends and had a long chat with his wife who said that I look so much healthier and happier since giving up the job. I feel it myself as-well and do not regret doing so and hope that I still don’t as funds dwindle in years to come. I certainly haven’t been bored in the 21 months.

 

Off to Mums shortly to drop the shopping at her front door then back home to carry on working on the high level boards till I run out of timber. Track arrived from Fraggle a Rock. Thanks NHN. A friend was trying to buy Peco track yesterday but everyone he tried had run out. I did point him in the direction of the rock chase there was any left.

[45156]

Morning All

 

30747 out for the morning walk, and I'll be up shortly to start painting the shed - however, have found a couple of the featherboards have been broken when one of the bikes fell over - that will also need attention - I could be most of the morning or indeed even longer - still I have the time.

 

Bacl later - Simon, my condolences, and Lurker/Mrs Lurker, hope you're both not suffering too much.

 

Regards to All

Stewart

[Joseph_Pestell]

1 hour ago, chrisf said:

 The day after I grabbed my freedom I was at Ally Pally and told a friend what had happened.  He remarked: “You’re looking better already!”

 

 

 

Some of you here may have known Andy Hart, who was the leading light of the French Railways Society (SNCF Society) for many years. I well recall meeting him at an event just a few days after he took early retirement from teaching. He was positively glowing with happiness.

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

John (CB) our local robin has just reappeared. He looks a sight as he has lost his head feathers and some of his red feathers. Looks like he has mites.  He seems active enough and is continuing his battle with the blue tits over feeding rights at the bird feeders.

 

Chris, in my last job my boss was a psycho. He covered up his inabilities by lashing out at people in a particularly nasty way. He has since moved on to another company but didn't last long there. My life improved dramatically when I left work and returned to working...for me.

 

Thanks for the reminder Rick. I was certain yesterday was Tuesday. Not sure why.

 

My Grandma lived in 7th Street. Her house had a small kitchen with a fire heated copper in the corner. We ate in the kitchen. The front room was for sitting in. That is where she explained things like rationing, what a Zeppelin sounded like (she saw one fly over Easington in WW1) but not about her late husband. (Wounded and captured on the third day of the Somme)

 

My Nana and Grandad lived in Fourth Street. A much larger house nearer the sea. It had a scullery/kitchen, a work room (with a jigsaw puzzle always on the table)  and a posh front room. I only ever sat in that on special days. Fond memories of it all.

 

 

So far today I have drunk my mugatea and read ERs. What next? Cleaning duties are being detailed, tidying up to be done..time for some snap first though.

 

Have a great day and get as much as you can done.

 

Positive thoughts to all ERs including the quiet observers.

 

Baz

 

 

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Some blue sky with clouds and a bit of sunshine here at the moment.

I hope things are not too bad in The Lurker household.

The Boss continues to improve slowly but is still not 100% although it seems more orders will be forthcoming shortly. I can hear the cogs in her brain whirring.

DHL are delivering a parcel today but I don't know whether it is beer or bedding plants.  Either will be welcome.

Thinking about a visit to The Shed. Luckily I have enough track in stock to keep me occupied for a while if I so choose.

I retired at the youngish age of 55 in 2004 and the day after felt as though the whole world had been lifted from my shoulders.

Have a good one,

Bob.

Edited March 31, 2020 by grandadbob

[jamie92208]

Morning all, it's sunny again today but still chilly. This was yesterday morning.

The white stuff went after about an hour. Though we were grateful for the heat kicked out by the wood burner.

 

Quite a bit to comment on this morning.

a) Our robin has also been seen exploring the former site of the compost bin.  

b) Chris and others, it's nearly 18 years since I left the world of work.  As some of you know my leaving wasn't of the best and the boss that caused that was a fat drunken bully.   A couple of years ago I heard that he was in Pinderfields Hospital with a broken neck having fallen down an aircraft steps.   Talk about schadenfreude.  To be fair I wouldn't wish that injury on anyone and he is apparently walking again.  

c) My only experience of walking along a street with a large crowd, rather than escorting one, was a student demo in London in 1970, shouting Milk Snatcher Thatcher, Out, Out, Out.  

 

Anyway onto better things, a small amount of muddling got done yesterday, and after some domestic chores this morning I hope to repeat that. However the most important task is to head for the Mairie and get another fire permit to dispose of the new large pile of garden refuse.

 

Ba, I also noticed that a certain 'spad' was having to self isolate.  I sincerely hope that no further ER's need to be in that situation.  BB I hope that you stay safe on your shift.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

Edited March 31, 2020 by jamie92208

[Andrew P]

Just a thought for the day.

 

For those around, and not just on here, that are disappointed that events have been cancelled.

 

Have a thought for those who's lives have been cancelled.

Edited March 31, 2020 by Andrew P

[jamie92208]

Another random thought, the adverts this morning are obviously very carefully chosen, a new type of comfy bra at the top and a sidebar advert for mature lady celebrities 40+.   The 1st in English and the 2nd in French so it may have been lost in translation.

 

On another note I will never get back the half hour that I spent wrestling with the Ryanair website, however I did eventually get promised a refund for my cancelled trip in April though only after picking the wrong options at various points.

 

Have a good day folks.

 

Jamie

Edited March 31, 2020 by jamie92208

[Chris56057]

Morning all, 

 

I haven't been round these ways for  while, however it's good to be able to check in. 

 

Sunny and warm here in Branston, Lincs - looking forward to the day ahead. I'm training to be a guard with EMR having come from a platform based role at Lincoln - we're heading down to Eastcroft depot today so that should be interesting. 

 

Wishing you all a pleasant day. 

 

Chris 

[Ozexpatriate]

We've had a rainy, chilly week or so but I have noticed a lot more bird activity - lots of robins and something I didn't recognize but looked like a finch. I did see a humming bird which surprised me a bit.

 

Many of the flowering trees around town have bloomed but most of the trees in my garden are still in bud. There are lots of bright green shoots on the shrubs. 

 

The forecast for the next week continues to be rainy and around 5°C cooler than "normal" temperatures. The rain is seasonal and we need it to catch up, (we're still short 7.5" on our "rain year"). There will be a lot of snow in the mountains. (I expect our correspondent from Idaho should see some snow in the next day or so as well.)

 

Edited March 31, 2020 by Ozexpatriate

[Dave Hunt]

Good morning everyone. The posts about childhood houses are interesting and are bringing back a lot of memories. I was born and spent my first three years in my maternal grandparents' small two bedroom terraced house in Runcorn. Downstairs there was a front room, only used for entertaining on high days and holidays, a living room and a small kitchen. Upstairs were two bedrooms and a bathroom. At the back was a small yard with an outside privy and my Grandad's shed. When I was 3 we moved to a flat in Toxteth in Liverpool then three years later to a terraced house in Wavertree, Liverpool, similar to my grandparents' place. It was there that my Dad bought our first car, a Ford Anglia, and converted the back yard into a car port that was just big enough but a tight squeeze. When I was 12 we then moved to a newly-built three bedroom semi in Formby with a garage and garden - the first time I'd known such things.

 

I too had a sort of early retirement. Being RAF aircrew my normal retirement age from the job would have been 55 but I was asked to stay on for an extra tour and didn't leave until 58. I briefly considered going in to teaching, having been an instructor in both ground and airborne roles, but the amount of bureaucracy involved together with chatting to ex-teacher friends put me off and in the end I settled on being effectively an odd-job man in various fields until deciding in my mid-60s that enough was enough and retired completely. When I left the RAF I found that although I missed the flying (not as much as I expected, though) and the comradeship of those I worked with, I was glad to be free of the niffnaff and trivia that went with it

 

Well, that's enough of boring the pants off you all for one day. Stay safe and well and hopes that the Lurkers are all OK.

 

Dave

 

Dave

[Happy Hippo]

9 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

When I was a lad the bungalow had a dining room, which for years was the main room leaving the front room for special occasions.  But the arrival of a tv set changed all that and the front room became the main room for living in - but was still called the front room.  Things changed round again when we built our present house on the site of the bungalow - the dining room is on the site of the front bedroom; the kitchen is on the site of my old bedroom at the back; the living room is spread over the site of part of the or old front room, the old. dining room and the old coal house which later became the freezer room (within the building but accessed from outdoors); and the study is on part of the site of the original front room.  Mrs Stationmaster does not like the term 'lounge' although that is what I am often accused of doing in the living room - maybe that's why she refuses to have it called 'the lounge'?

So complex,

 

A hippodrome is much simpler.

 

Multi entry and open plan.

 

The sitting room room is also the dining room, bathroom and bedroom.

 

Who needs a roof?

 

 

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

Yet another dull start to the day and there is evidence that it has rained during the night. Breakfast has been consumed and my task this morning is to make some rhubarb and strawberry jam with the produce I bought yesterday. No doubt the house will smell of jam for the rest of the day. 

 

I took early retirement almost 3 years ago and I don’t regret it one bit. During that time my health has improved, I sleep better at night and my depression is all but a distant memory. Which to my untrained eye points to the stress of my previous job being the major part of it. My direct line manager was very supportive, but the hierarchy above him was less so and although I miss the camaraderie of the guys and gals I worked with, I do not regret the decision I made.

 

Stay safe, enjoy the day, back later. 

[BoD]

1 hour ago, jamie92208 said:

Another random thought, the adverts this morning are obviously very carefully chosen, a new type of comfy bra at the top and a sidebar advert for mature lady celebrities 40+. 

If you decide to buy one to make your own face mask use the left cup otherwise you will look like a right t!t.

 

Morning all.

[tigerburnie]

Morning, well it was dull and cold when I arose, so like a good lad I lit the fire for SWMBO who suffers with her Arthritis if it's cold...…………….well the suns out now and it's over 30 degrees in the conservatory...………………..perhaps I'll just let the fire go out...…………….have a nice day all.

[81C]

Morning All 

Looks manky outside I will walk later.

More of the same today painting and more painting I think I'd better repair some holes and cracks before the brush hits the wall, I spent more time yesterday moving stuff around

so much in the flat and no garage to store anything .

 

I took an enhanced redundancy package when I was 58 being totally p!ssed of with being bossed about and stressed out every day I started doing full time on a sideline I had doing for

years home improvements I wished I had started it back when I was 42 when I was first made redundant made enough money to retire at 63 and not draw on any pensions those 5 years

were not totally stress free but I could take time off as and when I wanted to, knowing I could walk away and put my feet up I reduced my hours to 25 per week in the last year and cherry 

picked the better jobs. 

 

 

Coffee time, stay safe. J.M.W. Turner. 

 

Edited March 31, 2020 by 81C
typo

[roundhouse]

2 hours ago, Barry O said:

Ey up!

 

John (CB) our local robin has just reappeared. He looks a sight as he has lost his head feathers and some of his red feathers. Looks like he has mites.  He seems active enough and is continuing his battle with the blue tits over feeding rights at the bird feeders.

 

 

 

 

Maybe a some big tit got the better of him