Early Risers.

[TheQ]

Mooring awl again,  inner Temple Hare, 

 Again?  Yep the second try at typing this,  I'd typed in quite a bit,  when it froze,  then it restarted,  with the advertising bar after the first post on a page,  actually showing adverts for the first time.. And my inconsequential rubbish disappeared. 

 

So here we go again. 

A good nights sleep was had, of 5.5 +1.5 hours 

 

Monkeysarefun has a good suggestion,  however taking the photos may be a problem.  We are only allowed to travel to or from work, to go shopping  or a reasonable distance from home while exercising or walking the dog. I somehow doubt the 540 Mile distance from home to Tiree would be permitted and even Ben the athletic Collie might say it's too much.. 

 

 I've down loaded several photos from the net,  today I'll glue up several layers of plasticard then leave for a day,  before starting carving.. 

 

Ben the music critic Collie was hiding in his cage for the 06:00 news as they had played bagpipes just before.  So I got to realise for longer,  till the 06:30 news at which music intro he gave me the stare. 

 

I'm going to cut my work work hours to 1 per day,  as the boss pointedly said there's was no hurry.. 

 

While I was at the MhRC yesterday SWMBO decided to tidy up and found under the sofa a tube of relays.  I brought these back from the equipment left overs table in the T bar at work.  There are about 30 DIL SPDT, gold plated contact,  2A 12V relays in there. I've just checked their value... Over. £6 each..  Now I wonder what I thought they could be used on? 

 

I've just realised I've forgotten to refit the keelbolts. This means a channel needs to be cut in the foam , not difficult just inconvenient. 

 

Time to..  Take SWMBO her cuppatea and do my hours work. 

 

[BlackRat]

Did anyone else love thick school custard with the yellow chewy lumps in it?

 

If you were lucky you also got the skin...... which I still love!

 

 

[AndrewC]

Moaning all. Feel like carp. 15 hour day yesterday fixing stuff that was outside my remit but had to be done. Exhausted. Cough continues somewhat. Tired and achy. Chest a bit tight but not really causing breathing problems so the nice computer at the NHS says to stay home. Duh! A fun filled Friday that started extra early. Meh. 

 

SWMBO has been informed that she may be furloughed. Decision to come on Monday. No doubt a big fight will ensue. Her manager doesn't want to have to step in and do all the menial work, but the bigger fromage would love to get her wages off his budget for a couple of months just to boost his bonus. SWMBO is looking at her garden and chanting, furlough, furlough, furlough. It would also give her the day time hours needed to take a couple of web courses that would help her escape. What she really wants is redundancy after a 3 month furlough. That would essentially give her 19 weeks of full pay and 13 at 80%. 

 

With  my luck I'll be the only non-critical person in the UK still working at this rate. 

 

enjoy the day. 

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

A dull start to the day here and a mainly dry and cloudy day is promised.

Much clapping and honking of horns in our road and the surrounding area last night.  Let's hope we all remember all those wonderful key workers when this is all over. I know I will.

The Boss is still not right but is soldiering on. This means that I have to "get a move on as there is much to be done."  The G word seems to be predominant today and I have also been reminded that I was going to paint The Shed. Oh goody. Can't claim lack of materials as I bought the preservative at the same time as I bought The Shed. Still I need to get my finger out and do something, anything! Sitting around on my ar$e too much at the moment. My online order for plants ordered a month ago  that was due about now has come to nought. First off delayed until the end of April and then delayed again until the end of May so regretfully I've cancelled it. Our local garden centre has come up with an offer so I'm waiting to hear back from them today as to when they can deliver. 

My other beer order (from Cornwall) ordered 3 weeks ago has gone astray so they have resent it and Parcelforce have advised they are delivering today.

Coffee now and then possibly   I will venture to the exterior.

Have a good one,

Bob.

Edited April 3, 2020 by grandadbob

[tigerburnie]

Morning, looks quite nice out there, so I will continue with the pond in the somewhat doubtful hope that my online delivery of plants will materialise, stay fit and well all...……………….

[The Stationmaster]

42 minutes ago, BlackRat said:

Did anyone else love thick school custard with the yellow chewy lumps in it?

 

If you were lucky you also got the skin...... which I still love!

 

 

I can't stand thick custard, or the skin.  However our school custard poured like evaporated milk and remained suitably liquid as it cooled - it was the first custard I actually liked and enjoyed.

[Dave Hunt]

Nice thick cold custard, yum. Tapioca and sago puddings, yum. Macaroni cheese, yum. Cold pizza, yum. Liver, yuk.

Thus ends today's edition of master chef.

Not a lot to report other than one more day in a series that appears to stretch off into the distance. We are staying in touch with family and friends via Skype, FaceTime, Jill's Facebook, phone and email and of course I have RMWeb so thank goodness for all of those. Together with muddling and downloading Telegraph crosswords and other puzzles ennui is avoided.

Thank the Good Lord for the NHS, the other essential workers and people like Bill who are going to such Herculean and selfless efforts to stem the tide. We all owe them a huge debt of gratitude.

 

Stay safe and well everyone.

 

Dave

[Happy Hippo]

29 minutes ago, AndrewC said:

Moaning all. Feel like carp. 15 hour day yesterday fixing stuff that was outside my remit but had to be done. Exhausted. Cough continues somewhat. Tired and achy. Chest a bit tight but not really causing breathing problems so the nice computer at the NHS says to stay home. Duh! A fun filled Friday that started extra early. Meh. 

Time to call in and tell them you are too ill to continue and let them sort out their continual clusterf*cks.

[PeterBB]

12 hours ago, brianusa said:

 

Living in EQ country, one has to be aware of the problems associated with such calamities that go with the area.  Not only EQs, but various volcanoes dot the PNW ready to do untold damage along with the possible tsunamis.  We are constantly being reminded of the "big one" which I've heard about ever since we came here from CA years ago  Presumably we've been lucky and not experienced any such disastrous catastrophes.

The current virus is bad enough!

     Brian.

The 'big one' as I understand it has a huge crater i.e 100s of miles and 'goes' every 600 000 years.  Geologists have noted movement in the form of 'slight tilting' so theoretically it could go at any time now but there would probably be a warning.

[The Stationmaster]

And good morrow all,

 

Last night's clap session seemed well attended and the musical lady over the road played a hand bell just to add a touch of culture to the event.  The shopping expedition has proved productive and such an essential as pickled onions were secured, but Waitrose was completely bereft of flour; i wonder if bread making machines have been selling as well as freezers of late?

 

Talking of kitchen kit a tip for Flavio.  Mrs Stationmaster has a Magimix medium size mixer and the dogs which hold one of the component parts were becoming very worn and unreliable.  They are moulded as part of the main outer casing of the machine so somebody who shall go nameless said that the he thought getting that sorted would not be easy or cheap - seems he was wrong.  A few months back, and with a suitable advanced arrangement, we set sail for Farnham to the nearest Magimix distributor and repair agents where said component was replaced with a nice shiny new part ('no worries, we've got 35 in stock madam') in less than 15 minutes while we gawped at stuff in their minute showroom.  As previously reported the repair/replacement was inexpensive, what added to the cost was a new Mini Magimix plus various cutting attachments for the existing one - the Parmesan shredder is an ace piece of kit, just a different type of disc.  judging by the overall quality of n both their domestic and catering stuff plus readily available spares and great service they're a brand worth remembering.

 

Not sure what's happening with the cable buriers today but at least one is about as a dump truck has progressed up and down the road once although no sign of anybody else in our immediate vicinity.

 

Have a good day one and all and keep on with the m*d*lling Chris.  And stay a safe folks.  Pink pics to come later

[southern42]

5 hours ago, chrisf said:

Greetings one and all

 

I’d like to thank Barry for his exhortations yesterday.  In all seriousness, I value such heartfelt encouragement from him and from my cousin 88C.  The m*d*ll*ng I have done over the past few days has proved quite therapeutic, even when I made a horlicks of cutting and bending a short length of wire intended to take its place in posterity as a modest handrail.  For the time being, planning trips is a complete waste of time.  It still smarts that all the work I did on my Dublin trip came to nought.  The excitement which drove me is gone.  I hope to make use of what I learned if/when I go in 2021.  The planning for the Switzerland trip is done by the nice people at Ffestiniog Travel.  I have not seen this year’s proposal yet but if it is going to happen it should be on the doormat ere long.  Last year I would have planned and taken a different route to and from Switzerland because the usual one via the Rhine Valley takes too long and is boring as hell.  The virus that I brought back from New Zealand came a bit too close to incapacitating me for over two months and I just didn’t feel up to planning anything, despite encouragement from JohnDMJ.

 

Here is my two penn’orth on school dinners.  What I detested beyond measure was macaroni cheese.  “This is not logical, Captain” said Spock, “for you like macaroni and you like cheese”.  This is true, but combine the two and the result for me is nausea.  After one close shave I did not chance it again.  The school that I attended in Hammersmith, Latymer Upper, did generate rather fine custard.  One jug had to suffice for two tables and more often than not there was a search party for leftovers.  Tapioca pudding was served with oranges so the peel got chucked in the bowl.  This did not deter those of us who liked the stuff.  The cooks at Huntingdon Grammar School, as it then was, left no stone unturned when it came to ruining liver, some of which would have been perfect for emergency shoe repairs.  Saying grace was down to the teacher on duty.  Mr Jamieson would introduce it with “Eyes down”.

 

Today I have a hormone injection, which is part of my cancer treatment.  I have one every 12 weeks.  Nurse Laura has given me some tips on how to get into the surgery, which has been turned into a fortress while I was not looking.  I will be wearing a red shirt in case she draws blood.

 

Best wishes to all.  Normally you can only have three but they are on special offer.

 

Chris

 

I have a memorable connection with Latymer Upper: we were both at the same episode of Crackerjack...

Crackerjack, do I hear? 

Anyway, 4 girls from our school and four boys from their's, were asked to appear on an interim show between two season's of Crackerjack...

Cra........Oh! you've already said it...Well done!  

 

I forget what the (one-off) Series was called or what other items were included in the programme and only remember one question in the Game we took part in.

The game we played was set up in two rows, them in front and below us.

There was a Baddlewat (something like the railway dispatch baton ) which was passed from person to person.

Get an answer correct and you passed it to the next person on your team.

Get the answer wrong and you passed it to the person on the other team, behind/below.

Get the Baddlewat to the end of your team and you win.

 

Well, Latymer were doing well up to the point the boy below me in chair 3 got his question WRONG.

Q. Who wrote Shakespeare's Twelth Night (or other play, but that one comes to mind)?

The poor boy did not know.

I got the baton...and we went on to win - an Album each. I got the Searchers so I was chuffed to bits, and it was mighty strange seeing myself on the TV later.

 

Have a winning day all and keep safe.

Fitt and Elfie   on stand by.

_______

Best wishes

Polly

 

Edited April 3, 2020 by southern42

[45568]

One for Chris F and all other koala lovers...good news at last!

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-03/bushfire-koala-victim-anwen-returned-home/12119994

 

Cheers from Fortress WestOz,

Peter C.

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

Very late on parade this morning, we both ended up staying in bed a lot longer than we had planned. Thee day started off sunny, but it's looking a bit dodgy now. The plan for today is to give the cellar door a coat of topcoat and then spend the rest of the day either in the garden or the workshop. 

 

Stay safe, enjoy the rest of the day, back later 

[Simon G]

Right you lot, stop all this talking about thick custard as you are making me hungry (yet again)!

 

I do like a really thick custard, especially with the skin, and even better if it has been covered with cream.  On the odd occasion when I make a trifle, the custard is deliberately so thick, you can cut it with a knife.  

 

Rain earlier this morning has given way to just being dull.  Hopefully I will manage to do some tasks outside later.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. I attempted to make it to my building society yesterday afternoon only to find that due to COVID-19 they are now shutting at two. I also wanted to go to smiffs which is almost opposite to get the April Backtrack as my subscription doesn't start until May but smiffs was shut as well. One thing I did discover though was that many stores that are still open that normally opened on Sundays such as smiffs are now closed on Sundays. When I went into Tesco's I found a bargain in a small slow cooker marked down from £18 to £9. The only thing wrong was a flap was missing from the box. I'm a bit wary of slow cookers as I know of a couple of people who became ill after eating meals from them. Two separate instances but both involving a slow cooker and chicken. I will probably only use it for veggie dishes and then give the food a quick blast of microwaves.

2 hours ago, polybear said:

 

 

They spoke to one of the admin staff, and asked what was the hardest part of her job.

The reply?  "Confirming who is, and who isn't entitled to free treatment on the NHS...."

That's about the only part of the programme I can remember, and has always stuck in my mind.

But how many of those turned out to be not entitled? Many that are can have difficulty in proving that they are especially the homeless. It would be easier if we all carried ID cards as the Blair government tried to introduce. But because certain right wing newspapers opposed it they weren't able too, and those same newspapers are the one's complaining about medcal tourism.

2 hours ago, BlackRat said:

Did anyone else love thick school custard with the yellow chewy lumps in it?

 

If you were lucky you also got the skin...... which I still love!

 

 

Skin on custard...YEUK!

[southern42]

.....mmmmmmm.......custard...........

Edited April 3, 2020 by southern42

[Andrew P]

1 hour ago, The Stationmaster said:

I can't stand thick custard, or the skin.  However our school custard poured like evaporated milk and remained suitably liquid as it cooled - it was the first custard I actually liked and enjoyed.

I'm the opposite Mike, I like chunky custard, don't give me any of that runny stuff, haha

[PhilJ W]

Not that I don't like custard, I don't like the skin. My preference is thick and gloopy like volcanic lava, and nearly as hot.

Edited April 3, 2020 by PhilJ W

[southern42]

1 hour ago, The Stationmaster said:

And good morrow all,

 

Last night's clap session seemed well attended and the musical lady over the road played a hand bell just to add a touch of culture to the event.  The shopping expedition has proved productive and such an essential as pickled onions were secured, but Waitrose was completely bereft of flour; i wonder if bread making machines have been selling as well as freezers of late?

 

Talking of kitchen kit a tip for Flavio.  Mrs Stationmaster has a Magimix medium size mixer and the dogs which hold one of the component parts were becoming very worn and unreliable.  They are moulded as part of the main outer casing of the machine so somebody who shall go nameless said that the he thought getting that sorted would not be easy or cheap - seems he was wrong.  A few months back, and with a suitable advanced arrangement, we set sail for Farnham to the nearest Magimix distributor and repair agents where said component was replaced with a nice shiny new part ('no worries, we've got 35 in stock madam') in less than 15 minutes while we gawped at stuff in their minute showroom.  As previously reported the repair/replacement was inexpensive, what added to the cost was a new Mini Magimix plus various cutting attachments for the existing one - the Parmesan shredder is an ace piece of kit, just a different type of disc.  judging by the overall quality of n both their domestic and catering stuff plus readily available spares and great service they're a brand worth remembering.

 

Not sure what's happening with the cable buriers today but at least one is about as a dump truck has progressed up and down the road once although no sign of anybody else in our immediate vicinity.

 

Have a good day one and all and keep on with the m*d*lling Chris.  And stay a safe folks.  Pink pics to come later

 

We are out on a beaten track so we shared clapping emojis on WhatsApp with the family.

(Well done you! / N H S)

Edited April 3, 2020 by southern42

[Andrew P]

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

Nice thick cold custard, yum. Tapioca and sago puddings, yum. Macaroni cheese, yum. Cold pizza, yum. Liver, yuk.

Thus ends today's edition of master chef.

Not a lot to report other than one more day in a series that appears to stretch off into the distance. We are staying in touch with family and friends via Skype, FaceTime, Jill's Facebook, phone and email and of course I have RMWeb so thank goodness for all of those. Together with muddling and downloading Telegraph crosswords and other puzzles ennui is avoided.

Thank the Good Lord for the NHS, the other essential workers and people like Bill who are going to such Herculean and selfless efforts to stem the tide. We all owe them a huge debt of gratitude.

 

Stay safe and well everyone.

 

Dave

The first snack my NOW Wife ever did for me was Macaroni Cheese. I'd been out and as I walked in the door I nearly threw up.

It went in the bin.

But I love Macaroni, and I love Cheese, work that one out.

Edited April 3, 2020 by Andrew P

[pH]

1 hour ago, PeterBB said:

The 'big one' as I understand it has a huge crater i.e 100s of miles and 'goes' every 600 000 years.  Geologists have noted movement in the form of 'slight tilting' so theoretically it could go at any time now but there would probably be a warning.

 

I think you're referring to the 'supervolcano' under Yellowstone, which is apparently showing signs of activity.

 

The 'big one' Brian's referring to is the inevitable massive subduction earthquake in the northwestern US and western Canada. Apparently they happen every 200-500 years, and the last one occurred in 1700. The Pacific tectonic plate is subducting under the North American plate, building up stress which will eventually be released in an earthquake. 

Edited April 3, 2020 by pH
Spelling

[Barry O]

Cold custard with sliced banana in it... food of the gods!

Metalforming pills collected. One person walked  past me and her 8ndoors during our trip. Now cream crackered!

 

Gardening postponed.

 

Time for some muddling

Baz

[The Lurker]

Greetings all from Sidcup where clouds are dominating the sky.

 

Another day of WFH (#14 now) which started at 7.30 ish (only 6 minutes to get into the system today, things are looking up), had a Teams call at 10 and now I have a call from the boss at an unspecified time to look forward to). I am hoping it is before the call that someone has arranged for him with Mexico at 5.30 this evening - he reckons a 2 hour call...

 

I can report that the man from Ocado was early this morning with our delivery. he reported a number of substitutes, the most significant of which seems to be replacing fresh rosemary and sage with fresh mint and thyme. That's going to make my bowdlerised version of chicken cacciatore taste a little different. Oh and Mrs Lurker's favourite sauvignon blanc  (oyster bay) was replaced with another (greyrock), but these are real first world problems.We even got oen chips, Phil!

 

  Less easy will be booking another slot but the freezers are pretty full, and the local supermarkets seem reasonably well stocked at present.

 

I didn't comment on school dinners yesterday; suffice to say I was not a fan of the ones at Primary School and from about the 3rd year I took packed lunch. I hated the liver (with those worms protruding), as well as custard, rice pudding,semolina and anything else they did with the texture of vomit. I still don't like any of those things. I did however quite enjoy the spam fritters. I did have school dinners at secondary school for about a year and a half but then found that I was too hungry (I guess I had started to grow) so reverted to packed lunches.

 

Mrs Lurker's experiences inthe school canteen at the school where she has been working are mainly of the horrendous waste. The food is probably not that good and anyway the children will not eat much if any of what they choose. There is no compulsion to eat it as there was when I was at school and most goes straight in the bn. If Mr Clegg could see it, he would probably thnk his free school meals for all key stage 1 pupils was not such a great idea after all!

 

Have a good day all and stay well

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The Lurker]

9 minutes ago, Barry O said:

Cold custard with sliced banana in it... food of the gods!

 

My Dad is partial to leftover cold custard over his cornflakes for breakfast. I think he eggs my Mum to make too much deliberately. 

 

She doesn't like custard

 

[Rugd1022]

Did someone mention yellow matter custard, dripping from a dead dog's eye...?