Ohmisterporter

I think that is very reasonable David, I wish mine was as low.

I took Kath to hospital today as she is having a biopsy on one of the gliomas in her brain. Sometimes the consultant spoke about performing it on the right side of the brain; next thing he is saying the left side. Let us hope he makes his mind up before operating tomorrow. Meanwhile the scars from the removal of her adrenal gland tumour are healing nicely. As the wound was joined together with superglue rather than stitches there has been reduced discomfort in that area. Trying to stay positive here. Stay safe all.

Insurance for house and contents is due for renewal next month, Last year it was £354.92 and this year they want £833.53, nothing has changed in the cover provided and we made no claims. I think a new insurer may be in order.

We live in a rural area and although we see plenty of birds in the garden only house sparrows nest here, in the eaves. They are not really a problem apart from scratching and chicks chirping in the eaves above the bedroom.We are used to it though. A note of caution regarding starlings. Last year a pair nested in the eaves above the back porch and evidently had never heard the old adage about not doing it on your own doorstep. What a mess they made! I had left it too late to block the eaves opening where they nested, in fairness one cannot block the entrance when there may be chicks inside. As soon as they had flown the nest I blocked it off though; no chance of a second brood there and they have not returned this year. On one day we saw Great Tits, Blue Tits, Long Tailed Tits, and Coal Tits in the garden, never at the same time though. I thought a pair of Wrens were starting to nest but they abandoned it after a visit from a neighbour's cat. Stay safe all.

During the lockdown we couldn't use supermarket home delivery so we opted for click and collect; alternating weekly between Morrisons and Tesco. The actual collecting experience was much the same but Tesco were always more likely to either substitute something, usually offering an alternative we didn't want, or leave off altogether. A funny thing pre-pandemic when we lived in our old house an ASDA van pulled up outside and the driver carried a heavy looking tub of groceries to our front door. "ASDA delivery", he said as he tried to push me back into the hallway. I stood firm and told him we hadn't ordered anything. He showed me the delivery note: it had the correct house number but the address was on xxxxx Close, we lived on xxxxx Avenue. So he had to cart it back to his van grumbling as though it was my fault and by now it had started raining. Get your laughs where you can and stay safe all.

I just watched the bin men/persons collecting our rubbish. We have a plastic tub for glass and tins, a large polypropylene bag for paper and cardboard, and another bag for plastic bottles etc. The operator emptied the glass and tins into the same half of the bin lorry as the plastic bottles. Left me wondering why we separate them in the first place.

You can see why he became head coach.

I read that the Telegraph has said that Carlisle is the worst city in England. How can that be true? We have two Wetherspoons.

Regarding steam locomotives running up and down gradients: please correct me if I am wrong but won't a loco running uphilll chimney first have its boiler at the same angle to the gradient when it is running downhill tender first? And vice versa. Turning tender engines on short turntables can be done by splitting the engine and tender; turning each part separately, then re-joining them. I have seen it done several times on the Ratty with visiting locos from the RHDR that are longer than Ratty engines. A lot depends on the timetable for the return trip of course.

We were on holiday in Tenerife when a company rep said how she disliked men referring to their spouse as "the wife". So I said I would never dream of calling our lass "the wife". I kept a straight face. You may have to be northern to understand this.

With regard to job interviews; Through my working career I had sixteen jobs and thirteen redundancies, which may seem unlucky but most were contract work with a finish date advised even before I started. The sixteen successful interviews showed I did at least have the know how to get through the selection process. I had one interview with a personnel manager who lit a cigarette and put it in his ear; burning end outwards of course. After he told me I had got the job he showed me some of the applications he had sifted out. One was written on an envelope that had been opened out to form a rectangle, others appeared to have been torn out of school note books. The sad thing was those applicants may have been better craftsmen than me, they just let themselves down by not having the basic knowledge of how to get to the interview stage. The worst interview I had was for a job in Kendal. I arrived in good time but was kept waiting for the chief engineer to appear. When he did he walked in the room and without sitting at the table asked me how long it had taken me to get to the factory from Lancaster. I replied twenty five minutes. He replied, "That's no good I want somebody who can get here in ten minutes". With that he walked out. End of interview. Sometimes you may think you lost out but in reality you dodged a bullet.

Brought Kath home this afternoon, hopefully that is it until her next appointment in four weeks time. She can now sleep peacefully with only my telly watching to bother her. However, she quickly sorted that one.

Recently saw a Youtube video about a sheriff in Florida who caused some controversy by saying that if someone broke into your home or shop it would save a lot of money if you shot them dead.

Mention of the efficacy of capital punishment reminds me of something written by Jonathan Swift after he witnessed a hanging at Newgate. There was, as usual, a big crowd to watch the proceedings; several condemned prisoners meeting their end, the main attraction being a notorious pickpocket. Whilst the executions were being carried out Swift was watching other pickpockets operating in the crowd. Not much of a deterrent then, you may think. But this was a time when there were over a hundred crimes which carried the death penalty, some of them what we would consider paltry these days.

I would also like to add my views on the NHS but not at the present time. Kath still in hospital with a diagnosis of excess fluid on the brain. More scans today and no surprise that her blood pressure is rising again. She is now in a room with five other patients; some whom like to live their lives surrounded by noise. Tellies on from seven am with no use of headphones so the sound shared with every other patient. Oh for single rooms for all! At least the NHS seems to have finally moved on from mixed gender rooms. We all want to avoid going in so stay safe all.