New Haven Neil

Trying to de-pot the board, er, caused 'some damage'. They use something that is obviously suitable for surviving nuclear warfare. The relay clicks in but no juice comes out, except when it feels like it - pretty sure it is to blame but it's proving impossible without a blowlamp and a road drill.

Ah yes, we have a new Siemens fridge! Seems like a quality job. if only we had a Lidl or Aldi - their attempt to come here was kyboshed by local business leaders.

Presumably this is one - no idea where this clip from a bigger image came from in my 'interesting things' box so apologies re copyright, will remove if requested. The green coach is a 64 footer, the maroon, who knows!

Indeed - Mrs NHN recently had dealings with a professional here in the govt. tax office, who gave her totally incorrect advice and also bunger £8k on to her tax code - because she did not know her job. Worse, she was teaching a new starter too, who was sitting in. Mrs H had to speak to a higher manager the next week and get it all sorted out, superannuation lump sums are tax free, their own website even states that. Much growling was heard. Back in my NHS HR days I worked closely with payroll, and found most payroll officers to be very good, with a small handful deliberately obstreperous looking for any reason they could think of to delay a payment or otherwise cause trouble where a simple query could resolve an issue. Luckily the big boss was very good.

We had to go through the same malarkey to get registered on Patient Access despite being personal friends with our then GP, but it is quite good once you get there! The ability to see graphical representations of tests over some years has brought some interesting things - reactions to other things - to light for me. Also you can see test results without having to phone the practice then await recall or whatever, often they are on the next day for us here.

I'm thinking he was previously one of JB's students that never turn up to lectures......😆

I have had good service from many Bosch things, including the washing machine (that the door hasn't fallen off yet, 20 years), but this mower is pretty crepey really, as you rightly say. Living here means you have a limited choice in goods unless you want to buy from across, which we try not to do, in order to support the local economy. It was Bosch or some B&Q never heard of it job with no spares backup. It appears the control board has an intermittent fault, which is likely the relay, but it is 'potted' in and I can't get it out to replace without destroying the whole thing. Pah. One Deltic down.

Oh yes - the only general cargo ship I sailed on had Indian crew, so I used to eat the 'crew curry', much to the disgust of several of my fellow officers who were not connoisseurs of curry! Good morning from a very wet n windy rock, a total contrast to yesterday. Todays duties include stripping the cordless mower, that has developed a fault with the control board, it would appear. Pah, it's not very old either, I bet this costs almost as much as new mower to repair. I normally swear by Bosch products, but this time I swear at them.

The glorious sunshine tempted me out, did the tip run to dispose of old engine oil, it's been lying around for ages, and the recycling glass. Went down into Ramsey (bright lights extinguished in daytime) for a few odds and ends and a walk - ah. It is absolutely BALTIC out there, car showed 6c but it feels little above freezing. How can this be, it looks so nice out, crisp, great clarity, the lake district very visible ad Ireland looking the other way. So back home for lunch and coffee, hot. A bit of TV, well U Toob, now then on to the next task.

Morning, from a sunny, still but rather chilly rock, 4c at 8am so presuming it was a lot colder earlier on. Bedding washing today, joy of joys. Excitement knows no bounds. Then there is a list of some length, lawnmower safety catch is not working correctly (battery mower) and not allowing it to start - initial diagnosis is the issue is the linkage rather then the switch, that has been replaced previously. Then the tip recycling centre, with glass and old oil, shopping, oh the fun never ends. Back for a grumble later.

Quiet around here - is @Winslow Boy OK?

No need to worry on that front Gilbert, all in fun and taken as such. Thankfully dementia is one thing that has not been diagnosed this month!

#peeks around corner# Oh, not banned from the topic then...... On a slightly serious note, there are not many locomotives I don't like in some way, but the V2 is right at the top of my list. I also like A3's with double chimneys and Witte smoke deflectors (preferably with a GN tender too), so my slide into dementia is possibly confirmed also. Given the medical disasters around here for us both this last few weeks, this does not surprise me!

Yup, I have to share 'mine'. Debs was washing the cars so I got bagsies today.

I'll give that miss, ta! We had a nice drive out all the way down south in the campervan, to give it a run out to charge the batteries. beautiful day, so crisp and clear, but a touch chilly still at 8c. Then spent the rest of the afternoon wood splitting, not with an axe but a hydraulic splitter. Mucho easy, but the bits do sometimes fly quite some way down the garden. That'll probably be enough for the rest of the season, any else we do is for next winter now. I'm now completely knackered. Debs nephew is vogon vegan and is bringing the kids up the same - we just don't agree with it for children, (they're 3 and 5) despite being given supplements we don't think they get the nutrition they need to develop.

I have to say the PA in our practice, who is young and newly qualified as such - she was a prescribing nurse there previously - has been of more help than our rather lackadaisical GP with our current malaises. She has correctly identified issues for us both independently (and also sorted out a friend's wife who has been having several ineffective treatments for a year for a skin issue - different GP, same practice). She has provided the feedback from her subsequent discussions with the doctor that he deemed himself too important to deliver directly, obviously he had to do the prescribing and referring, but this young lady has made a huge difference to both our healthcare this last few very stressful weeks. Yes there are limits to what they can do and it's important they don't overstep the mark, but as a step in triage we find it all works very well indeed. Of course we used to have a good GP. Used to.....pah. So I wouldn't write off their importance so quickly. Of course they also have to be good at their job, which.....hmm.

A Claud and a V2 together, lovely. Two of my favourite classes. You can keep your A3's, Galloping Sausages (A4's) and B17's, a V2 floats my boat! A better balanced locomotive by far. Your mileage may differ, other opinions are available. #ducks#

I put a curtain rail up for friend Jayne when she rebuild her cottage, dead level with the help of appropriate devices. Looks awful as the floor runs off really badly.....the whole place is a parallelogram. It is VERY old, proper Manx stone cottage. She insists on leaving it as a 'feature', it drives me mad.

Seconded. Only slight, but it is damn awkward (I'm 64). Genetic presumably, mum had it really bad.

It appears we have made our very own 'B Ark'. Hoist by our own petard indeed. Morning, from a dull but drying rock, after hail overnight - hail as in white dots, not the call of the Whelkmen's return to ER's. They have been missed, but boy are they back in force. Unsure of the day's orders as yet, after a truly miserable night's lack of sleep I dossed on later as Mrs NHN went off to be Pilated - she's due back any minute so the peace will be shattered by the issue of such instructions. IIRC we're having lunch with Jayne, but not a lot else has permeated my consciousness as yet. The sore toe/foot gets my sympathies too, 7 years on my foot is still a mess, and I am in two minds regarding further surgery, it is so painful and time consuming in the healing department.

The end of the bridge doesn't bother me, my brain (such as it is) is happy to accept the suspension of reality that is the necessary compromise of our modelling activity. I get more upset about shiny wheel rims and daft stuff like that! Oh, Romford wheel nuts are another....maybe it's just me!

Flamme, perchance? I think they made them just to annoy Mr Whyte of wheel arrangement fame.

There were quite a few Cadets that disappeared over the four years of toil we had to do - two years at college, one at sea, another back at college. The last year had about 2/3rds of the number on it. We had to pass to err pass, no fudging was allowed.

Ah, I see it becomes circular- Uni needs the money, therefore.......pah! Not having been though the system in that way, I wasn't really aware of how it all worked, my 'daughter' (BA and MA Social Work) has been edumocating me. She hated the sort on her first degree course, thinking they were taking places off people who were really keen, but slightly less qualified to get in and so lost out.

Tim to dust off..... Far out is right!