New Haven Neil

Todays visiting toys.

Happy Birthday Robert!

An excellent day had with friend running the garden railway, my locos have been described as 'very well behaved', coming from a recently retired GM of a well known railway, praise indeed! They don't have faces though. On medical issues, i got a phone call yesterday afternoon from yet another new locum GP, a young junior Dr on rotation to the practice, asking how she could help me. I replied by saying well you called me.....I didn't ask you to! After discussion, it would appear my actual GP, who had approved my usual medications the previous day, had put me on her list to be called to discuss the pills I mentioned yesterday - the ruin my stomach or get addicted ones - which was all well and good, and it was an informative and fruitful discussion with a young and keen Doctor, but had I not answered the phone call it would have been recorded as a missed appointment - an appointment I wasn't aware of. Hmm.

@BSW01 Time for an official complaint. I did this recently as I had also been mis-dispensed on three occasions, and the results (of the complaint!) were quite gratifying. An un-announced visit there by the Head of Pharmaceuticals of our local health authority equivalent body brought quite a flurry of staff changes, developmental actions and general arse-kicking. Gratifying, and although I no longer use that branch, others I speak to who suffered similar poor service report a great improvement. Morning all! Autumnal here, sun peeking through a slight mist, quite magical in fact. One of those mornings where all is well although some )(**&^&^$£ will no doubt try to disturb that. In the meantime, friend Charles is coming to run those water vapour things, Tank the builder (yes, Tank- he's a big lad) will be finishing the pathway down the side of the garage, and drinking me out of coffee. So not a bad day in prospect.

That is an O scale pannier I posted, Dave. I think that's a Minerva one though. I have a Dapol version, every bit as good....and it's an odd shade of green as it had passed into industrial service. it could be perhaps....maybe...described as.....LNER green......

@AndrewC 6 weeks? - used to dream of it etc etc. Hole in road mode. Rant: Hip issue repaired by surgery 8 years ago re-emerged in January. Got a face to face appointment with a young locum GP in 10 days (wow!), who did a cursory examination of it, read my notes of previous surgery on it, and said basically she wasn't touching that, referred me to the Consultant orthopod for a review. Still waiting. 8 1/2 months. When I do get to see him, it will be 'I'm not touching that' once again I suspect, as the surgery was done 'across' (Wrightington hospital, centre of excellence for hip surgery) as they couldn't do it here. Another wait of who knows how long to see someone there I suppose. In the meantime, juggling pills so i) I don't ruin my stomach with one lot, or ii) don't get addicted to the other lot! A night's sleep would be nice though as that is the main issue, I sleep so badly I'm like a zombie half the day. I'll take the addiction over an ulcer though. /Rant.

One of my modelling heroes. He introduced me to the weird and wonderful.

Don't listen to those heathens! But paint it black, quickly!

Oh, as for blister packs, I have noticed that many at the moment are very difficult to open, the foil seems thick enough to resist nuclear warfare. My fingers are getting a touch arthritic now and as two meds have to be taken in the morning, when said fingers are not up to temperature and are so stiff, it can be an issue to get the bloomin' things out without resorting to very bad language indeed.

I got sort of used to that, post-operatively. Not being a great lover of needles I was concerned about the self-administration, but the doofer makes it quite easy. The stinging and bruising however....pah! A dull damp morning, builder in relaying some pathways that have settled so the water pools and gets into my garage.....my hips aren't up to that sort of work now.

Evening orl. Sweet potatoes are off the menu - too high GI, more than normal spuds, lots of carby sugars in them. Archery was a mixed bag - Debs was 4th which was a bit crepe, by her standards, but the best thing was the guy who is normally last (11 shooting today), beat the cheat and won the round! The cheat was not impressed which pleased everyone else massively. By standing directly behind him we have now worked out the marks on his bow he uses as sights, it's not worth making a scene over, we just discount his scores in our minds. He also tried calling a hit first arrow on a (painted!) target of an elk today, when it was in the antler. (edit - explanation - the 'target' has a heavy black line denoting the scoring area and kill zone, the antler was clearly outside of it. He also only hit the tip, about a foot from the line!) Hardly a 'wound' shot. As it turned out it made no difference to his final place anyway, but it is getting a little tiring sometimes. Mrs H's best shot was on a turkey target, it was bang in the dead centre of the 'kill zone' circle about 2" diameter, geometrically perfect! if only the rest had been as good.....oops.

Morning. My first thought too was the treatment of gunshot wounds was an everyday thing - make way folks! I'll stay on Fraggle Rock thanks. Dom's pictures were excellent, a real treat to see - that big tankie is a beast for sure, and the station most modellable. Nice to see PeterBB too, after the travails of moving, something we're never going to do again, this is our last house even if we do win the lottery. We may buy next door and knock through though, if we do win a large amount! Archery today, new arrows to try for three archers, after last week's relatively poor showings. Also some newly painted ones, to make spotting easier. A black arrow shaft in a dark target in a shady glen at 50m is hard to see the point of penetration.

Knackered now. All tasks completed for a change, even got the outboard back to my mate's garage, but it wasn't as described - it's bigger! Mate 1 said it was a 15 horsepower, but it's a 20, which is about as much as the intended boat can take. As it is free, we're not arguing. It is also somewhat knackered, but may be un-knackerable. Mate 2 is very handy in the workshop. The sun even came out for a couple of hours which improved the 48 hours of overhead gloom a lot. Our trip home on the MER (shhh) last night was curtailed - Car 19 suffered a compressor failure just north of Laxey. They can work forward to the terminus with the hand ratchet brake, as we didn't have a trailer car, but the 'warning device', in this case an air whistle, was inoperable, and they can't run without that. The couple of cars that run with ratchet brakes on enthusiasts days etc have bells so are OK to use. Bus replacement.....pah.

Morning, dull 'n grey once more, 16c, dry, likely to be the same all day once more. @polybear strangely enough I noticed the botulism dispenser on North Quay in Douglas (the Big City) a couple of weeks ago, however the use of it is precluded on several fronts - i) it looks pretty not in use, ii) pizzas are on the banned list for my low-carb diabetic diet, and finally iii) it looks totally vile. Oh, iv) Drunks probably pee on it on their way home....lot of pubs down there! Generics, yes I have issues with some of them too, but as they seem to dispense a different one every time, it's hard to know which to refuse. The day is a little spoken for already, friend popping around soon to deliver some windfall firewood, then lunch with friends who have been in the UK at their holiday home for some weeks, then collect a half dead outboard motor with a different friend from another friend..... and so on.

Ah, the Third Scone Wars started that way - cream on first, or jam.

I was just wondering what length runway is required to get a hippo airborne for the flight south? That lead on to the required size of parachute canopy to then deliver said hippo safely to the ground once more. Perhaps I should stick to things I understand.....

Morning, from a once more overcast and grey rock, NHN just grey. I like coffee by the bucket, but drink it weak. Illy Classico if from the cafetiere, Kenco Millcano if instant, with milk I'm afraid! The stronger the coffee, the more milk I like, but I do like it in volume, my preferred 'Herdy' TM mugs are a decent size. Today brings the old farts club, local greasy spoon cafe (plenty of them here) first as one of our number has to visit hospital at noon to have a heart monitor fitted, but they haven't really been able to explain why to him, communication between GP, hospital and patient is appalling here. So he's going along to see if the tech can explain it all! Rant: This experience mirrors a lot of my current situation with my health, getting an appointment letter telling me where to go, when, and to see whom, but not the speciality/clinic or what it is actually for. As I have several ongoing matters of concern, it is a lottery to know if you need to prepare, pee or not to pee, drive or not, or just take anything with you. Latest one is about eyesight (worked out as I do at least know the Consultant's name for this one), but no comment regarding the fact I won't be able to drive afterwards, but it is the same sort of time as I was expecting an orthopaedic appointment so could have been either. If my old department had sent out letters like that I would have been sacked. /rant.

At least George speaks in a language I can understand! He's a Mackem though. (For the south of Middleborough born, 'from Sunderland'). Poo sticks result came today, still alive. I hate opening letters like that, trepidation. The sun made a late appearance again here, after 3pm. It's nice now still, the current 18c being the highest all day.

I hope that those here who taught did so in such a way that did not mimic their own experiences! Maybe it made better teachers of them? We had a really accurate chalk thrower, head of RE, turns out his son is on here......but not an ER. He turned up at 'old work' as a customer and had a distinctive surname so I asked! He's a modeller in indoor and outdoor scales and a decent chap indeed. I don't think he throws anything though. The most accurate and deadly board rubber 'killer' was a friend and neighbour's mum. As she taught French, and languages were and are my weakest subject, I got to experience it frequently!

How did I miss that? Happy Birthday Tony, have a relaxing day. Careful with those bins!

Morning, although it is hard to tell, it is so gloomy. Dry though, but a miserable 14c. Really heavy overcast. As for that 'house' in Grand Designs - sheesh, what an eyesore. The interior had its good points eventually, but externally it was like a crashed space rocket. £2.5m though.....cripes. Reading iD's comment about white interiors (even the carpet and TV, iD?) made me think back to it's black kitchen! Looked quite nice if a touch expensive, at £125k The day has some chores attached to it before I get to play, the house IS now clean and tidy, we also had a domestic help until I left work, out of the question now but I do have rather more time on my hands as opposed to very little when running the business. Erichill Robert will certainly understand that, that part I don't miss!

Sorry, but.....eeuuww.

Mrs H has that scar. Surgeon wanted to do it higher where it would be hidden by the natural fold in her neck there, she was 'no way, my helmet strap will niggle on it - do it lower'! Surgeon non-plussed, lady motorcyclists didn't feature in his world. Turned out only half the thyroid was taken (pre-cancerous tumour) so the bit she still has works fine, thankfully. My music teacher was one of the few who were good at the old Grammar School, in fact very good, he instilled a love of music in me if not the skills to play anything very well. He gave up teaching to play piano for Cunard on the QEII, Keith Trewhitt. http://www.boyshighschool.co.uk/people/staff/trewhitt-k.htm

Evening. The overcast gloom retreated about 2.30, and so did mine, so an afternoon polishing bikes was had, and a few odd jobs they needed. The awkward one continues to do things to annoy me, this time all the bulbs blew, turned out because the battery lead had corroded through in an inaccessible place in the loom, there's no accurate voltage regulator, there is a zener diode but that is very crude and possibly dead pending testing, the excess otherwise just dumps into the battery.....except when it isn't there. Foomf. It did start easily though...progress!

Do they live in Darrington (W.Yorks) by any chance? A friend's neighbours house is just like that, all Scandie minimalist and everything white. Everything. Even the telly. It's hideous.