alastairq

I last had flu back when the country was being ravaged by Mexican [or, swine?] flu. The NHS [public health?] had instituted a system whereby one rang a number, and a course of Tamiflu was inserted into one's letterbox. I tried the Tamiflu, as directed....and got appreciably 'worse'.... I also contacted [out of hours, offline, so to speak] my GP, who rang 2 days later [from his home, it was Christmas]...and told me to stop taking the Tamiflu at once! The result was an almost 100% improvement in my symptoms....I still had the Mex flu, but felt a lot more able to cope [living as a singly.]... Conclusion was, my good self didn't get on with Tamiflu. I haven't had any sort of flu since... But I do have a bit of reluctance when it comes to these drugs..

Hell, no???

The '60's Mazzers were indeed beautiful things..... Far more so than today's megawatties?

Well, I thought it was! But, as you suggest, I'll ''move on''..........

Really? Maybe it's time to cease all these non-railway modelling threads altogether? Or, is this actually a community? A community where humour and levity can co-exist alongside the sensitivities of others? For without humour and levity, we are all in danger of diving down the well of deep dark depression! Especially given some of the topics??

Been there, had that! Still nothing whatsoever to do with the thoughts behind my original post, however!

BLIMEY! I'm referring to murder, not abuse!!! If a topic cannot withstand even mild humour anyway, then we are a really sad place altogether. Abuse is something entirely different, and if one is not going to dramatise {IE, make light of?} abuse, then 99% of the detective murder dramas on telly should be removed!! I never mentioned abuse at all. I never inferred abuse at all! But I'm beginning to get the impression this entire forum is becoming far too sensitive even for my eclectic tastes!!! [Plus, it is not a forum I would miss, if, even, mildly humorous thoughts get jumped upon, by someone somewhere who might find even model railways to be offensive?!! Especially for what railways have represented historically?]

Or....that might mean, that women are better at getting away with it than men????

I wonder whether more wives murder their husbands, than vice versa?

I used to as a Civil Servant...{really a bit of a title, rather than a job description]. Our local management, some years ago now, I've been retired that long.....decided they would try to include the Queen's Official Birthday 'day orff'...as part of our 'leave' entitlement. All went well for the management, until the 'powers-that-were' politely told the management they were in fact, insulting the Crown...which was a bit of a flummox for the management, seeing as they were mostly military personnel [Colonels and stuffs]...Apparently the day orff wasn't a 'holiday' for leave purposes, but a 'present' from the Queen to her loyal servants [The Civil Service]....to say 'thank you'.... I met her once, in person, and totally 'unofficially'...when she happend to 'visit' our Establishment when being flown back 'home' from an 'Official visit' , somewhere 'locally'...She got out of her car to talk to some military personnel standing nearby, and I happened to have my small son in arms, and she came over and started chatting, to myself and one or two of my colleagues....very natural, very pleasant person indeed...This was a non-public thing too....no ropes or barriers either....My son, aged nearly 4 , had been to 'work' with Daddy , on that day....and his Uncle as well [when Dad was off doing his workie things], a conflict of parental care occuring at home...[The Civil Service prided itself on providing creche facilities at all establishments......Ours was in 'name' only]........All purely by chance, as we had very little notice that Her Majesty was flying orff from our RAF spot..[we had an RAF ASR flight on site]...in a Queen's Flight hellycopflop [as my son called them at the time] The whole event made absolutely no impression on my son whatsoever...... Mind, i was the sort of 'civilian' who had a habit of calling colonels and things, 'chum'.....and they couldn't complain, either....ranks and things meaning nought in my mind...they were all bods, like my colleagues, all there to do a job using our skills....Respect was an 'earned' thing....Many military 'managers' dreaded having a mixed workforce to manage, as managing civilians was a bit like herding cats to them.....But I cannot recall one who didn't go away with a whole new outlook on life afterwards....we had a habit of 'civilianizing' them...[to quote one departing Commandant] Best 20 years of my working life, that job was. Despite the rubbish pay!

I think there's a bit of a preconceived idea of what 'living in the countryside' actually means? Where I live, we do get snow, now & again...but it's no worse than living in a town, as far as impact goes. In fact, if we get sufficient snow to make movement difficult, it becomes a 'notable event'. An old chum, similarly lives in a small [off the beaten track-type] village, and has known more snow issues than I have [yet they live but 12 miles away]....my village have a major [B road] route passing by....He has always had what might be described as a typical agricultural 4x4 or two to use in those circumstances....but has discovered, an ordinary hatchback with steel wheels and winter tyres, does the job just as well, an is easier on the pocket...and nicer to park in the local towns too. [He had a fit when he discovered exactly how much his old Series 1 Landrover was actually worth on the open market....when he thought how many times he'd been into one town or another, and simply parked it, unlocked [pointless exercise], wherever he could. Now he's almost frightened to use it!!] One other advantage of living 'out of town' in a more rural community is that, one seems to have a greater choice of local towns when it comes to using facilities? I have found, if I go to one town, I can access Lidls and Tesco, doctors, etc....and if I go in the opposite direction I can access Sainsbury's and Aldi, as well as my dentist....Going in a third direction I can access bigger stores, etc....The fact that one town may be 6 miles away, another 12 miles away, really doesn't make much difference in the greater scheme of things....Possibly because, to get to these towns, I only have to pass through one or two small villages? Maybe I'm ''lucky'' in where I am located? ButI have always lived 'rurally' since the 1970's...and found that by doing so, I actually give myself greater choices. Whereas, living in a town, one can become more internally focussed as far as facilities are concerned, with what exists within that town?

The trouble is, it takes a lot of effort to actually realise their value. Especially at a time when many feel inclined to de-clutter their lives?

Absolutely! It will continue to do so, for many years to come. However, I shall be happy to limit its usage once people stop flying around. Or China agrees to stop burning coal? But then, at over 70 years old, I guess my car's 'carbon footprint' has long since been consigned to history?

Humans.....possibly the numerically- largest consumer of sprouts?

Then you've never had to chugg along a narrow lane behind a so-called peleton of these things, huffing & puffing & farting their way through the once peaceful countryside? Besides, as far as the UK is concerned, the economic [financial] cost of taxing our beef, far outweighs the financial cost of any saving of the environment. In other words, the results would be negligible.

They're discussing putting a tax on beef. I think they'd be better off tackling climate change by putting a tax on brussels sprouts?

I agree with Zomboid's observations, to an extent. However, I also feel that 'stress' has a part to play in health issues. I don't mean 'stress' in the usual sense, but the 'stress' of life & living where one is, at that moment? I live rurally, in a small village with no immediate services...no bus [mile & a half walk to nearest, infrequent, bus route]..yet there are folk living locally, elderly, without personal transport, who manage quite well, for services. By 'getting away' from the hubbub of today's society doesn't mean moving somewhere far far away, isolated from everything. It can also mean, simply moving away to the nearest bit of coutnryside. If I were to suffer a health episode, the responses from the services would be little, if any, different to those if I were to live in a town, or on the edge of a large city. Yet, I live at least 6 miles from the nearest 'town ' and all it contains. Much of this country's rural environment is within fairly easy access to necessary [health] services...no worse than the smaller towns in that respect, now that we have entered an era of centralisation. Transport of the personal kind has improved by leaps & bounds over the years, albeit at a cost. I'm talking about transport of the 'taxi' variety....Yes, costly, but the expense may not often be needed. Cars still cost, one way or another, even if not used frequently? Plus, there won't be many rural communities that haven't indulged in the self-help services, openly encouraged by local authorities? I suppose the point I am making is that there aren't many places in this country where one can live, far from the madding crowd, yet still be ''just round the corner?''

That's the trouble with the travelling public......no sense of humour!!

Rather, maybe...post photos with false number plates...that'll really confuse the cloners?

My position is quite different from most of the above. After 3 divorces [not all at the same time!!]....and a sorting of others financial difficulties [I'm not affeared of financial difficulty...any more]....I find myself no longer a property 'owner', but in the private rental sphere. So, income-wise, my somewhat sparse pensions have to cover a significant rent cost. I didn't have to give up work [from my last job]. Indeed, even from a health perspective, I could have kept on turning up, and drawing a salary, for a good 10 or more years after I actually ceased work. Indeed there were some of my 'colleagues' who were well into their late 70's! [Recruitment is, & was, a constant difficulty, with stringent pre-conditions being applied to the 'job' that made things awkward in that respect.] However, there came a time when I really knew I wanted to leave the workplace environment. { I strongly believe there are three stages to life....school, work, and so-called 'retirement'....and in my experience, no stage has any particular relevance to any other stage! ] It helps when one reaches the third stage, to have already had good practice at reverting to one's childhood....Second or third childhoods are beneficial! But, there was a definite feeling of having 'had enough'.... I know of colleagues who planned their 'futures' by having 'targets'....[ie, when I get to 25 years , or such & such an age, etc] The discovery that pensions don't suddenly 'jump' when one reaches 20, or 30 years of contribution....so actually calling it a 'day and leaving at 19 years 8 months doesn't make diddly-squat difference to one's monthly income!! It was a case [on my part] of deciding what I did need, and what I no longer needed. So for me, so-called 'retirement' became, in my mind's eye, the third stage of life....where the pressures imposed by society concerning 'work', and 'contribution,' could be disposed of completely. There came a time when I sat down and said, ''why not?'' So, I left work, and the working environment, behind me. To the extent I'm not sure I could even survive very long in a new working environment?? As soon as DVLA asked me to go for a medical for my vocational licenses, I took the step of returning them......I viewed it as taking away the 'temptation'. I can still get them back...and, given the last 20 years of employment, no driving test in this country holds any fears for me ......but, thus far, I've not been tempted. I spend my days, playing around with my stuff, be that model railways, or my old cars [of which I have several]... Living alone [a choice, not an outcome]...there are domestic duties I need to perform....I have my family, present & past...who manage to require my attentions on a regular basis, and I have good relationships with all my Ex's... Covid and it's attendant changes held little or nothing in the way of problems for me [I have never been infected].... Yup, I watch the pennies, acutely.....so I cannot do stuff merely on a whim, if it involves a cost....which really doesn't bother me at all. The house I rent has all that I need, for the moment. [Here's hoping the landlord doesn't want to try to raise the rent, etc?}...garden, plenty of drive space for my projects, a rural environment, workshop, etc....all of which I know I would have struggled with if I had still been in the property-owning market.... Neighbours who provide entertainment rather than issues...... In other words, rather than being labelled as 'retired', I'm sure psychologists would label me as a 'drop-out' from society...and all its superficialities. I'm warm of a winter's night [log fire, free from a friendly tree surgeon, who I helped out a while back]...I eat well enough , without any need for 'fancy' foods...I get my clothes from a good workplace attire spot, so they last [better than Matalan!!]....since I really do not care how I appear in the eyes of others. All this amounts to, is a rejection of what was 'expected' by the rest of society at large, of someone like me. have transport [even if some of it is over 70 years old, and without a heater!] I don't feel the need to seek out groups of others....to adapt my behaviors to comply with an accepted 'norm'...... So maybe I'm anti social at heart? Who knows! My son must get his Asperger's [autism] from somewhere. Maybe partly from me? I must admit to adjusting what I do now, to suit an aching body, even more so these days.....I'm not one for deliberately going off walking or riding....Chopping logs, and getting from one end of the garden to the other many times a day does that for me, I suspect? Also, shunning the advantages of living within a vast housing estate, or a big conurbation, means I have no real desires to hurtle off ''somewhere else'' just for a 'change'...a 'break?' Indeed, I have no real desires to go and enjoy someone else's part of the world!! Indeed, if I ever found myself wanting to be somewhere else all the time, I would go & live there! So I have little advice regarding ''retirement' other than, if one hasn't acquired the frame of mind to leave the present 'world' behind, then carry on working. If one has to seriously look for 'something to do' then now is not the time to retire! Swapping one workplace for another isn't 'retiremetn' in my view.

Happy Halloween, as they say....[elsewhere?] The other of my Not-My-Cats, who comes visiting on a daily basis [several times a day], and is currently ensconced behind my settee, as its wet n windy outside, and he's had a drop of milk.... One of the two next-door's garage cats, again a a feral from Cat's Protection....[note sliced ear-top?] He's quite averse to being touched, but is getting used to me......very jumpy, like a lot of ferals.....and co-feral to the tortoiseshell & white lady I posted further up....Just under a year old I think?

2nd car I ever owned was a Traveller. (948 cc's of pulsating power....]

In the end, it's their kids' loss!

I mentioned nothing about the lower levels of pay [IE, low pay?] However, if one posts multiple observations, then expect some so-called 'cherry picking' to be conducted! It's why, when one hilites sections of another's post, the first thing that pops up is the 'quote' box! I was concerned that there is a good deal of misconception about how 'good' the Civil Service pensions are. The claim that civil service pensions are 'non-contributory' is misleading as well. OK, compared to a private sector job, where one pays a 'pension contribution', that may be so. But the Civil Service extracts the contributions in other ways. There are several compulsory contributions not exactly labelled ''for the pension'', but in effect, are so. Performance-wise, the Civil Service pensions are not in any way the best, by a long chalk. [Although over the past decade there has been considerable flux in conditions, with differing pension rules] To obtain a decent pension income, a Civil Servant has to purchase additional pension credits. Which is fine if one's pay grade and income can benefit from it. But when on a basic, or mid-grade salary, then a few percent of not a lot isn't very much! From personal experience, I have a civil service pension....for 20 years service. Percentage-wise, my private company pension from my days as a bus driver, performs infinitely better, for less than a third of the contributory years. The State pension trumps them all for performance, however. As do Armed Forces pensions, Fire Service pensions, etc.

I suspect the NHS are aware of the possibility of lateral flow test unreliability...They've sent me a home-brewed PCR test as well, to send in alongside a lateral flow test, to assess reliability...What a boogah, now I'll have to walk down to the village postbox, thereby increasing my chances of possibly contracting covid? The road only has one pavement as well!