Gwiwer

22 minutes ago, TheQ said:

with just one set of traffic lights to deal with, there appears to be an out break of road works

Come west.  

The Cornish National Hole-Digging Championships are in full swing.  There are outbreaks of a red, yellow and green rash everywhere.  It has been diagnosed as a Cormac epidemic.  Cormac, lest you should be unaware, are the contractors often responsible though Wildanet are giving them a good run for their money.

Cormac, it is said, stands for Chaos On Roads Mostly Around Cornwall.  Wildnet are being told where to go by everyone they come into contact with; they were even served with some sort of notice by a person in a suit when the abruptly closed the only road access down the valley which quite a number of farms, private properties and holiday lets rely on.  Residents found themselves unable to get out one morning due to barriers and a trench being dug.  And a road closure notice covering the next ten days.  Someone somewhere has influence; they had access of sorts by the end of the first day after a Very Important Piece of Paper was delivered to the workers.  

In other news friend (single-parent) has noted that her son (aged 14 - just) scored some sort of Rite of Passage by getting into an over-18's party despite ID checks and bopping the night away.  Much as friend did herself in her day.  Like mother like son then.  

Thus endeth Cheeseday.  Two more days until Dr. SWMBO returns from what I gather has been a very successful and enjoyable trip to Cambridge.  She has got herself two more invitations to address conferences out of it - one of those being in South Africa!  

11 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

Oops, wrong thread!

 

And that is why I never delve into Dr. SWMBO's sewing box!  If I picked one out her reaction would be "Wrong Thread" 

On 13/05/2024 at 16:13, John M Upton said:

Well, supposedly the GN 387's in dealer stock white (yes, just change the fleet names for the third time!) are heading south at the end of the year when GN get the ex Stansted Express 379's which in turn is meant to send the errant GatEx red ones back to proper GatEx work.  I have to sign 387's by the end of the year I have been told.

Surely not for 15-minute headway GAtEx shuttles?  The pathways have been recycled for other services now.  In my opinion, that of many railway colleagues, but not of the Computer-Gazing Gentlemen in Suits who suggested there was adequate capacity the Brighton Line was over-used and requried thinning out slightly.  It probably requires a little more thinning now post-Covid.

This is from pre- and post-Covid observations of services passing Clapham Junction and frequent travel the length of the Brighton main line:

Southern services are often very full to overloaded including with airport passengers having luggage stacked the length of the gangways and obstructing doorways;

GatEx services are generally lightly used owing to the premium fares charged for airport journeys and the non-stop nature of the service although for airport users and authorities the latter point is highly desirable;

Thameslink services are generally lightly used south of Gatwick / Three Bridges;

There is a clear and very strong demand for Gatwick to / fro East Croydon and Clapham Junction largely for interchange purposes which the GatEx service does not meet;

Services on the Brighton main line are frequently delayed by congestion at numerous pinch-points and by dwell times at a handful of stations - Clapham, East Croydon and Gatwick. 

So to my (retired professional railwayman) mind - leaving aside all "railway politics" - the solution may lie somewhere in this:

Maintain the 30-minute fast services between Victoria - Gatwick - Brighton but with one per hour calling at Clapham Junction and the other at East Croydon;

Revert to the all-day half-hourly timetables towards Littlehampton and Eastbourne closing the remaining hourly gaps during the morning and afternoon;

Remove the Mid-Sussex stops from Littlehampton trains and accelerate them by at least 10 minutes (restoring the 1930s timings!); retain the Wivelsfield stops on Eastbourne services as no other service offers that direct link and they are travelling very slowly there anyway to negotiate Keymer Junction;

Withdrawn one-per-hour Thameslink service from the Brighton - Bedford and Brighton - Cambridge routes south of Gatwick Airport (or Three Bridges for operational reasons i.e. that's where the depot is)

Introduce a one-an-hour Southern service Brighton and all stations to Gatwick Airport then non - stop to Victoria partially covering the withdrawn Mid-Sussex stops on Littlehampton / Thameslink services and maintaining a non-stop Gatwick - Victoria service;

Remove all premium fares; all fares between Gatwick and London Terminals to be valid on all trains.  They are all run by one TOC after all.  At least for now.  

Most trains to be 12-car once stock is available.

The net effect is to reduce by one train per hour the service south of East Croydon easing congestion whilst maintaining capacity but increase it by one an hour from there to Victoria. 

1 hour ago, Siberian Snooper said:

I  can remember when the 405 ran from Horsham to Reigate, does it still do that? It was a LT Green Line service.

 

 

The 414 was the Horsham - Reigate bus.  That and the 405 used to link Horsham and Redhill then on to West Croydon.  The 414 ran via Dorking and the 405 via Crawley
 

The 405 hasn’t done that since around 1971

There is no trace of the 414 at all these days nor the 405 south of Redhill. The 405 runs between Croydon and Redhill as part of the TfL network and under agreement with Surrey County Council but via a different route; it no longer serves London Road through Croydon. 

You can still travel over closely-similar routes to the old 405/414 by changing buses in Dorking or Crawley, Redhill and Purley. 

4 hours ago, Hroth said:

my first sentence was verging on a Shipping Forecast report from coastal stations style..

Something Dr SWMBO has always found comforting. She often listens to the shipping forecast on her way to sleep. 
 

I use it for watch-keeping purposes these days. 
 

“Distant (Signal) West: West-south-west 4; 13; 998 steady; rain in past hour; misty or fine later; slight; moderate to good occasionally very poor.”

45 minutes ago, John M Upton said:

They won't be actually going to Gatwick though...

They carried GatEx branding all the way to Cambridge and still weren’t going to Gatwick. You would need the even-harder seats of a 700 to make that journey. 
 

Surely given that there are normally no dedicated “Gatwick Express” workings at all - the fast ones are Brighton services these days - it must be time to re-brand?  
 

It’s the dreaded p-word getting in the way again. Pottylicks. 

1 hour ago, PupCam said:

Anyway, it aint going to happen now ....

And that is what I shall say when I head off to bed in a moment.  And then the aurora alarm goes off.  It's looking possible on screen but it's not looking possible outside with cloud at 8/8.  

It's also dark so I wouldn't be able to see anything anyway 🤣

1 hour ago, PupCam said:

I have to say I struggled a bit when I was originally taught calculus as it was done in an entirely abstract and theoretical manner which meant very little to this Puppers because I just didn't see the point.

110%

I failed to see the point of most maths at that level but accepted the need to pass O-level if I was to make any academic progress beyond school and for almost any worthwhile career opening.  

Calculus caused me stress and headaches well beyond the level of "reasonable".  It didn't help that our high school maths teacher was a hot-tempered Welshman whose career was ended after he threw a pair of dividers across the room spearing a lad in the web of his thumb and pinning his hand to the desk.  

53 minutes ago, Hroth said:

Missed the AB on Friday as I didn't know it was a thing until Saturday morning, and Saturday was a no-show

I looked out on Friday at around 10.30 and again at 11 and saw only dark sky with the crescent moon. I went to bed. 
 

We face west. There isn’t a lot of light pollution and we have sight of the sea - sky horizon. 
 

No aurora. 
 

It gave a stunning display here to everyone except me. Gutted?  Yes I am.  How I missed that I don’t know. 
 

I went out last night as my Aurora alarm went off.  This time I went down to the Cape which gives clear line of sight to the horizon all round. After waiting from 10 until near midnight I thought I saw a hint of purple in the northern sky. The camera picked it up better than my eyes but here - just about - is what was showing 

10 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

13 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

It's held on by a suction cup that won't suck,

Here they all use double-sided tape, but Ive never found a brand that'll last a whole Sydney summer stuck to the windscreen.

Windscreen. 🤔

Obviously not the same double-sided tape that deputises for cups in an altogether different setting. 🤣🙊🙉🙈

Yes I do know about such things. More than one female friend in my history has asked for help in applying it 😮

Good moaning. Welcome to Sun Day. Currently living up to its name though we are threatened with sky-widdle later. 
 

Today’s mission is to the G***** C***** in an effort to replace the small things we planted last week. Those were gobbled up by ghastlypods within two days. The same ghastlypods who somehow evaded the defensive line of pellets ……… 🤬

10 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

Don’t think I’ll bother on a 20% chance

So I looked out of the window and saw only dark skies. No hint of aurora. 
 

Everyone else saw a magnificent display. 
 

1 hour ago, Coombe Barton said:

from https://meteologix.com/uk/aurora for today

 

 

 

 

Don’t think I’ll bother on a 20% chance. The nearest light-free location with a clear view north is only a couple of miles away at Botallack. The aurora was photographed there earlier this year. It’s been a long day and the car is tucked away in a tight spot. If I got it out I wouldn’t try getting back in after dark so it would have to go in the car park. Not that it’s far to walk but hey. 
 

I’ll have another muggercoffy and hit the hay. Tomorrow is also going to be a busy one. 

1 hour ago, Coombe Barton said:

Does the North Inn in Pendeen still do curry nights, do you know?

Yes they do. To very mixed reviews it must be said. 
 

We went last year. Never again. Neither of us enjoyed the meals. Some others rate them highly, some go elsewhere. 
 

Currently I have to say 1 - 2 weeks. 
 

Not within the control of any event manager but given the ongoing industrial disputes and the notice legally required to be given for such action I am unwilling to commit any funds - whether that be for admission, travel or accommodation, until I can be reasonably certain of actually getting there and back. 
 

Obtaining refunds is not always as easy nor as fuss-free as it should be. If I booked admission for an event which took place but I was unable to get there because of railway politics would the event refund me?  Not all would.
 

Similarly with accommodation which I am going to need if travelling for a day-long event more than a couple of hours from home. The cheapest deals are sometimes “non-refundable” but I am unwilling to pay more for the same product just in case I don’t get there. 
 

13 minutes ago, 4630 said:

I think I’d prefer not to get close enough to any snake to be able to tell if the eyes are round or oval. 

I had an adder crawl across my bare legs one time. 
 

I was relaxing on a rocky clifftop enjoying sun above, sea and surf below and idling my life away when I felt something crawling onto my leg. 
 

Thinking it might be an insect of some sort I glanced lazily down and to my great surprise there was an adder making its way across me. 
 

I think I was more concerned about wearing shorts than being bitten though it wasn’t anywhere near the vitals. I had the presence of mind to stay calm and it slithered on its way quite unconcerned. 
 

In all my 17 years in Australia I only ever saw two snakes. Both Brown Snakes and both snaking lazily across roads on hot sunny days. I was in the car on both occasions so wasn’t at all bothered. And they were not bothered by me because I was able to stop and let them go on their way. 

7 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

we arent the ONLY country with  lame obvious names - Brown snake, Blue Ringed Octopus  - Great Sandy Desert, etc!)

Mount Disappointment

Egg & Bacon Bay

Iron Kn0b

Kangaroo Flat

Emu Plains 

……. and many more 

4 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

 

Yeah don't tell @Gwiwer but Melbourne would be the city  to pick to live in  if one  wanted to move here. Sydney has the harbour and is the better place for a tourist visit, but Melbourne has a better feel to it, its hard to put into words but it feels comfortable whenever I go down there.

 

Plus it is the home of AFL, the best sport in the world.

 

And it also has penguins.

I have nothing against Melbourne 🤣

It was home for 17 years and a lot of those were good years. 
 

It is the most-European of Aussie cities in terms of vibe, familiarity and culture. And in terms of acceptance and welcome to those choosing to live there no matter where they have come from. 
 

My thoughts on some aspects of Aussie culture have been written before. Hard-working, hard-playing, hard-drinking and sometimes hard-fighting. You would get at least some of those in many nations of the world. 
 

But by “hard-working” I mean not necessarily sweating all hours for a pittance though some careers can be just that. Mostly in rural agriculture though. I always maintained that compared with the UK I was expected to work half as hard for twice the money. 
 

The spirit of mateship is a bit different to anywhere else. The willingness - the desire even - to volunteer for some pretty unforgiving tasks is endemic. Such as bush firefighting. 
 

Australia is brash. It’s loud. It’s quite in-your-face at times. And it can be deserted, silent, awesome, dangerous and unforgiving. At times. In some places. 
 

I felt mostly safe around Melbourne in a way I didn’t in Sydney nor Brisbane. Adelaide was ok. Bush towns, even those quite close to Melbourne, can be altogether different. Don’t wear rainbows or express a sexuality other than straight male or female. There were (and might still be) pubs where women are not admitted or only to a designated lounge. There are too many men whose attitude to women is that a “sheila” is only fit for the kitchen and - upon demand - the bedroom. It is their job to cook, clean, serve the men cold beers and keep quiet. I cannot support that level of disrespect. 
 

I didn’t find much of that in the city and suburbs. Only among country folk who might be “in town” for occasional business. 
 

But on the whole Melbourne people are warm, welcoming and openly friendly. Many Aussies are. But I found the traits more overtly displayed through Melbourne. 
 

I am happy to have retained a number of good friendships from those years. Almost all of them Melbourne people. And I am respectfully honoured to this day to have been welcomed to country by Boonwurrung and other Kulin Nation elders.  

Happy Thursday all. 
 

The day after Flora Day when those still in Helston will not be early risers and when those of us who made it home still woke with tired legs from having been standing on them all of yesterday. 
 

Today is porch-painting day. The Leyland's is out. The brushes are wielded and all the woodwork in and out will look shinier and newer by sunset. 
 

A perfect day for glossing, really, as it’s dry, breezy, low humidity and around 14C. 
 

Tomorrow I’ll check for stray paint but having cut in around all the windows without a problem so far I’m hoping the clean-up will not be needed. 
 

3 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

what industrial bread has in spades, which is absent in homemade breads and found only in trace amounts in artisanal bread are additives

Yes.

What is "Flour improver" as just one example?  And does it make you emit gas in the way guar gum - another food additive - does.  

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

The problem was that it had been dead for quite some time and the corpse disintegrated when the disposal guy picked it up. As for burying it the garden is too small and have you ever tried digging a hole deep enough in Essex clay?

Or in Cornish granite?  

If Reynard was indeed in an advanced state of decomposition then it does make bagging more difficult but yes they can be double- or triple-bagged and dropped into the wheelie bin.  Who would know?  

6 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Where's that &@£€$#% GROAN button when you need it?

Same place it always is.