Oldddudders

I suggest a good look at what happens here. 

Goodbye Jungle Telegraph - Brian Auger

29 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

Nice!  I have a Thorens

I bought a Thorens TD150AB in 1968. Served me well, but I always longed for a better tone-arm. The SME3009 was the choice for those who could afford it, with a Shure V15/2 cartridge. I offer no evidence I would have noticed the difference in output!

A gay friend used to do a stand-up comedian routine at a pub on the Marston Vale. This went well until the night he announced "Tonight there is a birthday behind the bar", whereupon the two bar staff looked at each other and shook their heads. "One of the pork pies is 5 years old today!" And that was that for his booking.....

In the late '60s, early '70s, I would drink in the Sussex Oak at Warnham, but only if taken by a mate in his car, of whom there were two such. I had no taste for bitter at that stage, but it was evident that the brewery, Brickwoods, had a penchant for variable quality, from things the mates said. Don Cooper, the landlord, certainly knew what he was doing in the cellar, they said. Brickwoods were taken over by Whitbread, and, anecdotally, introduced all sorts of demon tech devices - like thermometers. While the Brickwoods product was now called Whitbread Trophy, it became absolutely predictable, I was told. 

Do I recall an article in Trains mag something over 20 years ago, in which they pictured a 160, I think on the K&WVR, captioned "Alco? Baldwin? Lima? Yes!" or something like that. They had found the loco to include parts from all three builders. Inevitably each builder will have used his own techniques and methods of construction, outside-supplier parts etc. so the locos will have had detail differences for that reason alone. 

This morning, and for the next three mornings, I am required by my Rheumatologist to drink 5 glasses of water, over and above my usual fluid intake. Tuesday, late morning, Nurse Corinne will attend chez moi to give me my annual infusion of Zoladronic acid, which takes about 20 minutes.

My drink of choice these days is Chardonnay, whether in France or the UK. The bitter that I enjoyed for decades, as did late first wife Deb, now seems to go down more slowly than before. Being 75 does have its downsides!

1 minute ago, Hroth said:

 

Her brother must have been friends with Terry Scotts brother....

 

"'Ere - what 'ave you 'ad in your 'and? 'Ave you really? Urrgh!"

Desert Dream - Tangerine Dream

3 minutes ago, Hroth said:

Only in the equivalent of a tupperware* box please!  Wouldn't want the sockiness to spread to edible items...

Indistinguishable from certain cheeses, however....

1 minute ago, skipepsi said:

Er NO!

Now come on Mick - is there something you have been frightened to tell us?

14 minutes ago, polybear said:

Bear keeps his commercial quality Bread in the fridge

Unusual. A few decades ago, I recall a London Underground car-card ad campaign by a firm offering office air-con kit. They had a cartoon character called Mr Cool or similar. One of his lines was "I keep my socks in the fridge!" Perhaps we should have a fridge-content confessional on here?

Some more Bulleids would be nice, and Dia 2406 in particular. There were 3 times as many 2406s as 2405s, which they have already tooled. And each had a quite separate purpose, 2406s being "loose" vehicles, while 2405s were formed into two-sets 63-75 with a BTK, Dia 2123. These vehicles were predominately used on WoE services, both local and to Waterloo. 

ISTR Scotland/Scotrail mandated retention toilets some time back. 

10 minutes ago, DenysW said:

Tesco. Along with Tavel rose.

 

The shame is that the Brits seem to reject demi-sec, which generally has a better flavour.

Couldn't find it on Tesco online store. Brut v demi-sec is entirely a matter of taste. But on the odd occasion I bought demi-sec in error it was a matter for regret, so I am a true Brit.

In my mother's youth there was a joke about the impossibility of abolishing the Second Chamber (i.e. House of Lords) because of the number of Liberal peers.....

4 minutes ago, Mike_Walker said:

Since the pandemic and the cancelling of all the franchise agreements and their replacement by management contracts, the operators are paid directly by the government in the form of their costs plus margin which is a puny 2%.  Which is why it's proving almost impossible to attract bidders when contracts come up for renewal.  Would you want to run a business for such tiny return?

No doubt this gloomy environment is affecting all the TOCs. I became aware a few weeks back (from a member of  XC traincrew at Plymouth) that my former colleague Tom Joyner had quit as XC MD. When people like him - as former traincrew - jump ship it's probably holed below the waterline. 

A late friend feigned never to recall pub names, and would always identify such as "The Old Boot & Socks". Imagine his delight when he found a wine-bar near London Bridge called "The Boot & Flogger". 

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

I normally drink Prosecco rather than Champagne but if someone presents me with a bottle of the latter it seems churlish not to get stuck in.

Sound thinking. Prosecco tends to be a bit less alcoholic than champoo, typically 10.5% rather than 12.5%, and is certainly more affordable. I buy sparkling Saumur, costing about £3.60 in my local Lidl, which is made by the same methode traditionelle as champoo, and has the same % alcohol. I think it has more depth to the taste than Prosecco. I have never seen sparkling Saumur on sale in UK supermarkets. 

30 minutes ago, Steadfast said:

Talking with a friend we reckon Newey is Aston bound, and possibly what has kept Fernando there for the future? It's known Daddy Stroll made Adrian a big bucks offer at one of the earlier rounds.

I suspect money is not the big draw for someone with such a history of success and thus £ reward. He will be more influenced by the best offer of facilities and investment in the ultra-high-tech kit needed to succeed. We know, for example, that Williams has been under-investing for years, may now be catching up. He would be unlikely to choose such a team, despite his scope to take them further up the grid. 

On 19/04/2024 at 22:14, GrumpyPenguin said:

Nobody does "ugly" like the North Americans !

Google "Coffin feedwater heater" images. 

I have a little knowledge of horses and can say that as herd animals they react to each others' moods, hence mass-panic here, and as flight animals they run from the unknown if feeling threatened. That they ran into vehicles and damaged themselves is no surprise, as they really aren't very bright - my 6-month ownership of a donkey revealed he had twice their intelligence - so all the stuff they had already learned about traffic, streets and vehicles simply had no bearing on their behaviour. I hope their scars, mental and physical, can be healed soonest, but the former will take longer, I am sure.

4 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

I visited Basildon hospital on Friday for a test. Basildon hospital is enormous but being built on a narrow site the buildings are long and narrow. I had an appointment at the Urology department and the (verbal) instructions to find it were complex. I got as far as the correct floor but couldn't remember whether it was turn right or left when leaving the lift. So I asked a hospital porter and he said he was going there so I just followed him. He told me to take a seat outside an anonymous door until I was called in. There was a lady also waiting there who was called in and she came out just before the time of my appointment at three and I was left sitting there on my own. After about twenty minutes as I hadn't been called in I knocked on the door and  I was asked to come in. I said I had an appointment for three but the lady who was in there said she had no more appointments so she asked to see my appointment letter. Then it became clear, I'd been sent to the pneumology department. Fortunately I was on the right floor but at the wrong end of the hospital, the department I wanted, urology was about a quarter of a mile away. I eventually got there half an hour late but they weren't to worried about it but the patient who would have been after me went before me.

I bet you were pi**ed off.....

Actually, this is sad. I am no Red Bull fan, and their domination doesn't do anything for me or the sport, but they are what they are, very good at C21 F1. Newey is that peerless human - a gifted creative with supreme tech capabilities. He thrives, like many other creative people, in an environment that is tranquil, stable, single-minded. If, as we are told, Horner's unwise woman-management skills have burst the bubble, I see that as sad. Whether the power struggle is really the root cause of all this, including the claims of the indignant lady employee, we may never know, but it does the sport no favours. 

I've always liked the idea of German bingo - acht und achtzig, zwei dicke damen!