sixoh8sixoh

The purchase is agreed "subject to searches" etc. Under the Scottish system now we have compulsory home reports as part of the seller's responsibility. The formal offer was made through the solicitors, so it's being handled in the normal way - the unusual bit was that despite it being on the Scottish sealed bids "offers over / in the region of / in excess of" system, they are keen to sell as quickly as possible so have effectively closed the offers with GF's offer. Most unusual.

Happy birthday John! Morning all from sunny Scottish HQ. You know that long-winded homebuying process? GF got her decision in principle on a mortgage on Thursday, saw a flat on Saturday, put an informal offer in, followed by a formal offer yesterday, which was accepted by noon yesterday! (The handover date is looking like being towards the end of October). We went round again last night to take some measurements. There's a lot of work needed to get it into "home" condition - it's liveable but needs a lot of renovation/prettification. Some of the work is beyond me, but I can see a number of my Saturdays over the coming year being taken up with me looking like Bob the Builder...

Both of those sound interesting! There are a number of Yeadon's LNER register hardcovers in the discount bookshop across the road from work - Raven/Thompson/Peppercorn Pacifics, K1/K2, K3/K4, A4, a couple of J class books and (I think) P class. They're at £9.95 each and I'm trying to decide whether to pick up a couple of them... Having just been in that shop at lunchtime today, I turned a corner in the shopping centre and nearly walked headlong into Billy Connolly who was coming round the corner from the other direction!

You should have labelled the box it was in... My father was a pharmacist and he had a set of these drawers in the shop. When he retired, the shop was closed (the business moved into the new pharmacy space co-located with the new surgery) and the drawers were removed (to storage in our empty old house's hall) for about 5 years. Dad sold them at auction in 2013 - https://www.andersonandgarland.com/30785/A-Victorian-mahogany-flight-of-drawers-from-a-chemists-shop-twenty-square-shaped-drawers-in-the-top-two-tiers-and-sixteen-larger-rectangular-drawers-in-the-lower-tier-all-with-patterned-labels-a?ipp=All&keyword=drawer&view=lot_detail

Morning all from a dry and bright(ish) Scottish HQ. I have to make it through a 5 day week this week, but after that I'm off for a week to top up the Vitamin D levels. Disappointingly I'll miss the end of Festival fireworks a week today, but I think I can live with that for one year... Saturday involved a lot of back and forth from one side of Edinburgh to the other, as GF was flat hunting and (of course) the flats she wanted to see had viewings spread out across the day at opposite sides of the city. Not her fault, but time-consuming! Haven't caught up since Friday's posts so hope all are well (or as well as can be expected!).

Thanks Andy - 8K run done at lunchtime (though I had to do a couple of little walking sections). Skipped lunch as I had to go straight into a meeting following the run (and a shower) but then had cake...

Jamie - thanks, that's kind of you! Would be interesting to see how someone else has set up something similar.

No, my details weren't published!

Morning all from the Marie Celeste Scottish HQ. Our team actually appears to be the only one in the room with more than a token attendance. Thanks all for the suggestions yesterday on the database / spreadsheet question. Jock - thanks for the link to that software. I had a look, but it seems to be Windows-exclusive and my home machines are Macs (I do have to use Windows at work so I'm "bilingual") so that one won't suit me. Looks like I should just spend a bit of time making my spreadsheets look nicer then! Maybe even try to work out how to do pivot tables... Not much chance of a POETS day here as one of my colleagues is leaving and her leaving drinks are in the diary for 5-7 tonight... I think I'll try to go for a lunchtime run though as my training has been sorely lacking this week.

Just a thought and a request for advice... I mentioned last week about trying to sort out my locos list etc. I'm currently using an excel spreadsheet I made myself to store loco information (the fact that I need a spreadsheet probably means I own far too many locos) but think there must be a better (not to mention nicer looking) way of doing things. Does anyone have any better way of maintaining a loco database? I've heard mention of rosters and things like that (probably in relation to DCC operation) but wondered if anyone on ERs had any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Morning all from sunny but also partly cloudy Scottish HQ. Early start again this morning, but hoping to get away early as well. Leaving lunch today for one of the team, and amazingly the whole team is together for the first time in several months today. Edinburgh is extremely busy at the moment with the Festival and the Fringe going on - even walking into work this morning at 7.30 the streets were busy, shops are open earlier and stay open later too. The only downside is that it takes longer to get anywhere! At least the new tram system is bedding in well (I'm sure Dom would be interested in our new trams!). I've flown from Edinburgh to London City (and back) in an Embraer a few years ago. Good fun, and I enjoyed landing at LCY. I'd love to see Boris's Estuary Island airport... Have a good day all!

Morning all... I seem to have been a page behind all day. Just caught up. Been a busy one here at Scottish HQ. I arrived before 8 and I'm just about to leave now. Good for the flexi credit anyway... Looks like it's attempting to drizzle just now which has put me off going for a run. In the words of the Littlest Hobo, maybe tomorrow...

Yes - you should BoD. I discussed business use with my insurers a while back, and they explained that if you're doing a small number of business miles a year your premium is lower but I forget why! Anyway, morning all from an overcast Scottish HQ. I hope you all enjoyed Summer yesterday. I spent a chunk of last night trying to finalise my accounts for the Lodge (for my sins I'm Treasurer). I think I've got almost everything right but I've got a £5 discrepancy between the income/expenditure sheet and the assets/liabilities sheet. Blowed if I can find it. Tough, the auditors can try to find it! Apart from a hiatus last year, I've been around for the duration of this edition of Early Risers (my first post is on page 2, post number 43 - just above Ddolfelin's tomb), and was there in the previous version. One day I might post something of significance!

I was waiting... Happy hundred thousand everyone! Had to go and collect the gf from the airport. Numpty Night on the roads... Made it back in one piece though, thankfully.

I've got a hire car booked in Barcelona in a couple of weeks' time. We've opted for the "FIAT 500 size" option. However, given we're collecting it in Barcelona, it may be a SEAT rather than a FIAT! It has to get us up from Barcelona to Carcassonne and back, via Andorra. Could be an interesting journey!

Morning all from Scottish HQ. Got a few of the jobs done that I intended to over the weekend, but had more jobs than time, as usual... Should have stayed in bed on Saturday morning. Decided to go for my usual Parkrun - but instead of driving down I'd take the bike the 5 (turned out to be 6, but that's another story) miles to the start. Got the bike down the 4 flights of stairs and on getting it out of the front door of the stair, banged the pedal off an existing scab on my shin (from LEGOLAND - climbing out of a boat). Blood pouring out of that, I thought "should I get a plaster?" but thought, no, I'll tough it out. Started cycling. After about a mile, I thought "this feels awfully hard work, wonder if my tyres are fully inflated". Slowed down to look. Stopped. Couldn't detach feet from pedals. Fell over sideways, scraping knee (more blood), elbow and wrenching thumb. Then cycled the remaining 5 miles into a headwind, making the start with 2 seconds to spare. Must have looked a right sight, knee and shin bleeding, mud on my shoulder and side... The only positive is that I had a tailwind going home! Was at a couple of Fringe shows with Jamie yesterday - the author of the Gruffalo, Julia Donaldson was doing a show, and also went to see Little Red Riding Hood. Jamie preferred the first, but I wonder if they were both just a little bit too young for her. Back to the drudge now, at least it's less than 2 weeks now till I have another week off... Haven't caught up on all the weekend's posts, so hope all are well!

Morning all (from a drizzly Scottish HQ)! I've been enjoying Mike's pictures from Patricia. No pictures posted from my travels last week yet but if I get time to resize some I'll post tonight or tomorrow. Girlfriend is away this weekend on family business so I'm home alone for 3 nights, and have Saturday to myself. I'm planning to tidy the flat a bit (you can barely move in my lounge) and go to the Parkrun tomorrow morning. The forecast is looking good for a 5k tomorrow morning, and I need to prepare more as I'm taking part in the Great North Run in a month's time. I did it in 2012 (some of you were kind enough to sponsor me, and I'm grateful!) and it took me an hour to cross the start line from the gun going off. Mo Farah is defending last year's win - he did the course in 1 hour and 1 second last year, so on that basis he'll be finishing as I cross the start line! My mind was meandering this morning, and it occurred to me that while Glaswegians will batter and deep fry pretty much anything (Mars bars, sausages, pizzas...) I've never seen deep fried bacon. I wonder why. I'm not recommending anyone tries it, probably a heart attack on a plate... I need to update my rolling stock / loco list - so while I'm tidying I'll make notes for that. The locos list is mostly there, though some need chipping and others need inputting onto the list. The carriages list, though, is woefully incomplete. I like to keep a check on what I've got and at the moment I haven't a clue... Hoping for a POETS day too...

Morning all from Scottish HQ! (just!) Sunny morning here, hopefully will stay that way. My Dad reported that over three nights he observed several satellites, but only a couple of brief flashes of meteors. I've not been out in the dark the last couple of nights so no sightings in Edinburgh. Hoping to head out on the (push)bikes tonight with a bottle of wine and some baguettes and brie. Have a nice picnic along at Musselburgh. Last night we went for a little walk and tried the new Pimm's cider cup at my favourite local. Unfortunately it's not as nice as it sounds (I could drink it but GF wasn't impressed as it has a hint of cucumber in it). Have a good day, all!

Afternoon all! Prolonged absence due to holiday with Jamie and then a busy first couple of days back at work. We went down to London last Monday, spent two nights down there, staying in Earl's Court, then two nights in Windsor. Visits included: the Harry Potter studio tour, Natural History Museum, Hyde Park and the Serpentine, Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre, Windsor Castle and LEGOLAND Windsor. I think we each had a grand total of 2 car journeys, 9 rail journeys, 11 London Underground journeys, 4 bus journeys, plus 1 trip on the train around LEGOLAND, rollercoasters, boats, and a walk through of the Mk1 carriage behind Olton Hall (Hogwarts Castle) in the Harry Potter experience. Jamie was returned safely to her Mum on Friday night and her first words to her Mum weren't "Hi Mum!" or "I've missed you Mum!". Nope. "Can I go play with Hannah?" (her best friend across the road). I can't imagine Jamie's mum being terribly pleased with that... Saturday saw me up at Pittenweem in Fife for the Arts Festival where the small fishing village is turned into one giant arts venue, with displays in people's front rooms, garages and just about any other space you can imagine. I then made it up to the St Andrews Model Rail exhibition for an hour or so and got to see my Royal Scotsman rake running on Mark Darragh's Rannoch Moor layout ( video here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/1970-rannoch-moor/?p=1979114 ). Sunday involved Jamie's second 2K run, which she did in 12 mins 11 secs. I think she was disappointed not to beat 12 minutes but improved by 14 seconds on her previous time. Much faster and I'll not be able to keep up with her... Then painting of a plate for grandma's birthday. I'm sure my mum will be delighted with a plate in what looks like is going to be neon orange and emerald green once fired... Haven't had time to catch up with the posts, but good to see that Flavio's on the (slow) mend after the op. Congratulations and commiserations as always to everyone else!

Mark, great to see you at St Andrews yesterday - hope you and the layout have a good second day. Thanks for letting me run the coaches on the layout. With apologies for the dodgy camera work, here's the (shortened - 6 coach) rake. The layout is great and shows you don't need a huge space to pack in a lot of detail - even down to the bunk beds in the hostel part of the station building. I need to add thanks to Andi Walshaw for all of the work on the carriages and Brian at Shawplan for the etched balcony and crest on the Observation Car.

Morning all! (just) Drizzly start at Scottish HQ. Haven't fully caught up yet - got as far as Pete's post below so far... Lots to do this week and not enough people or brainpower (mine) to do it all... Can't comment on Poldark - I watched the first episode but didn't carry on. I've never seen either of the Ann Cleeves adaptations, but have read the Shetland books, and certainly the actor bears little resemblance to the described character in the books. Vera is filmed in and around Consett and Stanley in Co Durham - they frequently use the (closed) hotel car park 200 yards along the road from my parents' house as the base for the filming.

Afternoon all! Jamie's scrambling around the soft play burning off excess energy. I heard from my Dad that the F1 had been exciting. I've taped it so will catch it later this evening over pizza and cider. No spoilers please! Bought Jamie some trainers for running. Her current ones really aren't suitable. She wants to go to the Parkrun with me. I think I'll take her to the junior one first (2k) before putting her through 5k. Happy anniversary Andy and Sarah.

I have that trouble on the work machine - click the little toggle switch (looks like a light switch) above the reply box. Then it seems to work. You can toggle back later. Seems to be like the difference in reply info to email in html or plain text.

Afternoon all! Thanks for the wise words on the clippy bike shoes! I in clipped early just in case for hazards and managed to successfully negotiate all obstacles. Been out to the Parkrun this morning at Cramond - GF came with me and did her first parkrun. I've done an unexpected bit of shopping this morning - there's a Barnardo's shop below GF's flat. We went in for a nose around and I've left with a wooden corner TV unit to replace my ghastly silver plastic coated chipboard one - for the princely sum of £15. Needs a wax but ludicrously cheap. Just having a wander round while GF is in the hairdresser. Have made it to Morningside so far!

Afternoon all! Heading out of the office shortly as I'm off to a HAGIS conference. Sadly nothing to do with the foodstuff, it stands for Healthy AGeing In Scotland... On the bright side, it's Friday. Mixed bag of weather at Scottish HQ but mostly dry. Think I'm going to try my new clip-in cycle pedals and shoes for the first time tonight, so let's see if I fall over when I try to stop... On the bright side, if I do, it'll no doubt cheer some passer-by up. Maybe I should ensure someone's on hand with a video camera for You've Been Framed, and earn £250... Enjoy what's left of your Friday!