AS: Tea and biscuits and GIN, the British thread

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  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    We didn't really get it properly here - I think the eclipse happened before the moon had fully risen on this side of the Pond - but we did get a very bright full moon. We had some fairly fast-moving, quite thin clouds, and I spent a pleasant few minutes watching the moon appearing and disappearing behind them.
  • @MMM I was in New Cross Gate / Old Kent Road, and nothing, but nothing, visible - at a Campfire Concert with the Young'Uns . No campfire, sadly, as using a partially covered venue to avoid the thunderstorms. First one I've got to this year, although I did have a ticket to Jon Boden in March. March was pretty much written off.
  • SarasaSarasa Shipmate
    edited July 2018
    We had a few very heavy showers yeserday evening and we went and played frisbee in a light shower. It was still very warm, but so pleasant after the heat of the previous couple fo days. I'm glad we appear to have no rain forcast today as we're off to a friend's circle dancing garden party this afternoon.
    @la vie en rouge I am very envious of baby en rouge and his blanket.
  • I finally got to sleep around 7am.

    At 715am, a grand peal of thunder woke me :rage: , and then it rained heavily for about 20 minutes.

    That was all.

    IJ
  • Was that a full peal or only a quarter peal?
  • Wesley JWesley J Shipmate
    edited July 2018
    Rain is, sounds and smells quite ap-peal-ing these days. Over 30C here too, daytime, in my neck of the Continental Woods, but interestingly enough, it always cools down to below 20C at night, like between 15 and 17C, which makes it a little more bearable. When it doesn't cool off at night, now that is rather hellish.

    Missed the lunar eclipse too, went to bed earlier than planned, and woke at 2am to an indeed exceptionally bright moon. Lovely! In the distance, I could hear some of the boom-boom of a local music festival still going on - I think they rarely had it that hot during the day! Unfortuately, at the time of my waking and looking out of the window, enjoying the moon and the night sky and the light breeze, suddenly there were some fire engine sirens at 3am - today, the online local rag says a 2-family house in a village nearby got totally obliterated. No one injured, but the people seem to have lost everything.

    A few days ago, the cops finally managed to lay their hands on a young arsonist (27 y o) who seems to have caused at least one of the big shed and barn fires we're had here in the last few months. Regarding the Welsh arsonists mentioned upthread, I'm shocked that no one seems to be able to do anything about it! - Heat and fire, bone-dry fields and forests: not a good combination. <votive>

    Most places here have severe restrictions about starting any kind of open fires now. I just hope people will stick to it. <votive> for rain.

    Ah yes: and we had a number of rather pleasant thunderstorms with rainy showers this morning. Refreshing, at least for a time!
  • Much cooler today and windy, so moments of sunshine broken by rapidly scudding clouds. We're just back from Walthamstow market, fabric shopping, deliberately arriving there just after 9:30am and home by midday. Back with three lengths of African wax fabric and 4m of some £2 pm fabric from TMOS for my daughter to use for pattern cutting. I did check the lawn and dithered, not buying because I wasn't sure I would wear anything I'd make from the fabric.
  • Was that a full peal or only a quarter peal?

    A bad choice of words on my part - they barely even got started!

    But, it's a bright, breezy, fresh day now, with lots of fluffy little white clouds scudding across the sky.

    IJ

  • la vie en rougela vie en rouge Circus Host, 8th Day Host
    It hath rained! This means we can actually leave the house now. We're making the most of it before it heats up again. This afternoon we're going on an expedition to a supplier of vegetables which come straight from the farm.
  • It hath rained! This means we can actually leave the house now. We're making the most of it before it heats up again. This afternoon we're going on an expedition to a supplier of vegetables which come straight from the farm.

    Reminds me of my time in Paris. Used to get vegetables from a stall at Port Royal RER station from which a farmer sold his own vegetables, most memorably monumental swiss chard, and from the organic market at Rome metro station. Those were the days....
  • Not quite as exotic, but I was at Dewsbury market a couple of days ago. I often miss market day, but it was full to the rafters, mostly Indian clothing and jewellery, with some fruit and veg. I came home with several bags of cherries, red peppers, pomegranates and a perfectly ripe mango. I couldn't have carried it but was sorely tempted by a watermelon. Each of the stalls had one broken open so that you could taste it.
    Firenze wrote: »
    Putting them in wicker cages in its path is another idea. Plus it might improve the harvest. Worth a try.
    Lammas is coming up, would that be an appropriate moment?

  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Was that a full peal or only a quarter peal?

    A bad choice of words on my part - they barely even got started!
    I was about to offer to get BT's coat for him ... :smiley:
    But, it's a bright, breezy, fresh day now, with lots of fluffy little white clouds scudding across the sky.
    I can't remember the last time we had a nice, fresh day - it's been wall-to-wall mugginess here for what feels like weeks. Even D's been remarking on it, and he doesn't feel the heat anything like as badly as I do.


  • Piglet wrote: »
    Was that a full peal or only a quarter peal?

    A bad choice of words on my part - they barely even got started!
    I was about to offer to get BT's coat for him ... :smiley:
    But, it's a bright, breezy, fresh day now, with lots of fluffy little white clouds scudding across the sky.
    I can't remember the last time we had a nice, fresh day - it's been wall-to-wall mugginess here for what feels like weeks. Even D's been remarking on it, and he doesn't feel the heat anything like as badly as I do.
    Well, it's still quite pleasant here, though more clouds and rain are forecast for tomorrow (after Church time, I hope!).

    Weather (sic) it has anything to do with it or not, I don't know, but my poor painful legs have been a bit easier today, with the reduction in the heat. Maybe I was just getting uber-tired?

    As for BT's coat, I condemn him to wearing a Very Heavy Geneva Gown at all services in his conventicle....
    :wink:

    IJ


  • ferijenferijen Shipmate
    All this hot weather talk is making me think of Wodders. I dare say he might even have taken a jumper off in Britain in the past fortnight.

    I am full of happiness because it’s cool enough to wear jeans today, for the first time in a couple of months. It’s the small things... (but to be fair I only have very few clothes which fit at the moment and I begrudge spending money on something I’ll wear for only a few weeks).
  • Bishops FingerBishops Finger Shipmate
    edited July 2018
    I only ever wear jeans, accompanied by a variety of T-shirts, casual shirts, and pullovers (weather permitting!).

    Now I come to think of it, I and my entire Family (brother, sister, cousins, offspring thereof etc.) always appear, in private or public, in varying degrees of Scruff.

    Smartish Scruff, sometimes, even stylish, especially Cousin S, wot is A Nactor.

    :flushed:

    I don't think I've possessed or worn a Suit for at least 15 years.....

    IJ
  • [As for BT's coat, I condemn him to wearing a Very Heavy Geneva Gown at all services in his conventicle....
    No! No! Mercy! [Sobs ...].

    Here it was very wet and windy last night, we went down town this afternoon where the wind was buffeting through the canyons. (Actually we went to see "Mamma Mia", which Herself particularly wanted to see. I am most definitely not a fan of Abba, but quite enjoyed it as it's extremely well-made and the set-pieces are extraordinary. She now definitely "owes me one", but I'm not going to suggest T20 cricket at Sophia Gardens or I will never hear the end of it ....).

  • Hmm. Surely a special event at a local-ish Heritage Railway might fit the bill?

    IJ
  • ferijen wrote: »
    All this hot weather talk is making me think of Wodders. I dare say he might even have taken a jumper off in Britain in the past fortnight.

    Me too. We've been missing someone to tell us the UK weather is barely mild.
  • la vie en rougela vie en rouge Circus Host, 8th Day Host
    What size do you wear, ferijen? I have at least one summer maternity dress that I never wore at all, on account of having already given birth before it got warm enough to need it... let me know if you're interested. I have other stuff as well but I think most of it's too warm for your needs.
  • Lots of lovely wet stuff is being blown around, a lot of it horizontally, and I’m back in jeans and a long sleeved t shirt for the first time in what seems like forever. Today is the first day of neighbourly garden watering duties, so I think I might be excused that. Instead I’m having a leisurely day, making the most of the last few remaining days before I can (hopefully) drive again and get back to a more normal life, whatever that might have been.
  • Polly PlummerPolly Plummer Shipmate Posts: 44
    Bucketing down with rain here - as it always does when the transatlantic Master Plummer arrives with his family. After the excitement of seeing the wet stuff come down, were were sobered by discovering a leaky window in a place that had never leaked before. But at least it wasn't the roof.
  • Good steady wet stuff all morning here too. The grass is beginning to look a bit greener.
  • BoogieBoogie Shipmate
    My friend is a Guides leader and they started a week of camp today :open_mouth:
  • Our Madam Sacristan is also a Guides leader, and their camp started last week.

    So far, they've had Furnace Friday, Stormy Saturday, and Soggy Sunday. Tomorrow will doubtless be Muddy Monday, followed (hopefully) by Temperate Tuesday.

    Then they come home.
    :flushed:

    IJ
  • Presumably - for the leaders at least - that will be Wobbly Wednesday.

    After a Truly Foul morning, the sun is just beginning to think about the possibility of hinting at making an appearance ...
  • Bishops FingerBishops Finger Shipmate
    edited July 2018
    Presumably - for the leaders at least - that will be Wobbly Wednesday.

    Perhaps Wiped-Out Wednesday might be more appropriate!
    :fearful:

    Oddly, the Truly Foul morning here didn't seem to affect church attendance (just as well - it's low enough already!).

    IJ

  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    We didn't have a bad attendance in the congregation today; as it's a 5-Sunday month, it was Choral Matins, which sometimes means fewer people (although some will come because it's Cranmer's Matchless Prose™). The choir, however, was sparse, to say the least. We had 2 basses, D. singing tenor, 2 altos and me singing soprano (which I only do when I have to), but we actually made not a bad fist of Stanford in B flat - I'd forgotten how long the soprano part in the Te Deum stays in the stratosphere!

    Not easy with a humidity index of 32 ... :sweat_smile:

    ION, I've taken a leaf out of Wodders' book and made a curry for lunch - aren't the spices are supposed to counteract the heat? Why would the Indians have invented the curry if they don't?
  • I suspect that the spices may "take your mind off" the heat rather than "counteracting" it ...
  • finelinefineline Kerygmania Host, 8th Day Host
    I love spicy food and have been eating it in the heat. I’m not sure how it helps, but it does. I buy spicy snack foods from an Asian store.

    Though the weather here is cooler now. We’ve been having rain. And now I am no longer craving spicy food so much,
  • sionisaissionisais Shipmate
    Not sure baby en rouge is the unhappiest of us. He gets to wear nothing but a nappy and to lie on a blanket that's been in the freezer.

    Good idea. Inland France can get pretty nasty in high summer. We had a very hot summer in the Mediterranean in which it was too hot for outdoors, let alone the beach so our youngest two spent most of the day in the bath.
    Boogie wrote: »
    My friend is a Guides leader and they started a week of camp today :open_mouth:

    My brothers were in the scouts in South Wales. They went on a camp to the Gower Peninsula, were washed out of their tents, moved into huts, were flooded out of those and returned home on lorries. They were filthy. The story goes that they were hosed down before they were allowed in the house.

    I was only in the scouts overseas, where we had a climate, not weather.
  • Bishops FingerBishops Finger Shipmate
    edited July 2018
    Well, I expect Madam Sacristan's Guides are drying out a bit now, as the rain/mist/drizzle has ceased, and a breeze is blowing nicely!

    ION, the little confirmation class at Our Place started well yesterday. We are fielding a young lass nearly 11, a young-ish Mum (she has teenagers), and a slightly older lady who is (I believe) returning to faith after being 'out of the loop' for many years.

    Father Helping-Out-Priest is running the 'class' as more of a discussion/study/nurture group, open to all, so it'll be interesting to see if anyone else joins in.

    Meanwhile, I am a Slightly Happier Bunny, as we have now had two 'feel-good' services in successive weeks! No huge increase in numbers, but a real sense of worship and fellowship, which are well worth having, no matter how many (or few) are present.

    IJ
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Glad to hear it, BF - it's a start!

    Still very hot here, although (whisper it) marginally less muggy. It might even be pleasant enough for a short Amble.
  • I've been sat working outside, in a deckchair, laptop on knees, and I was almost chilly! Umbrella and sunglasses were to hand but neither were necessary.
  • I spent the day inside mostly sewing and getting a parcel ready (gift of framed wedding memorabilia for a relative who is moving back into her renovated home after it was gutted by fire around a year ago). And at one point had goosebumps so put an extra layer on. Had a lovely walk in the evening cool to the post office, about half a mile away.
    Tomorrow is the next stage in my broken leg journey - hopefully I’ll get the all clear to drive (the car is automatic) which opens up the world again, although I’ve almost learned to appreciate living a slower life (waiting for buses and trains does that!).
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Good luck with the leg, Daisydaisy!

    As it was very slightly less muggy today (30° and feeling like 33) I went for an amble across the bridge while D. was copying some music to teach the choir next term. It was still very hot, and if the definition of good exercise is working up a sweat, then I certainly achieved that. :sweat_smile:

    Mind you, I wasn't going awfully fast - at one point I was overtaken by a bloke on a mobility scooter ... :blush:
  • bassobasso Shipmate
    Those scooters can build up a respectable head of steam.

    I still remember a bit of newspaper doggerel by Richard Armour:

    The wheelchair when it's self-propelled
    Can go as if bat-out-of-helled.
  • la vie en rougela vie en rouge Circus Host, 8th Day Host
    We spent yesterday afternoon setting our affairs in order. French inheritance law privileges children over spouses (spice?) which meant that I was risking horrible destitution if husband en rouge got run over by a bus. (As he pointed out to me the children themselves would probably be too disorganised to throw me out of my home but their psychotic mother would send them hunting for money 🤤). So off we went to the notary's to sign a very expensive bit of paper. I now have the usufruct of my husband's whole estate, although I am advised that the best way of protecting my interests is to get him to spend it 😎
  • Piglet the top speed for a mobility scooter is 4mph, that's a very stiff walk.
  • Not so - those that are allowed on the road can do 8 mph there (only 4 mph allowed on pavement). Of course the Canadian rules may differ.
  • Scooters licensed for road use can go up to 8mph. 4mph is for pavement scooters.
    Mind you, downhill and with a following wind a pavement scooter can get up to fair speed! I was considering getting one, but then I thought why? and what for? My friends live either too far away or up/down a steep hill, the scooters only have a diddy basket on the front, so it would be no good for shopping at Tesco, and I don't do much other sort of shopping, preferring on-line. I'll settle for taxi's. And you can use those when its raining!
  • Not so - those that are allowed on the road can do 8 mph there (only 4 mph allowed on pavement). Of course the Canadian rules may differ.

    May or Can? I was checking the specs of scooters which may have been pavement ones and they said 4mph. So even if they may go at 8mph they can't.
  • Without wanting to get into technicalities, it appears that there are two different categories of scooter (or, as the legislation still describes them, "invalid carriages"!)

    I do realise that "can" and "may" are not interchangeable - as in the case of the teenagers queueing outside their classroom before a lesson and asking the teacher, "Can we go in, sir?" only to receive the reply, "Of course you can go in - but the question is whether you may"!
  • Today is the first day of the month, so it's Senior Discount Day at some of our local grocery stores. I could swear some of those scooters go at least 10 mph as they zip down the aisle plowing down anyone and anything in their way -- including, several years ago, a tall stack of cases of bottled beer. When he hightailed it away from the scene of destruction he practically burned rubber. (Pray for me as I take my life in my hands in a few hours!)
  • Without wanting to get into technicalities, it appears that there are two different categories of scooter (or, as the legislation still describes them, "invalid carriages"!)

    I do realise that "can" and "may" are not interchangeable - as in the case of the teenagers queueing outside their classroom before a lesson and asking the teacher, "Can we go in, sir?" only to receive the reply, "Of course you can go in - but the question is whether you may"!

    There is a difference between legislation and specification as well.
  • And, I suggest, between rules and guidelines - the latter being less mandatory and more flexible than the former. I wouldn't argue it with a Health & Safety Officer though - I bear the scars of at least one such encounter.
  • What about this motorised chair then?
  • And, I suggest, between rules and guidelines - the latter being less mandatory and more flexible than the former. I wouldn't argue it with a Health & Safety Officer though - I bear the scars of at least one such encounter.

    Yeah but specification is what the machine is capable of.
  • A local couple (man and wife, AFAIK) buzz around the town on their mobility scooters, of the more powerful type allowed on the roadway proper. Hers is labelled prominently 'BEAUTY' and his is (yes, you've guessed it) labelled 'BEAST'.

    Sometimes, they swap scooters.
    :grin:

    IJ
  • There is a story about the Victorian Methodist preacher Morley Punshon. I understand he was not very becoming of appearance but his wife was beautiful. One day they got off the train at Paddington and porter, seeing them, shouted out, "There go Beauty and the Beast!"

    Punchon turned round, looked him in the eye and said, "How dare you call my wife a beast!"
  • Bishops FingerBishops Finger Shipmate
    edited August 2018
    A porter ? A Servant of the Great Western Railway, especially back in the days of Sir Daniel Gooch, would have been instantly dismissed for hurling such epithets at Passengers !

    Why, they were still running trains in and out of Paddington on the Proper Gauge when Morley Punshon (1824-1881) was around.

    A passing street-urchin, of course, might not be so well-trained...

    IJ
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