AS: Tea and biscuits and GIN, the British thread

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  • As Piglet said, start a new thread. Any Shipmate can do that.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    We have a humming-bird feeder, but we've only seen anyone at it a couple of times, and they were so small (I wasn't even sure it wasn't an overweight dragonfly) and so fast, we really couldn't see them properly.

    We had more meteorological pyrotechnics this afternoon: lots of rumblement and a fair few flashes, plus some quite heavy rain.

    We took a wee jaunt to a little diner out of town which specialises in PIES, and had tea (him) and coffee (me) and very good cherry PIE. When we got back, the power was off, and had been since just after we'd left (there were power-cuts on our way back - one set of traffic lights was out, although the rest seemed OK, and a few businesses were in darkness). Fortunately it came back on a few minutes after we got back - it would have become very uncomfortable if it had lasted much longer. :sweat_smile:
  • Lots of gentle wetting stuff descended yesterday evening and last night; the grass is looking distinctly greener. Not sure it has been soon enough to save some of the trees now clothed in yellow (including a birch tree by one of the tube stations). Didn't see any flashes, sadly, although I could have slept through rumbles and grumbles. The world feels a lot fresher this morning.
  • Piglet wrote: »


    ION, there was an interesting wee beastie on the rail of our deck just now: the shape of a ladybird, but quite a bit bigger (about a third of an inch long), with vertical yellow-and-black stripes on his wing-covers like a humbug. Sadly, when I went out with the camera, he fell off the rail ... :(

    Might it have been a Colorado Beetle?
  • Hopefully not - they're rather pestiferous, especially around POTATOES...
    :fearful:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_potato_beetle

    IJ
  • Last night we were staying with our son and family in South London. In the middle of the night we were awoken by a fox barking (presumably a male) very loudly and repeatedly along the road.
  • Baptist TrainfanBaptist Trainfan Shipmate
    edited August 2018
    Hopefully not - they're rather pestiferous, especially around POTATOES...
    :fearful:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_potato_beetle
    In Britain (and I know you're not there!) any sighting must be reported to DEFRA.

  • We have made it to foie gras land. I am very excited to report that I spotted a hummingbird in our garden this evening :smiley: I've never seen one before.

    Are you *sure*, LVER? So far as I know, hummingbirds are only found on the other side of the pond. I wonder whether you saw a hummingbird hawkmoth, an equally amazing creature?
  • It does seem more likely to have been a hummingbird hawkmoth, but, even so, LVER was treated to a sight of one of God's loveliest little creations!
    :grin:

    I recall, some years ago, scrambling up a stony hillside near my sister's home in SE France, spotting a splash of yellow/orange on a rock. On closer examination, it turned out to be a most splendid and magnificent praying mantis - not often found in SE England!

    IJ
  • I love humming bird hawkmoths - well any hawkmoths. So amazing.
    Last night we were staying with our son and family in South London. In the middle of the night we were awoken by a fox barking (presumably a male) very loudly and repeatedly along the road.
    A local dog fox tours around my flat most nights, I now sleep through him, but if I'm awake I can hear him declaring his route along the back, up the side and out to the south. I do see him fairly often, a bit further up his tour, if I'm coming back from things late at night or leaving early in the morning. I'm not so good at sleeping through the mating banshee shrieks cries

  • Following a shower of the wet stuff yesterday afternoon, I notice that my car (washed that morning) is covered in splodges of Sahara sand, which gets delivered this way each year at around this time.
  • Once upon a time, I had a house with a side passage, closed off by a wooden gate, and with brick walls on either hand.

    Soon after we bought the house, Mrs. BF and I were woken in the night by the sounds of loud shuffling and grunting from the vicinity of the gate. It was, of course, Mr. Tiggywinkle trying to Get To His Paramour under the gate, which offered insufficient space to do so. His opposite number, the putative Mrs. Tiggywinkle, seemed frustrated, in her turn, at his inability to Get To Her, hence the loud and rather cross noises the pair of them were making.

    Yes, I did take the trouble to increase the gap beneath the gate, so that the hedgehog population could also be increased in due season. Which it was (and our next-door neighbour joined in the fun by having a neat little hedgehog hibernation house built, when he had a new garden shed built for himself!)
    :grin:

    IJ
  • Once upon a time, I had a house with a side passage, closed off by a wooden gate, and with brick walls on either hand.

    Soon after we bought the house, Mrs. BF and I were woken in the night by the sounds of loud shuffling and grunting from the vicinity of the gate. It was, of course, Mr. Tiggywinkle trying to Get To His Paramour under the gate, which offered insufficient space to do so. His opposite number, the putative Mrs. Tiggywinkle, seemed frustrated, in her turn, at his inability to Get To Her, hence the loud and rather cross noises the pair of them were making.

    Yes, I did take the trouble to increase the gap beneath the gate, so that the hedgehog population could also be increased in due season. Which it was (and our next-door neighbour joined in the fun by having a neat little hedgehog hibernation house built, when he had a new garden shed built for himself!)
    :grin:

    IJ

    Rather than Mr. and Mrs. Tiggywinkle, I think you should have named them Pyramus and Thisbe trying to reach each other through the chink under your gate.
    :wink:

    (And thank you for your efforts in helping to increase the hedgehog population!)
  • :lol:

    We called them by various opprobrious epithets, such was the noise they made...

    But yes - delightful little animiles, and much to be encouraged.

    IJ
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Hopefully not - they're rather pestiferous, especially around POTATOES...
    :fearful:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_potato_beetle
    It did look pretty much like that ... :astonished:

    I hope he doesn't have any little friends - not that we have potatoes growing that close, but there is a potato farm over on the other side of the river, which wouldn't appreciate his company.
  • la vie en rougela vie en rouge Circus Host, 8th Day Host
    Maybe it was a moth then. TBH it moved so fast it was hard to tell. You learn something new every day.
  • But a pretty splendid moth.

    Where are my thermals? It’s COLD! I love the wet stuff that is falling from the sky, but the drop in temperature is a bit of a shock.
  • Yes, quantities of this planet's aqueous element are falling from above as I write, and the temperature has dropped to just 16C (as opposed to 32C just a day or so ago....).

    Please may we have our summer back?
    :frowning:

    IJ
  • It's STILL r**ning, so I am about to open a can of SOUP for lunch.
    :frowning:

    Alas, the r**n is finding its way into the Palace via various leaks, which (I know! I know!) should have been repaired by now, but it's been way too hot...
    :cry:

    IJ
  • Please may we have our summer back?
    :frowning:
    Is that akin to "taking back control" ...?

  • Well, the r**n can jolly well Leave as soon as it likes!

    No disrespect to gardeners, farmers, etc. - it is needed, but not, please, inside the Palace.
    :cold_sweat:

    IJ
  • It does seem more likely to have been a hummingbird hawkmoth, but, even so, LVER was treated to a sight of one of God's loveliest little creations!
    :grin:

    We haven't seen as many of them this year as usual, but I was so excited to see one that I declared that there was "a humming hawk bird moth" outside. I wonder what that would have loked like!!
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    It's been a little cooler here today - 23° - but still very muggy with intermittent heavy rain.

    However, in other news, I had a phone call this morning from the university department that interviewed me back in April, asking me about filling in for a six-month sick-leave cover. They asked me to e-mail my CV and said they'd contact me next week to come in and find out what's what. I think as long as I don't give the impression of being a complete moron (I'll summon up all my acting ability) I might be re-joining the work-force the week after next.

    Then, a few minutes ago I got another call from a shop where I'd left my CV, asking if I'd be free to see them next week ...

    It's a bit like London buses - you don't see one for ages, then two come along at once. :mrgreen:
  • NenyaNenya Shipmate
    Oh, that's good news, Piglet. :mrgreen: (Did they ever officially let you know about the job you went for in April?) I believe this could be what's known in the trade as A Foot In The Door.

    In other news, we had a shower of rain earlier today, and it's cooler, but I still had to water the garden.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    No, they didn't, which made me all the more surprised. I suppose it's possible that the funding for the job didn't materialise or something like that, or it's maybe just not their policy to notify unsuccessful candidates.

  • NenyaNenya Shipmate
    Piglet wrote: »
    I suppose it's possible that the funding for the job didn't materialise or something like that, or it's maybe just not their policy to notify unsuccessful candidates.

    Which is rude, and lazy. In these days of email it costs nothing but a minute of someone's time to issue a standard "thank you for attending the interview on ... Unfortunately on this occasion your application has been unsuccessful."

    I hope all goes well for you next week, though. 🍀
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Thanks, Nen - I totally agree.

    Back in the day, you got a letter inviting you for interview (or not), and then one offering you the job (or not), both of which had to be typed (probably in duplicate) by a real human being, and then stuffed in an envelope and posted (with a stamp).

    Why can't modern employers be bothered to make a few clicks with a mouse?

    [/rant off]
  • Great news, Piglet (crosses trotters for you)!

    Our rain gauge says it didn't rain last night, but it rained enough to wake Mr. S (not me!) and everything looks wet. Fluff on the needle, obviously...

    Mrs. S, a happy bunny with full water-butts
  • It definitely rained here last night (woke us up actually); it has just started again and looks Set In For The Morning.

    We went to an amazing concert at the Eisteddfod, a new Welsh electric folk "supergroup". Not usually my thing but the musicians were fantastic, as was the atmosphere. It was all in Welsh though, so I didn't understand a word!

    In the train coming home you couldn't hear a word of English being spoken - very unusual for Cardiff!
  • DormouseDormouse Shipmate
    edited August 2018
    Piglet wrote: »
    Thanks, Nen - I totally agree.

    Back in the day, you got a letter inviting you for interview (or not), and then one offering you the job (or not), both of which had to be typed (probably in duplicate) by a real human being, and then stuffed in an envelope and posted (with a stamp).

    Why can't modern employers be bothered to make a few clicks with a mouse?

    [/rant off]

    Oh definitely!! Mr D went for an interview the Monday before last. They seemed impressed and asked him back for a second interview with the Head Honcho of the company. This was on the last working day before the summer break (here in France companies often close down for the whole of August) so we expected a phone call to say Yay or Nay. Nothing.

    Now, it's possible that Mr D didn't understand the nuances of the language, and when they said "You will have to fly to Nantes on this date to meet the IT guys" they meant "You, Mr D, will have to fly to Nantes because you have the job", rather than the "you, whoever is successful, will have to fly to Nantes, and would that be possible for you, IF you got the job". He will have to wait until the end of August before he can phone and ask if he has the job - & I'm not sure he'll want to do that, because it does sound a bit weird..."Excuse me, can you confirm whether I got the job or not please?"
  • It

    We went to an amazing concert at the Eisteddfod, a new Welsh electric folk "supergroup". Not usually my thing but the musicians were fantastic, as was the atmosphere. It was all in Welsh though, so I didn't understand a word!!

    Was it Pendervig? They were advertised on Calan's Facebook page..Lord P - I can't get used to his new ship name - and I went to the Eisteddfod on Tuesday. We saw some of the members of Gwerin Gwent, our tune club, performing at the Ty Gwerin tent.
  • Baptist TrainfanBaptist Trainfan Shipmate
    edited August 2018
    Indeed it was. (By the way, The Missus and I had a debate as to why they have a "v" in their name instead of an "f").
  • NenyaNenya Shipmate
    Quite a lot of the wet stuff was falling from the sky when I went out this morning. I said to Mr Nen, "Remind me where we keep the coats?"
  • Thunderous rumblings with torrents of wet stuff, plus blowy winds. So I deferred towing the tin tent until it was all over. Now pitched on a high cliff overlooking a Big Port, entertained earlier by the 3 Queens (Elizabeth, Mary, Victoria), and in the distance the Red arrows and fireworks. A lovely way to get back into the swing of tin tenting.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Glad to hear you're recovered enough to go caravanning again, Daisydaisy!

    Tragic things happened here today (see Canada shootings thread) - the other side of the river from us, but not far from the flat we rented before we bought the château. Mercifully a very rare occurrence here, but very disturbing all the same.

    ION, I went to see my prospective new bosses today (who all seem very nice), and they've just got to contact my referees, so hopefully I'll be gainfully employed in a week or two!

    Also, it's been a glorious day - warm and sunny without being too hot (24°) and not too humid. And it's forecast to go down to 9° tonight, which will be lovely - for the last couple of weeks it's barely got below 20°, which is fsr too hot overnight.
  • O best wishes indeed, for gainful employment, and for continued clement weather.

    Nice here at the moment, but more r**n forecast for Sunday. The dilapidations to the Palace roof will, hopefully, be dealt with (between showers) this next week. An ambient temperature of around 22-23C is, as you say, just about right.

    IJ
  • Unlike 14C here today. Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon - but I have just Turned On The Central Heating!
  • O Lawks a mussy! WINTER has descended on Wales!
    :confounded:

    IJ
  • daisydaisydaisydaisy Shipmate
    edited August 2018
    Yesterday evening I put on my caravan heater, in the interest of checking it out ready for the *ahem* winter. Well that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
  • Where are you? And are you actually inside the caravan?
  • I think daisydaisy referred to getting back into the swing of tin tenting, so one assumes that She Knows Whereof She Speaks...

    Still nice and balmy (barmy?) here, but r**n forecast for Sunday, at odd intervals.

    IJ
  • daisydaisydaisydaisy Shipmate
    edited August 2018
    Yes, inside the tin tent, on top of a cliff overlooking a Big Port. I appreciated the very short blast of warmth. Might test it out again tomorrow too if the forecast r**n and w**d arrives.
  • Gosh, I hope your tin tent is well-anchored!
    :fearful:

    IJ
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    I was wondering about the wisdom of parking a Tin Tent on top of a High Cliff, even in the balminess of summer.

    I had an e-mail last night from my prospective boss, and they want me to start on Wednesday! Where's the dear old "eek" smiley when I need it?

    The hours are giving D. a conniption, as rather than being 9 to 5 as you might expect, they're 8:15 to 4:30 (I think 3:30 on Fridays). You may have observed that we're very definitely night-owls, but as he'll need to get me there (I don't have a Canadian driving licence) we'll have to drastically re-think our timetable!

    Also, it's 15 years since I worked full-time - I'm worried that the first day will finish me off ... :worried:

    All part of Life's Rich Tapestry, eh?

    ION, it's a truly glorious day today: 27° with hardly any humidity to speak of, so the grass will probably have to be cut later when it's a little cooler.
  • Baptist Trainfan, after getting very cold and wet in Bristol, our heating is also on!
  • You mean they have weather in England?
  • Look folks! We've been spoilt with all that hot weather - what we have now is a Typical English Summer. Get used to it! ;)
  • I am enjoying the now typical English summer. I have been out twice without white goop - in the rain when the UV has been low enough.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    That sounds like a Good Thing, CK - just the fact of being able to go outdoors is an improvement.

    Yesterday was a beautiful day, and as it wasn't horribly hot I had an amble across the bridge and back while D. went to pick up fish & chips for supper, and although I was glowing somewhat when I got back, I'm glad I did.

    It's not bad out today (23° with not too much humidity), but the church was v. hot - once heat gets into the stonework, it's very hard to get it out. Even with a fan blowing behind me I was still v. uncomfortable. I was also singing soprano - we're still short-handed - and by the time we got to the descant of Cwm Rhondda (which I love) I just about had enough puff to hit the top A ...

    The fact that the first hymn (Lasst uns erfreuen - or "Mr. Bean" as it's otherwise known) had seven verses didn't help. I can still hit most of the high notes, but singing soprano for a whole service is more than somewhat knackering.
  • Congratulations on the new position piglet, and I understand your concerns on schedules.
    After getting voluntary redundancy in October last year, my wife will be starting a new position next week, at the same time as the kids go back to school. It's a different, further away place that where she was before, so the routines for drop off and pick up are going to take a while to settle

    Our intention to do a dry run this week of normal getting up times faded last night as she insisted on reading "an extra chapter or two" at bedtime, and disappeared altogether as the alarm went off and I got shoved out of bed, as I was the only one needing to be up....
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