Just to lighten the mood somewhat! (?) BF, were you in any danger from that ship what sank loaded with enough ammunition to blow Kent out of the water, when a yacht drifted dangerously near and had to be escorted away by the RNLI ? Yesterday, I think, or possibly the day before.
This is the ship @Thomasina mentions - I'm amused to note that it's "near Sarfend" - it's actually on the other side of the estuary, about a mile off Sheerness, and the Thames is 20+ miles wide at that point!
I first heard about the Richard Montgomery when on a trip down the Thames on the good ship Waverley about 25 years ago. Everyone took a step back from the rail as we passed ...
As @Sandemaniac says, the wreck is in the Medway estuary, near Sheerness, so quite a few miles from the Ark (which is upstream from Rochester).
It is said to be able to wipe Sheerness off the map if it explodes, but there is some uncertainty as to whether the explosives it contains are still dangerous...
BTW, another kind Shipmate first drew my attention to the incident by PM (private message, that is, not Mr Johnson). I don't think it was mentioned in the Grauniad, which I'm afraid is my only news source (apart from SoF) at the moment.
... Elderflower Schnapps is not a drink to be trifled with.
Maybe if you'd turned it into a trifle it wouldn't have given you a hangover ...
I'll fetch my coat.
Seriously though, a fry-up, once you can face it, is the best hangover cure I know, especially if you wash it down with lots of orange juice to top up your Vitamin C.
I'm messing around on here while waiting for the chilli I'm making for supper to finish cooking; there seems to be rather a lot of it, so it may be my supper for the rest of the week.
I first heard about the Richard Montgomery when on a trip down the Thames on the good ship Waverley about 25 years ago. Everyone took a step back from the rail as we passed ...
The paddle steamer? Blimey that thing gets around.
For those who have been following my chairs/table saga, I've now had a message saying the chairs will be delivered between the 11th and 14th of January, and the delivery of the table is "pending" and they'll let me know.
I first heard about the Richard Montgomery when on a trip down the Thames on the good ship Waverley about 25 years ago. Everyone took a step back from the rail as we passed ...
The paddle steamer? Blimey that thing gets around.
In normal times it goes to the Thames every October, and possibly in the Spring too.
I went for a grey, chilly walk and bumped into a couple of people I knew, so we had some socially distanced chat which was nice. We also took the Christmas decorations down this afternoon which makes the living room look depressingly plain until I get used to it again.
Now awaiting Boris's Bluster the PM's announcement in an hour or so. I may time our meal so we can eat while listening.
BTW, another kind Shipmate first drew my attention to the incident by PM (private message, that is, not Mr Johnson). I don't think it was mentioned in the Grauniad, which I'm afraid is my only news source (apart from SoF) at the moment.
What, you mean you don't read the Messenger?! (Provider of the various local newspapers.)
A few years ago there was a TV programme of various UK locations filmed by drone. The Richard Montgomery was one, and it was quite interesting to see the footage swooping around it. (IIRC they filmed when the tide was low so as much of the superstructure as possible was visible.)
Any bets on how late our Dear Leader will be tonight?
Just been looking at maps - I suspect any water displacement by an explosion would be dissipated around all those little islets and inlets before it got anywhere upstream.
@Nenya - actually, yes, I do look at the local online Messenger now and then. It's been years since I bought a paper version!
It wasn't me who asked you about the Messenger.
The Blond Bombshell caught me out - I thought he'd be late and was finishing off the cooking when he went and started without me. I feel relieved in a lot of ways - lockdown is much more straightforward than tiers and trying to remember what you can and can't do. Also I hope it will signal to those who seem to be have relaxed their guard how serious the situation is.
Tuesday tomorrow and my usual early run to the supermarket. Hope there won't have been any panic buying. :rolleyes:
@Nenya - actually, yes, I do look at the local online Messenger now and then. It's been years since I bought a paper version!
It wasn't me who asked you about the Messenger.
The Blond Bombshell caught me out - I thought he'd be late and was finishing off the cooking when he went and started without me. I feel relieved in a lot of ways - lockdown is much more straightforward than tiers and trying to remember what you can and can't do. Also I hope it will signal to those who seem to be have relaxed their guard how serious the situation is.
Tuesday tomorrow and my usual early run to the supermarket. Hope there won't have been any panic buying. :rolleyes:
As @Sandemaniac says, the wreck is in the Medway estuary, near Sheerness, so quite a few miles from the Ark (which is upstream from Rochester).
It is said to be able to wipe Sheerness off the map if it explodes, but there is some uncertainty as to whether the explosives it contains are still dangerous...
One of my sons has worked in the Solomon Islands removing large quantities of dumped WW2 ordnance left behind by US forces as the war moved northwards. There have been many incidents where local villagers have been injured by exploding ammunition, and the Australian Defence Force was operating annual expeditions for clearance of the threat. I am sure UK authorities would be treating the wreck with due caution in light of this and other incidents around the world.
Not only is the sea bottom in the Solomons littered with the wrecks of ships sunk in battle, but also the hulks of vehicles and aircraft simply driven over the edge of cliffs as the war moved on.
There's a Swedish elderflower-flavoured Cider that's rather nice, and somewhat less lethal...can't think of the name of it, though.
Mind you, I expect it will disappear from our shops, now that we have Brexshat.
Rekorderlig is the Swedish cider. It comes in a number of fruit flavours (too sweet for my palate), and, for whatever reason, a couple flavours are made in Finland rather than in Sweden.
I also find that cider far too sweet (I like a nice hoppy pale ale, myself).
Slept terribly last night, probably a mix of reading into the early hours and worrying about my eldest, who is currently alone in York and we don’t know if his flatmates will be joining him now. Obviously if it gets too hard for him we can rescue him on mental health grounds but it’s not always easy to tell what he wants/needs.
I have some marking to do today, which arrived the day before the holidays.
One of my sons has worked in the Solomon Islands removing large quantities of dumped WW2 ordnance left behind by US forces as the war moved northwards. There have been many incidents where local villagers have been injured by exploding ammunition, and the Australian Defence Force was operating annual expeditions for clearance of the threat. I am sure UK authorities would be treating the wreck with due caution in light of this and other incidents around the world.
As I understand it, the explosives are stable, the issue is whether the detonators remain stable, have deteriorated to a point where they will no longer go off, or have become unstable in their old age (I know that feeling...).
Sadly, I doubt the Solomons are the only place where WW2 is still taking lives - I know the Iron Harvest in France still takes lives every year (in much of the old British sector, sugar beet is a main crop - so your harvesting is designed to pick big hard lumps out of the soil :eek!:), and Egypt is apparently the most landmined country in the world, having had it's Western border fought across several times in different directions.
We periodically get mines wash up here (the sea here was heavily mined to impede U-boats, AIUI). This events a visit from the bomb squad and, if the beach is close enough, a school outing to watch the controlled explosion.
A cold, damp, miserable day here. This is what I tend to think of as "English" cold. And it's not even going to snow.
Br*xit has struck. This morning we went on the bus all the way to Marks and Sparks in search of SAUSAGES. They clearly hadn't received their delivery from the UK, because they were completely out of all fresh products. I'm assuming that the cause is Brexit, although I suppose the M&S lorry might be stuck in a Covid park in Kent.
No mole in the hole for us then. (I know it's supposed to be called toad. But my grandmother always called it mole, and so do I. Despite not being a particularly exceptional cook in general terms, she was the best Yorkshire pudding maker I have ever known.)
Did a run to Sainsbury's. This is the first day after the NY hols (the 2nd falling on a Saturday, Monday was observed in lieu). Very quiet considering, though more cars coming in as we were leaving.
Trying to de-stock the freezer as the fridge freezer last night developed fits of violent knocking - 10 seconds worth about every 10 minutes. This is, apparently, due to a loose drainage tray. But as it has been showing other signs of senescence, ordered a replacement to arrive Monday.
la vie en rouge: I shouldn't say this but ... it's a lovely dry sunny (but cold!) day in South Wales, with a good breeze for the washing! Mind you, I needed a scarf when I went shopping.
I avoided going to a supermarket today assuming the panic buyers would be out, but am now regretting not taking advantage while everyone is still confused. Normally it wouldn't matter but the intended destination is a narrow-aisled Aldi, rather than the usual spacious Mozzies or Sainsbury's.
No mole in the hole for us then. (I know it's supposed to be called toad. But my grandmother always called it mole, and so do I. Despite not being a particularly exceptional cook in general terms, she was the best Yorkshire pudding maker I have ever known.)
This sounds familiar. Both Gran and Nanna (the aunt who raised her) were middling cooks (the former an expert at boiling veg until it screamed for mercy) but had specialities that were perfect each time, scones and crème caramel respectively. My Mum is an excellent cook and people assume that her Mum taught her. She taught herself through practise, weekly magazines and more exotic recipes from her 2 Mothers-in-law.
Mr D is a fan of corned dog in the hole (with mushrooms and onions) Having found that one can buy corned dog in French supermarkets, it has become an infrequent but regular addition to our menus. Unfortunately we are running out of the baked beans that go with it (only three tins left! Eep!) and no hope of returning to the UK to buy some more in the near future.
There were stories in the papers a few days ago that English sausages could no longer be exported to the EU - link to Beeb coverage of the story
It's decidedly nasty outside here too - damp, grey with nasty icy precipitation that is neither snow nor sleet, or anything interesting or pretty. We got out for a walk this morning, mostly before the icy shards started their horizontal assault and are quite glad to be warm inside now.
(In theory I should be about to go and be part of a youth work session, in practice we almost certainly won't run for a session before lock down again, and need to get up and running on Zoom,)
I have discovered a new "panic" buying shortage. My friend's current computer is showing signs of problems, so heis considering various options. 1) Find or recall the passwords on previous machines. This is likely to fail, so 2) Get the local tech guy to salvage files and get them previous machines working again. (My favoured option) or 3) Buy a new one.
And nobody has one of the right make, OS, price or storage capacity available. Or available for delivery. Not Argos, Morgan Computers, John Lewis, PC World, ao, or any others I haven't heard of. And though I want to clean my history, not the big river, either. All the ones in our target area are out of stock. I assume having gone to home studying pupils.
There have been very few laptops available for months. I agree that lots must have gone to schoolkids, but I suspect also that many people traded up at the start of the pandemic. Also the virus (not to mention Brexit) may have caused manufacturing/shipping problems.
I had the same problem recently trying to get a new affordable laptop for my father...out of stock everywhere. Thought it might be to do with schools and businesses purchasing loads of them for home workers/students. Eventually found one from ao.com
I'm glad I got mine when I did. I don't use it that much now that I'm not applying for jobs any more (TBTG), but you never know when it might be useful.
I was quite surprised at how busy the train and bus were this morning; I thought more people would be working from home. I suppose it's possible people have gone in to work to find out whether they have to, IYSWIM. It'll be interesting to see how busy or otherwise it is tomorrow.
When I went to renew my season ticket, the lady at the desk asked if I was sure I'd be going in every day. I explained that I couldn't do my job from home, and hoped I'd be going in every day!
I had the same problem recently trying to get a new affordable laptop for my father...out of stock everywhere. Thought it might be to do with schools and businesses purchasing loads of them for home workers/students. Eventually found one from ao.com
Yes, my husband had to purchase numerous laptops for his employees.
I have spent the afternoon marking and now have tired eyes from staring intensely at my screen.
There are cheap refurbished laptops available from several sources - I bought one for the recorded music at Our Place, but now have it here at home for YouTube porpoises. It's so old that it uses Windows 7!
A very rude awakening this morning when one of the cats was sick. On the bed. In which I was almost dreamily asleep...cue for completely stripping bedding and getting the washing machine on, at 5.10am.
The duvet has been duly washed and sanitised, and the bed is made with lovely clean fresh bedding.
It was extremely tempting to get into my night attire and get into it. Yawn....
I know it must have been tempting to kick him into the middle of next week, but I hope there's nothing seriously amiss with the cat.
I've just finished a rather decent (and possibly too generous) supper of SOUP, followed by chilli con carne in a baked POTATO (makes a nice change from rice) and then some of the CHEESE stash, with crackers.
Comments
I wouldn't like to feel you had been blown away!
Mind you, I expect it will disappear from our shops, now that we have Brexshat.
https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/18494195.wwii-shipwreck-get-urgent-safety-work-near-southend/
As @Sandemaniac says, the wreck is in the Medway estuary, near Sheerness, so quite a few miles from the Ark (which is upstream from Rochester).
It is said to be able to wipe Sheerness off the map if it explodes, but there is some uncertainty as to whether the explosives it contains are still dangerous...
BTW, another kind Shipmate first drew my attention to the incident by PM (private message, that is, not Mr Johnson). I don't think it was mentioned in the Grauniad, which I'm afraid is my only news source (apart from SoF) at the moment.
I'll fetch my coat.
Seriously though, a fry-up, once you can face it, is the best hangover cure I know, especially if you wash it down with lots of orange juice to top up your Vitamin C.
I'm messing around on here while waiting for the chilli I'm making for supper to finish cooking; there seems to be rather a lot of it, so it may be my supper for the rest of the week.
The Guardian is to be preferred to our national treasure, The BBC. 🙂
The Kind Shipmate who PMed me had seen a report in the Independent, which I think I might check out...it's what I call another Paper For Grown-Ups.
The paddle steamer? Blimey that thing gets around.
Looks like I'll have to take time off to be in.
In normal times it goes to the Thames every October, and possibly in the Spring too.
Glad you are safe @Bishops Finger .
I went for a grey, chilly walk and bumped into a couple of people I knew, so we had some socially distanced chat which was nice. We also took the Christmas decorations down this afternoon which makes the living room look depressingly plain until I get used to it again.
Now awaiting Boris's Bluster the PM's announcement in an hour or so. I may time our meal so we can eat while listening.
We shall be watching "Only Connect" on BBC2 - after all, BoJo's announcement won't apply to us yet.
What do you mean, that the announcement won't apply to you yet? Is it to do with where you live?
What, you mean you don't read the Messenger?! (Provider of the various local newspapers.)
A few years ago there was a TV programme of various UK locations filmed by drone. The Richard Montgomery was one, and it was quite interesting to see the footage swooping around it. (IIRC they filmed when the tide was low so as much of the superstructure as possible was visible.)
Any bets on how late our Dear Leader will be tonight?
@Nenya - actually, yes, I do look at the local online Messenger now and then. It's been years since I bought a paper version!
It wasn't me who asked you about the Messenger.
The Blond Bombshell caught me out - I thought he'd be late and was finishing off the cooking when he went and started without me. I feel relieved in a lot of ways - lockdown is much more straightforward than tiers and trying to remember what you can and can't do. Also I hope it will signal to those who seem to be have relaxed their guard how serious the situation is.
Tuesday tomorrow and my usual early run to the supermarket. Hope there won't have been any panic buying. :rolleyes:
No excuse now not to learn Vierne's third Symphonie.
O sorry - no, it was @Pendragon who asked...
One of my sons has worked in the Solomon Islands removing large quantities of dumped WW2 ordnance left behind by US forces as the war moved northwards. There have been many incidents where local villagers have been injured by exploding ammunition, and the Australian Defence Force was operating annual expeditions for clearance of the threat. I am sure UK authorities would be treating the wreck with due caution in light of this and other incidents around the world.
Not only is the sea bottom in the Solomons littered with the wrecks of ships sunk in battle, but also the hulks of vehicles and aircraft simply driven over the edge of cliffs as the war moved on.
Rekorderlig is the Swedish cider. It comes in a number of fruit flavours (too sweet for my palate), and, for whatever reason, a couple flavours are made in Finland rather than in Sweden.
Slept terribly last night, probably a mix of reading into the early hours and worrying about my eldest, who is currently alone in York and we don’t know if his flatmates will be joining him now. Obviously if it gets too hard for him we can rescue him on mental health grounds but it’s not always easy to tell what he wants/needs.
I have some marking to do today, which arrived the day before the holidays.
As I understand it, the explosives are stable, the issue is whether the detonators remain stable, have deteriorated to a point where they will no longer go off, or have become unstable in their old age (I know that feeling...).
This baby was certainly still capable of going "BANG!" last year - mildly bizarrely, there is also film footage of it going into the water.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-54522203
Sadly, I doubt the Solomons are the only place where WW2 is still taking lives - I know the Iron Harvest in France still takes lives every year (in much of the old British sector, sugar beet is a main crop - so your harvesting is designed to pick big hard lumps out of the soil :eek!:), and Egypt is apparently the most landmined country in the world, having had it's Western border fought across several times in different directions.
Br*xit has struck.
No mole in the hole for us then. (I know it's supposed to be called toad. But my grandmother always called it mole, and so do I. Despite not being a particularly exceptional cook in general terms, she was the best Yorkshire pudding maker I have ever known.)
Did a run to Sainsbury's. This is the first day after the NY hols (the 2nd falling on a Saturday, Monday was observed in lieu). Very quiet considering, though more cars coming in as we were leaving.
Trying to de-stock the freezer as the fridge freezer last night developed fits of violent knocking - 10 seconds worth about every 10 minutes. This is, apparently, due to a loose drainage tray. But as it has been showing other signs of senescence, ordered a replacement to arrive Monday.
This sounds familiar. Both Gran and Nanna (the aunt who raised her) were middling cooks (the former an expert at boiling veg until it screamed for mercy) but had specialities that were perfect each time, scones and crème caramel respectively. My Mum is an excellent cook and people assume that her Mum taught her. She taught herself through practise, weekly magazines and more exotic recipes from her 2 Mothers-in-law.
It's decidedly nasty outside here too - damp, grey with nasty icy precipitation that is neither snow nor sleet, or anything interesting or pretty. We got out for a walk this morning, mostly before the icy shards started their horizontal assault and are quite glad to be warm inside now.
(In theory I should be about to go and be part of a youth work session, in practice we almost certainly won't run for a session before lock down again, and need to get up and running on Zoom,)
And nobody has one of the right make, OS, price or storage capacity available. Or available for delivery. Not Argos, Morgan Computers, John Lewis, PC World, ao, or any others I haven't heard of. And though I want to clean my history, not the big river, either. All the ones in our target area are out of stock. I assume having gone to home studying pupils.
I bought one from them last year and it arrived very quickly.
I was quite surprised at how busy the train and bus were this morning; I thought more people would be working from home. I suppose it's possible people have gone in to work to find out whether they have to, IYSWIM. It'll be interesting to see how busy or otherwise it is tomorrow.
When I went to renew my season ticket, the lady at the desk asked if I was sure I'd be going in every day. I explained that I couldn't do my job from home, and hoped I'd be going in every day!
Lothian Buses also do pre-purchased CitySmart tickets and m-bundles, which might be useful too.
Yes, my husband had to purchase numerous laptops for his employees.
I have spent the afternoon marking and now have tired eyes from staring intensely at my screen.
The duvet has been duly washed and sanitised, and the bed is made with lovely clean fresh bedding.
It was extremely tempting to get into my night attire and get into it. Yawn....
I've just finished a rather decent (and possibly too generous) supper of SOUP, followed by chilli con carne in a baked POTATO (makes a nice change from rice) and then some of the CHEESE stash, with crackers.