Form An Orderly Queue - the British thread 2025

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  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    I hope you get your parcel, in good order, soon, @Piglet.
    Sadly not. I got a parcel, but all it contained was a couple of bolts for the headboard (which I already have) and the nuts to secure them (which I didn't).

    Any more casters? Not bloody likely! :rage: :rage: :rage:

    I have emailed them (VERY politely, and resisting the temptation to SHOUT IN ALL CAPITALS) to ask if they could kindly give me a possible date of when the remaining four casters might arrive. I almost wept when I got home, I was so frustrated and upset.

    F****** b***** h*** - this really is getting ridiculous (sorry about sweary words, even when hidden by asterisks). Where's Esther Rantzen and That's Life when you need them???

    Today being National Fish & Chips Day (really!), and also Friday, F&C has been consumed, and very nice it was too - the Golden Chip excelled themselves. And I had a nice chat with a friend (actually my boss's sister) while I was waiting. :)

    I like living somewhere where you meet people you know in the chippy. :heart:

    I've just realised I didn't post the above yesterday (I was so cross about the parcel I forgot to hit "post").
    Today hasn't been much better: we had a complete shambles of a choir practice (bloody choruses we'd never heard before), so we decamped to the cafe next door for brunch (which was very nice).

    I had a nice wee stroll round the Artisans' Market though, and bought a STEAK for supper.

    Weather intermittently moist.
  • HeavenlyannieHeavenlyannie Shipmate
    edited June 7
    Grey with intermittent light rain here.
    I had a lie this morning and then managed to get a walk in between showers of rain. After lunch (pork chop, fried peppers, creamy mushrooms) we popped to the garden centre where I bought a deep yellow double flowered coreopsis and a orangey red geranium to go with my yellow and orange patio pants. I’ve potted them up and watered the patio plants and main bed, which were bone dry as they are quite sheltered.
  • North East QuineNorth East Quine Purgatory Host
    I read as far as "Today being ....Friday" and panicked. Checked my google calendar, checked my phone, googled "what day is today?" and only then read the rest of the post, and realised you'd written it yesterday.

    Very wet here. I have been been redding out both shower room and bathroom, with the contents of the cupboards in both arrayed over the living room floor. I have convinced myself that I DO NOT NEED the current M&S summer beauty bag.

    I do however need more sunscreen as my current bottle was dated 2021 and I've chucked it. This says it all about the amount of sun I've had in the past four years.
  • BroJamesBroJames Purgatory Host
    <snip>to go with my yellow and orange patio pants. <snip>
    Tell us more about this brightly coloured nether-wear. Enquiring minds and all that. :mrgreen:
  • Cloudy and windy again in Arkland the Apprehensive - we are, apparently, *set* to be ravaged by Thundery Strums this afternoon - but there is at least an occasional gleam of Sun Shine.



    Some interesting Work has begun on an Ark which moved into Our Creek only a few months ago. It's just been sold, and the new owner is carrying out what I suspect will be a major restoration. The vessel is an old Dutch river/canal Tug, much in need of paint and general TLC, though sound in wind and limb. Not really suitable as a permanent live-aboard, but ideal as a pied a terre or weekend retreat.

    Eh? The only Ark I can think of that could be described as a pied a terre was surely Noah's, but only after he ran it aground on Mount Ararat.
  • BroJames wrote: »
    <snip>to go with my yellow and orange patio pants. <snip>
    Tell us more about this brightly coloured nether-wear. Enquiring minds and all that. :mrgreen:
    I quite fancy yellow and orange patio pants now, they sound quite dashing.
  • Piglet wrote: »
    I like living somewhere where you meet people you know in the chippy. :heart:
    Yes, I get that from kids - "You came to our school!"
    .
  • BoogieBoogie Heaven Host
    What are patio pants? 🤔
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    My apologies for confusing you, NEQ! 🙃

    I've just seen (and heard) the Linlithgow Reed Band go past, and felt sorry for them, as it was absolutely pishing at the time; it seems to have eased off a bit now, but is probably just limbering up for the next shower.

    We're quite often treated to a tune on Saturdays at this time of year; they'll be getting geared up for Marches Day, which is a week on Tuesday.
  • Boogie wrote: »
    What are patio pants? 🤔
    They are a typo!
  • PriscillaPriscilla Shipmate
    A pleasant day in Hereford - we managed to avoid all the rain 😋
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Well done! :)
  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    Back from our brief trip to Verona which was very nice, specially drinking spritzes at lunchtime while watching the world go by.
    We went to a party tonight, where someone brought along their harp. Unlike Gracie Fields he did get to play it and very nice it was too.
  • TheOrganistTheOrganist Shipmate
    Thank you Aidan O'Brien and Lambourn, who won The Derby at very good odds 😀 🍾
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    Talk about not knowing what day it is, I had actually to get out my phone in M&S to check whether it was Friday or Saturday (and hence whether I was buying a joint for tonight or tomorrow).

    Said pork belly roast was a bit disappointing - it's a meat I think only works really well in Chinese style (Red Braised - mmmm). Tonight will be something Asiatic with trout.

    Before that, must get into the garden and plant out the bedding I got on Thursday. At least it's been regularly rained on.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Church has been attended (mostly dreadful hymns - see Eccles), and laundry is laundering. I'll have a spot of brunch shortly (poached eggs, smoked salmon and toasted roll).

    Depending on energy levels, I might amble down to Tessie's and top up the larder and wine rack.

    As I still have salads in the fridge from last week, that'll have to be supper.
  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    edited June 8
    I was reading at church today. As I arrived someone pointed out that the Sequence wasn't on the printed service sheet so could I check with the priest as to whether he wanted it or not. Before I did that I checked with the choir if they were singing the responses to the psalm. Yes they were, so great. I then trotted off to find the priest who wanted the Sequence sung. Well not by me he wasn't as I can't sing. Headed back to check with the choir, who said they hadn't prepared that. Back to the priest, who said OK read it. All well and good. Then came the reading itself. I was two sentences into the reading as printed on the service sheet when the priest stopped me as he wanted the other one. I hadn't prepared that, and I well and truly mangled St Paul's syntax. Who thought doing a bit of reading could be so stressful. I too wasn't at all sure about the hymns. We ended with Shine Jesus Shine for instance.
  • :grimace:

    The fault clearly lies with the priest, who ISTM needs to get his act together.
  • PuzzlerPuzzler Shipmate
    I misread the times of services ( we are in interregnum, so things change ) so managed to miss the one service of Communion in the group.
    This afternoon I spotted that a small consort of singers I follow was singing Evensong in a rural church over the Diocesan border, so I went and enjoyed the music- more than can be said for the ‘sermon’ - see Ecclesiantics.
  • kingsfoldkingsfold Shipmate
    Shipmates, I am looking for vacuum cleaner recommendations. I currently have an upright Hoover type, and it's fine on hard surfaces but it is no longer actually picking up anything (much) from the carpets. It is far more effective to scrape my feet along the surface of the carpet and aggregate the hair then pick it up than to expect the hoover to do so! I have de-haired it regularly, so it's not a case of hair stuck round the rollers.

    I have medium length hair - a wee bit below the collar and enough to go in a ponytail, but not that long. However, it doesn't half shed.

    So I'm thinking I probably need to replace it (the hoover I mean). And it needs to be something that will deal with hair effectively! Any thoughts?


  • The simplest answer would seem to be to shave your head (Occam's Razor!) :wink:
  • Your coat is behind the door...
  • Thank you. I wasn't sure where I'd put it...
    :lol:
  • Well, doors are usually to be found in door-frames. But things may be different on boats ...
  • TwangistTwangist Shipmate
    kingsfold wrote: »
    Shipmates, I am looking for vacuum cleaner recommendations. I currently have an upright Hoover type, and it's fine on hard surfaces but it is no longer actually picking up anything (much) from the carpets. It is far more effective to scrape my feet along the surface of the carpet and aggregate the hair then pick it up than to expect the hoover to do so! I have de-haired it regularly, so it's not a case of hair stuck round the rollers.

    I have medium length hair - a wee bit below the collar and enough to go in a ponytail, but not that long. However, it doesn't half shed.

    So I'm thinking I probably need to replace it (the hoover I mean). And it needs to be something that will deal with hair effectively! Any thoughts?


    I'm a miele fan fwiw
    The dear departed mother in law had a Dyson it was horrible imnsho
  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    We have a miele that belonged to my mother and has been going strong for the last fifteen years or so. My husband is the vacuumer in our household and he seem to think it is pretty good.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    I recently bought a Hoover rechargeable beastie, which seems to do what it's supposed to.

    As you all know, housework is not my forte, and hooverage happens but rarely ... 🙃
  • North East QuineNorth East Quine Purgatory Host
    We have a Roomba (Bob2). The great thing about Roombas is that they don't get bored, so he keeps hoovering on long after I would have quit.

    He does need to be emptied more frequently than an upright with a larger dust-holder, and you need to have a fairly clear floor, no trailing wires, but I love my Roomba.

    Set Bob2 off and he just keeps going until he is out of charge, or until he's managed to trap himself somewhere.
  • cgichardcgichard Shipmate
    I had to give up my Roomba because of all the bending and lifting it involved. And I didn't like the way it talked to me, so I left it uncharged most of the time.
  • NenyaNenya All Saints Host, Ecclesiantics & MW Host
    We have a cordless Dyson but quite an old one which means the battery life is not great. It can do about 20 minutes, depending on which room(s) I'm doing. If it's our bedroom it's less - I have long hair which makes for a lot of carpet-vacuuming. It limits the amount I can do at a time but this is seldom a problem ("Naturally I'd love to do more housework but the vacuum's out of charge...").

    I like the idea of those robotic lawnmowers (a kind of outdoor Roomba) and have been to a couple of places that have one. I always feel I need to keep out of its way and apologise to it for invading its privacy. Was your Roomba rude to you, @cgichard ?

    Overcast and grey here today.
  • The RogueThe Rogue Shipmate
    Henry. Definitely Henry. We have been married for 33 years and are still on our second one which is technically a Hettie.
  • HeavenlyannieHeavenlyannie Shipmate
    edited June 9
    We have had our Roomba for about a decade and it is called Fluffles (when we got it we asked our youngest son what he would call a pet dog and we then gave the name to the Roomba). We used to keep it in the lounge but since Mr Heavenly started using that as a second office during lockdown it is a bit cluttered so we moved the Roomba upstairs so it can have free run there instead. It is probably better in lightly used rooms anyway.
    Our old Dyson was terrible and we replaced it with a Bosch cordless for downstairs and it is fabulous. If our house was bigger I would get a Henry, though. Used in hotels and care homes because it is so good (I worked in a care home as a teenager so did a lot of hoovering).
  • NenyaNenya All Saints Host, Ecclesiantics & MW Host
    I've heard a lot of people speak well of the Henry.

    I meant to say @Piglet that I hope The Bed Issue is resolved very soon.
  • EigonEigon Shipmate
    We use a Henry at work - they're very reliable.
  • CathscatsCathscats Shipmate
    Henry is the best!
  • I like the idea of a Roomba, but the floor space in the Ark is limited, and not free from obstacles - the poor thing would be for ever getting himself trapped. Dustpan & Brush and a small hand-held hoover are all that I need.

    A dry, often cloudy, day in Arkland the Sultry, but warmer than of late. Tess Coe has been visited, because Monday, and COD n'CHIPS are baking in the Remoska, because eat-by date.

    Pilates tomorrow, all being well, and possibly some Paint Ing later in the week, as the weather forecast is Not Too Bad.

    I, too, hope that The Saga Of The Porcine Bed soon reaches a satisfactory conclusion. Are you using the bed in the meantime @Piglet?
  • PriscillaPriscilla Shipmate
    Henry!
    Darllenwr was preaching at our other church family yesterday morning and challenged us to share the gospel.. We had a ministry area Pentecost Praise service in the afternoon which included a dove being released and a fire being lit.
  • We have a Henry too. They are quite heavy though.
  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    Aren't Hettie's a bit smaller and presumably lighter? They , or at least Henrys, do seem the go-to vacuum cleaners for all the places I've worked.
    It's Monday so I headed out early for my Pilates class. The rest of the day has been mainly devoted to laziness and trying not to have an afternoon nap. Tonight I have a zoom book meeting, but after that I'm thinking of an early night as I have a book I'm enjoying to read.
  • Baptist TrainfanBaptist Trainfan Shipmate
    edited June 9
    Sarasa wrote: »
    Aren't Hettie's a bit smaller and presumably lighter?
    I thought they were just a different colour but, looking at the website, they do seem to be a bit lighter. There is, I see, a "Henry Pet" which is designed to attack hair more than the basic version.

    In other news, I've mowed and edged the lawn, which very badly needed taming!

  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    I have a Heinrich (aka Kärcher) and A Chap who comes once a month to drive it. I also have a roomba, but I found prepping a room (lifting dining room chairs, looping up cables, taking up Persian rug etc) a faff, plus it needed a lot of emptying.

    I also a small cordless one for any stray crumbs in the intervals of The Chap.
  • Tree BeeTree Bee Shipmate
    We have a cordless Shark with 2 batteries. Very efficient.
  • O the Shark has pretty teeth, dear,
    And he keeps them pearly white...

    :wink:
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    The Rogue wrote: »
    Henry. Definitely Henry. We have been married for 33 years and are still on our second one which is technically a Hettie.

    I quite fancied getting a Hetty - not least because that was my mum's name! :heart: But they were quite expensive, and also seemed quite bulky, and space is at a premium chez Piglet.

    Re: porcine bed: no it bloody isn't. I have enough bolts to make a Frankenstein's Monster, but still only 4 casters, and not even a "failed to deliver" card this afternoon. I tried ringing the number on the email when I got home from work but, surprise, surprise, they only operate office hours ... just like me. I'll try and give them a call tomorrow at lunchtime if I'm not too busy. I've emailed them again, but I'm not holding out any hope of them even acknowledging it, let alone telling me when I might expect to get the bloody things.

    No - I can't use it; the base of it is in two halves, which I don't know how to put together, and even if I did, it probably wouldn't sit right, as it would be flat to the floor. I suppose I could try and lay the mattress on the floor, but honestly, if I lay down on it, I'm not sure I'd ever get up ... :blush: Anyway, with the base bits standing upright in the bedroom, there probably wouldn't be space for the mattress on the floor.

    Got rather wet coming home - it was pissing down, and I borrowed one of the office's spare brollies, but it wasn't very co-operative when it came to pressing the "open/close" button ...

    Fish cakes and garlicky, lemony green veggies for supper.
  • la vie en rougela vie en rouge Purgatory Host, Circus Host
    @Piglet I think the time has come to make some kind of formal complaint and/or ask for your money back. You paid good money for a bed in which you could sleep, and they have failed to provide you with one.
  • Agreed. Threaten Sale of Goods Act or Trading Standards.
  • Worth a try, if satisfaction is not forthcoming tomorrow.

  • cgichardcgichard Shipmate
    Nenya wrote: »
    Was your Roomba rude to you, @cgichard ?
    No, I just didn't like the nagging: "Today is Thursday; why have you not set me going?" So I removed its battery.
  • MrsBeakyMrsBeaky Shipmate
    Today is a very sad day in the Beaky household.
    19 years ago this month in his final days my Dad gave me his lovely red Golf. She is 27 years old with only 150k on the clock but has just reached the point of not being economically viable to get through the MOT.
    However, Husband Beaky is thrilled as the day of needing to shell out of our savings to buy a newer car has once more been deferred.
    Our lovely and very trustworthy mechanic knew of another elderly Golf (serviced by him throughout) in much better condition and the owner was asking the same price as repairs to ours would have cost.
    It won't last forever but will "do a turn" as my mother in law used to say!
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