The problem with the Yellow Fish was not just that it was utterly vile. It's that its utter vileness was imparted to the Yellow goo in which it sat. The Yellow goo permeated the entire plate (like tinned tomatoes (Satan's bollocks) oozing their foulness into and thus destroying a perfectly good Full English breakfast), rendering the potatoes and peas as vile, noisome and utterly loathsome as the Yellow Fish itself.
It was a bit like the business with the loaves and the fishes in that I swear there was more in the pig bins at the end than had been served out initially.
On another subject altogether, from our 'Weird or what?' department...
Last night I dreamt that @Sarasa was playing opposite Oliver Reed at the National Theatre.
I don't remember what play it was, but given that Mr Reed died in 1999, I'm inclined to think perhaps a gender-reversal of Blithe Spirit?
That really cheered me up when I read it over breakfast @The Intrepid Mrs S. I wouldn't mind playing opposite a young Oliver Reed, but as I'm probably the world's worst actor I think he's probably throw me off the stage. Even more unlikely, as I really can't sing in tune, I once dreamed I was in a West End musical. Mind you in another life I want to come back as one of Leonard Cohen's backing singers.
Rationing was in full blown force when I went to Grammar School, and school dinners reflected that. However, we ate it, whatever it was, and hopefully pudding would be "stodge", ie steamed pudding cut in big squares with a miniscule amount of custard. It all disappeared in record time. The ones I felt sorry for were the Jewish children, who usually got mashed potato with a tiny square of cheese on top..
But we all survived to tell the tale. Well, most of us!
And yes @Ethne Alba, I remember the milk pudding with yellow something on top. Glorious!
...
Last night I dreamt that @Sarasa was playing opposite Oliver Reed at the National Theatre.
You want to go easy on the cheese before you go to bed.
Another rather duff commute today; the train was a couple of minutes late, and I probably missed a bus by a whisker, meaning another long, cold, foggy wait.
It doesn't actually make me late for work, but if I'm going to have to get up at sparrow-fart I'd quite like to get in earlier so that I can leave earlier too, and I really resent wasting half an hour at a chuffing bus stop.
Another rather duff commute today; the train was a couple of minutes late, and I probably missed a bus by a whisker, meaning another long, cold, foggy wait.
It doesn't actually make me late for work, but if I'm going to have to get up at sparrow-fart I'd quite like to get in earlier so that I can leave earlier too, and I really resent wasting half an hour at a chuffing bus stop.
Humph.
You'd better check your train times - ScotRail are reducing the number of trains running...
It was my Zoom German lesson this morning - my brain is fried. We are on the dative case now and my memory is frazzled!
I work hard at my German. I’m a very quick thinker, so - just as in my school and university days - I appear really clever in the lessons and much quicker than the others (there are four of us). But I’m a slooooooow learner and it takes me all week to get the new lesson into my head.
School Puddings these days are a different beast - things like gypsy tart being right out due to strictly controlled sugar levels. The worst catering crime we suffered was due to the BSE crisis: vegetarian mince that wasn't flavoured properly and actually tasted burnt.
This afternoon has mostly comprised an exciting trip to the tip and Lidl.
Many years ago during yet another work-to-rule (by ASLEF, the NUR or whoever) I dashed onto the station platform and jumped on a train that was about to pull-out.
A ticket inspector came around, looked at mine and asked where I'd got onto the train. When I told him he lost it completely, telling me the train didn't stop at that station so I must be lying. Other passengers assured him I was being truthful and he spent 3 or 4 minutes hopping from foot to foot muttering about "charging for a journey that can't happen" before just giving up and going away.
I enjoyed school dinners on the whole, but what I particularly remember with fondness was the before-classes cocoa in winter.
As most of us travelled in from rural parts to the town where our school was, we could get creamy hot cocoa in the canteen when we arrived which was delicious. I’ve never been able to make it to taste so good myself .
A ticket inspector came around, looked at mine and asked where I'd got onto the train. When I told him he lost it completely, telling me the train didn't stop at that station so I must be lying.
On modern trains with electronic locks, you can't do this, of course. But I've been on several trains where the inspector has told me "this train doesn't stop at X station" whilst the train has been motionless at the X station platform. (And several times I've got off a train at a station it doesn't stop at. A regular journey for me used to go into the main city station, then change onto a local train and go back up the line I came in on a couple of local stops. Sometimes, the long-distance train would stop at "my" platform waiting at a signal. It's hard in those circumstances not to get off...
I went to a supermarket today, the first time I've been in any shop this year. We needed a few bits and pieces which I got, but what made me happy was getting a bunch of daffodils. I'd forgotten they start being available about now. It feels like spring and maybe better times are on the way.
Our house move is trundling on. They are doing the homebuyers report on our house tomorrow and we've agreed to buy some of the furniture in the house we are moving to. It includes a really nice kitchen table and chairs and a few other useful bits and pieces. Fingers crossed nothing horrible comes out of the survey and we can get things tied up soonish.
I've been on several trains where the inspector has told me "this train doesn't stop at X station" whilst the train has been motionless at the X station platform. (And several times I've got off a train at a station it doesn't stop at. A regular journey for me used to go into the main city station, then change onto a local train and go back up the line I came in on a couple of local stops. Sometimes, the long-distance train would stop at "my" platform waiting at a signal. It's hard in those circumstances not to get off...
When I was a student at Southampton University, there used to be summer Saturday train which went from Poole to Sheffield. Noting that it stopped at St Alban's on my own line, and wanting to know how it got round London, I elected to try it. It was stopped by signals at my own station and I alighted - the Guard was not pleased but said, "Well, make sure you've shut the door".
There were only about 8 people aboard a full mainline set - admittedly it was early in the season when most of the traffic would have been going the other way. Not helped though by the booking clerk at Southampton who flatly denied that there was a through train to Sheffield!
All this talk of school dinners gave me vivid dreams of school last night.
Sorry you are having commute problems @Piglet . When my place of work moved from the town where I live I deliberately went in early so as to be able to leave early, and the bus was pretty reliable but I've got some not particularly pleasant memories of hanging around at bus stops getting cold or wet or both.
In a break from routine I went shopping this morning as the roads were icy yesterday and I'm not a confident driver. It's remarkably mild here today and I didn't wrap up for my walk this afternoon but still got pretty warm.
This morning on my walk I posted a parcel to my son for his 20th birthday, containing a present and a cake. He's still alone in his uni house. The cake was loaf style to travel well, I made my usual standard sponge but replaced some sugar with confetti sprinkles so that it had rainbow dots in it; the top was lightly glazed and had more confetti sprinkles.
This afternoon I've written a proposal for a presentation at an internal postgraduate conference (how covid is impacting on our research). I've just made baked plaice, veg curry (leftovers roasted veg) and baked mashed potato wedges (more leftovers). Pudding was Fry's Turkish delight
I've just got an automatic email from my dentist noting that I haven't been for a while and I should make an appointment - they cancelled the last 3 and I assume they are still closed!
I'm not sure whether I shouldn't be saying this in TICTH, but Scot Rail, in their wisdom, have decided to reduce the number of carriages on my morning train by 50%, thereby making social distancing twice as hard as it was. I can understand that they don't want to waste their resources, but it does seem a little foolhardy.
We're not quite packed in the way you used to be in the Tube (I still haven't had to actually sit beside someone), but you do feel that you're getting rather closer to others than you'd like.
In completely unrelated news, supper chez Piglet was salmon baked with potatoes, veggies and crème fraîche.
I've been on several trains where the inspector has told me "this train doesn't stop at X station" whilst the train has been motionless at the X station platform. (And several times I've got off a train at a station it doesn't stop at. A regular journey for me used to go into the main city station, then change onto a local train and go back up the line I came in on a couple of local stops. Sometimes, the long-distance train would stop at "my" platform waiting at a signal. It's hard in those circumstances not to get off...
When I was a student at Southampton University, there used to be summer Saturday train which went from Poole to Sheffield. Noting that it stopped at St Alban's on my own line, and wanting to know how it got round London, I elected to try it. It was stopped by signals at my own station and I alighted - the Guard was not pleased but said, "Well, make sure you've shut the door".
There were only about 8 people aboard a full mainline set - admittedly it was early in the season when most of the traffic would have been going the other way. Not helped though by the booking clerk at Southampton who flatly denied that there was a through train to Sheffield!
Main line to Byfleet, then Chertsey, Virginia Water, Staines, Hounslow, Kew Bridge West Curve, Acton Central, Brent Junction (change engines), Midland goods line to Silkstream Junction, thence slow line northwards.
I'm not sure whether I shouldn't be saying this in TICTH, but Scot Rail, in their wisdom, have decided to reduce the number of carriages on my morning train by 50%, thereby making social distancing twice as hard as it was.
It was decidedly wet here today. This morning we went to the market to get vegetables for making SOUP, and the nice man on the organic fruit and veg gave Captain Pyjamas a clementine. Unfortunately poor old Captain P later spotted it in the pushchair pocket, thought "mmmm my present, that must be something tasty" and tried to bite into it without peeling it first I don't think he found it as nice as he was hoping.
I used at one time to buy two tickets for a single journey from Sheffield to Stranraer. This surprised the booking clerk when I went in the first time. The reason was the tickets were:
Sheffield -> Carlisle
Carlisle -> Stranraer
but I changed trains at Newcastle. No-one would admit there was a direct train Newcastle to Stranraer so I could not buy a through ticket that allowed me to travel on that train.
I used at one time to buy two tickets for a single journey from Sheffield to Stranraer. This surprised the booking clerk when I went in the first time. The reason was the tickets were:
Sheffield -> Carlisle
Carlisle -> Stranraer
but I changed trains at Newcastle. No-one would admit there was a direct train Newcastle to Stranraer so I could not buy a through ticket that allowed me to travel on that train.
A couple of years ago I wanted to travel from Cardiff to Kidderminster. It was much cheaper to buy Cardiff-Hereford and then another ticket to Kidderminster.
Some years ago I had to go from Ipswich to Manchester. The through ticket was £2 cheaper than the ticket just as far as London, travelling on the same train! Bonkers.
A similar situation in the U.S. with airplanes. Back in the 1980s my sister and I wanted to surprise our mother on her birthday. I flew from Arizona (western U.S.) to Chicago (middle U.S.) where my sister lived. We met at the airport and got on the plane to New Jersey (east coast) where Mom lived. My sister's airfare was greater than mine, even though we flew the same plane from Chicago to New Jersey, and I was also on the previous flight from Arizona to Chicago.
I used to flummox the station staff in Lancaster by asking for a ticket to Norwich (where my parents lived) via Leeds, which I knew to be quicker and cheaper than the standard route down to Manchester and on to the interminable cross-country service. The first part of that journey was a mixed blessing - the direct route to Leeds on the Morecambe line is gorgeous but came (until very recently) at the cost of two hours on a pacer.
For some reason the train that goes from Edinburgh to Glasgow in the morning still has eight carriages; it was running late today and went through Linlithgow while I was waiting on the other platform. I could have counted the passengers on one hand, so why they pack us into four carriages going the other way is a mystery.
In other news, it's p*ssing with rain, and I had to deploy the Porcine Hat.
For some reason the train that goes from Edinburgh to Glasgow in the morning still has eight carriages; it was running late today and went through Linlithgow while I was waiting on the other platform. I could have counted the passengers on one hand, so why they pack us into four carriages going the other way is a mystery.
Trains tend to stay in fixed sets and shuttle back and forth all day, so perhaps it will be fuller on its return journey? The London Underground used to run shorter trains in the off-peak hours, but found it was better to avoid the shunting and general faffing around needed to do so.
I have a zoom crochet group meeting this afternoon, organised by the MS society. This means I have 4 zoom meetings a week - church on a Sunday, craft group on Tuesday, Welsh on Wednesday and crochet Thursday. We also talk to Lord and Lady P on a Sunday via the net.
We have a new vicar in our specific church being inducted on the 7th. That will also be via zoom.
How would wE have managed without the net? It’s definitely a mixed blessing - it’s far too easy to spend hours on Facebook or, in my case, Words with Friends (internet scrabble), but it has kept groups together.
I find Zooming keeps me going. Partly because it’s at regular times so my week has some structure.
Puppy class zoom is interesting - the pups are much better behaved than in real life because they are not distracted by each other. Echo has a quick look at the pups on screen but, since we don’t have smelly-vision, he’s not distracted from his lessons.
More satisfactory commute today; I just caught the bus, which I suspect was running late, and got to work just after 8 o'clock. This is a Good Thing, as it means I can leave at four and be home by a decent time.
Baked spud with CHEESE for supper, I think.
I find Zooming keeps me going. Partly because it’s at regular times so my week has some structure.
Puppy class zoom is interesting - the pups are much better behaved than in real life because they are not distracted by each other. Echo has a quick look at the pups on screen but, since we don’t have smelly-vision, he’s not distracted from his lessons.
Lots of guide dog pups on screen at once - that's got to be an overload of cuteness/gorgeousness.
How to I sign up to just watch?
@Piglet - without knowing anything whatsoever about the geography of your part of Scotland, is there anywhere which might be a better place to change between bus and train?
IYSWIM.
(One of those little 100% electric cars would solve the problem, depending on parking at either end of the journey. The Citr**n Ami is likely to be available in the UK at some point, though I'm not sure how much one would cost).
I find Zooming keeps me going. Partly because it’s at regular times so my week has some structure.
Puppy class zoom is interesting - the pups are much better behaved than in real life because they are not distracted by each other. Echo has a quick look at the pups on screen but, since we don’t have smelly-vision, he’s not distracted from his lessons.
Lots of guide dog pups on screen at once - that's got to be an overload of cuteness/gorgeousness.
How to I sign up to just watch?
Hehe!
I have to go in the class with the babies sometimes - they are super cute as they learn their first lessons. Echo looks like a giant in comparison! 🦮
I have to go in the class with the babies sometimes - they are super cute as they learn their first lessons. Echo looks like a giant in comparison! 🦮
I'm assuming you mean very young pups - all feet, ears and fluff? On first reading I took it as baby humans, and you can keep them - no interest at all!
Saw a German Shepherd pup the other day - definitely all feet, ears & fluff. And very cute
We sponsor pups in training (on behalf of our grown up children). They’re supposed to get the updates, though the pics often come to us. They are so sweet and fluffy!
First world problem: I’ve just staggered round town on my monthly prescription collection, to find that my regular foundation looks to be discontinued. Whatever shall I do?! All those Zoom calls!
@Piglet - without knowing anything whatsoever about the geography of your part of Scotland, is there anywhere which might be a better place to change between bus and train?
IYSWIM.
(One of those little 100% electric cars would solve the problem, depending on parking at either end of the journey. The Citr**n Ami is likely to be available in the UK at some point, though I'm not sure how much one would cost).
Depends on whether the Scottish NHS is as fond as many of English trusts of charging through the nose for staff parking in an attempt to dissuade people from applying for over subscribed spaces.
@Piglet - without knowing anything whatsoever about the geography of your part of Scotland, is there anywhere which might be a better place to change between bus and train?
IYSWIM.
(One of those little 100% electric cars would solve the problem, depending on parking at either end of the journey. The Citr**n Ami is likely to be available in the UK at some point, though I'm not sure how much one would cost).
Depends on whether the Scottish NHS is as fond as many of English trusts of charging through the nose for staff parking in an attempt to dissuade people from applying for over subscribed spaces.
Yes is the answer to that. In "normal" times, on my site there is one non-permit car park for staff. It's full by 7am (those of us who start before that are OK). It has allegedly been observed that people come in that early and sit in their cars until they start in order to get parking, and it's widely suspected that there are also folk using it as a park & ride for the city centre (in times of yore). And almost all the onstreet car parking hereabouts is also controlled, with max 3hrs stay, and it becomes very expensive after the first hour.
Yes, that thought crossed my mind, but AIUI the Scottish NHS is a more generous animal than its southern counterpart.
There's also the question of whether there's anywhere safe and convenient to park a Pigletmobile at the new Chateau.
I think a Pigletmobile exists on the same level of reality as the Sunlit Southern Uplands and the Unicorns.... And even were such a thing to exist, it would be a White Elephant since I don't think she drives.
I have to go in the class with the babies sometimes - they are super cute as they learn their first lessons. Echo looks like a giant in comparison! 🦮
I'm assuming you mean very young pups - all feet, ears and fluff? On first reading I took it as baby humans, and you can keep them - no interest at all!
Saw a German Shepherd pup the other day - definitely all feet, ears & fluff. And very cute
I agree entirely. Human babies hold no interest for me at all (apart from my granddaughter, of course!)
Yes, that thought crossed my mind, but AIUI the Scottish NHS is a more generous animal than its southern counterpart.
There's also the question of whether there's anywhere safe and convenient to park a Pigletmobile at the new Chateau.
I think a Pigletmobile exists on the same level of reality as the Sunlit Southern Uplands and the Unicorns.... And even were such a thing to exist, it would be a White Elephant since I don't think she drives.
Ah well - perhaps you're right.
I just had this rather sad vision of a lost, lorn Piglet, standing a-shivering in the snow/rain/fog/hail/sleet/wind, a-waiting for The Bus That Never Comes...
I think a Pigletmobile exists on the same level of .. And even were such a thing to exist, it would be a White Elephant since I don't think she drives.
I do have a driving licence; it's just that I haven't driven since we went to Canada 18 years ago, and I'd be very rusty.
There is a car park beside the chateau, but I've never seen it anything but full.
I should have known that my good fortune with the bus this morning wouldn't last: I saw a bus leaving the stop outside work just as I came round the corner, so a 15-minute wait in smirry rain it is.
This afternoon has been taken up with trying to get financial things sorted. It took three complicated phone calls to get my password reset with NS&I and my husband is now on hold half way through trying to sort out transferring money from one account to another with our bank. He's particularly infuriated by it keeping on telling him he has a premium account.
I think a Pigletmobile exists on the same level of .. And even were such a thing to exist, it would be a White Elephant since I don't think she drives.
I do have a driving licence; it's just that I haven't driven since we went to Canada 18 years ago, and I'd be very rusty.
There is a car park beside the chateau, but I've never seen it anything but full.
I should have known that my good fortune with the bus this morning wouldn't last: I saw a bus leaving the stop outside work just as I came round the corner, so a 15-minute wait in smirry rain it is.
There was swearing.
O dear. I think Sweary Words are allowable, under the circumstances...
BTW, I've looked up my old British Railway Atlas, and I see that Pigletville is a good way further from Embra than I realised.
I think a Pigletmobile exists on the same level of .. And even were such a thing to exist, it would be a White Elephant since I don't think she drives.
I do have a driving licence; it's just that I haven't driven since we went to Canada 18 years ago, and I'd be very rusty.
You could always book a refresher lesson with a local driving instructor (when such things are allowed) to bring your driving skills up-to-date.
But then, I do enjoy driving and like the freedom that owning and running a car brings me. I'm dreading retirement, when I expect that we two shall downsize from a three-car family to a one-car family, and I shall, once again, be relegated to the passenger seat and have to ask permission to be able to use the car...
(The third car is the "mid-life crisis car" - a sporty little number that has hardly been used at all this past year by me, as there is nowhere to go. The furthest it goes at the moment is to the local Crem when the OH takes it to work...)
It is great pity that electric cars are so very expensive. I think I would be happy to trade in my small petrol number for an electric one, as all I use it for is as a time machine to drive small local distances which theoretically I could walk but it would take longer. And I'd get wet and cold.
Pigletville is about 20 miles from Embra - 20 minutes on the train on a good day.
Your thought about other stations is a valid one: the train I get stops at Haymarket on the way to Waverley, which would get me nearer to where I want to be, but it would involve either an extra bus ride (at £1.80 a pop until I can sort out a monthly-pay bus pass) or a considerably longer walk in the Pouring Wind and Rain.
I've been looking at the route, and it might be feasible, but I think I'd want to try it out on a day when I don't actually have to be there. Sadly, non-essential journeys are rather frowned-upon at the minute, unless you're the Prime Minister.
St. E. - I do like the idea of having my own wheels, but I'm nervous of the expense as well as the actual driving - I'm not sure I could afford to run a car.
Good idea to give it a try on a day off (and when the weather is better). You could class it as *exercise*, maybe, or else *work-related*...
As to running a car, yes, I agree - it can be expensive. As @St Everild says, it would be good to be able to have a small electricackle job, if one only needs it as a runabout, but the Renau**t one costs about £27k.
The smaller Citro**n Ami (cost unknown, but doubtless a lot less) has a range of only 44 miles per charge, so a bit tight for your commute in and out of Embra.
Comments
The problem with the Yellow Fish was not just that it was utterly vile. It's that its utter vileness was imparted to the Yellow goo in which it sat. The Yellow goo permeated the entire plate (like tinned tomatoes (Satan's bollocks) oozing their foulness into and thus destroying a perfectly good Full English breakfast), rendering the potatoes and peas as vile, noisome and utterly loathsome as the Yellow Fish itself.
It was a bit like the business with the loaves and the fishes in that I swear there was more in the pig bins at the end than had been served out initially.
Last night I dreamt that @Sarasa was playing opposite Oliver Reed at the National Theatre.
I don't remember what play it was, but given that Mr Reed died in 1999, I'm inclined to think perhaps a gender-reversal of Blithe Spirit?
That really cheered me up when I read it over breakfast @The Intrepid Mrs S. I wouldn't mind playing opposite a young Oliver Reed, but as I'm probably the world's worst actor I think he's probably throw me off the stage. Even more unlikely, as I really can't sing in tune, I once dreamed I was in a West End musical. Mind you in another life I want to come back as one of Leonard Cohen's backing singers.
But we all survived to tell the tale. Well, most of us!
And yes @Ethne Alba, I remember the milk pudding with yellow something on top. Glorious!
Another rather duff commute today; the train was a couple of minutes late, and I probably missed a bus by a whisker, meaning another long, cold, foggy wait.
It doesn't actually make me late for work, but if I'm going to have to get up at sparrow-fart I'd quite like to get in earlier so that I can leave earlier too, and I really resent wasting half an hour at a chuffing bus stop.
Humph.
You'd better check your train times - ScotRail are reducing the number of trains running...
I work hard at my German. I’m a very quick thinker, so - just as in my school and university days - I appear really clever in the lessons and much quicker than the others (there are four of us). But I’m a slooooooow learner and it takes me all week to get the new lesson into my head.
Ho hum, pig’s bum!
🐖
This afternoon has mostly comprised an exciting trip to the tip and Lidl.
I wouldn't mind so much if they were consistent; it's not knowing what to expect that's a pain in the proverbial.
A ticket inspector came around, looked at mine and asked where I'd got onto the train. When I told him he lost it completely, telling me the train didn't stop at that station so I must be lying. Other passengers assured him I was being truthful and he spent 3 or 4 minutes hopping from foot to foot muttering about "charging for a journey that can't happen" before just giving up and going away.
As most of us travelled in from rural parts to the town where our school was, we could get creamy hot cocoa in the canteen when we arrived which was delicious. I’ve never been able to make it to taste so good myself .
On modern trains with electronic locks, you can't do this, of course. But I've been on several trains where the inspector has told me "this train doesn't stop at X station" whilst the train has been motionless at the X station platform. (And several times I've got off a train at a station it doesn't stop at. A regular journey for me used to go into the main city station, then change onto a local train and go back up the line I came in on a couple of local stops. Sometimes, the long-distance train would stop at "my" platform waiting at a signal. It's hard in those circumstances not to get off...
Our house move is trundling on. They are doing the homebuyers report on our house tomorrow and we've agreed to buy some of the furniture in the house we are moving to. It includes a really nice kitchen table and chairs and a few other useful bits and pieces. Fingers crossed nothing horrible comes out of the survey and we can get things tied up soonish.
When I was a student at Southampton University, there used to be summer Saturday train which went from Poole to Sheffield. Noting that it stopped at St Alban's on my own line, and wanting to know how it got round London, I elected to try it. It was stopped by signals at my own station and I alighted - the Guard was not pleased but said, "Well, make sure you've shut the door".
There were only about 8 people aboard a full mainline set - admittedly it was early in the season when most of the traffic would have been going the other way. Not helped though by the booking clerk at Southampton who flatly denied that there was a through train to Sheffield!
Sorry you are having commute problems @Piglet . When my place of work moved from the town where I live I deliberately went in early so as to be able to leave early, and the bus was pretty reliable but I've got some not particularly pleasant memories of hanging around at bus stops getting cold or wet or both.
In a break from routine I went shopping this morning as the roads were icy yesterday and I'm not a confident driver. It's remarkably mild here today and I didn't wrap up for my walk this afternoon but still got pretty warm.
This afternoon I've written a proposal for a presentation at an internal postgraduate conference (how covid is impacting on our research). I've just made baked plaice, veg curry (leftovers roasted veg) and baked mashed potato wedges (more leftovers). Pudding was Fry's Turkish delight
I've just got an automatic email from my dentist noting that I haven't been for a while and I should make an appointment - they cancelled the last 3 and I assume they are still closed!
We're not quite packed in the way you used to be in the Tube (I still haven't had to actually sit beside someone), but you do feel that you're getting rather closer to others than you'd like.
In completely unrelated news, supper chez Piglet was salmon baked with potatoes, veggies and crème fraîche.
How did it get round London?
On its wheels ...
Main line to Byfleet, then Chertsey, Virginia Water, Staines, Hounslow, Kew Bridge West Curve, Acton Central, Brent Junction (change engines), Midland goods line to Silkstream Junction, thence slow line northwards.
Well, you did ask!
Sheffield -> Carlisle
Carlisle -> Stranraer
but I changed trains at Newcastle. No-one would admit there was a direct train Newcastle to Stranraer so I could not buy a through ticket that allowed me to travel on that train.
Some years ago I had to go from Ipswich to Manchester. The through ticket was £2 cheaper than the ticket just as far as London, travelling on the same train! Bonkers.
In other news, it's p*ssing with rain, and I had to deploy the Porcine Hat.
Have I mentioned before how much I hate hats?
We have a new vicar in our specific church being inducted on the 7th. That will also be via zoom.
How would wE have managed without the net? It’s definitely a mixed blessing - it’s far too easy to spend hours on Facebook or, in my case, Words with Friends (internet scrabble), but it has kept groups together.
Puppy class zoom is interesting - the pups are much better behaved than in real life because they are not distracted by each other. Echo has a quick look at the pups on screen but, since we don’t have smelly-vision, he’s not distracted from his lessons.
Baked spud with CHEESE for supper, I think.
Lots of guide dog pups on screen at once - that's got to be an overload of cuteness/gorgeousness.
How to I sign up to just watch?
IYSWIM.
(One of those little 100% electric cars would solve the problem, depending on parking at either end of the journey. The Citr**n Ami is likely to be available in the UK at some point, though I'm not sure how much one would cost).
Hehe!
I have to go in the class with the babies sometimes - they are super cute as they learn their first lessons. Echo looks like a giant in comparison! 🦮
I'm assuming you mean very young pups - all feet, ears and fluff? On first reading I took it as baby humans, and you can keep them - no interest at all!
Saw a German Shepherd pup the other day - definitely all feet, ears & fluff. And very cute
First world problem: I’ve just staggered round town on my monthly prescription collection, to find that my regular foundation looks to be discontinued. Whatever shall I do?! All those Zoom calls!
Depends on whether the Scottish NHS is as fond as many of English trusts of charging through the nose for staff parking in an attempt to dissuade people from applying for over subscribed spaces.
Yes is the answer to that. In "normal" times, on my site there is one non-permit car park for staff. It's full by 7am (those of us who start before that are OK). It has allegedly been observed that people come in that early and sit in their cars until they start in order to get parking, and it's widely suspected that there are also folk using it as a park & ride for the city centre (in times of yore). And almost all the onstreet car parking hereabouts is also controlled, with max 3hrs stay, and it becomes very expensive after the first hour.
There's also the question of whether there's anywhere safe and convenient to park a Pigletmobile at the new Chateau.
I think a Pigletmobile exists on the same level of reality as the Sunlit Southern Uplands and the Unicorns.... And even were such a thing to exist, it would be a White Elephant since I don't think she drives.
I agree entirely. Human babies hold no interest for me at all (apart from my granddaughter, of course!)
But puppies are endlessly fascinating. 🐶
Ah well - perhaps you're right.
I just had this rather sad vision of a lost, lorn Piglet, standing a-shivering in the snow/rain/fog/hail/sleet/wind, a-waiting for The Bus That Never Comes...
https://youtu.be/4Pl-Xmq678Y
There is a car park beside the chateau, but I've never seen it anything but full.
I should have known that my good fortune with the bus this morning wouldn't last: I saw a bus leaving the stop outside work just as I came round the corner, so a 15-minute wait in smirry rain it is.
There was swearing.
I'm not kingsfold, but... I just fell in love! They are so adorable! Thank you for sharing.
O dear. I think Sweary Words are allowable, under the circumstances...
BTW, I've looked up my old British Railway Atlas, and I see that Pigletville is a good way further from Embra than I realised.
Your thought about other stations is a valid one: the train I get stops at Haymarket on the way to Waverley, which would get me nearer to where I want to be, but it would involve either an extra bus ride (at £1.80 a pop until I can sort out a monthly-pay bus pass) or a considerably longer walk in the Pouring Wind and Rain.
I've been looking at the route, and it might be feasible, but I think I'd want to try it out on a day when I don't actually have to be there. Sadly, non-essential journeys are rather frowned-upon at the minute, unless you're the Prime Minister.
St. E. - I do like the idea of having my own wheels, but I'm nervous of the expense as well as the actual driving - I'm not sure I could afford to run a car.
As to running a car, yes, I agree - it can be expensive. As @St Everild says, it would be good to be able to have a small electricackle job, if one only needs it as a runabout, but the Renau**t one costs about £27k.
The smaller Citro**n Ami (cost unknown, but doubtless a lot less) has a range of only 44 miles per charge, so a bit tight for your commute in and out of Embra.