Good morning everyone

 

There's been more rain overnight and this morning here but is expected to drift away over the next couple of hours. Then for the rest of the week, looks to be much drier but also much colder. There are some forecasts of some snow but I'm not expecting anything significant in my area at this time. Needless to say the Express has churned out another story of a great freeze lasting for a month which is does in order to get people to buy the paper.

 

My brother rang me last night. His train left Gloucester at 4.22, and should have arrived at London an hour or so later. It still takes time to go between London stations and he would have hoped to get back before 8.

 

However a train between Kemble and Didcot had broken down in front to his train. That stretch of track is single track. As a result my brother's train had to push the train in front along until it got to Swindon. This caused huge delays. As my brother had bought a through train from Gloucester to the station near where he lives, the train operator had to pay for a taxi to take him home. He eventually got home at 1.30, very hungry and thirsty. Some of the people in the taxi with him would have got home a lot later as they were going to Lincoln, (That's what he said but it seems an odd way to go via London).

 

There was also news I had seen and told him that the stretch of track between Kemble and Swindon will be made double track during next year. It will mean that the line is closed for a month next summer and several months of weekend closure. Good news in the long term, but is likely to impact on my btother's visits next year. Coaches to replace the train section or diversion through Bristol make the journey quite a lot longer.

Ooh, good news from Amazon, a DVD I had pre-ordered is on its way. They have a policy of making a refund should the price turn out to be lower than that shown when I ordered. Theyv'e just sent me an email to say that they are going to do this and will let me know when they have done so,

 

The refund will be for 1p - so I'll try not to get too excited by this sudden wealth

Good morning everyone, definitely colder and we have had some rain as well despite what it said in the weather forecast.  Do you ever get the feeling that you can't win?  Good news about the DVD EL try not to get too excited over the refund

 

I really like your costume Summer, well done.

 

That sounds like an awful journey for your brother EL with more disruption to face next year, still in the long run the journeys will be quicker and more reliable.

 

I like a chicken at Christmas, I prefer the flavour, I usually buy 2, one for hot one for cold.  There would be uproar in my family if there weren't a roast chicken with all the trimmings, it's sort of set in stone, my special home made stuffing, home made bread sauce, parsnips and chanteray carrots roasted in honey, pigs in blankets etc, creamed potatoes and peas and of course crispy roasties.

Morning 

What a journey for your brother El, i bet he was so glad to eventually get home. Dont go mad spending that 1p 

That meal sounds lovely squiggle 

You have made a grand job Summer, well done 
Cold here but no rain, at the moment anyway. Watching the news earlier , i really feel for those who have had their homes flooded etc. 

I'm not aware of any houses in Gloucester having been flooded in the past few days. Some of the road in low lying areas have been but these are roads which are known to flood. There are warnings in Tewksbury but there is nothing on the Environment Agency site to indicate that any major problems are anticipated. The River Severn peaks overnight and the water levels should start to recede over the next few days. A lot of flood defence work was constructed between Gloucester and Tewkesbury since the July 2007 floods and there is little doubt that this has helped to minimise the risk of a repeat.

 

Afternoon Squiggle, you made my mouth water! I'd love some stuffing now! Ooh hang on- I know where I can get some at lunch Thank you all, I just found my BIL's fabulous 8 year old son is having to come with them on Saturday night, our elf party will be even better now- he's a great kid! I think I should put my upstairs tree up so that they see it all lit up when they arrive/need the loo I have sooooo much housework to do tomorrow, and the bunnies need a health check at the vet so I'll be busy My eldest bunny, a female who's 9.5 years, is very skinny and I'm concerned. She still runs around and eats well, but I think it's wise to have a check up. I found a lump on her too that although it feels like bone, there's not a matching one on the other side, and it's never been there before.. El, oh your poor brother! I bet he couldn't wait to climb in to bed that night. I hope he didn't feel too rotten the next day. Skylark, how is the little ones costume coming along? Is she happy to try it on for you?

Yogi I hope you're having a good day wherever you are

Summer, as my brother was working yesterday he got 4 hours sleep before he had to get up. Hopefully he caught up last night.

 

Hello everyone. I've had a bit of a problem with my electrics today, which meant I had no access to the internet. Something blew the upstairs sockets and the kitchen sockets, which are on different circuits. I looked at the fuse box but couldn't see if any of the switches had tripped - it might have helped if I knew what I was looking for. Anyway, my middle son contacted the electrician who works for their sister company, and he sorted it out for me. I thought it might have been the toaster which had blown everything but it seems to be working now, as is everything else. The only thing we haven't checked is the outside light which is only activated by darkness and motion, so it doesn't work during the day. I'll keep it off for the moment - or at least until there is someone in the house who can deal with the fuse box should it all go off again.

The electrician was very diplomatic, he never even suggested I was a bit dopey, although he laughed in agreement when I said my son would say I was "as thick as mince".

 

What an awful journey for your brother, El. I hope he's managed to catch up on his sleep.

 

Summer, your costume is fabulous, and much better than the ones I have seen online. I'm sure your BiL's son would love it, if you put up your upstairs tree and I bet he loves having you as an auntie.

 

Squiggle, your description of Christmas dinner was making my mouth water, it sounds absolutely delicious.

 

No rain over this side either, Skylark. I saw on the news, the terrible flooding that some people are having, it is horrendous.

 

Another parcel due to arrive today. This time the courier is Hermes, and they have been reliable in the past.

No word on the delivery from DX though.

Oh your poor brother El, he must have been so tired at work yesterday I hope he is able to have a couple of early nights now Yogi thank goodness your son knew a chap, and you have electric again- especially before dark! It sounds scary, did anything make a huge bang? I had a beef, stuffing & gravy sandwich for lunch I thought of squiggle as I ate it then I had a mint aero

No Summer, nothing made a bang, everything just stopped working.

I can change a plug or a fuse, but that's where my expertise ends regarding electrical stuff.

Yogi, that must have been a bit of a worry, though I'm glad it's sorted out now.

 

Typically trip switches are in an on position when pointing up, and in an off position when pointing shown. So the first one in this picture shown it in the off position.

On this set, the black switches are the individual circuits, and the red ones the mains circuit. Although you can always pull a switch down to switch the electricity off, if you try to push an off one back to on and it keeps on switching off that means that the electric problem has not been sorted out. Never ever force one to an on position by sellotaping it up as that is lethal.

 

Thanks El.

On my box, the individual switches are grey and none of them had tripped. It was something called an RCD control switch which had tripped (I think) and I didn't know what position it was meant to be in, so didn't realise it had tripped.

Yogi, same principle applies with the RCD type. A typical set up would show 2 RCD switches, one for upstairs and one for downstairs. One RCD switch would have separate switches for say the upstairs lights, the downstairs final main ring, garage door and a shower. The other RCD would have separate switches for the downstairs lights, upstairs sockets, cooker and heating. It's done like that so if the lights go out on one floor, they will still be available for the other floor. That's just an example though, it doesn't follow that yours would be the same.

 

RCD stands for residual current device and in recent years have become a requirement for all new wiring and rewiring. It's intended to give extra protection for external equipment.

But confuses non-techie housewives.

 

Thanks for the info, El.

Here is a clip of Tomaso Albinoni's Adagio in G minor conducted by Herbert von Karajan. The music is slow but is one of the best known pieces of classical music even if you've never heard of the composer. Well, the music is credited to Albinoni. A Remo Giazotto announced to the world that he had found the music from an old manuscript, but the general belief of experts is that it was Giazotto who composed the music though possibly had some fragment of Albinoni in it.

 

The music is set to a slideshow and is best seen in full screen mode. The pictures start with some beautiful landscape and wildlife pictures, but during the piece the tone darkens with scenes of pollution and atomic bombs, and darkens further with apocalyptic images, but right at the end, well see for yourself. The message is clear.

 

 

Good morning everyone. Weather is dry and frosty - I like this kind of weather (except for having to scrape the car windscreen).

El, I can remember the first time I ever heard that piece of music - the first couple of minutes was used in an episode of Butterflies, and I have loved it ever since. The pics in the first half were stunning, the others made me sad and the message was very clear.

I have bookmarked it and will play it again and again, thanks for posting.

 

DX are supposed to deliver my parcel today (the one they claim to have tried to deliver on Monday - fibbers!). It better come today - or else!

 

BTW, when youngest son came home last night, we tried the outside light to see if it would trip the switch again (now that I know how to fix things), but it didn't and the light is working fine. It's all a bit strange - although I'm happy that everything is working again.

 

 

 

Good morning everyone

 

The weather here is also dry. It's quite cloudy but although it's cold there is no frost. Likely to be frosty here over the next few days but dry so that river levels should start falling. In the Tewkesbury to Gloucester stretch of the river Severn, the water level is expected to peak this afternoon then start falling. The level is about 2 foot lower than in July 2007. Yesterday afternoon I drove down some of the A38 just to the north of Gloucester. The river isn't that far away and I could see that Twigworth School (which closed down a couple of years ago) is surrounded by water.

 

There are some road closures but only in the normal places which often get flooded in winter.

 

Good morning everyone, it's dry and cold here.  Electric things can be very puzzling, sometimes I think they blow just for the hell of it

 

I was hoping this was going to be a quiet day but it looks like I am going to have to go and see if I can get a Freeview box for my daughter and eldest grandson - theirs has packed up and they have no telly at all  

 

Last Tango in Halifax only recorded 6 minutes and smugly informed me this morning that it clashed despite the fact that it was left on BBC1 and the TV was turned off and the only other programme it had to record was IACGMOOH! Technology! Bah!

Morning 

Very cold here, just off out. Will pop in later to catch up 

Oh no Squiggle! Extra expense, particularly at this time of year, is not good.

 

Can you watch Last Tango In Halifax on BBC iplayer? I haven't seen last night's episode yet. I'll save it until I do the ironing, it will help to ease the boredom.

 

Skylark, wrap up well before you go out, it's freezing out there.

Squiggle, good luck with your Freeview box mission. Strange about LTIH recording being sabotaged by IACGMOOH

 

My new Panasonic recorder has remained temperamental ever since I got it. Sometimes when it is turned on (either by me or to record a programme I've set up) it will fail the warm up process. If I have turned it on I have to then restart it. If it's a programme I've set up to record it will repeat the warm up process itself. It generally succeeds the second time but sometimes it takes 3 times. So if I'm recording something I set the start time 4 minutes before it's due to start to allow for this. Needless to say this is one of those faults which only happens from time to time and I have little doubt that if I sent it to Panasonic for repair they would say they couldn't find anything wrong with it.

 

Link to last night's episode of LTIH in iPlayer:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/e...n_Halifax_Episode_2/

 

Thanks EL, I was going to go searching for it

 

good afternoon It's cold but finally dry here, I walked bramble in a little bit of rare sunshine I saw a rainbow too Yogi I hope all your electrics are behaving today, seeing as you're a dab hand at fixing things now, I think Santa should bring you a shiny new tool box I've spent the morning in tears I took my 2 elderly bunnies for a health check, because the eldest has become very skinny lately. It turns out she has a rotten tooth, which is why she's eating less. Trouble is, although she's in great shape for a 9 1/2 year old, she's at a very high risk of not surviving surgery. Even if she did, recovery is also highly risky. Her age, weight and the time of year are all against her. I've come home with 10 days supply of liquid food that I have to syringe feed her and pain medication. She lapped up both this afternoon and has been happily hopping around the garden. We have to go back in 10 days and decide what to do next. The thing is, I don't want to put her through the trauma & risks of surgery, but she'll still have the rotten tooth. Even if she gains weight now, is she going to need syringe feeding for the rest of her days..? She still eats some pellets, which is good because the vet said it would have been pretty hopeless if she had stopped eating altogether. I love her too much to drag her through the end of her days with a poor quality of life, it's just really sad when the time is coming isn't it? Mr summer said he'll take her when the time comes if I can't, and he'll bring her home with Howard so he can understand that she's gone, then bury her in the garden. SIL also offered, how kind hey

Aww Summer, I really feel for you. The only advice I will give you is listen to your heart, If your bunny does well on the liquid diet and gets her appetite back, then I would see how things go. However, if she is in constant pain and eating becomes really difficult for her, then I know you won't let her suffer.

 

And the same from me

Well said Yogi, love is love Summer whether it's for another human being or for an animal. Pain, trauma and loss are hard to bear but it's the price we pay for loving.  I hope the outcome is good

Aww Summer, ditto as others have said 

Glad you got electrics sorted Yogi. 
Forgot Last tango in Halifax was on will have to catch up.
its a nuisance now having to buy a freeview box to watch the telly. 
Been so cold here today 

Thank you all I've had my cry & sulk and feel a lot better now the little bunny has eaten all her vet food, and thoroughly enjoyed it. She ate some normal food too, the pain killers must have really worked well! I'll keep you posted on her progress

That sounds positive Summer x
 I know how you feel, we get so attached to our animals dont we? I love my doggy so much, she has been part of our lives for so long. Just one of the family. 
Hope you feel a bit better for having a cry , it lets it out.
Sending you lots of cuddles and to bunny too  

Glad you are feeling better, and bunny has been eating, too.

Goodnight everyone, sleep well 

Sorry Skylark, I've been in the jungle thread.

Sleep well, sweet dreams.

Thank you skylark yes we do get so attached, I've spent a decade & moved 3 times with this bunny and she has a such strong personality lol I bought her at a rather rubbish time in my life and she was very therapeutic, looking after her made me less selfish. Sweet dreams, hope your family are all well Hi yogi any new evictions?

Back to tell you this...
Son looking at me with big eyes asking me what i am getting him for Christmas. 

Son says "my xbox broken"
Me says, sorry money is so tight i cant get one. 
Son looking sad , but says ok. 
The new xbox is in the hall cupboard , with two games. Am i cruel ?  

Off now, goodnight again xx (no worries Yogi) x


 

I can relate to that too, my Kia has seen me through some crap times too, glad she cant speak ! xx

Hehe that's great skylark he'll love it all the more for thinking he hasn't got one Sometimes I think we don't even need to talk, our pets seem to just know how we feel don't they Sweetest of dreams again I'm off too because I just fell asleep on the sofa, again Night night yogi hope you had a good day

No not cruel, think of the lovely surprise he'll get on Christmas morning.

I can relate to that.