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G#Gill
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Post by G#Gill »

Well I've unlocked the door and set the coffee machine going etc. etc. I reckon with this cold weather invading us, well certainly those of us in the UK, we'll need hot coffee on tap! :wah: At the moment it is snowing quite hard so if it keeps going on like this all night, then there will be trouble during the rush hour for all those struggling to get to work. I'm so glad that I have retired ! :yh_rotfl Mind you I live half way up a hill, so the road is nicely sloped and when snow falls, then gets hard packed and is basically solid ice, then there is quite a bit of entertainment viewing from our sitting room window ! Of course it is made even more entertaining when the gritting lorry doesn't attend to our local side roads.

With all the cut-backs by our council, the gritting lorries seem to only attend to the main roads ! Having said that, there was no gritting done on the A52 trunk road from Nottingham to Grantham and there certainly was no gritting on a nearby main road that our side road comes off, the last snow we had the other week. There were no end of skidding accidents and dozens of people complained bitterly to the local council, and the county council (who deal with all the county's gritting now), but I doubt very much whether there will be any improvement in the service ! :-5

I'm not sure how the weather is over in America or in other countries in Europe, but I expect they get it worse than the UK !

Looks like I'll be using my tumble drier tomorrow when I've done my clothes washing ! :rolleyes:
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Post by G#Gill »

Crikey, I've just seen what the time is !!!!!! Time for bed ! Good night Jim Bob ! :wah::yh_bye
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Post by Oscar Namechange »

And what are you doing up so late eh Mrs ?
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Post by kazalala »

I'll have a black coffee and a slice of carrot cake please :)

we have had snow here but not that bad, melted on the roads pretty quickly.




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Post by G#Gill »

Oscar Namechange;1472058 wrote: And what are you doing up so late eh Mrs ?


I could say the same to you innit ! :wah:
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Post by G#Gill »

Hi Kaz ! Yes it has snowed, but then it rained and now it's just yurgy wet and cold ! :-5
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Post by G#Gill »

There must be something odd about the house next door to us ! The house is owned by a Housing Agency and they let it out to various tenants. The previous tenant, Jane, was living on her own after her offspring had flown the nest. She was quite a lonely person even though she used to go out a lot (mostly to the nearest pub !). She would get drunk and fall asleep, usually after she had put something in a saucepan (like a cook-in-the-bag something or other) and turned the ring on under the saucepan to heat up the contents ! Needless to say, the pan boiled dry and the contents started to singe then go black, giving off a very acrid smoke ! (Have you ever smelt boil-in-the-bag kipper when it has been boiled dry and the bag has melted away? - It's chokingly, lung-thumpingly, nauseatingly vile ! ).

She did this on a fairly regular basis, so much so that we got very concerned one time when we couldn't wake her with our hammering on the door or phoning her mobile, Chris had to climb through the kitchen window (left open a crack for the cat to get in and out), I phoned the fire brigade, Chris let me in the back door, then dealt with the smoking red hot pan while I went up stairs to check Jane (it's a split level house like ours). Then the fire brigade arrived and a big butch fireman was knocking on the front door ! It took them ages to get Jane awake. What a state to be in !

Jane was found a ground floor flat with one bedroom, ideal for her. The next tenants have been living next door for a few months now, and have been very quiet and considerate. There are three single sisters who actually keep themselves to themselves and cause no problems, until today. An awful acrid smell filtered through from next door. It was a sort of over-heated well-used oil stink. I bet whoever was in the house had fallen asleep. Chris rang their bell several times but couldn't get a reaction. He and Andy had to go out, so when they had gone I banged on the wooden door with my walking stick - it made quite a noise ! Then I called through their letter box "Is there anybody at home?" then there was a reply ! I said there was a terrible awful stink permeating into our house and were they OK. The person answered that she was opening the windows ! Good job she answered me, because had she not, then I would have rung the fire brigade !

The smell has now eased back , but when it was really heavy duty it got on my chest, and made us rather worried. I think I will advise them to get a smoke alarm or two - they're not expensive these days and they are very loud ! It is obvious to me that they haven't got a smoke alarm in their house ! We have 4 that are placed in strategic places.

It must be something to do with that house ! :wah: :rolleyes:
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Post by Oscar Namechange »

We were threatened with snow but then It rained.... again.

It got to the point last week after days and days of torrential rain that there was nothing else to do but buy 8 sacks of bark chipping to cover the mud quagmire that was once my garden.

Today Is another filthy day out there but at least I haven't had 3 dogs up to their armpits In mud every time they go for a wee. That's If you can get them out for a wee. They look out at the rain and do a ' errrr nope' and then I feel cruel for pushing them out the door.

I got all prepared for the birds as we were told we were getting snow as well with fat balls.
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Post by Saint_ »

(the door opens, and Saint strolls in, dusting snow off his jacket absently) What's this about "gritting lorries?" Oh, you mean the sand trucks. (Saint hangs up his coat on a hook and opens a Dr. Pepper) I know these things are bad for me but I've got to get some caffeine some way! I've just spent the morning underneath my truck, dropping the gas tank so that I could change out the fuel pump. Blasted engineers! Don't they think that someone might want to fix or maintain something that they made? I remember changing the fuel pump on my Camaro back in 1977. Two bolts and done! And it was on the side of the engine! Took me all of twenty minutes!

And the pricing! You know that fuel pump was $230 over the counter? And the shop wanted another $600 to put it in? Thank goodness for Amazon and YouTube! I got a new one for $100 and put it in myself after watching a youtube video on how to do it.

(Saint slumps into a chair and sips his Dr. Pepper.)
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Post by FourPart »

In the downstairs lobby at the office there's a big TV (which is left on 24 / 7 - owned by the company downstairs), and when I came in this morning I noticed an item on the BBC News about there being a Yellow Snow Alert, which made me laugh for a start off (Alert - Don't eat yellow snow), yet despite all the warnings there's been no sign of it here yet. We've had a few days of bitter frost, but today all there was was a very light spitting, which actually felt quite refreshing after a long day in the office.
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Post by G#Gill »

Saint_;1472093 wrote: (the door opens, and Saint strolls in, dusting snow off his jacket absently) What's this about "gritting lorries?" Oh, you mean the sand trucks. (Saint hangs up his coat on a hook and opens a Dr. Pepper) I know these things are bad for me but I've got to get some caffeine some way! I've just spent the morning underneath my truck, dropping the gas tank so that I could change out the fuel pump. Blasted engineers! Don't they think that someone might want to fix or maintain something that they made? I remember changing the fuel pump on my Camaro back in 1977. Two bolts and done! And it was on the side of the engine! Took me all of twenty minutes!

And the pricing! You know that fuel pump was $230 over the counter? And the shop wanted another $600 to put it in? Thank goodness for Amazon and YouTube! I got a new one for $100 and put it in myself after watching a youtube video on how to do it.

(Saint slumps into a chair and sips his Dr. Pepper.)


Saint, that was really good ! I loved the way you told your story!

It certainly pays to 'shop around' particularly through Amazon, and YouTube are amazing, the different stuff you can find out about. I reckon that with Wikipedia and YouTube, you could be set up for anything that came along ! :)
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Post by G#Gill »

There are times when I wish it would either throw it down with rain or throw it down with a blizzard ! I'm so fed up with there being so much heavy miserable cloud filling the sky. It spits with rain, then it turns to a sort of sleet, then into snow flakes like goose feathers and that seems to cover the ground fairly quickly, but it doesn't stay. Then it spits with rain again, and so on ! It is soooo tantalising ! We're told by bulletins on the TV that there is snow spreading in from the west, making it's way across the country and out over the North Sea. Still waiting ! :wah:
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Post by G#Gill »

I have made a decision to change my broadband provider ! :thinking: I checked the speed yesterday and it is no faster than the old dial-up !!!!! :( I will deal with it all tomorrow when I will phone my existing provider and ask if I can have a rebate because I have been paying for a service that I am not getting ! Then I shall contact Virgin Media and book them to connect me to their carbon fibre underground system (we already have the cable installed to a small box on the outside of our kitchen wall, which was installed by the original Diamond Cable many years ago). You may wonder why I haven't sorted this before, well the simple answer is that we can't really afford the monthly payments, but I have noticed that our existing provider's charges are now not a lot less than one of the Virgin packages, so we'll manage the few pounds extra each month and perhaps I shall be able to use broadband and get much more satisfactory results ! At least it could save me having a nervous breakdown !!! That's got to be worth paying a few extra quid a month innit ! :yh_rotfl
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Post by Oscar Namechange »

I also suffered Gill but was very wary of changing supplier after hearing so many horror stories. In the end we updated to Infinity Fibre Optics a couple of years ago and now speed Is a dream.

When we compare our monthly bill to others, yes, we pay a lot more but we've been with BT for decades and better the devil you know and all that.

What was driving me mad, was waiting and waiting for racing replays to load... something I have to subscribe to and pay for.

Every now and then, Peter throws a hissy about our BT charges and we then have a minor domestic over switching suppliers. Also as I am a bit of a div when It comes to technology, I have to say, that despite having to speak to someone sheltering from a Monsoon In Delhi, I can not fault BT help line for their patience and time should Peter not be here to put things right for me.

I can't reccomend Infinity highly enough. I do a lot of work on my laptop and I can run several pages all at once and flip from one to another.
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Post by G#Gill »

Thanks for that, Oscar, but I used to be with BT some years ago and I was let down by them several times. I said then that enough was enough and contacted Orange, who at that time gave a very good cheap package. Now, for some reason, my speed has got slower and slower. I won't return to BT, I won't go to Sky cos they are probably the most expensive, so we'll have a chat with Virgin Media and see what they can offer us.
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Post by Oscar Namechange »

G#Gill;1472277 wrote: Thanks for that, Oscar, but I used to be with BT some years ago and I was let down by them several times. I said then that enough was enough and contacted Orange, who at that time gave a very good cheap package. Now, for some reason, my speed has got slower and slower. I won't return to BT, I won't go to Sky cos they are probably the most expensive, so we'll have a chat with Virgin Media and see what they can offer us.


Virgin do a package to update to fibre optics

http://www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/offer ... wwoddGcALg

For us, the difference was Immediate after upgrading.
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Post by Bruv »

G#Gill;1472277 wrote: Thanks for that, Oscar, but I used to be with BT some years ago and I was let down by them several times. I said then that enough was enough and contacted Orange, who at that time gave a very good cheap package. Now, for some reason, my speed has got slower and slower. I won't return to BT, I won't go to Sky cos they are probably the most expensive, so we'll have a chat with Virgin Media and see what they can offer us.


I am on Virgin Broadband and believe it cannot be bettered.

My package includes Telephone with bits and pieces such as call barring to overseas, mobiles, and premium numbers,all landline upto 60 min calls inclusive.

Broadband up to 50mb (whatever that means)

They throw in a Tivo thingamy for FREE (they say) that I didn't want when they installed it for the Basic TV, I wouldn't be without it now though, it is brilliant.

This includes a 'Loyalty discount' of £ 2.00 because I threatened to leave them last year.......and this comes in just over £ 38.00
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Post by Oscar Namechange »

Bruv;1472287 wrote: I am on Virgin Broadband and believe it cannot be bettered.

My package includes Telephone with bits and pieces such as call barring to overseas, mobiles, and premium numbers,all landline upto 60 min calls inclusive.

Broadband up to 50mb (whatever that means)

They throw in a Tivo thingamy for FREE (they say) that I didn't want when they installed it for the Basic TV, I wouldn't be without it now though, it is brilliant.

This includes a 'Loyalty discount' of £ 2.00 because I threatened to leave them last year.......and this comes in just over £ 38.00


Did you have to change your e mail address ?
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Post by FourPart »

I'm with TalkTalk & I find their connection speed & reliability to be excellent, and a fraction of the price of the other main ones, mainly due to the fact that they allow you to go for a bare bones basic package & add optional extras as & when you please, whereas the others include them, whether you want them or not, even though you're still expected to pay for them.

My only gripe with TalkTalk, though, is that their Customer Service is crap, although I have rarely ever had the need to contact them.
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Post by G#Gill »

Thanks for all your advice, I'll see what I can wangle. I did hear that Virgin sometimes have to return a couple of times to get the installation completely right, but so long as they do a good job in the end I don't expect I shall mind a couple of false starts ! My nephew has Virgin Media and he had a couple of repeat visits before Virgin got his set up correct. He was also allowed to keep his original phone number too, which is good. :)
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Post by Peter Lake »

G#Gill;1472311 wrote: He was also allowed to keep his original phone number too, which is good. :) That's Oscar's main objection because of the effort it would involve informing everyone of a new number and even e mail address.
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Post by Oscar Namechange »

Come on Mrs, what time do you call this.? You're not still In bed are you ? I've finished one job for the day already. Took a good 15 minutes to defrost the car early this morning.

Are you still pushing out the Z's. ? That's because you went way past your bed time last night.
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Post by Bruv »

Oscar Namechange;1472291 wrote: Did you have to change your e mail address ?


I have the same email address from when Virgin was NTL.......and the same telephone number from BT
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Post by Bruv »

G#Gill;1472311 wrote: Thanks for all your advice, I'll see what I can wangle. I did hear that Virgin sometimes have to return a couple of times to get the installation completely right, but so long as they do a good job in the end I don't expect I shall mind a couple of false starts ! My nephew has Virgin Media and he had a couple of repeat visits before Virgin got his set up correct. He was also allowed to keep his original phone number too, which is good. :)


I have been with them a good few years, and to be very honest if you get any problems, they are a long time sorting it.

I have never had trouble with Telephone or Broadband quality, only when I wanted to use my free Website space did I throw a wobbler because it kept rejecting my ancient email address that is tied to it. But I complained big time on their Forum and I got a secret helper to sort things out for me with his own hotline telephone number.
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Post by FourPart »

I've had my phone through BT, Cable & Wireless, NTL, Tiscali & now TalkTalk, and I still have the same number. If you are simply changing suppliers, they take over all the details for you & you always get to keep your number. It's only if it's a totally new account, without a transfer, that you have to take a new one.
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Post by G#Gill »

FourPart;1472603 wrote: I've had my phone through BT, Cable & Wireless, NTL, Tiscali & now TalkTalk, and I still have the same number. If you are simply changing suppliers, they take over all the details for you & you always get to keep your number. It's only if it's a totally new account, without a transfer, that you have to take a new one.


Thank you for that FourPart :)
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Post by G#Gill »

Must tell you about a woman who had to take a bottle with a urine sample in it to the hospital for tests.

She arrived at the hospital at her appointment time, but she was in such a state, the nurses and doctors just couldn't understand why she was hysterically laughing, tears pouring down her face, clutching her sides. When she had eventually calmed down enough to talk, she began to explain:

"I was bringing my sample here, this morning, and I realised I was a bit early so I nipped into a shop to get a couple of items I needed. On my way out, this 'wino' bumped into me just outside the door, he was very apologetic and I thought no more about it, till I got to the hospital door here and I checked my sample bottle was OK , but it had disappeared ! It made me panic a bit at first, till I remembered the job I had at home to find a suitable bottle for my sample, but in the end I found this empty bottle and thoroughly washed it out and used that for my sample.

Unfortunately I forgot to scrub off the whisky label, and that 'wino' who bumped into me....................." the poor woman collapsed into more hysterical laughter at the thought. :yh_rotfl :yh_rotfl :yh_rotfl
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Post by G#Gill »

It's been a bit on the cool side today and there is a weather warning out for snow,. Don't expect we will get much though, but it will probably hit Derbyshire and high ground further north. It won't be like they're about to get in America though - around 3 feet of snow, plus ! They say they are experiencing a Polar Vortex ! That sounds particularly bad doesn't it !

UK Weather Alert: Dreaded 'Polar Vortex' Not Bringing Snow Misery Anytime Soon
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Post by AnneBoleyn »

That wino story is hysterical!
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Post by G#Gill »

I'm not sure whether that wino story is a 'story' or if it really happened to somebody !

I have another story which I do know to be true, because it happened to me !............



My seriously frightening night drive in a thunderstorm !

Many years ago I used to play electric guitar and sing in a band, playing at gigs in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Derbyshire. One night we had a gig at Stamford in Lincolnshire which finished at midnight, so by the time we'd packed all our gear into our cars and changed from our stage clothes it was nearly 1.00 am before I set off home. It was a really foul night weather wise, the heavens had opened and the rain was like a tropical monsoon. I came out of Stamford and got onto the A1 northbound, there was nobody else in the car. I turned off the A1 onto the A52 at Grantham and travelled towards Nottingham.

At this point a terrific thunderstorm had developed, and there was so much lightning that the darkness of the night was turned into constant daylight. The rain was still torrential and my speed was no more than 35 mph, it just wasn't safe to go any faster. I thought ' well I ain't going to get home till nearer 3 am at this rate ' so I settled down for a slow drive home. The whole spectacle of the storm was truly amazing. There was very little traffic on the road which was a relief, but, as the road was swimming with water, I was gripping the wheel fairly strongly just in case I hit a disguised puddle and it tried to pull my wheels. I had just gone through a village called Elston and was running down a long straight piece of road. The lightining was flashing constantly still and the thunder was dreadfully loud, and I was glad there was no traffic and no headlights to add to my problems.

Suddenly there was an indescribably bright flash immediately to my left with an instantaneous huge crash of thunder - 'God that was close !' . My steering wheel never moved an inch and my grip on the wheel was still just as strong. To my horror I was driving on the wrong side of the road ! Thank God there was nothing coming the other way ! I steered back to the correct side of the road, and my knees started knocking - how the hell did that happen? A moment later an articulated lorry came round the curve at the bottom of this straight and headed towards me - if he'd been 10 secs earlier, there would have been a head-on and instant stopping at a closing speed of 75-80 mph doesn't leave much of a car or the occupant when it hits a lorry!

I was told later on that it is possible for a lightning strike as close as that must have been to my car would be quite capable of pushing a moving solid object sideways particularly as the surface of the road gave no resistance due to the water on it. What a terrifying thought! We're all told that lightning doesn't strike a moving object, and in any case when you are in a vehicle you are insulated by the tyres. But, it seems, you are not totally safe when you are driving in a thunderstorm, so just be alert and cut your speed right down.

I did get back home at around 3 am, and I was very relieved to be there. I had never experienced such a torrential storm in my life till then. It was a shame that I was driving at the time as I would have been awestruck by such a spectacle had I been able to watch from the safety of my house !
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Post by G#Gill »

We've had some snow today. It settled and gave a few problems to some vehicles trying to get up the fairly steep sloping road that borders the childrens' playpark at the back of our house. Quite entertaining to see how many folk don't know how to drive up snowy slopes ! But then the sun came out and the snow melted away. It is quite cold and there has been quite a wind and we may get a shower of snow in the night. There has been a warning out about black ice on the roads for the morning rush hour traffic. I bet we won't get much more snow this winter, because I've invested lots of pounds in buying a set of Autosocks for our car. As we do live halfway up a hill, and we may need to use the car to get groceries etc. which would prove very difficult should there be any reasonable amount of snow. :thinking: :-3
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Post by LarsMac »

G#Gill;1473233 wrote: I'm not sure whether that wino story is a 'story' or if it really happened to somebody !

I have another story which I do know to be true, because it happened to me !............



My seriously frightening night drive in a thunderstorm !

Many years ago I used to play electric guitar and sing in a band, playing at gigs in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Derbyshire. One night we had a gig at Stamford in Lincolnshire which finished at midnight, so by the time we'd packed all our gear into our cars and changed from our stage clothes it was nearly 1.00 am before I set off home. It was a really foul night weather wise, the heavens had opened and the rain was like a tropical monsoon. I came out of Stamford and got onto the A1 northbound, there was nobody else in the car. I turned off the A1 onto the A52 at Grantham and travelled towards Nottingham.

At this point a terrific thunderstorm had developed, and there was so much lightning that the darkness of the night was turned into constant daylight. The rain was still torrential and my speed was no more than 35 mph, it just wasn't safe to go any faster. I thought ' well I ain't going to get home till nearer 3 am at this rate ' so I settled down for a slow drive home. The whole spectacle of the storm was truly amazing. There was very little traffic on the road which was a relief, but, as the road was swimming with water, I was gripping the wheel fairly strongly just in case I hit a disguised puddle and it tried to pull my wheels. I had just gone through a village called Elston and was running down a long straight piece of road. The lightining was flashing constantly still and the thunder was dreadfully loud, and I was glad there was no traffic and no headlights to add to my problems.

Suddenly there was an indescribably bright flash immediately to my left with an instantaneous huge crash of thunder - 'God that was close !' . My steering wheel never moved an inch and my grip on the wheel was still just as strong. To my horror I was driving on the wrong side of the road ! Thank God there was nothing coming the other way ! I steered back to the correct side of the road, and my knees started knocking - how the hell did that happen? A moment later an articulated lorry came round the curve at the bottom of this straight and headed towards me - if he'd been 10 secs earlier, there would have been a head-on and instant stopping at a closing speed of 75-80 mph doesn't leave much of a car or the occupant when it hits a lorry!

I was told later on that it is possible for a lightning strike as close as that must have been to my car would be quite capable of pushing a moving solid object sideways particularly as the surface of the road gave no resistance due to the water on it. What a terrifying thought! We're all told that lightning doesn't strike a moving object, and in any case when you are in a vehicle you are insulated by the tyres. But, it seems, you are not totally safe when you are driving in a thunderstorm, so just be alert and cut your speed right down.

I did get back home at around 3 am, and I was very relieved to be there. I had never experienced such a torrential storm in my life till then. It was a shame that I was driving at the time as I would have been awestruck by such a spectacle had I been able to watch from the safety of my house !


I'm with ya.

The wife and I drove through a similar storm once, on our way from North Carolina to Florida. It was in the day time, but the storm turned it so dark it was near night. Then rain all but blotted out any visibility, until the lightning started. IF not for the lightning I could not see anything, even well enough to pull off the highway. We kept going because there seemed no other choice. Not something I wish to experience, again. It was both amazing and frightening at the same time.
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Post by G#Gill »

You're quite right there LarsMac. Amazing and frightening ! The most frightening for me was of course the fact that I was on the wrong side of the road immediately after that huge explosive thunder with the indescribably bright flash of lightning ! My knees started to knock when I saw that big truck come round the bend at the base of the sloping road, he got very big very quickly ! Yes I reckoned that if he'd been 10 seconds earlier I dread to think of what could have happened. It gives me the shivers even now, remembering it all. You're right about not wishing to experience that again !
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A car (or any type of covered vehicle) is the safest place to be in a lightning storm. The matter of whether it's moving or not is nonsense. The vehicle acts as a Faraday Cage, dissipating the charge around you.

There was a time when there was a really big storm round here & I wandered down to the shore to enjoy it & sat in one of the concrete promenade huts that are spaced along the road there. All of a sudden there was a blinding flash, and a very loud BUZZZZ. A couple of seconds later there was a deafening crash of thunder from all around. It was then I realised that the hut I was sitting in had been hit & that I had been at the centre point of of the strike. The crash that I heard was the echo of it as, being at the centre, the main part of the sound was being directed outward & away from me.

That was certainly something to get the adrenalin going.
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I know it's Sunday and when I was a child, it was unheard of to wash clothes on a Sunday. One didn't dare, because the neighbours would find it disgraceful to see somebody's laundry flapping in the breeze on a clothes line in the garden ! :o But I have done some clothes washing today. However, they are not hanging out on the clothes line - we've got a tumble drier ! :p :)

How times change over the years. Shops never used to be open on Sunday, except a little corner shop for a few hours to sell ice cream and the Sunday papers etc. Nowadays you can't tell Sundays from weekdays. I have always thought it a bad idea to have Sunday as basically an ordinary day. When I was a child Sunday was a very quiet day. People would probably go to church in the morning, come home to a Sunday roast dinner and in the afternoon, maybe walk along to the local cricket field and watch a cricket match !

Times change, and sometimes not for the better. I used to love Sundays ! They were 'family' days - quality time with your family. In the summer the family would often go for a walk into the countryside and have a picnic together. In the winter, after Dad and Mum had had their 40 winks, we would no doubt play Monopoly or some other board game, or maybe we children would set out a 'town' with books as buldings and play out a 'drama' with Dinky toys and self-made plasticine people ! Wonderful memories. The only thing, really, which doesn't seem to have changed is that there is no school on a Sunday, except for Sunday School. How I miss those quiet Sundays !

:-1
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On a Sunday we used to have a Winkle man come around ringing a bell, he had a bike with a basket on the front full of seafood (no refrigeration) Cockles, Winkles and Shrimps in their shells and of course Jellied Eels, if we were good we could have some for Sunday tea.

Remember eating Winkles with a pin and sticking their hats on your face like a beauty spot ?
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Those quiet Sundays here were called "Blue Laws" which meant one couldn't operate a business on Sunday because that was Church Day. Glad that's over with. A society can no longer be run on those rules & for me that's a good thing. Did it swing too far? Probably, but that's modern life & I try not to look back fondly on the "Good Old Days" when things were inherently unfair for some people.

Jellied eels Bruv? Yaargh!
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We still have the Sunday Trading Laws here, although quite what the point is of them I just don't know. How is it that shops can still continue to open on Sundays? Yes, I can understand certain shops being exempt for Religious reasons - for instance, there is a Wholesale-type store open to the public here which is owned by a Jewish family, so they are closed on Saturday, but are permitted to trade on Sunday, which seems reasonably logical, but what about my local Co-Op. They're open normal hours throughout the week. And Tesco are open during the morning, but have to close for a few hours in the afternoon.

My Grandfather was a fishmonger & was always in favour of the Sunday Trading Laws as he saw things from the old perspective of it being needed to give the shopworkers a day off which, in his day, might have been a valid point, but in this modern day & age of Worker's Rights it's hardly a valid argument any more - especially when you take Shift Work & Weekend Labour into consideration.

Sunday Trading Laws are, in my opinion, an outdated institution of the Dark Ages & is just another example of Religion trying to impose its power on the masses.
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i believe the laws were such that fresh foodstuffs could be sold or else they would spoil, so the likes of B&Q could legally sell a loaf of bread for £300 and give the customer a toilet suite free.
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Yes, but that's all very well. As I said, I miss the Sunday quiet and the 'family quality time'. These days both parents mostly are working full time and I really believe it is important for such families to have a day where they can have quality time as a family, and are able to do family things. It seems more the norm that children don't often have a family meal together. They are being brought up in an atmosphere of forced independence, whether these children want that or not. In my childhood day, children who had to come home from school to an empty house, were called 'latch-key kids'. I reckon we have gone back to that through circumstances. Both parents NEED to work full time, certainly if they are fortunate (mixed blessing these days) to have a mortage, where the monthly repayments are astronomical. In my opinion all this is probably one of the reasons why many families break up and become distanced from each other, simply because they have not developed the family unit ! To me this is very sad, and I feel there must be thousands of families that are only held together by their surnames ! That is only my opinion mind, from my own personal observations !
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Bruv;1473373 wrote: i believe the laws were such that fresh foodstuffs could be sold or else they would spoil, so the likes of B&Q could legally sell a loaf of bread for £300 and give the customer a toilet suite free.


Actually, Bruv, I can remember something like that being done after the Sunday trading was brought in. I can also remember laughing about it at the time !
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AnneBoleyn;1473360 wrote: Those quiet Sundays here were called "Blue Laws" which meant one couldn't operate a business on Sunday because that was Church Day. Glad that's over with. A society can no longer be run on those rules & for me that's a good thing. Did it swing too far? Probably, but that's modern life & I try not to look back fondly on the "Good Old Days" when things were inherently unfair for some people.

Jellied eels Bruv? Yaargh!




I remember the Sunday Observance people (from the church) kicking up a hellova fuss about the prospects of Sunday Trading being allowed, they were even more vociferous than they were when professional football (soccer) and other professional sports were permitted! :) I hasten to add that I wasn't bothered about Sunday Observance, but I was bothered about loosing the peaceful family Sunday. :-1

By the way I can't stand seafood, except what I call proper fish ! ;)
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G#Gill;1473378 wrote: By the way I can't stand seafood, except what I call proper fish ! ;)


Who is that speaking Hyacinth Bouquet ?

There is still restrictions on opening times on religious grounds, thats why super markets close Sunday over night and don't open Easter holidays.
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Post by AnneBoleyn »

There is a county in New Jersey, Bergen, which still follows Sunday Observance laws. Many stores, even large malls, exist there & having been fighting & losing for years. There is a large, huge mall in the town of Paramus & it's amazing it is still closed on Sundays! It does such fabulous business.

Blue law - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm not a seafood lover of any sort, & also would never call jellied eels 'proper fish!'

Your Sundays as a child do sound delightful. I'm sure it's the economy that keeps people running to stay in the same place. I always thought with everyone so busy, no one has time to think about what's wrong & no time to organize for something better. The landlord must be paid.
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Bruv;1473380 wrote: Who is that speaking Hyacinth Bouquet ?

There is still restrictions on opening times on religious grounds, thats why super markets close Sunday over night and don't open Easter holidays.


Don't you mean Mrs. Bucket? I didn't realize your supermarkets still have restricted hours. That makes it harder for working families to get things done.

I think NYC is the only place I've lived in where almost every type of business is open all night, and our trains & buses never stop their schedules. A 24/7 town.
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Post by Bruv »

AnneBoleyn;1473383 wrote: Don't you mean Mrs. Bucket? I didn't realize your supermarkets still have restricted hours. That makes it harder for working families to get things done.

I think NYC is the only place I've lived in where almost every type of business is open all night, and our trains & buses never stop their schedules. A 24/7 town.


It is Mrs Bucket pronounced Bouquet, don't cha know ?

The only restrictions are that big shops can only open for 6 consecutive hours on a Sunday, but close on Easter Sunday and Christmas day...HERE It was a compromise worked out a couple of years ago, otherwise they can open 24 hours if they want to.
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Post by AnneBoleyn »

Bruv;1473386 wrote: It is Mrs Bucket pronounced Bouquet, don't cha know ?




Only to her!
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Post by FourPart »

My local Tesco Supermarket (Bursledon Towers) is open on Sunday from 10:00 - 16:00, then opens again at Midnight, through until Midnight on Saturday.
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Post by G#Gill »

You know, we have had some snow and we have had a lot of frost and icy roads in UK. However, around where I live in the East Midlands on the outskirts of Nottingham (Robin Hood country), there has not been even a little man shoving a wheelbarrow and spreading grit/sand with a shovel, until recently. I expect action was taken after there was a huge influx of phone complaints from irate people, struggling to work ! It's all to do with cost-cutting by local councils, and to hell with the risk of more accidents and pressure on our NHS !

At the moment the weather is quite balmy for the time of year, but I expect we'll get some more winter snow and some more frosts. We do need a prolonged period of fairly heavy frosts to kill off insect pests otherwise there could be plagues of irritating biting and stinging insects come the summer months ! Deep joy ! :rolleyes:
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When I woke up this morning, there was an awful smell of garlic throughout the house!!!

I absolutely loathe the stuff - can't stand the stink and certainly cannot stomach the taste! I knew it couldn't be anything that we had cooked recently because we never have the stuff in the house, not even to ward off vampires !! :wah:

The only thing I can think of is that our next door neighbours must have put garlic into a stew that is simmering away in a slow boiler. Gawd, have I got to suffer that all day ? :(

I live in a semi-detached house and the walls are not of Hadrian's thickness (you can hear somebody sneezing next door !). Any noxious smells or semi-loud sounds permeate through the walls ! Next door is a rented house and the previous tenant used to put 'boil-in-the-bag' items to heat up on a fairly regular basis. There have been numerous times when we have had to 'rescue' the woman. She would put something on the cooker to heat up (boil-in-the-bag), and in her drunken state fall asleep on the sofa in her sitting room ! Have you ever experienced the stench of boiled dry 'boil-in-the-bag' kippers ? :-5 :rolleyes: We're all hoping that these new tenants (3 sisters) are not garlic fanatics !!!! :-3 :rolleyes:
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