[Why??]

Speaking as one who is attempting to retrain a neglected puppy it is clearly separation anxiety.

 

The small puppy on the right is frightened of open spaces and is seeking consolation and protection from the older larger one on the left.

 

Simples

[Time for a General Election?]

To be fair 2 things suggest that HE may be living in Victorian times

 

1. He lives in Nuneaton

2. He admits that he still uses Teletext.

[First World Problem]

Tomorrow is Black Friday (unlike in Germany where yesterday was schwarzer mittwoch)

 

AND I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING I WANT.

[The CoVID excuse… still!]

LPA is for the near future administration of his widow’s (my sister’s) financial and medical affairs.

 

ATM whilst frail (she’s 85) she has been assessed as still having capacity, but is showing classic early signs of dementia, short term memory loss being the main one. Our fear is that with the obscene length of time that obtaining Probate and LPA is taking if she deteriorates she / we will end up in limbo and unable to sort anything out.

[The CoVID excuse… still!]

14 minutes ago, PetrolDave said:

I sent off all the paperwork for a Lasting Power of Attorney a few weeks ago when their website said it could take 12 weeks to check it and make it active, on checking last week the website now says 20 weeks!

 

It's already been through all their online checks OK, so I really can't see why it takes 20 weeks just to enter it onto the system and make it active.

 

We sent them off in August. Still no response other than to cash the £164 cheque.

Fortunately our solicitor who is dealing with the Probate has managed to persuade the BAnk to release some of the BIL’s funds to them to transfer it to his widow, and his works pension transferred to her.

 

Private organisations 2 - Public Nil

[The CoVID excuse… still!]

I’ve spent the last few months sorting out my late BIL’s estate, and arranging long term care for my sister who has dementia.

 

Since July I have been dealing with a whole range of organisations both public (NHS, Local Authorities, Goverment departments and agencies etc.) and private (pension providers, utility companies, banks, building societies care providers etc.)

 

In this time I can categorically state that the “official” organisations are those that are the least efficient and helpful and who are still using Covid, increased demand and WFH as an excuse for interminable delays.

(e.g. quoted as taking 9 - 12 MONTHS to obtain probate)

 

Phrases like “unprecedented demand” “switchboard very busy” and of course the classic “your call is important to us” abound throughout public (lack of) service organisations.

 The pandemic has served to magnify the total uselessness of many of these organisations, and at the same time continues to be used as an excuse.

 

In a previous life I had to deal with numerous LA’s mainly at County and Regional level an we decided long ago that they were largely staffed by idle, incompetents who wouldn’t or couldn’t be employed elsewhere. Covid was and is a golden opportunity for these individuals.

 

There was a news report yesterday that pay rises in the public sector are running at less than half of those in the private.

seems fair to me. Most of them are half as effective and industrious.

 

[So, tonights tea was..........................]

3 hours ago, Gaz said:

Sausage casserole for us tonight.  Piddling down and windy outside, so good casserole weather. It's easy to forget (well for me it is), just how hearty and good a good casserole is.  So good that taking a photo only entered my skull halfway through the washing up

 

Gaz

 

Coincidence

We had the same, and I also forgot to photo it.

SWMBO (who used to be a professional cook) has her own version using tinned and fresh chopped tomatoes, onions, carrots, baked beans, potatoes. God knows what else and something secret called "erbs" 

Seconds are compulsory, thirds optional.  There's never enough left for 4ths

[Days Until Christmas.... part Ten!]

Agree completely.

 

Locally our council has for many years  not switched on the Xmas lights until at least a week after Remembrance Day (or Remembrance Sunday if that is later as it is this year.) Switch on this year is 19th November.

[Inflation returns to UK and could cost hundreds of pounds per month]

Negative equity only matters if you bought a house with the dream of making money out of it, either by trading up or down in the short term.

In this country we have an obsession with pretending to be property developers and investors. Hence the constant driving up of value and problems of affordability faced by first time buyers.

 

If you buy a house to live in the theoretical value of the “asset” is irrelevant. As long as you can pay the mortgage history (as described above in the 1990s scenario) shows that property fairly rapidly regains its notional value.

 

Housing is a long term investment, not a get rich quick scheme. Th old adage “the value of investments can go down as well as up” applies to housing as anything else.

[EV real world range and cost to charge]

That doesn’t answer the question though.

Fundamentally these are presumably just battery chargers with digital timers and an internet connection all monitored / controlled by an ATM (without the mechanical cash handling equipment)

All of this is long established, solid state technology. No moving parts, no lubrication, wear etc.

Although the “pumps” are the size of a petrol pump this presumably is purely for familiarity, as witnessed by the ability to fit a working charger into a pipe the size of a lamppost.

 

So, why are you regulars constantly reporting broken equipment.

[Mirror No Claims friendly insurance for 2 or more cars recommendations please.]

Last week I added a second car /new policy via Swintons. Cover was with Ageas and they mirrored full 60% NCD.

( Both with B1 business use, Insd only driving and 9+ years NCD)

[So, tonights tea was..........................]

19 minutes ago, Lady Elanore said:

I had a cheesy, Italian hammy, bacon bitsy, diced peppery, bit of other stuffery omelette for tea

 

 

 

and a side order of beans  

You  did a traditional hunter gatherer meal then?

You hunted in the back of the fridge, gathered what you found and improvised?

[End of the Fiesta]

In 50 odd years of driving the Motorways, highways and by-ways of this fair land one thing has always been conspicuous by its rarity, and that was the sight of a Fiesta outside of its natural home in a built up area.

And that explains why Ford are dropping it.

Without it being described as one, it was in reality a town use car, frequently a second car used for the school run, shopping etc. (yes I know that the one you had when you were 18 did 100,000 miles driving you all around the UK at an average of 68 mph.)

That niche (small size, short journeys, town use etc.) is now being filled by  by the new generation of small electric cars.

[Interesting look forward at the Covid situation both here and worldwide - new stats added]

Hot off the press.

 

At 0900 and 0906 this am SWMBO & I had 

a) Moderna COVID booster vaccine (No. 4 Covid injection)

b) Flu Vaccination (make & model unknown)

 

Administered separately, in my case in the same arm, as I'd rather have 1 sore arm than 2

[the truth about electric cars]

Correct me if I’m wrong but you appear to be saying that the trip in the diesel was only approx. £5 more than it would be in your EV

However you had to waste 90 minutes charging up.

 

As someone who regularly drives 200 - 250 miles on multi drop deliveries I’ll happily pay £5 a trip to get home early.

 

[What annoyed you today?]

Sunflower seeds

[Recommend me a film to watch...]

Yup Amanda, it's a great British film, aimed at "our" sense of humour.

[Pies - serious rant.]

This peculiar version / dateline of history has come up before, and one thing has always puzzled me.

 

How the hell old are you, and how old was your grandfather when he was imparting  this "family history" to you.

Given that the last of the Highland Clearances took place in in the 1860's, approx. 160 years ago there seems to be a couple of generations missed out of this history.

 

Also, what does "sheep were there, lambs were not"  mean? Every sheep was a lamb once, and the slaughter of lambs for meat didn't grow until the early 20th century when wool and mutton was imported in bulk from New Zealand (and Australia) and Lamb was sold as a delicacy, being more tender and less strongly flavoured. Prior to this Lamb were allowed to mature, to produce wool and were eventually  slaughtered at around 6 - 7 years as their productivity declined.

 

I cry family fantasy bullsh*t

[Water availability in the UK]

Because in Jockland they average twice the rainfall on a tenth of the population.

 

Even the SNP would find it difficult to c*ck that up.

[That's bizarre! or maybe total borrox ...]

On 28/07/2022 at 23:16, mac11irl said:

right now id happily camp out in the garden with a 5.56 rifle and a ghilly suit if i could get my hands on them

Tricky. A ghilly suit is fairly easy (but a DPM printed sheet with a hole in it even easier and cheaper) I don’t know the firearm laws in the RoI, but a 5.56 is a little trickier.

 

Try an airsoft BB gun. They have enough power to sting, but not enough to injure. Priced from about £10 for a single action pistol up to ludicrous amounts. My electric AK47 ( bought for £19.99 as faulty, repaired for nothing) on full auto put the fear of God into the local furry thug who used our garden as a s***house. After the second time he hasn’t returned.

 

( I did it at night from an upstairs window with an outside light left on to give enough light. SWMBO thought I was mad sitting up in the dark, still she thinks I’m mad anyway)

[What annoyed you today?]

How many of you slagging off this gadget and “modern parents” have children of your own?

[So, tonights tea was..........................]

Sam Vimes BLT

Perfect

[Can you ever fall in love with an EV the same way that people 'traditionally' have loved their petrol and diesel cars?]

They’re stupid Starbucks names for their size cups / drinks.

 

Grande is Italian, means large and is a 16 oz. measure

Venti is the Italian for 20, so is a 20 oz.  measure.

 

Therefore by the twisted logic of Briskoda Venti Grande must be 20 x 16 = 320 oz. (or2 gallons if you prefer)

 

The engine noise that makes the hairs on my neck stand up is the sound of proper 250 or 350 cc 2 stroke racing motorcycles from the Seventies running flat out on proper expansion chambers (or preferably about 30 of them) 

[cleaning great fuel injector]

1 hour ago, gumdrop said:

One of the best pieces of advice I had with fuel was never run it to empty it disturbs the "sentiment" (sediment) in the fuel tank.

 

 

What is the sediment, and where does it come from?

[Breaking news PM and Chancellor getting fines!]

6 hours ago, KenONeill said:

I note from your own profile that you live in Conshire, Englandshire. That seems likely to have an effect on the views of those you speak to.

 

Pathetic.