Well that's what meteorologists say. We have a forecast warm period for the first full week as an Azores high arrives at long last. Dragonflies are still appearing too as this unashamed plug from last week shows:
viewtopic.php?t=472
September, the beginning of Autumn
September, the beginning of Autumn
In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.
(Terry Pratchett 1948-2015)
(Terry Pratchett 1948-2015)
September, the beginning of Autumn
Concrete is in the news because schools are built of it and they suddenly noticed it might collapse. I wonder if the same concrete my school had in early 70s they built a new science block and we couldn't use it on case the building was dangerous then they said will be fine for a good few years and we used the new labs. I seem to remember the then m62 has something on its bridges too and didnt open on time but could have been another reason why.
Copper is scarce but is needed for those new cars that are so heavy dread to imagine the potholes in a few years so the UK is replacing copper phone lines with fibre and this will be an adventure.
Weather is still wet and cold here but we keep being threatened with a heatwave so it must turn up soon I suppose.
Copper is scarce but is needed for those new cars that are so heavy dread to imagine the potholes in a few years so the UK is replacing copper phone lines with fibre and this will be an adventure.
Weather is still wet and cold here but we keep being threatened with a heatwave so it must turn up soon I suppose.
September, the beginning of Autumn
I attempted to defer to OC's post because it was posted two minutes earlier but cannot delete this one.
Perhaps Merry and/or Pani can choose or merge?
Perhaps Merry and/or Pani can choose or merge?
Last edited by eccles on Fri Sep 01, 2023 1:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.
(Terry Pratchett 1948-2015)
(Terry Pratchett 1948-2015)
September, the beginning of Autumn
Never rains but it pours eh. Some months no one sets up new posts and we all so in same hour today.
I set up a post too and then saw Eccles post so deleted it and replied to Eccles post then I noticed OC post. I don't think it lets Eccles delete the post because i already replied and my reply would be orphaned.
I set up a post too and then saw Eccles post so deleted it and replied to Eccles post then I noticed OC post. I don't think it lets Eccles delete the post because i already replied and my reply would be orphaned.
September, the beginning of Autumn
Orphaned?
In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.
(Terry Pratchett 1948-2015)
(Terry Pratchett 1948-2015)
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OurCreature
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September, the beginning of Autumn
Merry can delete the September thread I started - it will just hang about now because it is not required.
Like the late Chaircat Midge, I am not always right.
September, the beginning of Autumn
Deleted yours OC but you (and Eccs! and Furby!) still get the 
for starting one!
Fun Chat tonight! thanks all who came
for starting one!Fun Chat tonight! thanks all who came
"I used to be a picture in a storybook. Then I escaped." - Hades, The Burnt City
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asymphototropic
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September, the beginning of Autumn
Love the dragonflies... simply gorgeous.
Please send us your rain, and I'll send you our draconian heat and dry.
This is the third driest year for the past 130 years in Loudoun County. It is seriously pitiful.
Meanwhile I have been subpoenaed to appear in court in a murder case. I have not been able to accept any work this September, due to the uncertain nature of the court case. [all those lovely September weddings, not to mention teaching.]
All very uncomfortable and slightly depressing.
Please send us your rain, and I'll send you our draconian heat and dry.
This is the third driest year for the past 130 years in Loudoun County. It is seriously pitiful.
Meanwhile I have been subpoenaed to appear in court in a murder case. I have not been able to accept any work this September, due to the uncertain nature of the court case. [all those lovely September weddings, not to mention teaching.]
All very uncomfortable and slightly depressing.
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asymphototropic
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September, the beginning of Autumn
Not to be quite so grim, here is a little sketch I did for this year's KiddleKon in Indianapolis. [October]
It is called "Sunset at Anderson Falls" [which is a place in Indiana I have never visited but would like to.]
It is called "Sunset at Anderson Falls" [which is a place in Indiana I have never visited but would like to.]
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September, the beginning of Autumn
Oh my goodness, AsyMeanwhile I have been subpoenaed to appear in court in a murder case. I have not been able to accept any work this September, due to the uncertain nature of the court case. [all those lovely September weddings, not to mention teaching.]
that's very unfortunate! I'm sorry!I love your picture! It reminds me of the Ladybird books from my childhood.
Off to Woolwich again today.... (just two weeks left of The Burnt City....) and there is a bus replacement from Oxford to Moreton on the return leg, meaning we will not be home till 2 am.
Trains have been absolutely terrible this year. Our National Rail service is a joke. Strikes, cancellations, bus replacements, bridge collapses, more strikes.
"I used to be a picture in a storybook. Then I escaped." - Hades, The Burnt City
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OurCreature
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September, the beginning of Autumn
I vowed never ever to make a long distance rail journey again after the fiasco of our (Nancy and me) return journey to Preston some years ago to attend our cousin's funeral. He had come down on a day return to visit Mum in Knightwood, his sister coming over from Brighton on the same day so we could all be together, and he died not too long afterwards. Very sudden.
I would have preferred to go up the day before and stay in a hotel for 2 nights, coming home the day after the funeral. But no - Ducky Dinah (who was working at HCC after retiring from the NHS) had used up all her leave and so couldn't stay away for 3 days from work. Why I didn't tell her to take 3 days unpaid leave I shall never know, but I didn't and arranged the train tickets for her and me.
On the day I should have realised that nothing but disaster lay ahead. The damn parking ticket machine at Winchester train station was of the non-coin variety, so my sister had to arrange that using her smartphone. All went well on the train until we reached Banbury where a train belonging to the same train company had broken down; so they decided it would be a splendid idea to make 2 trainloads of people late instead of one trainload by joining our train with the broken down train to pull it to Birmingham where it could be decoupled before we carried on to Manchester Piccadilly. Where we discovered the truth of Furby's observations about rail travel in Lancashire and Manchester and found ourselves in the hands of the train operator from Hell - Northern Rail. In retrospect this was my fault - I could have booked our tickets to get to Preston without going through Piccadilly at somewhat greater cost but it would have been worth it.
Of course we had missed our train to Preston and the next one was late; in the end we made it to the funeral parlour just in time to get our ride with cousin Vivien et al to the crematorium. Surely this is the end of our train troubles, I thought.
But no! Poor innocent wet-behind-the-ears OC! Foolish little thing that he is! We caught the train to Piccadilly on time and all went well until the train left Bolton; and then it went more and more slowly until it ground to a halt. And didn't move..........and then crawled at walking pace for a few minutes.............and stopped...........at which point a flood of unspoken expletives filled my brain to overflowing and I got cross. We later discovered that a Northern Rail train had broken down on its way to Stockport, and this was enough to reduce the operation of the railways around Manchester from grossly inefficient to complete and utter chaos. We arrived at Piccadilly half an hour after our train had departed; but a very helpful lady in Passenger Enquiries helped Nancy get us on the next train for Winchester. Suffice to say we arrived at Winchester minutes before midnight when the parking at the train station would have added an extra day's charge to our travel bill. Never ever again thought I, and I never have used the railways since that return journey to and from the outer darkness that is Northern Rail.
We got a partial refund from the train operator on the Winchester-Manchester part of the journey, but nothing from Northern Rail who at the time were too inefficient to deal with customer complaint correspondence. It's also made me somewhat cynical about the effects of railway employees' strike action; if you are unlucky enough to be served (ha!) by the Northern Rail franchise, how would you tell the difference?
I would have preferred to go up the day before and stay in a hotel for 2 nights, coming home the day after the funeral. But no - Ducky Dinah (who was working at HCC after retiring from the NHS) had used up all her leave and so couldn't stay away for 3 days from work. Why I didn't tell her to take 3 days unpaid leave I shall never know, but I didn't and arranged the train tickets for her and me.
On the day I should have realised that nothing but disaster lay ahead. The damn parking ticket machine at Winchester train station was of the non-coin variety, so my sister had to arrange that using her smartphone. All went well on the train until we reached Banbury where a train belonging to the same train company had broken down; so they decided it would be a splendid idea to make 2 trainloads of people late instead of one trainload by joining our train with the broken down train to pull it to Birmingham where it could be decoupled before we carried on to Manchester Piccadilly. Where we discovered the truth of Furby's observations about rail travel in Lancashire and Manchester and found ourselves in the hands of the train operator from Hell - Northern Rail. In retrospect this was my fault - I could have booked our tickets to get to Preston without going through Piccadilly at somewhat greater cost but it would have been worth it.
Of course we had missed our train to Preston and the next one was late; in the end we made it to the funeral parlour just in time to get our ride with cousin Vivien et al to the crematorium. Surely this is the end of our train troubles, I thought.
But no! Poor innocent wet-behind-the-ears OC! Foolish little thing that he is! We caught the train to Piccadilly on time and all went well until the train left Bolton; and then it went more and more slowly until it ground to a halt. And didn't move..........and then crawled at walking pace for a few minutes.............and stopped...........at which point a flood of unspoken expletives filled my brain to overflowing and I got cross. We later discovered that a Northern Rail train had broken down on its way to Stockport, and this was enough to reduce the operation of the railways around Manchester from grossly inefficient to complete and utter chaos. We arrived at Piccadilly half an hour after our train had departed; but a very helpful lady in Passenger Enquiries helped Nancy get us on the next train for Winchester. Suffice to say we arrived at Winchester minutes before midnight when the parking at the train station would have added an extra day's charge to our travel bill. Never ever again thought I, and I never have used the railways since that return journey to and from the outer darkness that is Northern Rail.
We got a partial refund from the train operator on the Winchester-Manchester part of the journey, but nothing from Northern Rail who at the time were too inefficient to deal with customer complaint correspondence. It's also made me somewhat cynical about the effects of railway employees' strike action; if you are unlucky enough to be served (ha!) by the Northern Rail franchise, how would you tell the difference?
Like the late Chaircat Midge, I am not always right.
September, the beginning of Autumn
I dont have other ways to travel so trains are really my only option for longer distances. I solve it by just not going anywhere much. Its lucky Dinah was there or OC would have been stuck at Winchester car park. Every step of everything these days seems designed to stop you bothering doesnt it.
September, the beginning of Autumn
The sooner we have automated driverless trains the better. Little Miss Wildrover and I went into London last Thursday for our last day out together before she goes to Stuttgart. We had a great day but on the way back the trains were very intermittent. As I was grumbling a regular commuter told me this was usual the day before a strike (one was held on Friday). I turns out that absenteeism the day before a strike rises to in excess of 10% because a lot of the employees see it as an opportunity to have an extra long weekend so there aren't enough staff to operate the trains. I was sceptical about this so asked a friend who works for Thameslink and he shuffled uncomfortably before saying he didn't know the exact figures but there was some truth in it. The sooner we can get rid of Mick Lynch and his band of feckless wasters the better.
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asymphototropic
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September, the beginning of Autumn
The last trip to UK I took, we all had Eurail passes [first class]. We would get on a train and there would be no seats available anywhere and the conductors kept trying to throw us off at the next stop. I note that, although the system doesn't work, the Eurail passes are still offered for sale.
Thingummie minor and esquire and I just completed a trip to Maine that featured this itinerary: bus to Ashburn Metro, metro to Union Station, Amtrak train to Boston, bus to Portland Maine, taxi to the airport, and picked up a rental car for hopping up the coastline. Then reversed the process. I'm so glad we didn't try to drive the whole distance. But we got on the train at one of the early stops, so we could find seats together. Later stops, people just boarding wandered forlorn with their luggage and howling children, trying to find seats together. Amtrak does offer business class with reserved seating. But the cost begins to equal a plane ticket. Air travel is quite fraught these days as well. Which is another topic.
Thingummie minor and esquire and I just completed a trip to Maine that featured this itinerary: bus to Ashburn Metro, metro to Union Station, Amtrak train to Boston, bus to Portland Maine, taxi to the airport, and picked up a rental car for hopping up the coastline. Then reversed the process. I'm so glad we didn't try to drive the whole distance. But we got on the train at one of the early stops, so we could find seats together. Later stops, people just boarding wandered forlorn with their luggage and howling children, trying to find seats together. Amtrak does offer business class with reserved seating. But the cost begins to equal a plane ticket. Air travel is quite fraught these days as well. Which is another topic.
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asymphototropic
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September, the beginning of Autumn
Touch me nots in September, the original late bloomers! At our springhouse.
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September, the beginning of Autumn
Interesting name. Are they toxic?
In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.
(Terry Pratchett 1948-2015)
(Terry Pratchett 1948-2015)
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OurCreature
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500 Posts
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September, the beginning of Autumn
I've mentioned Mina's costly adventures elsewhere on the Board, but here's an update.
When I picked her up at the animal hospital I was given a liquid anti inflammatory potion for her and she has to have a fixed dose every day; she's not had that yet. She also has to have 2 antibiotic pills daily. How to deal with that, thought I. I found this morning that if I put a pill on a water-filled teaspoon it dissolves and then I can put it on her wet food. Mina simply would not touch her pill yesterday; I had hoped that it would be gobbled up with her wet food, but no...............but this morning she just ate it all with no bother.
Meanwhile Midge has been hissing at her every so often, and has learned that I disapprove of this behaviour towards his mother. Last night she was so hungry that she decided to eat his larger portion of wet food, leaving the nonplussed Midge to wander over to her share and decide that this wasn't the right game and he walked off disconsolately. He decided he didn't want his wet food this morning, so after Mina had eaten her share she went over and ate his as well. She's clearly well capable of dealing with his impertinence so I shall let them sort it out themselves and interfere only if they come to blows.
When I picked her up at the animal hospital I was given a liquid anti inflammatory potion for her and she has to have a fixed dose every day; she's not had that yet. She also has to have 2 antibiotic pills daily. How to deal with that, thought I. I found this morning that if I put a pill on a water-filled teaspoon it dissolves and then I can put it on her wet food. Mina simply would not touch her pill yesterday; I had hoped that it would be gobbled up with her wet food, but no...............but this morning she just ate it all with no bother.
Meanwhile Midge has been hissing at her every so often, and has learned that I disapprove of this behaviour towards his mother. Last night she was so hungry that she decided to eat his larger portion of wet food, leaving the nonplussed Midge to wander over to her share and decide that this wasn't the right game and he walked off disconsolately. He decided he didn't want his wet food this morning, so after Mina had eaten her share she went over and ate his as well. She's clearly well capable of dealing with his impertinence so I shall let them sort it out themselves and interfere only if they come to blows.
Like the late Chaircat Midge, I am not always right.
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asymphototropic
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September, the beginning of Autumn
I am not good at pilling cats, or dosing them in any way. Thingummie minor, who worked as a tech at a vet clinic during high school, is supreme at that task. She gets a glint in her eye and the cats simply bow down before her. These days she always has a rescued cat whom she cultures for adoption.
Eccs, the touch me nots are named for their peculiar habit of popping open [they make a tiny pop noise] and scattering their seeds when touched. You'd think they would be called "touch me please", but heh.
Eccs, the touch me nots are named for their peculiar habit of popping open [they make a tiny pop noise] and scattering their seeds when touched. You'd think they would be called "touch me please", but heh.
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asymphototropic
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September, the beginning of Autumn
Just to announce my WWII novel "Man Bar Crew" is now available at Amazon.uk.
The Kindel is available now, and the paperback sometime this week.
and here is the cover:
The Kindel is available now, and the paperback sometime this week.
and here is the cover:
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Last edited by asymphototropic on Tue Sep 12, 2023 6:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
September, the beginning of Autumn
after Mina had eaten her share she went over and ate his as well. She's clearly well capable of dealing with his impertinence so I shall let them sort it out themselves
we have to do that with our horses too! your little tale made me smile, OC!Well done Asy! I will buy your novel! well done, I am so proud of you
I was going to tell my terrible tale of train troubles, but I'll make a separate topic, so we can ALL share our travel woes, as we have so many!
I'm off with Juliet and Helen tomorrow to a little apartment in Woolwich for a few days, so we can really enjoy the closing weeks of our beloved Burnt City.
I;m taking my laptop so hopefully won't be completely missing, but kind OC will post the Toughs on Saturday/Sun, or if for some reason he can't, Daisy will I'm sure.
"I used to be a picture in a storybook. Then I escaped." - Hades, The Burnt City