April Showers Chatty Thread

[OurCreature]

I always hate the day before I go away because it means They have gone on their holidays and I shall be by myself tonight. I got them in their cat baskets more quickly than I thought I would; I put Midge in first and he just accepted it and went in quietly when I pushed him part way in head first.

His mother Mina had realised something was afoot when I shut the door so they could not escape from the room, and when she saw where Midge was going she tried to hide. To no avail - I saw her tail and as I approached she turned round so it was easy to pick her up. However, she struggled to get away while I carried her to her basket in the kitchen. But when she saw me shut the door and open the basket door she realised the game was up and let me put her in the basket. Then I phoned Cat Lady who came round straight away in her red pre-prepared car and took them off for their holiday with their food and a couple of toys, plus the laundry basket with a woolly in it that they like to use as a bed. Cat Lady checked their vaccination certificates and left those with me.

So now I can get on with my packing etc. and go to bed early because Fab is picking me up at 07:30 tomorrow. I probably won't post again until I return from my cruise, about which I shall bore you at inordinate length . I am hoping I can get away with taking a small suitcase and a carry-on bag, because jacket and tie at dinner isn't obligatory. So I shall make do with a posh woolly and tie instead which saves packing a jacket. There is a laundry service as well, which probably I shall make use of during the holiday.

I shall think especially of Merry while on this trip because she loves Portugal a bit like I love Iceland and Switzerland.

Here's the boat! I am occupying a Superior Suite.

https://www.rivieratravel.co.uk/ships/ms-douro-elegance

[Furby]

Superior suite sounds very nice. I think being near the top of the ship so you can get off easier when it sinks is better than a big cabin so hopefully it will be superior and top of ship.

[Furby]

Oc will be in his nice superior cabin now won't he. If we were bright young things he would have a iPhone and be posting us hourly updates what he had for dinner and if the posh wooley was acceptable at the captain's table etc.

I have been getting more letters from places that posted me paper statements of things. Only once or twice a year hardly too onerous for them. Last one had an option to opt into paper statements by phone which I did though don't know if it actually works yet until they turn up or don't. Call centre staff say things to get rid of you sometimes and the person had never heard of the option and went away to ask someone. Companies never prepare staff for letters they are sending out do they.

The latest one yesterday said if I am signed up to their online thingy and opt into paper I still get them but if am not signed up to online thingy I won't be sent them in paper and they will be available in online thingy. The world is getting madder and madder.

[merry]

Oh I hope OC has a wonderful holiday!!!! I wish I had been here to wish him Bon Voyage. He is right, I love Portugal, it is a special place for me.

I hope they spoil him rotten after the funny start to the year he's had.

a posh woolly and tie instead

I do like a gent in a nice woolly and tie.

The world is definitely getting madder and madder. You're so right, F

[Furby]

It's the eclipse today but only the extreme west parts of Britain can see it. I saw the one in 1999 I think it was took a day off special but it was just like when there's a storm cloud and goes a bit dark I was very disappointed. These days everything is dreadful disaster isn't it bit of rain stop the trains and close all events so I suppose this year's eclipse will be more important than the previous.

[eccles]

The USA has been lucky with several eclipses in the last few years. I suppose it's inevitable; because the country is so big there's more chance of it occurring somewhere there.
Scientifically it isn't an eclipse but a transit. A lunar eclipse is a true eclipse.

[Furby]

I thought I remembered after the 1999 one it was said won't be again for years and years and I forgot how many because it was after Furby will be dead anyway. So if it's a transit not an eclipse that explains me still being alive today though I am not much wiser. Next one is Iceland in 2026.

[eccles]

I wonder if OC will holiday there in 2026?

There was an error in the weather forecast yesterday. The weather lady said today's tides would be high because it was a full moon. Everyone knows that you cannot have a full moon and a solar eclipse (transit) at the same time. The moon is currently not visible because it has just transited and the next phase will be a new moon/crescent. Tides will be high though; they're high at new moon and full moon.

[OurCreature]

I wonder if OC will holiday there in 2026?

quoth Eccs.

Probably not. It is on August 12 2026, and from my point of view that is the best time to be in Brisbane. I promised myself a 70th birthday treat in 2021 by going to Brisbane to see the girls, look at the art galleries and museums and generally have a nice civilised visit - staying in a hotel. Covid put a stop to that, so now I'm thinking about a 75th birthday treat in Brisbane in 2026. That will be too close to the eclipse time; I can't really do both.

[Furby]

Go to Brisbane for 74th instead since it's already belated. Though I suppose if it's the eclipse it will be super crowded in Iceland and everywhere charge triple so isn't the best time except for eclipse supporters. It can be seen on TV anyway and that way we don't get boiled eyes.

[OurCreature]

I'll see how I feel. I am not an Eclipse Groupie so probably I wouldn't go. Iceland might turn out to be Rip-Off Land so far as prices are concerned in August 2026.

Meanwhile, I had some fun ho ho with Carolynne bringing Them home. Midge wouldn't get into his cat basket and was very hissy and claw-swinging. So Carolynne brought Mina home and some of their stuff, and I went back with her to fetch His Lordship. I was wearing gloves to be safe and just as well because he hissed at me and when I moved my hand he went for it even though it was nowhere near him. I guess he had seen his Mum taken away and simply decided we were all his enemies and he wasn't going anywhere without a fight. In the end we managed to confine him to the open bit of his quarters, and Carolynne dropped a blanket over him and managed to arrange it so that the only place he could go was his basket and I closed the door behind him. On the way home Midge began crying in a suitably pathetic fashion; but once home he was all right and after 15 minutes was with me wanting a little bit of TLC. Mina at home has been far more wary - she comes up to me, but any small disturbance makes her seek shelter elsewhere, even Midge coming up on the sofa. They'll be 100% normal tomorrow, I'm sure. They have had some wet food, and Mina decided it would be more fun to try to steal some of Midge's share rather than eat her own. They have eaten very little of it, but will do so later on.

John came to cut the grass this afternoon despite the light rain, and it is rations delivery for me from Morrisons between 18:00 and 19:00 at a charge of £1.50; I wasn't going to miss saving £1 on what I usually pay.

Fortunately, Carolynne will have Them back!

[Furby]

Away how sad a crying cat. If you had been a cruel kidnapper though wouldn't have cared about crying cats and let it go so waste of time it crying.

[Wildrover]

We got back from the US yesterday after a terrific 2 weeks. Highlights were The Sphere which is simply awe inspiring and the Grand Canyon which is just as amazing in a completely different way. We were lucky enough to be in Austin on Monday so we saw the total eclipse which was truly a once in a lifetime experience even though it was quite cloudy. We had some wonderful food especially at he historic Golden Steer restaurant which both Elvis Presley and the Rat Pack frequented - it wasn't cheap but it was probably the best steak and lobster I've ever had. We also had fun quad biking in the Nevada Desert, riding the Stratosphere rollercoaster 900 feet above the ground, playing slots, blackjack and roulette in the casinos (finished $300 down which wasn't bad for two of us for 8 days - we saved more than that on the free drinks you get when gambling) and bat watching at Congress Bridge in Austin. We even hired an old school swan pedalo and peddled our way down the Colorado river. We came back on a brand new BA plane and they are a real improvement. I upgraded us to Business Class using air miles and seats all have 22 inch TV screens and convert to flat beds so I managed to get 5 hours sleep and watch a couple of films. Upgrading is not the virtually free experience it used to be though thanks to the obscene level of tax these days. I coonsole myself with the fact that the 4 cartons of cigarettes we brought back deprived HMRC of about £400 in tax.

MYF's favourite was dinner at the bottom of the canyon, mine was the Sphere which is truly an immersive experience. A real shame that most English people will never experience it thanks to Sadiq Khan. For some reason iCloud is not uploading my photos so I can't post any yet but hopefully I'll add one or two later. I wish I'd managed to get a shot of the total eclipse but we only got a 10 second view of it thanks to the cloud cover - but I did get several partial eclipse shots.

[merry]

That sounds absolutely amazing, WR!

steak and lobster... the pedalo down the Colorado... (did you 'moon' the California Zephyr as she passed it's traditional and we actually saw some Mooners !) rollercoaster... quadbiking... dinner inside the Canyon... and all topped off by the ECLIPSE! even though it was cloudy, did it go dark and cold?

You packed a lot in to that holiday, surely the Holiday of a Lifetime. Can't wait to see some photos.

Nothing so exciting to report here. Horse duties. Evening walks. Trips to the Vet Supplies shop. Eating. Cheering up Mr M.
The usual stuff

[Wildrover]

Confusingly the river that Austin stands on is called the Colorado but it is not the same Colorado river that passes through
the Grand Canyon and that the Zephyr passes. It did go dark and incredibly quickly - even at 90% coverage it was still like normal daylight but 3 minutes later it was pitch black and 3 minutes after that it was normal daylight again. The temperature dropped a few degrees a few minutes after the eclipse but it was brief. I've realised why I can't upload pics - I got a new bank card while I was away and now loads of things won't work that are internet related including Amazon so now I have to enter new card details on various sites

[eccles]

I had a nice day out at Slimbridge yesterday in the sunshine with my brother. Unfortunately most of my photos were quite distant and badly affected by heat haze. I did get a robin and a cute little greylag gosling which I'll post later. It was worth the trip if only for the hedges and reed beds which were full of migrant songbirds. They've reached my local patch too; I heard a blackcap and chiffchaff in full song during my daily walk this morning.

[Furby]

Its not the same without pictures. Why do internet things need bank cards. It's a good job didn't stop working on holiday so much relies on keeping working these days. All that luxury holiday and an old school pedalo some things endure. I remember them from Southport lake.

And a robin not seen one for a while will there be ducklings soon.

[OurCreature]

I phoned Riviera Travel this morning because I haven't received the official letter re compensation yet, and I was informed it was sent out on 9 April. So they will email it to me sometime today. I have decided what to do with the compensation if Riviera stick to their promise of 100% of the cost going towards another cruise in 2025 - I'm going to give the Douro another try.

Update:- I discovered they were referring to an email I received on 9/4 when I thought they meant a letter via the post. So I have told them what I want to do and I'll see what happens.

They move swiftly. I'm getting a Deluxe Suite for the cruise for only £435 because they are giving me a 10% Welcome Back discount on top of the 100% refund. Upgrade to business class on the plane will be extra because they haven't got the airline schedules for 2025 yet. So today I am a very happy OC!

[Furby]

Oc is brave trying again for another disaster. 435 a week is good bargain though it's 100 a day for a half decent hotel these days and you are expected to go and find your own phone boxes.

I have been doing my finance sums and I think I will be ok with savings taxes as paupers (income wise) get 5000 person limits where other persons get 1000 and rich people who only worth half a person get 500 and very rich people are nobodies and get nothing. I think this is very unfair because rich people are people too.

However I have to do the sums to keep track because there are fines for not declaring. In the good old TDSI days when it didn't really matter for basic taxpayers all the building societies religiously send end of year statements saying how much they paid the governments on my behalf. Now it's all gross and down to me getting statements is very difficult they don't send end of year tax summaries at all any more and common or garden statements are sent when they feel like and they keep changing when. HMRC won't send out details of what the banks have told them and banks won't send statements of what they told HMRC so one is working blind. I can't see how HMRC are going to cope with this with interest rates how they have been and millions more paying customers.
They can't answer a phone in under an hour as it is so when the p800s hit the unsuspecting in October will be chaos so I want mine sorted before then. As usual they will probably let it happen it all be chaos then go into do something mode.

[merry]

Feels like you are getting a bargain there, OC! I would also be tempted to try it again, as apart from the stationary boat (!) you enjoyed much of the holiday.

Arrrgh money stuff is all so complicated. Mr M used to do it all, but doesn't now. I've had to have a steep learning curve. Luckily STPD is very clued up and always available for advice.

Last night I offered to go with Juliet, who had done a full day at work, to the horses and we worked for two hours re-fencing the field and filling water-butts and containers using a chain-gang of hoses, as the tap is about half a mile away (I racked up 2 miles of walking last night just going back and forth). Meanwhile the naughty horses took advantage of the electric fence being down for one darn minute and made a bold dash for freedom, only they decided freedom was a poor deal compared with the fresh and abundant green grass they spotted three feet into their escape dash. So we secured the main gate and left them to it while we worked till 8.30 pm, when it was still quite light.

I got rewarded by this beautiful rainbow, the moon in a bright blue sky, and Juliet headfirst in the water butt, scrubbing it out.