grendel

I was taught if it goes Flash-Bang its too bloomin close..... actually I think we used to do a slow count and divide by 3 for the miles. Grendel

nowadays most building sites have an induction before the person is allowed on the site (all elf and safety related) part of this can be a safety video, everyone who goes onto the building site has to sit through this and then sign off to say they have done this, how about as part of the initial handover (perhaps in the waiting area, you could have a safety video on a continuous loop, if this was also humorous in nature, the message would probably sink in a little better, then as part of the handover the odd question about something in the video could be asked. it could be relatively simple, covering which side of the river to drive, what to do at bridges, oh my god that sailing ship is using all the river, what do I do, how to go round that yellow post, and even the chain ferry. maybe a 5 or 10 minute video on a continual loop. maybe even a couple of videos, either using actors, or a cartoon. just a thought really. Grendel

when we were up and around we were doing that a little for the first day, mind you so was the boat behind, until they got side on and hit the reed beds at ramming speed, they got a good way off the main river (just upstream from acle), but did manage to reverse off again. Grendel

just taken some photos of the map Grendel

looking at the second picture he seems to have lost his head too. (I cant see any safety specs either) Grendel

This morning I went to the local boot fair, whilst wandering around I spotted a copy of 'The Jarrold map of the Broads' original price 2/6 bootfair price 'a quid mate'. When I got it home and had a look at it, it is in pristine condition, maybe used once? the only date I can find on it is 1946, the only sign of wear is on the corners of the cover which have been very slightly bent round. I am now officially a happy bunny. Grendel

I have mine set to 'past 24 hours and that seems to find everything. once you get to the new content page have a look to the left and it gives you various options. Grendel

did you tell him you only ever caught the good pike when your Tee shirt was on inside out? Grendel

I figure it must be Alice, her first known victim was the mad hatter. Grendel

I can just see you out there on your porch, in a rocking chair with your shotgun across your lap... Grendel

LOL - ots even better if you are not paying attention to the video part, it lets the imagination have free rein. Grendel

having had to wear a tie at school, I now only own 2 (one of which has father Christmas on and plays tunes) I was a stickler for school rules (so much that they changed them) until the 6th form I had the beginnings of a straggley beard (the school rules stated that in the 6th form you must shave), I pointed out to the many teachers who would give me gifts at Christmas and birthday like packs of Bic razors, that since I had not yet reached the 6th form, I was not obliged to abide by that rule. my first day back for the 6th form I appeared neatly shaven, the two following years are the only time in my life I have shaven, the rest of my life I have sported a beard (of various lengths)-once I was able to grow one that is - at one point I would plait it into two plaits on the corners of the chin) recently it has been more under control with regular trimming. Grendel

well I could discourse on home mechanics or stargazing just as easily as bread (at least I posted my recipe in a new topic) Grendel

It strikes me - (and I am by no means a saily) that possible if the sailing ship is sailing gull winged, that if she deviated her course too much the wrong way (ie if the wind were dead aft and then moved to the wrong side for the sail) she might suddenly gybe and the boom swing to the other side (of course this knowledge has been picked up purely from reading the swallows and amazons books - where by trying to hang on too long with the wind from the wrong side of the sail caused a problem (swallowdale)). As such going down the correct side might make matters worse -by forcing the sailboat the wrong way. so might going to the wrong side to pass, either way a decision must be made and it would be easier if both captains indicated their intentions with plenty of time and space. courtesy costs nothing and in all probability could avoid an accident or at least confusion and complication. Grendel

PS when I was at school the 6th form brought the whole school out on strike because the head decided to not allow the lower forms to watch the house plays one year. after several hours it was agreed that each would be performed twice, once to the upper school, then again the next day to the lower school. Grendel

Ah schools, a topic I could waffle on about all day. My daughter went to a local secondary school, my wife became chair of the PTFA, when our daughter was bullied we were categorically told they didn't have a bullying problem, and that our daughter was the only one who was being bullied - this despite the fact that all of the other members of the PTFA had children who were the only ones being bullied. after she was knocked unconscious with a teacher watching (who did not intervene) we took her out of the school and enrolled her with the only other one available. This school was in special measures, it had a management team in and they fully admitted bullying happened, they also said that when it happened it was investigated and dealt with. (in fact at one point they were rated as the worst school in the UK). my daughter thrived there, worked hard, teachers were in short supply but they were good teachers (one teacher taught 2 classes at once via a audio visual link up, with 2 classroom assistants (one in each class) to help, everything was very progressive. my daughter went on to become head girl there and passed her exams. They did not do sixth form there, so she had to look round, her results were so good that she was taken on for the 6th form by a local Grammar school (rated in the top 10 of the country). Her old school came out of special measures and went on to become an academy, they then introduced a uniform, there was only one problem - the young ladies who attended objected to the hand of friendship logo the academy adopted, that adorned the breast pockets of the blazers (ahem, not a great location to have a hand positioned). Anyway the Grammar school tried to teach my daughter, she tried, but they had not accounted for the fact that she had done a different curriculum up to that point, there were gaps in her knowledge they didn't address which made progression on to A levels very difficult, my daughter failed at this top school. after a year out she went back to college and re sat her a levels, this time managing a pass. Since then she has gone to University (this was the point they found she had a mild dyslexia which was what had been making her learning difficult previously. She finished her law degree earlier this year managing a credible pass. All this goes to show that a bad school can teach someone who has the potential probably better than a good one that doesn't recognise that potential in the pupil. Both myself and my wife went to Grammar Schools, and found them quite rigid in their teaching methods, I think a pupil gets the best from any school that recognises their ability and has teachers who do their best to bring the abilities of the child to the fore, rather than rigidly working towards exam results and league tables. (I think part of the issue with the school that was in special measures was the problem that as a town with a local military barracks - this was the school a majority were sent to, every few years (usually just before exam times) the garrison changed and about 25% of the pupils left and took their exams elsewhere, and a new batch of pupils arrived to take their exams - I am sure this drastically affected their performance in the league tables. Grendel

As promised on the other thread, here is my bread recipe, I use the same mix for white bread, wholemeal bread, pizza bases and even cheesy rolls. I use the mix when hand baking or bread machine. in the machine :- in this order 325ml water, 2 tablespoons of milk powder 1 level tablespoon of sugar 5 tablespoons of oil about 20g of fresh yeast (we got a whole lot going cheap at morrisons and keep it in the freezer - it still works fine, just move it to the fridge for a few hours before use). then comes 3 cups of flour (that is american cup measures) for wholemeal use 30/70 or 50/50 wholemeal / white to finish 1 teaspoon of salt. then let the machine cook it on the sandwich setting for nice soft sandwich bread (3 hours). if mixing by hand it will need kneading for 5 minutes, allowed to rise for 45-60 minutes, kneaded again, and made into rolls of put on trays or in loaf tins, left to rise again 45-60 mins then 25 minute bake. this recipe has evolved from experiments, and because I was fed up with bread that was quite dry (the extra oil gives you lovely soft bread). If it rises then flops reduce the yeast a little, if it doesnt rise enough, either a little more yeast, or its too dry so a little more water. did I mention my Mum has cooked her own bread every other day for as long as I can remember (54 years at least) and her dad was a master baker. Grendel

I believe morrisons also sell fresh yeast too - or try any bakery that makes its own, fresh yeast is the secret to the taste. G

I will give you one handy hint for getting a decent tasting bread from a bread machine - the secret is in the yeast, visit the bakery section at Sainsbury's ask them for some fresh yeast (100g should do to start, and will be enough for about 5 loaves and wont break the bank - I cant remember if I was paying 30p or 60p per 100g)) the other secret is that the wholemeal setting on most machines is too long, the loaf rises then flops back down, I use the sandwich loaf setting. I have played around a fair bit with my recipe, it may just be you had a dud batch of dried yeast (or used the quick one where you needed the normal one). to start with be very careful measuring ingredients, especially the flour / water ratio, too wet it over rises and flops, too dry it doesn't rise (trust me I have experienced everything from Brick to something with the consistence of a crumpet). when experimenting only change one ingredients quantities at a time of you wont know which one does the job. another trick is to just use the machine to mix the dough, then do the rises until it looks ready - rolls work well with this method. when I get home I will ttry and remember to post my bread recipe. also you need to ensure that the yeast and salt don't mix too early (I put the yeast in the liquid then the flour with the salt on top) Grendel

just try the diamond shaped cheesy rolls at Lidl and you will be hooked Frank - when we get them we buy at least a dozen (sometimes 2 dozen) and I normally bake my own bread... Grendel

I had my card stopped once - I was on Holiday in Stratford and my card had been used to top up 2 mobile phones (mine and the wifes), they also stopped my credit card that we tried to top up the second phone with. I then just had the cash in my pocket, fortunately the hotel had been paid for, and I had enough fuel in the car to get home, apparently they had phoned before stopping my card - they phoned my home phone number - they said they got no reply - well I was away, so that wasnt very helpful - took them 3 days to reactivate the card too. Grendel

sort of L shaped but rounded on the front Alan? - or you could say P shaped with a flat on the bottom of the rounded bit. Grendel

Robin, how about converting an old thames barge to a convenience store. Grendel

we had a pigeon fly into a window at work, we know it was a pigeon because it left a perfect dust print of outstretched wings on the window, every feather was visible. Grendel

I have to say I am still hunting for my pics of the arrows from Manston, unfortunately I cant remember the year so only 111,000 photos to look through (2000+ folders).sigh Grendel