WCMUT....what cheered me up today

I just decant from 20l into a jug, worked worked in places with multiple vehicles so we used quite a volume.
 
Bumping into the diabetic nurse (as in the nurse who I see for my check-ups rather than the one who's diabetic!) in the chocolate aisle in Sainsbury's. She had chocolate in her trolley - I didn't! :halo:
 
She told me that 70% or better was OK a few years ago. In moderation, of course!!!
 
For the last week or so I've been pondering about buying a Blu-Ray player for our house in Thailand - it would need to be "region free" for both DVD and Blu-ray and I was going to wait until after Xmas. I stupidly pulled the trigger late last night (22/12) and I was expecting it would get dispatched the Xmas holiday..... On checking my order status on Ebay this afternoon I spotted a tracking number.... just checked and it's due for delivery Xmas Eve..... :D :D :D
 
Assembling a couple of mini IKEA like box cabinets in under 15 minutes - including fetching the tools, putting them away and disposing of the packaging!

They might even last a while since they'll live where they are and not be moved around.
 
Nod said:
Bumping into the diabetic nurse (as in the nurse who I see for my check-ups rather than the one who's diabetic!) in the chocolate aisle in Sainsbury's. She had chocolate in her trolley - I didn't! :halo:
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Last year, my wife contacted the surgery who had sent out a leaflet to their patients about check-ups for diabetes and referred to.. "the diabetic nurse". She was put through to someone who took it seriously and thanked her for bringing it to their attention and said that future letters will be amended.
 
WCMUT was getting the cake iced and using the left over egg yolks to make proper custard.

And getting the heated grips on the bike.
 
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My wife gave me a Lee filter holder today. The spring in the old one that moves the metal strip onto the holder ring was weak and came away easily.

This is the photo on the front of the box. It's a supercell storm in the US .

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Heated grips and kindly drivers.

Pretty much every driver (who was held up in the queue caused by a broken down car at Countess Wear roundabout) pulled a little to the side to make it easier for Mrs Nod and I to filter down through the lanes. The self gifted grips make a huge difference in comfort and were very easy to fit - my bike has the wiring in the handlebars from new so it was a simple job, even with [mildly ironically!] rather chilly fingers!)
 
We thought we'd go to Lizard tomorrow...only 4 miles away, because it's the only day that sunshine is forecast and in the past we've bought the famous Anne's Pasties there. I checked for opening times . WCMUT..ie made me laugh, was the result of that search.


"Anne's Pasties in Lizard appears to be closed as of April 2025 due to legal issues involving the owners. The business announced a freeze on all trading for the foreseeable future following news about the owners being taken into custody"
 
WCMUT?

A pair of blue tits eyeing up the nesting box :)
 
Tree is down, lights are put away, deccies are boxed up. Only 357 days until Christmas :)
 
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Finding out my car insurance renewal quote was £18 cheaper than last year, it's dropped from £156 to £138...

Checked a couple of comparison websites and they couldn't beat it!!!
 
Marc said:
For the first time in 37 years, we are completely debt free after I paid off our last credit agreement.
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Congratulations, debt can often be the devil and it must feel good to be free of it all.

I'm almost there, just the evil mortgage left; our two year fixed term is up at the end of this month. After a lot of hard work and years of family sacrifices, the conning sods won't be getting a penny more of interest out of us. I detest how mortgages operate.
 
gman said:
Congratulations, debt can often be the devil and it must feel good to be free of it all.

I'm almost there, just the evil mortgage left; our two year fixed term is up at the end of this month. After a lot of hard work and years of family sacrifices, the conning sods won't be getting a penny more of interest out of us. I detest how mortgages operate.
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Well Done :D .
Now you can look at saving some money knowing that you won't be getting more than a pittance of interest out of your savings account. Which ever way, the banks aways win.:headbang:
 
seaodyssey said:
Well Done :D .
Now you can look at saving some money knowing that you won't be getting more than a pittance of interest out of your savings account. Which ever way, the banks aways win.:headbang:
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Yeah. Since I paid off the mortgage last year, the interest rates have kept dropping. It feels like the more money I put into the savings account, the less interest we earn!
 
Marc said:
Yeah. Since I paid off the mortgage last year, the interest rates have kept dropping. It feels like the more money I put into the savings account, the less interest we earn!
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Someone once told me that "when it comes to investing your money, diversity is your friend",

It seems to work. ;)
 
Remember that it is the interest rate paid compared with your inflation that matters.
You could be getting 10% interest but if the things that you buy go up 11% you are losing purchasing power.
If the interest rate is 4% but the things you buy go up 3% you are gaining.
 
seaodyssey said:
Well Done :D .
Now you can look at saving some money knowing that you won't be getting more than a pittance of interest out of your savings account. Which ever way, the banks aways win.:headbang:
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Thanks. It wasn't a decision we came to lightly, but two years ago our five year fixed ended and the rates shot up and on a whim and just like so many others we were suddenly paying all this extra interest to the banks with nothing extra to show for it; this kinda gave me the rage lol. Our stocks and shares have been doing great, so it's a sore one to dig into them, but I'm prioritising long term stability because everything is so volitile at the moment.

I do feel fortunate to be in such a position at a reasonably young age and in good health, there's plenty of people out there who have worked just as hard and sacrificed far more, but are in not such a fortunate position. A contruction worker I got chatting to just under two years ago at a PPE counter was telling how his mortgage had gone through the roof and it took everything they had to pay it, giving up all sorts and cutting back on everything. He was obviously heavily mortgaged up, hence the massively huge increase, but he said he was determined to not lose his house. That conversation has stuck with me and I really felt for the guy.
 
Had an interesting day in town. Instead of paying £180-£200 for new specs, I'd changed opticians and went to Vision Express a few weeks ago. The dispensing option was surprised when I said I was going to look at frames. He asked if there was something wrong with the ones I had. No. We can replace the lenses, he said. They never suggested that at the other place. I had the new lenses fitted today and they renewed the nose pads, too. Excellent. He gave me a card to read, asked me if I was able to read from paragraph five, down. The text got smaller the further down the card the paragraphs were. I went to the penultimate paragraph and read it with ease. I tried the last one. Reading at a slower pace,of course but I got to the end of it ok and read.."if you've read this you have exceptional eyesight" The chap said he didn't see that too often. I asked if I got a prize but,sadly..no..lol. It can't be that exceptional..I wear specs.

It took them an hour to replace my lenses which I was told about so I took my old pair and wore them. With my wife, we went to M&S and then for a coffee at a place called Jamaica Blue. I mention this because it was my first time in there and I was very impressed and it's nationwide. The staff are so courteous and friendly and, despite it being called 'Jamaica Blue' they are Indian. It's franchised. The name, Jamaica Blue was explained on a wall frame and it comes from the Blue Mountains in Jamaica known as the best coffee-growing location in the world. It's an Arabica coffee-bean variety called Typica which originated in SW Ethiopia. The menu was very good ,too. Meals such as "Lybian salad, which I will have when we next go, is finely sliced chicken and salad. No ordinary salad, though. The place itself was nice to be in, too with quiet ear-freindly music. No pop or rap. I assume all their branches are built on the same lines. Here's what they say."At Jamaica Blue, we pride ourselves on offering a diverse range of high-quality dishes, freshly made on the premises and prepared using premium, fresh ingredients. Our contemporary menus feature an exciting array of classic dishes with a twist, [my bold] including satisfying salads, open flatbreads and our famous all-day brunch options" Everything is freshly made and, sit in the right place, you can see the chef(s) at work.

So.. if anyone fancies a visit here's the link and click on "Find a location" and take a look at the other headers. https://www.jamaicablue.co.uk/our-menu/

I noted a few things on our visit. In a doorway, fast asleep, wrapped in blankets was ...well, someone. Male,female ? I have no idea. No-one should have to live like that. It really does bother me tbh. I have heard that some prefer that to hostels which can, sometimes, be a bit scary. Further along were two men and a women of the same ilk as the man sitting on the pavement begging with a cloth cap at his feet, and they were chatting to him .There were three 2p coins in it. I'm reluctant to give money, for obvious reasons, and those who work with them say not to. I have done what they do recommend, though.... a take-away hot meal/sandwich and hot drink. There's mobile meal van in the city centre.

I also noted that a lot of the people..most tbh.. I passed by didn't speak english. I recognised east European a lot.,..and two young black men speaking on their mobiles in what I assume to be an African language. They weren't together. It wasn't much different on the bus,either. Ironically, the ones who spoke english were the two men and a women chatting and joking with the man begging. How things have changed over the years.

Why do dogs love to stick thier heads out of car windows ? Lol. There was a car infront of the bus on the way home and a large brown poodle had its head out of the front passenger window for quite a while as we went along. They must love the wind on their faces, I assume..It was taking everything in as the car drove on, especially when it had to stop.
 
We are with Vision Express for our glasses too and the people at our local branch are excellent
I am accident prone with my glasses and they have helped me out by fixing them up a few times
when out with the camera if an opportunity comes along glasses get shoved somewhere, I have dropped them in a pond before :oops: :$
I now have my glasses on a string for when I am out with the camera
 
LCPete said:
We are with Vision Express for our glasses too and the people at our local branch are excellent
I am accident prone with my glasses and they have helped me out by fixing them up a few times
when out with the camera if an opportunity comes along glasses get shoved somewhere, I have dropped them in a pond before :oops: :$
I now have my glasses on a string for when I am out with the camera
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I went to them after my wife had been there and told me how good they were. She also expected to have to buy new frames but they just changed the lenses. She has specsa like Pru Leith's from the Bake Off..lol. She also said that they didn't try to upsell with coatings of this that and the other which I had to endure at each upgrade along with new frames which I now know weren't necessary .How much has that cost over tyhe years,I wonder ? One upgrade, if you can call it that, was to let more light in to the back of the eye. Another for dazzle..we don't go out at night.

I've had the new lenses for 24 hours now ands they're just the job including easier reading... bifocals.
 
Flights booked for a trip to Thailand in April.... and got a nice little discount on them... :):):)

Thanks to being a Qatar Airways frequent flyer and having Silver status I get a discount code as a birthday present... My birthday was back in October, but when I logged in to my account last night it was showing as valid until the end of this month... (y)(y)(y)

Unfortunately due to flight availability, our return date is one day earlier than planned to avoid being stuck in Doha airport for 10 hours....

Last night I also checked prices for airport parking, but didn't book. This morning I received an email from Manchester Airport with a January sales discount code for up to 25% off... Checked out the prices again and the new quote was £37 cheaper!!! Parking now booked!!!
 
If anyone has a Toby Carvery near them check to see when they do an offer, which is quite often. The normal price is £12 per meal but today my wife and I paid £12..ie £6 each. The offer has been on all week. It's a huge meal and that's with the standard plate size not the large one which is the size a Christmas turkey sits on.

You couldn't cook that at home for that price and it's good quality. Also saves the time and effort cooking it.
 
Out cycling this morning, have a little fly of my drone. I’m stopped in my favourite place and a group of cyclists came along, stopped to check I was okay!

Much appreciated :)
 
Going out for lunch she wanted to go via a local jewellers to drop off some odd bits of gold for a scrap? valuation, quite a surprise when they offered a grand, well she’s a happy bunny and so am I as know what some of it cost many years ago, so not a lot, but odd earrings, too small rings are of no use anyway.
 
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WCMUT is having the heating fixed. The original replacement 3 port valve was faulty out-of-the-box so had the plumber scratching his head when it didn't cure the problem on Friday evening. He actually brought 2 new thermostats (room and tank) just in case the new valve didn't cure the fault and tested the new valve at his home before fitting it here.
Wouldn't take anything for 3-4 hours of work but I managed to slip a few quid into his van before he left.
 
I had my boiler serviced recently and I asked the engineer if he could swap the basin taps in the shower room from ‘normal’ to lever.
No worries he said and wouldn’t take a shilling. But I managed to secrete some folding stuff in his toolbox:)
 
Managed to fit the rear axle on my wife's 2009 Fiat Panda, did all this on the drive way.
I am 65 years old and far to old to be messing about like this, but I did it and it made mw feel great once it was over,
 
Oldbones said:
Managed to fit the rear axle on my wife's 2009 Fiat Panda, did all this on the drive way.
I am 65 years old and far to old to be messing about like this, but I did it and it made mw feel great once it was over,
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Its a good feeling doing this kind of stuff. At 64 I can't get on the floor or work as quickly as I once could, but I've managed to fit a bath & wash basin over the last year or so, and can still do practical jobs.
 
Oldbones said:
Managed to fit the rear axle on my wife's 2009 Fiat Panda, did all this on the drive way.
I am 65 years old and far to old to be messing about like this, but I did it and it made mw feel great once it was over,
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I do as much work on my own car as possible, mainly just so that I know it's done right as I have an inherent trust of garages. But I have to admit, my enthusiasm to do these jobs definitely goes down in direct proportionate to my age going up.
 
I have been doing this sort of work since I was 15 years old.
Worked in garages most of my life, have the tools and experience to do this stuff.
I have not worked on the deck like this for a long long time.
So I am pretty stiff at the moment.
Some bits and bobs to do with the Pandatastic and I will get the MOT sorted out.
Its a project and a hobby in reality.
 
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