Nice people thread part 7 - a thread in its prime

Generali

zagubov wrote: »

How pleased were the Australians when the refrigerator was invented?!

Actually I can't think who that inventor is, which is strange considering they probably saved more lives than Alexander Fleming ( who used to receive tickertape parades everywhere he went apparantly);)

Yup, we're big fans in Australia. It's normal to have 2 fridge freezers: one for food in the house and a 'beer fridge' in the garage containing a case of beer, a couple of cases of soft drinks and some wine and a big chest freezer too! We go for big fridges too. My B-i-L lives in a small urban 2 bed terraced house and recently bought one of these babies or at least a cousin of that model perhaps.

I heard a claim that if all Aussies got rid of the beer fridge etc. and just had the kitchen model then we'd meet our obligations on some international climate treaty or another. It sounds like rubbish to me I must say and some people live so far from a proper shop that they need a lot of refrigeration to keep food fresh for the month until their next shopping trip.

I'm not sure there was a single inventor of the fridge, I think it was an iterative process where one invention built on another. 'If I have seen further than other men it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants' and all that. According to Wikipedia, the first refrigeration was invented by a Persian bloke in the C11th. No idea if that's true or not.

Generali

vivatifosi wrote: »

Gen, if it makes you feel any better, the weather isn't very Christmassy here either. It is unseasonably warm, about 12 degrees. Also we are having very heavy rain in parts of the country with bad flooding and disruption to a lot of the transport links (well that latter bit might be quite Christmassy).

And to remind you of your Dad, here are some virtual Christmas tree chocs with love from the NPs

Thanks Viva. I was listening to Radio 5 for a bit earlier and I heard the weather was rotten, especially in Scotland and the West Country. I hope Hamish, IHSTL (etc) and PN are ok. I suspect it would take more than a bit of rain to mess those guys up.

PN always reminds me of a news story from Aus from a few years back about an autistic kid (Pommie maybe?) that managed to wonder off from a tour visit to the rain forest up North that was infested with salt water crocs. He was found a couple of weeks later, hungry and dehydrated but basically ok. Nobody knew how he could have survived and he wasn't saying anything.

PN seems to face a lot of adversity and come through it intact if a bit annoyed. It's a good life skill to have.

Today is always a hard day for me. I buy a bottle of English beer (Spitfire this year) and drink to my Dad's memory. I think my daughter could tell I was a bit sad as I got a lot of kisses and cuddles from her despite my not having shaved for a couple of days.

mystic_trev

Generali wrote: »

Yup, we're big fans in Australia. It's normal to have 2 fridge freezers: one for food in the house and a 'beer fridge' in the garage containing a case of beer, a couple of cases of soft drinks and some wine and a big chest freezer too!

I bet you don't need much room for the cheese? I've never found any decent Australian cheese. Wiki best sums it up!


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Australian_cheeses

:rotfl:

Generali

mystic_trev wrote: »

I bet you don't need much room for the cheese? I've never found any decent Australian cheese. Wiki best sums it up!


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Australian_cheeses

:rotfl:

Well cheese made from unpasturised milk is illegal for the most part in Aus (there are exceptions made for the occasional cheese) and there just isn't an artisan cheese movement like in many countries in Europe including now the UK and Ireland.

I find it very funny that there is a cheese that is sold under 'Coon' brand. I half expect to see n...er bacon or Yid Farm Eggs or something. That's just my puerile sense of humour. The general name for cheddar-style plastic cheese is 'tasty' which again shows an irony.

The last time I visited the UK I was on a very tight budget despite which I spent almost £50 in Neals Yard Dairy on cheese with the full approval of Mrs Generali who I'd have to leave in Aus because we couldn't afford for her to come!

I love cheese.

sss555s

Generali wrote: »

Today would have been my Dad's birthday if he was alive still and when I was a kid it was the first day of Christmas:

My dad is 80 today. 23rd seems a popular date as I know others born on 23rd Dec.

Generali wrote: »

Thanks Viva. I was listening to Radio 5 for a bit earlier and I heard the weather was rotten, especially in Scotland and the West Country. I hope Hamish, IHSTL (etc) and PN are ok. I suspect it would take more than a bit of rain to mess those guys up.

Been a wet and windy couple of days in my part of the country, but dry today. Pretty mild though.

I liked it the other year when we had around -10 for a good few days. Mainly because I could choose when to go out in it rather than have to go out in it, as it was over the holidays.

michaels

Am I the only one who lives in the SE and finds a bit of drizzle interspersed with nice fresh mild sunnyish days where going out in a sweater is relaxing is actually not a bad type of weather especially when it comes to paying the gas bill....

Generali

sss555s wrote: »

My dad is 80 today. 23rd seems a popular date as I know others born on 23rd Dec.

Something to do with the spring equinox and that sweet lovin' perhaps leading to a result 9 months later?

sss555s wrote: »

Been a wet and windy couple of days in my part of the country, but dry today. Pretty mild though.

I liked it the other year when we had around -10 for a good few days. Mainly because I could choose when to go out in it rather than have to go out in it, as it was over the holidays.

It's going to be cool and wet here on Christmas day: 22C with showers. I'm not sure whether we'll do the annual Christmas Day trip to the beach. I hope we do, maybe for brekkie. I'm going to have a fair bit of cooking to do after that so it'll have to be early if we go at all.

silvercar

My mother refused to come to us for christmas- she's too miserable apparently and no-one wants a misery around she reckons. She doesn't really do Christmas but was having a friend (also recently widowed) to spend a few days with her. Now friend has said she is in danger of being cut off by floods and may not be able to visit. So now she realises that being on her own isn't ideal.

So I suggest she gets to the train station and we will meet her in Paddington, but she is refusing.

zagubov

My rubbish homephone is so old it still has a blue Mercury button on it. Got to get a new home phone - cordless, maybe three handsets and answerphone.

The other threads aren't packed with suggestions- any NPs got a good recommendation.

Generali

zagubov wrote: »

My rubbish homephone is so old it still has a blue Mercury button on it. Got to get a new home phone - cordless, maybe three handsets and answerphone.

The other threads aren't packed with suggestions- any NPs got a good recommendation.

I'm surprised that people still have a home phone. I haven't given anyone my landline number for a decade I reckon.

The last phone I bought that meets your requirements was a Panasonic and it was very good AFAICR. I'm not convinced that anyone actually called us but it made a decent ornament.