Nice People Thread Number 10 -the official residence of Nice People

silvercar

Lots of kids opt out of school dinners now because they are quite expensive if you are not entitled to FSM. If you can afford it and your kids are fussy eaters it is easier and cheaper to make them stuff you know they will eat.

lostinrates

tomterm8 wrote: »

Have you got a photograph of it?

I still have the tree, undressed, so can snap it. I'll remember the name soon hopefully.


It was a new variety to me. Emerald something spruce I think.

Nikkster

Google suggests there is an 'emerald green spruce' if that helps.

I was second tallest in the school by the time I left primary school. Sadly I'd already stopped growing (upwards, anyway) and it turns out everyone else was yet to hit their growth spurt

lostinrates

Fir is having a back to work hair cut In a while. I was going to prune the dog wood patch-estate, but its too sodden out there.

Instead we're listening to http://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Meditations-Magdala/dp/B000JBY07E/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1388830726&sr=1-1&keywords=Christmas+meditations

And sorting through a couple of boxes of books in the study.

Its the end of the holiday and a normal week end I guess. . DH did suggest chain sawing but its just too wet.

Generali

We took the kids to Wollongong today. There was a hell of a riptide there: a very strong current that will drag you out to sea. It's far too strong to swim against and if you get caught in one you have to let it suck you out to sea while swimming across it to get out of it. Then you can let the waves carry you back to shore.

When we got there the lifeguards were in the water, rescuing a woman who had gotten caught up in it.

It was an absolutely glorious day though: 28C and sunny. We had BBQ for lunch as our version of B&Q has a sausage BBQ outside run by a local school, sports club or charity every Saturday and Sunday so you can get sausage and onions in a roll for $2.50.

Then we went out for fish & chips for dinner on the way home. That chippie was a great find. I noticed it had a huge queue on the way down to Wollongong so thought it must be good. Actually the queues were because they're hugely inefficient but the food was still excellent.

In the heat of the day we went here:

http://www.allnewhousingworld.com.au/about.aspx

which is dangerously on topic. It's a place where builders put up a bunch of show homes so you can look round a load of places. I thought this place was particularly good value:

http://www.allworthhomes.com.au/index.php/our-homes/6_classic-designs/17_apollo.html

that's under £100k for the house. Land is extra unfortunately. A decent plot where we want to live is about $400,000 or so depending on size.

This place is pretty tempting. Ignore the silly facade, you can change that for a few thousand:

http://www.allworthhomes.com.au/index.php/our-homes/6_classic-designs/7_torquay-40.html

It's absolutely bloody huge. It's 4,000 ft^2. Downstairs is a massive kitchen/diner. Then there's a 'lounge room', a dining room a study and a home cinema.

Upstairs are 4 bedrooms and another massive reception room. That costs $300,000 so under £200,000.

Generali

Meanwhile, great news in from France:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/10546263/Only-1067-vehicles-set-ablaze-on-New-Years-Eve-in-France.html

Only 1,067 cars and vans were destroyed by arson, a “significant” reduction of more than 10 per cent compared to the number of vehicles set ablaze last year, according to Manuel Valls, the Interior Minister.

All things considered, it was a “positive result”, Mr Valls told a press conference on Wednesday. He said he regretted the deaths of three people in knife attacks in Paris and in eastern and southern France.

Car-torching has been adopted as a modern New Year tradition by some young revellers in France. The practice reportedly began in earnest amongst youths - often in poor neighbourhoods - in the 1990s in the region around Strasbourg in the east of the coutnry.

Last year 1,193 vehicles were burned, according to official figures.

PasturesNew

Generali wrote: »

Meanwhile, great news in from France:

What always annoys me about this type of reporting is that it gives others ideas they'd have never entertained.

You see it a lot in crime programmes, where they show you how a crime was done, or what the criminal omitted to plan for that got them caught.

Also, movements of Royals. e.g. "Harry's out in Afghanistan.... we hope he won't be kidnapped" ... er, but you just told them he's there, so now they can put efforts into finding out where, as opposed to assuming he's at Buck House with granny!

If they stayed quiet about stuff..... there'd be less of it.

PasturesNew

silvercar wrote: »

Lots of kids opt out of school dinners now because they are quite expensive if you are not entitled to FSM. If you can afford it and your kids are fussy eaters it is easier and cheaper to make them stuff you know they will eat.

They are expensive because now you're paying for: NMW, holiday pay, maternity pay, rights, holiday pay, health and safety and some nutritionist (and their raft of local management) somewhere along the mix.

PasturesNew

Going out for a look outside.... just noticed garden now under 4+" of water - and people in the car park next door are having problems getting to their cars. Better investigate now, then check weather and levels...... might be in for a surprise....

Taking camera

Edit: Well, it's bad... but doesn't look catastrophic. I'm actually perched 2' above the garden. However, looking at the lie of the general land round these parts, all rises and water flows lead to the bottom of the hollow ..... and that's next door and where my car's parked. There might be one footpath that funnels any water away. Overall, I'm not concerned today.

About 30' behind mind is a huge stream/pond, whose sides are 5' above the road level; water is currently 1' from topping that.

lostinrates

Our garden pathos underwater and our front ditch full. We'll use the road ( whoch we use as a garden path anyway) but the little lawn chickens look really upset. .