Nice People Thread Number 11 - A Treasury of Nice People

Yorkie1

lostinrates wrote: »

Turns out DH miss heard. Its NEW York. Makes more sense really. No holiday for me and the kiwi.

Oh well, another time - there are excellent museums in Proper York and stage 2 of a rather large bike race in early July :j

lostinrates

Yorkie1 wrote: »

Oh well, another time - there are excellent museums in Proper York and stage 2 of a rather large bike race in early July :j

I have been to York a couple of times, but not on my own time, IYSWIM. A school trip, a wedding, and a very long distance meal out, It made sense at the time. I am afraid I remember very little. Like Chester, somewher I remember thinking I'd like to look around more, but....never got round to. But be Dozens of super places in uk to feel like that about

Museums fab, bike races....m'eh, well, at least cyclists go fast to that place they chase the yellow jersey too or whatever it is they do. They'll be fresh too, near the beginning. .

zagubov

PasturesNew wrote: »

kettle knowledge

vivatifosi wrote: »

the cheese equivalent .

Nikkster wrote: »

silicone-up .

Generali wrote: »

Prosthetic Forehead! .

Generali wrote: »

pre-anus

lostinrates wrote: »

gloves full of custard

lostinrates wrote: »

farmer sexy

This current thread has totally expanded my vocabulary of unusual phrases.:T

zagubov

Nikkster wrote: »

I've somehow been roped into giving a talk next week.

I hate hate hate public speaking.

Bah.

If it's any consolation, I've been lecturing for nearly thirty years and I still get "stage fright" when I first meet a class.
The usual cliche of substituting the word "excitement" to replace the word "fright" neutralises it quite a bit.
Gen gave good tips further back. The usual three-part "tell them you're going to tell them it, tell them it and tell them you've told them it" works well.
If doing a presentation just put key words as prompts for you to talk about.
More than a slide per minute can be overpowering. Obvioulsy if you know who's introducing you, if you're not sure they know you well enought to introduce you, give them something positive to say about you.

"Nikkster has been doing interesting research in the field of "delayed ketoalkalotic effects in aldosterone-secreting adenomas" or whatever".;)

neverdespairgirl

PasturesNew wrote: »

Looking at BMI charts I'm at the top end of "normal". In the past I've been less..... I was down to 8 stone 3 in about 2004. Unfortunately, when I look up ideal weights for my height it's quite sadly quite a bit less......

So I'm happy floating around 9.5 to 10 stone..... and just accepting that I'm a lardy piggy who eats too much

I'm not actually much over "normal" in BMI terms, but I'm one of those people for whom BMI isn't a perfect tool - at 25 BMI I'm still too fat. I need to be about 21, I think. OH has a BMI of 24, and is very slim, with lead ribs or something. I'm the opposite.

vivatifosi wrote: »

I loved Concorde though. It enabled me to do the most amazing thing I've ever done... taking off at night and flying 'backwards' through time, I flew backwards through sunset. Absolutely visually stunning.

There was a young lady called Bright
Who travelled much faster than light
She set off one day
In a relative way
And returned the previous night

PasturesNew wrote: »

Most of the photos are small snapshots of guys "hanging out together" .. and the one studio photo I have of one person whose name/DOB/address I know shows no badges. Some tiny skull cap set on one side (the side that's not facing the camera) - although it does seem to have a bit of a strange shape/size. Probably would turn out to be some support role, rather than a fighting machine; definitely not from "officer" stock.

You have to remember that in every war, somebody's job is to erect the camp toilets and take them down again .... I bet my family did something like that.

Is there a hat spotters database?

My maternal grandfather wanted to go to university, or failing that, join the navy. His father refused him money / permission to do either, so he did banking exams instead. He joined the Royal Navy Reserves (AKA "the Wavy Navy") and was called up in late August 1939. He was on full-time service, mostly in Africa, India and Burma, from then until 1947.

My paternal grandfather joined the Territorial Army in about 1937, and was called up as a private in 1939. He was promoted up the ranks, and ended up a Captain in Tanks, and spent his time mostly in northern Africa, and then Italy.

Neither came from any kind of military or officer-type background, though.

LydiaJ

Ooof! Just woken up. I was so tired when I got in from collecting DD from her early evening activity that I thought I'd just lie down for a few minutes...

Think I will catch up on the NPT and then go to bed properly.

PasturesNew wrote: »

Easier to send an email to the US ... asking "did .... die because ...." and await an answer to turn up.

Ah, I misunderstood your post. I thought said relative was someone you'd lost touch with and would need to trace. Thanks for explaining.

lostinrates wrote: »

if this is true then it can only mean for my circumstance that I would be in a position to contribute nothing to my relationship.

I think I might not have typed clearly. My distinction was meant to be clearly drawn between what I could do if I had to and what I am glad I don't have to.

I made it because I am well aware in some shoes people here will have to face things at some time alone, and it IS possible. But for now Gen and I can count our blessings, But gen is also entitled to vent.

Similarly, if fir and I get old, we won't have people like PN to check we have our interests catered for. Shrug. Its the way the cookie crumbled. Hopefully fir won't need help, or, never know....might be step children in his future :D. Otherwise, like , say PN, he'll be on his tod.

Hmmm. I didn't express myself properly, then. Because although obviously you do currently need help, you're absolutely not "contributing nothing to your relationship". Even when you've been ill, we've seen you caring about fir's troubles at work, for example, so you clearly do manage to be there for him even when things are very tough for you.

I'm thinking more of people like Mrs Gen, blighted by depression into the horrible position of wanting to support him but not having much to give, and of people like my kids, who are delightful people and really do love me, but being the ages that they are can't help adding to the overwhelmingness of my responsibilities rather than making me feel supported though things.

tomterm8 wrote: »

Er... no... I've lost around 3 1/2 stone since before christmas,

:T:T:T Well done tomterm! :T:T:T

neverdespairgirl

Hope you feel rested, Lydia?

My mother came to see us today, to admire Danny's growth and new achievements (the only one, really, being his newly-found fascination with lightbulbs and windows, as he takes in the different between light and dark) and then whisked an on-half-term Isaac off to Wagamama and then the Natural History Museum, which she reckoned a proper grandmotherly activity; they went to see the Mammoth expedition, and both seem to have had a lot of fun.

Following his apparently taking in a news item the other day about pension under-provision among people in their 60s, Isaac apparently quizzed Mama in some detail on the tube about whether she and Dad would run out of money in their old age. He was reassured, eventually, she thought!

She came back to our flat to await the dying down of the rush hour, and to play games and sing songs with Danny. Playing games is a bit limited at the moment, but he did some arm-waving and she did sing to him quite a lot.

LydiaJ

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

My maternal grandfather wanted to go to university, or failing that, join the navy. His father refused him money / permission to do either, so he did banking exams instead. He joined the Royal Navy Reserves (AKA "the Wavy Navy") and was called up in late August 1939. He was on full-time service, mostly in Africa, India and Burma, from then until 1947.

My paternal grandfather joined the Territorial Army in about 1937, and was called up as a private in 1939. He was promoted up the ranks, and ended up a Captain in Tanks, and spent his time mostly in northern Africa, and then Italy.

Neither came from any kind of military or officer-type background, though.

Both my grandfathers were too old for active service in WW2, although they were both officer class sort of people. Paternal grandfather had been a machine gunner in WW1, and spent WW2 being acting headmaster of a school in the middle of London, being in charge of the half of the school that stayed, while the actual headmaster ran the half of the school that was evacuated somewhere else. I'm not sure what maternal grandfather did in WW1 but in WW2 he was doing something to do with keeping the national grid running, I think. Must ask my dad, who probably knows. Maternal grandmother came back to Blighty from India (where she was living with her parents) once WW1 got started, and got a job as assistant and speech writer to a politician - cabinet minister I think. She and her father used to listen to the politician on the radio, giving speeches that she'd written.

Looking at the next generation down, in WW2 my dad was a naval radar mechanic in Portsmouth (turned 18 in 1944), his oldest sister was in Trinidad doing something with the Army, and his other sister was doing something in the WAAF - being a fitter or something I think, but I may have that wrong. Both his sisters met their husbands in the forces and got married pretty much as soon as WW2 finished.

zagubov

tomterm8 wrote: »

Er... no... I've lost around 3 1/2 stone since before christmas, but I'll need to lose two or three more stone before I don't wobble as I scythe:D



I don't really want a fortune. Just enough to buy hot and cold running servants...

Well done! I need to do something similar or else grow about one and a half feet taller which turns out be harder to do. I am alarmingly short for my weight, and height control websites are amazingly rare on t'internet.:(

[QUOTE=LydiaJ;
65722275]Both my grandfathers were too old for active service in WW2, although they were both officer class sort of people. Paternal grandfather had been a machine gunner in WW1, and spent WW2 being acting headmaster of a school in the middle of London, being in charge of the half of the school that stayed, while the actual headmaster ran the half of the school that was evacuated somewhere else. I'm not sure what maternal grandfather did in WW1 but in WW2 he was doing something to do with keeping the national grid running, I think. Must ask my dad, who probably knows. Maternal grandmother came back to Blighty from India (where she was living with her parents) once WW1 got started, and got a job as assistant and speech writer to a politician - cabinet minister I think. She and her father used to listen to the politician on the radio, giving speeches that she'd written.

Looking at the next generation down, in WW2 my dad was a naval radar mechanic in Portsmouth (turned 18 in 1944), his oldest sister was in Trinidad doing something with the Army, and his other sister was doing something in the WAAF - being a fitter or something I think, but I may have that wrong. Both his sisters met their husbands in the forces and got married pretty much as soon as WW2 finished.[/QUOTE]

As my grandparents were in a mining village, hardly anyone was called up; TBH most families were untouched in mining communities and they sent huge numbers of conscripts down the mines, my grandpa the jellyman wasn't even considered for calling up. (the other grandpa was conscripted as a cop, as many police had been called up which I find hard to believe).

Bombing mines wasn't as high a priority as bombing shipyards and the like.

There were fields nearby with fake streetlights set up like faraway towns and some fields were covered with aluminium foil at night to look like distant lochs to mess up the German bombers navigators, as they had a major project of flattening every single building in Clydebank. My uncle's mate ended up at Bletchley where they needed maths graduates. My dad was too young to be involved.

Generali

My Grandad loaded bombs onto bombers. One Uncle ended up as a go-between for the Nuremberg trials and another was a contentious objector who ended up in a German detention camp on Red Cross rations.

My Grandma worked sending coded messages to the Resistance and soldiers behind the lines (she was just a wireless operator, it's not that glamourous). Years later I ended up working in the same building.