Nice People Thread No. 15, a Cyber Summer

SingleSue

I have turned my thermostat down so low that it would have to be very cold indeed to come on, I refuse to have any heating on once we are out of April. If I get a little chilly, I just snuggle up on the sofa with a duvet.

My bedroom window has also been open 24/7 for the last month, currently the temp in my room is 19 degrees C, a perfectly ok temperature.

I blame spending my initial childhood years in a non centrally heated home and visiting my nan in the harbour (Rye Harbour that is) where you got chillblains on chillblains it was so blooming cold, we learnt to dress up to the conditions because the extra heat was not available. On top of that, two children (and an ex hubby) who had their own internal heating systems which meant that even at normal temperatures when everyone else was just right, they were over heating..a very dangerous thing with Josh as when he got overheated, he got aggressive. It's only me and James that feel the cold....

Edit - Youngest asked if we could go back to winter again as it was drier and sunnier than what we have now!

ivyleaf

bugslet wrote: »

And I love the smell of tarmac:heartpuls:heartpuls:

You know, I think you've just identified my perfect career😉

Oh, me too! We've just had our road resurfaced, and it smelled wonderful when it was being done. Couldn't stay there and sniff all day unfortunately, had to get away from the noise, especially as there's a building site over the road as well - it all got a bit deafening :eek:

So we spent part of Wednesday at Bluewater (rather boring if you don't view shopping as a leisure activity, but we browsed in Waterstone's and then had lunch) and several hours yesterday at DD1's, which was nice.

vivatifosi

I love the smell of new roads. I've never admitted that before. But it would appear that either a) I'm not actually weird at all, or b) I'm among those who are similarly weird.

michaels

vivatifosi wrote: »

I love the smell of new roads. I've never admitted that before. But it would appear that either a) I'm not actually weird at all, or b) I'm among those who are similarly weird.

Is it a smell of childhood long ago high summer? I think they always used to top dress roads on the hottest days of the year - I guess it is most efficient/effective then?

chris_m

michaels wrote: »

I think they always used to top dress roads on the hottest days of the year - I guess it is most efficient/effective then?

Or more necessary - when a road's all slippery with molten tarmac, scattering some chippings on it often helps

Maybe the reason many people like it is that the aroma of bitumen can act as a decongestant, in days of yore people with colds and/or blocked noses often got sent down to where the road menders were working.

zagubov

chris_m wrote: »

Or more necessary - when a road's all slippery with molten tarmac, scattering some chippings on it often helps

Maybe the reason many people like it is that the aroma of bitumen can act as a decongestant, in days of yore people with colds and/or blocked noses often got sent down to where the road menders were working.

Bitumen does sound like one of the things you might find in an old-fashioned cold remedy. or as an ingredient in something like coal tar soap. It also sounds about as reckless as taking opium for diarrhoea. people must have been pretty brave to take traditional remedies.

Doozergirl

I like the smell of petrol

Doozergirl

We're on holiday. The weather is glorious.

I have a cold, my first ailment in ages. I am combatting it with wine.

DD has some horrible tummy bug today so we haven't gone out. I can't figure how she's ill. We had a Maccy D's last night as we spent a fortune on amazing food at lunch and the previous dinner.

When she started being sick at about 10am there was already nothing to come up. I presume it isn't food poisoning at this late stage because I trust McDonalds not to poison us and it wasn't far off 24 hours from lunch and the rest of us are fine.

I thought bugs caught from touching something/someone might be quicker to come about? Is there an incubation time?

Pyxis

ivyleaf wrote: »

So we spent part of Wednesday at Bluewater (rather boring if you don't view shopping as a leisure activity, but we browsed in Waterstone's and then had lunch) and several hours yesterday at DD1's, which was nice.

Ooh! That takes me back!

Years ago I was working within driving disatnce of Bluewater when it first opened!
The first three times I went there, I didn't buy a thing! I just went round taking photos of the architecture and the internal artwork and finishes. Even the loos were incredible! (That didn't last terribly long, though! )
I was so excited by it! Even from a distance, it looked like an alien spaceship had landed in a quarry!
I just loved it!
One wonderful detail was the stylised River Thames running along the floor, with brass circles where the various towns were.
I would go, take photos, have lunch or something, take more photos, then go home!

Eventually, I did visit the shops. Saw my first Karen Millen shop there........cooooooo!

zagubov wrote: »

Bitumen does sound like one of the things you might find in an old-fashioned cold remedy. or as an ingredient in something like coal tar soap. It also sounds about as reckless as taking opium for diarrhoea. people must have been pretty brave to take traditional remedies.

Yes, I remember coal tar soap. Also coal tar type inhalants for cold and coughs. It was thought to have a strong antiseptic effect. I don't think it was dangerous. Hope not, as I used it a lot as a child and teenager! :eek:

Doozergirl wrote: »

I like the smell of petrol

When I was a child, I really liked the smell of car exhaust! :eek: Dunno why!
I didn't actively go sniffing it, I just liked it when I could smell it, so didn't move away from it. When I told my father, he was horrified, obviously!

I can't remember the smell, or what it was that I found so nice. It might have been the lead, :eek:, because petrol exhaust deffo smelled different after unleaded was brought in. But I was an adult by then, anyway. Strange.

Have never liked the smell of actual petrol, though.


Am starting to wonder how I managed to survive to adulthood.
Though it could explain why my brain is so weird! :rotfl:

Generali

Doozergirl wrote: »

We're on holiday. The weather is glorious.

I have a cold, my first ailment in ages. I am combatting it with wine.

DD has some horrible tummy bug today so we haven't gone out. I can't figure how she's ill. We had a Maccy D's last night as we spent a fortune on amazing food at lunch and the previous dinner.

When she started being sick at about 10am there was already nothing to come up. I presume it isn't food poisoning at this late stage because I trust McDonalds not to poison us and it wasn't far off 24 hours from lunch and the rest of us are fine.

I thought bugs caught from touching something/someone might be quicker to come about? Is there an incubation time?

I've been looking at food poisoning at work as a tangent to stuff I've been doing on obesity. Food poisoning bugs can sit around for a few hours (cholera) to 3 months (lysteria) before making you sick although 0.5-4 days is more normal. It depends on what you get.

There is a really nasty bought of e coli going around the US at the moment which seems to have been caused by General Mills flour. Due to modern supply chains, there is a huge amount of flour in this recalled batch: 10 million lbs in all! A huge amount of this will be consumed over the next couple of years. E coli can really spoil your day.

If it is food poisoning it could easily have been from anything eaten in the last week if she is within a normal range.

As for the cold, I happen to be one of Australia's leading amateur virologists. I am happy to confirm that the approved treatment for a cold is a nice, but not too expensive, drop of wine taken while watching a non-challenging film or box-set on the sofa. Try to remember that a generous mug of hot wine with a couple of teaspoons of Ovaltine stirred in is disgusting, just vile.