Thread 6 - TalkExiles: "Yup, still round."

[Kucinghitam]

Continuation of previous threads (thread 5).

Gather here all ye refugees from the JTT Flat Earth Society, welcome to the reassuringly oblate spheroid of MN! Ye all already know the answers to the questions "How the heck do I format my post?" "Why can't I edit my typos?" "What do those acronyms mean?" and most importantly, "Where is everybody that I used to know?"

So really we're all here just to chat randomly.

Well, Bint, and anyone else who might go to Amsterdam, I can thoroughly recommend De Waaghals restaurant, near the Rijksmuseum. A single menu, you can choose whether it's vegetarian or vegan, whether you want 3 or 4 courses, say you're allergic to or just hate a particular thing, and away you go.

The food was exquisite. My favourite things: a blini with smoked pickled turnip, very thinly sliced pickled pastel beetroot and goats cheese mozzarella, and later a hazelnut and citrus sauce that managed both to remind you of posh chocolate and be deeply savoury.

Sounds lovely! <makes notes>

Kucinghitam · Today 05:26

In other news, this very early morning I have woken up to a blanket of snow - not sure exactly how much snow yet because (1) it's slightly dark outside (2) it's still coming down.

I see that the M 62 is closed, as a result of heavy snow and crashes. I was going to drive my friend to Huddersfield tomorrow, but it seems likely that it'll remain closed until Sunday.

That's for sure on our list. Thanks, Squeaks.

<Wonders whether it's possible to get to Amsterdam in time for lunch>

I have reached the prisons section of my family history research. Several ancestors were in www.theprison.org.uk/BodminCGB/ which, as 18th century prisons go, sounds rather nice. The gaol was for those on remand. The bridewell for those convicted - mainly of minor crimes - and the emphasis was on reform rather than punishment, with the intention of inmates leaving with an honest trade.

Reasons for my forebears stays:

Gaol, accused of:

• stealing timber
• stealing a plank of wood
• blocking access to a mine level and damaging a train road
• stealing a ham

Bridewell, convicted of:

• having a child out of wedlock
• deserting wife, and leaving wife and child dependent on the parish (3 different men; one of them twice - convicted in April, released in July, and back in again for the same offence that same December)

Make that 4 men deserting their wives.

@SinnerBoy
I see that the M 62 is closed, as a result of heavy snow and crashes. I was going to drive my friend to Huddersfield tomorrow, but it seems likely that it'll remain closed until Sunday.

Well, Snow Day here. School texted at 7am to say that buses were unable to run. And then again a few minutes later to say that they couldn't clear the school roads for safe traffic access, therefore not to come in. Technically, the school is open (it's partial boarding and many staff live on-site) but as far as I could tell from the non-stop flurry of WhatsApp messages amongst DCs' friends, all of Year 9 are staying home.

We've been out for a snowball fight already. It's very pretty out there.

Tut tut. The gaol birds I know about are a couple of uncles who went off the rails for a while, then settled down to being staid and respectable, and a great grandmother involved in the land wars who then settled down to being staid and respectable and very scary with it.

There's a bloke with one of the family names from the family town sentenced to hang for horse stealing about 200 years ago. He sensibly went away for a while until the fuss died down. Would not be terribly surprised to find he was one of ours.

The first timber thief stole 6 deal boards and 6 pieces of deal, total value 2/.

BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn · Today 09:10

Make that 4 men deserting their wives.

Blimey! You come from an long, ignominious line of wrong 'uns! I may have to shun you.

😃

Kucinghitam

Well, Snow Day here. School texted at 7am to say that buses were unable to run. And then again a few minutes later to say that they couldn't clear the school roads for safe traffic access, therefore not to come in.

Oh dear! I'm not going to tell my daughter, she'll be outraged that we didn't move to Leeds last week!

What an interesting family history, Bint!

Having looked into my family, apart from my paternal granny, they seem pretty ordinary and were mainly farmers, millers and builders, but there was a strong artistic streak and despite being peasants, many were gifted musicians and artists. It fascinates me to see pictures of my ancestors, who lived in tiny Lakeland villages, playing violins and cellos in their free time. My great grandfather, who was a post office clerk, even set up and ran a small orchestra. Granny was a bit of a mystery - the story goes that her father died and her mother remarried. This man left her but then came back some years later and took a fancy to his 14 year old step-daughter, my grandmother. She left home and never went back, but that's all anyone knows. I've trawled records but come up with almost nothing and there is no one left to ask about her.

I wish we'd had some proper snow, all we've had is rain and sleet with the occasional snow flurry that doesn't settle. Still, enjoy the snow day!

A couple of weeks ago, we got a puncture on the A1 and stopped at a services. The sealing compound didn't work and we got a mobile fitter out. Of course, I binned the receipt...

Yesterday, we got a PCN, dated the 27th of Feb. I called the tyre company and they sent a replacement, my wife also remembered taking some photos, at our daughter's request - you can see the car has the wheel off and another, with the guy fitting the tyre in his van.

Last year we drove from Newcastle to Holmfirth, to stay with relatives over the weekend. As is our custom, we stopped at Wetherby Services for coffee, both going and coming back. A month or so afterwards I got a letter informing me of a fine, for overstaying in the Services. They had recorded me going on on the Friday but not leaving, then recorded me leaving on the return journey on the Sunday but not arriving that day. I emailed and explained they'd got it wrong, and no I hadn't spent two days getting a coffee but they replied saying the fine was still valid unless I could prove what I was saying. Luckily I was able to do a google maps printout of where I'd travelled on those days,and Mrs Pike wrote a confirmatory email that we'd both only been in the Services for an hour or so each time.

Still rankles that I had to prove my innocence.

Oh those are just the mild Cornish wonguns - it's the London lot who have the really interesting bigamy and adultery cases.

Not that Cornwall was entirely innocent - the 12th and 13th century antics were dramatic enough to still be in the records.

My paternal grandfather was imprisoned in Cardiff for 3 weeks at the age of 21 for sedition. My Dad had heard some family rumours but had his FOI request denied the first time, for inexplicable reasons. He’s actually called “Dai Curly” in the newspaper report - all Welsh miners were called Dai, so their “surnames” became descriptors.

Dotellhimpike · Today 10:03

Still rankles that I had to prove my innocence.

The dirty bastards!

A few years ago, a pal of mine got a speeding ticket, from Plymouth. He lives in Sunderland and had never been to Plymouth and was curious about why it said "your car," when the reg was for his motorbike.

He requested a photo, which they sent, so he wrote back along the lines of, "As you can see, this is a Blue Vauxhall Astra, where as my yellow Yamaha motorbike is not. Contact DVLA to confirm."

They wrote back, telling him that he had to pay etc. He took a photocopy of his log book and some photos of the bike, plate included. They summonsed him to court and he replied with:

"Dear morons, I have explained this to you and sent evidence to show that you're wrong. I will attend court and you will pay for my hotel, food and travel costs. You will then have to explain to the magistrate why you have wasted their time and public money, because you're too lazy and incompetent to bother to check the facts."

He then received an abjectly apologetic letter.

My parents got a fixed penalty notice through the post, but couldn’t remember who’d been driving on that occasion, so they got sent a photograph and STILL couldn’t work out which of them it was, although each seemed fairly certain it was the other to blame.

”I can see it’s you from your fat little face!” said my Mum.

”I can see it’s you from your angry little face!” retorted my Dad.

In the end they paid the fine but nobody got the points.

I would have loved to go to court and make a mini-break of it. It would tickle so many of my brain lobes. my pass-ag, getting one over on the man, free stuff, probably something else too.

Oh, he was prepared to go down and appear in court with his Sunday Best Daily Mail Sad Face on!

I'm enjoying this AIBU? (spoiler, SIBVVU)

www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4760001-to-know-dcat-was-wrong-and-secretly-think-she-should-admit-she-was?page=1

Heh! Great pic!

It’s noon, the sun’s out, I should get dressed and go outdoors.

I would question the advisability of going outdoors, but agree that if you plan to do so, getting dressed first is a good idea.

Here is a link with hi-res photos of all the Vermeers on display. Which makes the selfish, stupid fuckwits standing in front of every picture taking photos on their phones even more selfish and stupid.

The pictures are so incredible that they survive the hubbub and pull you into their quiet, slow world. More than ever, I find many of them are meditations on sex and power relationships between men and women. I am not normally inclined to attribute this to paintings where its so non explicit, but it's totally there, for me at least.