Thread 20 - TalkLair: "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not weakness; that is life"

[Kucinghitam]

(Previous Thread 19)

Britain swelters in yet another heatwave.

In the TalkLair, all the curtains are closed against the blazing sun as the denizens lurk like creatures of the night... or maybe we are creatures of the night. But rest assured, despite our scary fangs, the denizens of the lair are a welcoming bunch, always eager for general chit-chat on all manner of topics. We just won’t mention the gnawed bones of our prey over there in the corner of the cave…

It peaks just as my pilates class finishes. And it's cloudy here.

I've just had a couple of blokes in a van trying to delivered a sofa to me. I haven't bought a sofa lately. Well, I have, actually, but not that lately. Well of course I refused it. The guys were OK about it. I said, did they have a name of the business, but they only had a dodgy phone number that didn't work. Tellingly, I think, they didn't have my name or email anything like that. Just my address and postcode, house number correct. I’ve just checked my current account, and nothing untoward there. I'll keep an eye out for the next few days.

It's overcast here and it wasn't worth the walk to the beach. Nothing to see!

The colander method was new to me too. We went with that, a couple of pin holes in a but if card (okay, an empty tomato box) and an actual pinhole camera with the back removed and some white paper put in. The pinhole camera gave a tiny but very sharp image but was a bit awkward. The colander was the most entertaining method.

I remember being in the middle of town for the 1999 one and the whole thing of everything falling silent was great. I know it’s meant to be birds and animals but in London it was also all human activity (buses, cars etc) so the cacophony when the sun came back was engines starting and horns blasting. And it wasn’t even a total eclipse.

I spent the afternoon in Wetherspoons trying and failing to explain pin hole cameras to the clientele.

A colander picture for those who might like one. The moment had passed really so it’s not peak eclipse (which was only 90% here anyway). We liked the pattern though.

Well, maybe a colander picture if it’s deemed acceptable content!

We tried the colander method and I must have done it wrong, because it simply didn't work. It did make MrG laugh, though, so it wasn't entirely a waste of time. Here (East Kent) it just got a bit darker and then a bit lighter, so it was rather "Meh!"

That was our reaction too. I was expecting much greater contrast between the before the eclipse and during the eclipse. It had been so bright before that I thought there would be a big difference but it was just a little less bright. Two stars I think.

That's very odd, moto.

Same here! I was stood on a chair facing my bay tree (OK, bush) with a piece of A4 and a colander like at idiot every ten minutes and saw nowt!

In our case the sun was directly opposite the front door.There were quite a lot of people on the green opposite, also looking rather disappointed. I blame the BBC!

We had quite a big board propped up as a projection screen which may have been why we had success with the colander method. I mean, it’d be much better to be prepared and actually have the right glasses (and, ideally, be in a place where there was actually a total eclipse) but failing that the colander was an entertaining option.

Well, it was glorious, we went to the park and sat on a west-facing hill. There were loads of other people there with a range of eclipse-viewing contraptions. DDs with their cereal box pinhole camera, DH with his telescope. It was so warm and lovely, quite a party atmosphere. The sky was almost perfectly clear for the entire thing.

DH got some amazing pictures with his telescope, but actually we really enjoyed looking through our pinhole camera too.

We didn't see any of it here :-(. I did see the last one in 1999 though - a total eclipse because we were in Italy at the time. It was a very eerie experience.

Brilliant pix, Kuc!

Those are some stunning pictures @Kucinghitam

If you'll forgive the abrupt change of tone: Anyone by any chance watched The Last Settlement on C4 Walter Presents? It starts with a funeral, and is not a fun watch, but, an episode and a half in, I'm finding it fascinating. The web of relationships between the deceased and his friends and family. Acting so good, as in many German dramas I think.

Look what my daughter has found - a Central Asian Racerunner, which is new to me...

Lovely! What long toes it has.

@SinnerBoy thats amazing! Where did she find it?

Oh how beautiful!

What a lovely creature! Not found in the UK though?

@SinnerBoy I assume SinnerDaughter and her mum are visiting family in one of the -stan countries? That is a gorgeous little creature!

I have just read that the sacked Cambridge plagiarist professor - has topped himself. There are at least three threads on here mourning him and claiming he was hounded to his death. No. He was just caught out in a series of lies.

Agreed, Gonners. But no doubt it will be those evil bitches who drove him to his death. If anyone should be ashamed, it's Cambridge University.