...They axed the mail trains for letters in 2004. 2020 they restarted some mail trains but pretty sure they were just for parcels.

In that case, maybe they can try reactivation of carrier pigeon or horse and buggy transport as a "modern going green campaign"? Lol.

Carrier pigeons will be a big step up from the current arthritic snails......

Here in our fine country where every year the stamps go up by several euro cents else the royal mail PostNL can't continue to make a profit over sending of letters, that same PostNL has stopped delivering mail on Mondays a couple of years back. Which is exceptionally fun when you're waiting for your bank card to arrive... I had that two weeks ago, the card was ordered on Tuesday, sent on Wednesday and expected to arrive on Thursday. Nope, make that NEXT TUESDAY!!

that same PostNL has stopped delivering mail on Mondays a couple of years back.

I am old enough to remember when here we got too deliveries a day, the first usually at about 0600 then a second delivery of mail around 11:30.

Radio Bristol's introduction to the prime minister this morning.

It's hard to know which has fallen more since you entered number 10. The value of the pound or Tory party ratings.

that same PostNL has stopped delivering mail on Mondays a couple of years back.

I am old enough to remember when here we got too deliveries a day, the first usually at about 0600 then a second delivery of mail around 11:30.

Yep & often as not, I used to finish 2nd delivery close to Rosebury Ave. As long as I had no undelivered/ recorded/ registered post left, just went to bus stop, which quite conveniently, was the stop for my bus home.
Depending on how heavy the delivery was, often got bus home between 12:30 - 12:45.
Duty ended 14:00.
Office was a 5 minute walk from Tottenham Court Road, so a fair amount of time saved. :-)

I recall one very rural post "walk" in a rather remote corner of Cumberland where the posty timed his progress to ensure an adequate number of tea/cake/sandwich/comfort breaks. He also provided an informal message carrying service between the various dwellings as not everyone had a phone back then ("Mrs Brown isn't too good today", or "Joan has a glut of gooseberries, can you help out").

I recall one very rural post "walk" in a rather remote corner of Cumberland where the posty timed his progress to ensure an adequate number of tea/cake/sandwich/comfort breaks. He also provided an informal message carrying service between the various dwellings as not everyone had a phone back then ("Mrs Brown isn't too good today", or "Joan has a glut of gooseberries, can you help out").

In the area near Laureston Hall, a few miles from Castle Douglas in South West Scotland, the postie still does the messaging bit. About five years ago, they also had the post bus, don't know if that still exists. Last time I used it, it took longer than it would take me to walk the five miles even carrying a heavy rucksack. Sadly today, if still running (The bus that is, I don't run these days.) I think it would beat me.

I have/had 3 grumbles about Royal Mail, 1 current & 2 past (20 years ago).
1: Current.
If any mail delivered on Sat, usually get it around 8-9 am.
Weekdays any time between 9 - 11:30 am.
Really can't understand it.. Back in the day, we left the office 7:30 am(the faster we delivered, the quicker we got back for breakfast - had to be back on sorting floor for 10 am) for 1st & 10:30 for 2nd.

2: Here 20 years ago approx.
Working as an agency driver (wanted the flexibility).
That year had done more Royal Mail runs than anything else.
Got a call late in the evening, can I do Royal Mail for one of their runs.
Arrive at sorting office only to get told that all runs covered & that I was to be a sorter all night. No chance good night.
Got home. Phone rings & got moaned at by agency. Explained what happened, Oh, ok, good night. We'll deal with it.

2: several months later, get a call Royal Mail run. OK.
Do the runs, get back about 5:20 am, the same "junior" manager as the incident in 1 says we can't leave until 6 am.
THEN he states that I have to give him my tacho as per Royal Mail regs.
No Chance & tell him the HGV regs, he blows up. & refused to sign timesheet. Waited until 6 am, then drove home.
Yep, the usual phone call, explained the incident only to have the agency agree with the Royal Mail.
I found out later that I was slightly wrong, it's not 21 days the driver keeps his tachos, but 28 & all tachos returned to employer within 42 days.
Every time I got a call for the Royal Mail, told them that if AH is on duty, I'm coming straight back home.
He eventually got the message.

From what I've heard over the past couple of years, it's only got worse.

Grumble: A heed of warning. When you are going to move from an apartment to a house, after having gathered lots of stuff for 15 years, take more time than just 1.5 weeks, or even 3 weeks. My best friend Isa has found this out the hard way. Since Thursday the 20th I have been helping her move stuff from her apartment to her house, clean out the shed and bring loads of stuff to the recycling yard. Monday she has to be out and leave a clean apartment behind, she's not going to manage it. She has gotten three days extra as the last deadline was Friday.

A normal person will do everything in their power to get it done. Not her. "Because of stress" she hasn't helped one bit. I've moved most everything alone today, only had help for a couple of hours from another person, and her eldest daughter. And what about her? Well, she was busy talking with this person, smoking there, drinking there, etc. etc. Hasn't helped a finger since Friday. Hasn't helped since Monday I even think.

She expected me to help more tomorrow... but for that it's my birthday and I am going to give care to myself. Maybe if she'd offered to take me out for dinner, as a treat but not even that.
For that matter, she's paid everyone who helped the past week anything they asked for, but when I asked to get paid my used gasoline I had to specify how much I'd used as she didn't want to pay for the part I didn't use on helping her move. Well, that didn't go down too well, so yesterday I took a day off. Turned my phone off. Bye bye. And that didn't go down well with her. Well, F you too.

Now she's playing it like it's my fault she didn't move in time because I have moved several people and myself the past 3 years, so I should have made it more clear to her that moving was a time sensitive thing and that she should've started earlier. I told her 4 months ago that she should start packing. Repeated that 3 months ago. She never listened, knew it better. When I got in the 20th she told me she had been busy packing for 3 weeks, but I couldn't see what. When everything in your living room is exactly as it was before, and all of the boxes are empty, you didn't do squat.

Glory: 🥳🥳

I've turned 53.

Humbly so. 🥳🥳

Happy birthday Jord.

Happy Birthday Jord 🍺

Happy Birthday Jord!

I had my annual flu jab the other day. Within hours I started to ache, sweat and very exhausted. I did a COVID test and that's clear. A bit better today, but I still feel a long way from OK.

Happy Bday Jord

Happy Birthday Jord !!!

Been checking on e-mails & not sure if this is a glory or a grumble.

From 1 October, based on your usage, we think you’ll spend £18.22 more for electricity and £13.22 more for gas each month.

Having finished Sept's logging, it shows a clear reduction in daily usage by 0.23p. Gas usage is not so regular due to the kitchen equipment, i.e., a microwave/combi oven.
So based on providers figures, I've worked out that it will be £11.22 a month more.
However, our usage has not changed, so it looks like that new boiler is efficient.
One thing has bugged me since logging that data.
So, a question for all you electrical gurus.
Having had a heating wall mounted thermostat for decades, are/were they mains operated?
The new digital one is battery operated.

Having had a heating wall mounted thermostat for decades, are/were they mains operated?
The new digital one is battery operated.

The old one we had here when we moved in was a bimetalic strip so just a make/break switch that responds to the temperature.

One thing has bugged me since logging that data.
So, a question for all you electrical gurus.
Having had a heating wall mounted thermostat for decades, are/were they mains operated?

Have a bimetallic one on the heat, and it is powered by a thermocouple heated by the pilot.
Have a mercury switch one on a heat pump and it is mains powered; But maybe not what you think. The mercury switches are on coils of bimetal and depending if it is the heating or cooling a tiny current if run through it, or not, so it responds to room changes faster while the unit operates. The unit itself has relays that are mains powered to turn it on or off.
The battery in yours just runs the digital display stuff.