Picture(s) of the day....

[NewcastleFalcon]

Holy Island being an Island

Craster Harbour being a swimming pool

REgards Neil

[mickthemaverick]

I actually managed a bit of a day out on Tuesday taking my mate to visit his niece on the Isle of Wight. I left them to catch up and went for a drive along the north coast from Cowes to Yarmouth where I came across a lovely pub, the Horse and Groom, for a refreshment break. There were only three customers there including me so I purchased my lunch and went in search of a shady spot in the garden, Did I find a shady spot or what?:

Not a surrey but certainly a fringe.

The most beautiful willow tree I have found in a long time, what a canopy?

Underneath the weeping willow tree.....

However I did see an equally impressive branch formation yesterday lit by the evening sun:

Evening sunlight making a trunk call.

[Peter.N.]

Looks very nice Mick, its only under the trees that you can get away from the heat.

Peter

[myglaren]

Apple tree beside the A1M. Nowhere near any houses, just a wood. Service station a couple of hundred yards to the south but unconnected.

I have passed this hundreds of times over the past decade and never seen them before.

[mickthemaverick]

Forgot to post this on Tuesday!!

A nice boat!!

[NewcastleFalcon]

Do youngsters still learn how to play chess in 2022?

At least 82 years old now!
Just came across the pieces

Regards Neil

[mickthemaverick]

Do youngsters still learn how to play chess in 2022?



Regards Neil

I have an identical board and the veneer on the surface is getting a little cracked but still usable! My original boxwood Staunton pieces are considerably finger worn but still going strong. As to youngsters learning - yes I recently gave my 9 year old god daughter an indoor compendium comprising chess, draughts, backgammon, dominoes and cribbage for her birthday which was a mistake because now every time I go to Elstree I have to play something with her!!

[NewcastleFalcon]

indoor compendium comprising chess, draughts, backgammon, dominoes and cribbage for her birthday which was a mistake because now every time I go to Elstree I have to play something with her!!

Excellent Mick, never used the word "compendium" in years but I did this morning, wondering where the draughts pieces may possibly be found!

REgards Neil

[myglaren]

Bought 52 years ago. Rarely used.

[Rp0thejester]

I don't think many young people play chess anymore. It's a quite thinking patience game. I had the electronic laptop chess with pieces, but that was before mobiles and puzzle games from the play store. I prefer the game store. I did btw beat the computer

[NewcastleFalcon]

Heatwave and drought news from the British Broadcasting Corporation

First up on their report...a horrendous problem for Debbie Brian and Ann, "no more summer paddling on their part of the Basingstoke Canal in Surrey." Wonder what they had to say.

"Well its going to be hard work because we are going to have to load the boats, onto trailers or onto cars, and take them and find somewhere else to go"

Anyone fancy rattling a tin for the "slightly inconvenienced middle class" in these times of water shortage.

Never mind, maybe the BBC wanted to kick off with a bit of triviality, stuffing the microphone in front of Debbie Brian and Ann, before moving onto more pressing effects of the drought.

Next up then after our first trio....brace yourselves...over to the even more horrendous problems in Odiham in Hampshire which has gone a biblical 40 days without a drop of rain.

They have had to stop watering the outfield on the village cricket pitch.
Of course the holy grail of the square is still watered.

Regards Neil

[bobins]

We're a long way short of serious problems down here - there's still a plentiful supply of Pimms in the shops and there's no shortage of tonic for the gin yet either, so no need to panic just yet.

[mickthemaverick]

If they are so anxious to push paddles perhaps they should go to a dried up hydro electric plant and try pushing those paddles around! That might have some benefit for the rest of us!

[mickthemaverick]

It will be interesting to watch the pre match chats at Stamford Bridge today to see if the pitch sprinklers are in full operation in our now declared drought area!!

[Gibbo2286]

This in an email from Severn Trent.
What we're doing
Unlike other areas of the UK, we’re not in a hosepipe ban.
We’ve been working hard over autumn and winter to get ready for summer 2022.
And, let’s be honest, asking you to watch your water use wouldn’t be right if we weren’t doing our bit too:
• Our teams are working 24/7, pumping 100 million extra litres of water into the network every day to keep it in good shape.
• We’ve doubled our fleet of tankers so we can move water around much quicker. (Give us a wave if you see us out on the road!).
• We’re now fixing around 3,000 leaks per month – this is up 17% since 2017.
• And we’re fixing leaks quicker – our time to fix has almost halved over the last five years.
What this all means
Severn Trent customers haven’t seen a hosepipe ban since 1995. While we can’t control the weather, we’re doing all we can to keep up with demand this summer, whilst protecting the environment we take water from.
We want everyone to enjoy the warm weather, as we know it won’t be here forever. Please remember to stay safe and hydrated and help us make sure there’s enough water to go around.
You can help by:
• putting the hosepipe away for a while
• re-using paddling pool water
• keeping a bottle of tap water in the fridge
• letting the car stay dirty a bit longer
Everything you do makes a real difference.