Grumble Thread

[Old Grumpy]

Being a bot slow on the uptake for some reason today, that took me a while to "get", having wondered if jig sores were possibly a result of participating in strip poker!

Or naked Twister, perhaps?

[smittims]

One bright light onthe TV side is TalkingPictures TV who are showing two classic 1970s drama sagas, 'Manhunt', set in WWII France with Peter Barkworth, and 'The Brothers', a family saga about a transport firm.

[oddoneout]

Thought I'd try headphones to see if it made a difference to the problems I have with the sound levels on the radio sometimes being so poor(I'm assuming due to reception issues as it's not consistent and doesn't affect the CD player) that I can't hear the music. I have 3 sets, but can't use any of them. I knew 2 were unsuitable as they are USB, being intended for use with the PC, but I knew the 3rd(old) set had a round plug so thought that would do - which it does but the wrong size...
I dislike listening through headphones, and can't do so for any length of time, but if it's a choice of that or not listening at all on occasion then it's compromise that needs to be made.
Why can't things just work. When I bought this replacement radio set-up I had no problems, carried on listening to R3 on FM quite happily. Then FM suddenly became impossible - very noisy to the point of obliterating the music, so had to switch to digital. Not as good(which was why I hadn't used it previously) but not noisy. Then 2022, it started to get so muffled that even when the volume was turned up it was difficult to make out. The past few months it's been the presenters who are loud(too much so sometimes) and clear, and the music that isn't - but not always. Sometimes the music part is fine - as now with the lunchtime concert where the volume knob is at a sensible setting and it's all quite clear.
Given the proliferation of masts in the immediate vicinity now rather than just the single big one best part of 20 miles away, things should all be much better now shouldn't they?

[Petrushka]

Thought I'd try headphones to see if it made a difference to the problems I have with the sound levels on the radio sometimes being so poor(I'm assuming due to reception issues as it's not consistent and doesn't affect the CD player) that I can't hear the music. I have 3 sets, but can't use any of them. I knew 2 were unsuitable as they are USB, being intended for use with the PC, but I knew the 3rd(old) set had a round plug so thought that would do - which it does but the wrong size...
I dislike listening through headphones, and can't do so for any length of time, but if it's a choice of that or not listening at all on occasion then it's compromise that needs to be made.
Why can't things just work. When I bought this replacement radio set-up I had no problems, carried on listening to R3 on FM quite happily. Then FM suddenly became impossible - very noisy to the point of obliterating the music, so had to switch to digital. Not as good(which was why I hadn't used it previously) but not noisy. Then 2022, it started to get so muffled that even when the volume was turned up it was difficult to make out. The past few months it's been the presenters who are loud(too much so sometimes) and clear, and the music that isn't - but not always. Sometimes the music part is fine - as now with the lunchtime concert where the volume knob is at a sensible setting and it's all quite clear.
Given the proliferation of masts in the immediate vicinity now rather than just the single big one best part of 20 miles away, things should all be much better now shouldn't they?

I've found R3 a problem for many years with it being at too low a level for music and too high a level for speech.

I also dislike headphones but as a sort of compromise I've listened a few times on my mobile phone via Bluetooth ear plugs. It sounds odd at first with music sounding much too close, but you soon adapt. I admit to not listening to R3 much these days but find this method useful for YouTube listening/viewing.

You might find this works for you but if you try it remember to keep the volume at a sensible level so as to avoid hearing damage!

[Serial_Apologist]

I've found R3 a problem for many years with it being at too low a level for music and too high a level for speech.

I also dislike headphones but as a sort of compromise I've listened a few times on my mobile phone via Bluetooth ear plugs. It sounds odd at first with music sounding much too close, but you soon adapt. I admit to not listening to R3 much these days but find this method useful for YouTube listening/viewing.

You might find this works for you but if you try it remember to keep the volume at a sensible level so as to avoid hearing damage!

Provided neighbours don't object - and I have asked mine - there's something about hearing broadcast music fill the room that listening through headphones misses out on, possibly having to do with isolating listening not having been part of the original intended package. I also think you have to be seated - I'm not one of these advocates of taking walks while wearing headphones: better to treat outside as a Gesamtwerk for all the senses - you get a better deal!

[Petrushka]

Provided neighbours don't object - and I have asked mine - there's something about hearing broadcast music fill the room that listening through headphones misses out on, possibly having to do with isolating listening not having been part of the original intended package. I also think you have to be seated - I'm not one of these advocates of taking walks while wearing headphones: better to treat outside as a Gesamtwerk for all the senses - you get a better deal!

Normally, I'd agree with you but I found the sort of problems listening to R3 that oddoneout mentions: music too quiet then being blasted out of your seat when the presenter enters. I have ear problems anyway and put it down to that but the difference between voice and music can often be extreme. Bluetooth technology can sort it out.

[smittims]

I used to have difficulty on FM radio getting it loud enough for the quiet bits and then having to turn it down quickly to avoid the over-loud presenter, but since DAB arrived it seems better. I prefer headphones for music where I need to hear every tiny detail in the scoring.

[Serial_Apologist]

I used to have difficulty on FM radio getting it loud enough for the quiet bits and then having to turn it down quickly to avoid the over-loud presenter, but since DAB arrived it seems better. I prefer headphones for music where I need to hear every tiny detail in the scoring.

Ironic, isn't it, that the actual music is often squeezed in volume range to ludicrous degrees by compression, but not the presenter!

[Dave2002]

More nonsense coming along in 2025 - https://travel-europe.europa.eu/etias_en

If it happens ....

Trying to do anything these days seems to be getting worse.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Be careful…

[french frank]

Can't ever seem to get any watercress these days. If I cast my mind back far enough (to c. 1834) there was talk of the stuff growing in stagnant water being unhealthy or something. Rocket definitely only second best for orange and beetroot salad.

[oddoneout]

Can't ever seem to get any watercress these days. If I cast my mind back far enough (to c. 1834) there was talk of the stuff growing in stagnant water being unhealthy or something. Rocket definitely only second best for orange and beetroot salad.

It's still available from supermarkets and other outlets, but not as the bunches you may remember from years ago - it's sprigs in a plakky bag.In terms of disease the classic fear was liver fluke, usually from sheep. We studied them in biology - of interest as they need an intermediary host(snails) in their life cycle. In days of yore watercress beds used spring water to ensure that disease risk was minimal. As a child travelling to grandparents on the south coast we used to go past the beds in Hampshire. The bunches bought for Sunday tea were put in jamjars on the kitchen windowsill to carry on growing for a while, and preparation involved checking for tiny freshwater shrimps... Years ago one of the market greengrocer stalls in town used to have polystyrene boxes with ice in the bottom to keep the bunches fresh. Didn't do it for long - the boxes were bulky and the sales indifferent in terms of the space taken up.
The rise of foraging raises questions about the wisdom of picking wild watercress, given the state of watercourses in this country. There is also, as is often the case, the need to ensure correct identification . As a bit of misguided twaddle this takes some beating

So, let us venture forth with reverence for the green jewel of waterways, exploring the clear streams and rivers of the United Kingdom with a keen eye for the peppery treasure that lies within.

from this webpage https://www.wildfoodie.co.uk/post/fo...-watercress-uk
This is more informative I think https://www.thewatercresscompany.com...ild-watercress The black and white photo of the cress beds brings back memories. Sadly I believe many have long been abandoned.

[Cockney Sparrow]

Not a great help in finding it to buy but - I was aware of Ewelme Water Cress Beds, Near Wallingford, Oxon, as a place I might one day visit - on looking it up its now a nature reserve with information about its days growing the watercress.

https://chilternsociety.org.uk/our-sites/ewelme-watercress-beds/

[french frank]

Well, no 'peppery treasure' lies within the Coop's walls. Flat-leaved parsley, curly parsley, mint, coriander, tarragon, basil, and bigger bags of 'baby leaves' - rocket and baby spinach - pea shoots (are the producers called pea shooters?). The greengrocer also has large bunches of some of the aforementioned, but not watercress.

[oddoneout]

Well, no 'peppery treasure' lies within the Coop's walls. Flat-leaved parsley, curly parsley, mint, coriander, tarragon, basil, and bigger bags of 'baby leaves' - rocket and baby spinach - pea shoots (are the producers called pea shooters?). The greengrocer also has large bunches of some of the aforementioned, but not watercress.

It's not a regular, even in those outlets that do stock it round here - Tesco and Morrison's - but that is a reflection of the demographic I expect; Waitrose probably has it more often but we do not have one in town - the nearest is 10 miles away - and the city supermarkets are more likely to stock it I would think . British watercress production can be affected by seasonal and weather issues as it's outdoors - I always associate it with early spring to early summer - when production moves abroad(to hi-tech undercover production?) - which is questionable on several counts.