Good News stories

[oddoneout]

Well, I think it counts as good news that you are still in one piece, and that sounds as if you had a thorough checking over which must be reassuring.

[Serial_Apologist]

Definitely . I have to go for a scan next month and last week I walked to the hospital to see how long it took me so that I'd know what time to leave home for my appointment. Annoyingly, I've now forgotten how long it took. I think it was 40 minutes. Still it will probably be raining, in which case I shall take the bus

That would be about a two-mile walk at my pace. There's a three-miler I do; I've roughly measured the distance, and it takes me an hour, which seems about right.

[Serial_Apologist]

Two bits of good news for me - at any rate. No treatment needed on my half-year dental visit this morning, just the charge for the regular scrape-and-polish. And the other bit - 2 days ago I found a twin electric cooking unit - two heating elements - abandoned in some bushes in front of a housing estate while out walking. I had been contemplating the prospects of having to fork out somewhere in the region of £100 for a new unit such as this to supplement the old 70s cooker top I inherited on moving in here, of which two of the four heating pads have crumbled to the point of unusability; the grill and oven still function. The sorry state of the abandoned device was easily cleaned up; the plug only needed a 13 amp fuse, and nothing appeared amiss after having removed the base for a perusal inside. So, after warning my upstairs neighbours to call the fire brigade should they hear a big bang and find the entire block's electricity supply blown, and having badly cut my little right finger to the bone on a sharp edge in the effort to screw the base back on, I crossed other fingers and plugged in. Both red lights came on, but only the left hand of the two elements. But never mind: it heated a saucepan of cold water to boiling in under 5 minutes, which is less time than my cooker, and I now have three heating elements at my disposal; I can try and fix the other element at my leisure.

[Joseph K]

Two bits of good news for me - at any rate. No treatment needed on my half-year dental visit this morning, just the charge for the regular scrape-and-polish. And the other bit - 2 days ago I found a twin electric cooking unit - two heating elements - abandoned in some bushes in front of a housing estate while out walking. I had been contemplating the prospects of having to fork out somewhere in the region of £100 for a new unit such as this to supplement the old 70s cooker top I inherited on moving in here, of which two of the four heating pads have crumbled to the point of unusability; the grill and oven still function. The sorry state of the abandoned device was easily cleaned up; the plug only needed a 13 amp fuse, and nothing appeared amiss after having removed the base for a perusal inside. So, after warning my upstairs neighbours to call the fire brigade should they hear a big bang and find the entire block's electricity supply blown, and having badly cut my little right finger to the bone on a sharp edge in the effort to screw the base back on, I crossed other fingers and plugged in. Both red lights came on, but only the left hand of the two elements. But never mind: it heated a saucepan of cold water to boiling in under 5 minutes, which is less time than my cooker, and I now have three heating elements at my disposal; I can try and fix the other element at my leisure.

Good to hear, SA. Except for your right-hand little finger!

[Serial_Apologist]

Good to hear, SA. Except for your right-hand little finger!

Thank you kind sir.

[Pulcinella]

I recognised her straight away, she looked just like her photograph.

(Patsy Gregory, on meeting her pen-friend for the first time, after 68 years of correspondence.)

If that's not good news, I don't know what else is!

[Serial_Apologist]

Cycling round tour of inner W and SW London suburbs, 32 miles approx, including:

Herne Hill
Brixton Windmill
Clapham Common N
Battersea Bridge
Chelsea Embankment
Ifield Road (Westway cut-through)
High Street Kensington
Hyde Park/Serpentine Gallery
Bayswater
Paddington Station
Little Venice
Lebanese restaurant, Harrow Rd
Regents Canal towpath
Old Oak Common/HS2 endpoint construction
Western Avenue/A20 crossing
Ravenscourt Park
Upper Mall Hammersmith stopover (half a lager)
Riverside path to Fulham FC ground
Putney Bridge N
Kings Road
Battersea Bridge
Nardulli's ice cream parlour, Clapham Common NE
Brixton Hill near the prison
Herne Hill
S Dulwich (home)

Started out 11.15am, home 17.15pm - knackered, but not bad for a 77-year old eh?

:

[Joseph K]

Started out 11.15am, home 17.15pm - knackered, but not bad for a 77-year old eh?

Sounds great, SA!

Although nothing compared to that, today I went on two walks totalling over 2 hours...

[Serial_Apologist]

Sounds great, SA!

Although nothing compared to that, today I went on two walks totalling over 2 hours...

There's something singularly fulfilling about travelling under one's own steam, I find - whether that's walking or cycling. With cycling one covers more distance but with attention focused on road surfaces and traffic conditions one misses on details - a point made by Ian Sinclair. On the other hand one saves of shoe leather!

[oddoneout]

There's something singularly fulfilling about travelling under one's own steam, I find - whether that's walking or cycling. With cycling one covers more distance but with attention focused on road surfaces and traffic conditions one misses on details - a point made by Ian Sinclair. On the other hand one saves of shoe leather!

But not on tyre rubber?
Well done you - I was tired out just reading about your trip!

[Dave2002]

There's something singularly fulfilling about travelling under one's own steam, I find - whether that's walking or cycling. With cycling one covers more distance but with attention focused on road surfaces and traffic conditions one misses on details - a point made by Ian Sinclair. On the other hand one saves of shoe leather!

So maybe I should take up cycling again - after all.

Well done!

When I was about 20 - a long while ago - I could do 20 mph average - including stopping at traffic lights etc. on city roads. I know because I measured a route - about 20 miles - perhaps a tad over, and I could do the circuit in an hour. I once tried to go further though at around the same time - closer to 40-50 miles to somewhere further out, and I ended up walking quite a few of the miles at the end. I was totally knackered!

A few years ago I walked more. Before we moved I had a pleasant walk to the next village - where incidentally there was a charity shop which sometimes had good/cheap CDs. There are walks round here, but they are either flat and boring, or significantly steep, and it doesn't take much miserable weather to dissuade me from going out.

[oddoneout]

My bit of good news is that I did manage to pay my vehicle tax at the Post Office. I mentioned on another thread, as part of a discussion about everything going online(which I can't find) that the reminder didn't seem to give that option any more but that online it looked as if I could so long as I took the logbook. The cashier looked a bit surprised and said "that's not needed" when I proffered it. Turns out that although the information that previously appeared on the letter about paying at the Post Office has been removed and the barcode at the bottom of the letter is no longer headed"For Post Office use only" it is in fact still possible to pay there and the barcode is scanned as previously. The powers that be evidently don't want anyone to know though - presumably all part of the general and intentional shutting down of services that is life today.

[Serial_Apologist]

My bit of good news is that I did manage to pay my vehicle tax at the Post Office. I mentioned on another thread, as part of a discussion about everything going online(which I can't find) that the reminder didn't seem to give that option any more but that online it looked as if I could so long as I took the logbook. The cashier looked a bit surprised and said "that's not needed" when I proffered it. Turns out that although the information that previously appeared on the letter about paying at the Post Office has been removed and the barcode at the bottom of the letter is no longer headed"For Post Office use only" it is in fact still possible to pay there and the barcode is scanned as previously. The powers that be evidently don't want anyone to know though - presumably all part of the general and intentional shutting down of services that is life today.

What a great relief for you! I think my driving license comes up for renewal again in 2024. The only reason I renew is that owning no passport, the driving license is my only proof of identity for quick retrieval purposes. I do have my birth certificate, but absolutely hate having to send it through the post - what would happen if it became lost is a big worry. I did persuade my portfolio manager to persuade some international organisation needing it for complex international investment verification procedures awhile ago that a photocopy would suffice.

[french frank]

I do have my birth certificate, but absolutely hate having to send it through the post - what would happen if it became lost is a big worry.

Can you not just order a new one? My brother appears to have lost mine.

[Serial_Apologist]

So maybe I should take up cycling again - after all.

Well done!

When I was about 20 - a long while ago - I could do 20 mph average - including stopping at traffic lights etc. on city roads. I know because I measured a route - about 20 miles - perhaps a tad over, and I could do the circuit in an hour. I once tried to go further though at around the same time - closer to 40-50 miles to somewhere further out, and I ended up walking quite a few of the miles at the end. I was totally knackered!

A few years ago I walked more. Before we moved I had a pleasant walk to the next village - where incidentally there was a charity shop which sometimes had good/cheap CDs. There are walks round here, but they are either flat and boring, or significantly steep, and it doesn't take much miserable weather to dissuade me from going out.

When I was based in Bristol back in 1974 I did occasionally undertake some very long cycle rides. The longest by far took place one very hot August day, when I cycled from Bristol to Wells. There I downed a couple of pints at a pub, which in Lady Macbeth's words screwed my courage to such a sticking point that I decided then and there to cycle another ten miles to Glastonbury. In those days most Glastonbury hostelries and restaurants had notices barring "hippies", which pretty much described my appearance back then; however I felt it wouldn't fulfill the main point of my visit if I did not use the opportunity to scale the Glastonbury Tor. On reaching the summit I stretched out on the grass and just fell asleep. I awoke to find Hari Krishna monks making rounds, offering strangers orange segments and slices of fruit cake! By that time the sun was getting low, and I had a considerable distance to travel home, so, choosing a different route, I took to the flat countryside between Glasto and Cheddar, cycled all the way up the Gorge to re-cross the ridge of the Mendips, rejoined the main road past Lulsgate airport to Bristol and was home by 8.30. I had covered some 84 miles in one day. Quite literally I slumped face down on my bed and slept uninterruptedly for 12 hours! Thinking back I am amazed at how much energy I possessed in my 20s.