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Nina's Blog - Wednesday 14th August 2024

Wednesday 14th August 2024, 10:04

Left Paignton on my way to Newquay. But yesterday's impromptu trip to Dawlish left me without enough charge to get to Penhale (the nearest charger to Newquay) with enough margin for me to feel comfortable.

So I'm at the Tesla Service centre charging the car.

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ninalanyon · 61-69, T

Wednesday 14th August 2024, 12:58

Before the café I strolled around Launceston Castle. I say around deliberately because English Heritage wanted 10.50 GBP to go 'inside'.

Here's a selection of pictures of Launceston and the castle taken on the stroll

The south gate of the castle

The view from inside

The north gate?

A pair of fine gate posts

The church that the clock tower belongs to has a lot of carving on the walls

And seen in the window of an antiques shop

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ArishMell · 70-79, M

@ninalanyon Thankyou! Rather curious, a superstition that risks damaging a holy effigy!

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

@ArishMell I do wonder sometimes whether our modern feeling that important things must be either preserved or destroyed with little in between was not shared by our forebears. Perhaps they regarded the church, to some extent, as a consumable item that could be renewed as needed.

Or perhaps the belief was a relic of pagan times like the belief that sitting on the eye of the Uffington White Horse would promote a woman's fertility. Or is that 'belief' a modern invention too? Or have I completely misremembered it and confused it with some other fertility belief?

Hmm, perhaps I'm drifting off topic now. :-)

ArishMell · 70-79, M

@ninalanyon If we dig around enough we will find all manner of peculiar local superstitions.

Many supposed ancient beliefs probably are modern, or at least developed in Victorian times when archaeology was in its infancy and anything unidentifiable tended to be given some sort of religious or mystic meaning without the slightest evidence for it.

I doubt the pebble-chuckers intended to harm the effigy at all, but to us it is an odd thing to do.

I doubt too they regarded church buildings as "consumable". Though they sometimes did some appalling things to them over the centuries, the basic structure was far too valuable and difficult to replace on a whim. This is why we have so many nearly a thousand years old, still in use.

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

Wednesday 14th August 2024, 16:06

Arrived in Newquay about forty minutes ago and managed to find a space to park my car less than fifty metres away from the B&B. I told them I'd be there at about 17:00 to check in so I took a stroll to my favourite café, Coffee on the Corner. But it's turned into a Celtic themed café. About three months ago Claire apparently sold it to a friend. Still it's just as comfortable. But the atmosphere is of course totally different. Whereas Claire's café was a kind of low key LGBTQ+ haven this is a weekend live music venue.

Musicman · 61-69, M

@ninalanyon It looks lovely. Did you have anything there? If so was it any good?

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

@Musicman Having a pleasant but not outstanding mocha. Not sure if he does any food. Claire served several cakes and salads.

Musicman · 61-69, M

@ninalanyon Cakes! I heard Cake! 😋😋😋😋😋 I would love some right now.

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

Wednesday 14th August 2024, 21:07

I've been feeling uncharacteristically cold most of the day and have a bit of a sniffle. Just now I got up to have a quick wash before bed and suddenly felt freezing cold. Now I feel a bit flu-ish. Time to finish my Aldi pink gin and turn the television off.

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Musicman · 61-69, M

@ninalanyon Yes it is, but my wife is talking on the phone quite loudly. She doesn't realize how loud she is. In two weeks she is having cancer surgery. She is getting nervous and driving me crazy.

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

@Musicman I bet it's driving her crazier. I hope it works.

Musicman · 61-69, M

@ninalanyon Thank you very much 😊 The doctor has high hopes. 🙂🙂🙂

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

Wednesday 14th August 2024, 16:32

A question for those who have lived in the UK for the last forty years. When did portions of chips get so large? Everywhere I buy chips I end up paying for twice as much as I can eat.

SpudMuffin · 61-69, M

@ninalanyon I think it's been like that for some years now - certainly before lockdown. I thought it was me at first, that I was losing my enthusiasm for fried food, but judging by the size of my belly that's not the case!

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

@SpudMuffin I know it's a long time ago but I remember as child and as a teenager.buying a portion of chips for pocket money and it was a reasonable quantity.

Perhaps the portion size is bigger now to justify what seems to me to be a higher price in real terms. I'd rather pay half the price for half the quantity. I do understand that that's not how the economics works but perhaps a compromise could be struck.

SpudMuffin · 61-69, M

@ninalanyon yes, I have a similar recollection.

I think the bigger portion size may also be to reduce the risk of hitting the use by date and having to dispose of out-of-date spuds.

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

Wednesday 14th August 2024, 18:09

On my way back from the Celtic Lounge I was walking along The Old Tramway when I inadvertently stepped in front of a man on a bicycle. I apologized, he said I needn't apologize. We chatted for a while, he asked my name and where I was from and when I said Nina he immediately said 99 Red Balloons, and commented on that Nina's hairy armpits. He asked about mine so I showed him that they are mostly smooth.

He complimented me on how good I looked and that we are probably about the same age. He was surprised and even more complimentary when I said I was 68, soon 69, and he said he was 61. He went on to say he was from Hackney but had been living in Newquay for eighteen years and loved it.

He suggested that I go with him into town and that he'd buy me a drink. I think I might have said yes except for a remark he made earlier in the conversation about fancying making me pregnant. When he said that I was amused but coupled with the offer to buy me a drink made me think that perhaps he was serious so I turned down the drink in order to not have to turn him down later because I didn't really fancy him. He took that with a smile and we parted.

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

Wednesday 14th August 2024, 12:38

In the Coffee Pot in Launceston. Having a cream tea. It pains me to say this but Chandlers in Paignton is better despite this one giving two scones instead of one bigger one. But Chandlers was much more generous with the jam and cream.

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

Wednesday 14th August 2024, 18:34

Watching the end of The Legend of Zorro with Antonio Banderas. Marvellous over the top scene where he is galloping beside and above the train and then has the horse jump onto the roof of a carriage. Then the train approaches a tunnel so Zorro gallops back to a carriage with a slatted roof and has the horse jump through it.

Splendid stuff like an updated silent movie melodrama.

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

Wednesday 14th August 2024, 17:43

Watching Flog It! on BBC Two. There was a segment on Tommy Flowers and Colossus. As the camera travelled past the racks I was amused to see that one of the valves was very clearly labelled Osram!

Nihiless

Electric car?

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ninalanyon · 61-69, T

@Nihiless Some parts are just the same. The steering gear is all Robert Bosch just the same as in a Mercedes. Brakes are much the same as on any other car but the disks last longer because regenerative braking is used more than the brakes. But there is no oil to change because the motors just have a couple of sealed bearings, no steering fluid to change because it's all electric. It does have brake fluid that Tesla recommend is checked every other year and coolant (antifreeze) for the battery and motors, I think Tesla recommend checking that every four years. Tesla have no required servicing intervals and the warranty is not voided if you have servicing done by a third party. Unless they make a mess of it that is.

The pollen filter in the climate control system needs replacing at an interval that escapes me but that's just the same as on any car.

One day I'll collate all the invoices and try to figure out what the maintenance cost is.

But on the whole it seems cheaper than an equivalent ICE car would be and unlikely to get drastically more expensive as time goes on.

Nihiless

@ninalanyon That's refreshing to hear, I was under the opinion that they were more expensive to maintain and repair than regular cars. PS I know know nothing of those as yet because I don't drive nor have I had lessons - I'm taking an intense driving course within 2 years however. Thanks for your advice!

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

@Nihiless In my opinion EVs are the way to go. They are mechanically simpler than ICE (internal combustion engine) cars. There is no gearbox, no pistons, no crankshaft, no spark plugs, no coils, no timing chain or belt. There's nothing in the drive train that needs adjustment.

Anyone who can park the car on their own drive can plug in to charge overnight so that the car is fully charged every morning. That means you almost never need to visit a public charger. And plugging in takes seconds.

Another reason to use EVs is the dramatic reduction in local pollution and noise.

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