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Doobs
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« Reply #27720 on: February 01, 2016, 08:53:54 PM » |
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It is still very special, just different.
 If it makes you feel better, we went all the way to Tromso earlier in the year. We stayed up most of the night got cold wet and blown over but no Aurora. Reindeer stew was very welcome at 4am. Very special, but different. Norway is very very beautiful though, Tony can tell you all about the trains no doubt. |
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Most of the bets placed so far seem more like hopeful punts rather than value spots
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MrDickie
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« Reply #27721 on: February 02, 2016, 10:29:36 AM » |
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My first full time job was at the Bank when I was 17 and worked there for nearly 10 years. Got the job with only 2 "O" levels as well. Those were the days. I will post some interesting stories if anyone is interested. Yes please. My diary could do with livening up. Ok here’s the first one. The Oak Room in the Bank of England is where the governors meet each week to discuss monetary policy amongst other things as whether as to best to push or pull a lawnmower. High on the wall is a weather vane connected to the roof. Any ideas why that would be there for? |
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RED-DOG
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« Reply #27722 on: February 02, 2016, 12:13:56 PM » |
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My first full time job was at the Bank when I was 17 and worked there for nearly 10 years. Got the job with only 2 "O" levels as well. Those were the days. I will post some interesting stories if anyone is interested. Yes please. My diary could do with livening up. Ok here’s the first one. The Oak Room in the Bank of England is where the governors meet each week to discuss monetary policy amongst other things as whether as to best to push or pull a lawnmower. High on the wall is a weather vane connected to the roof. Any ideas why that would be there for? Don't take the relative merits of pushing or pulling a lawn mower too lightly, it's a subject that taxes me on a regular basis. Is the weather vane inside or outside? |
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The older I get, the better I was.
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bobAlike
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« Reply #27723 on: February 02, 2016, 12:32:57 PM » |
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My first full time job was at the Bank when I was 17 and worked there for nearly 10 years. Got the job with only 2 "O" levels as well. Those were the days. I will post some interesting stories if anyone is interested. Yes please. My diary could do with livening up. Ok here’s the first one. The Oak Room in the Bank of England is where the governors meet each week to discuss monetary policy amongst other things as whether as to best to push or pull a lawnmower. High on the wall is a weather vane connected to the roof. Any ideas why that would be there for? Don't take the relative merits of pushing or pulling a lawn mower too lightly, it's a subject that taxes me on a regular basis. Is the weather vane inside or outside? Google is your friend "The Court Room’s other main feature is a compass that sits high in the wall looking down on the conference table. This is connected to a weather vane on the roof and is there so the bankers can see which way the wind blows – important information once, because a strong wind from the east meant that boats would be coming into the City along the Thames, so the Bank should get extra currency ready for the subsequent increase in trading." No need to thank me  |
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Ah! The element of surprise
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RED-DOG
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« Reply #27724 on: February 02, 2016, 01:00:05 PM » |
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My first full time job was at the Bank when I was 17 and worked there for nearly 10 years. Got the job with only 2 "O" levels as well. Those were the days. I will post some interesting stories if anyone is interested. Yes please. My diary could do with livening up. Ok here’s the first one. The Oak Room in the Bank of England is where the governors meet each week to discuss monetary policy amongst other things as whether as to best to push or pull a lawnmower. High on the wall is a weather vane connected to the roof. Any ideas why that would be there for? Don't take the relative merits of pushing or pulling a lawn mower too lightly, it's a subject that taxes me on a regular basis. Is the weather vane inside or outside? Google is your friend "The Court Room’s other main feature is a compass that sits high in the wall looking down on the conference table. This is connected to a weather vane on the roof and is there so the bankers can see which way the wind blows – important information once, because a strong wind from the east meant that boats would be coming into the City along the Thames, so the Bank should get extra currency ready for the subsequent increase in trading." No need to thank me Excellent work. |
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The older I get, the better I was.
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MrDickie
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« Reply #27725 on: February 02, 2016, 02:03:35 PM » |
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Merlyn Lowther was the first and only woman so far to become Chief Cashier. She was my boss when I was a spotty testosterone full 19 year old. She was a real stunner and I had the real hots for her even though she was much older than me.
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RED-DOG
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« Reply #27726 on: February 02, 2016, 02:14:21 PM » |
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Merlyn Lowther was the first and only woman so far to become Chief Cashier. She was my boss when I was a spotty testosterone full 19 year old. She was a real stunner and I had the real hots for her even though she was much older than me.
Woof!  |
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The older I get, the better I was.
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MrDickie
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« Reply #27727 on: February 02, 2016, 03:05:06 PM » |
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The Bank had a building opposite where we used to lunch and was also open in the evenings. The ground floor was a bar and a separate wine bar. The drinks were half the price of the surrounding pubs. The second floor was a coffee bar, the third was a restaurant with a full carvery every day and heavily subsidised. The fourth floor was a fast food restaurant where you could get such things as a decent burger, fish and chips etc. The fifth floor was an a la carte restaurant with waiter service which you had to book in advance because it was so popular. Lunch was always taken seriously. At least once a week we would spend three hours in the bar getting smashed and no one cared or cautioned you for it because we were all at it.
Beaujolais Nouveau day was always complete carnage and a good excuse to get absolutely trolleyed. Could never get away with that these days I’m sure.
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RED-DOG
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« Reply #27728 on: February 02, 2016, 03:44:33 PM » |
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The Bank had a building opposite where we used to lunch and was also open in the evenings. The ground floor was a bar and a separate wine bar. The drinks were half the price of the surrounding pubs. The second floor was a coffee bar, the third was a restaurant with a full carvery every day and heavily subsidised. The fourth floor was a fast food restaurant where you could get such things as a decent burger, fish and chips etc. The fifth floor was an a la carte restaurant with waiter service which you had to book in advance because it was so popular. Lunch was always taken seriously. At least once a week we would spend three hours in the bar getting smashed and no one cared or cautioned you for it because we were all at it.
Beaujolais Nouveau day was always complete carnage and a good excuse to get absolutely trolleyed. Could never get away with that these days I’m sure.
Amazing! Who'd have thunk it was such a den of gluttony and iniquity? Not a bad life if you don't weaken. |
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The older I get, the better I was.
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MrDickie
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« Reply #27729 on: February 02, 2016, 04:12:35 PM » |
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The Iran hostage in the early 80’s was settled with payment in gold to Iran by the U.S. Each country at the bank has its own pallets of gold. The pallets of gold could also only be of a certain height in case they fell through the floor. One morning dozens of messengers shifted hundreds if not thousands of bars of gold from Americas pile onto trolleys and wheeled them onto Iran’s stack. Once this was done clipboards were passed around, documents were signed hands were shaken and the deal was done.
The first editions of The Standard that day announced that the hostages had been released which was the first that I knew about it. Today the news would be all over the Interwebs within a nano-second.
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RED-DOG
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« Reply #27730 on: February 03, 2016, 11:44:37 PM » |
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Name this station from today's walk. | Click to see full-size image. |
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The older I get, the better I was.
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Longines
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« Reply #27731 on: February 04, 2016, 12:13:18 AM » |
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Looks like a station on the Shakerstone line? I lived a few miles away as a kid in the 70s and it was the standard destination when cousins came to visit.
I'm only 25 miles or so away now, really should go back again.
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RED-DOG
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« Reply #27732 on: February 04, 2016, 12:35:33 AM » |
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The older I get, the better I was.
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RED-DOG
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« Reply #27733 on: February 04, 2016, 12:45:35 AM » |
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| Click to see full-size image. |
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The older I get, the better I was.
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Tal
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« Reply #27734 on: February 04, 2016, 12:51:08 AM » |
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| Click to see full-size image. |
Is that Scotland at the top? |
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"You must take your opponent into a deep, dark forest, where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one"
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Author