Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Spelling
Hopefully have now weeded out all the Palestians from the previous post. A word which said sounds like something out of 'Star Trek'.
Further evidence of declining hearing at the plumbers a few days ago. Woke up to find that the toilet no longer flushed. Took it apart to find that the plastic washer which sits on a plastic grid and which lifts up to get the syphon going, was in a bit of a state. Presumably it gets brittle after a while. Retreive another syphon unit from the garage which turns out to be the same design but with a differant size washer. So off to the plumbers' merchant behind Mr S. Ah sezzee. Yes, these things come in lots of differant sizes. Not sure if we have got this one. What you need is a buildersec. Then you can make your own. What sezzeye. Buildersec sezzee. Eventually it dawns on me that what he is on about is a builder's sack. One of those stout white plastic affairs using for carting off rubble and what have you. Having got onto the same wavelength, he explains that all I have to do is cut around the old one and that will do fine.
As it happens, I had such a sack at home and so proceeded to cut around the old one as directed. Cutting the hole so that the thing fitted onto the placing lugs mildly fiddly but they did not seem to be too fussy. Trimmed the thing to be about a millimetre proud of the plastic grid and we are now in full flush. The most successful bit of DIY plumbing for a long time. And decent of the shop to prompt me to it, rather than just selling me another one.
Posting being disturbed by great clonks shaking the house as the neighbouring willow tree comes down. One forgets how a lump of falling tree can shake the ground. This once handsome tree, which was being eaten alive by some kind of beetle, has been the subject of much angst about heave. Is taking it down safe? Is not taking it down safe (there being a very small chance that lumps might have fallen off unaided and brained someone. Something of an issue around here as a child was killed a few years ago in just this way)? The collective view seems to be that, taking everything into account, that damaging heave was unlikely. Let us hope that we are right. In the meantime, we are now the proud possessors of several cubic metres of minced tree - the product of a natty red and yellow contraption on tracks which was chugged into the next door garden (at some cost to the frame of the garden gate). A garden, the lawn of which is going to suffer from interesting movement over the next ten years or so as the roots die and rot away. Presumably, also, a good line in fairy rings for years after that. The bane of BH's lawn life.
Minced tree, when fresh, has a very (originally keyed as 'various' to rhyme with 'carious') curious feel to it. Warm, lumpy and damp. Not quite like anything else I can think of. Let us hope that it does go in for spontaneous combustion when spread out. I would think that in heap form it might well.
Rather moved by a TLS story last week. It seems that at the height of the seige of Leningrad, the Soviets decided to go in for a state performance of the newly written Leningrad symphony on the spot. A propaganda stunt to revive flagging spirits. Had the score flown into the beleaguered city, musicians were withdrawn from the front to play it. Loudspeakers set up to broadcast the thing, live, across no-mans' land. Germans mounting attacks to try and stop it. I wonder what sort of music we would choose if such a circumstance were to arise now? Something by the Rolling Stones?
Further evidence of declining hearing at the plumbers a few days ago. Woke up to find that the toilet no longer flushed. Took it apart to find that the plastic washer which sits on a plastic grid and which lifts up to get the syphon going, was in a bit of a state. Presumably it gets brittle after a while. Retreive another syphon unit from the garage which turns out to be the same design but with a differant size washer. So off to the plumbers' merchant behind Mr S. Ah sezzee. Yes, these things come in lots of differant sizes. Not sure if we have got this one. What you need is a buildersec. Then you can make your own. What sezzeye. Buildersec sezzee. Eventually it dawns on me that what he is on about is a builder's sack. One of those stout white plastic affairs using for carting off rubble and what have you. Having got onto the same wavelength, he explains that all I have to do is cut around the old one and that will do fine.
As it happens, I had such a sack at home and so proceeded to cut around the old one as directed. Cutting the hole so that the thing fitted onto the placing lugs mildly fiddly but they did not seem to be too fussy. Trimmed the thing to be about a millimetre proud of the plastic grid and we are now in full flush. The most successful bit of DIY plumbing for a long time. And decent of the shop to prompt me to it, rather than just selling me another one.
Posting being disturbed by great clonks shaking the house as the neighbouring willow tree comes down. One forgets how a lump of falling tree can shake the ground. This once handsome tree, which was being eaten alive by some kind of beetle, has been the subject of much angst about heave. Is taking it down safe? Is not taking it down safe (there being a very small chance that lumps might have fallen off unaided and brained someone. Something of an issue around here as a child was killed a few years ago in just this way)? The collective view seems to be that, taking everything into account, that damaging heave was unlikely. Let us hope that we are right. In the meantime, we are now the proud possessors of several cubic metres of minced tree - the product of a natty red and yellow contraption on tracks which was chugged into the next door garden (at some cost to the frame of the garden gate). A garden, the lawn of which is going to suffer from interesting movement over the next ten years or so as the roots die and rot away. Presumably, also, a good line in fairy rings for years after that. The bane of BH's lawn life.
Minced tree, when fresh, has a very (originally keyed as 'various' to rhyme with 'carious') curious feel to it. Warm, lumpy and damp. Not quite like anything else I can think of. Let us hope that it does go in for spontaneous combustion when spread out. I would think that in heap form it might well.
Rather moved by a TLS story last week. It seems that at the height of the seige of Leningrad, the Soviets decided to go in for a state performance of the newly written Leningrad symphony on the spot. A propaganda stunt to revive flagging spirits. Had the score flown into the beleaguered city, musicians were withdrawn from the front to play it. Loudspeakers set up to broadcast the thing, live, across no-mans' land. Germans mounting attacks to try and stop it. I wonder what sort of music we would choose if such a circumstance were to arise now? Something by the Rolling Stones?
# posted by Jim @ 12:57 AM 
