WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Stanley]

Nice to know people are still enquiring! What site was that Gloria?
Ian, Thanks, I thought that might be the problem. I have been there..... Why do we put up with it?

[Gloria]

It was on the Facebook page of Grane Mill Restoration Project.

[Stanley]

[Stanley]

My daughter Susan is on the Aberdeen to Shetland ferry and will be docking at Lerwick at 8AM. It's all knitting related.....

[Stanley]

By chance I found myself watching the last half hour of the Women's World Cup Rugby match last night. I was riveted by it! This wasn't women pretending to play a contact sport, it was full on ferocious rugby, as good to watch as any man's game. Even better, they won!
England produced a dominant performance to defeat Canada at Twickenham and win the Women's Rugby World Cup for a third time. In front of a record women's rugby crowd of 81,885, the Red Roses, who had lost the previous two finals to New Zealand, laid that ghost to rest with an assured display built on their power up front and ferocious defence. The defeat by the Black Ferns in the previous World Cup final three years ago remains England's last loss as they extended their record winning run to 33 games.

See THIS also for a report on a fraught Ryder Cup in New York.
1 hour ago
Finally, after a frenetic afternoon in a febrile New York, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry felt the love as they celebrated earning a point which edged Europe closer to a seismic Ryder Cup away win. And it was down to the pair largely keeping calm in the face of American abuse, rarely rising to the bait and, ultimately, letting their golf do the talking. McIlroy and Lowry received crude barbs which crossed the line at Bethpage - related to romantic relationships and their appearance - as well as the home fans ignoring golfing etiquette by shouting out as they were about to hit their ball. Lowry had to be restrained from confronting a fan on the 10th tee. McIlroy, who was forced to back away from shots, described the whole experience as a "really challenging day". "What I consider crossing the line is personal insults and making sounds when they are trying to hit on their backswings or very close to when they are trying to go into their routines," said European captain Luke Donald. "That did happen a little bit. It's happened at other Ryder Cups, too. "It's something we prepared for and I can see how well [McIlroy and Lowry] have dealt with it." The tension also spilled over elsewhere. Justin Rose was unhappy that Bryson DeChambeau’s caddie strayed too close when he was ready to putt on the 15th green - another no-no in golfing circles - leading to an exchange of words which also involved Rose's partner Tommy Fleetwood and caddies. "I asked him to move. Maybe not as politely as I could have done but in the scenario, coming down the stretch, it's intense out there," said Rose, who regretted the incident might detract from a fabulous match. "If I should have done it a different way, I apologise."
I thought that like snooker, golf was a game where good behaviour was prized. It seems as though extreme behaviour has extended beyond politics......

[Stanley]

Have a look at THIS report on the outcome of the Ryder Cup.....
3 hours ago
The 'Battering at Bethpage'. The 'Larruping on Long Island'. The 'Nobbling in New York'. The headlines were being written long before Sunday's Ryder Cup singles had even teed off such was Europe's domination over the opening two days. A record seven points they led by. 11½-4½. Just three points from 12 matches needed for victory. No side had ever come from more than four points back to win. A formality for the visitors? Not so fast. The Americans put up a fight that will be talked about for decades to come, but in the end Europe stumbled to a 15-13 victory, with Ludvig Aberg the only player to win his match, while six home players registered wins. Tyrrell Hatton, playing in match 10, finally got Europe to the magic 14½ points mark as they became the fifth European side to win an away match - and the first since 2012. It was fitting that the Englishman should secure the winning point given he was one of two undefeated players this week. The other was Shane Lowry, who holed the putt to take Europe to 14 points and ensure they would at least retain the trophy.
Mr Trump will not like this!

[Stanley]

THIS BBC report that there is a peace plan for Gaza......
Updated 2 hours ago
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu say they have agreed a new peace plan for Gaza, warning Hamas to accept it. The plan proposes an immediate end to military operations, with Hamas releasing 20 living Israeli hostages and the remains of the more than two dozen hostages who are believed to be dead within 72 hours, in exchange for hundreds of detained Gazans. A Palestinian source familiar with the ceasefire negotiations told the BBC that Hamas officials have been given the White House's 20-point proposal. It demands that Hamas will have no role in governing Gaza, and leaves the door open for an eventual Palestinian state. Speaking at a news conference following talks at the White House, Trump called the plan "a historic day for peace". But he said that Netanyahu will have US backing to "finish the job of destroying the threat of Hamas" if Hamas does not agree to the plan. Netanyahu then said Israel "will finish the job" if Hamas rejects the plan or does not follow through.
Slightly bizarre is the associated news that Tony Blair will have a role in supervising the cease fire.

[PanBiker]

It should also be noted the no Palestinians were involved in formulating the "plan", there is no direct dictate of a two state solution. This has already been seen as a deal breaker if incorporated according to Netanyahu. I cant see why they have a unique veto on this in any deals put forward. Surely this is for the international courts to decide not a single individual or state. Who agreed that Israel was awarded statehood.

[Stanley]

Couldn't agree more Ian and what strikes me is that if Netanyahu really does try to make the proposed cease fire work he ditches the whole Far-Right plan to take over Gaza and the West Bank for settlement and this is the only thing that is keeping his government in power.

Mean while see THIS latest piece of Trump governance by disruption.....
Ongoing news.... US senators have failed to pass a last-minute funding bill to avert a government shutdown, all but guaranteeing funding will cut off at midnight ET (04.00 GMT) A shutdown, the first since 2018-19, could bring some - but not all - US government services to a temporary halt. President Donald Trump threatens mass ''irreversible" firings of federal workers if a shutdown happens. Republican Senator John Thune says Republicans won't be "taken hostage", while the Senate's top Democrat Chuck Schumer says Republicans "tell lies". A firefighter and single father-of-three tells the BBC he may not be able to pay rent if the shutdown goes ahead. Generally, in a shutdown, essential workers continue as normal - some without pay - but government employees deemed non-essential are temporarily put on unpaid leave
There is something deeply suspect about all this. Mismanagement on this scale plus the effects of the other chaotic policy decisions like the tariff wars must be taking toll of the economic health of the US but so far this isn't evident. How is this con trick being achieved?

[Stanley]

See THIS account of the current situation in Gaza.....
Israel's defence minister has said its forces are "tightening the siege" around Gaza City by extending a military corridor across the territory towards the coast. Israel Katz also issued a final warning to the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the city to evacuate southwards, saying those who remained during the offensive against Hamas would be "terrorists and supporters of terror". Hospitals reported that 45 people had been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza City on Wednesday, while the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had been forced to suspend operations there. Israel is stepping up the assault as Hamas weighs its response to a new US plan to end the war. Arab and Turkish mediators are understood to be pressing for a positive response, but a senior Hamas figure has said the armed group is likely to reject it.
This situation is a total disgrace and everyone connected with it should be ashamed...... What more can anyone say? We are beyond words.

[Tizer]

Tizer? Who's Tizer? Well this is just a quick post to let you know that me and the missus are still around regardless of no posts on here for a while. We've been through the wringer and still not out the other end yet. Don't worry though, all will be well soon. In a nutshell, some weeks ago Mrs Tiz led a course of geologists at a centre in Shropshire. As it turned out, at the same time the centre was hosting a large number of students and everyone had their meals and evenings together in a large hall. You've probably guessed the result - the mature-aged geologists caught an infection from the youngsters, possibly a Covid variant. Mrs Tiz then shared it with me on her return and we both were stricken down for a while. A quite nasty variant too. We had a Cornwall holiday coming up and fortunately were over the worst of it (and therefore not likely to give others the infection) by the time we set out for Cornwall. But we've been left with constant sniffling, blocked nose and mucus at the back of the throat.

The holiday was great weather and we enjoyed it regardless of the sniffling etc. Since we came back we've had workmen outside our house digging up the pavements and laying the plastic pipes to house the broadband fibre. It's very noisy all day long and there's lots of banter in an East European language. Our internet connection has become unreliable and the men claim it can't be related to their work, so we'll have to wait and see what it's like when they finish.

We're also having problems with failing bluetooth connections between our devices at home and a problem with intermittent loss of broadband on Mrs Tiz's PC and this morning it gave up altogether. We us Powerline connectors from the router to the PCs and I had a spare new one so I substituted it for the old one. It powered up but couldn't connect the broadband. It's in a double power socket with her phone plugged in the other socket so I switched the two over. The Powerline worked properly so I then tried the phone in the other socket - and it works! I'm leaving well enough alone for now!

Other things have been stressing us too. I had a delivery ordered from Cotton Traders to be left in our porch and got an Evri email at 16.30 saying it had arrived. That was puzzling because I'd been working in a room overlooking the front of the house and neither seen nor heard anyone arrive. When I clicked on the image in the Evri email it showed a lady putting a parcel in a porch on a house which looks unlike all the ones in our neighbourhood. So I'm waiting for that to be resolved. I'll give Evri their due, their web chat line was very quick and easy and I got an instant copy of it all by email.

I'm still having my hospital visits for checks on the skin lesion op, a story which has been going on for 14 months now. On the advice of the nurses I wrote a document with all the details, and dates and have sent it to the hospital's patient help service and a copy to my GP. Tomorrow morning I have an appointment with a clinician to discuss my concerns.

There have been a lot of other glitches but I won't bore you any further. In the meantime, this is the scene outside our house...

outside of our house.jpg

[Cathy]

Gosh Tize, that is a lot of happenings.
I think you both need another holiday
I wondered where you were.

[Stanley]

I thought something must have peen happening Peter.... Thanks for taking the trouble and letting us know. I hope everything settles down for you soon and you can get a reliable full fibre connection.....
My attention was grabbed by THIS BBC report....
Two people have died after a car and stabbing attack at a synagogue in Manchester - here's a timeline of how the attack unfolded. A third person - thought to be the suspect - is believed to be dead after being shot by police. Police say the suspect's condition cannot be confirmed due to "suspicious items on his person", with a bomb disposal unit at the scene - a loud explosion has since been heard. "Get back, he has a bomb!" Footage from the scene shows police warning members of the public - with a picture showing a man with items round his waist. Three other members of the public are in a serious condition, with police saying a "large number of people" were worshipping at the synagogue - today is Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar
The incident is ongoing.

[Tripps]

the mature-aged geologists caught an infection from the youngsters, possibly a Covid variant

Bad luck - if only there was a vaccine, which could prevent Covid infection and transmission. . . .


Welcome back Tizer - hope things straighten out for you and Mrs Tiz soon. I sympathise - perhaps we have reached 'peak tech'?
I ordered full fibre to premises on Tuesday. From Gigaclear - who have resumed the offer that if you are under contract, they will not charge until the contract runs out, if it has under a year to run. That's me -so I went for it- they say my speed will be about ten times faster, for a smaller monthly payment. What could possibly go wrong?

They asked me to send a video of the outside of my property and prove I had a contract by sending a screen shot on my Smart phone. I said "no chance - I don't do stuff like that on a phone. The screen is too small and my thumbs are too big". That's OK the video is optional, and the screenshot can go on an email. They then corrected my email address which they had got wrong.

Today I've had no reply saying my screenshot met their needs, which I asked for, but I got a satisfaction survey via text message. Patience is running out. I just phoned them to confirm my 'cooling off' cancellation time,, and I think they deliberately mislead me. However I have until a week on Tuesday to cancel if I wish. I may yet do so .

They paid me £75 to get the fibre to the end of my lawn. so I'm in front at the moment.

Fibreto premises.JPG

[Tizer]

Thanks for your support Stanley. Hopefully normal service will resumed as soon as possible and I'll be able do more posting!

Tripps, good luck with your full fibre, we might get to it one day, assuming the `heavy gang' got the pipes in the right places! Then I'll have a luck at Jurassic Fibre as an alternative to Plusnet, although I've still got about 7 or 8 months of contract to go.

This is what grabbed my attention in The Times recently and having learnt how to OCR text from a photo using my smartphone I thought it warranted airing on OG. It looks like we're going downhill fast...

Funding and visa changes put physics faculties at risk Georgia Lambert (In `The Times') newspaper

More than a quarter of university physics departments face closure as the funding crisis deepens, a report shows. The Institute of Physics (IOP) says that a “perfect storm’ of funding shortfalls, visa changes and inflation is threatening the future of UK physics, with serious implications for defence, technology and economic growth.

IOP research found that 26 per cent of UK university physics departments could shut within two years. More than half (58 per cent) expect degree courses to close, and 83 per cent anticipate job losses, with 84 per cent saying they already face serious financial strain. The IOP surveyed leaders at nearly 60 physics departments, receiving 31 responses across two online surveys, the first in January and another in August. Difficulties for the subject come after successive governments have claimed to prioritise Stem (Science, technology, engineering, and maths), recognising its role in driving economic growth and innovation. The Labour government has continued this focus with reforms to post-l6 education and expanded support for qualifications such as T-levels to bridge the skills gap in Stem fields.

Physics is vulnerable, the report says, due to higher teaching and facilities costs at a time when universities are seeking savings. The crisis comes despite the UK’s global reputation in physics: 95 per cent of its research is ranked `internationally excellent' or world leading', compared with a national average of 83 per cent. The IOP is calling for government funding for science faculties, an `early warning system' for struggling departments, and a change in visa policies to protect international student flows and attract talent. The Department for Education was asked for comment.

[Stanley]

"It looks like we're going downhill fast..."
I'll second that Peter.... That's my impression also but then I think surely they can't be so stupid and throw the baby out with the bath water of economic savings? Then I think Yes they can!

[Tizer]

About the misdirected Evri delivery of our items from Cotton Traders...
Evri then emailed me back asking me to go around the local houses and ask my friends and relatives if they'd received the delivery. I repeated that the courier's photo of the house delivered to was like no house in this neighbourhood. I'm glad to say that CT have quickly emailed me to say that a replacement delivery will be on its way (but they didn't say which courier they would use!). I pointed out that they could minimise incorrect deliveries by providing on their order page an extra box after the customer's address etc asking for their What3Words code. That's accurate to 4 metre squares and is used by emergency responders. It could save a lot of misdirection.

People often claim on the web that if a parcel is left at their house they have the right to keep it. That only applies to "unsolicited goods". It’s a different story altogether if items are sent to you by mistake, as explained on this Saga web page: Saga