How was your day?

[amanda]

Yesterday's report - went to the country town for the booksale, this time at their warehouse and not the town hall but the warehouse is a ten minute walk from the station before the main town's station.

Books were still in their donated boxes/bags and on large metal trolleys. It was a bit of every person for themselves to move boxes and find things. Despite this I got about 16 good books, including

Spell it out - David Crystal
Illustrated German dictionary - this was a big one and will I, won't I type of book. Then thought at just $2, (flat rate for all books) it'd be a regret.
Illegitimate bastards of the royal family
The Eureka flag - its history and origins (Victorian, Australia 1854 uprising on the goldfields)
Shakespeare land - an older hardback

Train back was delayed by half an hour once in the metro area again due to a disruptive passenger in the back carriage. As we were able to de-train during this time, one man walked up the platform to have a look and reported back that a drug/alcohol/mental health affected person was being held down by at least two other people. Four police arrived and took them away.

I was also distracted by a very cute blue heeler pup in a large soft carry crate in the next carriage. During the de-training, it was on a lead on the platform and I spoke a bit with the human owners.

[crissdee]

Despite a fairly late start (11.00am) the last four hours have not been totally wasted. I went to my shed and dug out the box of vinyl records, and then drafted a catalogue of them. I remembered there is a shop/dealer in Hay on Wye, so I may seek their counsel as to value. Frankly, if they offer me something approaching £1 a disc I will take it, as they hold little to no sentimental value. Having done that, I went up to the supermarket to grab a few things, then came back and prepared a LARGE vat of Thai Red Curry beef and vegetables, which will probably provide at least eight meals with rice/pasta/potatoes as necessary, then washed up all but the pot in which it is currently simmering. I think a pint of tea will feature in the immediate future....

[bigmartin]

An oldish chap slipped down on the slope down the steep hill at "work" today. There are "don't go that way signs" but he still did and ended up with a broken ankle. There were 3 ambulances on site at one point early this afternoon.

[Numerophile]

crissdee: you might like to check out Discogs to get an idea of what your records are worth.

[crissdee]

Thanks! I will give that look later.

[Bondee]

Nov 3, 2024 16:53:44 GMT Numerophile said:

crissdee: you might like to check out Discogs to get an idea of what your records are worth.

You might find this page in particular useful, criss. It's a guide to assessing their condition so you can estimate what they should sell for. Or you can always chuck me a DM*.

*Don't throw me a boot.

[Bondee]

In other news, the local Armageddon Pre-enactment Society's Annual Jamboree* has just finished. JJ can continue his life without being traumatised. Poor little so-and-so was cowering under the bed. Coco couldn't give a shit. She carried on sleeping in front of the radiator.

*or, to give it its proper title, The Staines & Laleham Sports Association 2024 Firework Display.

[crissdee]

Thanks mate, I will consult that as well. Most of my stuff has been very rarely played, even the Springsteen stuff, because I am just not that "into" music, nor have I ever been. Going through it this afternoon, most of it looked nearly new...

[celebaelin]

Nov 1, 2024 23:20:52 GMT suze said:

Nov 1, 2024 15:49:14 GMT celebaelin said:

The Right Reverend and Right Honourable The Lord Williams of Oystermouth PC FBA FRSL FLSW ... never invited me round for tea

How remiss that was of Professor Professor Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Williams!

He appears to have twenty five doctorates to his name, including the unusually high number of two which are not honorary.  Sir David Attenborough OM GCMG CH CVO CBE FRS FSA FRSA FLS FZS FRSGS FRSB, who has 32 at last count, is believed to be the only living British person to have more.  

He has also been awarded the Орден Дружбы, the Russian Order of Friendship which is in the personal gift of V Putin.  Most of that award's holders in the Western world have sent it back over the last few years.  Whether Lord Williams has done so is not recorded, but I accept that it's probably not a matter that you'd raise over buttered bara brith and tea anyway.

By coincidence I was watching some clips on YouTube and happened upon this

should I ever meet/have met him I fear something in a similar vein may have occurred.  Perhaps not a Dirty Dancing reference in my case but some excruciating gaffe.

[amanda]

Can't see that video down under.....

[celebaelin]

It's Victoria Coren-Mitchell talking about meeting Rowan Williams at a reception type thing at Lambeth Palace and making the conversation awkward in the process of explaining a pop culture reference.

[bigmartin]

TOIL's brother is on the train to Scotland to pick up TOIL's car. Glad he volunteered to do so as I'm not keen to do that journey again fttb.

[tetsabb]

I have just had my last two upper molars removed. The plan had been for a fitting for a denture, but the two remaining ones were getting wobbly and occasionally painful, so we agreed it was the best course to have them out now, and do a more extensive denture in one go.

I texted a friend about it, and then double checked that I had sent 'molars' rather than 'morals'. But I imagine she probably has doubts about me having any morals at all.
😉

[Bondee]

I felt a migraine coming on last night so I gave up, went to bed and slept right through until about an hour ago. I only woke up because there was a hungry cat purring in my face. I still feel like shit so thankfully there's nothing that absolutely needs to be done today.

[crissdee]

Off to Hay on Wye, with a crate of records in the back of the car, only to find that the guy who buys records isn't in today! His locum took a look at the list I wrote up, and felt sure that he would want to buy at least part of the pile, so I left my details and the list for his perusal. I did notice that his rack contained at least one of the discs* I have for sale, and he was asking £25 for it, so it might well end up fairly profitable. Weather was much brighter than it is round here, so I had a bit of a wander before heading back.




* "Born to Run" by some American bloke....

[suze]

If the record guy has that record on sale for £25, he probably paid about £10 for it.  So don't get too excited about all the sharp things you might be able to buy with the proceeds!

Previously owned vinyl is a weird market.  When she's a bit older, if Jessica decided that she wanted to get into Bruce Springsteen, well just about all of his songs are on YouTube.  If she wanted hard product - which the young people mostly don't in 2024 - she'd buy his CDs, not his vinyl.  That vinyl record will be bought by A Record Collector, a species whom even djgordy of distant memory considered a bit strange.  A Record Collector won't actually play the Bruce Springsteen record he's just bought, any more than you actually stab people with your sharp things.

Even so, he wants his records in as close to mint condition as can be, and the records have to be Cool Things.  Rock music by Important Artists counts as A Cool Thing, so vinyl by The Beatles, Dylan, Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Springsteen, and others of that level of importance is of interest to A Record Collector.  The Wurzels Live In Shepton Mallet or K-Tel's The Very Best Of Jim Reeves really aren't.  Even third division charity shops can't shift those, so they don't really want them.  The good news here is that "bloke music" - rock, heavy metal, punk - does rather better than "girls' music".

Opinions differ on whether you should clean your records before you try to sell them.  If they've got mould on then you'll need to do it, but cleaning with water shortens their lives.  Dust them by all means, but use the right sort of cloth.

[crissdee]

Nov 7, 2024 18:51:56 GMT suze said:

If the record guy has that record on sale for £25, he probably paid about £10 for it.  So don't get too excited about all the sharp things you might be able to buy with the proceeds!

Oh yes, I am not so naive as to think I would get anything like that for mine, but I have a dozen or so albums by the same chap in similar condition, and 40 or 50 of similar vintage/interestingness, so even £5 each would be worth it right now...

[jenny]

Well I am home now and back on duty here. I am also mightily pissed off about the election.

[tetsabb]

Having had my two teeth out on Monday the clothes seems to have failed spectacularly overnight.
I got up for a pee at 0230. No issues.
0430, felt something in my mouth. Picked it out a soft squidgy thing, and spat out copious blood. Again at 0715, more blood emerging, and, in the half light, realised it had been seeping out of my mouth onto my pillow case.
Nice.

[tetsabb]

Update on my mouth. Bleeding seems to have stopped.
Luckily we had several of the pads they hand out after an extraction..

[RLDavies]

Nov 8, 2024 9:25:45 GMT tetsabb said:

Having had my two teeth out on Monday the clothes seems to have failed spectacularly overnight.
I got up for a pee at 0230. No issues.
0430, felt something in my mouth. Picked it out a soft squidgy thing, and spat out copious blood. Again at 0715, more blood emerging, and, in the half light, realised it had been seeping out of my mouth onto my pillow case.
Nice.

I had a tooth extracted when I was about 7 or 8, and the same thing happened to me. Woke up in the middle of the night with a disgusting soft blob in my mouth, screamed, ran to the bathroom sink, spat out this huge blood clot (well, it seemed huge at the time) and loads of blood. I don't have many memories of that age, but that one will stay with me forever.

My father knew what it was, reassured me, and then knew exactly what to do. If it happens again, grab a tea bag and bite down on it over the bleeding socket. The tannins in the tea will help constrict the blood vessels.

[RLDavies]

Nov 7, 2024 18:51:56 GMT suze said:

Opinions differ on whether you should clean your records before you try to sell them.  If they've got mould on then you'll need to do it, but cleaning with water shortens their lives.  Dust them by all means, but use the right sort of cloth.

A friend of mine in the States is a second-hand book and record dealer (or schlepper, as he prefers). He travels all over the place to estate sales and the like to grab boxes of them, and often posts his good hauls on Facebook.


Based purely on his exploits, I would suggest not attempting to do any cleaning. Dealers have professional knowledge and equipment to do the job. If you try to clean them yourself, you might easily make matters worse. Even wiping with a cloth might drive dust into the grooves -- or worse, scratch it across them.

[crissdee]

I have pulled a non-zero number of my own teeth. The last time, it bled a lot, but I just kept washing my mouth out with cold water, and it stopped after a few minutes.

No intention of cleaning any of the records. They haven't been out of their sleeves for at least a decade, so they are what they are...

[Bondee]

Nov 7, 2024 18:51:56 GMT suze said:

If the record guy has that record on sale for £25, he probably paid about £10 for it.  So don't get too excited about all the sharp things you might be able to buy with the proceeds!

If that. I don't want to piss on crissdee's chips, but you'll be lucky if you get a fiver for an album. The guy who runs my local second hand record shop buys 7" singles for 50p, 12" singles for £1 and albums for £2, no exceptions. He'll give you double that if you trade them in for something else, which is my preferred method. If the seller starts mithering about it how it's worth much more than that, he tells them to take it away and sell it on ebay.

When she's a bit older, if Jessica decided that she wanted to get into Bruce Springsteen, well just about all of his songs are on YouTube. If she wanted hard product - which the young people mostly don't in 2024 - she'd buy his CDs, not his vinyl.

Again, you'd be surprised. A lot of younger people (hark at the old fart here!) are collecting vinyl. Look at Taylor Swift's recent album sales figures and how many of them were sold on vinyl.

Opinions differ on whether you should clean your records before you try to sell them. If they've got mould on then you'll need to do it, but cleaning with water shortens their lives. Dust them by all means, but use the right sort of cloth.

As RLD says a couple of posts ago, it's not worth the risk unless you have the right stuff to do it. I've cleaned a few "lightly soiled" records with my own concotion but some of the records I've bought from bargain bins over the years are way beyond that. If you play them as is, your stylus would look like the back end of an incontinent goldfish. I'd have to send them to someone who uses an ultrasonic cleaner to get the filth out.

[jenny]

I'm slowly recovering from jetlag - ie I went to bed last night at 9pm feeling as if it was 1am, but that was an advance on the previous night when I actually arrived. home at 10pm and it felt like 3am. I woke, of course, at 4pm, having got up for a pee once or twice before that, but then dozed off and on until 6:30ish when I decided I really was awake. Probably tonight I'll be back to my normal routine. Two or three days is normally enough.

[crissdee]

Nov 8, 2024 15:55:14 GMT Bondee said:

Nov 7, 2024 18:51:56 GMT suze said:

If the record guy has that record on sale for £25, he probably paid about £10 for it.  So don't get too excited about all the sharp things you might be able to buy with the proceeds!

If that. I don't want to piss on crissdee's chips, but you'll be lucky if you get a fiver for an album. The guy who runs my local second hand record shop buys 7" singles for 50p, 12" singles for £1 and albums for £2, no exceptions.

Tbh, if I clear an average of £1 per disc I'll be happy.  I have effectively no income at the moment, and they're only taking up space.  I know I will probably never play them again, so almost anything I make on them is a bonus.

[amanda]

Nov 8, 2024 19:10:23 GMT jenny said:

I'm slowly recovering from jetlag - ie I went to bed last night at 9pm feeling as if it was 1am, but that was an advance on the previous night when I actually arrived. home at 10pm and it felt like 3am. I woke, of course, at 4pm, having got up for a pee once or twice before that, but then dozed off and on until 6:30ish when I decided I really was awake. Probably tonight I'll be back to my normal routine. Two or three days is normally enough.

Train-in-motion lag here. Still feel like I'm going up and down, up and down. Happened to me Tuesday night too. 

Just got back from the 11 hour overnight train trip and while in the sleeper compartments, they are converted to a bunk bed, it's still hard. Until midnight I had the cold air fan vent blowing a few cm from my face, then they must have changed it to heating for I was then too warm a bit later.

Due to poor sleep the night before, combined with a warm motel room, my companion's snoring etc, I slept quite well for a bit on the train. 

[bigmartin]

A couple of quiet and withdrawn days with TOIL. A conversation today assured her that, despite her car having been fetched from Lockerbie, I'm not going to be chucking her out at any point soon. She admitted that she can't face going home at the moment.

[crissdee]

Sounds like all sorts of trouble there, she's lucky she has you...

[alexanderhoward]

Carving pheasants; a new challenge (I have had pheasant before, but someone else prepared it). It was worth it.

Two church services today, as it is Remembrance Sunday - our usual church in the morning, and I am expected to be seen at the village remembrance too, suited and sombre. Our jolly neighbour has been rapidly in decline over the past years so i was delighted to see him out, tearing down the road on a mobility scooter, with a chestful of medals and his red beret. I wonder about all the stories that could be told by the cheerful old men up and down the land.