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Wednesday 28 November 2012

Wot, no award? … No, but at least we can now wash-up!


The recent spate of awards being made to blogs that have less than 200 followers has made me aware of some real little gems that I had not come across before. This has helped keep my spirits up during the last couple of days, and especially yesterday whilst we were waiting for the plumber to come to fix the leaking pipework under our sink.

The insurance company who supplied the plumber told us he would arrive between 8.00am and 6.00pm, and he did … at 5.30pm! He took about twenty minutes to take apart the pipework that was leaking, clean all the joints, and re-seal them … and then we were able to do the washing-up that had piled up over the course of 24 hours and start the dishwasher that was still full of the previous day’s dirty cups and plates. The plumber also told us that all he had done was to repair the leak, and that the pipework was actually a bit of a mess and should be replaced. (The actual term he used was that it was a bit of a ‘dog’s breakfast’ … and that the person who had installed it had had little or no idea how to do it properly.)

One more thing to be sorted out after Christmas.

Not a lot has been happening on the wargaming front, although I have been trying to finalise the alternative Close Combat mechanism I want to play-test. As soon as I have (which will hopefully be within a day or two) I will make it available via the PORTABLE WARGAME website.

PS. For those of you who DON'T know who the cartoon character at the top of this blog entry is, he is known as Chad in the UK and Kilroy in the USA. He dates from the Second World War and was very popular when I was a child back in the 1950s. He often appeared with the words 'Wot, no ...' written underneath the cartoon, usually with reference to something that was not available or in short supply.

14 comments:

  1. Actually, yes, award :D

    http://troubleatthemill.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/leibster-blog-awardmeme.html :D

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  2. Thought it would be a simple job, Bob!

    I gave you an honourable mention (I think) but being over 200 followers you don't qualify for a Leibster.

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  3. I'd ignored the followers limit, personally. Good is good, end of :D

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  4. My father told me that American servicemen would draw the "Kilroy" character in odd spots as the army advanced through Europe during WW2' with the words "Kilroy was here" underneath it.

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  5. Mike Whitaker,

    I thought that the recent award was a great idea as it gave a bit of exposure to some of the less well-known but excellent blogs that are out there. I certainly found a few that I will be visiting again.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  6. Phil Broeders,

    You were absolutely right about the plumbing problem, and having watched what the plumber did I think that I could do it myself next time ... not that I would like it to happen again!

    I thought that the new award was an excellent idea ... and thanks for giving my blog a mention as well. It was much appreciated.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  7. Mike Whitaker,

    Many thanks for the nomination ... even if my blog does not actually qualify!

    All the best,

    Bob

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  8. Jhnptrqn,

    Kilroy/Chad seems to have appeared all over Europe during the period after D-Day, usually with the ' Kilroy was here' tag in areas liberated by the US Army and 'Wot, no ...' in the UK-liberated areas.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  9. Bob,
    When we moved intoour house in 1999 I discovered a Chad inscribed inside one of the cupboards installed in the loft conversion done by the previous owners, obviously by a disgruntled workman, bearing the legend 'Wot! No money this week!'
    Arthur

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  10. Bob

    As to the pipework, I have to say that this is a classic plumber's line.

    "Which cowboy put this in?" is a well used phrase - which is often fantastic if you can reply "you did!".

    For plumbers, time is money. Therefore they will aim to put in pipework with the following points in mind:-

    a) how can I do this as quickly as possible?

    b) how can I do this using as little copper pipe / connections as possible (as these cost him money)

    c) how can I do this by bending as little pipe as possible (as this takes time to get right).

    This is why you see (rather than nice neat and tucked away pipework) is a network of pipes and connectors that probably ticked all the above boxes but didn't take into consideration the next guy called out.

    My mum asked me to look at her bath and shower - I took the panel off and couldn't believe the tangle of pipes and pumps underneath the bath. I took me a couple of hours (including taking up floorboards) just to get at the problem!

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  11. Bob,

    To be fair, the award was to promote blogs you feel that might be overlooked.

    And who hasn't heard of Wargaming Miscellany?

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  12. Arthur1815,

    Chad got everywhere didn't he!

    I wonder what archaeologists will make of it when they keep finding them in all sorts of places in several thousand year's time.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  13. Phil Broeders,

    I have heard professionals in all sorts of fields use similar words ... but only once did I hear 'You installed it!' used.

    (It was an electrician who had been brought in to solve a serious problem with the main distribution board for the school's computer system. On a previous occasion he had replaced the main fuse ... with a steel spanner! No one realised what he had done until it got so hot that it began to melt.)

    All the best,

    Bob

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  14. Conrad Kinch,

    I was not complaining that I had not been nominated for an award; the problem was that because I had not been nominated, I could not nominate other people ... such as your good self. (I have discovered all sorts new blogs as a result of the most recent 'award', and would like to thank whoever thought up the idea.)

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete

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