Absolutely Anything Else

SimonTrew wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

I missed Downtown Abbey by moving to Hungary.

That's certainly one good reason to move to Hungary.

Don't leave out Emmerdale and Coronation Street.

Dire.

SimonTrew wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

At these moments, I look for lessons learnt

Good point. I heard something about a king called Midas... there was another called Croesus, who managed to invent fiat money (not very bona fides) by adulterating his gold to make electrum and passing off...

I didn't read that very well the first time. I thought it said FLAT money and Crocuses.

I'm all for Crocuses as a token of exchange.

SimonTrew wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

I missed Downtown Abbey by moving to Hungary.

That's certainly one good reason to move to Hungary.

Guess I haven't missed much then.
Funny really, my husbands family was all Upstairs on his father's side and mine was more then likely downstairs...
His beloved and super cute granny was the love child on his mom's side from a very wealthy cattle man here in Hungary.
Her mom it was said was the "beauty" of the village with golden red hair, they fell in love, this cattle man and she.
He however was already married to some wealthy shrew.
They had granny as their little pride and joy but at the turn of the century it was sort of normal for wealthy men to have mistresses ..
He always watched out for granny while she was growing up. His wife knew of her and so did the whole town.
No one ever said or did anything rude to grannies mom because this cattleman was so respected.
He was young and had big plans for his love child daughter but one of his prized bulls stuck him right in the heart in the stable and that was that.
During their lives before he died grannies mother got married to a man in the village even though he knew her expected child was not his.
She was so pretty and sweet that it didn't matter at all.
She didn't want to continue her affair with a married man so married another when she found herself with child.
In fact every time the rich cattleman would send over a over loaded cart of goods to them, her mom's new husband would take animal feces and whip the mule/bull or whatever was pulling the cart with a whip and make it go back without taking any freebies.
Strong step- dad granny had.
After her father's untimely death, he was in his 30's, the wife stopped all contact and never planned for the future of her husband's love child. She was to be sent to the best schools etc. but the old hag put a stop to that business.' No DNA tests in the day.
I suppose in modern times they would of run away together and never looked back, granny would be taken care of all her life and have a loving father always.
Strange stuff.
Ok, enough of old tales from those in the crypt.
Could actually make up a historical romance novel with this history.

fluffy2560 wrote:

klsallee wrote:

......
Now you have me worried. Maybe I also am misjudging the tulip market. And maybe I should unload my tulips. But that may cause a panic, because I have a lot. Maybe as many as six.

Are you sure it's only 6?  If they are in the ground, they've been replicating while you haven't been looking.  Are they moving closer to your house?

Wait. What?

They MOVE?!?!

Stop it, you are scaring me!

So I went, got my flame thrower, and went out to the flower beds and ...... The Tulip futures were Tulip pasts.

Yep. They were replaced by the gold standard.

As in Golden Retriever. Made a nice little bed, in the flower bed, with the new hole he dug.

I wonder if there is a market for flower bed holes? Kind of like donut holes, but not so tasty.

klsallee wrote:

I wonder if there is a market for flower bed holes? Kind of like donut holes, but not so tasty.

Ever heard of a triffid?

There is a market for road holes as evidenced by the proliferation of them around here.  I hate to think how much the government isn't spending on them. 

I personally think they could export these holes to  somewhere else - for those who don't have enough holes of their own.  In fact, they could show a lot of people how getting your own hole export industry going can work.   

I've thought about this before and I think it's possible to classify them into different quality - C-holes, B-holes and A-holes (reserved for export). 

A-holes could be exported forthwith.

fluffy2560 wrote:

I didn't read that very well the first time. I thought it said FLAT money and Crocuses.

I'm all for Crocuses as a token of exchange.

Turning flowers into flat money is a pressing matter.

fluffy2560 wrote:

I personally think they could export these holes to  somewhere else - for those who don't have enough holes of their own.

You are suggesting K. becomes a holesaler?

fluffy2560 wrote:

I'm all for Crocuses as a token of exchange.

Far more convenient (and lucrative) in the form of saffron. But that's commodity money...

Took our first swim of the season yesterday.
Really had a fantastic day, hardly anyone was out swimming and the pool was one of the largest I've swam in so far in Budapest.
Must of been at least 75 meters long or more.
Nice park like setting to relax afterwards.
No tourists!!! A reasonable pricing.
Got a bit of color and swam until I dropped.
Glad to have found a new place to hang at this summer.
Hope it stays peaceful when school lets out.
Anyone know if there are still free places to park ones car near Balaton?
Last summer some of the spots we knew of looked to be getting ready for some sort of construction project.
Didn't go to lake Velence even once last year. just stayed on the road and headed to Balaton.
Think this year we will have to make a few trips to Velence for old times sake.
Rented a house there one summer in 2000. Was nice to be  a lake local and hang around the lakes area even on rainy days.
We looked at a house  6 weeks back or so in NE Hungary.
They had several lakes very close to the home, one was walking distance and huge.
Only problem was it is strictly for fishing only.
What's with all the fishing here in Hungary?
Our nephew is really into sport fishing here.
I know many of these waters have been tested for water quality , hench the ban on swimming in many of them.
This summer we also wish to try out the Tisza river.
Has anyone been to the strands there?
Pools are nice but swimming in a lake or river is much more "interesting" to be out in nature is more risky but much fun.
Found a place up river on the Danbue last year for swimming,they set up a strand with restaurants and a park but the current was a bit strong that day.
Almost like swimming in a unless pool, couldn't move forward and had to fight not getting caught in the current.
Really made me crazy to realize many other people had no problem with the current, much stronger then I am I suppose.
Anyone ever do much kayaking here?
One of these days I would love to rent one and do a river ride.
Hungary is fun in the summer but only if you get out in nature.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

.....
Anyone know if there are still free places to park ones car near Balaton?

Try here - free beach and free parking (towards the lake):

Balatonszarso

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

.....
This summer we also wish to try out the Tisza river.
Has anyone been to the strands there?
Pools are nice but swimming in a lake or river is much more "interesting" to be out in nature is more risky but much fun.

I have been on the Tisza and also on the strand  around Tiszafured.

To be honest, I am not keen on rivers to swim in at all and I found it a bit horrible as there are real speed boats on those lakes  there.   So went, saw, came back, never went again!   

I think you cannot go wrong with Balaton.  Not too deep, clean water, few danger spots and plenty of people in case things go wrong.  Stopping in Velence is a bit of a poor relation - 30 minutes more and then you're at the proper lake.  I cycled all around Velence and it's not even that interesting. I regularly cycle on Balaton routes during the summer.  More to see and do.

SimonTrew wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

I'm all for Crocuses as a token of exchange.

Far more convenient (and lucrative) in the form of saffron. But that's commodity money...

That's a very good point, I'd forgotten about that. 

I saw a report that they are actively growing saffron in the UK (I think it was anyway). 

Very labour intensive but a possibility for Hungary maybe.

Easier than wrangling triffids:

fluffy2560 wrote:

I saw a report that they are actively growing saffron in the UK (I think it was anyway).

It used to be grown around, er, Saffron Walden, near where I used to live. Mostly cereal farming now.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Very labour intensive but a possibility for Hungary maybe.

Yes, really need to invent a mechanical way to to harvest it, like a cotton gin etc. I imagine somewhere out on the Dél-Alföld there would be the right soil. But then of course the usual supply-and-demand would kick in and we would all be eating saffron pizza at 100 Ft a slice.

SimonTrew wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

I saw a report that they are actively growing saffron in the UK (I think it was anyway).

It used to be grown around, er, Saffron Walden, near where I used to live. Mostly cereal farming now.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Very labour intensive but a possibility for Hungary maybe.

Yes, really need to invent a mechanical way to to harvest it, like a cotton gin etc. I imagine somewhere out on the Dél-Alföld there would be the right soil. But then of course the usual supply-and-demand would kick in and we would all be eating saffron pizza at 100 Ft a slice.

Here's the video I saw about it, t'was on Countryfile -  Saffron.  If I heard them right, it's up North.   

I should think it would grow here as it would grow anywhere but the work collecting it looks back breaking.

Does anyone trust the weather here in Hungary?
Everytime it is reported to be a rainy day, it seems like there isn't a cloud in the sky and not rain at all.
Would of gone swimming today but I trusted the weather report...
So far it's super dry outside, not so much indoors, humid and warm.
Report is rain all week long with thunder showers.
Will have to go to a more serious source for weather reports other then yahoo news I suppose.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Does anyone trust the weather here in Hungary?
Everytime it is reported to be a rainy day, it seems like there isn't a cloud in the sky and not rain at all.
Would of gone swimming today but I trusted the weather report...
So far it's super dry outside, not so much indoors, humid and warm.
Report is rain all week long with thunder showers.
Will have to go to a more serious source for weather reports other then yahoo news I suppose.

Errr....I'm looking out the window at a torrential downpour here in Budakeszi.   

I don't think we're more than maybe 6 miles apart as the crow fies.   

A giant black cloud suddenly appeared and has just dumped about 1 gazillion litres of rainwater on my house.

Buggered my gardening plans for this afternoon.

Yes, just noticed it has arrived!  sorry about the garden but I feel a bit more justified to have stayed away from the pool today.
Good day to cook and have a drink or two and stay indoors after all.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Yes, just noticed it has arrived!  sorry about the garden but I feel a bit more justified to have stayed away from the pool today.
Good day to cook and have a drink or two and stay indoors after all.

The dregs of it are finishing up now but it's now totally overcast and thunder continues further away.

Our garden turns into a bog with rainfall and it takes days to dry out.  Stops most outdoor work as we'd be all covered in mud.  I was planning to do some arc welding outside. Water and electricity means danger.  So that's on the back burner.   Foiled again!

fluffy2560 wrote:

Our garden turns into a bog with rainfall and it takes days to dry out.  Stops most outdoor work as we'd be all covered in mud... to do some arc welding outside. Water and electricity means danger.  So that's on the back burner.   Foiled again!

That's not very British, I must say. If British rail operators had that kind of attitude, the trains would only ever run on alternate Tuesdays in August.

When I am King one of the first things I shall ban is weather aftcasting, i.e. weather presenters telling you what the weather did earlier. Also, always finding some statistic such that it Nyiregyhaza it was the most humid 6.47pm on June 3rd since records began.

SimonTrew wrote:

When I am King one of the first things I shall ban is weather aftcasting, i.e. weather presenters telling you what the weather did earlier. Also, always finding some statistic such that it Nyiregyhaza it was the most humid 6.47pm on June 3rd since records began.

I never actually believed Nyiregyhaza exists. 

It's a kind of Hungarian myth like the Lost World or Atlantis. 

No-one really goes there.

SimonTrew wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Our garden turns into a bog with rainfall and it takes days to dry out.  Stops most outdoor work as we'd be all covered in mud... to do some arc welding outside. Water and electricity means danger.  So that's on the back burner.   Foiled again!

That's not very British, I must say. If British rail operators had that kind of attitude, the trains would only ever run on alternate Tuesdays in August.

Definitely the wrong kind of mud.

Re: the railways, I kind of engage in schadenfreude living here but hearing of the chaos there.   

When I was commuting to London it was crap and here we are 35+ years later and it's still crap and about 500 x more expensive for worse service.

Not sure how anyone works in London, always a strike on the trains or tube

SimCityAT wrote:

Not sure how anyone works in London, always a strike on the trains or tube

One of my relatives does but he only goes there 2-3 times a week and spends the rest of his time working at home.  He lives 20-30 mins from Moorgate which means he can reach the city - when the trains work.

fluffy2560 wrote:

I never actually believed Nyiregyhaza exists. ... No-one really goes there.

I've been there.

SimonTrew wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

I never actually believed Nyiregyhaza exists. ... No-one really goes there.

I've been there.

How did you get there?  Wardrobe?

fluffy2560 wrote:

How did you get there?  Wardrobe?

Don't be silly. What kind of fool would use an oversize cupboard as a mode of transport? Who?

fluffy2560 wrote:

He lives 20-30 mins from Moorgate

According to whom? The inventor of the timetable?

SimonTrew wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

How did you get there?  Wardrobe?

Don't be silly. What kind of fool would use an oversize cupboard as a mode of transport? Who?

I was of course referring to the portal in the back of the wardrobe (closet). 

Portal power is under-represented in transport planning.

And btw, I like being silly.  Being sensible is overrated.

SimonTrew wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

He lives 20-30 mins from Moorgate

According to whom? The inventor of the timetable?

I just heard on the radio people now take taxis for their commute and try to reach the nearest underground stations for onward travel.

Even I do Park and Ride here but not using taxis or buses - I drive to Kelenfold and take Metro 4.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Even I do Park and Ride here but not using taxis or buses - I drive to Kelenfold and take Metro 4.

Oh. I just never really bothered to go through the hassle of getting a car/licence in Hungary. It may have been different when you did it, but as far as I gather (opinions differ) you now need to essentially start from scratch and do first aid, mechanical maintenance, theory and practical with recognised lessons etc to get a Hungarian licence, you can't just trade your (EU) licence in. Well, you can, but you still have to do all that. And then I would probably lose the things I have such as tracked vehicle licence from my UK licence. (Let alone that I also passed my Texas drivers test and have a Texas license, albeit expired but easy to renew in any State.)

So It's just not worth it for me, living in Bp. with a second house in Pest county reasonably well connected by train. Get a season ticket for BKK, the occasional trip to the other house is about 750 Ft from the BKK boundary (the journey being charged in MÁV kilometres of course, rather than any sane way of charging more per km for shorter journeys...)

On the occasions we need to shift heavy/bulky stuff we just get A Man With A Van to help us, often for payment in kind. The Hungarian missus occasionally does drive here on her British licence (she learned to drive in the UK so she has never had a Hungarian licence) which I look down on a lot, as I think it is illegal for her to do so (as she is a resident. Tourists are fine.)

Now, remind me why I have this double garage with an inspection pit? Perhaps I can fill it up with old Haynes manuals...

fluffy2560 wrote:

I was of course referring to the portal in the back of the wardrobe (closet).

So, you are suggesting that there is some kind of box with doors on the front, through which you enter and it can take you anywhere in space, even into different times? You might be on  to something there, we could perhaps make a story out of it, but we should give it a catchy name. How about The Alternative-Reality Dresser (Incognito) Simulacrum... no that is no good...

Giant Armoire, Really Does Reality-Oscillating Bifurcation. (G.A.R.D.R.O.B.)? How's that? So that a chap (or chappess) can go around in the G.A.R.D.R.O.B. finding other realities in time and space... are you with me so far? But what about the co-pilot and the trolley dolly, you need another couple of characters.

SimCityAT wrote:

Not sure how anyone works in London, always a strike on the trains or tube

Actually there were only 79 "stoppages"  in the whole of the United Kingdom in 2017, according to the Office for National Statistics, here. "The transport and storage sector accounted for 68% of all working days lost due to labour disputes; the strikes within this sector occurred mainly within public transport." I haven't checked the ONS's definition of public transport (since most of it is privately owned).

This was the lowest number of "stoppages" since records began in 1891.

SimonTrew wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Even I do Park and Ride here but not using taxis or buses - I drive to Kelenfold and take Metro 4.

Oh. I just never really bothered to go through the hassle of getting a car/licence in Hungary. It may have been different when you did it, but as far as I gather (opinions differ) you now need to essentially start from scratch and do first aid, mechanical maintenance, theory and practical with recognised lessons etc to get a Hungarian licence, you can't just trade your (EU) licence in. Well, you can, but you still have to do all that. And then I would probably lose the things I have such as tracked vehicle licence from my UK licence. (Let alone that I also passed my Texas drivers test and have a Texas license, albeit expired but easy to renew in any State.) ...

On the occasions we need to shift heavy/bulky stuff we just get A Man With A Van to help us, often for payment in kind. The Hungarian missus occasionally does drive here on her British licence (she learned to drive in the UK so she has never had a Hungarian licence) which I look down on a lot, as I think it is illegal for her to do so (as she is a resident. Tourists are fine.)

Now, remind me why I have this double garage with an inspection pit? Perhaps I can fill it up with old Haynes manuals...

In theory you shouldn't lose your entitlement when trading licenses.  But I've never heard of anyone starting from scratch with an EU swap.  It's supposed to be a straight change as the categories are harmonised.  I've still got my 7500kg truck and trailer etc but I think this could go at any time.

Your other half should swap over but if she's got a British passport and feigns ignorance of the language and never gives them them any  HU documents when stopped she might get away with it.  There are loads of dual nationals driving around on their foreign licenses with foreign cars and pretending.  I knew of  and I've regularly seen people with foreign cars who simply don't seem to care.  But they might be "connected".   Personally I think it's rubbishy fudge on free movement - if it's really EU-land, then EU car in one place should be the same as another and who cares about this 6 month rule.  Same with car insurance - should be able to buy it in any country.

Maybe convert the pit into a jacuzzi?

fluffy2560 wrote:

Maybe convert the pit into a jacuzzi?

What, another one?

SimonTrew wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

I was of course referring to the portal in the back of the wardrobe (closet).

So, you are suggesting that there is some kind of box with doors on the front, through which you enter and it can take you anywhere in space, even into different times? You might be on  to something there, we could perhaps make a story out of it, but we should give it a catchy name. How about The Alternative-Reality Dresser (Incognito) Simulacrum... no that is no good...

Giant Armoire, Really Does Reality-Oscillating Bifurcation. (G.A.R.D.R.O.B.)? How's that? So that a chap (or chappess) can go around in the G.A.R.D.R.O.B. finding other realities in time and space... are you with me so far? But what about the co-pilot and the trolley dolly, you need another couple of characters.

Yes I am saying that but it'd have to be disguised or everyone  will want one.  I've been thinking of ways to disguise it and I've come up with the idea below.

Oh, and blimey, that's the second time I've heard the word Simulacrum today.  I think that's probably exhausted my quota of obscure words for today.

But with your prompting, I'm working on names for the portal - so far I've got Future Alternate Relativity Transformer and General Relativity Utopia Navigation Terminal.

It's not going well.

Possible holographic disguise:

SimonTrew wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Maybe convert the pit into a jacuzzi?

What, another one?

Plunge pool from the sauna?

fluffy2560 wrote:

It's supposed to be a straight change as the categories are harmonised.  I've still got my 7500kg truck and trailer etc but I think this could go at any time.

I would have to check again, but I don't think it is true any more. I don't think it's even automatic in the UK any more (but could be wrong), I don't think you get your B+B1 (if it is still that) when you pass your test for truck and trailer up to 7.5 ton (or did they now make it a metric tonne, not that it matters as the ton and tonne are so close for most practical purposes.) One of the nice things about the UK licence is it lasts until you are 70 years old, don't have to keep renewing it, and even at seventy the local quack just says yeah you're OK for another five years.

That being said, when I am King I am going to make it that you have to re-take your test at some appropriate interval... initially, say, every ten years. You have to re-take tests for LGV, PCV, fork-lift, tracked vehicle etc, no reason you shouldn't have to do it for the stuff that kills most of the people, i.e. cars and motorbikes. (My licence is also old enough to entitle me to ride a motorbike of whatever capacity, even though I have never set arse on one, but maybe if one day I have a stronger than usual death-wish I will give it a try.)

Where I said "opinions differ" is I did start looking into it and just gave up with so many different ones I had. As far as I can make out, because the UK test has no first-aid element or basic mechanical element, I would have to show competence in those which essentially means that I would have to do the approved tests. I would also have to show that I had driven for 30 hours on Hungarian roads, which I can only practically do by taking 30 hours of driving lessons. Were the driving instructor to decide that I were OK to drive and simply tell me not to turn up for the other 28 after pocketing his fee, I should not be at all surprised. But that is how I understand the law stands.

Perhaps it would have been different were I to have traded in my licence when I first got here, but now I am in a cleft stick because my British driving licence is not valid (because it doesn't have a valid address on it). This is actually what pisses me off of my missus driving anywhere (and she travels all over Europe)... woe betide she gets in an accident and I imagine, e.g. in Spain where you need a bail bond, she will be up a gum tree with an address that is not her address. I think it could be very serious indeed. She tends to get pool cars from the company she works for (a car maker) who are probably unaware that she is, technically, not licenced to drive. I have made my protest as plain as possible and refuse to get into a car with her, but hey ho.

SimonTrew wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

It's supposed to be a straight change as the categories are harmonised.  I've still got my 7500kg truck and trailer etc but I think this could go at any time.

I would have to check again, but I don't think it is true any more. I don't think it's even automatic in the UK any more (but could be wrong), I don't think you get your B+B1 (if it is still that) when you pass your test for truck and trailer up to 7.5 ton (or did they now make it a metric tonne, not that it matters as the ton and tonne are so close for most practical purposes.) One of the nice things about the UK licence is it lasts until you are 70 years old, don't have to keep renewing it, and even at seventy the local quack just says yeah you're OK for another five years.

That being said, when I am King I am going to make it that you have to re-take your test at some appropriate interval... initially, say, every ten years. You have to re-take tests for LGV, PCV, fork-lift, tracked vehicle etc, no reason you shouldn't have to do it for the stuff that kills most of the people, i.e. cars and motorbikes. (My licence is also old enough to entitle me to ride a motorbike of whatever capacity, even though I have never set arse on one, but maybe if one day I have a stronger than usual death-wish I will give it a try.)

My Dad has to get signed off every year (he's 94 and still driving).  He's always had no problem renewing it.

I don't have  a motorbike entitlement as I never passed my bike test.  I can go up to some level on bikes but I haven't had one for years.  I don't think I'm in a hurry to get a bike.  Used to be up to 250cc with L-plates.

I think the 7500kg was standard back in the 1970s when I got my license but I am sure it was more than 750kg on a trailer but they've reduced it recently to harmonise with the EU. I cannot remember what it used to be.  Closest I've come recently is hire trucks of 3 tonnes which are basically cars although the ones with air brakes are terrible to get used to.

I have driven some larger trucks including very large dump trucks but that was all on private land and only for short periods.  When I say large I mean mining trucks - I was accompanying someone who was inspecting them and we drove them around for a couple of hours.  Surprisingly fast.

fluffy2560 wrote:

SimonTrew wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Maybe convert the pit into a jacuzzi?

What, another one?

Plunge pool from the sauna?

Naah.... turtle racecourse.