skanky

Said it elsewhere, but better said here. Thank you to all who came out and cheered us on. It was very much appreciated - both the crowds and the small groups. It later occurred to me that the spectators were cheering us on for over three hours and for each runner it must have seemed like they were cheering each one. I think that took more mental stamina than the running!

On the event, my first but thought it was great apart from the baggage pick-up.

Re the toilet queues, they were long, but the one I was in moved pretty quickly, so didn't wait as long as feared.

Finally, my time hadn't shown up, but this morning it's appeared on the official site. So anyone still missing theirs might want to have a look. They had had a db issue on Sunday, apparently.

http://chiptiming.co.uk/results/?sport=1&year=2015&event=372&race=1280

Great support this year. Thanks everybody who turned out!

Yes, many thinks to all who cheered us on. It got a bit like the Tour de France, in some places. But even when there was only two or three people in an isolated spot, it was still very much appreciated.

Going to potentially be some 40+ mph gusts of wind tomorrow morning. From the SW, so could make the climb a bit tougher - could be interesting along Ringinlow Rd. The run back could be fun, though.

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/forecast/gcqzt0zxf#?fcTime=1428796800

If you mean one like this: http://tinyurl.com/qhw827

Then Williams Electricals on Chesterfield Rd (Woodseats) can get them in for you. We got one last year from one of them when none of the online places were giving shipping dates - they did and were bang on time.

Looked like maybe arrests were made in the cemetery off Abbey lane. It was flying around it for a while. I saw some car lights in there, then it stopped and shone it's searchlight/floodlight into it while there was some activity going on there (couldn't see much because of the trees). Then flew off.

Just been outside,heard lots of dripping i think its thawing. tut

There's some warm air pushing in from the East. It seems to have edged a little further West that expected, but it's also expected to lift away. This means the temperature could drop again, and if it does any melted/wet areas could easily re-freeze and become quite icy.

According to the Met Office precipitation radar image from 10pm, we should be getting a break in the snowfall soon. The heavy stuff's moving up the east coast.

The stuff on the East coast is rain and sleet (there's reports of heavy rain in some places).

See: http://www.xcweather.co.uk/

This has probably been said already, but I couldn't see mention of it.

When I went out a little while ago, it was backed up down Greenhill Ave/Bocking Lane, across the Abbey Lane roundabout, and down Abbey Lane to Beauchief Hotel, and down Hutcliffe Wood Rd. Very, very slow moving.

I bow to your greater knowledge, squire!

Still amusing, though....

I remember it on old exam papers, too. I think someone still queried whether they'd got a duff paper. But that's probably for a different topic...

"This page intentionally left blank"

 

Saw that printed in quite a few (computer, usually) manuals a few years ago.....

That's because of the way the bindings were done. Unless the manual had exactly the right number of pages, you would end up with a few blank pages at the end. Then some people would enquire whether they had missed some stuff off. To prevent that, they used to put that message. Nowadays they put a heading "Notes", which achieves exactly the same result, but prevents the "stupid statement" jokes.

33 goes round Norton first. Quicker to get the 76. It stops outside the Peace Gardens (first stop) or at Moorfoot by the pet shop. Other stops too in between probably.

Looks like the bulk (so far) passed to Sheffield's South. It's been snowing in Leics. Not settling though.

Chester Webcam:

http://www.west-cheshire.ac.uk/weather/westcam.htm

(requires ActiveX - so probably IE)

It was snowing in Scotland & NI earlier, and the trough from NI has moved ober N Wales and Cheshire. There is a report of snow in Chester atm. I'd keep an eye on the blob the W/NW on the radar. Whether it will snow/sleet or settle is dependant on where that goes (should cross the country moving SE), and how heavy it gets.

The daily mail have posted a shocker story that were all going to be freezing today - with tempreatures as low as -8c and widespead snow and frost. My moneys on it being a little nippy this evening and perhaps some sleet over night. Followed by a crippling extra 45 minutes on everybodys commute as we all slow down and faff around at the sight of snow.

 

I hope it does snow though - it really does satisfy the child in me!

Have you got the Scottish edition?

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/yh/yh_forecast_alltext.html

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/uk_forecast_warnings.html

It'll be cold enough to snow tonight, the big factor is whether there will actually be any precipitation.

http://tinyurl.com/5fqalw

It's by the "D" in the Archer Road that crosses the railway line. Your bus stop is by the A621 label where Archer Rd joins Abbeydale Rd & Abbeydale Rd South. Click on Aerial and it's the big building. The other big building on the other side of the railway line is the Tescos. You can also get a good view of the roads by using "Birds Eye View" which may help find landmarks.

You go down the road past La Scala and Milanos on the right (and some steps down to Millhouses Park), and a shed place on the left, then over the railway. The car showroom is Audi, there's also an Aldi opposite Sainsburys.

So maybe a tiny shower on Tuesday night which will be gone by Weds lunch.

At the moment, it looks like it. Won't last long at all in the sun. Also, as it'll be showery, we could get loads fall (settling's a different matter), or none. Can't predict that 'til Tuesday itself, really. Should (I hope) be picturesque though, with clear, cold air and a few big showers around.

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/yh/yh_forecast_alltext.html

The most notable thing about this event is the timing, it'll be unusually cold for October.

And how would you ensure that the funding is fair? The only way I can think of is by defining an amount per head of community that the group works with - however I feasible this is I don't know.

 

Thanks skanky for getting this back on topic

I think you need to take into account more than just community head count. There are a lot of pitfalls in that - defining the community for one. If the group targets a sub-section of a larger group, for example. There is also the issue of the (relative) affluence of the target group. But for me the biggest issue should be, how much money is required to do the job, and is it considered worth it?

These can really only be judgement decisions. The only way their effectiveness can be judged is in whether the problems are adequately addressed over a reasonable timescale.

It's all a bit vague, but once you open up the debate to encompass all groups, it becomes difficult to pin down specifics. I also think it means that a "one size fits all", automatic decision won't really fit the bill.

Not that I'm especially up to speed on this sort of issue though.

It often depends on what you're buying. I have some friends who are a bit anal about their grocery shopping and update a prices spreadsheet after shopping (using the till receipt). They normally use Tesco (it's the closest large shop), but one day they went to Waitrose (passing, needed a shop, etc.). They did a fairly average shop for them, and expected the shop to cost a few quid more than normal. Anyway, when they compared the shop to what they would have paid had they been to Tesco, they found it was actually several quid cheaper than Tesco.

However this for me raises a couple of points. It would seem that rather than going through a process where they have had to apply for a grant they have almost had a 'standing order' this is patently wrong.

It would all depend on how long the funding is generally guaranteed for. For example, if every group has to apply for funding every year, then I would suggest that this is probably too much paperwork for both the groups and the council.

I would guess that funding would be in (say) five year blocks. If this is the case, then writing off ten years' worth of debts to save the same amount of money over two funding cycles makes some sense, especially if the debt was virtually unrecoverable anyway, and also as the plug on the new contract can be pulled after one cycle. In some respects this would be giving the organisation an opportunity to sort itself out, financially, but without exposing (much) more council money in the process.

As I say though, it all depends on the length of the funding cycle, compared to the timespan of the agreement(s).

This may be a bit garbled as I'm mixing generic with specific here (I don't have time to read up on the full details). But I think the point's there.

On the plus side, the levels of grant aid are typical for this type of organisation, and the whole scheme will be reviewed in five years with the leases subject to review then as well. I think this should be the last chance saloon for the PMC in its present form - it looks very large scale compared to smaller projects that have acheived at least as much - but it is being given every chance without any more serious money being thrown at it.

This is a summary of my earlier point (which seems backed up by the report, above). Except I have no idea of how much the PMC does and how it compares to other groups.

I see where you are coming from skanky and you have a point. However funding needs to be applied for and granted, it isn't some sort of standing order which is what you are inferring (maybe correctly)

I was working on the assumption that the group did work that the council considered worthwhile (otherwise they would just wind up all support), and so would consider it worth carrying on funding. This is just an assumption though, I do accept that.

:hihi: Would it be shaped like a GIANT football by any chance...

Probably...

We have a similar situation at our house. The neighbour opposite always parks on the road when he gets home from work despite having a drive. The stupid thing about it is he always comes out to move it onto his drive before going to bed.......why not just park on the drive in the first place?

Luckily our drive is double width so its not too difficult to reverse onto but if it was a standard single width it'd be very difficult.

Some people do that if the car on the drive blocks a door (house or garage).

Yes, the tearooms are still open and the church opposite is worth a visit.

Thought they would be but hadn't been since the PO closed. Thanks for the update.

The house is worth a visit especially if you are into antiques and such. There is also a car park on the far side of the park by the garden centre and you can walk down to the river. There is also the village to explore which is also free.

Edensor tea rooms (I assume they're still open since the PO closed?) do superb scones (however you pronounce them ).