WAMT....what annoyed me today!

I'll tolerate spiders but I make it a rule never to trust anyone with more legs than fingers or more than two eyes... :naughty:
 
This is actually WAMY - stopped off on the way to work to take a few riverside shots. Camera out of the bag last night - no lens cap. Bugger. Popped the spare on and ordered a couple...
 
Cobra said:
Eggs have already been laid, hatching about now, as the weather warms up .. (y)
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Wonderful. Thanks for that (y)

It's funny really. Some people are scared of dogs but they don't bother me. Show me a frothing at the mouth devil dog and I'll tickle his tummy no problem but there's just something about the way spiders look... and move!
 
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woof woof said:
Wonderful. Thanks for that (y)

It's funny really. Some people are scared of dogs but they don't bother me. Show me a frothing at the mouth devil dog and I'll tickle his tummy no problem but there's just something about the way spiders look... and move!
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It's snakes that I don't like.........
 
broc said:
It's snakes that I don't like.........
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:bat:

Just so as you are aware, I'm seeing a lot of dead badgers on the road at the moment
:p
 
Cobra said:
:LOL: :LOL: :LOL:
None taken, it made me chuckle TBH (y)
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My son had a girlfriend who was keen on snakes, I could never bring myself to visit their flat because of her pet snakes. I kept my fingers crossed that he would move on & find someone else which he fortunately did after a few months (y) We took our 7 year old granddaughter to a National Trust property last year & they had a 'creepy & crawly' hands on session for kids. I couldn't bear to watch as she happily handled a small snake :eek:
 
broc said:
National Trust property last year & they had a 'creepy & crawly' hands on session for kids. I couldn't bear to watch as she happily handled a small snake
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Kids learn phobia's from "us" I'm convinced of that.
Many years ago I was in the reptile trade (as a side line)

Sometimes I'd visit schools etc with an array of "creepy crawlies" Snakes, lizards spiders etc.
Quite often it was the teachers / staff that were scared. ( after the initial classes requisite scream :D )
But at the end of the session, without fail, they would have all handled "their phobia" (y)
 
broc said:
My son had a girlfriend who was keen on snakes, I could never bring myself to visit their flat because of her pet snakes. I kept my fingers crossed that he would move on & find someone else which he fortunately did after a few months (y) We took our 7 year old granddaughter to a National Trust property last year & they had a 'creepy & crawly' hands on session for kids. I couldn't bear to watch as she happily handled a small snake :eek:
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One year when I was teaching I brought the snake we had (just a small Eastern Garter Snake) home for the summer holidays. We had to "rescue" it from our daughter, who was about two years old at the time, because she had 'taken it for a walk' in the back garden. Fortunately, the 'walk' involved her carrying it around and not putting it on the ground.

Dave
 
Cobra said:
Kids learn phobia's from "us" I'm convinced of that.
Many years ago I was in the reptile trade (as a side line)

Sometimes I'd visit schools etc with an array of "creepy crawlies" Snakes, lizards spiders etc.
Quite often it was the teachers / staff that were scared. ( after the initial classes requisite scream :D )
But at the end of the session, without fail, they would have all handled "their phobia" (y)
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I am sure you are right. My son in law was stung in his ear by a wasp when he was a child, even now at 44 he runs a mile when a wasp comes near & he's not happy with bees around. His daughter has inherited this fear from him........she can be a nightmare to take out for a picnic in the summer when the wasps are active
 
broc said:
now at 44 he runs a mile when a wasp comes near & he's not happy with bees around.
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Occasionally you will get an errant wasp, that will sting for no reason.

But as a pestie for about 30 years, I have killed / destroyed 1000's of wasps nest, and sad to say a handle of bee nests.
(This can only be done in extreme circumstances, ie when there is a direct danger to small children ie maybe they built a nest in a sand pit.
or the (very) elderly. It give me no pleasure TBH :(

However wasps are generally placid, the mistakes people make,
Are waving their arms about, when a wasp comes close, you are immediately a predator now. And they will attack.

Standing too close to a nest and or even inadvertently touching it, They will attack.

Standing in the flight path to and from the nest, you are a predator and they will attack.
I've often stood within a foot of an active nest, to the side, and observed them going about their daily routine, for ages ...

Same applies to the honey bees, you can get very close to these too, you just don't want to be caught in a swarm
Its a queen moving home and taking the workers with her, generally you would be ok if you stood still, but if the queen comes near you (she's in the middle of that lot)
The out-come may not be pretty.

Even hornets are not looking to kill you, as long as you abide by the rules above..
It seems that Wasps / bees / hornets have been practicing social distancing forever :D
 
Yeah but look at the size of a bee household/family group!
 
Cobra said:
It seems that Wasps / bees / hornets have been practicing social distancing forever :D
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Hehe,

Agree about the reactions of wasps. Years ago I was painting the gable end of a shed that contained the door of the shed. Wasps were building a nest inside the shed and flew in and out with no problem to them or me, probably because I was outside and I assume no threat to them.

It was funny for a few seconds when I closed the door to paint it. For a short time the wasps appeared puzzled that the large, easy entrance had gone, but soon they worked out they could get through the gap at the top.

As you say, in general if you don't present a threat they will leave you alone. Pity they get a bad press at times as they are so useful.

Dave
 
WAMT is the refunds from vehicle tax. I paid for the tax using my credit card and I was under the impression that refunds on card payments were supposed to be issued as credit to the original card. No! Cheques. Not a problem in more normal times but means I now have to go to the bank to pay them in.
 
Tringa said:
Pity they get a bad press at times as they are so useful.
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I totally agree, they natures garbage collectors / clean up squad.
And their workmanship when building a nest from a mouthful of wood and saliva is something quite fascinating (y)
 
Cobra said:
Occasionally you will get an errant wasp, that will sting for no reason.

But as a pestie for about 30 years, I have killed / destroyed 1000's of wasps nest, and sad to say a handle of bee nests.
(This can only be done in extreme circumstances, ie when there is a direct danger to small children ie maybe they built a nest in a sand pit.
or the (very) elderly. It give me no pleasure TBH :(

However wasps are generally placid, the mistakes people make,
Are waving their arms about, when a wasp comes close, you are immediately a predator now. And they will attack.

Standing too close to a nest and or even inadvertently touching it, They will attack.

Standing in the flight path to and from the nest, you are a predator and they will attack.
I've often stood within a foot of an active nest, to the side, and observed them going about their daily routine, for ages ...

Same applies to the honey bees, you can get very close to these too, you just don't want to be caught in a swarm
Its a queen moving home and taking the workers with her, generally you would be ok if you stood still, but if the queen comes near you (she's in the middle of that lot)
The out-come may not be pretty.

Even hornets are not looking to kill you, as long as you abide by the rules above..
It seems that Wasps / bees / hornets have been practicing social distancing forever :D
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I had a major incident with wasps when I bought my first house in 1978. I was hacking back a very overgrown hedge and cut a wasps' nest in two. They were not best pleased. Strangely, I rather like wasps and terrorised my partner by photographing a hornet very close-to. Hornet was quite happy. I then had an incident with bees after moving to Lincolnshire. I was riding my Suzuki on the road from Brigg to North Kelsey wearing an open shirt when a swarm of honey bees decided to fly across the road - we collided. No stings but I had a very messy chest and live bees in my Y-fronts which was disconcerting.
 
john.margetts said:
I was hacking back a very overgrown hedge and cut a wasps' nest in two. They were not best pleased.
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That's do it every time :D

john.margetts said:
No stings but I had a very messy chest and live bees in my Y-fronts which was disconcerting.
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Gotta say, I wouldn't be best pleased either.

True story, the family firm I worked for years ago, the owners son was a right twatt, no idea about pest control whatsoever.
He called me one day and said, I've got a wasps nest here, but I can't find the entrance ( this is the pace you treat)
I got there ( I was quite close as it happens) and he was still searching,
It didn't take me long I saw them going into their subterranean home and said "Over there" he wandered over and without looking properly, he stood pretty much on the entrance.
The wasps went up his trouser leg and he was stung a dozen times before he got them off.
Laugh? It was very nearly a tenna moment :LOL:

My worst. I was called to a small building, a stand alone bedsit type thing, those buildings that BT and the like use to use for their kit.
There are a few around that have been sold off ( around here anyway) to private buyers.

The guys said I think I have a wasps nest in the roof space handed me the keys and I'm off down the pub let me know when you are done...

First off it was hornets not wasps that were going under the roof tiles,
So its "Kit on" and investigate the loft.
The loft hatch appeared jammed ...
( you are in front of me here aren't you ? )
I thumped the hatch and tore through the nest, over the years the entire loft space ( its quite small) had become a nest.

I just did what I do best and that was that...
No pesties were harmed in the treatment of that nest. (y)
I did go home and changed my underwear though :D

There are approx 5000 wasps to a single nest, at the height of the season, I've no idea how many Hornets that contained though, more than a dozen I guess :D
 
Last time I was stung by a wasp, it reversed into me at about 20 MPH. Or whatever the top speed of a wasp is taken away from 30!!! Open face lid and no scarf...
Last time I was stung by a bee, it was on the back of the hand that I brushed against the bush it was sitting on, minding its own business. Poor sod left its stinger in my hand pulsing. Luckily, Mrs Nod always carries a very basic first aid kit that contains a pair of tweezers so could pull it out quickly. Smarted for a bit but then an Ouzo kicked in!
Never been stung by an aggressive wasp or bee, only by accident.
 
I don't react very much to insect bites/stings as a rule, but I got nailed on my right ankle by a bee in South Africa a few years ago. It ended up very swollen and an angry purple - red colour, so I went to the pharmacy and got antihistamine tabs. That sorted it out after a day or two, but the pharmacist made an interesting comment. He suggested that the potency of bees' venom can vary with what they've been feeding on. Anyone else come across this?
 
MartynK said:
He suggested that the potency of bees' venom can vary with what they've been feeding on. Anyone else come across this?
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I've certainly never heard it.
If the bee can't get it's sting out ( yes they can) fast enough, the sting and the poison sac remains in the victim.
And the poison sac continues to pump the poison.
If the bee is lucky enough to get the string retracted before being splattered, the sting / pain will be quite mild.

MartynK said:
but I got nailed on my right ankle by a bee in South Africa
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There was a report a few years back, of African "Killer Bees" (wild scutellata bees (African killer bee )) causing problems around Europe.
The poison was potentially a lot stronger than our (UK) natives And people apparently died.
 
Just filled a form in that arrived double Folded, .
But to send it back I have to Triple Fold it to fit it in the return envelope.
 
Cobra said:
I've certainly never heard it.
If the bee can't get it's sting out ( yes they can) fast enough, the sting and the poison sac remains in the victim.
And the poison sac continues to pump the poison.
If the bee is lucky enough to get the string retracted before being splattered, the sting / pain will be quite mild.


There was a report a few years back, of African "Killer Bees" (wild scutellata bees (African killer bee )) causing problems around Europe.
The poison was potentially a lot stronger than our (UK) natives And people apparently died.
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The African bees are more aggressive. They attack anything they see as a threat more tenaciously, and I think they were hybridizing with their European cousins and passing on some of these traits.

My wife had a bit of an encounter with them in Joburg years ago. She'd just come home, both the kids were in the car (they were quite young at the time) and a swarm had moved into our postal delivery box at the front gate. The bees got quite agitated/noisy and started mobbing the car, and she just had time to crank the windows shut to keep them out. She drove back down the road a bit and called the Fire Services, who dealt with bee problems in our area, and they sorted it out but she did say it was a bit frightening at the time.
 
WAMT - a few weeks back (before lockdown) I ordered a new dishwasher to be delivered this week when I’d be off.

John Lewis just sent an email stating they won’t deliver inside the premises, just to the doorstep. Some of the other appliance companies will - ao.com will deliver inside the front door. I could just then slide it into thr kitchen. I’m now debating whether to just cancel the order since if it’s too heavy to lift into the house, it’ll be useless.
 
WAMT?

Another day of glorious sunshine. Likely to be around 20° or more later. Perfect day for a good long ride out. There's just one thing...
 
Nod said:
Another day of glorious sunshine. Likely to be around 20° or more later. Perfect day for a good long ride out. There's just one thing...
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It was really nice driving across the Fens to day ....
high teens and bugger all else around the back roads (y)
:p
 
Cobra said:
It was really nice driving across the Fens to day ....
high teens and bugger all else around the back roads (y)
:p
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Is that the age of other motorists or temperature? :)
 
MatBin said:
Is that the age of other motorists or temperature? :)
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Reversed baseball caps and a Corsa with a wide bore exhaust is the norm around those parts,
Oh and a banjo on the back parcel shelf :D
 
8 strings and they can pick-play 'em all!
 
WAMT?
1) The sound of children playing next door!
Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against kids having a good time.
EXCEPT next door only has one child.
And there are no other small kids in the vicinity !
Seems that both Mum' s are having a good time too laughing and chatting ....

2) the house opposite was sold around Xmas time, and every now and again a couple or so people turn up,
stay for a couple of hours and go again.
I've not seen anyone over there since before the zombie apocalypse hit. Its usually mid-late afternoon or evening they turn up..
Today, there are 2 people over there cutting the grass and weeding the flower beds.
I'm guessing that is not exactly an essential journey, Huh?
 
Power cut just in time for cooking dinner. :(
 
nilagin said:
Power cut just in time for cooking dinner. :(
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That's a right royal PITA :(

Makes me glad that many years ago when I re-did my, what was then, electric only kitchen I put in a gas cooker as a safety measure for times when Power went down.

Hope your outage doesn't last long
 
camerassassin said:
That's a right royal PITA :(

Makes me glad that many years ago when I re-did my, what was then, electric only kitchen I put in a gas cooker as a safety measure for times when Power went down.

Hope your outage doesn't last long
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Was that in the 70's? :)
 
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nilagin said:
Power cut just in time for cooking dinner. :(
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We thought this might be a possibility if enough staff were struck with COVID-19 so a couple of weeks ago we bought candles and bought the large LR20 batteries in case our large torch loses power. You might have seen in other threads that my motto is "what can happen, will happen' :) Having said this your outage may not be related to this circumstance.

This table shows where power cuts have been reported and likely time to re-establish supply. There's one at 1635 but a bit earlier than yours,I think and not in Essex but Cambridgeshire.,next county north.

https://www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/power-cut/list
 
JohnC6 said:
We thought this might be a possibility if enough staff were struck with COVID-19 so a couple of weeks ago we bought candles and bought the large LR20 batteries in case our large torch loses power. You might have seen in other threads that my motto is "what can happen, will happen' :) Having said this your outage may not be related to this circumstance.

This table shows where power cuts have been reported and likely time to re-establish supply. There's one at 1635 but a bit earlier than yours,I think and not in Essex but Cambridgeshire.,next county north.

https://www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/power-cut/list
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I remember as a child all the power cuts we had in the 70's.
As a kid we found it quite exciting sitting in the dark with candles.
We had no central heating and gadgets etc to worry about then.....ah, the good old days
Can't remember the last time we had a power cut.
 
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