Two minutes a day

Everyday living
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Happy solstice,and congratulations on getting thus far through our meagre attempt at a winter.Personally I think the weather of late has been like a mild august and am only wearing a thin fleece and superb ex German Army waterproof when I venture forth.Any road up, the thing is that it will be getting lighter by TWO MINUTES a day,so cheer up and get the sun tan lotion ready.

If you’re going to cavort naked around Stone Henge you’ll have ‘good’ weather and hopefully the traffic on the A 303 will be merciful.The last time I cavorted around the Henge I was carrying a rifle and had a date with a squad of Gurkhas who were going to fire blank 7.62 rounds at me and my comrades.Naked nudity was not allowed and the Gurkhas famed ability with the ‘cutlery’ ensured it…lots

Enough already, Wb

ps I also wear skiing trousers,boots and my Australian bush hat when whizzing around on my powerchair

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Morning Woblyboy, happy solstice to you too.as for the rest, the mind boggles, he he

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you’re one of those people WB who although i’ve never met, i’m sure i’d recognise you if i saw you.

so if you’re naked cavorting gets on the news, i’ll be able to say “that’s Wobblyboy”!

carole x

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Sorry to burst your bubble Wb, but today will be longer by less than a second, not two minutes.

By the end of the month we’ll have reached 58 seconds, but won’t hit two minutes until 11th Jan (it continues lengthening faster and faster until we reach the Spring equinox - a fantastic 3 mins 58 - and then continues lengthening, but more slowly again).

I do agree that it’s been mild so far, for the time of year (hope it’s not the lull before the storm), and am glad it’s getting lighter at all, but if you don’t really notice your extra daylight today, it’s because you’ll have had less than a second of it. Hope you don’t feel too cheated!

T.

x

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Sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself (not good, with Christmas already as soon as Thursday anyway).

For some reason I thought we already had the 21st, yesterday. So even worse, we’ll be getting no extra daylight at all today, but less than one second tomorrow. I do hope you make the most of it!

T.

x

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I have fought a few battles on Salisbury Plain, but always in tanks.
and I did it sitting in my nice air-conditioned lab in Farnborough on the simulator.

Did a few more at Graffenwohr, Germany, and at Fort Hunter Liggett (California).
Which one we used was a matter of what we were doing - research, or showing off the toy to the senior officers.

Ah, the fondly remembered past …

Geoff

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Salutations Geoff.Ah,the Plain and all entailed.I can’t understand that it’s 30 years next month that I joined The Mob.I was a Subbie in the RCT,the RASC in different guise,and now the Royal Logistics Corps.I spent six months with tank transporters in BAOR at the time when we’d just started moving the Challenger I without tarpaulins over it…As if SOXMIS didn’t know every in and out.The biggest trucks for a big job,at 102 tons whizzing down the autobahn.We never did find ausfahrt.

Apparently it’s virtually all stimulators now for the big stuff…Imagine the excitement when they light up the 1500 HP and play in the mud.

Steve

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I can’t think of anything worse Wb. Cavorting round Stone henge naked. Just a minute!! You and me cavorting naked round stone henge…what a picture heeheehee

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It’s dark now so it’ll need to be flash photography,or is that flesh

Wb

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Only 30 years ago, Steve - Get Some In!

We still had Centurion 11s in my day.

I do have a story about driving an Antar with a Cent MBT down the Hamburg-Hannover autobahn at a naughty speed. No problem for about 30 klicks and then there is a bridge. We had checked the clearances going up (with a recovery Cent on the back) but not for the return trip with the MBT on the back. “Oh Well” thinks I, “At 42 mph I am not going to stop” so I kept my foot down, and all was well. The next morning I went into the Workshop, to be greeted with comments along the lines of “You were lucky” (yes, you can guess what they actually said), and there was the Antar, Cent still on the back and the whip ariel on top of the turret was bent over just above the hatch cover. I had cleared he bridge by about an inch.

Nostalgia can be a wonderful thing.

Geoff

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Excellent Geoff. If things had been in metric you’d still be writing now. I,well me,ten lads and four Scammel Commanders took a mixture of old armoured vehicles to Rotterdam and then they were coming home to be used as targets,One was a Cent ARV…I wonder.Never drove an Antar but had a brief ‘cabbie’ in a Commander on a range road.

As usual the military crave the old gear,apart from shiny toilet roll,the Mark I SA 80 and the Chieftain. The Israelis amongst many others still speak very highly of the Cent.

Ah,nostalgia isn’t what it used to be.Did you have numbers Geoff or did you all know each other?

Steve

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Anitra,

I’m glad I read this post of yours. I once heard it said that as we moved into summer, day length would lengthen by 4 minutes (consecutively?) up until the summer solstice.

​It never felt right or did I just misunderstand what was being said?

What I sense now is :

the days seem to lengthen slowly at first, accelerate through the vernal equinox and then decelerate up to the Summer solstice with the reverse process happening on the return journey, to where we are now.

I guess we’ll just have to grit our teeth for the next few weeks!

Jonny

ps A sprinkle of precession might put play to all that.

pps Too tired to read up this precession malarkey, I’ll take Patrick Moore’s (God rest his soul) word on this.

ppps Nothing like a bit of Star Gazing on these wait for it, Cold January nights!

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Hi,

Yes, your understanding is right! The daily change is very little at first, accelerating until the equinox, then slowing again until the Summer solstice. In fact, at this latitude, we never reach four minutes a day - at least, I don’t think so. Certainly the biggest daily jump Bristol will see in 2015 is 3 min 58s, which is at the equinox. I don’t know if it’s possible some years for this to be beaten, or if you live in the North of the UK (I’m thinking, logically, if there is “midnight sun” within the Arctic Circle, then more northerly regions must extend their day length at a faster rate for this to be possible.)

I did find a brilliant website that explained all this really clearly (I think it all has to do with the tilt of the earth), but it being past 1:30 a.m, and me having MS and all, I can’t remember it. It’s very interesting - if you like that sort of thing. If I have a booze-addled flash of inspiration in the next few days, about where I saw it, I will post the link. Of course, if you Google, I’m sure you can find out about it for yourself, but some explanations are clearer than others!

Yep, unfortunately we’re not going to have an appreciable daily change for quite a while yet - in fact, mornings keep getting darker for another few days. :frowning: But psychologically, I do find it helps to know today was longer, even though I can’t tell the difference (yes, I too will have to trust what I’m told, as I haven’t got an accurate enough clock in the house, nor a view of the horizon, to confirm it).

Yes, I am dreading January and February - usually colder than before Christmas, despite the lengthening days, and also my favourite time of year for relapses. Not had a confirmed one for ages, but always feel nervous this time of year, and wonder if I’ll wake to find my feet or other random parts of me have broken off diplomatic relations, like last time.

Let’s hope not! I’m gulping down the vitamin D.

Tina