The Efestivals social distancing / self isolating support thread

[guypjfreak]

36 minutes ago, crazyfool1 said:

A new member of Glasto chat posting this made me smile today .... 

Thanks for making me laugh.. 

[Bisque]

15 hours ago, Zoo Music Girl said:

Even though having a holiday to look forward to would be great after all of this.

That’s all I want really. Something to look forward to & plenty of time to plan.

p.s. i hate flying Chinese airlines (not a racist).

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

23 minutes ago, Bisque said:

p.s. i hate flying Chinese airlines (not a racist).

I flew with Air China out to the Far East and back, and both journeys weren't exactly fun. On the journey out, my wife and I asked for a second alcoholic drink and were looked at by the flight attendant like we were both something she'd trodden in. We did get one more drink, but that was it. It didn't matter because about 10 minutes later they turned the main lights off, and went around telling everybody that it was 'time to go to sleep now'. It was only about 8pm in the evening!

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

 

I've just realised - it couldn't have been 8pm in the morning, so those last three words were superfluous. A little like this post, I guess.

[Zoo Music Girl]

7 hours ago, Yoghurt on a Stick said:

I flew with Air China out to the Far East and back, and both journeys weren't exactly fun. On the journey out, my wife and I asked for a second alcoholic drink and were looked at by the flight attendant like we were both something she'd trodden in. We did get one more drink, but that was it. It didn't matter because about 10 minutes later they turned the main lights off, and went around telling everybody that it was 'time to go to sleep now'. It was only about 8pm in the evening!

I think they do that on a lot of airlines don't they? It's mainly to give the staff a bit of a break.

[Crazyfool01]

[zero000]

8 hours ago, Yoghurt on a Stick said:

I flew with Air China out to the Far East and back, and both journeys weren't exactly fun. On the journey out, my wife and I asked for a second alcoholic drink and were looked at by the flight attendant like we were both something she'd trodden in. We did get one more drink, but that was it. It didn't matter because about 10 minutes later they turned the main lights off, and went around telling everybody that it was 'time to go to sleep now'. It was only about 8pm in the evening!

I very recently (December) flew out with Air China and it was a pretty dreadful experience all around. I'm still traumatised about ordering porridge for breakfast and discovering that it came with beef 🤮🤮🤮

[northernringo]

16 hours ago, Quark said:

 

Well, it's up and running and it works! Some are a lot easier than others to get working. So far NES, SNES and Amstrad games (my first computer!) are nice and straightforward . MAME arcades are a bit hit and miss as there are so many variants of the emulator version, so it's a bit potluck on whether I can get a download running. I've got some Amiga games working, but again it's a case of finding the right ROM type as it runs the  Amiberry emulator, and it's not the most common ROM.

N64 is the big problem at the moment. The Pi3 is only just capable of running it, but it needs som tweaking in the config files. Unfortunately I know the sum total of fuck all about linux, so not figured that out yet!

But I've got enough to keep me happy, and hopefully the options for config and customising should give me lots to get my teeth into

 

Looks class! I think my controllers should be arriving any day now and then I'll spend some time on mine over the weekend

My work laptop runs on linux so might be able to help if you have any issues.

[Quark]

4 minutes ago, northernringo said:

Looks class! I think my controllers should be arriving any day now and then I'll spend some time on mine over the weekend

My work laptop runs on linux so might be able to help if you have any issues.

Might take you up on that offer!  Trouble is that I'm a 100% windows user, so even the basics like finding the files, key shortcuts and all that kind of stuff are completely alien! PiHut does a beginners guide to the Pi, so I might order myself that as a starting point.

I think I'm going to focus on just enjoying playing some old games to start with, and gradually start unpicking the nuts and bolts of it as I go along.  My natural tendency is to aim for perfect rather than done, so if I'm not careful I'll just end up with a thing that causes me nothing but frustration instead of actually enjoying the games!

Thing is that when I was a kid we didn't have any of the consoles, arcades were thin on the ground round my way and were a thing to discover when we went to visit family in Yarmouth, or play whichever one happened to be in the local chippy or cab office, and none of my friends really had them until my mate got a SNES (and that was basically Mario Kart and NBA Jam!).  So as bizarre as it sounds I'm now really discovering properly playing things like Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros for the first time. Happy as a pig in poo

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

5 hours ago, Zoo Music Girl said:

I think they do that on a lot of airlines don't they? It's mainly to give the staff a bit of a break.

In my experience they do turn the lights off etc at night, but never as early as 8pm. In addition, I've always been able to get more drinks whenever I have wanted them (paid for drinks or unpaid for). My most notable big drink on a plane was when me and my wife managed to spend £150 on drink on the plane on the way back from Lanzarote. However that did include a £20 tip given to the air stewardess on the first round, so that she would continue to serve us beyond the point where she should have. We were both in a right mess when we landed. I hasten to add that we weren't a bother to any other passengers throughout the flight, like you read some are in the newspapers. 

[Bisque]

13 hours ago, Yoghurt on a Stick said:

I flew with Air China out to the Far East and back, and both journeys weren't exactly fun. On the journey out, my wife and I asked for a second alcoholic drink and were looked at by the flight attendant like we were both something she'd trodden in. We did get one more drink, but that was it. It didn't matter because about 10 minutes later they turned the main lights off, and went around telling everybody that it was 'time to go to sleep now'. It was only about 8pm in the evening!

Oh my that made me chuckle. I also can’t imagine being stuck in a rammed airport like Shenzhen or Guangzhou for hours at end.

5 hours ago, Zoo Music Girl said:

I think they do that on a lot of airlines don't they? It's mainly to give the staff a bit of a break.

Not quite. Crew are put on rotation in three shifts in between main services ie after take off & before landing meals. 1/3 of the crew will take a rest break for minimum 1 hour (IATA law). Flights I’ve worked on eg Cape Town with 24 passengers on board a A340-600 I got a 4 hour break so just sat in Upper & watched a movie after taking a nap in the crew rest bunks.

On the other hand on a packed Vegas or Barbados flight on a B747-400 with a large economy (holiday destination seating configuration) I don’t think I ever got the chance to take my break (day flight).

As for turning the lights off, it’s generally for people to get sleep, especially business class pax flying to meetings (generally the best passengers to look after as they just want to be left alone to work/sleep to be fresh on landing) & in turn, yes, this does mean mean a reduced amount pax that need taking care of.

Crew will also sometimes turn up the heating to encourage people to fall asleep.

[Bisque]

The airline I worked for were strict with alcohol we served (we didn’t use miniatures for gin, vodka, whiskey etc) but if you are nice pax, didn’t use the call bell & came to the galley to ask for drinks, asked politely, maybe a quick chat to ask what there is to do at your destination (crew know all the best places to eat, shopping at best markets & things to do off the tourist trap) then you’d likely get a good measure or a couple of cans rather than just the one.

As for turning the lights off, I guess it depends on time of departure. On a day flights travelling West, lights would be dimmed but everyone would have the blinds up so didn’t make a difference.

We did an LA flight that left in the morning half 10 & arrived about 2pm US time, we called it the “Psycho 7” due to your ridiculously long day of being awake & the flight number. This was the flight celebs took, I usually worked the later flight that landed in the evening US time. Used to arrive at the hotel & the Psycho 7 crew were always well into their duty free & we’d all go out to a gay bar or trannyoake.

Travelling East which are usually night flights, unless you are mental, then it makes more sense as you would land in the morning at your destination.

Can you tell I’m bored today?

Edited April 2, 2020 by Bisque

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

27 minutes ago, Bisque said:

Oh my that made me chuckle. I also can’t imagine being stuck in a rammed airport like Shenzhen or Guangzhou for hours at end.

We flew into Beijing Capital International Airport on the way to Bangkok, and then back in to that airport from Hanoi on the way back. On the way out to the Far East we only had the time to get through the airport and on to our next flight to Bangkok. However on the flight home we had something like a 4 hour wait in the airport. Anticipating this, I booked us in to a VIP lounge in the airport. The VIP lounges are such good value for money if you are both heavy G & T  drinkers, and you get food too. I'd hate to think what our bill would have cost had we been in the main airport part. Not only that, but you get to sit down in very comfy seating.

As an aside, the best place and first place I ever booked a VIP lounge at an airport was in Cuba, and that's because only the VIP lounge had a smoking area. Well, I was actually shocked when I opened the door to that VIP area. To say that there was a party going on would be an understatement. All inside were roaring drunk. I mean, I wouldn't have been surprised if they all suddenly broke out in to doing the conga. Not only that, but the staff were opening bottles of nice Cava like they were paid more to give the punters more. One bloke was so pissed that he was having difficulty standing up. When it came time to get on the plane two other passengers (who weren't flying with him) had to hold him up and carry him on to the plane. I asked for one last drink from a member of staff at this point, as I wanted to wollop one down me before getting on the plane. He hadn't got an open bottle of Cava available so just went off and got a full bottle and tucked it in to my rucksack on my back. I think he may have done that because I'd given him a generous tip earlier on in the proceedings. 

Can you tell that I too am bored today? Mind you, I don't feel as bad as yesterday. I think I was showing symptoms of cabin fever yesterday.

[Bisque]

I did not get that treatment when I went to Havana! I remember it was very strict, I going through the isolating doors for passport check, I guess I was working & didn’t get to enjoy the delights of the free bar.

In Don Muang & Vientiane airports last Nov/Dec I treated myself to an airport lounge (one I snuck into & the other I used to get rid of my Laotian kip which is worthless outside of the country). Filled up my rucksack with cold cans for the flight out of the help yourself fridges. I got caught in Bangkok but only returned two of the twenty or so stubbies I managed to stash. Shared some with a British lady going who just gone through a divorce & was travelling to find herself. We had a great chat on the short flight, I didn’t manage to listen to any podcasts I saved up & we met up later in the trip. Shared the cans with other travellers in my dorm as pre-drinks whilst getting ready for the hostel free bar & bowling.

I tried to get into the Virgin Atlantic club house at LHR but was turned down each time. At least T3 has The Curator although not cheap.

edit: thinking back I remember one or two flight service managers/cabin service directors I worked with would often keep an eye on the bars as we walked from security through the terminal to the plane on particular routes from USA.

On the shuttle coach trip from hotel to airport on some routes it would be very quiet as crew would be still a little tired from their night out previous. Nobody dared talk about how rowdy the night out was in case the captain was listening in. One girl went missing on a Vegas trip, apparently she met a millionaire gambler the night before & never turned up for the flight. She was missing for a few days apparently. Working crew down was always a ballache.

Edited April 2, 2020 by Bisque

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

 

Simply red. Holding back the years.

[Wellyboot]

6 minutes ago, Yoghurt on a Stick said:

 

Simply red. Holding back the years.

 made me laugh that! Thank you  

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

7 minutes ago, Wellyboot said:

 made me laugh that! Thank you  

No problem. I found it amusing too, so thought I'd share in this time of despair. That's poetry, that is! 

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

 

[Wellyboot]

If I was a dog that would be me 😆

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

https://mobile.twitter.com/jamin2g/status/1246145580402966528?s=21

[oneeye]

BBC News - Coronavirus: Christopher Eccleston reads a poetic tribute to the NHS
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-52158721

 

[guypjfreak]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pvEWOBAzHf4

[Wellyboot]

I think video calling is just torture.

At first it was great you can see everyone at chat and it's lovely.

But now it's like 'ooo look! Your boyfriend's here and your friends are here! But not really and NO you can't have a cuddle!!!'

and that's rotten 

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

Just to help kill a little bit of time for you:

 

 

[Crazyfool01]

6 minutes ago, Yoghurt on a Stick said:

Just to help kill a little bit of time for you:

 

 

Pot head