Introduction

Hosts:

MrX

Dave Morriss

We recorded this on Sunday March 6th 2022. The last time we set up a chat like this was back in March 2021, almost exactly a year ago surprisingly!

Note on the title: we spoke a little on the subject of the Scots language in the show - when speaking of the current census - so the title uses a Scots term.

Topics discussed

COVID:

Losing track of time

Christmas:

A quiet time for both of the hosts, with some family time

Dave’s family matters:

Son graduated after doing an MSc and got a job quite quickly last year

Daughter had graduated from an MSc the year before and also got a job this year.

Dave had a bout of shingles in early January, which lasted about 6-7 weeks overall. If you can get a shingles vaccination as you age, get one!

UK heating, boilers, etc.

MrX’s in-laws had a boiler failure during the cold weather, and a gas leak!

Dave had a leak in his cold water tank in the attic which flooded the room below. He decided to completely upgrade the heating system, remove all tanks and put in a new pressurised condensing gas boiler. See the Wikipedia page for an overview of central heating systems.

Old-style plumbing; coal fires, back boilers and dampers.

The era of coal:

Gas poker used for starting domestic (usually coal) fires

Coal gas made from coal, superseded by natural gas

Gasometer storage device for coal gas

Internet connectivity:

Dave has transitioned from ADSL to fibre since the last show

Fibre to the Premises, with up to 1 Gbit/s if desired

New router using Wireless 6

MrX has Fibre to the Cabinet

Dave’s new router doesn’t allow the Pi-hole to work at the moment

Chromebook:

MrX has acquired a Chromebook since our last show

It is convenient to use. Made answering the online Scottish Census quite straightforward.

Census and Scots Language:

The Census asks about the Scots Language, whether the person can speak and understand it.

Dave follows @lenniesaurus on Twitter who introduces a daily Scots word.

According to Wikipedia:

Scots is recognised as an indigenous language of Scotland, a regional or minority language of Europe, and a vulnerable language by UNESCO. In the 2011 Scottish Census, over 1.5 million people in Scotland reported being able to speak Scots.

Links

Scots words:

Scots Language

The online Scots dictionary (English to Scots)

@lenniesaurus on Twitter - poet and Scots language enthusiast

Plumbing