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The I Feel Happy Topic!

Got delayed on an Avanti train last week (because of course it was Avanti, though the cause was a lineside fire, so not their fault), and ended up being just over two hours late back into Congleton. To their credit, the staff on board handled things as best as they possibly could, handing out bottles of water and some snacks to everyone who was stuck on the train. Put a Delay Repay claim in last Friday, it got approved on Monday, and I got the funds yesterday. Really impressed at how quickly it was all dealt with!
 
Jonathan said:
Got delayed on an Avanti train last week (because of course it was Avanti, though the cause was a lineside fire, so not their fault), and ended up being just over two hours late back into Congleton. To their credit, the staff on board handled things as best as they possibly could, handing out bottles of water and some snacks to everyone who was stuck on the train. Put a Delay Repay claim in last Friday, it got approved on Monday, and I got the funds yesterday. Really impressed at how quickly it was all dealt with!
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To be fair, I’ve normally found Delay Repay pretty good. I deal with different operators (TfW and CrossCountry), but I’ve always found it pretty prompt.

That does sound like a good experience given the negative press our trains often get, though!

On a side note; I didn’t know Avanti ran trains through Congleton. I thought they only served the WCML? When I went to Blackpool with Avanti in April, the train only stopped in Crewe and Warrington in Cheshire.
 
Matt N said:
To be fair, I’ve normally found Delay Repay pretty good. I deal with different operators (TfW and CrossCountry), but I’ve always found it pretty prompt.

That does sound like a good experience given the negative press our trains often get, though!

On a side note; I didn’t know Avanti ran trains through Congleton. I thought they only served the WCML? When I went to Blackpool with Avanti in April, the train only stopped in Crewe and Warrington in Cheshire.
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Oh, Avanti don't stop at Congleton, but they do run through the station non-stop on the way to Manchester. Have to change at Stoke after travelling on Northern if I want to go anywhere long-distance.
 
I am at my friends house.
There’s three of us.
We’re playing Hollow knight.
One person has the left Joy-Con controller, and so controls the fighting and jumping, along with some other things.
One person has the right Joy-Con controller, and so controls the movement along with some other things.
One person reads everything and voices all the characters.
We are in a rotation as the game gets increasingly more difficult.
It is extremely painful, but I am having a lot of fun.
 
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So I’m at the Helios Grand Hotel, preparing to go tomorrow.

I don’t need to elaborate.
 
Nice days hard rain and gales to send an old gardener heading for the Beach.
Free beverage to any thoosies who tap me up in Crevettes at three.
Perfect weather for swearing at school children heading back to the coach from the bar balcony.
 
Well then, over the past five years at my local heritage railway, I've been part of a small team giving a local engine that worked in Fife, on loan from the SRPS, to give a full cosmetic overhaul. Here is what No.3 looked like when she arrived in February 2020
1000001074.jpg

Now, after five years of stopping and starting, including a pandemic too, No.3's heavy cosmetic overhaul is finally complete and is ready for museum display!
1000026099.jpg

You have to say she looks absolutely stunning and a true Fife lass who worked up until the early 70s in Burntisland and now looks the part. Feel happy to have been part of the restoration of her.
 
Me, my sis, both partners, pub bowling green in Pleasington (as very nice as it sounds), and a small selection of polystyrene planes, two with mini launchers from plastic guns.

Kids didn''t turn up but hell, still fun.
 
Had a ****** good week last week.

Got my fifth-year OU results, and managed to achieve 78%, which I'm really happy with. Just one year to go now, and I think I'm well on track for a first...

The Lionesses won the Euros again yesterday, which was brilliant, if not nervy that it went to penalties yet again.

Had an incredibly productive day on Saturday, which involved a lot of house cleaning ahead of my parents visiting in a couple of weeks' time.
 
With an abundance of time, I’ve chosen some activities to fill it.

Pre-course work for college
Playing pipe organ
Cycling
Balatro

My entire family is mocking me for the last one - seeing cards on a screen, assuming it’s solitaire (despite it looking nothing like solitaire) and saying I’m an “old man”.

Fools. The lot. They clearly haven’t entered a Balatro trance yet. Would recommend.

Otherwise, it’s been pleasant. Which is good. I’m likely to never have this much free time in my life ever again.
 
The_bup said:
With an abundance of time, I’ve chosen some activities to fill it.

Pre-course work for college
Playing pipe organ
Cycling
Balatro

My entire family is mocking me for the last one - seeing cards on a screen, assuming it’s solitaire (despite it looking nothing like solitaire) and saying I’m an “old man”.

Fools. The lot. They clearly haven’t entered a Balatro trance yet. Would recommend.

Otherwise, it’s been pleasant. Which is good. I’m likely to never have this much free time in my life ever again.
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Make the most of it @The_bup; the summer after GCSEs (you did GCSEs, right?) is probably one of the best chances at a long bout of unencumbered time you’ll ever get!

I guess you do also have the summer after A Levels (or BTECs or whatever you’re doing at college) as well, particularly if you do end up choosing to go to university… but something feels quite special about the post-GCSE summer! (Perhaps not helped by the fact that my post-A Level summer was still somewhat mired in COVID, while my post-GCSE summer was pre-pandemic…)
 
GJMarshy said:
Found this on YouTube.

Jesus Christ this is the first time I've listened to this over 2 decade old game soundtrack on decent speakers. This track is an absolute banger, why isn't RCT3's soundtrack celebrated? I'd play this unironically at a rave. Incredible!


From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a79L09RK47Q&list=PLrLu47k41a8RYEfOeNKss8SH3DpYCnCHU&index=26
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Wow, that brings back memories!

I spent many hours playing RCT3 before I got Planet Coaster… that track is one of the key ones I remember, but some of the other ones were cool too!
 
The_bup said:
I mean I’d argue this one… even if you do hear it a lot.


From: https://youtu.be/1Yc-z30Sodo?si=eQDeeBbXcSvjPmIZ
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On the subject, since Planet Coaster 2 seems to be more of a dev-kit than an actual tycoon game, would anyone be up for an old-school RCT3 play-through with built in (absurd but just enough to be believable) lore?

At least in RCT3 you can build a whole area of a park comfortably in the space of a 2 hours rather than 2 weeks in PC2!
 
GJMarshy said:
On the subject, since Planet Coaster 2 seems to be more of a dev-kit than an actual tycoon game, would anyone be up for an old-school RCT3 play-through with built in (absurd but just enough to be believable) lore?

At least in RCT3 you can build a whole area of a park comfortably in the space of a 2 hours rather than 2 weeks in PC2!
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Yeah!
 
Nearly nine months after moving into my own house, I finally had overnight guests this weekend - my parents. Everything seemed to go really well, and they appreciated the efforts I'd made, particularly with some of the little things (made a cake, and also a cheesecake). Got a couple of helpful pointers on what I could do in future, which was appreciated.
 
I’m really happy to have a bit of a weight off my shoulders today, as I’ve secured and accepted a post-graduate employment offer! It actually all happened very, very quickly… I was rung by a recruiter on Tuesday who spotted my CV on LinkedIn or Indeed and thought I’d be a good fit, had an interview yesterday and accepted the offer today! I start in September, after I’ve finished my MSc dissertation.

It is a temporary post until the end of March 2026 to begin with, but I was told there was a good chance of it going permanent after that by both the recruiter and the person who interviewed me. It’s with a civil service body, so it’s with a big employer I can trust, it’s allied with what I’ve studied at undergrad and postgrad, and it sounded like a really nice team!

I was initially unsure on it due to it being temporary, but I figured after a bit of thinking that I can only benefit from the experience. If it goes well, I could potentially be on track to become a permanent civil servant in a role allied with my studied specialism, with all the benefits that come with that (the recruiter was very keen to big up the civil service pension scheme; I don’t know the ins and outs, but for those more au fait with pensions, I gather it’s supposed to be very good?). But even if it doesn’t work out, I will still gain a period of industry work experience for my CV that I don’t have now and be a little bit richer! From where I’m standing, I have nothing to lose by going for it and everything to potentially gain, so I thought; why not?

Before anyone asks, I also know it’s not a scam; I made sure to look for the people who interviewed me online, and they are legitimate.

But in general, I’m really happy to have secured something for at least a few months following the end of my degree! I had been getting a bit down about job seeking after a series of rejections, so it is nice to be vindicated, if nothing else!
 
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