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W've heard about that NHS scheme. Just weird. But I suppose it's the same as any other employer. My bro took early retirement and I think he's still in their scheme for several more years. Jumps the queues! - @fluffy2560 The Cynic in me can't help but compare which services the GP surgery charges for, with those available on the staff medical insurance list, then look for the triple whammy on the list of services; nothing else to do on some days and I just know where to look. - @Cynic

I can imagine my "colleagues" working in healthcare, sitting around working on that QOF list. Reminds me of similar lists and models we use in my area of specialism.  Nowt wrong with that. It's as good as another.   

"It is not about performance management but resourcing and rewarding good practice."

I'd ask the question, "Aren't those areas of interest actually the same thing?"

Weather update:

Sunny with some cotton wool clouds.  Cold at 3C but the wind chill indicator makes it close to or below zero.  We've got significant winds, up to 45 km/h.   The weather station says instantaneous 5.8 m/s gusts from the West.  Humidity is 62% but the pressure is steady at 1015 hPa.  No sign of rain but the clouds look "heavy" and dark underneath. 

I was planning dog walking but Mrs Fluffy is opposed to wind and of course, I'd selected a route near an airfield (Hármashatár-hegy aka HHH or Three Borders Hill/Mountain) which has little cover.  It'd be brutally cold.  I think we have to put this off until tomorrow.  I might end up going alone on that one.   I've got good coats, 4WD boots, hats and gloves.  Only issue is walking with my dodgy back and hurty hips.  I don't like going on my own as I always feel it's becoming somewhat risky.

5C and cloudy; it will stay this way until New Year's Eve when the clouds will break, and it will get colder; currently forecasting snow from 5 Jan onwards, we'll see how that goes; in the 30 years we've lived here I think I can count the number of times we've had proper snow on one hand.

Been doing some DIY; further proof, were it needed, that my carpentry skills are on a level with  Van Goch's skill with an arc welder.  Anyway, it will keep Mrs C occupied trying to hide the damage I've done to the kitchen cabinets.  I blamed Boris ofc.

5C and cloudy; it will stay this way until New Year's Eve when the clouds will break, and it will get colder; currently forecasting snow from 5 Jan onwards, we'll see how that goes; in the 30 years we've lived here I think I can count the number of times we've had proper snow on one hand.Been doing some DIY; further proof, were it needed, that my carpentry skills are on a level with Van Goch's skill with an arc welder. Anyway, it will keep Mrs C occupied trying to hide the damage I've done to the kitchen cabinets. I blamed Boris ofc. - @Cynic

Don't you mean Van Gogh...or maybe as in Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch?   That guy did get around.  I do agree his welding skills must have been bad - tried to weld one's ear is a problem. He could have turned to drugs for his tinnitus.

I only mention Lllanfair...etc because Fiona Bruce mentioned it on an old Antiques Roadshow. My Xmas viewing was old episodes of that and Star Trek on Netflix.  Oh and Stranger Things.

We were doggy walking.  Our Goldie loves the outdoor life.  But she's getting tired a bit. Could do with losing a few kg.  Snores like a trooper after 6 pints of ale.   But it's lovely and sunny today. 4C with a slight breeze 2m/s from WSW.  Clear skies.  No clouds at all.  Moon is quite visible during the day.  Sunset 16.01h.  We're on the uphill slope.

Our neighbour is to blame for all failures here - never lend your tools to others.  Or possibly the previous occupant whose ghost hangs around moving stuff and buggering up DIY jobs.  I believe the previous guy, Horvath, died in this very room.  It explains a lot. 👺

5C and cloudy; it will stay this way until New Year's Eve when the clouds will break, and it will get colder; currently forecasting snow from 5 Jan onwards, we'll see how that goes; in the 30 years we've lived here I think I can count the number of times we've had proper snow on one hand.Been doing some DIY; further proof, were it needed, that my carpentry skills are on a level with Van Goch's skill with an arc welder. Anyway, it will keep Mrs C occupied trying to hide the damage I've done to the kitchen cabinets. I blamed Boris ofc. - @Cynic
Don't you mean Van Gogh...or maybe as in Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch?  That guy did get around. I do agree his welding skills must have been bad - tried to weld one's ear is a problem. He could have turned to drugs for his tinnitus.
I only mention Lllanfair...etc because Fiona Bruce mentioned it on an old Antiques Roadshow. My Xmas viewing was old episodes of that and Star Trek on Netflix. Oh and Stranger Things.

We were doggy walking. Our Goldie loves the outdoor life. But she's getting tired a bit. Could do with losing a few kg. Snores like a trooper after 6 pints of ale. But it's lovely and sunny today. 4C with a slight breeze 2m/s from WSW. Clear skies. No clouds at all. Moon is quite visible during the day. Sunset 16.01h. We're on the uphill slope.

Our neighbour is to blame for all failures here - never lend your tools to others. Or possibly the previous occupant whose ghost hangs around moving stuff and buggering up DIY jobs. I believe the previous guy, Horvath, died in this very room. It explains a lot. 👺 - @fluffy2560

4C and cloudy today; cloud clears tonight, and the temps start to drop over the New Year; still forecasting snow next Wednesday, but it's now been changed to sleet (sort of half/half).

I speak Twents, which is not proper Dutch, so I'm allowed to get away with things like misspelling important Dutch people/places names so apart from famous painters, Amsterdoom is also one of my favourites.  Mrs C tells me I speak Dutch like a native, of Istanbul; I sometimes wonder if she's talking about my English!

Boris does not like getting groomed - he is groomed, but our ex-neighbour ran a grooming business, so to him, it was a place where they store treats and grooming was viewed as part of the process of snaffling a treat from Rachel, but he's generally not a smelly dog, not even when he gets wet.  He is a Patterdale and has absolutely no recall if it involves a pigeon, squirrel, postman, Amazon delivery man and anybody in a vehicle with a sliding door - the list is flexible.

Happy New Year to all.  4C and mostly cloudy; the snow has now vanished from our bit of the long-range forecast; I shan't say I told them so, but, .........

We had a relatively quiet New Year, virtually no fireworks to be heard down our end of the village, for which Boris and his mates thanks everybody.

Happy New Year to all. 4C and mostly cloudy; the snow has now vanished from our bit of the long-range forecast; I shan't say I told them so, but, .........We had a relatively quiet New Year, virtually no fireworks to be heard down our end of the village, for which Boris and his mates thanks everybody. - @Cynic

Thanks for the good wishes, same to everyone of course.  Let's hope we all get what we want for 2026.  But we can accept what we need.  Whatever that is!

We're at about 4cm of snow and more is expected.  The current snow is melting as it's 2C.  Forecast has it that it will be below zero tonight.  That means ice with new snow on top.  Potentially dangerous.  I had considered using my 4WD car but it's dripping away pretty quickly, the roads will be clear.   The government clears the main roads but not our side road.   The sun is out and hardly a cloud in the sky.  Wind chill is -1C.  1.5 m/s wind from WNW.

Fireworks were quite subdued last night.  A years ago, it would go on 2h post midnight.  I think it's a money issue - literally people don't have money to burn.  We had 9 rockets and 3 bangs which we set off elsewhere, not in our garden but an open park area nearby. 

Our doggy has never been bothered by fireworks and bangs.  What she didn't like is being alone.  She's not allowed upstairs but I told her to come up and she was fine then.  We were on the balcony overlooking a village sky and looking at some of the local efforts. 

Ah, those Dutch accents.  I wasn't in Brabant long enough to get an accent but I cleared off to Germany and apparently I have a bit of a Dutch accent (maybe Vlaams) when speaking German.  That's what the locals told me.   I never got an Austrian accent when we lived there.  I found it quite difficult to understand the Austrians.  So I don't know how I sounded to them.  I  can easily still tell the difference in Belgium with Vlaams and with Austrian Deutsch.  Vlaams I quite like but I think I can leave Austrian Deutsch even though I hung out in Munich a fair bit.   

5C and cloudy; it will stay this way until New Year's Eve when the clouds will break, and it will get colder; currently forecasting snow from 5 Jan onwards, we'll see how that goes; in the 30 years we've lived here I think I can count the number of times we've had proper snow on one hand.Been doing some DIY; further proof, were it needed, that my carpentry skills are on a level with Van Goch's skill with an arc welder. Anyway, it will keep Mrs C occupied trying to hide the damage I've done to the kitchen cabinets. I blamed Boris ofc. - @CynicDon't you mean Van Gogh...or maybe as in Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch? That guy did get around. I do agree his welding skills must have been bad - tried to weld one's ear is a problem. He could have turned to drugs for his tinnitus. I only mention Lllanfair...etc because Fiona Bruce mentioned it on an old Antiques Roadshow. My Xmas viewing was old episodes of that and Star Trek on Netflix. Oh and Stranger Things. We were doggy walking. Our Goldie loves the outdoor life. But she's getting tired a bit. Could do with losing a few kg. Snores like a trooper after 6 pints of ale. But it's lovely and sunny today. 4C with a slight breeze 2m/s from WSW. Clear skies. No clouds at all. Moon is quite visible during the day. Sunset 16.01h. We're on the uphill slope.Our neighbour is to blame for all failures here - never lend your tools to others. Or possibly the previous occupant whose ghost hangs around moving stuff and buggering up DIY jobs. I believe the previous guy, Horvath, died in this very room. It explains a lot. 👺 - @fluffy2560 4C and cloudy today; cloud clears tonight, and the temps start to drop over the New Year; still forecasting snow next Wednesday, but it's now been changed to sleet (sort of half/half).I speak Twents, which is not proper Dutch, so I'm allowed to get away with things like misspelling important Dutch people/places names so apart from famous painters, Amsterdoom is also one of my favourites. Mrs C tells me I speak Dutch like a native, of Istanbul; I sometimes wonder if she's talking about my English!Boris does not like getting groomed - he is groomed, but our ex-neighbour ran a grooming business, so to him, it was a place where they store treats and grooming was viewed as part of the process of snaffling a treat from Rachel, but he's generally not a smelly dog, not even when he gets wet. He is a Patterdale and has absolutely no recall if it involves a pigeon, squirrel, postman, Amazon delivery man and anybody in a vehicle with a sliding door - the list is flexible. - @Cynic

Sorry for a minute, I thought you were referring to Boris Johnson as a smelly thing! Happy NY!

....!Boris does not like getting groomed - he is groomed, but our ex-neighbour ran a grooming business, so to him, it was a place where they store treats and grooming was viewed as part of the process of snaffling a treat from Rachel, but he's generally not a smelly dog, not even when he gets wet. He is a Patterdale and has absolutely no recall if it involves a pigeon, squirrel, postman, Amazon delivery man and anybody in a vehicle with a sliding door - the list is flexible. - @Cynic
Sorry for a minute, I thought you were referring to Boris Johnson as a smelly thing! Happy NY! - @Marilyn Tassy

If Boris (Johnson) gets wet, his hair will be messed up.  Oh, wait a minute, messed up hair, Peppa Pig and that affectation of being flustered is part of his schtick.  I don't know if he's smelly but what he did as PM stank for sure - amateur and we're left with Brexit fallout.  Thanks Boris.   

I did think of Boris going after the Amazon delivery driver is a very modern equivalent of the post man who dogs traditionally did not like.   

Who sends letters these days?   We get bills mainly or official documents.  No-one writes us letters.  I don't mind actually, we're closer with instant messaging.  But it also means we communicate in spurts or short messages.  We don't even send or receive SMS/text messages these days.

BTW, today we had an Internet disaster.  Our entire system went belly up.  It was out of action from about 14.30 to 19.30.   We had to resort to other ways to entertain ourselves.  One upside was our lad went sledging with his friends instead of shooting it in Call of Duty or summat like it.  I sat on the sofa hoping for inspiration as to why the problem had happened and chatting to our daughter.  After resetting our HU Telekom box (I mean hard reset, back to basics), it all came back.  What happened, I have no idea. Our system here is very complicated - we've about 40 devices connected to our cabled network.  I think they (Telekom) did an update as we noticed our TV box decided to update itself.   This is not the first time, we've had unannounced "upgrades".   Absolute shower, HU Telekom.