2022 Armitage Weekly Round-up #7

/ February 19, 2022

Good day to you. Hope you haven’t been blown away by Storms Dudley and Eunice. Northern and Central Europe got a bit of a battering these last couple of days. Ireland as usual gets the first hit of the storms, coming in from the Atlantic. We had the whole yellow-orange-red scale of storm warnings in Ireland, but Dublin was not particularly badly hit, thanks to its situation on the East coast. Just some heavy winds, nasty sleet and rain. In Guylty Towers it always sounds much worse than it is, with the wind howling in our fireplaces and battering the sash windows. But all in all we were snug at home with no major issues, mostly unconcerned. In fact, I spent several hours yesterday afternoon watching the livestream of a plane spotter who stakes out Heathrow Airport. It was fascinating viewing – massive aircrafts struggling against the gale force winds, many of them aborting the approach because the wind had blown them off course or made the aircraft too unstable for a safe landing. You may wonder why Guylty – who has been moaning about her fear of flying for a few years now – obsessively watches planes being landed in the trickiest of conditions. In a strange twist of logic, watching these videos makes me feel safer. When I see those pilots landing a 580 ton A380 (the world’s largest passenger aircraft) in these conditions, and even if they abort and fly a go around, I know that they are at the top of their game and they know what they are doing. They have amazing skills, getting these flying behemoths safely back on the ground. Added to that, the technology in these machines is so advanced, they have all the support they need to make informed decisions on how to approach landing. Oh, and also – I am simply a nerd. I’ve been watching crosswind compilations for years. I find aviation fascinating. And it may be a case of fighting fire with fire. In any case, Big Jet TV is incredibly fascinating to watch, not least because the guy is so enthusiastic and provides a live commentary on every landing. “Easy, son, eeeeeeeeasy.” 😂. Yesterday at some point he had an audience of 200k – while simultaneously being interviewed by countless TV channels. If you are not chickened out by flying yourself, sneak a peek at the livestream linked above. He streamed for 8 hours 😱 and I was there for about 3.5 of them 🤪.

Wow, that was a bit of a detour. One might be led to believe that this is a fan blog for Jerry from Big Jet TV 😂. Ehm. No. Let’s now jump to our *real* OOA.

  1. I’ve actually got to do some catching up with Damaged Goods by middleearthpixie, now at ch. 40
  2. A new Hercule Poirot audio book has been announced, reports richardarmitagefanpage. Unfortunately only for US subscribers
  3. A series of Guy of Gisborne mood gifs by riepu10
  4. I like the style of hekikiart’s fan art for Man from Rome
  5. A short Daniel Miller fan fiction by enchatzz – hehe, smut warning 😉
  6. ICYMI, astrovian has put together pictures of the new Thorin figurine that is released by Weta (cute, but doesn’t look enough like Richard, if you ask me)
  7. Also from astrovian, a look at the interior of the Dream Head sculpture, used as a location in SC. Yeah, I’d have no complaints if Ray tried to seduce me in that interior…
  8. Never miss linking to Richard playing the Russian oligarch. Pictures posted by scmethinginlatin
  9. Not quite sure what I am fascinated by most: long-flowing locks or luscious bun? Post by thewarriorandtheking
  10. And for belated Valentine’s Day greetings, here are riepu10’s V-Day cards
  11. Hekikiart’s Valentine’s gift
  12. Oh goodness, and did I miss this Funko last week? Fatherofthevortex created their own Funko Pop Rassilon – based on Richard

Before we get to an unlucky 13, I better stop 😉. I have to head out and brave the elements now. As usual, I have left it too late and now have to run a last minute errand. It’s Mr Guylty’s birthday tomorrow, and simultaneously Little Miss Guylty’s last day before she heads off on her awfully big adventure. I have had a t-shirt printed for her, but I am still in the process of creating a “Irland-Heimwehbox” (English: Little box of longing for Ireland). I’m turning a hardcover book into a hidden box, containing bits and pieces of Ireland. A little bit like the fun mini bookshelf I made for my mini books the other day. Alas, I haven’t got the contents together yet, nor is the box ready 😱. Better get my skates 🛼 on!

Hope you are all safe and sound, if not, make sure all hatches are battened down!

Hahahahappy weekend,

Sonja ❤️

 

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39 thoughts on “2022 Armitage Weekly Round-up #7”

  2. #7 O they built this whole room. I’m in a mood like #3 but I wish all of us a mood like #7. Great story, Sonja. Haha, now you have no choice, you must come here and meet my brother. I think you’ll like him more than me, LOL.
    Happy Birthday to Mr. Guylty. I wish you a great time with your family. And for your daughter a great semester in Munich.

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    • oh, is your brother a plane spotter? Hehe, I must admit, I have always enjoyed aviation (especially from the ground 😂). I even did a whole series of photos from the side of the runway as a project for my photography degree. Definite nerd here.
      We are going to celebrate Mr Guylty’s birthday with the traditional Northern German winter dish tomorrow. Can’t wait!

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      • Excellent interesting photography project. Great you are a plane nerd and that you enjoy aviation, my brother will be pleased with the new passenger, hehe. Better start getting ready for the next one photography project, very far from the ground 😂. I have to see that 😊.
        Hmm, traditional Northern German winter dish, Schweinebraten? Good that you will finally eat something what can be called food (Nahrung). Have a great celebration!!!

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        • Passenger as in: he flies planes?
          Nope, not Schweinebraten but the fatty thing I mentioned a while ago – only a custom in the area around Bremen. Kale with sausages and other meat. Only ever eaten in winter. But yes, true Nahrung 😂

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          • Yes, he does. He made the license for the really big ones, that you are so fascinated with, a month before the pandemic started. And this stupid pandemic thwarted his job plans, because airlines have stopped recruiting. So at the moment he is teaching others flying and flies with people or goods (he delivered the first vaccines to hospitals). So, are you ready for really fighting fire with fire? 😊
            Braunkohl, that’s not that different from Bigos. Enjoy your meal. And as it is already Sunday: Happy Birthday to Mr. Guylty!

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            • Oh my goodness, he’s a *real* pilot? Congrats to him!!! Hope he finds a position soon.
              Bigos – yummy. Slightly different in the sense that it is made with cabbage, not kale. But anyway, I really like Polish food. Partly because it is actually similar to the Silesian cuisine I knew from my grandmother. And I have wonderful memories of several holidays in Silesia, staying in a guesthouse that provided dinner, and literally every meal was just delicious!

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            • Jou, das ist echt so regionalspezifisch, das kriegt man nicht außerhalb von Nordwestdeutschland. Bei uns hat meine Mutter die Tradition eingeführt, uns ein Kohl und Pinkel-Paket im Februar zu schicken. Als Ersatz – obwohl es nicht an das Original herankommt – koche ich auch manchmal frischen Grünkohl aus meiner Bio-Kiste und mache dazu Kartoffeln und die Kabanossi-Würste von Lidl. Die schmecken fast so wie die Rauchendchen vom Schlachter. Auf Pinkel müssen wir dann aber leider verzichten… dabei ist das ja eigentlich das Beste am Kohl und Pinkel…

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  3. Happy birthday to Mr. Guylty! And safe travels and a great time to Miss Guylty. That came quickly around now, it seems. Your Heimweh-Box sounds lovely.

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  4. Thanks for another wonderful amalgam of intriguing links. I so look forward to your weekly posts.

    Wishing you happy times with your family celebrating Mr G’s b-day and the intrepid Miss G’s impending journey.

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    • ☺️ Ah, big grin here from my side, because it makes me very happy to hear you look forward to my Saturday round-up!
      And I love that you have used the word “intrepid”!

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      • Happy birthday to Mr. Guylty! Wishing him health and safety 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻
        I didn’t know about the Big Jet TV show. I’m very curious now. Once I was in a plane that tried to land in JFK airport in NY in a stormy weather and it didn’t manage it (severe turbulence was quite scary), it flied back in the sky and landed finally in Washington,DC. It was quite an adventure. 😊

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        • Many thanks, Olga.
          Ugh, yeah, it’s no fun being a passenger in a plane that flies a go around after approach has been abandoned. Has happened to me twice – once when flying to Edinburgh. We were basically almost down, maybe 10 feet to go, when the plane suddenly accelerated up again. We were informed later that the pilots had spotted items on the runway, in which case they are not allowed to land. – A second time was in very stormy conditions on approach of Dublin airport. Goodness, the plane shook so much, people in the cabin where vomiting and praying at the same time. They had to abandon the approach and go around. And then go through the whole shaky descent once again. Meh. I really sighed a big sigh of relief when we finally touched down. Part of the problem with go arounds – in any weather condition – is that the planes only get three attempts at landing, and if they don’t make it, they are automatically diverted to another airport. Like what happened to you. Really annoying for all passengers. After my experience with the go arounds I read up on the whole thing. They are actually frequently trained maneuvers and routinely executed, so nothing to worry about, really. However, what is hard for the passengers is that you don’t get an immediate update on what is actually happening. That is because such a maneuver, even though routine, is an extremely busy time for the pilots. They not only have to manually operate the aircraft, but they are simultaneously communicating with the tower, getting new coordinates and flight path, as well as weather updates etc., so they are busy for some minutes before they can inform passengers. All that said – I’d rather not experience this again 😬

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  5. Just popping in to wish Mr G. a very happy birthday, and happy landings in advance to Miss G. Many thanks for the roundup – I’m saving it till later when I can enjoy in peace.

    Fancy that, I was another one glued to Big Jet TV for most of the day. Did anyone see the video of the cat being equally fascinated by Jerry and co?

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    • Thank you Jenny. I took Miss Guylty to the airport today, and maybe by this time she may have already arrived in Germany.
      And no way, you also watched Big Jet TV? It’s fascinating, and not least because of Jerry himself. I saw yesterday that he has put together a best of from Friday’s live stream. He also did another live stream yesterday for Storm Franklin.

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  6. Happy Sunday! Yes we have survived both storms 🙂 The wind is always rather strong here in Cumbria but this time we weren’t striken as hard as the South and Wales. But even though it was never forecast we got snow yesterday…now all melted already, crazy weather. I have to admit those designs of Father Quart look far too holy for the kind of toughts I usually have about him 😉 I can never resist anything Thorin related…7am I saw that tweet about the new figurine and before goign to work I already had ordered it! Early Xmas present I guess as they won’t be available until quarter 4 if I understood correctly.

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    • Ugh, snow!!! It’s strangely mild here, really – 10 degrees. Even sunshine. It was stormy overnight but less so during the day today.
      And congrats on getting yourself the new Thorin figurine. When is that going to be delivered? Is it a long wait?

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  7. Happy Birthday Mr G and all the best for Miss G’s adventure! The box sounds a wonderful idea. I do love flying, particularly going somewhere rather than returning (and without strong winds!) suspended above the clouds.
    Thanks for the great round up
    6) The Thorin figurine doesn’t looks like RA but he does seem to have the arched eyebrow!
    10) Bad guy’s cuddle better! Heh Heh!

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  8. Hello dear Sonja. I had someproblem wth my laptop andI was of for three days. It’s good to be back. happy birthday for Mr Guylty and all the best for Miss Guylty.I hope you are having a great time, eventhough the storms were heavy. I am looking forward to our Round ups every Sunday!!!

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    • Glad you are back online, Poppy. Hope the laptop is good!
      Storms are hopefully over by now. Little Miss set off to Germany today – at least the starting and landing were calm *phew*. And now she is being spoilt rotten by her granny in Germany 😁

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  9. re #10: haha, what does it say about me, that I would actually be really flattered if I got the Trevor card as a gift from someone? I think this is by far the best out of the whole batch! 😁

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