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Noises in the morning


Rendelf

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What a lovely morning I had. Mrs Rendelf went to work early, and I have a day off, but without much in the way of sleep. Back to bed I went.

 

As I started to wake mid-morning, I was filled with a dreamy contentment.

 

The dopplering thumping of joggers. The trill of birdsong. The quack-swoosh-splosh of ducks. Broken conversations of dog-walkers. Silence, perforated by Drum-rolls of fast cyclists / creaking-tinkerbells of slow cyclists. Light rain on the roof. The chirps of tits, either side of me. Distant diesel engines in the lock. The bed rises and falls as the lock is emptied, followed by more snippets of inane conversations. Crows. The wind rustles the trees, pigeons call. Helicopter. This is Hobbiton; we are lucky. The boat rocks gently, encasing me in comfort. Then the words, "Peter!" Peter, what are you doing!" from the towpath. A dog called Peter? I think lazily. "Peter!! In, no, in!" clear as a bell in my fuzzy mind - the lady is less than a meter from my bed. Then, a jarring bang, a shudder, and the entire waking-cocoon-in-the-shire thing lurches to starboard as Peter drives his hire boat the length of ours, shouting "it IS in, is IS!!"

 

Still unsure what 'it' was, I got up and made coffee. Sitting on the deck, I was amused by the ducks who assume I am a duck feeder, and by Peter banging pegs in, next to the lock bollards and against the piling. Even though we are currently three or four empty boat lengths from the lock, on a wide, straight section, perhaps I'll start the engine and move a little further along - that way I can use the powertools. It's a good life!

 

One of my favourites is listening to the sounds outside in different places. What sort of sounds can you hear where you are?

  • Greenie 3
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Ah, the growl of the Rozza-copter. We had the joy over the village last year as the yoootz decided to have a barn party. Hundreds turned up, hence the Police presence. They hovered over the departing throng for AN HOUR AND A HALF!

And d'ya know what? We couldn't hear the barn party... at all, nowt.... but we COULD hear that bleedin' egg-whisk!

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Ah, the growl of the Rozza-copter. We had the joy over the village last year as the yoootz decided to have a barn party. Hundreds turned up, hence the Police presence. They hovered over the departing throng for AN HOUR AND A HALF!

And d'ya know what? We couldn't hear the barn party... at all, nowt.... but we COULD hear that bleedin' egg-whisk!

Yeah, odd innit? I've worked with and flown in lots of helicopters and they're all noisy bu66ers, but none so noisy as the police round our way use to sneak up on naughty boys (and girls, M'Lud, obviously). There must be a line in their procurement brief that states in must meet, and preferably exceed, quite stringently high noise and nuisance levels so that the maximum number of council tax payers can hear it in order to prove it's being used. ;)

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Yeah, odd innit? I've worked with and flown in lots of helicopters and they're all noisy bu66ers, but none so noisy as the police round our way use to sneak up on naughty boys (and girls, M'Lud, obviously). There must be a line in their procurement brief that states in must meet, and preferably exceed, quite stringently high noise and nuisance levels so that the maximum number of council tax payers can hear it in order to prove it's being used. wink.png

Could be the noise equivalent of an optical illusion (whatever that is called) - because the police ones are hovering or cruising at very low speed, they only seem louder because they are over your head longer than the usual flypasts.

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A good theory, Mr. Dog; could it be that because they're loud, criminals hear them from afar and stop committing whatever crime they were committing to go and hide?

 

A good point indeed! Like on the telly when they sneak up on bad guys to catch them in the act with blues and twos a flashin' and a honkin'. :D

 

Could be the noise equivalent of an optical illusion (whatever that is called) - because the police ones are hovering or cruising at very low speed, they only seem louder because they are over your head longer than the usual flypasts.

Maybe an aural illusion? Nah, it's not that. They definitely pick the extra noisy ones. Well, they probably don't get to pick, they probably have them inflicted upon them if I know government procurement.

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I wos on Sarf Bank London weekend before last and demo over river ensured 3-4 noisy copters overhead..couldnt hear myself think..and its also tad unnerving. Eldest son had this app thingy on his phone(not y tube) and kept showing me ever increasing crowds..couldnt wait to escape the big city.

On boat atm, all silent cept hum of battery charger and scuffle of terrorist terrier making herself right at home on my bed....she's come to have holiday with me and err laying claim to sleeping arrangements.

Now and again quacky ducks nibble along clearing green stuff.

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Moored near Abingdon end of last week (nice moorings 5 days stay free) 3 cruisers on the other side of river had between them portable generators and or engines running 8am-8pm. When they started the same thing again the next day I pulled up pins and found a much quieter mooring at Sandford right next to pub great.

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I like Abingdon. Mooring on the lock tail at Goring and Streatley provides some really nice splashy sounds too.

 

On the Oxford canal, there is an individual who we have dubbed 'generator Jim'. Sometimes we see his boat coming, and cross our fingers he won't stop near ours! If he does, within minutes the rear-mounted genny starts up, and along with the chainsaw-song, comes the sickly sweet petrochemical pong, which lasts each day, all day long. We wonder what Jim is up to in there...what would require such power? Is he a mobile plant growing business?

 

With solar being what it is, I can't imagine the cost of buying and running a noise machine makes any sense...

 

The pavlovian helicopters don't tend to affect us in the cun'ry, but I did get to watch two Euro fighters practising engagements over Enslow last week...that was really noisy, and probably very expensive. I wondered if there was either something I didn't know about, or if they were having a good go in them before they had to be returned.

Edited by Rendelf
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  • 4 weeks later...

Bird song is a wonderful wake up call. I don't even mind being woken by ducks, unless they are running about on the roof, then they sound as if they are wearing cloggs. We were once woken in Manchester 7 years ago by a drunken young man demanding to be let in. We've not been back there since. And to top it all a CRT employee strimming the bank where we were moored at 6am!! and to add insult to injury the grass clippings stuck to the boat like glue.

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We have a particularly noisy wake up call most summer mornings.

On our home mooring our next door neighbour is always up early on a weekday and likes his morning cigarette whilst leaning on his hatch. This is usually accompanied by the loudest of farts that you have ever heard, easily loud enough to wake the neighbourhood.

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A good point indeed! Like on the telly when they sneak up on bad guys to catch them in the act with blues and twos a flashin' and a honkin'. biggrin.png

 

 

 

Ah yes.

 

Reminds me of the good old days, watching "The Bill".

 

For some reason, every copper at Sun Hill was trained to shout "Oy you" a good hundred yards from any suspect to give him maximum opportunity to be on his toes.

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We have a particularly noisy wake up call most summer mornings.

On our home mooring our next door neighbour is always up early on a weekday and likes his morning cigarette whilst leaning on his hatch. This is usually accompanied by the loudest of farts that you have ever heard, easily loud enough to wake the neighbourhood.

That is no way to talk about Graham

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We have a particularly noisy wake up call most summer mornings.

On our home mooring our next door neighbour is always up early on a weekday and likes his morning cigarette whilst leaning on his hatch. This is usually accompanied by the loudest of farts that you have ever heard, easily loud enough to wake the neighbourhood.

 

It's just his bottom 'Yawning'

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The wonderfully satisfying non stop thump thump thump from 7am to 7pm of 3 pile drivers on the building site next door, 5 days per week, throughout the whole of last year, & most of this year, measured at 76db by sticking my phone out of the side hatch according to an app, which only finally stopped about 2 months ago! Bastards

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The wonderfully satisfying non stop thump thump thump from 7am to 7pm of 3 pile drivers on the building site next door, 5 days per week, throughout the whole of last year, & most of this year, measured at 76db by sticking my phone out of the side hatch according to an app, which only finally stopped about 2 months ago! Bastards

 

What are you complaing for? Could have remixed it to create a backtrack, add some random warballing post it on Youtube with some twerking NBers and become bigger than 'Gangnam Style'

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Read on a blog yesterday someone moaning "That they were woken at 5:30 am by a passing boat and the clinking of the nearby lock paddle". He went on to whinge that travelling at that time is "most inconsiderate to others no matter what the excuse".

 

Can't help thinking he ought to get a life. My reaction would have been 'someones away early' and I'd have rolled over and gone back to sleep.

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Read on a blog yesterday someone moaning "That they were woken at 5:30 am by a passing boat and the clinking of the nearby lock paddle". He went on to whinge that travelling at that time is "most inconsiderate to others no matter what the excuse".

 

Can't help thinking he ought to get a life. My reaction would have been 'someones away early' and I'd have rolled over and gone back to sleep.

He could avoid the clinking by choosing to moor further away from a lock, and yes roll over and go back to sleep.

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