Chortle!
Didnāt know about that - no wonder things are so bad! 
Did you know that Donnington Bridge is disintegrating too
which has screwed some of the bus routes, and that access to it has just had to be closed altogether for a couple of weeks for gas works ?
The county councilās roads policy over the last decade or so has been one of āmanaged declineā (their words) in response to reduced government support for road work.
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Jesus wept! Thereās a lot about Oxon that I miss - but the trafficā¦ 
We lived in Kidlington (Oxf suburb, pretty much, for those non-local) for a year or so 1985-6. We needed to shop etc at weekends. I once calculated that over one weekend Iād spent somewhere between 15% and 20% of my waking hours sitting in the car, and I hadnāt been further than Kidlington was from Oxford city centre.
We moved from there to Leamington. The improvement in our ability to get from anywhere to anywhere else was dramatic.
I turned 66 a short while ago. I got an e-mail literally today to say my bus pass is in the post. The trouble is the cityās bus lanes are only fragmentary.
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I lived in Kidlington from around 1955 til 1975. Itās grown by around 25% since then.
We now live just over the border in Berkshire. The roads here arenāt wonderful but thereās a noticeable deterioration when you go over the border into Oxon.
Maybe theyāre reading this, because it turns out that there has been an update today.
It seems they now have a date. Just to be clear, thatās not the date for fixing the bridge and re-opening the road. No. Itās the date when they might be able to give us a date for the bridge to be fixed and the road re-opened. And itās not an actual date, just a limit on the date. I quote, from here
Today Network Rail provided residents and commuters with an update, indicating that after Thames Water sewer work between Abbey Road and Mill Street is completed, it will be in a better position to say when the road is likely to reopen. But an announcement is not expected for at least another two months.
So the date is two months. At least. Then theyāll be in a better position to give us a date.
In the meantime theyāre diverting all the buses up a cramped residential sidestreet.
Useless. Fucking. Arseholes.
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Christā¦ 
An obvious link?
Up a ladder sorting some of the many things our useless cunt of a builder left unfinished.
Up a ladder trying to stop the conservatory roof leaking, Iām too fucking old for this 
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Following an inspection request out of the blue on Sunday returning to the garage 30 miles away today to pay for collect and then drive almost 200 miles with FOL1 newer car.
Sunday drive back in the wreck that wasnāt a wreck when I bought that. In reality a safer conveyance for Grandson so a worthwhile job done. 
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Cool! Greater diving beetle - they are badass - also have tadpoles, small frogs, fish, newts, &c on their menu!
Tis a European Hornet (also badass) too - so the right kind, not the Asian oneā¦ (come over hereā¦ eat all our beesā¦ &c 
)
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Thanks. I knew youād be along to help with identification 
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Qā¦
We have an old wheely bin that fills with rain water (where the picture was taken). Do you think the beetle resides in it, or does it fly off once it has finished dinner?
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Think I may have answered my own question.
Just been to look at the bin again and seen another hornet with beetle attached. The beetle dived before I could get a picture though.
Now need to find out where the hornets are coming from 
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Be very careful - they are cold and mardy - though they are nothing like as aggressive as your standard-issue wasp. They favour holes in trees, especially old trees with hollow interiors.
As for the GDB - clearing-up after our wedding I found one in the small tin bath weād used as a beer-cooler, happily swimming about in the melted ice water!
Counterintutively, they are very strong flyers, so can easily move-on from any accommodation thatās not adequate. A wheelie-bin is nice and deep though, so actually pretty good for 'em.
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Just got back (OK, half an hour ago) from getting this winterās covid and flu jabs. Might not stop me catching the diseases but should keep me out of a hospital bed or mortuary drawer.
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Getting ours in the morning. Iāll be going for both in the left arm so I at least guarantee having one that works without pain. Tougher choice for Gill who had an apparently painful anti shingles jab yesterday.
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