Just been to Cardiff for a client visit.
XC Plymouth to Bristol PW was its usual scruffy, short-formed disappointment (also grossly overcrowded past Taunton, XC being apparently oblivious or uncaring about Cheltenham Week). GWR produced a pleasing change of scene with a rather swish 800 class for the 45 minutes or so to Cardiff; the first time I recall travelling on one if these, and I was rather impressed.
Return journey started with a new-looking DMU from GWR, quite c
I’ve just signed a lease for a new (well, different) flat in Plymouth, as I’m still working there. I definitely wanted to escape the student areas... students are a blight on the accommodation market. I was also looking for a furnished let, which most owners don’t offer, and a “break clause” and automatic rollover to rolling status - this is supposedly legally guaranteed, but try to achieve it!
So, I move in a fortnight. The new landlords seem to have picked on the market for contra
Always a look-ahead date in my diary, and this year has got off to a great start!
Quite what France thought they were doing on Friday, is hard to say. I don’t believe that even Italy have managed to go in at half-time, 16-0 up at home, and still lose. I’d always expect a strong second half with a burst at the last from Wales, and that was what we got... going to be a disappointing year for Les Bleus, on that showing. They looked good at times but that just isn’t enough at that level
Whiling away a miserable wet weekend in Plymouth (I don’t go home every weekend because of the time and cost), went to the pictures for the first time in a long time.
Much impressed with the new layout at the cinema, big semi-reclining airline style seats with ample legroom. Being 4:30 in the afternoon, only 7 or 8 in the auditorium... the film was Stan and Ollie, and I loved it.
I was never a huge fan of Laurel and Hardy, being (I suppose) the generation that “didn’t want to see a Lau
Xmas is definitely over, after a busy, festive and highly enjoyable week involving presents known and surprising, friends old and new, children who have grown astonishingly since last seen, NONE of my good wife’s innumerable siblings and their offspring (for a mercy...) and very little tv (although I did see Carols from Kings College and St Paul’s at various times).
But it’s back to the world. I usually reckon it an important milestone, the first evening of tv involving various ill-mannered
After various discussion with my sons about the curious coincidence by which the TMO controversially intervened to disallow home tries against the All Blacks two weeks running, No 2 Son produced the following:
“It should be noted that the World Rugby Laws apply equally to Players and Match Officials. Thus the Match officials Law 6 sits side by side in the Law book with the May 2018 amended Tackle Law 14.10 re the new offside line (which is open to a number of interpretations of consistency w
Out in Plymouth for some beer and music, with my much-travelled tenor banjo.
Someone I haven’t seen before, stood up when the “turn” came to him, and in a strong, slightly toneless baritone sang “Jerusalem” a Capella. The whole group followed on, it was quite tremendous.
Introduced by No 2 Son to another modern novelty, the Sky Day Pass. I don’t generally have any sort of Sky subscription but I do enjoy Test rugby. So, No 2 Son bought a day pass (which covers up to 4 devices), rang round myself and his brother and we watched the England / AB game
FWIW, I thought the disallowed try at the death was a wrong decision, but the overall result about right. NZ clearly knew something that England didn’t at the line-out, England made an obvious captaincy error by pas
At Stansted, another place much changed since I last saw it, in no wise for the better.
However it DOES have a Witherspoon’s, who served a quite acceptable g&t WITHOUT the shovel full of ice in a half-pint balloon that so many places dispense, and even had some Angostura bitters.
I quite like ‘Spoons...
Well, that was fun. For family reasons, a long and difficult journey at a difficult time, in which some showed to better advantage than others.
First leg, Cross Country, Plymouth to BNS. Cross Country consistently fail to impress, and this was no exception; a crowded, short-formation train (4 car Voyager instead of 7-car HST; reservations in disorder, charging sockets not working despite the new overhead reservation displays). The diversion for the incident on the line was just one of those
Today’s venture is Peterborough to Plymouth, by way of Birmingham New St.
First leg, Peterborough to BNS with Cross Country. 3 car DMU, fairly new-looking. Seat backs sprinkled with accumulated reservations, some clearly for journeys in the opposite direction. Occupancy perhaps 20%, so no problems. Strong free WiFi, no charging sockets. Ticket check, no card check. Bought a pastie and coffee on the station, just as well as events turned out.
Unremarkable journey, good time.
Interest
Made the journey from Plymouth to Peterborough by train, in a spirit of enquiry. Not tremendously impressed.
The Plymouth to London Paddington train was absolutely choked with students. The train was, apparently, an 8-car set instead of a 10-car set. It had been fitted with newer seats and the ad-hoc looking conversion to power sockets at the tables that you see on Great Central trains, but otherwise looked its age. Quite good free WiFi, though, evidenced by much bleeping and trilling of sm
So there was a loud crash on the roof over the bay window, much flapping and scrabbling, and this...
My best identification is a female sparrowhawk, apparently they specialise in hunting pigeons and are well known to hunt in gardens...
I really must get a dashcam.
Off to S Wales this weekend for my annual dose of Sportster racing. Actually not the only time I ride this bike but the only place it gets a “proper” outing on its natural habitat, a half-mile trotting track. Where’s Bruce Brown when you need him?
So I drove over the Avon Bridge heading West, with the evening sun glittering in the cables; absolutely glorious.
I’m out on site again, on a rather spectacular location overlooking the Solent. This is my first “site” job in the U.K. for almost ten years, back on a drilling site after a long time away from that field, so I’ll see how it goes.
The specialist contractor, my employer, are the British arm of a Dutch contractor and rather unexpectedly, I find I’m more comfortable there than I was last year, working in an office in Birmingham. I found the general flow of office conversation in Brum, trivial
Had a rather disappointing lunch today, in several ways. Ventured down to Cambridge to see someone, and stopped at a pub near Duxford for lunch. I’ve been here occasionally over the years, but shan’t be going again...
The once-rural setting of this former coaching inn has been progressively eroded by piecemeal light industrial development, and it now has no garden left at all. The parking is now charged (you enter your registration on a screen inside to get exemption, but there is no sign ou
Heard an unusual aircraft noise, went out into the garden and saw a Lancaster bomber approach from the North, bank and turn, and head off North again.
From BBMF at Coningsby, I suppose... quite something to see!
My good wife spelt the evening watching the blizzard of pyrotechnics and strobes which after a while, I realised was Eurovision... Ho hum, business as usual.
I did watch the voting, more or less, it’s no fun any more. The new voting format seems designed to gloss over the more obvious politicking and settling of old scores between “far-off countries of which we know little”. None of the hostesses QUITE fell out of her dress, and they all had ample supplies of cheesy, laboured “humour”. One
Stranded in a Premier Inn in Preston, writing pre-contract documents for a cable landfall job, thought I’d watch some tv. Browsing around the sort of selection of channels on offer in such places, I hit on Voyage To The Bottom If The Sea!
I haven’t seen this in years! Glorious cheesy 60s adventure sci-fi, utter hokum with the production values of a 1980s Trabant... I’m quite enjoying the evening...
Just been into town on various odd errands, and had tea and cake in the Church in Cathedral Square.
Cup of tea, very nice piece of walnut and coffee cake, £1.90 including the rather glorious setting. No organ recital this morning, apparently. Why anyone goes in the Starbucks opposite, I have no idea.
Also found a new barber in Priestgate. My old place has changed to the point that there’s no real point going there any more, and this place does wet shaves with a hot towel! Didn’t have a
Found this while looking for something else entirely. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/model-trains-that-are-model-worlds?utm_source=Atlas+Obscura&utm_campaign=1e4b4303fe-Newsletter_5_12_20165_11_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_62ba9246c0-1e4b4303fe-61415829&ct=t(Newsletter_5_12_20165_11_2016)&mc_cid=1e4b4303fe&mc_eid=529d3fd6f7
There was a thread a while ago, about "how big is a big layout" and I'd reckon that any of these would qualify...
people have definitely woken up after Xmas, now. The phone has been ringing all over the place and I've just picked up a couple of months' work in 12' = 1' scale, Quality Engineer for platform doors on the CrossRail project. It's only a short job, closing out at the end of the project as the original team move on - but I don't doubt that it will be very busy, these end-of-project roles always are and it's rather satisfying to have done some work on the CrossRail project after all.
Sorry to say it, but I think Italy are going to be in for a long, hard tournament. Seven tries against, a disallowed try from an obvious forward pass in what looked like a set-piece move which didn’t execute; an obvious foul that would certainly have been a penalty try if it hadn’t been given anyway, and not one, but two consecutive muffed short kicks. It’s not promising.
Looking forward to Wales at Twickenham. England by 7 to 10, I think. Can’t fancy Scotland against France, although home
It’s “that” time of year again... I quite enjoyed yesterday’s offering.
Scotland appear to need a sustained search for their “thinking cap”, they were obviously missing some important part of their preparations against Wales. The chaps in red looked good, though, loved the interception try and AWJ and Leigh Halfpenny are always good value. I’ve never seen a dull game there.
France v Ireland was the sort of game I always enjoy, a proper “forwards game” in the wet, with long passages of ru
Saw the trailer for “Biggest Little Railway”. Still feeling mellow after three episodes of Onedin Line followed by gammon and veg for dinner, opted for a hour in the garage and a soak in the bath while the wife watched Call The Midwife..
