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Mick, perhaps this sums up a common feeling about something we make but we feel doesn't cut the mustard. However, advice is often gladly given if you ask for help in sorting out the problems you encountered. Tim, I think attempts have been made in the past to assess the health of the hobby , often through the sales of the magazines, number of web forum members , etc. without much of a conclusion being reached. The membership of the Scale Societies gives something of a guide, but that tends to indicate only the those who tend to make/create their own models in general and doesn't reflect upon the numbers who buy RTR products in the main. Tony, I see myself as a model maker and have used CAD to create etched and laser cut items to effectively create my own kits (as well as designing kits for an established kit supplier). The footbridge in the photo could have been made totally from plasticard, but reproducing the window panels on a consistent basis would have taxed my skills and patience but required only simple 2D cad drawings to get the ninety main parts laser cut. The rest, another ninety bits, were scratchbuilt. Do I feel it is any less of an achievement compared to building it entirely out of plasticard, wood or paper? No. (Photo courtesy of Barry Norman/MRJ)

It's a long time since I posted any photos taken at Pilmoor, on the ECML between York and Thirsk. I have found a few to post today, though the quality is not as good as in some earlier posts. I hope you will enjoy them. Pilmoor A3 4472 Flying Scotsman down Hadrian Flyer June 67 J930.jpg Pilmoor A4 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley Kings X to Newcastle July 67 J0968.jpg Pilmoor Whickham trolley Sept 67 J1127 Pilmoor Class 40 D238 up parcels Jan 68 J1206 Pilmoor Class 47 down Aug 75 J4541 David

I spoke to the local police about a 'covert vehicle' which had been parked in our lane for 3 days with wires underneath it connected to a box. It was parked very close to a road junction with restricted visibility and I was concerned it was likely to get collided with. An inspector from one of the specialist police groups rang me to enquire how I know it was a police vehicle; had I spoken to anyone else about it, could I not divulge the fact it was a police vehicle to any other party etc, and that it was covertly gathering intelligence for a police operation. I had to point out that the whole village knew it was a police vehicle because it was covered in blue and yellow checker board markings with POLICE written in large letters on certain parts of the vehicle. It was gone within the hour. And there are those who say army Intelligence is an oxymoron.

Today would have been my grandmother's 129th birthday. This is her with her mum in 1891, probably taken in close proximity to Ugborough where my great grandfather ran a pub.

Morning all from the former pit village. Lurgi still in retreat but despite that we had a very good evening out with the step dragon in law last night. Today Beth is going out with a friend so I am being taken to a railway station by daughter and granddaughter to be left to my own devices. Not a bad plan for the day methinks. As to TV appearances. I did a few when I was in the job about incidents. However on Cristmas Day 1976 the nation was no doubt traumatised by my appearance, in uniform, on Sale of The Century. They did a special emergency services edition with a nurse from Great Ormond Street and a fireman from Glasgow. By various nefarious means I was chosen as the orficer of the law. I enjoyed 2 days special leave, a night in a hotel in Norwich and was allowed to keep all my prizes, one of which was 6 dozen bittles of wine. Somewhere I have some photos of me with my arms round Angela Daniels and Linda Hooks. Regards to all. Jamie.

MrsID's dad went over after D-Day and came back PDQ with a serious leg injury. We were never able to get him to tell us anything about what happened. Uncle Bobby, my mum's brother, was in the RAF and he was killed quite early in the war. Mum never talked about what happened and we never asked. My brother eventually did some research and it turned out he was killed when some yahoo pilot decided to perform a low-flying stunt on a training exercise. Uncle Jim was in Burma and contracted malaria but he made it back in one piece.

Trolley? They have trolleys in a supermarket??

Evening all. Busy day culminating in saying goodbye to my sports car and bonjour to my new sensible car. If I can figure out the plethora of controls and features in this new fangled vehicle I'll let you know!

I usually find missing tools to be where I put them down when I picked up the next tool I used. Jamie

Unlikely. I often put things down in just this way but in this case I was doing the cutting in another room. I shall find them today, just after I return from B&Q with a new knife and new tape measure.

Mooring Awl , Inner temple Hare, 1032 / 645 I had a terrible nights sleep, just couldn't get comfortable... Ben the Snoring Collie had a good nights sleep. There are double lucky villages, I suppose we are a double lucky family. The 7 Boys of both sets of grand parents generation survived, and the 3 boys that fought in WW2 of my Dads generation all survived. When you consider Granddad was at Dunkirk and the western deserts, , one of his brothers a Spitfire pilot, another on the Arctic convoys. and an Uncle in Burma we were very lucky.. Proper Ice cube weather this morning, car started so as to de-ice before taking Ben on patrol.. I've to redo about half of the calibration on the extra major system now the fault has been fixed... So that's my work for today... Time to wander to the lab.

Right now I'm keeping an eye out for my computer/reading bifocals. I was using them on the sofa with my laptop hours ago, before I went to the supermarket. I've torn the couch apart and looked under all the cushions and on the floor and retraced my steps everywhere I went during the middle of the day. They seem to have disappeared without a trace. It's maddening. And no, they're not on the top of my head. I checked. I'm sure they'll be in the last place I look. I'd like to know where that will be.

Like me, you all thought that the question to ask was "where were you working when you last used them?". Turns out the right question was "when?". It was just before lunch. So I went upstairs where the new boiler has made things very cosy. So I took off the fleece that I was wearing. It seemed quite heavy when I picked it up this morning to put it on.....

When I was looking at buying my first house in '87 i had a builder acquaintance round to check it out. This included lifting some flooroards downstairs. The back door was open and a cat came in, said hello and wandered about, as they do. When we were about to leave we heard a plaintive miaow. The cat had gone under the foor and we'd put the boards back without knowing.

When we moved from Bristol area parents nearly bought a house in Kenley but it fell through on the day of signing after they had signed the house in Bristol so moved temporarily into Wallington then to Warlingham. Upper Warlingham station in Whyteleafe was my local station as was Whyteleafe across the main road. The hill was the killer, uphill from Upper Warlingham to Warlingham! The Whyteleafe Tavern is still open amazingly but the Radius micropub is superb and is often busy but either two buses or two trains to get there from Redhill There is a weekday only direct bus there but finishes too early to make much use of it. To add to my other halfs travel home, East Croydon station has been shut due to a suspicious truck nearby.

Morning from a distinctly white Dark Peak. Weather app is telling me it feels like minus something outside so washing won't get put out for a while yet. I'm good at that. There are now five strategically placed tapes around the house so I can usually find one. Sympathies to lurgi sufferers. Mine seemed to come on in waves every few days for about five weeks. I managed to avoid most TV appearances but have been spotted a couple of times. Classic was a friend of my Dad. He threw a sickie as he had a ticket to see West Brom in the 1968 FA Cup Final but couldn't find cover for a shift swap. It was the first final televised in colour and the fire station social fund had splashed out on a new set. During the singing of Abide With Me the Divisional Officer arrived to watch just as the camera zoomed in on the absent crew member. Epic Fail!

Morning all. Off to Whitechapel this morning, for a noon appointment at the Royal London Hospital. Not heart or lungs today, anyone picking my pocket en-route won’t like today’s sample pot. Dad wasn’t at Dunkirk but he did go and volunteer as a result. Tony

Yes Bob, as part of the 20 000 beds in 'the semi-circle' ... worked at St Helier Group for 15 years and did occasionally travel to one or two of those ... some of which were described as 'super nutter' places in those days. I also remember a patient who said "Why should I go outside - I'm well fed and watered - what more do I need". Things changed when they said that 'working for free was oppressive' they 'cannot 'work' - some of them seemed quite happy working but after this directive had nothing to do all day ... and became worse.

Good morning all, Frosty here and have heard the sound of windscreens being scraped since 5.00am, It should stay dry with sunny periods. We take in parcels on an almost daily basis, mainly for our friends next door and their two adult daughters. I usually advise them by text with a message saying "Your parcel is now awaiting collection at your local warehouse." With other neighbours, like Rick, if they haven't collected I deliver to them. The annoying thing is that if we are out Sod's Law says that the neighbours will be as well and we then have to collect from the PO or courier depot or arrange a re-delivery. Today being Thursday means Sainsbury's. I get told off by The Boss for referring to the"trolley" as a "barrer." Mind you, I also get told off for most other things including breathing. Seeing the post about "everyone's a nutter" reminded me that Epsom where I spent a few years working was home to the Epsom Cluster of 5 large mental institutions. One of them, Horton Hospital, had its own light railway. ISTR that at one time the patients numbered about 10% of the town's population. https://langdondownmuseum.org.uk/research/u3a-research/2014-long-stay-institutions-for-people-with-learning-disabilities/the-five-hospitals-that-made-up-the-epsom-cluster/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-14652885 Have a good one, Bob.

Morning and another chilly one so car glass required scraping. Due to overhead wire issues on the St Pancras to Bedford half of our trains are cancelled. Luckily my other halfs normal train ran but it was wedged after the net stop. her journey home will not be as easy as the wires wont be fixed till tonight. I must do her delay repay for Monday but might wait till tonight. How I hate Thameslink - it needs changing to improve reliability when theres a problem the one side of London so it doesnt mess up other parts of the South east. At least I am WFS again finishing off the next batch of On30 locos so they can be dropped off tomorrow and next batch collected. Saturday will be using buses rather than the trains to get to Croydon. Brother has sent a photo of his other half wearing a mask in HK. He says this virus has some advantages but he can still hear her -good job that she has a good sense of humour or patience with him.

I had a similar experience yesterday. Used a tape measure and Stanley knife to cut a piece of plasterboard. Went to cut next piece of studwork and could not find the tape measure. Got round that for a while by using other pieces of timber as a measure. That worked rather well until I needed to cut another sheet of plasterboard. Knife missing! So clearly they are together but I can't find them.

Just back from trolley dodgems at the supermarket. I caught the transition between mothers with their broods running errands between the end of school and dinner time and workers heading to the shop on the way home. I wasn't there long but it got busier and busier while there. The checkouts were swamped, even though extra lanes were opened while I was waiting. Before I left I realized that I have mislaid my computer/reading bifocals. They are here at the house *somewhere*. I'm sure they will turn up - so long as I don't stand or sit on them. Apparently Kirk Douglas has died at 103. Quite an innings. "I am Spartacus!"

Who is Eva? Does Melania know about this?

During a course in the mid-1990s the instructor had what he described as 'War Stories' time around every break to save them from interfering with the content he was presenting. Three of the course had joined BR under 'Forces for Change' which was a government resettlement programme for MOD personnel during budget cuts. One had recently returned from the Gulf, another had been to the Falklands. I decided to wind up the third, my assistant at the time, whose service history I had seen when I accepted him for training under me. He had been a weapons officer on various ships. "Where were you in the Falklands War" I asked. "Effin Fisheries Protection patrols round the Western Isles" was his reply.

Mornin' all from The Gateway to The World. Diabetic review yesterday, all results were "good" apart from blood pressure which is a bit high, and I can reduce my Metformin dose. Dad was called up in early 1940, a Rifleman in a home defence division, then transferred to the Intelligence corps as a sergeant instructor of Commandos at Inveraray, training in encrypted radio communications. This also involved participating in raids and he visited Norway (Vaagso) and France (Bruneval). He missed Dieppe due to a serious illness after which he was downgraded (in fitness), posted to Royal Signals, and sent to South Africa as a WO2 as part of the British Military Mission to the Smuts government. I haven't moved about much; grew up in Ampthill, left at 18, spent nearly two years in a bedsit in Leigh on Sea followed by 3 years at Southampton Uni. I then stayed here for archaeological work and sort of stuck, living in various bedsits and flats of varying degrees of seediness. The last was over an antique shop backing onto the main line at Northam. I bought a small house in '87, married in '99, and we moved to our present house in 2006. There are things to do so I'd better get on; have a good day. Pete PS I forgot to add, I was interviewed on local TV News twice, about archaeological sites I was working on; once by Fred Dineage.

Good morning from a crisp NEHerts where things are almost back to normal, in that CowboysRUs are drowning out the sounds of spring - not the “boing said Zeberdee” ones - and skies are a sort of Jet-A1blue, a colour not found in the Dulux mix-n-patch chart but certainly existing between Luton and Stansted on a still day. Today I shall be mainly awaiting orders but I do know I have to go to a florist to collect flowers from son-in-law for daughter as he is working in Barcelona and it is daughter’s birthday tomorrow. The fridge and larder are running low so I suspect a session of “barrer” steering will be required. Attempts will be made to avoid creating any carnage with it. Later, I will be interested to see how my two digital images are critiqued by the judge at the camera club meeting tonight. The wood burner has gorn aat for the first time since 26th January so needs cleaning and will be relit, slightly adding to the intensity of the Jet-A1blue above. I wish you all well, less lurgi and more gusto.

Have you looked behind the last piece of plasterboard Joseph? When doing the same a number of years back to create a partition to form a study, I carefully placed my Stanley Knife and tape measure on a horizontal frame and subsequently nailed on a sheet of board to confine them to history. As a Simpson family member would say... “doh”

on the cross batton behind the now fitted first piece of plasterboard? I bet there are many inside house walls...

Ey up! Tea time here. (Or beer time!) Had a busy day. Long queues on the road as a hire camper van had totalled a moror cycle rider. Lots of motor bikes here due to a big meet up/festivity ininvercargill Time for food! Baz

I got an order from "Upstairs Downstairs" in Sandown IOW. This was included in the parcel, and I found it did make me smile. No connection, just a satisfied (and amused) customer:

Before I go to bed, I just picked up a bit of cricket memorabilia which may interest Baz @Barry O and any other fans of a certain age. Dad passed this book on to me with the instruction to keep it and pass it on to a young cricket fan some day, family member if possible. Mom bought the book for Dad at Christmas 1955. He was a great Warwickshire supporter and in 1957 became a club member. I think that the autographs date from that year when England played West Indies in the First Test, which was the first one covered by Test Match Special. Dad was sitting in the old Members Pavilion and collared John Arlott during lunch to sign the book for him. John said certainly and I'll get you a much better autograph than mine, whereupon he took Dad to the BBC box and Introduced him to the great Kent and England all-rounder Frank Woolley whom Dad had seen play for Kent in the last years of his career. Also there were Denis Compton, Jim Swanton, the Telegraph cricket correspondent who was doing the interval summaries and Peter West who was presenting the TV highlights.

Another of those "I'm not sure why I took this" photos. and another angle on Sir Nigel.

...... but how did you manage to divide it up between all of your new admirers?

There had better be no such shennanigans in the next few days. An urgent request has been sent to Fraggle Rock Something went "Ping" in an expensive sort of way when I attempted to reason with it and trace the cause of no elecktrickery. I shall probably find the part that went "Ping" at some future time in a most unexpected place. At 05.30 this morning a van pulled into the car parking area behind our back door. Three heavily-coated persons got out and entered the back of the Thai restaurant with ladders. I couldn't make out what they were about but this was sufficiently unusual that I felt it warranted alerting Plod. I didn't see the end of it as I had to depart for the House of Fun. Either some legitimate workmen were doing a very very early shift indeed and would have had to explain themselves or some shifty deals were afoot which the aforesaid Plod would have been better equipped than myself to manage. In other news the sun is finally out after a grey and foggy morning. And SWMBO has exited the premises in the general direction of the bakery which suggests the next muggertee might be accompanied by something nice.

Greetings all, form a sunny LBG. I can relate to the parcels experiences. I had an Amazon delivery yesterday - the card suggested it had been left next door with an undecipherable name, We know next door well and they had not received anything. The number was not clear either so we had to hope a neighbour eventually turned up with said delivery. When they did we had a laugh about the writing after my apology, To make it worse, I found I had ordered a vinyl version of an album instead of a CD, at a lot more cost. War stories; nothing has come down to me from those in action. On one side, my Grandad was killed in the Ardennes on a routine patrol in 44, on the other I think my Grandad was in the merchant navy (my Mum has ivory handled cutlery that allegedly comes from there..) but he did when I was 2. All I really know is that he picked up a smoking habit that he hated but could not shake, and as a teetotaller rank rum for medicinal purposes. He had what was described as a nervous breakdown when my Mum was a child but could easily have been some kind of PTSD. Neither family were evacuated from their respective suburbs, although my Dad has talked about being in a nissen hut after the war, so presumably a result of bomb damage.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Only just in time to count as an ER, time seems to have flown. My mum and dad had only one brother each and both were fortunately to young to take part in the war but both were called up for national service after the war. My mothers brother was medically discharged quite quickly though he always seemed very fit and lived until his 80's. My other uncle was an apprentice engineer when he was called up and after the initial square bashing carried on until he got his degree and his national service finished. My mums cousin, an RAF bomber pilot was lost in a mid air collision on a night flying exercise off the coast of Wales. Thats if the gremlins don't find them first. They hide them and then replace them in the same spot when your not looking.

Well, as it happens, we do have something very similar this morning, though it also includes a rather less graceful locomotive. our photographers seem to have acquired a fixation on 60007.

Good morning everyone A sunny but frosty start to the day, up later than usual but as there isn’t anything planned for the day, (other than the usual laundry, eye care) it shouldn’t be as busy as yesterday. In between the above mentioned tasks, I’m hoping to do a bit of circuit board building today, but we’ll see how that pans out. My father and his older brother were children during the war and as such too young to participate, as were my mother's brothers. Sheila’s father and her uncles (both mothers and fathers brothers) all fought! Her dad’s BiL was in the RAF went missing during a raid. Two others were in the navy and her father the army. He was at El Alamein and Monte Casino, where is was wounded. He wouldn’t talk about the war and Sheila can remember her dad waking in the night screaming. One of her uncles who was in the navy was on one of the coastal corvettes and never went much further than the Scottish Isles, as his shop was only a short range vessel. The other who was in the navy went to the US, South Africa and was in Tokyo harbour when the surrender document was signed. In his own words, he had a very lucky war and “never fired a shot in anger” despite being a ‘gunner’! During his ‘foreign visits’ he had lots of food parcels sent home to his parents. Back later.

It is with the benefit of age that I realise how many people tried and try to block out the horrors they have suffered or witnessed by refusing to discuss them. Sadly it means many of us did not get to hear that part of history from some of those who were living it. This was the case for my father (a Japanese PoW) and my mother’s brother (RN gunnery and torpedo specialist).

Morning All The usual apologies and generic greetings - as usual, matters domestic and financial have got in the way of the serious business of RMWeb, Phone rang at 6pm last evening - can 30747 please work tomorrow - day off spoiled again, but there's so many of her colleagues down with the lurgi, and they can't really close the nursery, so she really has little choice in saying "no". Parcel deliveries - this was what 30747's niece got from Royal Mail with apologies that it appears twice, and I can't get rid of the second one. Unfortunately, she was on her wedding in Graceland at the time, and was away for three weeks - you can guess the rest - and Royal Mail have said that she will not learn the outcome of their investigation as it is "an internal matter". And I too have appeared on TV, but unknowingly - I was taking a sickie one day and went to Carlisle with 30747, and we saw a camera, but didn't know they were filming at the time - some months later a religious friend rang us to say that we had appeared in "Songs Of Praise", in a street scene in Carlisle, And on addresses, I have had quite a few (though some were student accommodation). Newmilns, Ayrshire - 2 Glasgow - 1 Paisley - 1 Renfrew - 1 Worcester Park, Surrey - 2 South Norwood - 1 Kenley, Surrey - 2 Whyteleafe, Surrey - 1 Caton, Lancashire - 1 Ketterningham, Norfolk - 1 Hornby, Lancashire - 1 Caton, Lancashre - 1 Now waiting for builder to arrive as he's coming to change the filling loop on our boiler as the tap isn't admitting any water - or it it is, it is very slow. Bacon bagel now calls. Regards to All Stewart

My FiL was at Dunkirk with the Lancashire Fusiliers and didn't want to talk about it but did just once when he told me that the men either side of him were killed when they were wading out to get on a boat. "I think I must have been too skinny for them to hit me," he said. He was only about 5ft 6in or so and eight stone wringing wet. Have a good day everyone with commiserations to those struck with the lurgy. Dave PS - anyone seen my glasses?

Good morning one and all The lurgi struck back yesterday. I spent nearly all day coughing and found it very difficult to concentrate on what I was supposed to be doing. One thing my wandering mind found was a lot of stuff on YouTube about the dreadful koala massacre in Victoria – denials, half-truths and allegations mostly. It appears that it is being taken very seriously at the highest level. So I should think! If there is any justice at all, that atrocity should cost the perpetrator dearly. While my mind was wandering it made me wonder whether I should take a placard with me to Dublin Pride proclaiming “Save the Koala”. It will not stand out amid 60,000 other marchers but every little helps. Matters arising: my ugly mug has been seen on TV a few times. Circa 1982 I was in shot on a BBC2 documentary “The Sidmouth Invasion” and about four years before that I was seen on the 9 o’clock news walking briskly towards some policemen to invite them to restore order at a motorway inquiry. The consensus is that I have a ‘not bad’ face for radio. As for serving ones country abroad, my late father’s finest contribution to the war effort was to put his foot in a hot spring in Iceland. Tonight sees the first of the events in Bedford marking LGBT History Month. How closely it relates to the overall theme is anyone’s guess but there is only one way to find out and that is to attend. Best wishes to all Chris

Afternoon all, A nice sunny day thus far and somewhat qwarmer then yesterday when I returned indoors from the porch to put on a woolie hat and was quite glad I'done so as it spent most of the reszt of the day on my head although it wasn't much help for my cooled feet. Video man was with us again but this time I escaped and some other poor chap was duly interviewed, he turned out to be another one take' merchant so I am not alone. Recompense of course had to be paid today to Mrs Stationmaster so we I took us off to Farnham to the premises of BBS T Ltd, official supplier of spare parts for Magimx food mixers in order to have a worn part replaced on herself's food mixer ('spare part' in this case actually meant a new outer casing because the worn bit is part of it - but the mixer is 15 years old). Part supplied and fitted including VAT cost £29.99, total bill after she had finished 'shopping' in their very small display area came to £127 But then herself is, as she says herself, definitely a person who enjoys what she calls 'kitchen porn' and the additional cutters and a new small mixer we bought are all required items (once she knew they existed ) and as it happens the small mixer bought there was £6 cheaper than exactly the same thing in several High St stores, and cheaper than some Amazon suppliers. Big message - if your household kitchen kit includes Magimix mixers etc this is the place, top notch service including postal supply of numerous spare parts - we've used them in that way in the past - and really helpful staff. And a useful credit in brownie points for me. Oh and we came past the really good chippy in Tilehurst on the way home so popped in for a couple of bags of chips. it is almost 13 years since we moved from there although we pop in at very infrequent intervals but the Chinese lady behind the counter recognised us immediately - more quality family service and chips freshly fried to order. Enjoy the rest of your day one and all.

So your wife is called Cat? I spent the Falklands war in a concrete building in Norfolk, I knew some who did go down there because they were qualified on the right radar. Pity it got dropped into the water while being unloaded. They Spent their war keeping their head down with nothing to do.. I didn't expect to be sent down there some years later..... as a civilian...

I will have to dig out 'A Mercifully short history of the South Horton Irrigation Tramway'. For those with a railway history bent, the South Horton being the forerunner of the very famous military range railway at Wrekin Havock.

Builder has been - I was fitted in before he goes back down South to work on the Guildhall in Guildford and also a historic church in Brighton - but even when he's working for English Heritage, he still has time for his small jobs, and he doesn't charge us the earth, and the repair to the boiler was only charged at £30 for cash.

Morning, me the missus and son in a buggy were chased round Bournemouth pier by Ester Rantzen and a tv crew, didn't to be interviewed by her!! I was interviewed by Alan Whicker in Amsterdam, but ended up on the cutting room floor as the bit shown was a lad next to me, I was seen but not heard. I have also been seen on David Dickinsons antiques program more than once wandering around in the background wearing a Tigers rugby shirt, he used visit Derby often when we lived there.

Yes, that's where they should be. Next to the stack of plasterboard. I could not have picked them up at the same time as an 8' x 3' piece of board. But they are not. Or were not yesterday. Perhaps they are back there this morning?

Trolley!? I presume you are referring to a shopping cart.

The neighbor behind me in Florida was one of the soldiers evacuated from Dunkirk. Unfortunately he would never talk about it other than to say that he was there,