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For this morning's coffee time photos we are in Scotland on a dismal cold and wet day in February 1990. The photos are of the Ayrshire Railway Preservation Groups' collection, then at Minniveny Colliery, near Dalmellington. It is now known as the Scottish Industrial Railway Centre and has been relocated since the photos were taken. The collection is now at Dunaskin Heritage Centre. A link to their website: http://www.scottishindustrialrailwaycentre.org.uk/ (In my browser there is a note saying the site is not secure). Dalmellington Miniveny colliery Barclay 18th Feb 90 C14137.jpg Dalmellington Miniveny colliery Barclay 7 ex BP Grangemouth 18th Feb 90 C14128.jpg Dalmellington Miniveny colliery Barclay 8 and Barclay 19 and steam crane 18th Feb 90 C14135.jpg Dalmellington Miniveny colliery Barclays 8 and 16 18th Feb 90 C14136.jpg Dalmellington Miniveny colliery Hunsle t3 foot gauge 18th Feb 90 C14126.jpg Dalmellington Miniveny colliery Ruston and Hornsby loco 2 foot gauge 18th Feb 90 C14127.jpg David

Found the picture I was looking for for those brass bikes. Even though fiddly and with no spokes!!! they look the part.

Slightly delayed tea break while I sorted some necessary tasks. but here is another look at the previous view, now from up on the bridge.

Nothing to do with V2s or split-chassis................... Phil Crathorn's beautiful Dolgelley in O Gauge. To feature in a future issue of BRM................

Another Friday relief is on its way to London, this one from the West Riding. Great Eastern has the job, a rather inferior one for a KX top link Pacific. As the A1 nears Crescent Bridge, the 2.45 stopper from Hitchin appears. Someone has taken a chance on a baby deltic with this, and so far it seems to have paid off.

Only a few shots today as I haven't done much in the railway room but here's some close ups of the products I'm using and a poor attempt at doing a Rosebay Willow. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/entry/22537-a-simple-embankment-diorama-part-5-adding-typical-flora/

Now the cottages are all but finished, just waiting for some chickens..... I have returned to the vans that I got for Fathers Day.... So starting with the most intriguing first, namely the Mica B insulated van by Parkside Models - Peco. It went together well, bit of flash on a few sprues but nothing much to complain about, and then the next bit was the time consuming bit. Now I have an 'O' level in metalwork (!!!!) so working with metal and getting it to do what I want is quite easy (tongue in cheek) but when you use 0.4mm phosphor bronze to bend the multi angled roof handrails that's when the fun started and the patience got stretched. Making the first one was OK but then making another three, two of them mirrored, and getting them to look the same was the real fiddly bit.....makes them bikes look easy!!! But onwards we went, bending here, nipping there and cursing every now and then...... Until victory, the battle was over and the modelmaker had prevailed?

Still in Scotland for this afternoon's photos, this time at Beattock Summit and Carstairs. Carstairs 37693 7th Aug 95 C20364.jpg Carstairs 305 517 down ecs 7th Aug 95 C20365.jpg Beattock Summit 86226 Glasgow C to Paddington 7th Aug 95 C20412.jpg Beattock Summit 43159 Penzance to Glasgow to Edinburgh 7th Aug 95 C20413.jpg going away Beattock Summit Class86 Euston to Glasgow C 7th Aug 95 C20414.jpg David

Slow progress on the EPB renovation - I've stripped the two roofs, cleaned and tidied them and given them a coat of primer. The MBSO still needs a fair bit of work. It's not even on track (below) as the furthest line is a siding and is why it is a little lower than the driving trailer car. Also, apologies for the lack of third rail - it's just a short generic static diorama for photography. I thought I'd also check out my other two car units to see if they needed some upgrading and renovation. And, yep, they do, although despite that I'm pleased how they've held up over time and still look representational. Here they are lined up; left to right; the blue un-motorised 2-EPB, 6225 2-EPB in blue/grey and 6056 blue 2-HAP. These are, of course, N/2mm models that are effectively scratch built - or at least heavily bashed from Graham Farish Mk1 coaches. The sides are etched brass but there's no soldering with the majority of construction, body and chassis, from plastic although the truss rods are etched metal and much of the underframe detail white metal castings. Although looking somewhat dated and lacking finesse and modern levels of details I doubt there will be any exquisite RTR versions produced in my lifetime. Consequently, one has to get on and make what one wants.

Ey up! The air tastes fresher than before all the rain.good. garden flooded..bad. Having helped "reorganise" our understairs cupboard (i warned her to be careful as that is where the "Gremlins" live I got a lot less done than hoped yesterday. A non drink day yesterday so perhaps a bottle of wine may be dr9unk with our Sunday tea. Looking forward to that! Currently the UK has revealed that some of its population have zero commonsense and even less respect for others. Looks like that is a theme ongoing across the world ( apart from NZ which seems to do as the people are told. Too old to emigrate there but it would be a nice place to live) Today I am not on the "list of items to be done today" roster. After I finish my mugatea I may well do something with a number of items which are about a 4mm to the foot rendition of a real object. I may also chance a quick stroll before we get more rain. Time to get Sunday organised to my advantage! Positive thoughts to all ERs especially our missing ones ( I know of at least 1 who is ok but not posting on here at the moment) Baz

Morning all. So my plan the other evening to sit on the sofa with the Hornby Magazine and a pint of Spitfire was rudely interrupted by the appearance at the back door of someone waving a machete at me. Sensing an advanced game of "Rock, paper, scissors" was afoot I leapt off the sofa and retrieved a garden hoe from my shed. And some secateurs. But before we go too far, and your hopes are raised of reading a modern day battle between Little John and Robin Hood, tussling for right of way across a stream, I should mention that the machete-wielding loon was in fact my neighbour who was proposing a gardening expedition into some waste ground from which brambles invade both our gardens. Hey-hoe-let's go, says I. Before long our weapons of choice had upped to petrol strimmers with slicing discs as we hacked our way into the vegetation. After an hour or so said vegetation had been reduced to a knee-high pile of nettles, brambles and bindweed cuttings intermingled with barbed wire. Today I'll be doubling down with WMD across this patch to prevent the Return of the Giant Hogweed.

Greetings one and all It will be a while yet before I can spring out of bed. I may or may not be full of zest for the new day but it will have to await my clambering arrival while I am still in pain. I have not made the giant leap to codeine and for the time being at least still rely on nurofen. The epicentre of the pain lies just below my right shoulder blade, while the pain itself appears in spasms, usually as a result of movement. I must be patient and keep taking the tablets. In theevent of a laxative being a good idea I have several cans of prunes which make a nice change from bananas with my breakfast cereal. For me, nature's way is best. Whatever else happens must wait until I have had another go at soaking away the pain in the bath. On a tenuously connected note, let me share with you this riddle. What is the difference between Radox and a poor guitarist? Radox bucks up the feet ... Best wishes to all Chris

Got a job done that I've been meaning to do for quite a while. When I built the goods shed I built it from my own drawing from my own measurements of the real thing, The canopies were added as the track side one is in the background of one of the few photos, the main subject being the train, the road side canopy is based on NER practice and other similar sheds. I never really put much thought in to a chimney, there isn't one there now and had no idea where one might be. This was until I found this photo a couple of years ago. I started out with an unidentified grey moulded chimney that was about the right size and height, the angle was corrected for the shed roof. It was clad with brick plasticard and a whitemetal pot fitted.

Some additional work on the SE&CR E1 class:

Vienna has one of those too. Just cruises round and round the Ring. My plan for the next couple of years is to do a lot of short city breaks. Any city with trams and good beer will be high up on the list.

Morning all. Was up a bit in the night wondering if I had ordered 1 or 2 of a particular signal control board. Checked this morning - I've ordered 3 - even better! AND (finally) looks like the lighting for the coaches is ready too! And here endith my £500 splurge, of which I did not get the ECoS but stock and signals instead. Heading out to see family today - socially distanced - a phrase I feel will be the word of the year. Apart from Wilko, who use the perhaps more correct term of "physical distance".

Morning all. It is a very pleasant morning here. Fortunately no crowds of day trippers flocking to stroll along our local estuarial mud flats. Tony

Good evening everyone We’ve had a day of very mixed weather, lot of rain, some of which was very heavy, but a few sunny spells too. I timed my visits to and from the workshop quite well, missing the rain every time. The heavy rain has really tested the guttering and I’m pleased to say that we’ve not had any water spilling over the sides at all, so last weekend’s modifications seems to have done the trick. When I got to the workshop this morning, the first job I tackled was to finish fitting the hinges on the recently built control panel. I then turned my attention towards the new circuit board. I mocked up the circuit on bread board and after checking all was ok I powered it up, it didn’t work. More checks were made and I discovered that the pin arrangement wasn’t what I’d used in my drawing, so I rebuilt it to the correct pin layout and still no joy. Luckily when I was doing some online research a few weeks ago, I made several sketches of different circuits, several of these were tested and typically, it wasn’t until I’d reached the final circuit that I had any joy. I was then able to switch the relay on and off at will. During these tests, I discovered that a black object worked better than anything else. I then started to reduce the size of the object and the smallest I got to was a piece of black plasticard, 0.5mm wide! Tomorrow I’ll try it all again but with the indexing table. Goodnight all

It's blowing a gale outside the Hippodrome, and it looks like it's about to rain again. Fortunately I was able to dodge the drops this morning, and put in some time weeding the cabbages and cauliflowers in the veg bed. A little bit of hedge clipping was also managed. This afternoon I will either adjourn to the workshop or the garage, and do some pottering (tidying up). Both places are filling up with stuff destined for the local recycling centre but not until the when the queues eventually die down. (In about a month judging by that they are like every time I've driven past.) I also have some stuff to deliver to Hunt Towers. This trip to the northern outpost of my realm will be the equivalent of a state visit, with all the security planning, permissions and split second timings, requiring coordination and agreement. It is much more difficult bearing in mind it will be a touch and go, as I will not be coming to a full stop. Nor will I be marshalled into a muddy hollow suitable for visiting dignitaries of my stature. This means I can only dream of the copious amounts of cake normally given as tribute.

Chris, Thank you for bringing a smile to my face this morning, I couldn't give you a 'funny' rating due to the rest of yous post's content. Having been bashed around quite a bit in times gone by, the cure for which, apart from medication, was structured exercise by suitable qualified 'remidial gymnasts'. (An RAF term I believe.) Unless you have been specifically told to keep the injured area resting, then keeping some movement will help as atrophy of the affected area prolongs your recovery. You could use a tin of sausage and beans to add a bit of weight. (Providing you aren't into catering pack sizes!).

Good morning all, Sunny spells here and still quite windy but not raining at the moment. Nothing else happening apart from the eggs and bacon etc which will shortly be proffered for my consideration. Have a good one, Bob.

That is one very very lucky young man. The only car crask I attended where the fehicle was in two parts was a Mk 1 Fird Escort that had been neatly sliced by a large concrere lampost along the dashboard. Unfortunately neither of the 18 yr old males survived. Alcohol and speed had done for them. I thought that it was rather ironic that they were marching down 'Stark' Avenue. Anyway to more mundane topics. Late up this morning but the day is to be carped. First off a visit to the market then who knows. I will take it as it comes. One task will be to try and work out why the hall lights won't turn off. There are three switches, 2 pushbuttons and a sprung contact one that work them. I think that they energise or de energise a latching relay. One of the pushbuttons was painted up by our incompetent painters so i suspect that the relay has latched once too often with the pushbutton not releasing. I just have to find the relay. The prime suspect is a small panel on the wall in the lounge near the ceiling. I will gave fun. Regards to all. Jamie

Good morning, as I understand things currently,

Mooring awl, inner Temple Hare, A good nights sleep of about 6 hours, the heat has reduced in the house but it is still way above normal. We didn't get much rain yesterday, just occasional scattered patches... I was going to go to the motorboat today to move a couple of things around for the broads MOT, put the fire extinguisher in obvious view, clear the cockpit floor for easy access to the engine, etc, it just cuts down on the time they charge you.. However rowing across the river in the predicted near gales force winds does not appeal, so I'll leave it till after work on Tuesday. Probably less Cockwombles around at the river side as well. I'm slowly thinking of an electric outboard for the rowing dinghy, for the moment the occasional row across the river is not a problem, though the left elbow complains some times. My seagull outboard is just to big, the exhaust would be a couple of feet under water. Once retired and going to the boat more often a final decision will be required. Also being able to use an an outboard would be useful for the sailing boat, it would have to be side mounted due to the retrusse stern, and then you need to work out how to control it from the cockpit in the middle of the boat. Hmm DCC outboard anyone? A major mow of the jungle is required and finishing the netting the external shelving doors. If there is time after that, boat deck sanding will occur. Time to think of something for breakfast..

Train.

Another photo from the weekend. 'EBV for Bala'

And the good news is, IT WILL WORK. First I had to add some timber, as the Arc from the pivot was different from the current one. I then had to add the offcut from the Old Fiddle Yard and add some more bits to finish.

G'day all, My cup of tea arrived in the bedroom this morning with an inquiry from the servant management about today's weather expectations. Although it was blowing rather a lot at the time I repeated the most recent advice I had seen from the 'experts' in Exeter that we'd have some occasional sunshine and a bit of cloud and that was it. Some time later while idling away my time on RMweb - well actually dealing with the intricacies (largely imagined, by others) of horseboxes working as tail traffic - my eardrums were assailed by an outburst of less than ladylike language from an adjacent room. It appears that it was my fault (not the 'experts' of course) that the washing had been hung out to dry and was now receiving a further rinsing from a passing shower. Fortunately having updated the views from the experts the management decided , on their advice, to replace the washing on the line once the rain ceased and - best of all - I managed to escape being hung out to dry alongside it. As I cleaned the vacuum yesterday hopefully I can reasonably exect no further orders today - unless she looks in the dining room and decides that it needs 'tidying', as many digits as possible are now crossed. No other plans for today apart from perusal of the newspapers (mainly in order to find the pages the sudoku is on although there might be some humour hidden somewhere among the 'news') and some recycling to sort in order to maximise space utisation in the bin. Enjoy the rest of your day one and all and stay safe.

' morning all from red dragon land. Showers and strong winds. Plans for today, you probably know them by now... Toot on the flute. I have started to learn Wouter Kellerman's "Half Moon" on the new Yamaha 21 fife. The first half is going OK but, since I am learning by ear (something I have always been absolutly atrocious at), the second half could be a might tricky to sort out with several short but quick runs up and down. Fingers crossed my attempt will not be in vain. I do not see a bike ride on the terrace taking place very soon... ...but I am hoping my little headboards, which will be fitted to a couple of little girls toys which run on a pair of metal strips, will get finished. Then I will be able to make the number boards to go with them. At least the numbers and boards are ready made. All I have to do is attach the numbers to the boards....and not forget to add a bit of weathering. Almost mugadecaf time. Fitt and Elfie bumbling along. Take care and play safe. _________ Best wishes Polly

The curved warehouse/factory was styled after one I came across in Bristol. Ok so mine doesn't curve around a river bank (might have been a waterway there at sometime I suppose) but that didn't stop me having a go at it. B

I've made some good progress with ballasting over the last few days, slowly and steadily an hour or so at a time. The first job was to finish the Up Main across the viaduct. I was glad to see the end of this, as working round the guard rails was a bit fiddly. After that, I completed all three tracks on the short section between the viaduct and lifting flap. I made one small change to my method, abandoning the masking tape at the edge of the ballast shoulder. I didn't lift the tape from last week's work soon enough so, as you can see here, it just ripped when I tried to pull it up. I couldn't use it between parallel tracks either, as it was too wide. So, I tried without the tape and found that I could do the job just as well by eye, which saves some time. I did continue with the cling wrap at the lifting flap, which gives a nice clean joint. This photo also shows the first section of the Down Goods Loop with ballast. I had to start using the Matt's Ballast product as I was running out of Chuck's, so to avoid too stark a contrast I gradually blended it in each time I topped up the bowl in which I keep the new and recycled ballast. I think you can see that the Matt's product is slightly dustier but that can be cleaned up later. This is as far as I've got so far, meaning that the main lines and Down Goods Loop are ballasted from Paddington Down end to the Down end of the lifting flap, and the Down Goods Loop to within a couple of feet of 31B point. I'll finish that next, then do the Down Main, Up Main and the two Spurs, working towards myself as I go. Here's a view across the lifting flap and the viaduct towards the tunnel... ... and one looking the other way. Just for fun, I took this through the tunnel mouth and I rather like the way it's turned out. Finally, in case anyone's wondering about the E147, repairs are well in hand. I just need to clean up some filler round the roof/end joins and replace one rain strip at the van end. Then I can put the final(?) coat of crimson on.

Our predicted thunderstorm started just after I logged into ER; it's now bown itself out or away. I've been making rolling stock storage. Scrapbooking trays (clamshell types) that I've had for years with dividers made of foam core board. The early ones I made were from board about 1/4" thick; the latest are 3/16 and possibly 1/8". The trays are 13' square (roughly, and not square as there are indents in the sides. It makes it tricky to cut strips from sheets of 20"x30". And the final one was a different type and didn't like being cut with a knife. Motorhome refrigerator door: I'm supposed to take the decorative panel from the original door. But I can't see a way to get it apart -- I think it's kind of glued together.

You're lucky, I've known the boss for 42 years..... Jamie

Morning. Just. Horrid day here, persisting down and blowing a hoolie. So I had no excuse not to dismantle the computer cupboard thing and re-hand the shelving to fit the new printer. Bah. Still, done now. iD, I was advised to avoid NSAIDs after my Lisfranc injury as they can inhibit bone healing? Tramadol did the job, I didn't have any issues stopping it afterwards. Stillhave to resort to it occasionally when I do too much walking on uneven ground and it registers more than the usual complaint for paracetamol to handle. Looks like the garage for some scenery work this afternoon, Mrs H still making a forest of trees.

Richard, thank you. John, nice T shirt but message behind it not clear. Flavio - I know you meant what you said kindly but I'm afraid that I read it as a lecture rather than the advice which no doubt you intended. When I was at the bottom of the stairs wondering whether and how I was going to stand upright, the last thing on my mind was going eeny-meeny-miney-mo with the painkillers at my disposal - which amounted to nurofen or nurofen, as it happens. As it happens, I need to call at the pharmacy tomorrow. The pharmacist is also free with advice. Chris

Not the best approach to have taken, I’m afraid to say Chris. There have been a number of studies showing that when the appropriately prescribed opiate (in this case codeine) is taken as soon as significant pain is felt the end result is not only the amelioration of the current pain but also less pain overall and less medication usage overall. Which is why most post-op analgesia regimens allow for “as needed“ opiate administration (within reason). As for becoming addicted to codeine when used “as needed” on a very short term basis, this is highly unlikely. I can certainly speak from experience: having bilateral knee protheses installed at the same time is somewhat more painful than a bruised or cracked rib. Although I received fentanyl during and immediately after the operation, morphine for pain control in the hospital and then tramadol for pain control in rehab and when back at home, I had no urge to continue with opioid analgesia once pain could be adequately managed by diclofenac (a NSAID). In fact, I still have some tramadol leftover which has been sitting around untouched for years (I suppose I better take it to the pharmacy for proper disposal). But, to be fair, I do not have an “addictive personality”. I am currently baking some individual custard tarts using ready prepared pastry shells plus a custard filling made according to the recipe from Felicity Cloake who does an intriguing column in the Guardian entitled “How to make the perfect...” In this column Miss Cloake tries out different recipes for a particular dish and then comes up with a fusion recipe which, according to her column, marries the best aspects of all the recipes to get “The perfect....“. Some of her recipes, although followed faithfully, have turned out to be flops (possibly due to the fact that I couldn't get here exactly the same ingredients for some items in the recipe), whilst others have turned out to be quite good. (a little later...) I have just removed the individual custard tarts from the oven and everything looks rather good (apparently the secret is to use egg yolks for colour and flavour whilst using whole eggs to provide firmness and structural integrity [due to the egg whites in the whole eggs]). Clearly, this marriage of the commercially available and the home-made will never get me a slot on the Great British Bake Off, but it does allow me to up the professional quality of what I bake. (Happy Hippo please take note, I will be entering a phase of multiple cake baking over the next week or two). Finally, a little light modelling awaits this morning-I have to give another thin coat of GWR Brown to the GWR “monster” that I am finishing off. This afternoon Mrs ID will be off to visit friends and so I can plug in my new amp and crank it up to 11. Much bad, but enjoyable and loud, guitar playing is anticipated. Have a splendid Sunday iD

Interesting that Brno in CZ also uses the same slogan albiet in Czech. Lovely city. The hotel we use is opposite the main station with trams also passing along the street. Some good breweries aswell but it has something that Portland doesnt have, a tram with a bar onboard, we drank the local brew ,not Heineken

Does the panel lift upwards and then off? Or, if glued on, it may be possible to use very thin, high breaking strain fishing line as a saw; a short length tied between a couple of "handles" (screwdrivers would do) may do the trick, though it's a large area. I've used this technique for removing car badges from cars before (my car!) without marking the paintwork. A fridge door is a bit bigger area though.......

If they end up in Frinton there will probably be letters of complaint in their local newspaper.

Another Grantham A3 tonight, 60105 with the 2.52pm Newcastle relief. Seen from the bridge, and from down below.

I met my wife in 1962. On the fateful afternoon my work colleague was giving me a lift on his motorbike and we had to stop at a set of traffic lights outside the local Y.P.I. "Learn to dance" said a poster on the wall and I thought that the Y.P.I. would be just the place to meet a young lady, and the very next week I met the lady who became my wife. We got married in 1965........... If only those lights had been at green.

Evening all. I haven't really done much today. I assembled a slot car kit. I now have a red car. This kit had a finished body and needed all the chassis assembling. I have been using allen keys for the tiny M2 grub screws but ordered an M2 hex screwdriver last week from Amazon. The M2 hex driver I originally had (supplied by a well known modelling emporium and importer) is advertised as M2 0.95mm whereas everyone else seems to have M2 grub screws needing a 0.9mm hex driver. Silly me kept assuming every single grub screw was faulty at first. Then I turned my attention to the parcel from Cornwall. As the first batch of the yellow objects contained within caused consternation for some, I removed it from the box, that was easy, perhaps they have redesigned the box. The box is more mustard than yellow! No problem on DC so I installed a decoder without difficulty. Anyone who orientated the decoder as per the diagram supplied is going to be frustrated. It did rain this afternoon, but we were of the opinion it was good for the garden. Tony

Fresh winds = trees in big pots blown over. Fortunately at the time the highly expected rain did not appear but, now when the odds were much much less we have rain bashing against the windows. Fortunately I am in doors and still able to comment or tick as I am waiting for plaster to dry and harden before I do any more damage to the 7' thing on trestles the thas had modified scenic changes - no0t sure if it was a good choice. Hope Jamie finds his 'box' without having to turn he news decoration. Many years since we had a dog but she preferred to add to our supply of sticks when walking in the forest but was a dab hand at puncturing our lads air-filled balls (I much prefer rugby and to be fair he does now possess a Gilbert) and did play it a bit. Would hate to be a council worker having to cleanup not only the litter but also the 'mess' that itself is capable of containing a certain live virus according to earlier studies made. Now the sun is out ... cheers have been able to get to the end after the usual forgotten password intro ... wonder will never cease.

It continues to precipitate profusely. More Slarty-scenic work, some building construction, tree making by the boss continues apace. it can't last. Going out for a curry with friend Jayne tonight, she's off this next week too so decided to go for a meal on a quiet night rather than Saturday. Pubs & restaurants all back to normal here now, and even the hospitals from Thursday past, PPE free unless you wish to wear it. One benefit of a small island, with control over its borders- 36 days CV free now.

Raving lunacy has now seemingly descended on many of the residents of our road - all out there for 'something' with lots of clapping and laughter and crowding together. I actually thought that most people in this road were intelligent and could count. It would appear that I am wrong - no social distancing on the part of many and huddled groups of considerably more than six, what a bunch of ignorant pillocks (or there are some very large families with marital arrangements that put a certain polygamous religious sect to shame). It seems that mass lunacy and lack of common sense is not confined to those living in large cities or descending on certain seaside resorts.

I agree. Considering the simple meaning I think it's a bit sesquipedalian. Anyway, to continue the aeronautical theme here's a joke my Dad, who was a rear gunner in Wellington Bombers during WW2, told me. I've never told it to a member of the RAF who didn't love it - On Radio 4 one afternoon the announcer, in his very plummy Radio 4 accent, said "Good afternoon, and welcome to our series Heroes of World War 2 in which we look at the exploits of people who really did make a difference during that conflict. Today we shall be talking to Squadron Leader Stanislav "Stan" Kolanska of the Polish Airforce, who flew with the RAF from 1940 until the end of the War. Such was his prowess that he was responsible for the downing of 37 Luftwaffe aircraft, for which he was awarded the DFC. Not only that, but for single-handedly attacking and destroying a V1 flying bomb site he was awarded the Victoria Cross. Also, when shot down over occupied France he was rescued by the French Resistance to whom he gave such help and support in their fight against the Occupiers before being smuggled back to Britain that he was given the title Le Renard Volant or "The Flying Fox" and after the War was personally presented with Le Croix de Guerre by General Charles de Gaulle. Stan, good afternoon." "Good afternoon", says Stan in his very strong Polish accent. "Now, Stan," went on the announcer, "There are many stories from your incredible service with the RAF, but I feel that we must start with your very first operational sortie, during which you shot down no less than three Luftwaffe fighter aircraft flying bomber escort. Stan, could you please tell us that story?" "Vell," says Stan, "My squadron, ve vas vectored on to a raid coming in over the Lincolnshire coast. Now the Scvadron Leader had told me to stay close to him, me being a novice, but it vas a bit of a cloudy day and ve got separated. I vas flying along and suddenly I saw underneath me three German Fokkers. I had the sun at my back and I don't think those Fokkers even saw me. Vell, I swooped down on them and got von of the Fokkers straight avay. I used the speed from my dive to come back up underneath them and got another von, so that was two of the Fokkers. But the third von vas a difficult Fokker. I had a real scrap vith him - he shot avay part of my starboard ving, part of my tail, but in the end I got that Fokker too. I flew back to my airfield and had my three kills confirmed. So that's the story - three of those German Fokkers on my first sortie." Rather flustered, the announcer says "I feel I should point out that the 'Fokker' is in fact a Luftwaffe fighter aircraft, properly known as the Focke Wulf Fw 190 Würger." And Stan says "Vell, that's true, but these Fokkers, they vas in Messerschmidts."

Is that a new technique whilst playing? Or just the result of trying things at speed?

No sh!t Sherlock! I'm glad he lived - it's a testament to the survivability of modern automobiles. In local Oregon news, here's one for the "Keep Portland Weird" files: Oregonian: Portland strippers march for equitable scheduling of Black dancers A lovely evening tonight. Sunny and mild. Very pleasant. I enjoyed my dinner al fresco on the patio. Rain is forecast overnight and into the morning.