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Some photos taken at Blyth today, almost all of you know it is on the Northumberland coast. The first one is another view of redundant 100T oil tankers being craned into place to act as oil storage for ships (they have long since been replaced by a new facility further up the harbour). The next three show parts of the line from Newsham to Bates Pit. When they were taken the pit had been closed for some years, the line was refurbished to carry coal for export using the orignal coal elevators. The last one is just what is now a nice grassed open space at the site of Crofton Mill Pit. An old colliery tub commemorates the pit. The rail connection was behind the photographer, long since lifted but much of the trackbed still exists. Blyth 19th April 85 C6954.jpg Blyth Bates branch April 91 J11879.jpg Blyth Bates branch 56127 coal to Bates loader April 91 J11874.jpg Blyth Bates branch Newsham Road lc April 91 J11882.jpg Blyth colliery tub at site of Crofton pit Dec 86 J8737.jpg David

Geoff Haynes brought around some locos for me to photograph this morning (he sits in his car while I take pictures of them!). Bought off eBay by one of his customers (builder unknown), ready painted. Geoff's job was to line and apply varnish. All his work, in P4. Again, all his work, in O Gauge. Very impressive! And, an interesting comparison between his O Gauge 8F and the OO Gauge DJH one I built of late, which Geoff also painted/weathered.

Evening all and generic greetings, good wishes and supportive thoughts as appropriate. The good news here is that Sarah is feeling much better. After sleeping all morning, the shakes and headache have cleared and only the sore arm remain. She still feels a little delicate so our planned activity for the evening has had to be postponed......... Today should have been our usual outing to the annual Derby Beer Festival but, like everything else, it has rightly fallen victim to the current situation. Instead of strolling around the old roundhouse, sampling various ales, enjoying overpriced pie, chips and gravy and listening to a cover band, we are at home. We had planned to mark the occasion with our own version. A box of assorted bottled ales had been purchased and we planned to liberate the old beer festival glasses from the cupboard. Sarah had ordered some premium pies with the shopping and we planned to settle down with a some beers, pie and chips and the DVD of the Queen and Adam Lambert concert which we are yet to watch. With Sarah off the drink tonight we have simply delayed it. It is strange to think that the 2020 beer festival was our penultimate night out together for almost a year. The last one took place in March, just a few weeks before lockdown, when we attended a Stereophonics concert at Nottingham Arena. Covid was in the news, but cases in this country were minimal. Little did we know what the following 12 months would bring. Who knows when we can all get out and enjoy nights out again. The concert tickets were part of Sarah’s 39th birthday present. Another gift was tickets for the curry themed dining train on the Great Central. The original April date was cancelled as was the rearranged date in June. She has now passed her 40th birthday and it is likely that date number three (early April) will also fall by the wayside. Hopefully we will get there one day. Stay safe. Andy

Door hinges…these are mine. Hopefully not too late. The Stanier FK utilises brass pins, the head flattened in a pair of pliers, and filed to shape. The shank of the pin is about .65mm so a corresponding hole was drilled in the door frame and soldered from the rear. The inability to get an easy supply of drill bits and the inefficiency of filing pin heads made this an unattractive long term prospect! The Stanier TK uses ‘T’ door handles fitted into .5mm holes and soldered from the rear. These are Comet handles and have the advantage of having the little…not sure how to describe this, so bear with me… wider bit before the ‘T’ that stops them being inserted too far into a door handle hole in their normal use. On pulling the tail of the handle through the hinge hole with a pair of pliers you get a resistance before this wider bit gets pulled through, it sort of clicks into the hole and gives a really tight fit, so when soldered from the rear, the solder has little opportunity to run through the hole and fill the door seam. These are both Comet sides on Hornby 1980s ish Staniers. I know full size hinges should should stick out further on the bottom hinges but I'm happy with the look of these, its just another compromise. The door bumps are .45mm wire. On the BSL/ Phoenix GW D94 BSK below, I used flattened pins. As the sides are aluminium, the pins have a blob of solder on the rear to secure them; a bit like a rivet. The wooden roof looks better from a distance and I should have scribed the door lines to better effect. Kind regards, Iain

Good moaning from down ere, or 2 kilometres from Romaziers to be precise. We got various things done in the morning yesterday and a couple more in the afternoon before it was fish and chip time. I managed some shed time, the alernative was having Dancing on Ice playing in the background whilst Beth watched it. During the day Beth gotba message to say that a friend had died of Covid, apparently acquired in Pinderfields hospital. Not good. Today some wood will be chopped this morning then we are off to some friends in the village for lunch. It could take some time and we will not be driving. At some point we will try and complete the 6 pages of paperwork needed to get some stuff thatvBeth got from her former family home, over from the UK. Blame the B word. Regards to all. Jamie

Unashamedly pinched from another thread...with Polybear in mind! Cheers from Oz, Peter C.

Good evening everyone Sheila has had a rather bad day, due to yesterday’s Covid vaccination. She woke up this morning feeling very hot and feverish, as well as nauseous and she also ached all over. She attempted a few household chores this morning, but gave up after a few minutes, went for a sit down and she ended up on the sofa having a nap. For dinner she could only manage a piece of toast and jam, followed by a yogurt. After which she once again retired to the living room sofa, but before doing so, she had a hot lemon cold remedy instead of a coffee. She continued with these for the rest of the day and this seems to have done the trick. She’s now feeling a lot better but not quite 100%. She did however get her appetite back by teatime and but decided on having reduced rations, just in case. Whilst Sheila was resting this morning, I took the opportunity to tackle a few small jobs that needed doing, but for which I needed unfettered access to 3 of the bedrooms. The job itself was to replace the filler that was around the inside of the window frames, as it had dried out and shrunk in a few places. This was duly removed and replaced it with fresh filler. Once that was done and I’d put away the step ladders and tools etc, I tweaked the artwork for the TPO decals, as there were a couple of areas that just weren’t quite right. All is now done and looking at the print preview shows everything looking a lot better. I’ll know fully when I’ve printed them all off again.

Afternoon one and all........ Who remembers the BR advert that used to finish..... 'Intercity far away, over the hills then home to stay' or some such wording? When I was based at Royal Marines Barracks Stonehouse, we had a band attached (the Band of HM Commando Forces) alas now gone with the cuts. Used to watch them practising in the drill shed, practice makes perfect, and that they indeed are. As I was a bit of a drummer...... I sometimes used to practice my meagre skills with the Corps of Drums .......and still have the white embossed sticks that one of the Buglers (NEVER drummers) presented me with. Happy days.

The Other Diabetic in the lab area has just had his jab yesterday and is reporting a headache and a sore arm, and that's all. This Diabetic gets a hole punched in his arm next Thursday. I've had to remind the other diabetic, that he's not got instant protection, only up to about 60% which develops over 3 weeks.. It's about to get warm in hare, I'm about to wind the current shunts up to 120 Amps.., We are now cut off from another part of the building as more plastic has just gone up, at least I'm trapped near loos, and tea bar..

Mornings. Horrid here, howling wind and persisting it down. John CB mentioned to me elsewhere wondering if it was I that found the 950 AD Viking treasure while metal detectoring that is in the news here (and across, presumably!) - it wasn't, but it was a friend! A female police officer I used to work with, and a very good one, (read 'old fashioned stylee') at that. I may see her in town this morning as she sometimes comes to the same cafe the Old Farts Bike Club meet in. Nice girl, I have a lot of time for her. She was good with the young offenders, and can also dish it out in a pub fight when needed! The level 6+ jab thing here includes diabetes as a factor, I thought it did in the UK too? I'm not far off now, we're doing the 65-70 group here now, but of course we have has a covid outbreak. 'They' are quite convinced they have this under control, it came from a crew member on the ferry, 7 cases identified after contact tracing overnight on Wednesday into Thursday who are all isolating now, no lockdown needed at the moment we are assured. So the locusts stripped Tesco.....#sigh# Why on earth....as in the last lockdown here there were no shortages of anything.

Greetings all Having spent the night in Pinderfields hospital i am a bit worried by Jamies post. I was taken by ambulance last night with suspected dvt no not one of those on the back of a class 91.after various tests and injections i was allowed home at dinner time today. I have to go for a further scan at some point next week. The staff were brilliant as usual done nothing this afternoon.but sleep. Luckily I have had my first covid jab at 43 yr old. At one point last night I thought I wasn't going to make 44.

A most enjoyable afternoon has been spent thoroughly testing my new Horny A2/2 on Little Bytham.................... At first, I thought I'd do a comparison with my near 25 year old DJH prototype A2/2. The top lamp bracket on the Hornby one will be replaced with a metal one. One interesting (very interesting?) point is the potential price comparison. Were I to build 60501 from the DJH kit for a customer (the kit would need alterations to the cab and tender for 60501/2, it really suiting 60505/6) and get Ian Rathbone (who painted this one) or Geoff Haynes to paint it, for the final price one could get six Hornby A2/2s! The equivalent of the whole class............ Food for thought. Though the Hornby one is not as powerful in terms of pulling power as my kit-built A2/2s, this 13-car rake (mainly modified Bachmann Mk.1s with four kit-builds) was handled with relative ease, with (prototypically?) a fair bit of slipping to get it going. I'd imagine it's more than enough for most buyers. It goes fast as well.................. Once quality control issues are sorted out (and the 'problems' are not universal), it's a real winner in my opinion.

SWMBO tried reasoning with the GP surgery today. The surgery who invited her to book and who hold my medical records which include the occupation "Railway Worker" and details of mild conditions which are significantly worsened by respiratory viruses. She was told very firmly "No" and then that "All these stories of younger people getting vaccinated are just untrue". But wait - she is 53 and therefore "younger". She thought better of reminding them of that fact lest her invitation be withdrawn. We are not impressed with the local NHS surgery but have little option as no others will register us because we live outside their catchment area. Afternoon all. Another week at the House of Fun has ended for me. Nothing of great significance to record but there has been quite a noticeable "uptick" (Government proper-gander word) in the numbers of families-with-children going somewhere. Who knows where. Or why. They are still supposed to stay home except for "permitted reasons" one of which is not taking the family on a joy-ride for the day. Two train spotters have been ejected from the station by the BTP on the grounds that they were not within the station for permitted reasons. Number-crunchers, video-takers and "bashers" beware. I suspect their ejections also related to their attitudes when challenged. Rather than simply walking away both (independently and on different days) chose to act like spoiled children. I overheard one of our normally very mild-mannered BTP officers using his Loud Voice to instruct "Don't call me a C**t!" I hope he had his bodycam turned on. Flat-shuffling is in progress Upon the Hill of Strawberries as Neighbours (Next Door ) swap their student shared flat for a studio-unit of their own elsewhere in the block; in turn we get a young family who are moving from first-floor to ground-floor because they want the kids able to go outside and they can't get the double-buggy up the stairs. We'll see how that goes. We know they don't speak English; we don't yet know what language they use but I don't understand any of it. A deep-clean of the bedroom is required as I have discovered dust Not really a surprise but I need to crawl under the m***l to connect a lot of wires in the near future so the storage boxes have been pulled out from beneath it revealing excessive amounts of vacuum-cleaner food. I may be some time. If I'm unlucky I might also do a GDB to my head in the process If all goes well I shall emerge in time for Friday Drinks. If I am missing from the drinks please send a search party c/o Beneath the Boards, Room of Many Comforts. Best wishes to one and all. Especially those under the weather.

I've had various reactions to flu jabs over the years. Mostly nothing, but the odd one with similar reactions to those described in these pages. IMO - and with no mediacl knowledge - it's my way of knowing that my body is trying to fight the various bits of the vaccine and prove that it's working. Worst reaction was to a typhoid jab - horrendously sick about 6 hours after the jab and feeling like I'd been run over by a truck for 2 days. I had to have the second jab about a week later (it was because of an imminent overseas work trip) and there was no reaction at all. Junior NB now has an appointment with the needle as she's just started a job at a local hospital and she's totally positive about it, as it then provides another barrier for me. Not that she's out flaunting the rules anyway. I had one of those "have you turned it on yet?" calls that randomly comes along to make my day amongst the RTFM emails. It's taken 4 days to clear out last weekend's emails and consequent replies, amongst the phone calls - that still occur at the same time due to Poisson distribution........................ Sexta-feira beckons. Have a good one - POETS will happen as it's a WFH day before TS.......

Morning all Sore arm this morning but that’s all. More like a minor dead arm. Won’t prevent a wee muddling project I had planned for today. Have a good Friday peoples.

Ey up! The concrete pond next door is still.. a pond..could be fun if they ask to borrow my pump to pump it out.... I look forward to the day I get the second jab..I know some older people who are getting theirs next week. I checked with my jab location. The gps are working down the list by age and condition.. Meanwhile I am off for my new clinical research scan on Monday. I will ask them about my last diabetic hb1 test results while I am there. It has been decided that when the light rain drops "we" are going for a walk..which would be good ..it has been too wet here the last few days. The world was sorted during a meeting with some old colleagues last night. Stay safe, enjoy your day in whatever way you can. Positive thoughts to all ERs! Baz

A story I was told by an unimpeachable source. A prominent folk dance teacher in America was from an East European country. He hadn't formally learned English and was getting by with badly pronounced French. At one session he was in the middle of the instruction and said "Now ze boys vill approach ze girls wiz great erection!" I don't think they finished the dance.

Ah, there's a person given the job to sort them.....

Actually it's a gateway to Mr. Kiplings....... Absolutely - no typo there. Rule 1: Always carry essential emergency provisions in case of becoming marooned in a snow drift...... Screwfix was very civilised (8am on a work day, in a lock-down....) and Toolstation was aborted as I need to consider more carefully what I need - and T/S will deliver foc if the order is above 25 quid (S/F want a 50 quid order for the same). Tiles collected too - boy, are they heavy...... As for Bear and Rugby, we don't mix. I suffered it whilst at school, and haven't the faintest idea what the rules are; all I know is that it seems to be a great way of getting a busted up body. I do recall being at the Watford Finescale Exhibition in 2003 when England won; many of the exhibitors had radios with them and were quietly listening to the match whilst operating.... Following on from Prince Harry's success at negotiating deals with Netflix and Oprah, Bear has sent emails suggesting he may also be available "for the right deal". I've yet to hear back, strangely.

Another cloudy and damp morning in North Somerset, and quite windy too. However the sun did come out late morning yesterday and I got my washing dry. I also sat outside for a while and decided to trim a bit of the pond liner. It seems that although I levelled the ground and spent a long time with spirit levels in all directions before I added the liner last May, the ground appears to have been a little softer on the right hand side to the left, and over the following months the weight of the water has lowered that side compared with the left side which doesn't appear to have moved at all. Therefore the water overflows the liner at one edge while the other is still an inch from the top and I have trimmed the high side to make this less noticeable. No frogs in there sadly, but I live in hope as the habitat is still less than a year old. It doesn't look as if the weather today is going to allow much outside activity, and certainly not the 'low maintenance gardening' I prefer to indulge in.

Another look at 60800, with its carriages snaking over the dog's leg curve as it approaches Platform 2.

Mornin' all. I know I've said this before, but I feel almost human again....... Really not sure what has laid me low or why, but it was a bit of a beast. Not sure what today will bring so I'll try to go with the flow and make the best of what comes my way; hope all of you can too. Cuppa tea time

Greetings one and all Q, you just evoked a particular musical memory. For well over 30 years I followed the band Strawhead up and down the land. They described what they played as "popular music of the olden time". This excluded very little! For instance, they had been known to do the Blackadder theme as an encore. "Over the hills and far away" was one of their staples and the line "Queen Anne commands and we obey" placed their version firmly in the 18th century. The way they stopped doing live performances was one on which I will not dwell but it made me very angry. Time is a great healer and I can now bring myself to listen to their distinctive sounds again. If I were ever to be cast away on the Radio 4 desert island, one of my choices would be the Strawhead version of "The burial of Sir John Moore after Corunna", set to the sea song Tom Bowling. Gentle readers may rest assured that there is little if any chance of that eventuality. Today I need to brave Checkpoint Charlene by telephone. The appointment for my next hormone injection is due in a fortnight. The booking procedure shifts continually in its search for rhyme or reason. Apparently I can obtain an audience with the minor illnesses nurse on the same day, provided of course that slots are available. Getting to see a GP is another matter, with a strong rumour circulating that it is necesssary to register at birth to stand anything of a chance. Before I am much older I will need to see someone - anyone! - about the hurt in my knees, which is a bit more than a twinge and is being kept at bay with copious dollops of Deep Heat. I have aspirations which include marching with many others through crowded and cheering city centres. A Captain Sir Tom style walker would be rather out of place. Best wishes to all Chris

an next door is now trying to cut a tree down.. leaning a ladder against it with the strong wind is making it interesting.. he is using a normal power saw to cut branches away.. if he continues the tree will fal into our other neighbours garden.... via their fence.. The concrete and water mix is growing due to the rain we have had.. and they reckon they have fitted a ground drain.. then concreted over it.. As she has told everyone they bought the house to "make loads of money" out of it and are just using "mates" to do work a quick call to HMRC when they sell the house may cause them some pain on CGT.. at the same time we await their planning application.. bet they don't mention the other "conservatory" they are adding.. that will take it up to greater than a 20% size increase.. they may learn not to upset Baz! Rick, the GPs will get to you .. I got my jab due to being in level 6. As it happens the number of people in our surgery at Level 5 (65 to 70) was a lot lower than those at level 6. They started the Level 6 vaccinations by year.. I am just below 65 so got mine not long after her indoors who is in Level 5. Two other people I know who are in Level 6 but younger than me are scheduled for next week. Looks like the Omni vaccine calculator is just about spot on for dates etc. Dr Eldest Herbert has not been contacted, yet, but as he has suffered two collapsed lungs he is in Level 6 but too young yet to get a jab. Baz

Further to the above. I now have a friend who is just 40 years old, without medical condition, not working (on furlough) and not considered vulnerable in any way but who has a Government-provided pin-prick in her arm. Same surgery. Another call to the surgery; I cannot ask about other people's medical circumstances but I can ask why 53 and now 40-year old people who live and work at home are being vaccinated while front-line key-workers who happen to be 15 months too young for the current "invitations" list cannot even go along with their partners. That leaves me exposed to risk while SWMBO is somewhat protected. Surgery is absolutely unrelenting in saying "No" and continuing to deny they are vaccinating anyone under 70 for the time being. That is very clearly untrue. Making bigger waves may get me a black mark against my name. What else do I have to do?

The vaccination centre we are going to is nominally at the surgery ( not ours) in Hoveton, it's actually in the village hall about a hundred yards away.. Driving past there on the way home there was something wrong ..the road...I believe it's called... Dry!!!.

POETS... Yesterday got the second "shot", not much different than the first. However, TODAY, a very sore arm, somewhat achy and a general sense of fatigue, and I slept very well so I'm guessing it's reaction to the shot and I may well take a rest/nap rather sooner than later <sigh> Definitely will need to POE unless I start felling a lot more perky. -18 and sunny first thing, expected to reach -8 later. Tally ho <hum> <yawn>

You could also blame it on whatever I had, much the same headcold feeling. In my case I know it wasn't: Covid 19 - Tested Negative Vaccine - Not had it, unlikely for some time yet. Bill Gates - Who? Best wishes for a swift return to feeling (whatever passes for) normal; I note degrees of 'normalness' have recently been a discussion topics hereabouts

My Hornby A2/2 arrived today........................ I watched with considerable interest the discussions on several threads about these new locos, several of which comment on 'poor' QC. All I can say about this example is it's 'perfect', with no poor-assembly issues at all (other than a backward-facing water scoop on the tender - removed and turned through 180 degrees!). I've added the loose bits and pieces, shortening the cylinder drain cocks. These are too long for an A2/2, but suit the forthcoming A2/3. Since these will be the same fittings, it's understandable; given that's easier to shorten such items than to lengthen them. I've also added a screw shackle to the front buffer beam (a curious omission by Hornby). Strictly speaking, the vacuum ejector pipe on 60501 should be joggled at the front end, but this won't matter with this example because I'll be changing into 60502, which had a straight pipe. Performance is beautiful - quiet, smooth and powerful. I suppose build issues should be mentioned - there shouldn't be problems. The Hornby BR green has been questioned as well. However, when one looks at the alternatives for a 4mm A2/2, then it's a kit. If, say, it's a DJH one, the cost of the parts will be over £300.00 and building/painting it is way beyond the capabilities of many modellers. Beyond the capabilities of some of the critics as well? I'll be explaining the change to EARL MARISCHAL in due course.....................

Morning all, Not sure where the goodnight message went - probably in hiding. Usual grey day here but no rain so the management might walk down to Waitrose and one of us (under debate with the GD) will go drive down to collect her and the shopping - big day out for somebody BTW NHN diabetes is second from top on the list of conditions for Covid jabs for 'younger adults with long term clinical conditions' so puts them into Priority Group 6 here as well. ('younger' means under 65 - with no lower age limit specified). Thanks to 'The Q' g for posting Alfie Boe with the RMs' band - great stuff. in complete contrast I'll try to attach a John Tams version below - it is not the version used with the Sharpe tv series and there are several other recordings around of John Tamm singing it in various situations, all far tless glossy than the tv theme version Now awaiting shopping orders. Have a good day and stay safe.

Especially the Snake Pass road. It changes shape every time I drive it. Just to the west of the old Snake Pass Inn there is a nice deformation building. One day it will fail again.

Here's a magic Corner; it does waste space due to the mechanism, however it does make access a lot easier for items stashed in those far recesses where even Bears dare not tread: Bear has two corner units and was contemplating having such contraptions in both; however current thinking suggests one cupboard without such a device would be a far better use of space for those items that hardly ever (read never) get used but for some reason are deemed too essential to part with**. (**Bear must get ruthless on that idea.....). There is some possibility that the remaining magic corner may go the same way as the first. Did Bear mention that kitchen planning was complicated? (edit: The more Bear thinks about it, the more chance there is that both cupboards will be without such devices - I need the space** more than the convenience. I may regret such a decision in 20 years time though.....) **So much cake, so little room.... The bit from 3:30 onwards is dead clever. Bear impressed..... Here's one for Rugby fans: Bear's off to collect the floor tiles today, and may well take the opportunity to collect various items from Screwfix and Toolstation at the same time. Fortunately all establishments are next to each other; the car will get a long overdue run at the same time.....

Apparently it is national nestbox week. I was sent an email offering me one for £10, so I ordered it and it came today. It is now installed on the trunk of a tree in our front garden. Lets hope it sees some use. Sudden toothache from hell appeared late afternoon. I am wise to this now, and so rinsed my mouth with mouthwash which cured the 'pain' in a couple of minutes. If only other pains were so easy to cure. I have spent all day thinking it was Saturday, and even switched on the telly to see if there was any rugby on. I still didn't twig when I saw the usual weekday afternoon tv schedules. I think I need to get out more.

Mike: I hope you don’t mind my posting this here, I build this N5 from a set of your etches. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, although the rivets did seem to go on for ever.

Well we've waited an age but my Rapido/MR 16xx 1609 has arrived. I've only given it a quick test on the rolling road and it appears to run sweetly enough and here she is posed for the camera at Tigley. I'm going to shorten the front coupling as it stands out too far for my liking. A proper photo job/review will be done over the weekend.

The tree pruning in the neighbour’s garden turned out to be every tree except the leylandii!

Morning all. There will be confused squirrels about today. The neighbour (bottom of the garden) is having her trees pruned. Not sure if this will include the horrible leylandii. For the first time ever the tree pruners seem to be well prepared, usually the people we have seen in the past were more like odd-job men with a wonky ladder and inappropriate saws. I will be heading for Canvey Island just before lunch for a blood test. Otherwise not a lot happening. Tony

Good morning everyone It’s very dull and windy out there today, I think I’ll need to wear a jacket on my walk to the butchers this morning. Sheila is feeling a lot better than she did yesterday, but she’s still not 100% yet, but the nausea has gone and so has the back ache. Apart from afire mentioned walk to the butchers, all I have planned for the day is the usual Friday trip to the Trafford Centre. So after dinner I may do a little more work at the easel. Stay safe, stay sane, enjoy whatever you have planned for the day, back later. Brian

Dukedog coasts into Encombe Town taken from an earlier set of pictures.....

I just searched for Jonathan Scott on YouTube and found all sorts of things that I hadn’t expected! Currently listening to Mendelssohn’s Fingals Cave on the organ. A new twist to one of my favourite bits of classical music and a nice way of spending a still wet and windy afternoon!

Afternoon all, late on parade, heavy head syndrome struck again, I'm blaming the vaccine, or Bill Gates.....................................dull and overcast here but dry just now. I posted a comment yesterday and did various likes, claps and agrees etc, went back later and all had vanished from sight, this site clearly has gremlins at work.

The weather is quite bright this morning but the wind speed and direction indicate that it won't last. Will try to drop in at the meeting provided I don't get hijacked by the management for something else. I had a master Class at getting onto Zoom this week from an 8-year-old. I wonder if I can do it unaided?

Neil, sadly I don’t know anything at all about the organ recording of Pictures at an Exhibition, so I can’t help with the organist or organ used. I can’t even recall how I came to get the recording in the first place, except that I originally had it on a reel-to-reel tape recorder, so I probably got it whilst at University. I then digitised the majority of my music collection about 10 to 15 years ago, so at least I have it on MP3. Today is wet wild and windy again - just for a change! I can’t see us going far today

We are positively encouraged to get the (rail industry) company-provided flu jab each year. I have taken them up every year even when it means, as it did this year, travelling to a rather more distant location than the home station due to the timing of provision. Which makes the attitude to Covid all the more surprising in that despite being an employer of more than 50 people (and of far more than 250 people which was the original threshold) the company has not taken up the Government's offer of providing tests for all staff. Any of us who do test must do so in our own time, are not obliged by the company (but may be obliged by law) to advise the result and are required to use up sick leave and annual leave if required to self-isolate. Only when those entitlements have been exhausted, which would not normally be within ten days, would there be SSP. There is a statutory requirement to self-isolate if "pinged" by test & trace or when a family / household member tests positive but this is leave without pay because the employee is neither sick nor on rostered leave; it is treated as unpaid leave but - explicitly in writing from the Management - without the usual disciplinary measures which usually accompany that. Meaning the incentive to work at such times is still rather high. To the best of my knowledge we have done better than many other rail businesses. At my location only two positive tests have been recorded in a year and both were members of the customer-assistance team who of necessity have hands-on contact for extended periods with certain passengers such as the visually-impaired. Neither person was able to confirm the source of infection which may well not have been at work. We have suffered fewer train-crew shortages although there was one case which caused self-isolation across a depot to decimate train services on one route for a few days. Unlike our colleagues who run the green and blue trains nearby, nor the operators of London's own transport networks, we are not aware of any member of staff having passed away from the virus. Friday Drinks have got to both ends of me. I need to sleep and I need the bathroom Which to do first? A half-decent bottle of Californian Merlot followed the 5pm pint of Tribute. With food, I will add. Crisps with the beer and bolognese with the wine. It's Saturday in the morning. If I don't surface until lunchtime does it matter? Breakfast is easy and suitable for anytime anyway - croissants and coffee. G'night all. Sleep safe and well.

Only taken one pic this week, 37025 in manchester oxford rd last night ive got a 37 tonight on an IM job round the north Mersey rail network, 37254 again unfortunately!

This came up with a post that was before the one before so hope there was not a repeat.! Not normally fond of organs but enjoyed it so thanks Neil. SWMBO just back from her jab. We were not really early but waiting in the car for much longer than anticipated. Apparently the one before SWMBO fainted/got woosy at the sight of the needled needed treatment before managing the jab. SWMBO had a different jab from me and was surprised when told that she didn't have to wait. Knowing her reaction to the flu jab and Andyram and others comments we will see how it effects apart from her current sore arm. Meanwhile a van delivery to the surgery blocked the parking space but was happy when I replied "Not to worry we are not in a hurry". It appears that many not registered at our surgery were also having jabs in the next door leisure centre as numerous cars drove down its drive at regular intervals.

Greetings all from Sidcup where it is grey but there is currently no rain. Not too much to report here; I am pleased its Friday while for some of the others, it is another day closer to school work starting again! Have a good day all

When you visit our docs everyone you see frrom the receptionists Who incidently are far from the !cheackpiont Charlines" often mentioned here) through to the nurses confirm your D.O.B and your address even if they have known you for 20 years or more Night awl

Same with Rob although the booking process here consists of being summoned by phone call from the GP surgery to attend on a particular day at a stated time and arrive at that time. So no paperwork - you just wait outside the surgery for your name to be called and once you're in the presence of the jabber you are asked to confirm your name and date of birth (even tho' as we walked in the Doctor jabber said to us 'Hello Mrs Stationmaster how are you, and i presume this is your husband?"). So basically it appears that here, as with Aditi and now Rick' swmbo, they are calling forward people in Priority group 6. And presumably - as Tony has said - the names being added to the list are coming from GP records (although there is also a hospital record in the cardiology files for the lad).