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Some photos taken in Yorkshire for today. The first photo, like many others in this thread, is one of Dad's. I don't know exactly where he was standing when he took it. I've no idea of the details of the train in the Class 56 photo, which is one of my photos. Ackworth 56085 up Sept 90 J11623.jpg Castleford 141 to Knottingley 5th April 89 C11850.jpg Hambleton South Junction Class 91 up test train Aug 90 J11563.jpg Hambleton South Junction Class 56 down Aug 90 J11564.jpg Hambleton South Junction 31207 and ano up oil Aug 90 J11565.jpg David

This is Little Burford a little commission I've just done, and my first attempt at 0 gauge..

The end of the line....

Thanks for your concern chaps. Not been feeling * myself lately and as Baz says I am taking a break from posting although I am lurking occasionally. I'm afraid I will be back at some stage to bore you all with more of my usual daily drivel. * I thought that needed striking out before somebody made a comment.

As I've only just recently discovered the cats thread I've spent the last couple of hours or so reading thru it from the beginning.. ( originally whilst waiting for some filler to dry on the kit) What a great thread it is too with all it's fun (and regrettable tragedy) plus innumerable brilliant pics. I thought I'd share the story of the finding of the big tabby, as it's a bit odd... Must have been over ten years ago now, we were walking the two small dogs in one of London's old cemeteries, it's not used anymore for burials but it's open as a popular walking area, lots of dogs of course.. Anyway we notice a couple with a cat box wandering about, a bit odd but didn't think much of it....then we'd noticed them a bit later sitting in a clearing ( the place was quite overgrown ) as we wandered with the pooches, again nothing too odd, but why the cat box..? A bit later still however we see them heading off on the path towards the exit, with no cat box !.. That now looks dodgy..luckily I could remember where they were sitting and returned there asap, I handed over the dog I was holding and went in to investigate.. Well in this clearing, up a tree, on a horizontal branch, was a very fluffy rather bemused looking tabby cat, I immediately thought of the famous Alice in Wonderland Cheshire Cat illustration, the impression was exactly that ! At the base of the tree was a plastic cat carrier box with the door open..clearly this pair of #+%*#'s had decided to abandon the cat just like that. So I was faced with catching him..of course I thought I'd have no chance and he'd simply do a bunk, somewhat bizarrely I got up on an old grave stone and could just about reach the branch....the cat, far from running off as expected, just looked down at me, (reinforcing the "Cheshire Cat" impression ) "Well here goes" I thought, but much to my surprise I simply reached up, and picked him off the branch, he offered no objection at all ! The next problem solved itself, there at my feet was a nice new looking plastic cat carrier, which I promptly stuffed him back inside ! Obviously the dogs were most intrigued, but to their credit didn't make too much fuss luckily.. So back to the car and home to decide what to do with him! I'd initially on the way back thought of passing him on to someone I knew who was involved with various rescue schemes, but let's get back and play it by ear from there. The cat oddly enough didn't seem too phased by any of this, and didn't seem terrified of the dogs either. They were shut in seperate rooms while I sorted a litter tray, some grub, and by chance came across a thrown out baby cage thing. This was handy as I could create a "zone" across the room so the various creatures could see each other, but the cat could escape to safety behind the bars if he wanted to. All four legged parties seemed reasonably ok with the situation, and it was clear at this early stage the cat wasn't going anywhere ! This odd enforced introduction in fact went very well, the cat was actually quite curious and kept coming over the bars ..."the cat's out again..." was a frequent call ! Well within maybe 48 hours or so he was out in the room energetically playing with a dog ! Luckily they were all pretty much youngsters, maybe 9 months each, ( the vet estimated the cat to be approx that age or slightly younger when taken to have a check over) and were impressionable enough to accept each other. Who knows, he may have been used to dogs where he came from. Anyway it was a great success and all co-habited very amicably. That was over a decade ago and he's overseen the arrival of two more rescue cats subsequently, acting very much as a "cat dad" in both cases. Currently all beasts in various comfy chairs...faintly snoring.

The other side of Mons Meg this morning. I will refrain from comment about the difference between her green coat and Hornby's version.

Consider me vexed. In truth this vexation is really the result of something incommodious rather than anything serious. Today's weather was nice. There was hazy sunshine and temperatures over 15°C. This motivated me to take care of a chore - recycling bottles. In 1971, Oregon was the first state to implement state-wide refunds on glass and plastic bottles and beverage cans. As an example, beer bottles have a refund value of 5 cents. In practice, based on the time involved, it's more of an incentive to recycle than being meaningfully remunerative. Gathering a largish collection of bottles I headed for the local drop off point. When installed, this location had four machines that read label bar codes. Two of these were removed and replaced with a program where you bring your empties in a green bag. I don't use this approach. To get a refund, your green bags have an identifying bar code. It's my hang-up, but it's bad enough driving around with a mobile location tracker/telephone, but to identify my garbage so it can be tracked in a database is going too far. With the pandemic, one of the two remaining machines was taken off-line - for social distancing, which of course caused the opposite to happen, since people had to queue twice as much for the one remaining machine. What I hadn't realized is that the state had decided to not enforce the requirement to accept containers in counties designated extreme or high risk for CoViD-19 transmission and now both of the machines were off-line. So I spent the afternoon taking empty beer bottles for a drive and had to rearrange the garage to store them again. Apparently, now that the relevant county has been reduced to "moderate" CoViD risk, the drop off location in question will be required to accept containers on Wednesday. "Missed it by *that* much!"

With 13 on, Mons Meg is standing well clear of the platform, while a B1 arrives with the FO 1230 Grimsby-KX.

Morning all, Chewsday and... I've survived another trip around the bright yellow orb in the sky <hooray> One of my favorite lines from Monty Python/Holy Grail -> "I'm 37 I'm not old". Always recited every year, family aren't buying it though To celebrate, and I'm sure in part due to my very distant Scottish heritage, I was off first thing to redeem my FREE birthday coffee at Starbucks. Can't pass up FREE! Since it's only 1/4 mile away I'd usually walk, BUT, as it's right next to the garage we use for auto repairs/service, I decided to drive and avail myself of a car wash - needed around here when we have snow finally melting - as it's always quiet there first thing. All that done, will do some casual work today and maybe decided to quit at lunch time, although given the current "circumstances" there's not really much to do anyway <sigh>. Been promised an Indian take-out for dinner from my favorite place, followed by the Mrs specialty cheese-cake which she makes for me every year - YUM. Sadly I can't invite Bears or Hippos over, so I'll have to finish it all myself <burp>... The "party" will include myself, the Mrs and Bob and Whitney, such fun. -8 and sunny as I went for my FREE coffee, going to manage +7 today, the snow will be fast disappearing around here. Stay safe and well everyone.

Couple from the weekend and tonight bescot before I put the loco on the train and took it to toton and tonight a last minute ‘can you just’ leamington spa to crewe job, got the same loco back on Wednesday morning to Donnington

A'noon. Pfizered, it must have been set to gentle stun. Fingers crossed so far, just a very odd feeling arm, and a hint of headache. NHN doesn't get headaches as a rule, so presume it is the juice causing it. Nurse was a drop-dead gorgeous Spanish girl, I was going to say it helped with the pain, but there wasn't any. Very fine needle indeed although quite long, really hardly felt it. Even Andy would be OK! Lovely and sunny here, looks gorgeous out. It's 4c, barely.....'feels like' 2c. grumble mutter. 3 week circuit breaker in place from midnight as another case with no viable trace has popped up in the community. Pah. Again hints between the lines someone, somewhere, hasn't told the Track & Trace team the truth about who they, errr, liaise with. Chief Minister saying another month and they would have been reducing restrictions on borders in stages, to the 'just cope with it' level, that'll get the isolationists on their high horses. We can't remain in splendid isolation forever, (ooh O level history!) and need to get to a vaccination stage where we just have to cope with whatever happens.

Morning all, Brightening up outside although still a grey day, sunshine is promised for later. Today's big news is that the rodent has expired, It would appear that the version of warfarin it has been exposed to is a good deal less helpful to its state of health than the version I take - but it;s still taken almost a fortnight to do what it says on the tin. Rather puzzlingly it would seem to have relocated itself from the kitchen to the utility room (unless it could open and close doors among its other talents such as eating the cooker wiring. Anyway I found it late last night in a state of deadness on the utility floor so it was on with the rubber gloves and duly bag it up ready for the rat catcher to collect it. The latter obviously knows his rats as he was due to return tomorrow anyway, I'll see if we can get an earlier visit. Anyway that's a great weight of everybody's minds and the cats will soon be able to have their food dishes back in the kitchen which will definitely cheer them up. Now to find someone wo can rewire the gas ring igniters on the cooker. And on that cheery note I wish you all a good day and stay safe.

According to our dentist, when I was 11, my mouth isn't big enough. Peoplecwho know me do not alwayscagree with that comment. However it meant a trip on the bus to Kendal, 30 miles or so, and an overnight stay with said dentist. 4 molars, my no 6's were removed and I ended up feeling rather sorry for myself. I was consoled the next morning as I walked up the garden, by seeing a maroon Duchess pounding it' way up,Grayrigg bank. My 7's moved forward and made way for my wisdom teeth. This has confused many dentists ever since until they take an Xray. I still have all my wisdom teet the Pennsy K4's were good engines and influenced several British designers. Anyway Bonjour to you all. The main part of the grass got cut yesterday. The tractor mower started first time. I also hung a bird box and started on the next gate. Today we have been shopping together and also comp,eted a piece of officialdom by depositing our French Wills with the Notaire, now it's time to eat fresh cheese scones with butter. Not a bad day all in all. Jamie

Morning, looks like I've got my work cut out with this lot, tough job but I'm the one to do it............................

Mooring Awl, Inner Temple Hare, 642 /402 -. --- / -.-. .- -.- . / .... . .-. . / .. .----. ...- . / .--- ..- ... - / --. --- - / .-. .- -... -... .. - / ..-. --- --- -.. / ..-. --- .-. / .-.. ..- -. -.-. .... 5 hours sleep short break 2 hours sleep, I was really comfortable and didn't want to get up at that point.. Ben said it was time to get ready for work.. Ben the reluctant Collie didn't really want out this morning , So it was only a large splash and dash back in.. Very misty and foggy.. Though the red lights on the tower crane shone brightly, at the Macarthy and Stone, purveyors of housing to the misled, building site. . Why such a huge crane for two story buildings I don't know.. They have however finished the show home, surrounded by fake security cameras, by the entrance to the Tes and cos warehouse where road chaos often ensues.. Of visitors from far away, the total for Norfolk over the weekend was 160 fines issued for the distance traveller, Kettering, Peterborough, Bedford, Luton, London etc walking on Norfolk beaches.. With many more warnings issued for the not quite local.. The good news is they've signed off the deputy Head of Lab job again, this means they can advertise it again.. Then they can recruit the guy they selected several months ago.. He's expected at the end of April. Chatting to my boss he's looking at going next year.. Not much time left to train the new man, I note also the new mans wife works for his old company and is staying with them.. So the new man will be commuting each week.. 5 hour journey each way!! Time to go see what happened to yesterday's cal run on the major system.

Good evening everyone Well I’ve spent most of the day in the garden, the roses are now pruned ready for the spring and all the hydrangeas have been dead headed. The plants are all showing signs of new life and it looks like we’ll get another good show this year. The aquilegia plants are starting to grow as are the foxgloves and there are a few daffodils starting to bloom too! The front looks a lot tidier now the leaves blown in off the street have been swept up, along with all the other detritus which ended up in the refuse bin, the green bin is almost full now, luckily it will be emptied on Friday. After tea I completed the Sainsbury’s Grand, as now in what seems the norm, I was fairly quiet and surprisingly everyone tonight was wearing a mask properly, which I think must be a first! Now, family and friends, I don’t keep in touch with any of my old school friends. I had one friend who I kept in touch with one when I left school. I used to keep in regular contact with him, until work made this awkward, but on the odd occasion when we would get in touch, he’d always fail to turn up when invited to come round. There was never any fallout and whenever we bumped into each other in was always friendly, but the last time he ‘failed’ to turn up, when I asked why, he said he simply forgot, so I never bothered inviting him again, friendship is a two way street after all. I think one of the reasons I didn’t keep in touch with others was because as a family we used to move around a lot. Not due to work, but the family kept expanding, we moved 10 times before I was 16, so losing touch had become a bit of a habit, there was no internet or farcebook wayback then. I do occasionally speak to one former colleague, but that again is only about once a year or so. It’s the same with my siblings, I have 3 who live within 2 miles of my house, we don’t keep in contact and never speak unless we happen to bump into each other whilst out. Again, keeping in touch is a two way thing, a few years ago I organised a get together with everyone, it all seemed to go well, but when I passed the baton on to the others to organise the next, well, 19 years later I’m still waiting, which just about says it all! However, conversely, I regularly email and speak my youngest brother who lives in Canada, we take it in turns to ring each other every month, which we’ve done now for over 20 years. I also keep in regular contact with a cousin who now lives in Worcestershire and I also email my half-sister, whom I’ve only met the once, in Canada several times a year. Funny things families aren’t they?

The Rat Catcher cometh - right on time for his revised (this morning) appointment. I note according to his business card that he has a BSc - rodent poisons or mechanical trap technology I wonder? PS. Actually it's a degree in micro-biology so my first guess wasn't all that far off, er sort of

As if we would..... Glad you're ok-ish GDB. Bear prescribes cake.

Bear has not seen his since 1976 - as far as I know he's still alive, despite wishing otherwise ; my brother has not informed me of his demise, though I do wonder if he would anyway as he is under no illusions whatsoever of my opinion of the [censored]. His actions are the reason for the less-than-ideal relationship between Bear & Brother. In lighter news, Bear has survived pruning the roses and hydrangeas in the back garden unscathed, along with various other plants and a minor tidy up too. Din dins now. Pizza? Decisions, decisions. Then it's off to the Co-op for various provisions, as Bear is out of bread and milk, and bananas...and satsumas....and CAKE!!

Hi everyone, Time for yet another project update! Today we bring you the decorated samples of our forthcoming 21ton mineral wagon family, namely the MDO and MDV wagons. You can read the full update here: https://accurascale.co.uk/blogs/news/21-ton-diamond-shine-decorated-mdo-mdvs-are-here Cheers! Fran

..... not a cheque, then? Morning all. Day Two of my Annual Leave. Jab Day. And a poor night's sleep for reasons unknown but I awoke at one point with a pillow on top of my hip Don't ask - I have no idea either. SWMBO was out for an early walk before I was even aware of the day. She reports no woodpeckers nor owls being heard today, though they have been around recently, but she did spot a wren in our camellia bush. I spotted a pair of Northern Brown Weetabix in the kitchen and decided they would be a suitably non-crunchy breakfast for a Gwiwer-with-broken-tooth. Muggercoffy The First is now due following which I am required to "tidy my room". I shall have to Google the meaning of that instruction Best wishes for a safe Cheeseday to one and all.

Ey up! Bit misty here this morning. Obviously the addition of fresh 10p bits into the RMWeb software payment meter has paid off as all seems well so far. Nothing on my "wolf at the door list" for today so I may be able to finish some muddling tasks. Stay safe...enjoy your day..hoping that all ERs are fit and well and also that the " missing" ones are ok. Baz

Apropos of nothing in particular ... A good few moons ago I used to write computer programs and enjoyed doing so. When I no longer had to do so, I made the decision to cease as it could be a very time consuming and sometimes a 'hair pulling out' activity. So, could someone please explain to me why on earth I have bought an Arduino starter kit and am now sitting here hunting missing semicolons and logic errors whilst at the same time having to pick up a new computer language. Actually I'm enjoying it again, now that I have the time.

Although if you avail yourself of this advice, you may have to put up with unlooked for visits by bears and hippos

Good morning everyone Very late on parade this morning, mainly due to the lack on internet this morning, apparently the whole area was off! Also I had an early (8:50) appointment at the dentist, which thankfully went well and no work was necessary. Then it was home for breakfast and then a trip to Waitrose for some stuff that we can’t get locally. By the time I’d done that and had a brew it was gone 11:30! There are no plans for any sort of DIY activities today, so I’ll sit back and read the latest copy of BRM that dropped on the doormat last Friday and has remained unopened since then. Stay safe, stay sane, enjoy whatever you have planned for the day, back later. Brian

If the task is too much for you help is available. Just saying. Jamie

Brothers.. Well I have one, but I hardly know him, He was just three when we moved to the Hebridies and I shortly after went away to school in Inverness. I came home from School for the holidays to find this "thing" had invaded my room and he regarded it as his.. 5 years later I left home permanently. So from his age of 4 I've only lived in the same house as him, for 60 weeks. Also my sisters Are 3.5 and 2.5 years younger than me, and of course when I lived at home, they were GIRLS you didn't want to know them (or their friends). I'm not that familiar with them either. Contact is cards and I got forced onto Facefart as they use that in a family private group

His last post did suggest that he was feeling a bit low but he did visit RMweb about 10 minutes ago. Take care, Bob, we are thinking of you.

Bear has the G******g job for today - roses and hydrangeas. Blood is expected. Daffodils have appeared. Bear has an elder brother, who I've not seen sight of since 2011 - contact is restricted to chrimbo and birthday cards, though I suspect know that this is due to SiL sending them rather than bruv. Long story, ending with a funeral bust-up. Bear tried to keep contact afterwards, though every time I phoned him I had the feeling he'd rather I hadn't. The last phone call (Feb 2011) resulted in him saying "We'll have to come over and see you (he's an hour or so away), or you come here - I'll have a word with Her Ladyship (SWMBO) and work something out....". Ok, thinks Bear - ball is in your court. I'm still waiting. At chrimbo, Bear never bothered to send a card, for the first time - I suspect they are never welcomed by him. I did subsequently wonder if they would be concerned if all is ok (pandemic n' all that - and SiL is a nurse). Nothing heard, so I figure that they are decidedly unconcerned. Still, saved me wasting a stamp I 'spose. Bear did wonder if @chrisf would spot that deliberate anomaly . However, Bear would like to point out that referring to a chimp as a monkey is never, ever a good idea....and being on the rough end of a p1ssed off chimp is bad, and some. Not for those of a nervous disposition: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/horrifying-injuries-woman-who-face-22045752

Looking back — perhaps slightly off topic — some shots of the predecessor of Copenhagen Fields: Chiltern Green & Luton Hoo! These shots were taken at December 1981, roughly 40 years ago. The slides were shot on daylight film, quite under-exposed, now heavily adjusted to get something out of them. Sorry for the colours! pekka

Happy Birthday Ian Enjoy the curry. And the cheesecake

He is having a rest from ERs at the moment. Baz

Still no signs of Bob, @grandadbob, I do hope he is O.K.

Another dull and grey morning in North Somerset. Yesterday's low cloud cleared from the south, which is a rather unusual phenomenon for this neck of the woods. Having viewed the latest satellite image, today's overcastness looks unlikely to clear from any direction. Thankyou for all the comments regarding gum ache; although I believe the fact that it appears randomly on either side of my mouth and can be bottom or top teeth (or both) on either side, tends to rule out direct infections from food. My theory is that I have gained an unwelcome habit of tightening my lips whilst concentrating on reading or typing, and this is putting pressure on my back teeth via face muscles. I am trying to make a conscious effort to keep my mouth relaxed, even resorting to a bit of cotton wool between my lips when SWMBO is not in the room (she is fond of mockery). This approach appears to be working, although my brain reels in horror at the thought of eating a chewy portion of meat, or a bag of nuts.

Morning, dull and grey internally and externally. 3c and misty, not a great start. Off to the Big City at lunchtime to be Pfizered, Star Trek has nothing on me. Hoping for little reaction but it doesn't really matter given the leisurely life I now lead. If I do react badly I hope its not too quickly as I have a 40 minute drive back to the northern sticks.

Greetings all from Sidcup where there is once again a grey and cloudy sky. Yesterday was distinctly chilly and Mrs Lurker reported that the school's heating had failed where the classroom she works in is located. Apparently all is fine where the SLT sit; and the head's husband is the caretaker/site manager. Another day on the work treadmill beckons. I will be glad when some of the restrictions ease; I've seen nowhere other than Sidcup for months and it is beginning to pall. Even Younger Lurker going back to school will mean a trip to the Danson Park area...woohoo! Families; there is a contrast between my family and Mrs Lurker's. Contact in my family is sporadic, although during lockdown I have made an effort to speak to my parents every week. I've not spoken to my sister since Christmas, and before that it was probably the Christmas before. We get on OK when we see each other but do not make any particular effort to do so. Mrs Lurker is very close to her Mum and Sister, and not seeing them has been the hardest part of lockdown, but has not seen her Dad since 1998. She is also close to her brother although he is in Seattle these days (and that was the "excuse" for starting our West Coast roadtrip there what seems a lifetime ago but is in fact less than 2 years ago).

Greetings one and all An envelope from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs came yesterday. As might have been expected two days before the Budget, it contained my annual notice of tax coding. I suppose this is better than sending the thing out immediately after any changes that might be made. Any further comment runs the risk of infringing the rubric about politics! I must do the fodder run this morning. After a daring excursion to Morrisons on Friday it’s back to Tesco. The trouble with going to a different place is that I do not know where anything is and it takes me at least twice as long to load the trolley. For me, shopping is a necessary evil and I spend no longer on it than absolutely necessary. I hope that the resurfacing of the car park has now been completed, for on my last visit there was nowhere to put the glass that I had brought for recycling. There can be something satisfying about the sound of breaking glass. Polybear, I hate to nit-pick – not in fact true, for I have made it an art-form – but the music to which the monkeys are dancing in your clip is not from Riverdance. It is in fact “Lord of the Dance”, which as I’m sure you recall started life as a hymn entitled “Simple Gifts”. Sydney Carter wrote the words of “Lord of the Dance” to fit that tune but it was Michael Flatley, who had choreographed “Riverdance” for RTE in 1994 and starred with Jean Butler in its first performance, who later appropriated the tune for his dance show of the same name. Best wishes to all Chris

Hey... what part of FREE did you miss

And do you think Big H or Bear would be that cruel and heartless to take advantage of a fellow ER'er in distress? Hang on, this is cake we're talking about here.... Bear has just returned from a difficult and dangerous expedition to the local Arctic Tundra (ok, so it was village Co-op); Er'ers may be amazed that Bear purchased NO cake, despite being devoid of such supplies. A couple of packs of Hot Cross Buns and two packs (=4) Treacle Puds *may* have been rescued though...neither of which are classified as Cake - right?

Hope so soon as its a lonely job on my own (boring everyone else with daily drivel).

Good news with George. After a good night, he has kept his food and drink down and even his ablutions are ok. At 6 this morning, he finally decided that he had had enough of the drip and promptly removed it from his front paw. At 7am, he had an argument with the vet on the examination table. At 10am I came to collect him. On arriving back home, he spent a nervous half hour checking everywhere for any hidden vets! Here's George settling down on his favourite perch. ..going.. ..going.. ..gone! But purring loudly. He hasn't caught any mice yet, or anything bigger than a fly, but he has delayed two Rats from coming into the house, (SLW full fat ones with all the trimmings), until I can save up the money after paying the unexpected vets bill. Now, on a completely unrelated note, what are peoples experiences with pet insurance? Kev.

Morning all, is it Christmas yet?

You mean like in your username?

Morning all from Estuary-Land. One thing that niggles me is that people mis-spell my forename. My name is the 'royal' version spelt with two L's. This causes problems with e-mail addresses in particular and I have taken pains to point out the correct spelling. I was surprised this morning when most of the media reports of Prince Phillip's current illness spelt his name with only one L, including the BBC! A good indication of the sloppy reporting in the media today.

The main one was having been in the shed for several months and your truly not having got round to putting it up. I think the conversation went along the lines of it's either the bird box or you. Jamie

Can people use politeness as a weapon? During WW II many exclusive British clubs opened their doors to American servicemen. One evening, in a 300-year-old club, an American Army NCO stopped a porter in a hallway and asked, “Hey Mac, where’s the f***ing can?” The porter replied, “Glad to be of service, sir. Please proceed down this hallway past the busts of the early British kings, take the first hallway to the right past the country landscapes of eighteenth-century estates. At the end of that hallway, sir, you will see a polished mahogany door and, on that door, you will see a brass plate that reads, ‘GENTLEMEN’, but do not let that deter you, sir — walk right in.”

Switching Bradleys Bagels

Well and truly over slept this morning, almost 8am when one of my eye lids flickered open and saw it was daylight. The second one opened soon after, (I only have the two). Bit misty, and I was hungry so have forsaken the walk for Ready Break today. I always have a choice of Ready Break, Weetabix or Cornflakes so dependant on the mood. although Ready Break comes off the Menu from the end of this box until about October, as I then switch to cold milk for the summer cereal. Have a safe day one and all.

The Four Witch Covens There were once four powerful witch covens: the witches of the mountains, the deserts, the forests, and the seas. For a thousand years they made war with one another, casting curses and hexes and bringing all manner of malady to the land in their hatred for one another. One day, they decided the only solution was to convene for a meeting of all the covens, in which they would either strike a deal for peace, or end it all in violent bloodshed. The sea witches arrived first, carried upon a tidal wave that bore them up and onto the coast, the waters crashing loudly as they struck the shoreline as if to announce their presence. The mountain witches rode down the hillside upon magical stormclouds, thunder and lightning bursting from their steeds of vapor, a tumultuous blizzard ravaging the mountains in their wake. The forest witches, shape-shifters, emerged in the form of gnarled roots which encircled the meeting place and rose out of the ground, bending and twisting into humanoid silhouettes from which sprung skin and clothing, as a flurry of leaves swirled around furiously. The sand witches arrived in a catering truck.