Chubber

Bittern at Ropley Doug

Bishop's Lydiard Doug

Edge stones Have a look at some redundant VHS cassettes....there are areas on those that have that diamond pattern, and the material glues easily. Doug

A little 'post fest' as I can't remember which gadgets I have posted and where..... Invaluable for my card modelling, two right-angle pieces of card and two blocks of accurately cut MDF. Hm, card needs renewing... A piece of aluminium channel from a scrap bin with a 90 degree cut-out, the lower face lined with card and used with an extended Stanley snap off knife for getting good mitres for brick plinths etc. Sandpaper 'planes' One side of a 4" x 3" mitre block The other side After knocking over one bottle of plastic weld I did this as I couldn't afford to buy another new pair of trousers...the little clear plastic cap came from a cough mixture bottle, and when I am 'plasticking' I use it to cover the top of the bottle between dips of the brush because it doesn't need screwing and unscrewing to avoid evapouration of the nasty smelly stuff. The needles, with rolled up cotton stuck with epoxy are for applying little drips into small places by touching them onto the relevant place and then 'wiping' the brush gently against them. My latest, a mini tool box for taking on holiday in the caravan, adapted from a M&S wine box Christmas present. The latest Metcalfe mini glue bottles are perfect for this, and are held upright during transit.Save carrying 1/2 pint of PVA and Rocket. Finally, this looks too simple minded to post, but it really does work... Yes, it's just stick of chalk PVA'd to an old lump-hammer head. This year I built my first white metal model locomotive, and found it essential to dress my files with chalk during use to avoid them being choked with white metal. The problem I found was that having finally managed to manoeuvre the blessed thing into a position where you could see to file the relevant bit, the file started to drag after two or three passes. So, you have to put down the model, pick up the chalk and rub it on the file, then pick up...etc. Now this hold the chalk over on the right side of my bench ready to have the file slid across it without putting down the model. Hope there is something here to help someone else, Poop-poop! Doug

I think this is a Yellow Hammer, certainly I have been hearing a 'Dink, dink; dink' type song recently. Strangely, it was eating seeds out of the Rosemary bush next to the kitchen door [lovely with Lamb and Pork chops!]. I have tasted the seeds myself, they are SO strong tasting, hope they didn't give him/her belly-ache... Doug

Not a garden bird unless the lake is in your garden, but I just had to show you Mr and Mrs GC Grebe.....first time I have photographed this courtship display, taken last week in Lombardy. Doug

The thin blue line has had the shi%%y end of the stick in regard to RTA's. In 1984 I was knocked of my illuminated beat pedal cycle at night on a street lamp lit main road by a motorist leaving a side turning despite my wearing reflective clothing. Luckily I was pushed away to the right a little at the moment of collision. Not realising the lumpy road was in fact my bicycle and saddlebag, she stopped, reversed to see what she had hit, again running over my bicycle, in the process pushing it backwards over my right leg, trapping me on the ground. At this stage I must have lost my presence of mind because I verbally abused her as she got out of the car. The result? For me, grazes, damage to a cervical vertebra, a chipped bone in my elbow that 2 years later needed surgical intervention and an admonition for lack of professionalism and failing to make a timely submission of a report of damage to a force pedal cycle. For her, a caution.The reasons given were a. My intemperate language at the scene b. It would have been seen as 'vindictive' had the force pressed for a prosecution as 'only a police officer was injured'. [N.B. IN 1984 many forces pursued and prosecuted all non-fatal RTA's themselves without recourse to other agencies.] Doug

Yee-ha! I go wobbly just looking at the chap on top of that trunk.... Bon Courage, mon brave! Doug

Jack Ahern was by profession a maritime insurance broker but, as you have indicated he was also a pioneer in photography. Best wishes, Chairman, Pedants Society... Doug

Very good news! I have been surprised at the amount and cost of the red tape you have struggled with, and admire your perseverence. Amongst the thousands of things you and yours have on your minds, please try keep us up to date? Best wishes, Doug and Shelagh

Great news!! Funny, just thinking about this recently whilst planning a caravan trip to Venice this Spring, funny how the old mind works! Doug

HUZZAH! Doug

A short musical Beta-blocker...... 'In the Bleak Midwinter' played by Tina Thing Helseth

Superglue a I have only used the non-latching type of SEEP but have noticed one end of the solenoid 'tube' is smoother and flatter than the other which has a lead-out for the windings. If a circle of rubber cut from a Marigold glove were super-glued over the smooth end, would it not act as an air-brake to lessen the 'thump'? Were it too effective, piercing witha suitable needle may have some effect. Given the number of new motors you need it might be worth experimenting with the SEEPs you have at hand.... Curious Doug

Good News? I do hope so, it's a lovely site, have you a handy GPS location? Fingers crossed for you, Doug

SWMBO opened hers yesterday posted from Messrs Kernow. Sadly all 4 buffers were bent inwards at about 20 degrees and the for'd steam pipe snapped off... Not the end of the world, but very annying, especially as it was a present! Doug

By Sir Reginald Goatley-Prodding IAM, JP Rtd, MFH Why don't you simply have one's chauffeur drive slowly around the town until such time as one's haircut and purchase of prophylactics has been completed? Anyway, the thin blue line is better employed in detecting and prosecuting tinkers and poachers. Why do you need to go to town, doesn't your cook and housekeeper perform daily errands on your behalf? Hedonism, sheer seekers after pleasure, beer and skittles... When I have occasion to visit the town, I park at the Golf Club or the Conservative Club and call a taxi. I was once forced to park in the car park of Waitrose Department Store when the High Street was being resurfaced, and some charming Polish chappies washed my car for me. I imagine their fathers' flew Spitfires for us in the last War. I thought they all went home again after V.J. Day when we stopped their Active Service Allowance and put them back on the Locally Employed Foreign Services Rate. Wait until Nasser and his Gippo chums start to kick off and we lose the Anglo-Iran Oil concessions, we'll see who can still afford to run their Austin Sevens then, eh? At least we still have New Zealand lamb and Fern Leaf butter..... RM G_P

I think this large scale stuff is cheating....sooner or later someone is going to take pictures of a 12"/1ft garden shed and display it here as a large model with a giant hand photo-shopped on to try and fool us.... Only joking, Brushy, that's a great model of something that lots of people would not consider taking that much trouble over. Nice to see a ledged, braced and planked door made properly. Doug

This quality modelling, inspirational museum quality stuff sir, I applaud your attention to detail. Copying a prototype often produces the best results. Doug

By Sir Reginald Mafekin Goatley-Prodding Bart, IAM, JP (Rtd), MFH The deterioration of driving standards is largely attributable to the wrong sort of people being allowed to drive motor-cars. All sorts of undesirable sorts who have never achieved anything, who never will achieve anything [other than to populate the world with their horrid scrofulous offspring] can now buy a motor-car on hire-purchase and drive it anywhere they want to. I drove to town on the M3 last week to attend a Club reunion. Streams of horrid football supporters came Gadereening past me in the overtaking lane whilst I was maintaining a steady 65 miles per hour in the correct middle lane, whilst listening to The Archers on the wireless.They were sounding their horns and waving their scarves out their windows. What if a police car or ambulance had wanted to use the overtaking lane? Sheer selfishness. No one minds the greengrocer or baker having a van, or the plumber perhaps a little lorry, but the train and bus should be sufficient for the hoi-polloi. Too many motor-cars on the roads these days, and everyone in a tearing hurry. RM G_P.

Strange dream last night, apparently I sat bolt upright [something I find difficult to do at alarm-clock time, let alone 0300], and shouted "O gauge! Oh Bo%%0cks!" and lay down again. This is probably something to do with recently getting my milly-meeters, inches and rod, pole and perches mixed up when I ordered this..... thinking I could be clever like Kenton and build something OO9 around it. Around it? I'll have to find it again as I dropped it in the fluff under the bench and it's disappeared. BG John...I will not start an 'O' gauge layout, I will no........Vade retro Satanus!!!!

AAAaagh! [Runs screaming from the room]Those little yellow nodding smileys are my Nemises...

I am now going to make a shocking confession...please be seated. I do not model 'O' gauge, I am not a S.R. fan, I am hoping to move into 4mmNG, I have no intention to buy any 7mm stock, I have one on order with Kernow.................. to put in my display cabinet. My only possible defence? 12 months ago SWMBO said 'Ooh! I like that little loco...' There, I have said it, I feel better now. Doug

All good stuff, but on a note of caution if I may, when I was 'ickle' I used to use pounded-up ash from the Trianco boiler in the scullery [remember those...?] but there was quite a bit of obviously iron-based muck in there which ended up around the permanent magnets of my entire loco fleet [both of them] along with bits of wire wool from my wonderful home-made bushes. Doug Damn...that Darren is good.....

In the 60s I'm sure that road vehicles still entered yards to load from wagons [or am I losing a decade?] so metalled surfaces would have been provided alongside goods tracks to facilitate this in loading areas.The track between the rails would be clear/clinker except for timber baulks where vehicles were to cross over. Source P73 'Goods Yards', Model Railway Design Manual CJ Freezer ISBN1 8526 538 3 Doug [smugness equals pedantry backed by evidence...] D