devonseasider

Someone's got to.

and the same to you. Looks as though we're both in similar situations albeit for very different reasons. "Keep your leg up" they say. If only it was that simple!

Good morning chaps & chapesses. Just dropping in again after being awol & generally out of circulation for quite some time. Have I missed anything important? Do I need to read back to catch up on all the burning issues? We were scheduled to be away in Abergavenny late May / early June - Brecon Beacons, Wye Valley etc. - but a few days beforehand my leg (which some will remember had been playing me up since mid-March) decided it wanted to try hospital food instead of Welsh cakes & Y Fenni cheese so it turned into a tree trunk, made me feel like it was going to explode & took me off to RD&E, Wonford. They strapped me down, attacked me with lots of sharp, pointy things, drained an arm of blood & replaced it with an antibiotic cocktail (OK, maybe some of that's exaggerated but it makes the story sound better). Cutting a long story short, after a few days the microbiology people managed to grow something in a petri dish from one of the samples they'd taken so they were able to target it with a specific antibiotic. To quote the rather lovely pharmacy nurse "this is the domestos of antibiotics" - that's one of those things you don't forget (as, indeed, was the pharmacy nurse! They do say that every cloud has a silver lining - I still miss her . . . . I'm sure she's making someone, somewhere, very happy). They eventually let me out in time - just! - for my 70th, not that I remember much about it - I slept through most of it. As for the leg's decision to eat at Wonford rather than Abergavenny - well, nowhere near as bad as I had feared. Definitely not cordon bleu, but reasonably palatable if somewhat sparse. 8 weeks on & the swelling still won't go down (ooo, errr, missus . . . .) so my leg's clamped in a high-compression bandage in an attempt to squeeze out the remaining fluid. I had "a session" this morning with the delightful Chloe. She removed the bandaging, washed, massaged, creamed & generally fondled the offending limb, then re-dressed it. By all accounts, many a government minister would pay a small fortune for such treatment but I got it all for nothing - isn't the NHS wonderful! As you can no doubt imagine, over the last 4 months RMWeb, toy trains & life in general have taken something of a back seat. Apart from anything else, access to the loft was nigh-on impossible so little chance to do anything constructive. On top of that, I've been in that "limbo" state of being peed off with doing nothing but having no appetite for doing anything. Don't worry Phil, different causes, but I know exactly how you feel. Anyway, hopefully things now on the up, life back to its usual (ab)normal self & I can make some small contribution to the world before we all implode under the combined pressures of Boris, Brexit, Trump sanctions and North Korean missiles. Anyone want anything measuring/photographing at SJ while the weather's OK? Take care all.

Disappointed that I've had to let Dave & co. down and pull out of the show but there was no realistic alternative under the circumstances. Perhaps someone will pencil me in for next year - surely it will have cleared up by then . . . . I'm hoping I'll have sufficient mobility & stamina to get over to Minehead for a couple of hours as a visitor - apart from anything else I'm going stir crazy having been penned up for so long. Still, every cloud has a silver lining - I had "a session" this morning with the delightful Chloe. She removed the bandaging, washed, massaged, creamed & generally fondled the offending limb, then re-dressed it. By all accounts, many a government minister would pay a small fortune for such treatment but I got it all for nothing - isn't the NHS wonderful! If you're anywhere within striking distance, do try to get over - it's always worth a visit. It's a nice, friendly show and most of what people say about Dave isn't true at all . . . . As a bonus there's a very good chippy just around the corner and proper old-fashioned shelters on the seafront where you can eat in peace, away from the attentions of the local seagulls.

Can someone remind me what time the cafe stops serving breakfast. Don't want to miss out.

PM sent.

https://railsofsheffield.com/ Scroll to bottom of page. Left hand side - 'sign up for newsletter'.

K's Bodyline kit - Midland 3F 0-6-0T, forerunner of the jinty. Intended to fit Hornby Dublo 0-6-0 chassis.

Dullcote - isn't that effectively a thin matte varnish? Do you just spray it on lightly over the powder/chalk to hold it in place, or have I got the wrong idea? I've never weathered with powders, so not sure of the techniques.

If Jonathan (Rowsley) can't help, please let me know. I've got one you can have.

More likely to be your Uranus, I would have thought.

Sorry to be a party-pooper, but can I just pop in for a minute with something SJ related? You don't go past for a few days & look what happens - someone starts painting the steelwork on the canopy! What's that all about then? Looks like I'll have to start asking a few questions. As an aside, looking back the other way, our friend from Colyton seems to have been busy prettying up the jungle behind the concrete fence at the back of the former up platform and someone's going for a 'roses round the door' look at the former booking hall entrance. Note old rail used instead of kerb stones. NB apparent flying saucer in first photo is top of septic tank installed last year. Don't know whether or not it's actually connected to anything.

Looking for a left-hand, bullhead point in decent condition. Curved point would probably fit as well. I have a brand new, boxed left-hand flat-bottom for exchange.

I'm there with Tormouth Quay, far right-hand corner of Hall 2, adjacent to Wizard Models & Modelmania. Please call by & say 'hello'. Better still, call by, say 'hello', stay for a while & have a play with my trainset. Give me a chance to put my leg up for a while - it's a l-o-n-g weekend. photo courtesy Chris Nevard/Model Rail

Taxi for Derek Adams. oops, sorry, just beaten to it.

If Argyle do go down you've got to give them credit for pulling relegation out of the jaws of survival They were well clear & on the up only 3 or 4 weeks ago. Home to Scunny last game - looks easier than Southend's fixture.

Posted at Stubby's suggestion, and with my thanks to him. A call for help from any of tomorrow's assembled throng who may be heading to Bristol (Thornbury) next weekend. I've been asked to take 'Tormouth Quay' as one of the guest layouts (see photo below) but I'm struggling to find operating assistance, made more necessary than usual due to having a gammy leg. Medical advice is to keep weight off the leg & to keep it raised as much as possible - that's obviously not compatible with 3 long days in an exhibition hall! If any of you can offer any help over the weekend, please have a quick word at tomorrow's pastie party. I'll be ever so grateful. photo courtesy Chris Nevard/Model Rail

It's that bluddy monorail again . . . .

Baring bearing in mind the average age of its readers & contributors, his thread really should have a government health warning . . . . By the way, I believe the appropriate references are to a roof-tiler's nail bag and a blind cobblers thumb - none of your chapel 'at pegs round here, please.

Flangeless driving wheels - I thought we had to avoid them like the plague these days.

Not from Weymouth they don't.

and Are you two now promised to each other, or am I missing something? It's a bit public on here for that sort of thing, isn't it?

I think you'll find there's a reason for that . . . .

Stubby47 wrote: Please can I have a show of hands for those bringing a Cakebox entry to display, As an incentive, KNP's winning entry 'Long Walk Home' will be on show I can bring some Show of Hands CDs to display play if that's any use. One of them is called Long Way Home, which is almost the same . . . .

Haven't seen any mention of this but apologies if details have been posted and I've missed them. This coming Saturday, April 13th, at Avonway Community Centre, 36 Shaftesbury Street, Fordingbridge, Hampshire SP6 1JF Organised by Fordingbridge Rotary Club as a charity fund raiser. Information here taken from UK Model Shops website http://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/events/18759-FordingbridgeRotaryClubExhibition OPENING TIMES: SATURDAY 10.30am - 4.30pm ADMISSION: Adults £5.00 Children £1.00 Family £10.00 20 layouts with trade support & ive steam attractions. I'll be there with Tormouth Quay. Please come and say hello and give me a hand operating if you've got time to spare. photo courtesy Chris Nevard/Model Rail