Mike Bellamy

Not always the case as the following two links show. This is on a roundabout near home which was installed to serve the new houses on the right. I lost count of the number of times the single chevron sign was demolished by cars going straight over the kerb, across the grass and rejoining the carriageway on the other side. This is in a 70mph zone. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.9007669,-1.5563601,3a,75y,266.57h,85.15t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s-Y0hBFpeGpvc1JNkb2foBA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu Compare that with the second view showing another (larger) roundabout in an area that I regularly drive through - here the dual carriageway limit has been reduced to 40mph from 70mph (sign just behind the camera) and there are nine chevron signs - but even then I have seen evidence of drivers crashing into them ! https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.8966026,-1.198558,3a,75y,58.55h,80.97t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sP45ZQr_to0TEY_BO8aLdBA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu .

Allow me to introduce you to an alternative image - A 25ft high "Dapper" sheep, dressed in an alternative style wool jacket. . . . . . . https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-68684297 .

A few years ago, when our local show still offered a pensioners' discount, I was on the door selling tickets when an old guy came down the corridor saying loudly "Bus Pass - Bus Pass" and waving his pass in the air. 'Thank you Sir, that will be £x' (can't remember prices but it was a kids rate so probably £2). He then spent several minutes building up a queue while he went into every pocket looking for his cash - how strange that he knew exactly where his bus pass was but didn't have any money ready. The next year we dropped the concessions and made kids free so everyone over 18 paid the same. .

Or does he build Airfix kits in his spare time - or has a Scalextric set up in the loft . . . we need to keep reminding ourselves that Hornby is not just about model railways. .

HMS Vengeance has just returned to Faslane after 201 days at sea - in fact 201 days under the sea if news reports are to be believed - said to be the second longest underwater deployment of a nuclear submarine - presumably with no support or logistics as that could / would give away their position. Not the sort of job I could do ! .

As shown in a Channel Five programme last year. Link to Army News and TV below https://www.army.mod.uk/news-and-events/news/2023/08/military-justice-on-the-small-screen/ https://www.channel5.com/show/court-martial-soldiers-behind-bars .

What an amazing garden they have created there - so much more than you would expect from a 'Vicarage' - but even the house is so much bigger than the average rural vicarage. Must wind up the I-Player later to watch the programme Glorious Gardens from Above which was on BBC2 earlier this morning. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04t6tdz/glorious-gardens-from-above-13-norfolk Link below to East Ruston for anyone visiting Mr Q's part of East Norfolk. Looking at the map I would therefore guess that Ben (and TheQ) live somewhere in an overgrown garden between Happisburgh and Sea Palling - perhaps near Eccles - in which case several ERs enjoy your cakes !!😃 https://eastrustonoldvicarage.co.uk/ EDIT - changed the BBC link - which also includes Bressingham and the Broads so even more reasons to watch it as we plan to be in that area sometime over the summer. .

Last year I went to a small railway/museum which had a gala with a visiting loco as well as their own stock being used. For £3 more than the gala ticket, I joined the Society and got free admission for the rest of the year, discount in the shop and a magazine each quarter. .

If he's with Hurtigruten, then the most northerly port is Kirkenes where you can get an excursion to the Russian border. Interesting to see that Germany posted 100,000 troops there, and that after Malta it was the most bombed town during WW2 with 320 raids from USSR. We will be there mid April celebrating my "Three Score Years and Ten" but I'll keep well away from the border. https://www.hurtigruten.co.uk/ports/kirkenes/ .

I don't want to get you (or me) into more trouble by talking about unmentionables but I can't help but wonder about your comment "solid resin body" - is that really correct ? If it's a big as an A4 sheet, why not make it hollow and save the cost of an unnecessary amount of material ? .

Thanks - I blame the BBC as it's obvious that they got the info from Wikipedia and seem to have missed the fact that the private investor (Moorcroft Capital) was actually owned by another of the Douglas-Miller family and so still a descendant of Charles Jenner . . . . . . . BBC The new building opened in 1895 and was extended in 1903. Further extensions were added in the 1950s and 1960s. The building was sold to private investors in 2005 after House of Fraser bought the Jenners brand and property. It was then bought by Anders Holch Povlsen in 2017 for a reported £53m. WIKIPEDIA The lease of the building remained with the Jenners holding company JPSE Ltd, owned by the Douglas-Miller family. In August 2005 it was sold to Moorcroft Capital Management, owned by Jenners' former chief executive Robbie Douglas-Miller. In 2017 the building was bought by Danish billionaire fashion retailer and landowner in Scotland Anders Holch Povlsen, reportedly for £53 million. .

In my case, it's a right angle scar on the tip of the left index finger - caused by the corner of a corned-beef tin I was trying to open at a scout camp 55 years ago. I can still feel it tingling at times. .

40 years later (or thereabouts) I'm still Treasurer collecting cash - and we're going to Mablethorpe at Easter to visit No 1 son !! .

I always remember that we knew you as "Cash-me-a-Cheque" . . . . . . . . . That's how I feel as well . . . . . but as I will be "Three Score Years and Ten" next month, Mrs B insisted that we must have a special holiday and so we are going on the "Coastal Express" with Hurtigruten up and down the coast of Norway - stopping at 34 ports on the way up to beyond North Cape, and then all the way back again. This is a regular service and 24 hours ahead of you is another ship doing the same journey and one 24 hours behind you. Some of the stops are just for 20 minutes in the middle of the night but you might see the same port in daylight on the way back. Not a formal cruise as some passengers are just hopping from one fiord to another for work or family visits. Maximum number of passengers around 600 and during longer stops at larger ports such as Tromso and Trondheim there are excursions available as extras. I must admit that we were very lucky to see a "Black Friday" promotion and so got the actual cruise for half price . . . . . . . and despite my initial reservations, I'm now looking forward to the trip. https://www.hurtigruten.co.uk/destinations/norway/classic-round-voyage-bergen-kirkenes-bergen/#key-info .

@AY Mod he lived at Rangemore, near Burton upon Trent. @New Haven Neil he bought a Royal Enfield at the local bike shop in Burton Info from local news report in link below. https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/celebs-tv/shopkeepers-who-knew-bbc-hairy-9132815 I was rather surprised to learn of his former life as a make-up artist at the BBC for 23 years and that's where he met Si who was a director .

Thank you all for your responses to my query. We do own our building but that didn't seem to come with any requirement to report anything to HMRC. We have considered both Limited Company and Charitable Incorporated Organisation for the same reasons and in fact a few years ago went to see Paul Jones at Warley who went through all the paperwork etc with us. However disputes between members related to lockdown and reopening the clubroom, plus a lot of insulting comments on social media caused the Chairman and Secretary to resign and leave the club (as did the main complainant). As a result no progress has been made as the main driving forces on the committee are no longer with us. Perhaps it's time to revisit those proposals. .

Hope you don't mind me asking, but why do you need to do a return to HMRC. I'm treasurer of our muddling group and haven't had any contact with HMRC for about 30 years - that was when they asked our exhibition manager how much he got paid for organising the show that had been featured in the local paper ! Thanks

When I worked in the Partnership office at the University, we had very flexible working hours, with most staff coming in early as our overseas partners were ahead of us by several hours. As this meant an earlier finish, a couple of staff found it better to come in later due to child care commitments so that the office was always manned (am I allowed to say that ?) during normal office hours. All worked well until the manager went on maternity leave and after complications with her pregnancy, didn't return. Eventually a new manager was appointed who wanted to understand and record the start and finish time for us all, rather than the flexibility and trust we had enjoyed in the past. After entering everything into a spreadsheet, she made one member of staff alter her finish time to 5.01pm rather than 5.00pm as the spreadsheet proved that she was working 5 minutes less than everyone else - of course this wasn't true as she was one of the hardest working staff in the office, almost always in early and staying later. A prime example of how to get staff on your side - or not ! Caused a lot of resentment amongst the staff including me. We never worked well together and eventually she complained to HR about me. A senior member of another area investigated and was very much on my side - so much so that as soon as the manager went on holiday, I was moved to another department and she lost one of her most experienced staff ! .

Going back to the original announcement . . . . . . . 1. I had no idea that Game was part of Frasers 2. I had no idea that Game stores were stockists of Hornby products - their website only lists four items !! https://www.game.co.uk/en/brands/Hornby/ EDIT to add that Scalextric have 13 products, Corgi 7 and although they have an Airfix page, they don't stock any of their products. .

Thanks John - interesting as, like Tony, it's part of the country I know nothing about and have never visited apart from one day at their exhibition many years ago when I was helping a friend with a layout - I can't remember anything about that visit except for seeing tourist information signs to Wigan Pier. The website linked to is, however, a bit out of date as I saw the quote below . . . . . . !! .

You have to prove that you have 'Charitable Aims' and that you are not just a group of friends with a model railway. How do you benefit others? What do you hope to gain from becoming a Charity? There is a lot on the Charity Commission website https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charitable-purposes/charitable-purposes https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charities-supplementary-public-benefit-guidance On a related topic, our club at one time had discretionary relief from business rates from the local authority. We had to reapply every five years and after the last submission of the paperwork (before Covid and cuts in local authority spending) our application was rejected on two counts. 1. We showed no evidence of financial need (as we had money in the bank) 2. We did not provide any benefit to the wider community (the benefit was only to our own members) However we still don't pay business rates on the clubroom as there is a central government scheme for small business rate relief which covers the cost of business rates for small and low value buildings. We still get a rate demand each year from the local council (£1,800 last year) but that is offset by the same amount from the government - so it's a way for Derby City to get money from Westminster . . . . . . . . . .

Jenners is undergoing a major renovation and most of the building is to become a luxury hotel - owned by a Danish billionaire. Although the shop was part of the original House of Fraser group long before Ashley took over, the building was actually sold back in 2005. Detailed BBC report in link below https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-68153251 .

Full text copied below . . . . . . . . . Christine Hatton: "My 26 years of full time work here have been an absolute blast. I will have fond memories of Hattons, the people I've worked alongside and the community we have served. I am now looking forward to a happy retirement including plenty of travel, golf and tennis - as well as some part time voluntary work. I would like to thank all of our customers and everyone associated with Hattons over the last 77 years." Richard Davies: "I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has worked & shopped with Hattons over the 25 years I've had the privilege to work here. Since 1999 the internet has transformed the world and invigorated our wonderful hobby. Hattons have sold over £225 million of model railways to over 425,000 different people in more than 150 countries - it's been an incredible journey and experience. After Hattons I'll be: Doing some consultancy work in the UK model railway industry. Consultancy work with companies outside of model railways - feel free to enquire by connecting on LinkedIn. I'm particularly interested in working with firms in Chester & North Wales on an ongoing basis, but more than happy to use Zoom to speak to anyone around the world Potentially visiting model railway clubs around the world and telling the story of Hattons - feel free to invite me! Spending time with family in Flint, North Wales Contactable at davieshq@gmail.com I would like to say thank you to Christine Hatton for asking me to help run Hattons, after her brother Keith died in 2008. Keith was an such incredible & unique person, that it was understandable many assumed his passing would lead to our closing - we surprised many by achieving a huge amount between 2008 & 2023. I wish Christine, and all the dedicated colleagues of Hattons, all the very best for the future. I am very sorry my best wasn't good enough to maintain Hattons success." Connect with Richard on Linkedin → Contact Richard via Email →   Hattons Staff move on to new pastures... We are pleased to announce that several of our staff members are continuing to work in the model railway industry. You may be familiar with Dave, Jack, Christov & Tom: Dave - Commercial Projects Manager Dave has been with Hattons for many years working in practically all areas of the business! Dave is moving on to Rapido Trains UK to assist with their forthcoming projects. Jack - Chief Content Officer You may recognise Jack from our popular Platform 1 livestreams and at exhibitions. He started in 2017, managing our marketing campaigns and content. He is moving on to work with Rails of Sheffield. Christov & Tom - Helpdesk Assistants If you've ever called or emailed us, you have likely spoken to Christov or Tom - who were two of our extremely knowledgeable helpdesk remote workers. Both have now moved to The Model Centre. Seeking staff for your organisation? We are more than happy to circulate any opportunities you may have to our highly capable former members of staff.

DJH is (was ?) a lot more than just model railways (such as 'Knobs and Knockers' and all sorts of tourist souvenirs) - see link below listing six companies in the group - if we assume Squires have bought the loco side of the business, what about everything else ? https://www.djhgroup.co.uk/our-brands .

We all have a friend in Norfolk - it's Ben (and his master @TheQ ) - in fact that sounds very much like his estate near Sea Palling (if memory is correct). We hear a lot about several sheds needing repair and new discoveries in the undergrowth which always seems to grow faster than he can clear it. .