Ross34

Because I don't attend model railway shows anymore- well, not currently anyway, doesn't mean I'm "Sitting at home in the dark staring at a wall while eating food from a supermarket bin" ..what an odd thing to say?

Yes.. I make reasonable living but even so. travel & food costs are too high for me to spend on model railway shows. ..and perhaps the occasional too high an entry fee but that isn't universal. And it doesn't make the shows 'bad' (that's probably a poor choice of word) - most are very good but if the money isn't there ..it isn't there. To be brutally frank, I find the hobby in general is getting too expensive.

Do what??? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133958067528?epid=1356728713&hash=item1f3085e548:g:C~QAAOSweAxhsMeK

Leigh (Lancs) 2019.

When I order stuff from Australia I get charged the usual fees, VAT is added, handling charge etc.. annoying but my choice ultimately. The interesting thing is when either I or my late father visited Australia (which wasn't often & certainly not now) we used to buy model railway items - my dad used to literally fill a suitcase! We were asked at customs what they were & for what purpose - we always answered they were "toys" for our own use as it's our hobby. Which of course was true. Beyond that, customs were never even remotely interested. My old man even went through the red channel on one occasion when re-entering the UK... again, not interested.

Caveat emptor..

I'd be surprised if there is any at all in 2021 - indoor at least, especially considering a large majority of model railway exhibitions take place in fairly cramped & crowded venues. Plus, who is going to attend such events? I wont be... unless things improve beyond all expectations. And who would be willing to put on such a show (given how much effort that entails) with the hope of even breaking even? .. or even finding enough exhibitors or trade in the first place willing to put themselves in a potentially risky environment for two days. Optimism is fine .. but IMHO there comes a time when people need to face the true knock on effect of Covid & lockdown.

Cancer sucks! .. having lost somebody close to this horrible illness recently this hits home. As a Wiganer (well nearly) I'd been following Kevans work closely - so sad - RIP.

So am I John .. I really am, but I can't see any exhibitions happening in 2021. My jab isn't due till July at the very earliest - in reality it'll be later. And who's going to attend a model railway show? .. certainly not in any numbers to make it worthwhile I'd suggest. .and how would you police them? I wouldn't even entertain the notion unless things change very dramatically. Sorry for the downbeat post but sometimes optimism & positivity isn't enough...sadly.

Ditto .. I've mentioned this before but I actually get SAD (seasonal affective disorder) really badly. It affects me physically & mentally. It's made worse because my main passion in life is gardening so Nov, Dec & Jan are bad - I'm counting the days. The fact that the shortest day is now behind us lifted my spirits no end - sounds silly but it's true. Modelling wise its been fits & starts - I have a show next Sept so that may motivate me to fix whats needs fixing on the layout - unfortunately if it doesn't go ahead I can see me selling or dismantling the layout and putting railway modelling on the back burner for a while.* * I did of think trying n gauge but if I'm honest the cost put me off.

That's assuming everybody is going to get vaccinated or perhaps more correctly, chooses to be. Also assuming of course vaccination isn't compulsory - which I doubt. From a personal standpoint - as of Nov/Dec 2020 - I wouldn't go within spitting distance of an exhibition until things change very significantly. I certainly wouldn't exhibit or man a trade stand. I sincerely hope things do improve but weren't we saying that back in April... yet here we are. Apologies for the negativity but I believe we wont see any exhibitions in 2021.

My late dad used to have a gooseberry in a pot outside his back door. It never got fed, watered - nothing. Dad wasn't a gardener!.. but it produced the best, juciest fruit you'd imagine. I ask how he did it ... "Neglect, son. neglect"! I couldn't argue with that. Same with his compost heap - any old crap would end up on it - never turned it, watered it - nowt. After 12 months it was the richest, blackest crumbliest compost you'd ever seen... go figure.

Ditto - I'll block a bidder for the slightest reason which may seem perhaps slightly churlish but I've run out of patience with chancers & scammers. Also, I'm always wary that addresses have been exchanged so it pays sometimes to be a little careful of allowing disputes to "hot up" too much. Much as it pains us, there is, unfortunately a small element of thieving low life toe-rags that inhabit this hobby.. that's life I guess.

"the vaccine" or " a vaccine"? I Googled it after I read your post and if I understand it right there are trial vaccines being evaluated - and by all accounts look very promising (and hopefully will be) but as yet there doesn't appear to be a vaccine that either one could call a cure or give immunity.. or have I missed something? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54296224 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/covid-19-vaccine-coronavirus-update-tracker-news-oxford-jab-uk/

Indeed we will. The thing that worries me, lockdown or no lockdown is I can't see an end point to it all. I'm no expert but I thinks it's a fair bet a vaccine wont appear for at least a year (and that's assuming one will appear at all) so at what point do we say that life has to return to some form of normality. How many, for example, would be willing to attend an exhibition or man a layout /demo table /trade stand for two days in an enclosed environment? - in the case of the former, essentially for free - that's quite a risk IMHO just for the love of the hobby.. at what point do "we" say "OK, we're good to go". How long will "the trade" last without exhibition revenue? How long will clubs? It's all fine putting mitigation measures in place but measuring confidence is a whole different ball game. Sadly, I can't see 2021 being much different than this year. In fact even more unfortunately I can see some aspects of life never returning, at least not as we know it, - hobbies (not just railway modelling) , cinemas, live music/theatres, travel (I'm actually expecting one or two large airlines to go under) - and does anybody fancy a cruise in the next 2 years plus the hospitality industry has been so badly hit I'm not sure how it will recover? .. the list goes on. And that's assuming we haven't all ended our days in the poor house.

Slag Heaps indeed... you mean the "Rucks" The site of Bickershaw Colliery today..

https://www.ebay.co.uk/c/1853557411?iid=313254346250 Oh my giddy aunt!!

I don't want sound like Mr Doom'n'gloom but I have a feeling the knock-on effect with regard to cancelled model railway exhibitions will drag further into 2021 than first envisaged. I sincerely hope not but personally I'm not confident. Equally, on a personal note, I wouldn't want to spend a full weekend operating a model railway in a relatively confined space wearing a mask and having to social distance (which, lets be fair wouldn't happen anyway). On top of that I can't see the general populus heading back to events like exhibitions anytime soon - modellers and die-hards, yes but folks who just want an afternoon out...no.

Ah, but are you famous in model railway circles...

As a seller of model railway bits n pieces & occasional locos / stock, I reckon on one in ten who "make trouble". Sometimes its my fault - I'm not perfect and sometimes I end up making a loss - thats the way it goes. This just an observation but I have to say a surprising number of buyers who either don't pay, are riduculous pedants, don't read the description properly, or are a just plain ignorant are well known figures in the model or full size railway business. Two, I can recall who were/are very well known took weeks of emails & finally Ebay action before they payed. Of course being a "face in the biz" doesn't preclude them from being a pain in the rear end but it does still surprise me now & then....still blocked 'em.

LOL!!!! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heljan-Class-26-DCC-Loksound4-Sound-Zimo-Supercap-Stay-alive-Eastfield-Loco/203052088705?_trkparms=aid%3D555021%26algo%3DPL.SIMRVI%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140107095009%26meid%3D8d24e1d6710144388aacc11af2386fbe%26pid%3D100040%26rk%3D18%26rkt%3D19%26sd%3D372742224063%26itm%3D203052088705%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2046732%26algv%3DSimplRVIAMLv5WebWithPLRVIOnTopCombiner&_trksid=p2046732.c100040.m2060

A number of my family work in the NHS and have said numerous times that they and the vast majority of the staff are frankly embarassed by it all. All they've ever wanted is for people to stick by the rules. Clapping doesn't make their life easier - reducing the spread of the virus certainly does - it also enables them to treat other non-Covid patients quicker that have had their treament programs postponed or cancelled. I fear sometimes that the "cure" for Covid will prove to be worse than the disease.

No, you're not. I don't, but I don't object to those that wish to, far from it...but I do object to those who criticise me for not doing so or assuming automatically I'm not grateful to those carry out vital services. You don't know me...you don't know in what way I support the NHS or any other organisation ...and I don't feel I need to tell anybody how charitable I choose to be. Using the word shameful - as somebody did in an earlier post - imho is at best assumptive, and at worst ignorant and self righteous. There have been a number of reports of people who don't clap being abused verbally and physically...that's just plain wrong.

Grapefruit segments then poached egg on crumpet with wilted spinach tipped with hollandaise. Plenty of toast n tea.