Regularity

That’s your money shot, IMO:

It at least, not wielding it safely...!

EWJR, 1885.

Why are messrs Daltry and Entwhistle about to get their ****s out?

It’s like public transport: everyone likes it, as long as they don’t have to use it. Everyone wants better public services: as long as someone else’s taxes are paying for it. And then they are seriously injured in a road traffic accident, and the paramedics only just get to them in time because of gridlock, and the Accident and Emergency dept is overrun and understaffed, so they barely stay alive, and they wail that something must be done, and how was it allowed to decline so? Any party that says, “We want to improve the common wealth of the people, so there will be a bit more to pay,” will loose. Especially if their opponents scream, “They will raise taxes! And anyway, the problem is all these foreigners coming here and working hard.”

Either the pollsters will have egg on their faces, or the whole country will...

You have now planted an unwanted image in my brain, for which there will never be enough therapy. Instead, I will sue you for mental cruelty. Anyone know a good lawyer?

When I was a child, BBC East used to regularly feature a Norfolk poet, speaking his verse in local accent and dialect. Since I grew up over 100 miles from Norwich, the effect of hearing this was to make "Rambling Syd Rumpo" seem positively comprehensible. There is a group of railway modellers around Norwich who call themselves the "Norfolk Mardlers", which gives a hint of how they speak.

I have to make a considerable round trip to do that: I am only in my electoral constituency at weekends. I had intended to turn up and vote. Then I read the bios... I used to wonder why we couldn’t have “none of the above” as an option. Then I realised it might win... Apologies to RGA, but this is the only place I have found online where there is appropriate irreverence directed at politicians, but due respect shown for personally held views.

Hmmm. Nice dirigibles...

What do you advise where the candidates* are all awful, and the seat so safe that a pig with the right colour rosette would win? * Constituency: we know most party leaders can only be dreadful, otherwise they wouldn’t get to be party leaders.

Just his evil twin brother!

Yes, but those are the two differences, so quite easy to backdate it slightly.

Can’t help with identifying the strapping, but note that the LMS vans were 9’ wheelbase, and the Midland were 10’, plus the diagonal went the other way, bottom left to top right.

Fair point, but OT to the discussion in this thread. Are you promoting the book, perchance?