Jinty3f

……and a very small tube of superglue?

Think long term. Your knees are not going to get any better as you get older, and loft ladders are not as easy to climb in your 60s as they were in your 40s. And it comes around quicker than you imagine.

In 1969, fresh from school at the age of 18, I joined the long defunct Midland Bank at the bottom of the ladder. I was tall, skinny, docile and immediately terrified of the accountant, who was the deputy manager. He shoved me ( literally) at a similar skinny and unpreposessing youth, my senior by all of two weeks, who was designated as my mentor, who quickly warned me keep well out of the accountants way. Every Thursday, the security van arrived to exchange surplus cash, warning the branch five minutes in advance that they were headed in our direction. To my total bemusement, my mentor and I were bundled to the front entrance, by the accountant, out into the street, each issued with a truncheon and a sort of flimsy tin helmet so large that it covered my eyes, and instructed to defend the bank’s money / personnel / customers against any attempts at robbery. We were, frankly, more scared of the accountant than any possibility of an attack. When the security van arrived, a huge bloke got out, built like the proverbial, wearing the body armour of the time, complete with visored helmet, and lugging a steel box chained to his wrist. He took one look at us and dissolved into laughter, and as he strode past, he suddenly yelled “Boo!” scaring the daylights and she ite out of us. On his way out five minutes later, he stopped and thanked us for cheering up his day, and told us that the accountant did it to all the new lads in spite of standing instructions from the Midland that staff were not to be used as security. He was a mean old cuss, and at the end of the year, I left to start teacher training, but today, at the age of 72, I still think of the miserable old sod and the humiliation of that day.

At the start of this year, my wife bought for me an HP printer, costing £49.00, which included 3 months of free HP ink, and a code to give to friends / family, which would give them 3 free months worth, and another 3 free months for me as long as I was in the HP ink scheme. In addition, if I quoted an existing users code, both he and I would get an additional 3 months. Having bought it on Amazon, I noticed that many of the reviews quoted their own codes, and so I copied one, and then left a review with my own code prominent. For three weeks, I received almost daily multiple notifications of 3 additional months ink added to my account, as new buyers used my code, and I do not exaggerate when I say that I will be 98 before I have to buy any ink (72 now). The only down side is that the printer needs to be connected to the web all the time, and my usage is tracked. However this results in new cartridges being sent in advance of running out. The deal does not mean that I get inundated with cartridges every month, just when needed. I have a limit of 700 pages per month - my usual usage is about 20, mainly brick paper. I have had no problems with the heads drying out at all, unlike my previous printers. edit. I notice that the same printer has been reduced to £28.00 on Amazon, but the ongoing free ink deal has now been stopped for new buyers. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09316DC61/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

‘Gifting’ or ‘gifted’. I blame online or T.V. shopping channels.

I know I am old at 72 because my daily comfort is a priority. This includes sitting down for a pee every time at home. Sorry to lower the tone.😳

Probably been on here already, but still, following your cue………

I didn’t get an invite myself :(

This was advertised on our local Neighbourhood group. Don’t think the poster realised what they were offering.....

Thank you both for your excellent advice. This has indeed worked and I can now access all the sounds on the TTS decoder - although I can see only a few will be needed on my shunting layout!

I have just installed a Hornby TTS decoder into a Dapol 08, a simple job and with an upgraded speaker it sounds fine to me. I use a basic NCE Powercab, but cannot figure out how to access the function sounds on the TTS above 12, because the keypad only has numbers 0 to 9, and it was pure chance that I found the shift enabled f10 to 12. Experimenting with various buttons and combinations has resulted in lots of unwanted things like creating “old consists” which take some extricating, and the manual is not very helpful. Can anyone advise me how to access f13 and above on the basic Powercab please?

Thank you to all who have replied. After consideration, I have gone with Woodyfox’s solution, because the available sleeves seem to be too big. I filed a flat on the motor shaft, and a couple of shallow V grooves on the opposite side and filled the worm with J B Weld 2 part, hoping the flat and grooves will help secure the worm. So far, on a rolling road, it meshes well and seems to be fine, although as the bodywork is added, ( Eric Underhill O gauge Peckett) and extra lead weight goes in, it may fail, in which case I will have to grin and bear the expense of a new motor and gears etc.

Hoping for advice - I have a 40:1 gear set, make unknown, which I acquired long ago, which I intend to use on a Mashima 1833 motor in an Eric Underhill Peckett kit, but the worm does not have provision for a grub screw, and while it fits the motor shaft, it does not grip it tightly. Is it simply a case of using superglue or Araldite to secure it, or is there something more secure that anyone can recommend? In addition, can anyone tell me the size of the 1833 fixing screws, which I have of course, managed to lose? Thank you.

A Limerick on the topic of punts: There once was a girl from St Kath’s who went for a swim in the lake. a man in a punt stuck a pole in her ear and said, “You can’t swim here it’s private.” I have never understood it.

I am in the process of ballasting some O gauge track on a relayed section of my layout. For pre-gluing, I use a washed out bottle of 1Cal or Frylight spray, which gives an incredibly fine spray of water plus a slug of screen wash ( which contains alcohol or meths I think?) (My daughter is a hairdresser and uses the same spray bottles in her salon, because she says the spray is finer, and a bottle is only £1.25 in the local supermarket.) I follow this up by dribbling Copydex diluted lightly with more screen wash to fix the ballast in place. The process works successfully and the spray bottles are highly effective.

At 71, I have started learning a little - New Years resolution. I have played a basic guitar for over 55 years and have been practising chords on the piano so that I can “play” while I groan along to simple 4 chord songs. Having mastered C, Am, F and G, and then G, Em C and D chords, I have started plonking some basic scales and can play a simple but recognisable if excruciating “Let it Be”. For me, the essential thing is to start the day after breakfast with an hour of practice, wearing headphones to avoid annoying my wife. And my left hand is carp. I have found the occasional free lessons which arrive by email from PIANOTE presented by Lisa Witt useful, but not enough to subscribe.

I have tried many times to strip the paper surface from Hobbycraft 4 for £10 sheets of foamboard. Water, hot, soapy or any other combination was poor. In the end, I covered the sheet in a tea towel ( because my wife advised it, she used to iron my trousers that way!) and used an iron on low heat. By gently heating and moving the iron it was possible to melt the glue and peel the paper bit by bit, with great success. The only problem was that when one skin was removed, the whole board curled up. Three weeks with heavy weights did very little to straighten it.

And stupidly, I thought the issue was the wanton destruction of public property.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to reply to my query. After reading the responses here, and on an online motoring group, it would appear that the DVLA have you by the short and curlies no matter which way we go - if we transfer ownership on 31st August, she has to pay for August and again in September. If we transfer on 1st September, I have to pay for September as well. It has been suggested that SORNing for a day or two will break this chain, but that seems yet another unwanted complication, so I have decided to just transfer now, pay the month’s extra tax for her and she can pay from September. For the price of a bottle of scotch, it’s not worth the hassle. My original enquiry was simply to establish if there was a standard way to avoid paying the government/DVLA/ extra cash, but it seems the motorist has been well and truly trussed up. I imagine this has swelled the coffers mightily over the years. The final outcome for us is that I know my daughter and grandchildren are driving in a safe car. Thank you all again

May I ask for some advice regarding vehicle transfer and road tax.......My daughter’s car recently gave up the ghost, and since she has 3 children and lives 50 miles away, a reliable and safe car is essential if we are to see our grandchildren frequently. I had already been toying with upgrading my own car, and so last week, I used her banger as part exchange (buttons), bought a decent car for me, and gave her my low mileage old car, which I had taxed for the month on 1st August. We haven’t yet sent in the V5 form so the car is still registered to me but fully comp insured for her. For the purpose of road tax, should I cancel my direct debit now, and then transfer the car ownership on 1st September, and my daughter register and pay the tax that day also? It’s only £18 but I don’t want DVLA getting paid twice in August for the same car. Advice and opinions much appreciated. John

What a great film, very evocative and a good reminder of the docks in their heyday. However I am amused by the youngish man with the large ‘tache ( first seen around the 20 second mark as the barrel cart disappears). He seems to be circling the camera and reappearing every couple of seconds to get in the film. An early case of photobombing perhaps.

Astounding Holmes! You make it sound so simple!

During last Sunday’s online service, our priest was talking about resisting temptations, and told the story of the married man, going through a lean financial time, whose wife greeted him at the door wearing an obviously very expensive new dress. “How could you?” he exclaimed - “You know we can’t afford an expensive dress like that.” ” I’m sorry dear, I just couldn’t resist the temptation, it looked so good on me in the mirror.” she replied. ”You should have followed Fr. Murphy’s advice and said ‘Get behind me Satan’ “ her husband said, to which she replied, ” But darling, I did exactly that, I said, ‘ Get behind me Satan’, and he did, and then he said, ‘ You know, this dress looks fabulous on you from the back!’”

I thought ebay is entirely devoted to flogging stuff? ( northern idiom)

Confucius say, “Man who goes through airport turnstyle sideways, going to Bangcock.”