The Night Mail

[AndyID]

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

I understand that he's given up his American citizenship. Something to do with not paying American income tax.

 

Yup. The US Internal Revenue is happy to go External and track-down anyone who claims US citizenship. It gets really complicated when a US citizen not living in the US is married to a non-US citizen. IIRC it has been the cause of a number of divorces.

[Dave Hunt]

An ex-RAF colleague who is an electronic warfare expert left the RAF and went to work for the RAAF about 15 years ago. He took Australian citizenship then met a female USAF officer on loan to the RAAF and they got married. When his wife was posted back to the States he left the RAAF and went with her, whereupon he got a job as a civilian EW expert with the USAF and shortly afterwards gained US citizenship. As far as I am aware, he still has all three passports but what his tax situation is Lord only knows as by now he will be getting pensions from the RAF and RAAF as well as still being paid by the USAF.

 

Dave

[Florence Locomotive Works]

14 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

Good moaning from a Charente where it is actually sunny.  I've never been to Malta though one of my former colleagues had a conviction at Valetta Magistrates Court on his record, for Section 47 assault.  It appears that the former Royal Marine boxing champion took exception to a Maltese thrashing a donkey rather badly. Tony had a thing about cruelty to animals and laid him out.

 

Anyway as has been said Douglas will definitely need an interpreter for either of those universities.  My father went to Liverpool Uni to study chemistry as he came from New Brighton.

 

As to class 60's there certainly were some problems with them but when they were working they cold pull.

Here is on on the aforementioned Robeston tanks passing through Cardiff in 2014.

Next a close up of one from the cab of a failed 59/2. Neil should recognise the location.

The 59 had sat down, with a sticking relay, on the down main outside Tyne Yard so we got a tow round via the station to get back into the yard. here is our rescuer still coupled up after we got back to the yard to await another 59 to take us back to Ferrybridge.

Jamie

 

 

 

A bit off topic but I seem to remember reading somewhere that during LNER days (maybe, but definitely pre grouping) the mainline into or out of Newcastle Central went directly through the goods shed on the run up to one of the bridges. I also recall that the wall of the shed was completely glass enabling the passengers to view the inhabitants of the goods shed and the other way round. I'm sure some shock was incurred on both sides, especially in those days.

[AndyID]

1 minute ago, Dave Hunt said:

An ex-RAF colleague who is an electronic warfare expert left the RAF and went to work for the RAAF about 15 years ago. He took Australian citizenship then met a female USAF officer on loan to the RAAF and they got married. When his wife was posted back to the States he left the RAAF and went with her, whereupon he got a job as a civilian EW expert with the USAF and shortly afterwards gained US citizenship. As far as I am aware, he still has all three passports but what his tax situation is Lord only knows as by now he will be getting pensions from the RAF and RAAF as well as still being paid by the USAF.

 

Dave

 

He'll have to pay US income tax and state tax (depending on the state he lives in) but I don't think there will be a problem with the UK/RAF. We receive our UK pensions untaxed by the UK but IIRC they are lumped into "income" as far as the US IRS is concerned. But as we don't have much income it's not exactly a major problem.

 

Although many in the US don't appreciate it direct taxation in the US is not much at all, particularly for retired punters like me. Indirect taxation is also quite low. Nothing like the BS VAT rate in the UK

[Happy Hippo]

A surprise trip to Bridgemere today enabled me to go into Hobbycraft where I invested in some Pro Marker Pens.

 

I picked four up in various shades of brown.

 

The plan is to see how good they are at applying  rusty marks type weathering to me fleet of locos and wagons.

 

Initial experimentation shows some promise.

[Pacific231G]

6 hours ago, rockershovel said:

Not at all. The USA was, for many years concerned with the building of a modern nation from widely disparate origins, many of whom fled there from the various troubles of the Old World. It was central to their national image that their leader be American, born and bred, a symbol of their hopes for the future. It was also central to their long-standing policy of isolationism that their President represented them  and no one else, and be so perceived. It is a wholly American policy, rooted in what the are as a nation, and how they got there. 

That's all true and, seeing the President as a sort of elected king,  they were also afraid of foreign heads of state being imported as had happened with the Hanoverian Georges (though George no. 3 was born in England)  However, the attacks on Obama's citizenship, along with claims about his  relgious afiliations, were quite tranparently racist.

Unfortunately, people are often willing to accept bare faced lies if it's something they want to believe.

[Dave Hunt]

I too was dragged persuaded to visit Bridgemere today between about 1330 and 1500 to get some netting for covering the pond to prevent it from getting choked up with leaves and the almost inevitable trudge around something like a hundred and fifty other outlets that hadn't featured on the pre-launch plan at all but were considered by management to be essential. After partaking of coffee and cake I also looked in at Hobbycraft to see if they had any matt spray varnish  but found that the modelmaking section was a shadow of its former self and none was available. It looked as though they are winding it down and soon there won't be anything there. Fortunately there is Whitchurch Models only ten miles away so I'll take a trip up there tomorrow morning.

 

I didn't hear any sounds of wallowing or bellowing at Bridgemere though so it can't have coincided with HH's visit.

 

Dave

[AndyID]

18 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

I too was dragged persuaded to visit Bridgemere today between about 1330 and 1500 to get some netting for covering the pond to prevent it from getting choked up with leaves and the almost inevitable trudge around something like a hundred and fifty other outlets that hadn't featured on the pre-launch plan at all but were considered by management to be essential. After partaking of coffee and cake I also looked in at Hobbycraft to see if they had any matt spray varnish  but found that the modelmaking section was a shadow of its former self and none was available. It looked as though they are winding it down and soon there won't be anything there. Fortunately there is Whitchurch Models only ten miles away so I'll take a trip up there tomorrow morning.

 

I didn't hear any sounds of wallowing or bellowing at Bridgemere though so it can't have coincided with HH's visit.

 

Dave

 

Alas, retail seems to have surrendered to on-line, here at any rate. Unless I'm looking for an excuse a dodgy pretext to take the spider for a spin I've pretty much given up shopping-in-person for anything even remotely obscure

 

 

Edited October 7, 2021 by AndyID

[Florence Locomotive Works]

1 hour ago, AndyID said:

Unless I'm looking for an excuse a dodgy pretext to take the spider for a spin

The drive down to Tekoa is very nice, although there is nay much to see in town. I would suggest going all the way to Latah, checking out an antique store or two and then returning home. 2 1/2 hours all told. You'll almost pass within distance of being able to see the farm!

 

The views are also quite nice.

 

This is looking back towards Spokane.

 

 

Douglas

Edited October 8, 2021 by Florence Locomotive Works

[J. S. Bach]

Hmmm, that looks like the initial flash of a hydrogen bomb!

Edited October 8, 2021 by J. S. Bach

[AndyID]

6 minutes ago, J. S. Bach said:

Hmmm, that looks like the initial flash of a hydrogen bomb!

 

I wouldn't rule it out. It's not so terribly far away from our beloved Atomic City.

[AndyID]

1 hour ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

The drive down to Tekoa is very nice, although there is nay much to see in town. I would suggest going all the way to Latah, checking out an antique store or two and then returning home. 2 1/2 hours all told. You'll almost pass within distance of being able to see the farm!

 

The views are also quite nice.

 

This is looking back towards Spokane.

 

 

Douglas

 

I've tweaked it a bit

 

This is the Palouse. It's an extremely fertile part of the US.

 

[Happy Hippo]

6 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

 I also looked in at Hobbycraft to see if they had any matt spray varnish  but found that the modelmaking section was a shadow of its former self and none was available. It looked as though they are winding it down and soon there won't be anything there.

I was heartbroken at the state of the Midwest timber stock.

 

Midwest timber has always been well milled and high quality, albeit expensive, but it was also a quality product.

 

In past times it was neatly racked and was a always a source of high quality, straight clean timber.

 

Yesterday it appeared to be unsorted piles of dirty and warped sticks and twigs.  The ply and some of the long thin sheets of basswood being particularly poor in this respect.

 

I suspect that lack of care by the Hobbycraft staff may have contributed to the state of the timber.  Yet in their defence I will say that if they have no knowledge of the product and it's storage requirements, they cannot be held responsible if the stuff deteriorates.

 

 

[TheQ]

8 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

An ex-RAF colleague who is an electronic warfare expert left the RAF and went to work for the RAAF about 15 years ago. He took Australian citizenship then met a female USAF officer on loan to the RAAF and they got married. When his wife was posted back to the States he left the RAAF and went with her, whereupon he got a job as a civilian EW expert with the USAF and shortly afterwards gained US citizenship. As far as I am aware, he still has all three passports but what his tax situation is Lord only knows as by now he will be getting pensions from the RAF and RAAF as well as still being paid by the USAF.

 

Dave

Bit Like a friend I knew, British born, went to USA for work, took USA citizenship, came back to the UK, for a few years, voted For Brexit... then moved to France before it happened, I believe now getting French citizenship..

[polybear]

7 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

I too was dragged persuaded to visit Bridgemere today between about 1330 and 1500 to get some netting for covering the pond to prevent it from getting choked up with leaves and the almost inevitable trudge around something like a hundred and fifty other outlets that hadn't featured on the pre-launch plan at all but were considered by management to be essential.

 

Have you not tried the line "I'll be in Hobbycraft/Insert other suitable Emporium etc." - come and find me when you're done...."  ?

 

 

[rockershovel]

8 hours ago, Pacific231G said:

That's all true and, seeing the President as a sort of elected king,  they were also afraid of foreign heads of state being imported as had happened with the Hanoverian Georges (though George no. 3 was born in England)  However, the attacks on Obama's citizenship, along with claims about his  relgious afiliations, were quite tranparently racist.

Unfortunately, people are often willing to accept bare faced lies if it's something they want to believe.

Exactly. Disregarding any current issues, the principle is part of the original Constitution. A lot of early US law is based on English Common Law practice and the accepted principles of that time identified people by descent, or place of birth, depending upon context. This is also why America has no Premier, just a President; it hadn't occurred to me that the POTUS might be described as an "elected king" but that's actually quite apposite, and of course consistent with then-current understandings of Classical, Greek and Roman practice. 

[Dave Hunt]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

 

Have you not tried the line "I'll be in Hobbycraft/Insert other suitable Emporium etc." - come and find me when you're done...."  ?

 

 

 

Having got used to some of life's little luxuries such as sleeping indoors I have become in my old age something of a coward and tend to take the path of least resistance. I do draw the line at trudging round female clothing emporia and will use the phrase quoted above but if there is any chance that I could be required to take part in a selection process I find it wise to grin and bear it (see what I did there?).

 

Dave

[jamie92208]

1 minute ago, rockershovel said:

Exactly. Disregarding any current issues, the principle is part of the original Constitution. A lot of early US law is based on English Common Law practice and the accepted principles of that time identified people by descent, or place of birth, depending upon context. This is also why America has no Premier, just a President; it hadn't occurred to me that the POTUS might be described as an "elected king" but that's actually quite apposite, and of course consistent with then-current understandings of Classical, Greek and Roman practice. 

The late Alistair Cook in one of his Letters from America talked about that and suggested that the US flag had partially replaced the monarch as a symbol that is above politics and that can be revered.  

 

Jamie

[rockershovel]

I was always a great follower of Letter From America, I suppose because in certain respects I am also a partly Americanised Englishman with long standing connections there. 

[Dave Hunt]

13 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

The late Alistair Cook in one of his Letters from America talked about that and suggested that the US flag had partially replaced the monarch as a symbol that is above politics and that can be revered.  

 

Jamie

 

Alistair Cooke's Letters From America were, in my opinion, some of the finest pieces of journalism ever produced - informative and thought provoking without being strident, opinionated or echoing the prejudices of Cooke himself or of others. His book Alistair Cooke's America is similarly presented and even now, getting on for fifty years after publication, is still a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the history and development of the USA. Oh that journalists of his stature were not so vanishingly rare today.

 

Dave

Edited October 8, 2021 by Dave Hunt

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

 

Have you not tried the line "I'll be in Hobbycraft/Insert other suitable Emporium etc." - come and find me when you're done...."  ?

 

 

In my particular case, Nyda went back into Hobbycraft for something, after she contacted a friend about something she'd see the first time around, that might have been useful for Brownies/Guides/Rangers.

 

After the horror of the timber stack, I was still having a sit down regaining my composure.

[rockershovel]

My great-niece is presently teaching English in France, having declined to follow the rest of her family in taking US nationality  - in part because of IRS issues. I had the same issues in the 1970s and they contributed materially to my decision not to go there when I had the opportunity. I was an unintended beneficiary of this in my early oilfield days; the apparently enormous wages paid to American drilling personnel in Aberdeen stemmed from the tax position, because there was no reciprocal agreement and they were taxed twice. I benefitted from this at times throughout my career, most recently in Azerbaijan. Our beloved PM surrendered his US passport for the same reason. 

[Happy Hippo]

24 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

Having got used to some of life's little luxuries such as sleeping indoors I have become in my old age something of a coward and tend to take the path of least resistance. I do draw the line at trudging round female clothing emporia and will use the phrase quoted above but if there is any chance that I could be required to take part in a selection process I find it wise to grin and bear it (see what I did there?).

 

Dave

Especially the lingerie section.  I prefer to sit quietly in the corner...

[rockershovel]

.... I'd just like to take the opportunity to reassure our Colonial Cousins that Boris fails the "14 year residency" rule so despite being born there, is not eligible as POTUS. He remains our problem...

[Dave Hunt]

Back in the '80s an American colleague who was a civilian electrical engineer working for the USN in San Diego was also a certified public accountant. I was in his office one day as he was opening his mail and was intrigued to see him extracting bundles of travellers' cheques that he put into a filing cabinet. Eventually curiosity got the better of me and I asked him what was going on. He said that he'd been doing a fair number of tax returns for other people (this was in March or April IIRC) and he was receiving payment. OK but why in travellers' cheques, I asked. Because neither the IRS nor his ex-wives (of which he had two) lawyers could trace them he said.

 

Dave

Edited October 8, 2021 by Dave Hunt