The Night Mail

[J. S. Bach]

6 hours ago, DenysW said:

 ...snip... Douglas must be depressed to see our politics so mimics his own, and is just as dire and acrimonious.

Same here but, as someone not really interested in politics, let me state (officially, even) that, until I joined RMweb, the last of your PMs that I could name was Thatcher!  See, one can learn most anything here!

[J. S. Bach]

An old story (from the early 1800s, I believe) just popped into mind:

 

There were two brothers

one became Vice President

one went to sea

neither were heard from again

 

 

 

Edited November 13, 2021 by J. S. Bach

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Evening all,

 

A major road block was found with the watch rebuild. The bottom jewel the pallet fork sits in has shattered, courtesy of clumsy me (I think). I am unsure how to proceed.

 

 

In other more positive news I was asked to give a lecture at school, yet again. This time over watchmaking. My Trial/Procedure teacher (a great character) asked me to repair his Swiss Army pocket watch. During class the next day. All it ended up needing was a new battery, but the class (who were completely enthralled and posted it all over social media) was kept in the subject of watches for the whole period. I have been invited to bring in Coupé Vent sometime soon and talk about locomotives. Yippee!

 

Here’s a vid: yes my teacher is an arsenal fan. 

 

 

Douglas

[iL Dottore]

I am surprised - nay, shocked, to learn that this esteemed group of talented craftsmen consume Eccles Cakes that are “bought in“!. This is as bad as using Hornby couplings on an EM or P4 layout’s rolling stock, if not worse!

 

The delicious Eccles Cake is not a difficult one to make, you don’t have to be a Great British Bake Off level Baker to make an Eccles Cake (which is actually a pastry, not a cake). And if you are not up to making your own puff pastry, high quality ready-made puff pastry is more than acceptable (Tom Kerridge, for one, who has a number of Michelin stars, has no problems with using high quality ready-made pastry in a non-Michlin star restaurant setting).

 

Of course, if you want to go the completely home-made route and don’t want to bother with puff pastry, you can always make shortcrust pastry and turn your Eccles Cake into a Chorley Cake (or chuck a few extra ingredients into it, such as mixed candied peel and make a Banbury Cake).

 

Bought in Eccles Cakes! (shakes head sadly), whatever is the world coming to….

[jamie92208]

58 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

I am surprised - nay, shocked, to learn that this esteemed group of talented craftsmen consume Eccles Cakes that are “bought in“!. This is as bad as using Hornby couplings on an EM or P4 layout’s rolling stock, if not worse!

 

The delicious Eccles Cake is not a difficult one to make, you don’t have to be a Great British Bake Off level Baker to make an Eccles Cake (which is actually a pastry, not a cake). And if you are not up to making your own puff pastry, high quality ready-made puff pastry is more than acceptable (Tom Kerridge, for one, who has a number of Michelin stars, has no problems with using high quality ready-made pastry in a non-Michlin star restaurant setting).

 

Of course, if you want to go the completely home-made route and don’t want to bother with puff pastry, you can always make shortcrust pastry and turn your Eccles Cake into a Chorley Cake (or chuck a few extra ingredients into it, such as mixed candied peel and make a Banbury Cake).

 

Bought in Eccles Cakes! (shakes head sadly), whatever is the world coming to….

I have got as far as sourcing one ingredient, namely currants.  Not seen often here but known as Raisins de Korinth for some obscure reason.  Seen sometimes in the supermarket  but I found a load once in Noz, which is a sort of cross between Poundland and B&M.  Anyway a friend is arriving from the UK today, if she remembered  to catch her ferry.  That last is not always a given as she is exceedingly scatty.  Anyway she is due to have tea with us tonight and there is a rumour the supplies of Eccles Cakes will arrive.

 

Jamie

Edited November 13, 2021 by jamie92208

[Happy Hippo]

58 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

I am surprised - nay, shocked, to learn that this esteemed group of talented craftsmen consume Eccles Cakes that are “bought in“!. This is as bad as using Hornby couplings on an EM or P4 layout’s rolling stock, if not worse!

 

The delicious Eccles Cake is not a difficult one to make, you don’t have to be a Great British Bake Off level Baker to make an Eccles Cake (which is actually a pastry, not a cake). And if you are not up to making your own puff pastry, high quality ready-made puff pastry is more than acceptable (Tom Kerridge, for one, who has a number of Michelin stars, has no problems with using high quality ready-made pastry in a non-Michlin star restaurant setting).

 

Of course, if you want to go the completely home-made route and don’t want to bother with puff pastry, you can always make shortcrust pastry and turn your Eccles Cake into a Chorley Cake (or chuck a few extra ingredients into it, such as mixed candied peel and make a Banbury Cake).

 

Bought in Eccles Cakes! (shakes head sadly), whatever is the world coming to….

Until you explained the manufacturing process, I thought an Eccles cake was one of those sticky fly trap thingies that had been scrunched up after use and then given a quick bake in the oven.

[rockershovel]

On 09/11/2021 at 05:57, rockershovel said:

Interesting stuff, music? So it is, but that wasn't my point; rather that the Cathedral appears to have abandoned its former open-door policy in favour of commercial promotion. 

 

 

I find that St Paul's Cathedral appears to be offering a full programme of services, including nine lessons and carols, a free and mostly unticketed. The intrusive covid procedures so conspicuous at Peterborough seem to be absent, too. 

[polybear]

3 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

My Trial/Procedure teacher (a great character) asked me to repair his Swiss Army pocket watch. During class the next day. All it ended up needing was a new battery......

 

A Swiss Army Watch.  With a battery.

We're all doomed......

 

(Incidentally, banning watches etc. etc. with batteries would no doubt have a very positive effect on the environment, though they may need to organise training courses on how to wind up a watch, clock etc.)

 

[Dave Hunt]

6 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

Are you calling Air Vice Marshall Hunt a crab??

 

Crab is the term for RAF aircrew used by Fleet Air Arm aviators and is short for land crabs; the term for the latter used by the former is fish heads. Both refer to the Army as pongos, hence the saying, "Where the Army goes, the pongos."

 

Dave

[Stubby47]

Apparently,  the small batteries that are sold for wireless doorbells come in two sizes. 

Thin ones that fit, and fat ones that don't...

[bbishop]

Derbycentric members of TNM may wish to peruse the BEYOND DOVER thread in Overseas Modelling.  Bill

[Dave Hunt]

22 minutes ago, bbishop said:

Derbycentric members of TNM may wish to peruse the BEYOND DOVER thread in Overseas Modelling.  Bill

 

Having written about the Italian Kirtley 0-6-0s in a Midland Engines volume on the 700 Class I have quite a lot of information on them, should anyone be interested.

 

Dave

Edited November 13, 2021 by Dave Hunt

[PhilJ W]

We have our own version of Eccles cake here called kitchel.

https://www.visit-burystedmunds.co.uk/blog/2020/how-to-make-suffolk-kitchel

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

Crab is the term for RAF aircrew used by Fleet Air Arm aviators and is short for land crabs; the term for the latter used by the former is fish heads. Both refer to the Army as pongos, hence the saying, "Where the Army goes, the pongos."

 

Dave

That's a different story to the one I was told, by a pongo.  His tory went that the blue that the RAF used for their uniforms was the same colour as an ointment used to treat a rash in a sensitive area that was known as crabs. (The cause of the rash not the ointment).

 

Jamie

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

 Both refer to the Army as pongos, hence the saying, "Where the Army goes, the pongos."

 

Dave

And I am more than happy to live up to how the boys in both dark and light blue see my arm of service.

 

I would shudder at the thought of letting my reputation slip, hence my world famous tail twirling video.

[Happy Hippo]

2 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

That's a different story to the one I was told, by a pongo.  His tory went that the blue that the RAF used for their uniforms was the same colour as an ointment used to treat a rash in a sensitive area that was known as crabs. (The cause of the rash not the ointment).

 

Jamie

It's more mundane than that.

 

There was a time when the RAF were known as Brylcreem Boys due to their usage of the said hair cream.  (Douglas, Brylcreem is a hair product for the more discerning gentlemen and predates hair styling gels and mousses used by the modern proleteriate.)

 

It was discovered that a large part of the ingredients of Brylcreem was crab fat.

 

Therefore.....

[jamie92208]

More importantly does anyone know the origin of 'The Andrew' as a nickname for the navy.  When I did my basic training there were brown job, blue jobs and crabs in my dorm.  One of the latter ws ex Queens Colours squadron.  The banter between him and an ex guardsman was good to listen to. 

 

Jamie

[iL Dottore]

26 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

It's more mundane than that.

 

There was a time when the RAF were known as Brylcreem Boys due to their usage of the said hair cream.  (Douglas, Brylcreem is a hair product for the more discerning gentlemen and predates hair styling gels and mousses used by the modern proleteriate.)

 

It was discovered that a large part of the ingredients of Brylcreem was crab fat.

 

Therefore.....

Lovely story, but an urban myth HH - or so it would seem.

According to this https://bespokeunit.com/articles/grooming/brylcreem-review-british-usa/, Wiki and (believe it or not) a Grauniad fashion article, Brylcreem has always been based on a mineral oil

 

Have any NOs actually used (or will admit to having used) Brylcreem?

Edited November 13, 2021 by iL Dottore

[rockershovel]

I see the good doctor has beaten me to the link; I certainly didn't realise the British and US products were so different. 

 

I certainly used Brylcreem as a child, or at any rate had to stand still for its parental  application on special occasions. My older cousins used it. I never cared for it though, and abandoned its use as soon as I had the option. 

[Happy Hippo]

7 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Have any NOs actually used (or will admit to having used) Brylcreem?

My attempt at trying to deflect Jamie's cruel jib at the origin of the RAF nickname for something more gentle has been foiled.

 

I did try some of my father's Brylcreem once, although it was an experiment to see if it would make a suitable cutting compound for turning and milling. I found paraffin wax was better

 

So not brilliant, or Brilliantine for that matter.

 

Was anyone else under the misapprehension that Pomade was something given to us for free by the Aussies?

 

 

[rockershovel]

22 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

More importantly does anyone know the origin of 'The Andrew' as a nickname for the navy.  When I did my basic training there were brown job, blue jobs and crabs in my dorm.  One of the latter ws ex Queens Colours squadron.  The banter between him and an ex guardsman was good to listen to. 

 

Jamie

There seem to be several versions of this. My father and uncles used to refer to it as the "grey funnel line" which is self-explanatory. The captain seems to have been referred to in earlier times as "The Owner" - Kipling quotes the phrase, and Scott appears to have been so known on his expeditions. 

[laurenceb]

According to John Chartres in Westland Sea King, it is derived from crab-fat blue the dye used to colour the uniform fabric

[BSW01]

5 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Until you explained the manufacturing process, I thought an Eccles cake was one of those sticky fly trap thingies that had been scrunched up after use and then given a quick bake in the oven.

 

Nah, you’re getting them mixed up with Garribald biscuits, known here as squashed fly biscuits. 

[laurenceb]

The Andrew. Supposed to come from a Press man who claimed to have press ganged so many men that he owned the Navy

[Dave Hunt]

The full story about RAF aircrew being known as crabs Is, I believe, a combination of what has been posted here. The blue of RAF uniforms was referred to as 'crab fat blue' then Fleet Air Arm aviators adopted part of the term with the addition of 'land' to denote that RAF aircrew only ever operated from land bases and hence the term 'land crabs ' was born.

 

Dave 

Edited November 13, 2021 by Dave Hunt