The Night Mail

[Dave Hunt]

7 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Dad lived Formby, (born in Rainhill) he says to tell you that he lived in No 12 (or No 5, google is being confused) Oakfield drive, and went to Woodlands Primary. That would have been during the 70s. 

 

I know both locations well, Douglas. I lived in Redgate and Jill lived in Lonsdale Road but we both left Formby in 1966, me to join the RAF and Jill going into nursing. Where we live now is about an hour and a half's drive to Formby and pre-Covid we often went there for a day at the beach; our dog Sam thought it was the finest place on Earth.

 

7 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Fighter Pilots:  6g, low level, dogfights, inverted, barrel rolls.....(not necessarily all at the same time) - no problem.

One CCE and they barf everywhere.

 

A weird bunch.....

 

You try eating a CCE whilst pulling 6G in a dogfight and I bet you'll barf.

And fighter pilots aren't weird, it's just that we're the only ones who know what's really happening.

 

2 hours ago, figworthy said:

 

Pity that there isn't one around here with detailed knowledge of sheep, they might be able to help you out.

 

Once lockdown eases I'll be entering into consultations with The Muddy Hollow. A few shipments of cake could well produce some results.

 

I think that this forum should be nominated for some sort of educational award. Where else could you learn all you will ever need to know about doggy doos and Creme Eggs in such a short space of time?

 

Ta ta for now everyone. Stay safe.

 

Dave

[BR60103]

I think one of the great disappointments of childhood is the hollow chocolate Easter egg.  One of the disgusting ones is the creme filled chocolate egg.

 

We took two outdoor rocking chairs to the charity shop today. First person said they don't take them but a second person said they would take them if one person could lift them.

We checked the box of cushions on the back deck. It hasn't been used all last year, maybe not even opened. There was some honeycomb material (I didn't see it before someone took out some contents) and one cushion looked to have been used for nesting. The deck has now lost its last wee lump of snow.

 

 

[Happy Hippo]

I'm not quite sure what today promises.

 

We have a click and collect shopping mission in Wellington; I have to finish an invisible joint for a skirting board and there is the planting out of stuff in the garden.

 

I've spent most of the night working out how best to save the the money now not being spent on all those rugby tickets.

 

About 30 yards of 7.25" gauge track would be a good start.

[Tony_S]

2 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

 

I've spent most of the night working out how best to save the the money now not being spent on all those rugby tickets.

Perhaps an outdoor screen and projector so you can sit in the garden and cheer on your team?

[Happy Hippo]

13 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

Perhaps an outdoor screen and projector so you can sit in the garden and cheer on your team?

That's an incredible distance from the big fridge, wine cellar and cake hanger.

[Dave Hunt]

For a small but nevertheless significant consideration I could come and ferry the necessary comestibles out to you while the game is in progress.

 

Dave

[Tony_S]

16 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

For a small but nevertheless significant consideration I could come and ferry the necessary comestibles out to you while the game is in progress.

 

Dave

Most of the people I see watching rugby (in the park)  seem to have a sandwich and a flask of tea. I didn’t realise how much more sophisticated international games were.

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

That's an incredible distance from the big fridge, wine cellar and cake hanger.

That's what the 7.25" line is for.

 

Jamie

[Happy Hippo]

4 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

That's what the 7.25" line is for.

 

Jamie

But who will drive the supply train whilst we are both watching the rugby?

[Winslow Boy]

30 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

But who will drive the supply train whilst we are both watching the rugby?

Well I don't mind volunteering for that duty. Just so long as it doesn't clash with when I'm cutting Mr Hunts grass of course.

 

[jamie92208]

37 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

But who will drive the supply train whilst we are both watching the rugby?

Fit the loco with radio control, simples. Just make sure that the first cake delivery stop is next to you, before Nyda gets it.  I'm glad that I'm 700 miles away.

 

Jamie

[polybear]

14 hours ago, figworthy said:

 

Pity that there isn't one around here with detailed knowledge of sheep, they might be able to help you out.

 

Adrian

 

Or perhaps there isn't one that is prepared to have a detailed knowledge of sheep....

[Happy Hippo]

4 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Or perhaps there isn't one that is prepared to have a detailed knowledge of sheep....

Brian, Danemouth, Sheepbloke, even myself.

 

We are all well versed in sheep, but are too modest to boast.

 

 

[Winslow Boy]

5 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Brian, Danemouth, Sheepbloke, even myself.

 

We are all well versed in sheep, but are too modest to boast.

 

 

Hmmm I'd be careful were you said that HH. It could get you into trouble.

[Danemouth]

18 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Brian, Danemouth, Sheepbloke, even myself.

 

We are all well versed in sheep, but are too modest to boast.

 

 

 

I am pleased to say that in the suburb of the Principality where Chateau Danemouth is located there are no vagrant sheep. Mind you I can think of a couple of suburbs were such a sheep would end up as next Sunday's dinner

 

Dave

Edited March 19, 2021 by Danemouth
spelling mistook

[jamie92208]

I have to admit to having once assisted a colleague to arrest a stray sheep in the middle of a Leeds council estate. One cold dismal and grey December morning. We had nowhere to takebit apart from the nick.  It was put in the rear of the Mk2 Transit that had side opening hopper windows at the back. On the way back down Dewsbury  Road in heavy traffic . The sheep had got it's snout out of the hopper window and every time we stopped it bleated. The faces of bus queue  occupants,when we stopped had to be seen to be believed. They obviously thought that they'd been transported to an alternative reality.

 

Jamie

[Dave Hunt]

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

But who will drive the supply train whilst we are both watching the rugby?

 

Providing you equip the locomotive with an iPad or similar there would be no problem. For volunteers ([well] paid {cake considered}) see my previous post.

 

Dave

[jamie92208]

Further to my previous it got better back at the station.  The only place to put it was in one of the stray dog kennels.  It objected to this so my mate and I grabbed a horn and a piece of wooly rump a

Iece and pushed it in. The sheep obviously objected and the sight of the 2 of us, in full uniform including helmets and Gannex coats, was so distracting that the Ch Insp very very nearly collided with a panda car.

In the nick the Station Sgt was not amused and said, "Where the heck are we going to record this" or words to that effect.  I solced the problem by filling in the next empty page in the found dog book but crossed out dog and wrote sheep.

 

The owner collected it a couple of hours later. He set off to walk it back home usi g a dog collar and lead. This sight was too much for someone who reported that ther was an escaped mental patient walking a sheep on a lead up Dewsbury Road.

 

To reassure our friends from west of Offas Dyke we did not have wellies on and neber stood directly behind the sheep.

 

Jamie

[Dave Hunt]

A long time ago when telephones were strictly immobile, a friend and I once picked up an injured polecat in the wilds of Derbyshire at some ungodly hour of the morning. We stopped by a policemen on the beat in Matlock and asked if he knew how we could contact the RSPCA so he radioed in to base to enquire on our behalf. Whilst we were waiting for the Duty Sergeant to find the answer, the radio waves were full of his colleagues with messages such as, " Are you still ferreting about out there Joe?" or, "Stop weaselling around," and similar. He was a really nice bloke and eventually the Sergeant came back to say that he'd been in touch with one of the other Constables who kept ferrets and would look after it until the RSPCA were able to pick it up so we took it to the Nick. The only downside to the tale is that the blanket we had wrapped the polecat in (we only discovered that it was a polecat after the beat Constable had identified it) stank to high heaven so we abandoned it at the Police Station.

 

Yet another example of how supportive and friendly the police could be.

 

Dave

[Happy Hippo]

42 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

I have to admit to having once assisted a colleague to arrest a stray sheep in the middle of a Leeds council estate. One cold dismal and grey December morning. We had nowhere to takebit apart from the nick.  It was put in the rear of the Mk2 Transit that had side opening hopper windows at the back. On the way back down Dewsbury  Road in heavy traffic . The sheep had got it's snout out of the hopper window and every time we stopped it bleated. The faces of bus queue  occupants,when we stopped had to be seen to be believed. They obviously thought that they'd been transported to an alternative reality.

 

Jamie

Just thank your lucky stars it wasn't a pig!

[Happy Hippo]

37 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

Providing you equip the locomotive with an iPad or similar there would be no problem. For volunteers ([well] paid {cake considered}) see my previous post.

 

Dave

But you'd just end up on the spare chaise longue munching cake, sipping whisky and telling the imbeciles on pitch what they were doing wrong.

 

I always end up doing that!

[Dave Hunt]

5 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

But you'd just end up on the spare chaise longue munching cake, sipping whisky and telling the imbeciles on pitch what they were doing wrong.

 

I always end up doing that!

 

And your point is.....??

 

Dave

[Happy Hippo]

3 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

And your point is.....??

 

Dave

You'd be next to useless as a train driver as you'd not be paying full attention to your duties.

 

Teetering side saddle on 'Crusty' at high speed and at low level through the grounds of the  Hippdrome  with cake whisky and rugby all on the go at once?

 

SPAD springs to mind:

 

Sponge, Profiterole and Doughnut.

[jamie92208]

20 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Just thank your lucky stars it wasn't a pig!

That's a whole different story and is set in Huddersfield, the star of the show ended up on the front cover of the Funday Times. It wasn't me.  However  I did one wander into our rather rural office at Wetherby, a place where the magistrates still bemoan the fact that Hanging and Transportation are no longer availablle as punishments.  The occurrence book was open on the counter and a recentry entry stated that farmer so and so had reporyed that a bull had escaped whilst they were trying to castrate it.  The bull was reported to be rather angry. Some wag had written in the remarks coulumn, "Wouldn't you be."

 

Jamie

[Oldddudders]

21 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Sponge, Profiterole and Doughnut.

Isn't that a Short Line in W Virginia?