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MRJ 279


Tim Dubya
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At risk of starting yet another MRJ bunfight...

 

I understand from a post in the Scalefour Forum from Wednesday 29th, that MRJ 279 is with the printers.   However, there will be a further delay as they are running on a skeleton staff.

 

I shall now withdraw to my foxhole.

Edited by Tim Dubya
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That’s excellent news Tim - many thanks.  I can do without all the “humourous” waiting for MRJ posts, but this is a genuine public service announcement.

 

i can’t help thinking that if  If MRJ had a cheap, basic, one-page website then their skeleton staff would have an easier time of it as this kind of information could be posted there, to save them answering the phone/replying to individual emails.  No need for a full online presence or e-commerce if they don’t want to - I quite understand that.  Just an online “MRJ noticeboard”.  Might even attract the attention of someone younger willing to take the magazine on if the current team wants to call it a day.  After all, MRJ was started by people in their thirties and forties - it’s not automatically an oldsters publication.

 

That turned out to be a longer post than I intended!

 

Richard T

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MRJ is proper old school, fortunately the same sort of school I went to.

Cow gum and non-repro blue pencils and if we was lucky a copyproof machine (for growing massive crystals in).

 

I know what you mean but I think it works perfectly the way it is.  

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17 minutes ago, Tim Dubya said:

MRJ is proper old school, fortunately the same sort of school I went to.

Cow gum and non-repro blue pencils and if we was lucky a copyproof machine (for growing massive crystals in).

 

I know what you mean but I think it works perfectly the way it is.  

 

They're loading the Gestetner as we type....

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3 hours ago, RichardT said:

i can’t help thinking that if MRJ had a cheap, basic, one-page website then their skeleton staff would have an easier time of it . . .

 

It is the printing company that is operating with a skeleton staff, not MRJ.

 

Your thinking is, therefore, incorrect.

 

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1 hour ago, Bonafide said:

 

It is the printing company that is operating with a skeleton staff, not MRJ.

 

Your thinking is, therefore, incorrect.

 

I stand corrected on the location of the skeleton staff. Thank you for pointing out my error in the style to which I’ve become accustomed through a career spent dealing with railway enthusiasts at all levels. However, you seem to have omitted the phrase “I think you’ll find...”

 

Nonetheless, given that I don’t suppose that MRJ/Cygnet are exactly over staffed then I feel that the substantive point still stands.

 

4 hours ago, Tim Dubya said:

MRJ is proper old school, fortunately the same sort of school I went to.

Cow gum and non-repro blue pencils and if we was lucky a copyproof machine (for growing massive crystals in).

 

I know what you mean but I think it works perfectly the way it is.  


I also know what *you* mean. I’ve  been buying and enjoying MRJ since 1985, and the “old-school”  aspect I enjoy is the primacy it gives to the stately progress of the long-form intelligent written word, and the level of detail covered, rather than the gnat’s crochet attention span assumed by some of the other newsstand glossies.
 

And I suppose the sense of mystery as to when it will next appear is part of the charm.  But this sense of conscious archaism about MRJ - the fantasy that it’s put together by otherworldly gentlemen of leisure from their leather armchairs - is both a tribute to the magazine‘s style, but also rather a recent invention.  If you look at the Bob Barlow issues, MRJ was run by a young team & very focussed on examining and testing the latest innovations - from both the UK and overseas.  
 

I love MRJ & want it to be around for many years to come.  That means a new team must gradually emerge.  A small concession to the existence of the internet - just an online noticeboard - might just help the sustainability of the magazine, and I can’t see would diminish its appeal.  That’s down to the writing style.

 

Anyway, thank goodness it seems to have come through Covid!

 

Richard 

Edited by RichardT
Fat fingers - tiny phone keypad
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2 hours ago, RichardT said:

.  If you look at the Bob Barlow issues, MRJ was run by a young team & very focussed on examining and testing the latest innovations - from both the UK and overseas.  

 

 


It was also bought by a young and focussed clientele...

Like the Copenhagen Fields team, who were all in our twenties, maybe early thirties. Now we're pensioners.  Scary!

Sadly & most unfairly, Bob's no longer with us.





 

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8 hours ago, Tim Dubya said:

At risk of starting yet another MRJ bunfight...

 

I understand from a post in the Scalefour Forum from Wednesday 29th, that MRJ 279 is with the printers.   However, there will be a further delay as they are running on a skeleton staff.

 

I shall now withdraw to my foxhole.

Skeleton staff? Don't they feed the poor souls properly?

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My local chain book store has 2 copies of MRJ that say the next issue is expected on Feb. 20.

 

Edited by BR60103
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On 31/07/2020 at 12:44, Not Jeremy said:

MRJ 279 is indeed at the printers.

 

I was holding off saying anything here as the actual date when it will become available is still not yet completely clear, owing to some ongoing restrictions on "normality" at  the printers.

 

It will definitely be with us shortly, I'm guessing two weeks time, but I do not know this for certain owing to the above mentioned issue.

 

This issue should at least get properly distributed to the news trade, I believe that Smiths are once again fully functioning in this regard.

 

All involved with the production of the magazine appreciate the patience shown by readers in this difficult situation.

 

Simon

 

 

 

 


That’s good to hear. Regarding Smiffs, I tend to frequent ones on railway stations when at work. So far, the ones I frequent are either still shut or have a limited selection of magazines currently. So hope you’ll have plenty in stock as another order may well be coming your way.

 

Cheers,

Andrew

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Sadly I suspect some regular readers will not get to see MRJ279 any time soon. My own club is locked down with the door locks changed so 279 will sit on the door mat for several days before some one pops in about once every  2 weeks  to check the building and pick up the post, 279 will then join a growing pile of magazines untouched. On the bright side even as club librarian( no key) I've taken to buying a copy from Smiffs , so anyone who would normally read the copy at their club please go and buy one.

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On 31/07/2020 at 12:15, Tim Dubya said:

MRJ is proper old school, fortunately the same sort of school I went to.

Cow gum and non-repro blue pencils and if we was lucky a copyproof machine (for growing massive crystals in).

 

I know what you mean but I think it works perfectly the way it is.  

We were slightly better as we had a waxer!

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