Modelling mojo and state of mind

[MrWolf]

29 minutes ago, Coldgunner said:

Haha, one PE lesson they did boys vs girls at 'war'. Which was essentially capture the flag or if your tagged you go to 'prison'. You could be released from prison if your own team tagged you. Us lads just went mental and utterley dominated the game for the whole lesson.

 

Yeah, that didn't work as teachers planned.

Funny you mention hockey, I used to play mens hockey and I think I did a mixed game once. The girls were terrifying!

 

Imagine how that would have gone had the school armed those girls even with "toy" paintball guns? 

Especially when you know what damage they can do just with a stick?

[simonmcp]

Having been brought up to play Rugby, when we played the girls at Hockey we actually won. Still had a nasty set of bruises though.

[MrWolf]

By the time I went to middle school in the 80s most of the rubbish schools had diluted rugby to a glorified game of tag called "touch rugby" the name of which caused hilarity, the act of simply handing over the ball to whoever touched you took all of the fun out of the game and it was dropped altogether. Apparently it was too dangerous to play the real thing, of course the boys at the grammar still played and when we complained we got some reverse snobbery babble about rugby, upper class snobs and changing times etc which said more about the teacher's politics than any actual concern for our wellbeing.

It wasn't long before cricket and rounders went on the same grounds.

Of course the holy grail that is football went on as before, with a minor hiccup banning aluminium studs.

 

There was the opinion that team sports in school were merely a vehicle for the popular kids to show off and reaffirm their position in the social hierarchy, (because we were the generation that still played outside and cycled everywhere we got plenty of exercise) so a good number of us oddballs were as disinterested and uncooperative as possible and if we bothered to turn up it was under sufferance anyway. 

 

 

 

Edited March 9, 2023 by MrWolf
Clarity

[rob D2]

I went to grammar school, and it was patently obvious if you weren’t interested in Hockey or rowing , they weren’t interested .

 

And in terms of academics, the same was true if you showed no interest in Oxford or Cambridge 

[MrWolf]

We went to a comprehensive that had been a grammar back in the 1950s.

Despite all the brave new world posturing I remember the exaltation shown that three of our year were going to Oxford.

Our local river wasn't really navigable by children in rowboats, far too many bends etc.

Besides there was a long shallow weir which was more fun to surf down on an old door.

That obviously never became an official school sport...

[rob D2]

Door surfing is probably in the next olympics. If beach volleyball gets a slot ….I’ll advocate for door surfing …

[Schooner]

Bit of a left at the lights, but I've just heard something that blew me away. It's universal, but I think it might resonate particularly with some of us here.

 

 

Happy Sunday, take care.

[MrWolf]

The first few seconds of that and I thought: "This is going to be deeply arty fraty and self indulgent", which as an artist (most of the time) and someone who has to deal with his and her indoors's CPTSD all of the time, I've heard much too much of, but I gave it a listen.

He's absolutely bang on. That really was like arguments I've had with myself and those Miss R has had with herself, she's just played it again on the laptop and that's always been a work only device because she hates social media.

Welcome to our three in the morning.

Thanks for posting.

Edited March 12, 2023 by MrWolf

[tractionman]

On 07/03/2023 at 19:57, rob D2 said:

They'll always be people with " all the kit and no idea ", in every sport / hobby etc , but i suppose at least they are persuing an interest 

 

that kind of sums up my railway 'modelling' at the mo, amassing stuff but neither the time (nor tbh the inclination) to actually do anything with it... 

 

I'm not sure about that Guardian piece on mediocrity and hobbies, some find it really hard to do anything and get started because of our fear of failure or the fear of being dissatisfied with the results at least.

 

it's easier to fire up RMWeb and idle away reading threads **about** model railways than actually **doing** any modelling.

 

at the mo at least I am managing to keep a lid on buying stuff, but everytime I go into the loft and see what's sitting there it feels almost overwhelming, so nothing happens as a consequence.

 

I wonder if I should get rid of some of the stock, clear the decks, clear my mind, focus, on my mind through is say in 10, or 20 years time would I regret it? Say selling all my SR stuff, and then finding in 2034 that I really want to build that 1930s Southern layout I had always dreamed of in the early 2000s?

 

cue more procrastination!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[woodenhead]

It is difficult, I bought way too much N gauge that I could not use all at once(BR blue or transition steam). Had a railway but only have half the stock out at any time.

 

Then I jumped to OO GWR which became mixed with SR and morphed to BR(S) electrics. It was whilst agonising over a green FYE DJM class 71 that I finally saw the light on purchasing too much stock.

 

Now my N gauge is firmly 1966-68 in the Northwest and my 00 despite being away is just GWR and the biggest engine a Dukedog.

 

All these current announcements no longer affect me like they did and I am less inclined to jump into pre orders or bargains.  Still have too much, but not as much as i

I had.

 

When purchasing stock feverishly, it has to be considered if you are doing it purely for the chase.  That was certainly me, I’d be looking for stuff on secondhand and Ebay, get excited by the purchase then feel a sense of let down once the model was on the railway.  Had a short spurt of this recently getting cheap parcels stock even though I really had enough and now I have one parcels train too many.

[tractionman]

1 hour ago, woodenhead said:

doing it purely for the chase.  That was certainly me, 

 

same here too! 

 

yes, the thrill of the chase, and a bit (for me) of FOMO kicking in--I was tempted by the 009 Hunslets when I saw them come out, they look so good, but I managed to keep my splurging under control, not least because of cash flow but also guilt! 

 

I dream up too many layouts in my mind, and I need a reality check, they ain't all going to get built, not in my lifetime, so keeping the focus is key, and...

 

I might just put the track down loose on the boards in the loft and give the trains I have a spin, for amusement. I have the boards all in place already, but keep changing my mind over the track-plan, so consquently nothing gets done.

 

 

See what I mean!?

 

 

 

 

[Northmoor]

1 hour ago, woodenhead said:

When purchasing stock feverishly, it has to be considered if you are doing it purely for the chase.  That was certainly me, I’d be looking for stuff on secondhand and Ebay, get excited by the purchase then feel a sense of let down once the model was on the railway.  

This how "collecting" works and there is nothing wrong with that if that is what you want to do (it's also how a shopaholic's mind works, but that's another problem altogether); watching the TV series about Vectis Auctions it was obvious that it was the enjoyment of hunting down the scarce items to fill the gaps that drove the collectors.  Once they had completed the collections, many felt it was time to dispose of them.

 

To relate this to the theme of the thread though, it is not good for your mental health to be surrounded by too much stuff and yet ironically, real hoarding is both a cause and symptom of a mental health problem.  Decluttering does help clear the mind, but getting past the stage of trying to (or believe you ever can) complete all your projects can be very difficult for as soon as you start one your mind tells you not to forget that one, and that one, and don't forget that one over there.....

 

I think back though my railway modelling history (and no layout has ever got much beyond the "track on a board" stage), I have variously wanted to do at different times: BR(WR) branch terminus, Industrial Dockside railway, Transition-era GW/GC Joint Line, 1980s Trans-Pennine main line, 1980s Germany, Welsh NG in 009, something in British HO.......  Sometimes you really need to accept that a project is never going to happen, so out of the above, I sold off......... the British HO stock. I still all have the rest.

[john new]

With spring in the air I got the four secondhand baseboards I bought last year out and began the stripping down for reuse. No idea what I will do with them yet mind you but I will have 16ft (four x 4ft unit each) by 2ft 6" wide. I find I am definitely a work outside mostly in the spring through autumn period modeller and will be until the garage gets reroofed with "warm roof" style insulation. Mojo improving slowly.

 

Edited March 19, 2023 by john new
Tweaked for clarity

[rob D2]

I understand hoarding can make for a cluttered mind , but if there's any chance you might need any of those items in the future don't flog em !

 

The way prices are it'd be hard to buy it back . 

[woodenhead]

4 hours ago, rob D2 said:

I understand hoarding can make for a cluttered mind , but if there's any chance you might need any of those items in the future don't flog em !

 

The way prices are it'd be hard to buy it back . 

Hard to buy back right now, but I suspect in 10 years or so there will be a lot of stock coming back onto the secondhand market as non modellers are forced to get rid of their inheritance.

[sjp23480]

1 hour ago, woodenhead said:

Hard to buy back right now, but I suspect in 10 years or so there will be a lot of stock coming back onto the secondhand market as non modellers are forced to get rid of their inheritance

@woodenhead you are not wrong.

 

I just bought a new Bachmann 47 in green from Kernow for £169.  I dug out my first generation version for comparison.  I kept the 2011 invoice from Rails: £34.50!  I know the new one is far superior and there is 12 years of inflation - but still.

 

I also sold off some of my collection a few years ago: mostly Hornby A3s, Britannia's, 9Fs and Bachmann Jubilees.  Instantly regretted it having realised a fraction of their subsequent value. 
 

Now I find it really hard to part with anything, and I still don't have a competed layout to run them on!  

 

 

 

 

 

[Coldgunner]

One of my previous bargains I'm most proud of is the Railroad Olton Hall that Hornby were selling direct for £40 a number of years ago.

[Coldgunner]

Some good news finally, the person who seems to still be gainfully employed at work might not be for much longer!

Have you ever had someone who you would benefit from not having them and being a pair of hands less, than keeping them on? We have one of those. She creates more work, half-arses tickets and never accepts criticism. Unfortunately these people have to go through performance reviews etc before being given the elbow, but I think we're nearly there.

I don't like people being out of a job, but some people just shouldn't be in certain roles.

[Northmoor]

50 minutes ago, Coldgunner said:

Some good news finally, the person who seems to still be gainfully employed at work might not be for much longer!

Have you ever had someone who you would benefit from not having them and being a pair of hands less, than keeping them on? We have one of those. She creates more work, half-arses tickets and never accepts criticism. Unfortunately these people have to go through performance reviews etc before being given the elbow, but I think we're nearly there.

I don't like people being out of a job, but some people just shouldn't be in certain roles.

I have met one or two genuinely lazy people in my life, who no matter how easy the task will try to find short cuts, but most people who underperform in a job are just in the wrong job.  Hopefully she just goes and finds another job for herself and saves everyone bother (and her record unembellished). 

 

A colleague of mine recently left; I'd thought he'd done an OK job if not spectacular (we were doing different things, mostly working remotely and only met up every few months) but never seemed very "switched on"; it turned out he'd actually been on Performance Improvement Plans.  I think his new job will suit him better, for domestic reasons as well. 

[Dava]

Quote from former MD of Games Workshop plc in handbook given to all company managers.

 

”Some people are toxic. It’s your job to get them out of the organisation.”

 

He was unfashionably right on this and many other principles.

 

Dava

[Northmoor]

25 minutes ago, Dava said:

Quote from former MD of Games Workshop plc in handbook given to all company managers.

 

”Some people are toxic. It’s your job to get them out of the organisation.”

 

He was unfashionably right on this and many other principles.

 

Dava

There are thousands of managers in UK plc who adhere to this principle, but unfortunately a great deal of them consider a toxic person to be one who might disagree with their manager(s) or show how far they have been over-promoted.

[Coldgunner]

1 hour ago, Northmoor said:

There are thousands of managers in UK plc who adhere to this principle, but unfortunately a great deal of them consider a toxic person to be one who might disagree with their manager(s) or show how far they have been over-promoted.

You've picked up on an important point too...

 

Its ok to disagree with your boss and voice it. So long as its constructive then speak up. Too many yes-men, who'd rather see the ship sink than suggest a way to plug the leaks.

[tomparryharry]

It's taken long enough for me,  but I think my particular problem is euphoria, or rather, lack of it. I should have finished he shed project some 2 years ago, but I'm still struggling. I think I can balance euphoria,; finish one job or project, and move onto the next. The problem now, is seeing projects stretching out into the distance of time. 

 

The weather, is much, much better, and it does lighten the mood, but that confounded list continues to creep!

 

AARGH!!!!!

[railsquid]

(delurks)

 

After a good run on layout things recently, was visited by the Covid Fairy earlier this year, and just lost all interest.

 

Due to some work needing to be done in the room, I'm in the process of dismantling the entire layout (N scale), which I'd describe as ca. 60% "finished", and realised I won't have the willpower or energy to reassemble it (even though it was designed with potential disassembly in mind). Part of the problem, I think, is that while I actually liked the layout I came up with (after many iterations), it is a little too big for the room (which I also use as a home office) and the time I have available anyway. After some thought I will cut it back to what will basically be a double-track dogbone around the edges of the room, on which I can watch trains trundle round and round, which is enough for my modest needs. Fortunately I'm using Tomix track and much of the existing scenery can be reused.

[westernviscount]

A while back I posted feeling rather down about the hobby. I thought I would check in to show what I have been up to.

 

I was and part of a club and am beginning work on a layput based on a real place (which I thought would be a new challenge) Caia Road Goods in Wrexham, N Wales. 

 

And the part that has really set the mojo going, the rennovation of an airfix 14xx my Dad dug out to run on the eventual layout. I realise I will never be into the changing parts of the hobby. I like old, cheap and familiar...althought the whistle is 3d printed by Modelu ;-)