The Night Mail

[Dave Hunt]

I once went along to a local model railway club to see what they got up to. Although I didn't expect that they would have any S7 track my idea was that I could get involved with making things for one of their layouts. Shortly after I arrived the chairman asked me which scale I modelled in and when I replied S7 he said very dismissively, "Well, I don't think you'll fine anything to interest you here. We don't go in for the elitist stuff." I never went back.

 

Dave 

[New Haven Neil]

53 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

However, if all the fleet belong to the same railway, then the paint shop foreman must be pulling his hair out when it comes to supplying paint for the  various locos.

 

Well two of them are the same colour!

[Happy Hippo]

27 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

I once went along to a local model railway club to see what they got up to. Although I didn't expect that they would have any S7 track my idea was that I could get involved with making things for one of their layouts. Shortly after I arrived the chairman asked me which scale I modelled in and when I replied S7 he said very dismissively, "Well, I don't think you'll fine anything to interest you here. We don't go in for the elitist stuff." I never went back.

 

Dave 

Probably an officer from the Royal Navy...

[Northmoor]

20 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

I once went along to a local model railway club to see what they got up to. Although I didn't expect that they would have any S7 track my idea was that I could get involved with making things for one of their layouts. Shortly after I arrived the chairman asked me which scale I modelled in and when I replied S7 he said very dismissively, "Well, I don't think you'll fine anything to interest you here. We don't go in for the elitist stuff." I never went back. 

This was probably one of the clubs (not just model railways) that endlessly ring their hands about declining membership, but are suspicious of welcoming anyone who isn't obviously going to become part of their clique (and there's often one individual whose word is gospel).  Usually composed entirely of men over 70, these clubs are really social clubs and actually achieving anything is a secondary consideration.

[pH]

7 hours ago, Adam88 said:

 

Have you followed it up by (re-)watching this BBC classic?

 

 

Great video - I saw it a long time ago, but it was good to see it again. Thanks!

 

(There are continuity problems, though. For example, the train out of Queen Street is described as headed by a Black 5 and a B1. The B1 appears to be dropped somewhere in Queen Street tunnel, but the 5 has a pilot again by Kilpatrick!)

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[AndyID]

1 hour ago, pH said:

Great video - I saw it a long time ago, but it was good to see it again. Thanks!

 

(There are continuity problems, though. For example, the train out of Queen Street is described as headed by a Black 5 and a B1. The B1 appears to be dropped somewhere in Queen Street tunnel, but the 5 has a pilot again by Kilpatrick!)

 

I noticed that too 😀. But it's a great film with scenes that are very familiar to us. The tram car at the beginning was most enjoyable too.

[The Johnster]

5 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

I once went along to a local model railway club to see what they got up to. Although I didn't expect that they would have any S7 track my idea was that I could get involved with making things for one of their layouts. Shortly after I arrived the chairman asked me which scale I modelled in and when I replied S7 he said very dismissively, "Well, I don't think you'll fine anything to interest you here. We don't go in for the elitist stuff." I never went back.

 

Dave 

 

Sounds like their loss.

 

I was a member of a club long enough to discover that the petty jealousies, cliques, and internal politics were not for me, and I was better off as a lone wolf, a cat that walks by himself.  A good club can achieve great things, but there are none in my part of the world...

Edited July 17, 2023 by The Johnster

[pH]

36 minutes ago, AndyID said:

The tram car at the beginning was most enjoyable too.

 

There’s another quick shot of a tram near the end, at about 28:30.

[jamie92208]

10 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

 and not on a regional or pre grouping bias.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is that because they won't allow panniers. 

 

Jamie

[iL Dottore]

9 hours ago, Northmoor said:

This was probably one of the clubs (not just model railways) that endlessly ring their hands about declining membership, but are suspicious of welcoming anyone who isn't obviously going to become part of their clique (and there's often one individual whose word is gospel).  Usually composed entirely of men over 70, these clubs are really social clubs and actually achieving anything is a secondary consideration.

How true that is!
 

Mrs iD was hounded out of the local Dog Club (no pun intended) because she dared to show up the chairman (a.k.a. “great leader for life“) simply by giving well attended dog training courses and (with me and couple of other people), organising the best open day that the club ever enjoyed. The chairman was one of these individuals who believed that they are the dogs b0ll0cks in all matters Dog Club (again no pun intended), who basically aimed at being mediocre (and failed to achieve that); whereas team Mrs iD aimed for the stars, achieved “pretty good” and believed we could always learn more and do better….

 

Terry Pratchett - that great observer and commentator on life - wrote in one of his books (The Truth) a paragraph about individuals such as “the great leader for life”:

 

“But the people who were arguing were people who mostly spend their day mincing meat or sawing wood and basically leading little lives that are controlled by other people, do you see? They’ve got no say in who runs the city but they can damn well see to it that cockatoos aren’t lumped in with parrots”

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

How true that is!
 

Mrs iD was hounded out of the local Dog Club (no pun intended) because she dared to show up the chairman (a.k.a. “great leader for life“) simply by giving well attended dog training courses and (with me and couple of other people), organising the best open day that the club ever enjoyed. The chairman was one of these individuals who believed that they are the dogs b0ll0cks in all matters Dog Club (again no pun intended), who basically aimed at being mediocre (and failed to achieve that); whereas team Mrs iD aimed for the stars, achieved “pretty good” and believed we could always learn more and do better….

A wise man could have turned this to their advantage, and ended up basking in reflected glory.

 

1 hour ago, jamie92208 said:

Is that because they won't allow panniers. 

 

Jamie

On the contrary, a mention of a pannier would have them prostrated on their prayer mats facing Swindon.

 

If GJ Churchward  was mentioned, you could write the whole evening off as they sat blubbering whilst recalling the great man's sad fate.

[Compound2632]

36 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

A wise man could have turned this to their advantage, and ended up basking in reflected glory.

 

That's my career as PTA Chair summed up. 

 

(There were any number of PTA mums who knew exactly what to do to make the Summer and Christmas Fayres work.)

[jamie92208]

Sadly those descriptions of societies ring so true.  I would add churches to that list, particularly independent ones.  I think that it is a lot to do with them bei g of a mainly voluntary nature and Terry Pratchett has hit the nail on the head.  We had an organist at our church who fitted that description. She wanted to run everything and if challenged politely burst into tears and accused everyone ofbeinbg bullies.  She insisted that her stone deaf husband had to be the sound engineer. Many people left the church because of her antics, 

 

Jamie

[iL Dottore]

5 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

A wise man could have turned this to their advantage, and ended up basking in reflected glory.

Indeed he could have (and he did co-opt [ahem] many of Mrs iD’s good ideas) but fear of being eclipsed, a humongous case of “Not Invented Here Syndrome” and being surrounded by toadies and sycophants did not make for a wise leader.

 

At one point Mrs iD and I wanted to start courses in English for expats on how Swiss law and custom apply to dogs (we have many, many expats here and many have dogs) - thus integrating both dog and expat owner better into the community.

 

At the behest of the “great leader for life” the club’s management committee turned down this proposal. And why? The “great leader for life” doesn’t speak any English and was fearful of having his control diminished by new members he could not browbeat.

 

In comparison, the dog club near the Holiday Hovel has been most welcoming to “them darn pesky furriners” 😁 Mrs iD has nothing but praise for that club!

Edited July 17, 2023 by iL Dottore
Spelling

[Dave Hunt]

2 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

If GJ Churchward  was mentioned, you could write the whole evening off as they sat blubbering whilst recalling the great man's sad fate.

 

Sick joke I once heard coming up:

 

Q. What was the last thing to pass through Churchward’s mind?

A. A locomotive.

 

I suppose that could be taken one of two ways.

 

Dave

Edited July 17, 2023 by Dave Hunt

[Happy Hippo]

12 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Indeed he could have (and he did co-opt [ahem] many of Mrs iD’s good ideas) but fear of being eclipsed, a humongous case of “Not Invented Here Syndrome” and being surrounded by toadies

At this point I burst out laughing...

 

My brother in law used the world 'Toadies', to describe the result of a dog dropping it's ashpan.

 

The chairman of a dog club surrounded by toadies!

 

How appropriate🤣

[Happy Hippo]

3 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

Sick joke I once heard coming up:

 

Q. What was the last thing to pass through Churchward’s mind?

A. A locomotive.

 

I suppose that could be taken one of two ways.

 

Dave

I thought it was his a*se!

[Dave Hunt]

1 hour ago, jamie92208 said:

Sadly those descriptions of societies ring so true.  I would add churches to that list, particularly independent ones.  I think that it is a lot to do with them bei g of a mainly voluntary nature and Terry Pratchett has hit the nail on the head.  We had an organist at our church who fitted that description. She wanted to run everything and if challenged politely burst into tears and accused everyone ofbeinbg bullies.  She insisted that her stone deaf husband had to be the sound engineer. Many people left the church because of her antics, 

 

Jamie

 

We had a similar situation at our RC church when a priest we had for a short time established a parish committee. I was asked to be chairman but declined as I was up to my ears in other things at the time so a woman parishioner took the job with me as a simple committee member (committee membership being open to anyone who cared to attend). Sadly she was so dogmatic and dismissive of anyone else’s opinions that attendances fell to the point that the whole thing became pointless and the committee faded away.

 

Dave

[Dave Hunt]

8 hours ago, The Johnster said:

 

Sounds like their loss.

 

I was a member of a club long enough to discover that the petty jealousies, cliques, and internal politics were not for me, and I was better off as a lone wolf, a cat that walks by himself.  A good club can achieve great things, but there are none in my part of the world...

 

I have recently joined the Warley club as an associate or ‘out of town’ member for several reasons even though it is a good hour’s drive from home. It has an S7 layout on which I can run my locos and stock, I have several friends and acquaintances who are active members, it has magnificent club rooms and runs what is probably the best advertisement for our hobby in the annual show at the NEC (whether you like the set up of the show or not I think that it attracts a lot of people who could well become the Railway modellers of the future) so I want to support it and be involved as best I can at somewhat long range. I also know several of the club’s officers and have faith in their approach to their jobs. Hence, although it can not really be classed for me as a local club I am looking forward to it providing at least some of the features I would hope to enjoy from one.

 

Dave

[Compound2632]

4 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

I have recently joined the Warley club as an associate or ‘out of town’ member for several reasons

 

But the key question is: have you thereby decreased the average age of the membership?

 

('scuse my cheek...)

[The Johnster]

Warley is a ‘proper’ club that has ‘got it right’, for sure; there is nothing remotely like it in Cardiff!  The one I was in specialised in miserable semi-derelict unheated premises which resulted in miserable semi-derelict Johnsters.  The best part of it was the pub sessions afterwards, essential to thaw out, but this didn’t get much modelling done!

 

More than one hurriedly-finished layout had it’s first full test-run on the first morning of it’s first exhibition, and most of them only ever sort of half-worked as a result (‘you can’t make that movement, that side of the double slip isn’t wired up yet’).  Hobbies should be relaxing and a pleasure; this was much too high-stress for that!

 

Never again!

Edited July 17, 2023 by The Johnster

[polybear]

35 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

Sick joke I once heard coming up:

 

Q. What was the last thing to pass through Churchward’s mind?

A. A locomotive.

 

I suppose that could be taken one of two ways.

 

Dave

 

His Chauffeur did pretty well:

 

(From Wiki):

"In Churchward's will of 4 October 1933 he bequeathed various sums of money to his staff, including his gardener, housekeeper, maidservant, parlour maid, assistant gardeners and two friends. He awarded his chauffeur £4,000 along with 2 lathes with various tools and accessories including guns, motor cars and accessories, fishing rods and tackle and wearing apparel"

 

So that's about £330K in cash, plus the other items.  

Didn't he do well.....

 

 

 

[Tony_S]

2 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

 

(There were any number of PTA mums who knew exactly what to do to make the Summer and Christmas Fayres work.)

Aditi’s brother is starting his pre retirement reduction in working hours later this year. He felt he should do find something useful to do. His younger child will be at her primary school for another four years so he thought he would put his name forward for the parent governor post election. He said there were lots of popular Mums who he thought would be the first choice so on this occasion he thought of it as just letting people know he was interested. He was elected, unopposed so for,now he has his job and governor duties. He has the safeguarding and finance governor responsibilities. Oddly enough he has those at work as well. 
Tony

[SM42]

Well that was a wasted morning.

 

Being keen on keeping the charoit looking reasonably as the dealer supplied it,  I've just made a 30 mile round trip for an MOT and paid £15  more than going to my local. 

 

The motive was to replace the getting tatty numberplates with some nice new at the same time, with the dealer name on them as the supplier. 

 

When I booked it in,  I asked specifically for UK  identifier plates so I didn't have to start putting big UK stickers on the car.

 

I reminded them this morning about the identifier. 

 

They then produced plain plates, because ever since we left the EU they only do plain  plates.

 

Quite what leaving the EU has to do with the 1952(?) Convention on international road traffic, I'm not sure, but apparently they don't have the technology to put UK and a Unoin flag on the end

 

I even had to ask for the now unwanted plates as I was not keen on spare set of plates floating about that I had  no control  over.  

 

It would have been nice if they had told me they couldn't supply what I asked for beforehand.

 

So the tatty old plates with the aftermarket identifier sticker will have to carry on in service. 

 

Now awaiting a call from the doctor,  so not much getting done at all so far. 

 

At least the car passed its MOT.

 

Andy

Edited July 17, 2023 by SM42