The Night Mail

[simontaylor484]

9 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

She probably says the same about the ideas you get for the railway:

 

The subscription was cheap but..........

What she says isnt printable on here

[Dave Hunt]

It has now reached that stage of a Christmas Day when everyone is stuffed to the gunwales and slumped in chairs either watching some recordings of Strangely come Prancing or snoring gently. Since neither option appeals, I'm looking through some old MRJs and sipping a glass of Jura.

 

TTFN

 

Dave

[jamie92208]

6 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

It has now reached that stage of a Christmas Day when everyone is stuffed to the gunwales and slumped in chairs either watching some recordings of Strangely come Prancing or snoring gently. Since neither option appeals, I'm looking through some old MRJs and sipping a glass of Jura.

 

TTFN

 

Dave

Surely a man of a military background like yourself would have crept quietly out of the room and repaired to the shed.  Nothing ventured nothing gained.

 

Jamie

 

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Merry Christmas all,

 

A sumptuous feast is being had. It has been excellent and we are about to start chopping down the proverbial Yule log.

 

 

I was greatly surprised to find these under the tree, two very rare full volume copies of “The Steam Engine” by D.K. Clark. I only have two half volumes, seen to the right.

 

These two were found by dad on eBay UK back in October, and were printed in 1890. However when you open them they could have been made yesterday, it’s quite shocking. 
 

 

I also got some stuff for the lathe, including proper nice brass stock and a set of good quality drill bits so I can stop pinching dads.

 

Douglas

Edited December 25, 2021 by Florence Locomotive Works

[Dave Hunt]

1 minute ago, jamie92208 said:

Surely a man of a military background like yourself would have crept quietly out of the room and repaired to the shed.  Nothing ventured nothing gained.

 

Jamie

 

 

Thanks for the thought, Jamie, but with the amount I've eaten, creeping quietly would be an impossibility and since the glass of Jura I've just finished has gone down to say hi to one of his brothers, a large glass of Prosecco and a few slugs of Malbec I suspect that anything I tried to do in the shed would prove in the cold light of day tomorrow not to have been a good idea. Slumping in this chair seems to me to be the wisest move.

 

Dave

[Northmoor]

27 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

Thanks for the thought, Jamie, but with the amount I've eaten, creeping quietly would be an impossibility and since the glass of Jura I've just finished has gone down to say hi to one of his brothers, a large glass of Prosecco and a few slugs of Malbec I suspect that anything I tried to do in the shed would prove in the cold light of day tomorrow not to have been a good idea. Slumping in this chair seems to me to be the wisest move.

 

Dave

So if you're asked to come and help with something, you can refuse to leave your chair on grounds of health and safety?

[Dave Hunt]

13 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

So if you're asked to come and help with something, you can refuse to leave your chair on grounds of health and safety?

 

 

Dave

[Doncaster Green]

I have been stood down from my duties until the morrow.

 

Went the Day Well?  I believe so.  Excessive amounts of foods, various, have been consumed, along with plentiful imbibing of strong drink.  Well, it is Christmas!

I am now contemplating the opening of one of the last items from my late father’s drinks cupboard.  A nice looking Hennesey that to my certain knowledge has remained unopened for at least 35 years.  I trust it will be ok but it may need more than one glass to be sure.

 

John

[Happy Hippo]

2 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

Surely a man of a military background like yourself would have crept quietly out of the room and repaired to the shed.  Nothing ventured nothing gained.

 

Jamie

 

Creep quietly?

 

Dave?

 

His idea of sneaking everywhere is on full military power.

 

But I, on the other hand, am a deadly water ninja. 

 

(Well, to amplify that, I am good at hiding in one of the vehicle depot's static water tanks).

[Winslow Boy]

Stop it. Stooorp it. STOP IT. 

 

I now have this vision of a hippo doing backstroke in a water tank thirty feet in the air.

 

So stop at once.

[iL Dottore]

Happy Boxing Day,

All this talk of food and drink leads me to contemplate the folly of cooking in an unfamiliar kitchen. (I’m at Mrs iD’s place in the mountains)

Christmas dinner was expected from me and a mini-turkey (2.5kg) duly roasted. 

It turned out sort of OK

I wasn’t too happy at the result: the turkey was surprisingly chewy and a bit tasteless (due to being free-range???), I added too many chestnuts to the sprouts/bacon/chestnut combo, the stuffing was an improvised mess (all the usual ingredients had disappeared off the shelves). The carrots and spuds were decent.

And all I had at hand to help me deal with these culinary mishaps was a bottle of 12yo Singleton…

Mrs iD and the doggies found the turkey enjoyable and were pleased by the abundance of turkey leftovers. Unhappily for me this means turkey… curry, sandwiches, soup, vol-au-vents, salads, etc., etc., ad bloody nauseam.

(I’d much rather have Goose or Duck)

 

Still, it’s not all post-festivity gloom: I still have plenty of bacon, bread and single malt whiskey to enjoy instead of that bloody turkey….

Edited December 26, 2021 by iL Dottore
Missed word

[rockershovel]

I had better things to do at the dinner table than take photos, but it was all eminently adequate. 

 

Poached eggs on toast with anchovies, toast and marmalade, Bucks Fizz and coffee for breakfast. 

 

Tea, various during the morning 

 

Turkey with pigs in blankets, roast potatoes and parsnips with stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce. More BF. No sprouts , which bothered me not at all. More tea and coffee  with mints, stem ginger in syrup and sporadic snacks until totally stuffed and all presents opened.

 

Dozed in front of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Gavin and Stacey. Channel 5 also don't appear to have received the memo from the BBC about spreading doom on the hour, so a thoroughly pleasant evening. No 1 Son phoned to offer some convoluted explanation of his day  and excuses for the morrow; my good wife being thoroughly fortified with cheap prosecco (she holds the lifelong belief that BF isn't really alcoholic since it contains orange juice) put him firmly in his place, which was quite entertaining. 

 

And so to bed. 

[rockershovel]

18 hours ago, Tony_S said:

Aditi recalls the look of horror on some of her students faces when as their field trip minibus was being loaded that they realised their nice luggage was going on the roof. They had been warned. 

My children were always well provided with that staple of the offshore industry, the Montrose Ropes 40 litre waterproof carryall for such occasions. Saved a lot of problems. 

[jamie92208]

Good morning from a rather Maritime Charente.  Video calls to all three kids provided a different Christmas day but a bottle of cheap fizzy 11.5% plonk helped it along.  We'd won said bottlevin a quiz.  I also got a bottle of Glengarry to help restock the drinks cabinet.  Dinner in the firm of a very tasty duck, from a local farm, wassimple but good and we didn't have to cook it. We got hime about 10.00pm and watched Call The Midwife.

 

Not a bad day.

 

Jamie

[SM42]

Cake for breakfast 

 

Andy

Living the dream 

[Happy Hippo]

Having reviewed my eating and drinking habits for yesterday, some might say that they are rather disappointing.

 

Breakfast: Tea and two slices of toast with marmalade and butter.

 

Lunch: A turkey dinner.  (no starter or pudding).

 

Tea: A turkey sandwich and a slice of Stollen (large!)

 

Various cups of tea and coffee and a large glass of water were ingested.

 

Alcohol:................

 

A glass of Sherry and two small glasses of Chablis!

 

So no Port, Gin or Whisky; No Christmas Cake, Christmas pudding, ice cream, cheese and biscuits, nuts, crisps or chocolates.

 

Yet this morning I've woken up with a splitting head ache and feeling quite achy.

 

I used one of our self testing kits to check for the possibility of having contracted Covid, but the test came back clear.

 

So I can only assume that I am suffering from PTSD.

 

Pannier Tank Sensory Deprivation.

 

Just mentioning them makes me feel better already!

 

I'd better boost my immune system with a quick flick through all my Pannier Papers, and the 56/66xx books for good measure plus having a  damn big G&T and some pistachio nuts.

Edited December 26, 2021 by Happy Hippo

[SM42]

Not to be the harbinger of Doom, but I tested negative on an LFD and them found the e mail telling me my PCR test the previous morning was positive. 

Keep testing I'd say

 

Yesterday food wise was quite constrained.

Breakfast: fruit, chocolate and cake 

Lunch: turkey,   pork assorted veg and usual Christmas extras. 

No starter, no pud. 

 

Tea: too full for that 

 

Assorted chocolates and crisps throughout  the day

 

Alcohol: 3 glasses of fizzy wine and and 2 and a bit pints

 

I'd not really recovered from Christmas Eve before being assailed by Christmas day. 

 

Another roast dinner today with brother  and family 

 

I may be a little heavier now than I was  on Thursday. 

 

The projects on the modelling bench have been perused this morning. That's enough of that. 

 

I did manage to fit an axlebox tie bar to a 12t van on  Christmas morning. So some progress there. 

 

Andy

[Dave Hunt]

At the moment I am the sole inhabitant of Hunt Towers, the rest having gone out for the afternoon. After much internal debate I have decide to test some of the Caol Isle that Santa delivered for me yesterday together with a mince pie. For mental stimulation I'm watching Red Bull soapbox races so I may well be asleep quite soon.

 

And happily I am absolutely not suffering from PTSD as defined by HH.

 

Dave

[DenysW]

Caol Isla a very pleasant drop, with the smokiness under good control.

 

Personally, I'm half-full of Tourraine rose, and am going to test my new RTR  0-4-4-0 Heisler that Santa brought on a temporary roundy-roundy, with SWMBO as driver.

[Happy Hippo]

56 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

 After much internal debate

I saw the fast low flying pig as well.

[DenysW]

Locomotive Rivarossi, wagons and logs Bachmann, Caboose a Kaydees kit assembled for me by my son. Elastic bands not validated for HO scale.

[jamie92208]

Just to help HH and his PTSD I found a 00 Panneer on a shelf a couple of days ago.  I might paint it Crimson lake so as not to have to avert my eyes when I walk past.

 

Jamie

[Tony_S]

We had a postal delivery at lunchtime. It isn’t normal to get post on Boxing Day or any Bank Holiday but I received the special PCR test I was promised by the Government email the other day. I am supposed to use it if I think I have Covid and then if positive will receive antivirals.  I hope I don’t need it but it all seems very efficient. 

[Happy Hippo]

19 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

Just to help HH and his PTSD I found a 00 Panneer on a shelf a couple of days ago.  I might paint it Crimson lake so as not to have to avert my eyes when I walk past.

 

Jamie

I thought to give one of mine a quick blow over in tacky red, pop it quietly into Dave's engine shed, then watch him emulate an ice cream on a very hot day.

 

Of course, the risk is he might quite like it and develop an insatiable demand for more.

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, DenysW said:

Locomotive Rivarossi, wagons and logs Bachmann, Caboose a Kaydees kit assembled for me by my son. Elastic bands not validated for HO scale.

I have one of those Rivarossi Heislers. All my other logging engines are in ON30 scale.