Early Risers.

[polybear]

39 minutes ago, Barry O said:

Ey up!

 

@polybear people are telling you spurious info.. they are probably incapable of getting their head around the idea of going across a joint.. its a very old fashioned idea.. when parallel bits of metal were very fragile.. no longer the case...and proven by members of our MRS on a lot of portable installations.

 

Ok, so what happens when the fixed ends of switch blades are on one side of the joint and tiebar ends are on the other side of the joint?

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from a freezing Charente.  It's parky outside but no snow.  We are off to the market soon and hopefully vin chaud, or mulled wine will be available in the cafe.  Then off to Ruffec this afternoon to collect a display cabinet before a bit of shed time. 

 

Jamie

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl,

4 hours sleep, medium awake, 3 hours sleep..

 

I managed to get Ben the I want out Collie to delay for a half hour, but then he got insistent. So we've been out, grass heavily frosted but melting rapidly as it's now gently raining. With much more to come looking at the radar. The local weather station already being in positive territory just.

Dull grey , light winds though it's forecast to be a southerly 21 to 31mph.

 

Ben was very happy wandering around, he found a scent and ran off down into areas he doesn't normally go, and left a deposit down there to tell the intruder what he thought about them.

 

One thing I didn't mention yesterday,  was walking down Sheringham high street , I lost a filling, it feels like it's taken the side of a tooth with it. I wouldn't be surprised if the remains have to be removed. A phone call to the dentist will be needed tomorrow. Luckily there is no pain. 

 

Today is of course sailing day, the weather radar shows and the forecast agrees, a dry period for most of the sailing. Hopefully that's correct, though with the cold it will be winter waterproofs anyway.

 

Time for...

Porridge..

 

 

[DaveF]

It's freezing here agin with steady snow which is predicted to stop within the next hour, then it should be a dry day.  I shall have to take care going to church this morning.

 

Last night I ended up watching a music programme, Das Adventsfest der 100.000 Lichter on one of the German TV station via satellite.  One of the singers was Nana Mouskouri - she looked very old.  It was an enjoyable mix of Advent music and more general songs and chat.  It was only 3.25 hours long.

 

So I didn't do any reading, by the time it finished I was ready for bed.  I slept reasonably except for feeling very worried and bothered when I woke to visit the loo about 2.30.  I've no idea what it was about but I feel fine now.  It may have been a dream about clutter, I know that when I woke I somehow knew that I really must get on with throwing things out I no longer want or need.  So that might happen later today.  I also hope to some more model stuff later on.

 

David

[Tony_S]

43 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Ok, so what happens when the fixed ends of switch blades are on one side of the joint and tiebar ends are on the other side of the joint?

I know what I would do if a) that was the only place for the point and b) it was essential for the baseboard to be removable for servicing. I would add a tongue  of ply or whatever so the turnout could extend over the end of one baseboard so the track join could be located away from the edge. This would be not suitable for modular layouts but should be fine at home. Are you planning to exhibit your creation? Does portability affect your construction criteria?

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

It is raining here. 
Tony

[monkeysarefun]

 Christmas is definitely close because the reindeer are gathering. There were two yesterday across the road  and there are even more today.

 

 

 

 

Can any deer enthusiast shed any  light on the darker deer? The speckly ones are apparently Fallow deer, but I'm not sure what the darker one is - a juvenile or something?

 

Deers are a feral pest here so they're not something we learn about unlike  pademelons and platypii  and wallaroos and Western Gobbleguts and Australian Bustards and Nabarleks and Woylies and The Giant Panda Snail and the Crest-tailed Mulgara  and the Common Spotted Cuscus  etc.....

[Porkscratching]

6 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

 Christmas is definitely close because the reindeer are gathering. There were two yesterday across the road  and there are even more today.

 

 

 

 

Can any deer enthusiast shed any  light on the darker deer? The speckly ones are apparently Fallow deer, but I'm not sure what the darker one is - a juvenile or something?

 

Deers are a feral pest here so they're not something we learn about unlike  pademelons and platypii  and wallaroos and Western Gobbleguts and Australian Bustards and Nabarleks and Woylies and The Giant Panda Snail and the Crest-tailed Mulgara  and the Common Spotted Cuscus  etc.....

1st pic looked like a goat to me, but then again I'll eat anything (within reason) 

[Winslow Boy]

22 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

Morning all.

It is raining here. 
Tony

Morning.

 

It's not here.

 

Ian

[Tony_S]

16 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

Can any deer enthusiast shed any  light on the darker deer?

We don’t get deer locally, though @PhilJ W has muntjac. Probably not enough trees here near the estuary. Where I worked in northeast London there were lots of deer. The British Deer website mentions 4 colour variations for fallow, one of which is black. 

[Tony_S]

8 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

Morning.

 

It's not here.

 

Ian

The local RHS garden at Hyde Hall got us all keen on dry gardens a few years ago and since then it has rained every winter.  

[Winslow Boy]

5 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

We don’t get deer locally, though @PhilJ W has muntjac. Probably not enough trees here near the estuary. Where I worked in northeast London there were lots of deer. The British Deer website mentions 4 colour variations for fallow, one of which is black. 

Where I lived in Buckinghamshire there was a special sub set of muntjac dear - the two inch high version due to being repeatedly run over by cars.

[monkeysarefun]

 

2 hours ago, polybear said:

Ok, so what happens when the fixed ends of switch blades are on one side of the joint and tiebar ends are on the other side of the joint?

 

Now mate, I am getting very very  concerned that all  this worry about points over baseboard joints is going to end in    nothing more for you  than an early grave from all the stress.

 

So I have put on my thinking cap with dangly corks on itand hit on a brilliant idea, and that is for you to model the  station at Cook in South Australia on the Nullabor Plain.

 

Here is a track plan.

 

Now, as  you can see there is a siding which does have the potential issue of the point blades falling across the middle of the baseboard joint but do not worry because the points are 325km to the east so you don't need to worry about them.

 

And that is not the only advantage.

 

What is the  most annoying thing to model realistically?

 

Trees!

 

No worries there because Nullabor is latin for Null Arbors!

 

 

Secondly, what else is the next most unrealistically modelled item?

 

Curves! 

 

 

 

No need to worry about non-prototypical corners here!

 

 

And finally, the scenic potential is un-calculable.

 

Historical buildings!

 

 

Mysterious lineside things!

 

 

No worries, glad to help.

 

Edited December 3, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[monkeysarefun]

36 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

The local RHS garden at Hyde Hall got us all keen on dry gardens a few years ago and since then it has rained every winter.  

Same here, in 2019 we were in year 4 of drought and it was never going to rain again etc so we replanted the garden with dry loving plants from Turkey, Mexico, the US etc. The first year it looked spectacular then we got three years of floods and they all either rotted or went completely mental and outgrew their space.

 

Its a pity because it was cool to have an "English Cottage Garden" style look with plants that rarely needed water or went all limp when it hit 35+

 

 

 

 

Edited December 3, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Dry at the moment and the frost has mostly disappeared.   A cloudy and wet day with spells of heavy and showery rain is forecast.  5°C rising to 8°C.

Another excellent evening had with yet more food and drink, so much so that I will forego my usual cooked Sunday breakfast.   I've really enjoyed my birthday celebrations.  To cap it all I won  £30 on the lottery last night.

Nottalot planned today apart from watching some rugby.  I hope Warren's trip to Leicester goes OK,  I think his team need all the support they can get.

Time for some toast and marmalade.

Have a good one,

Bob.

[RobAllen]

Morning all. It's cold outside, so I've been researching what's going to be around the station on my new layout by pouring over the NLS maps website with a cup of tea.

Not a bad start to the day, and I've kept warm!

[polybear]

1 hour ago, DaveF said:

One of the singers was Nana Mouskouri - she looked very old. 

 

89, according to Alexa.

 

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

Are you planning to exhibit your creation? Does portability affect your construction criteria?

 

(a)  Not on your Nellie - Bear's Bonce isn't geared up for such things (plus I'll be 96 when it's finished...)

(b)  Only insomuch as being able to remove/replace individual boards for construction & maintenance.  I'd also like to construct it such that, in that minute 0.01% chance that someone might actually want it (or parts of) when I've snuffed it then it's do-able without trashing it.

 

1 hour ago, monkeysarefun said:

Can any deer enthusiast shed any  light on the darker deer? The speckly ones are apparently Fallow deer, but I'm not sure what the darker one is - a juvenile or something?

 

They're Deer of colour.....

[Tony_S]

47 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

Its a pity because it was cool to have an "English Cottage Garden" style look with plants that rarely needed water or went all limp when it hit 35+

I think the planners at Hyde Hall don’t have much luck. The Australian/New Zealand garden is well established now but the year after it was first planted there was a really cold winter which left a lot of bare hillside. 

[Hroth]

2 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

Can any deer enthusiast shed any  light on the darker deer? The speckly ones are apparently Fallow deer, but I'm not sure what the darker one is - a juvenile or something?

 

A number of creatures have a dark or melanistic form which occasionally crops up.  A dark pheasant looks most odd....

 

 

Or how about the not-grey seal?

 

 

It looks very sorry for itself.....

 

 

ION

 

Just been going around the uplighters in the dining room/conservatory, replacing the curly bulbs with LED ones.  Its now brighter (even with warm colour bulbs) and doesn't take an eternity for the bulbs to warm up!

 

And then lobbed chicken, onions and various veg into the slow cooker for tea!

 

Time for a coffee and mince pie!

 

Ticks all round!

 

Edited December 3, 2023 by Hroth
Other stuff done this am...

[PhilJ W]

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

We don’t get deer locally, though @PhilJ W has muntjac. Probably not enough trees here near the estuary. Where I worked in northeast London there were lots of deer. The British Deer website mentions 4 colour variations for fallow, one of which is black. 

 

1 hour ago, Winslow Boy said:

Where I lived in Buckinghamshire there was a special sub set of muntjac dear - the two inch high version due to being repeatedly run over by cars.

The muntjac all seem to have gone now, they came into the area during lockdown and were quite prolific. As hinted at by @Winslow Boy above they don't have much road sense so it's possible that the A127 and A13 have taken their toll. 

[BoD]

Managed to get out of estate.  Now on coach - let somebody else worry about driving.  No point in waving at @Barry O really thick fog. Not even patchy.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. I didn't get to bed until about one this morning. Two callouts from bladder control, just after three and just after seven. I would normally get up after the second one but as it's Sunday I had a lie in and slept until quarter past nine. That works out as seven and a half hours plus. Its warmed up overnight, 4C this morning when I got up and 6C now. When I went to bed last night it was -2C. 

[PhilJ W]

Mention of wildlife, there seems to be a lot fewer foxes around than this time last year. There is one dog fox in particular that is very conspicuous because he is obviously and diligently marking out his territory, he has visited the lampost opposite my house several times. He is a very healthy looking specimen unlike a lot of last years foxes a lot of whom were suffering from mange. However, although he has visited my garden a couple of times there is no sign of any vixens moving in like they did about this time last year. Either the pruning of the shrubs in my garden or the reduced number of foxes is having an effect.

[New Haven Neil]

Morning - checks - yes.  -2c first thing and black ice everywhere, no snaa though down here at a soaring 90 feel ASL.  Plenty up on the mountain at 2000.

 

No deer here either, roadkill tends to be hedgepigs and polecats, and the odd chicken. No badgers or snyeks either!

 

A lazy day seems to be on the cards, burner's lit and backsides getting polished.  Too cold for the garage still, would just use too much fuel.

 

@polybear it is an unfortunate fact that when it comes to move such  layouts, it is very hard indeed to avoid a lot of damage.  Also, who are.... (for whom Lewis!) are you building it?  You, or some person unknown that buys it after you croak?  It's for YOUR entertainment. (PS can you leave me the Deltic please).

[PupCam]

Morning!

 

13 hours ago, polybear said:

A bundle of fuss over a load of Marbles.....just a few quid from Woolies......

 

..... but Woolies closed about 20 years ago - Doh!

 

12 hours ago, Hroth said:

Underfloor heating?

Dead posh!!!!

 

Heating!     You've got heating!      Brrrr.    Just remembered, the thermometer now says December. We can put the heating on - Yippee! 😀

 

ION

 

I've checked my weather radar (Mk 1 Eyeball) and it's persisting down.      Mrs Puppers has nipped out to "pick up a few bits".   I was going to get the dancing girls round but instead I might nip over to the local Screwfix and pick up a new central heating programmer (well, it's December after all) as the old mechanical one ceased to fully function some considerable time ago.

 

Mrs Puppers was enquiring as to suitable Christmas presents pour moi.  I was thinking along the lines of another monstrous hard drive for all that astronomy "data" but my old PC monitor takes 30 minutes to get going now and this morning when it finally did I noticed the back light was flickering at the top.       Chrimbo present plan changed,  new monitor for Chrimbo ordered.    Still got the tricky task of finding something nice for Mrs Puppers though.

 

No bike riding today but earlier on I was thinking of going for a walk.    That's been cancelled in accordance with the outcome of the earlier weather report.    So perhaps the idea of having another play with some Jupiter data whilst supping on a hotmugocoffee and scoffing a couple of biccies seems quite appealing.   I might even put the heating on!

 

TTFN