Wright writes.....

[MJI]

23 minutes ago, john new said:

Fully concur. Across the board sports commentators on TV are so bad these days I usually watch with the sound off. The other thing for cricket is the stump mikes picking up inane comments, often in the language of players who don’t speak English plus bursts of unwanted (by me) stupid music blaring in the ground. Fortunately radio is generally still listenable to.

 

I liked Murray Walker

[Tony Wright]

Thanks for all the offers of the Bachmann B1 tender bodies/complete tenders. Folk are really generous, aren't they? 

 

I'll be selling any surplus for CRUK.

 

 

[Dunsignalling]

1 hour ago, Steamport Southport said:

 

Worst one I've come across was the recent Super Bowl on ITV.

 

Not the normal American commentary, but someone from Britain that didn't seem to fully understand the game apart from the basics!

 

Next year I'll try and find it online with an American commentary from someone who knows things like tactics and plays.

 

 

 

Jason

 

Chess with violence, and with so many advert breaks a match takes hours. No thanks. 

 

[Steamport Southport]

4 minutes ago, Dunsignalling said:

 

Chess with violence, and with so many advert breaks a match takes hours. No thanks. 

 

 

It doesn't though!

 

An average American Football match takes less time to play than a Premier League football match does....

 

You only have four quarters of 15 minutes and the clock is counting down constantly unless the ball is out of play. Then a two minute warning,

 

What Americans do is make a day of it. They get to the ground early, have a tailgate party and watch the pre match entertainment.

 

PL football matches are generally 45 minutes plus about 5 to 10 minutes added on time per half. Can be longer depending on VAR. If a cup match goes to extra time and penalties then you aren't getting out of the ground much before Midnight if it's an Eight O'clock kick off.

 

 

[Dunsignalling]

9 minutes ago, Steamport Southport said:

 

It doesn't though!

 

An average American Football match takes less time to play than a Premier League football match does....

 

You only have four quarters of 15 minutes and the clock is counting down constantly unless the ball is out of play. Then a two minute warning,

 

What Americans do is make a day of it. They get to the ground early, have a tailgate party and watch the pre match entertainment.

 

PL football matches are generally 45 minutes plus about 5 to 10 minutes added on time per half. Can be longer depending on VAR. If a cup match goes to extra time and penalties then you aren't getting out of the ground much before Midnight if it's an Eight O'clock kick off.

 

 

YAWN

[Steamport Southport]

Just now, Dunsignalling said:

YAWN

 

A bit like your post then. 

 

Why someone feels they should mock something that others like is baffling.

 

 

 

[Dunsignalling]

17 hours ago, Steamport Southport said:

 

A bit like your post then. 

 

Why someone feels they should mock something that others like is baffling.

 

 

 

Not mocking.

 

I have tried to watch American football, but wasn't able to work out what the hell was going on or (even less) why, and it didn't enthuse me to find out more! 

 

I concluded it might be one of those isolationist sports invented so as Americans didn't need to get beaten by other nations while they got the hang of theirs. 😇

 

 

Edited March 20 by Dunsignalling
even less

[lezz01]

The problem with AF is that it's 90% set plays and it structured for TV. I find it very tedious to watch and feel the same about baseball. They do have a cricket team but it's made up of Asians and South Africans.  The only American sport worth watching IMO is Ice Hockey now that is exciting. Even motorsport in the states is all whizz and no bang. It's all about the show and not about the sport although I quite like red neck taxi racing (NASCAR). The two road races they run are good fun to watch. They also have two of the best race tracks in the world Laguna Seka and Road America, I'd love to see WEC and F1 around both of them.   

Regards Lez.   

Edited March 19 by lezz01

[Jesse Sim]

Tony, I have a B1 tender, I’ll swap it for say… a K2?? Done. Lock her in. No take backs or do overs. Pinky promise. 

[Tony Wright]

32 minutes ago, Jesse Sim said:

Tony, I have a B1 tender, I’ll swap it for say… a K2?? Done. Lock her in. No take backs or do overs. Pinky promise. 

Good evening Jesse,

 

Let me think about it, please.

 

I've thought about it (for a millisecond), so undone! 

 

Seriously, despite at least three B1 tenders arriving in the next few days, I've persevered today with the one where the original lining 'reacted' to the paint.

 

And...........

 

 

Amazingly, with a further rub-down and repaint, I've now lined/lettered/numbered the whole loco and tender today and I think I've got away with it. 

 

I've tried lining with a bow pen, but all I do is cock-up, so it's down to transfer lining (in this case some old KEMCO BR mixed traffic lining, which went on fine - unlike a more-recent product which was hopelessly misaligned). 

 

Now no professional painter would use transfer lining (except for transfer paper they paint themselves, for the likes of boiler bands). The transfer lining is far too coarse and doesn't have the thin cream line.

 

However,

 

 

I built this V2, and painted/lined it in exactly the same way as the B1, but sable-applied enamel dry-brush weathering has toned it right down. 

 

Thus............

 

 

 

On a layout, in action, I think my artisan, non-professional finish is adequate. 

 

Anyway, it's done in the spirit of self-reliance, something I regularly advocate (though not always with personal success). In fact, showing my hypocrisy, I'll hand the B1 over to Geoff Haynes to weather (I'm in credit).

 

He weathered this other V2 I painted after mechanically rebuilding it...............

 

 

Which, if you recall, came from you - in hideous green! Geoff lined the valance prior to weathering it.

 

 

Again, as a 'layout loco', I think my basic painting is adequate.

 

For all those who are sending B1 tenders, thanks again, and fear not. They'll all be put to good use.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

[Tony Wright]

Some little time ago there were comments regarding how 'square' chassis can be distorted when a loco body is attached.

 

I mentioned that I use little pads of thin Pastikard to 'balance' any discrepancy.

 

However,

 

 

I also use strips of shim brass, soldered in place, to achieve the same solution; as seen here underneath the back end of my latest DJH A1. 

 

 

[Northmoor]

7 hours ago, Steamport Southport said:

Not the normal American commentary, but someone from Britain that didn't seem to fully understand the game apart from the basics!

 

"That was an incredible six seconds of sport.  Twenty men have just run into and wrestled each other, all of whom - except someone who threw the ball forward and got caught by another player who has also been wrestled to the ground - ignored the ball.  Now lets watch the teams talk about it for a few minutes".

 

I don't mean to mock your interest, the above just represents my bafflement (s that a word?) at American Football.  I am surprised American's don't understand the point of cricket, when baseball is similarly all about The Stats. [By the way, I highly recommend any British visitor wanting to learn about American culture, to visit the Babe Ruth Museum in Baltimore.  I learned more in two hours there than a longer visit to the Smithsonian].

 

I like Test Cricket - cricket is Dad's game and that obviously rubbed off on me a bit - but like Dad I don't "get" 20:20.  I really don't get the point of The Hundred; it seems to be an attempt to attract people whose attention spans cannot cope with 120 balls, or can't stay sober for long enough to see the whole game.  It's like the IoM TT trying to attract people who think all motor racing should be banned - they're never going to be interested!  Ignore them. 

Edited March 19 by Northmoor

[DenysW]

23 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

I am surprised American's don't understand the point of cricket, when baseball is similarly all about The Stats.

The American view of cricket (when I lived out there) was that historically it had been played by toffs, and the action all took place where no-one could see it close up. Baseball could be played by kids on sandlots, and as stickball on backstreets, and you can get very close to the action in the best-placed (and highest priced) seats. Baseball is really all about Winning, something that seems to have mostly passed cricket by. The Stats help you understand why one lot won, or why the decisions were made, but it's still the Winning that matters.

[APOLLO]

There's only one game worth watching. 

 

 

RIP Inga.

 

Brit15

 

[St Enodoc]

9 hours ago, john new said:

Fully concur. Across the board sports commentators on TV are so bad these days I usually watch with the sound off. The other thing for cricket is the stump mikes picking up inane comments, often in the language of players who don’t speak English plus bursts of unwanted (by me) stupid music blaring in the ground. Fortunately radio is generally still listenable to.

I haven't watched cricket on TV for years. I used to watch with the sound turned down and the radio commentary on but with all the razzmatazz of the TV presentation and, especially, the loss of synchronisation between the TV and radio feeds following digitalisation (is that a word?), I've given up and just listen to the radio where, as has been said before, the pictures are much better.

[Barry Ten]

After a busy couple of months I was able to get back to some modelling over the last couple of days, starting with this laser-cut kit for an LB&SCR signal box which I found to be a very enjoyable little project. Still a few things to be done on it, of course, as well as an interior.

 

 

The kit is from railmodel.co.uk - worth looking at their range as they have some nice items in 4 and 7mm.

 

Cheers, Al

 

[davefrk]

At the risk of saying 'me to', here is my newly done Midland signal box in the NE regional colours as done when the NE region took over the Wharfedale line in the fifties and repainted everything.

 

Churchward etched brass kit modified and detailed, painting style copied from photos of boxes on the line.

 

Dave.

Edited March 20 by davefrk

[gr.king]

If the annoyance with modern sports commentary extends to Rugby Union, and your only fluent language is English, try watching the "Clwb Rygbi" on S4C. You won't understand any more than the very occasional word of the commentary...

[APOLLO]

I always liked the old NE region colours of light blue & white with orange nameboards. Many of there colour light signals with long hoods were distinctive to the region also. I have one of the last NE region timetables with an orange cover, from 1967 if I remember. Not very thick compared to others !!

 

 

Brit15

 

 

[polybear]

1 hour ago, gr.king said:

If the annoyance with modern sports commentary extends to Rugby Union, and your only fluent language is English, try watching the "Clwb Rygbi" on S4C. You won't understand any more than the very occasional word of the commentary...

 

I once listened to a conversation in Welsh - the workmate talking inserted the word "Zebra" into the conversation.

After he'd finished I queried this, wondering why there wasn't a word for Zebra in Welsh.

 

"Ah, but Welsh is a very old and ancient language - and there aren't any Zebras in Wales" he replied.

 

"What about Zebra Crossings - you've got those!" says I.

 

At that point he got the 'ump and disappeared.

[cctransuk]

3 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

I once listened to a conversation in Welsh - the workmate talking inserted the word "Zebra" into the conversation.

After he'd finished I queried this, wondering why there wasn't a word for Zebra in Welsh.

 

"Ah, but Welsh is a very old and ancient language - and there aren't any Zebras in Wales" he replied.

 

"What about Zebra Crossings - you've got those!" says I.

 

At that point he got the 'ump and disappeared.

 

There was a time - not so bad nowadays - that, if you walked into a pub in, say, Blaenau Ffestiniog, the conversation instantly changed from English to Welsh.

 

But that was in the time of 'Come home to a living fire - buy a cottage in Wales'! 😀

 

CJI.

[Barry Ten]

11 hours ago, davefrk said:

At the risk of saying 'me to', here is my newly done Midland signal box in the NE regional colours as done when the NE region took over the Wharfedale line in the fifties and repainted everything.

 

Churchward etched brass kit modified and detailed, painting style copied from photos of boxes on the line.

 

Dave.

 

That looks very nicely done, and I've always liked that regional livery.

[Mark Laidlay]

On 19/03/2024 at 16:51, Tony Wright said:

Good morning John,

 

From the days of the great cricket commentators; along with Brian Johnston, there were the likes of John Arlott, Peter West and Jim Swanton to entertain and educate us about the gentlemen's game.

 

Last night, I watched a 20-20 final on telly from Pakistan; certainly entertaining and exciting (though being non-partisan, I cared not who won), but some of the commentary was akin to being excoriated! Good (even great) cricketers the commentators might have been, but there their talents ceased (this is even more so with football commentators). 

 

What about the other great cricket quotes, such as 'The bowler's Holding, the batsman's Willey' or 'He's just got his leg over' or 'Botham has just clipped one of Thompson's balls all the way to the boundary'? At least one is attributed to the 'master'. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Alan McGillvray was the "sound of summer" in Australia.  And wasn't Lillee, caught Willey, bowled Dilley?

[Andy Hayter]

1 hour ago, cctransuk said:

 

There was a time - not so bad nowadays - that, if you walked into a pub in, say, Blaenau Ffestiniog, the conversation instantly changed from English to Welsh.

 

But that was in the time of 'Come home to a living fire - buy a cottage in Wales'! 😀

 

CJI.

 

Indeed.  Climbing friends of mine, both of Scots origin, had that exactly happen to them in that area.

 

They had between them around 6 sentences in Scottish Gaelic.  So for a couple of minutes they discussed/

The sun was hot today

Yes but the bus only runs on Saturdays ................

 

And suddenly everyone in the pub was talking English.

[2750Papyrus]

On 19/03/2024 at 07:21, Tony Wright said:

Good morning John,

 

From the days of the great cricket commentators; along with Brian Johnston, there were the likes of John Arlott, Peter West and Jim Swanton to entertain and educate us about the gentlemen's game.

 

 

I think the last of the "old school" commentators was Henry Blofeld.  I can remember him not following the Loughborough scientific sporting theories voiced by a then-recently retired cricketer.

 

"Henry, how on earth did you get to Cambridge?" he was asked.

 

He replied "Well, actually, my father took me in the Bentley".