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Never seen this before. Thought this might be an appropriate place to post it knowing Tim will probably See it.. P

Still feeing like some sea air, and it is a nice day, so I shall head for the coast shortly, though I haven't decided on an exact destination yet. Probably somewhere with childhood memories, but not Skeggy. Photos before I go, featuring the same two locos as last night. and a B1.

I officially start my new role this morning. Shame I'm on annual leave for another week

A couple of locations on the County Durham coast today. One location in bright sunshine which is typical of the area and the other on the same day when there was a very rare overcast dull dismal spell. Hartlepool 37503 down vans 14th Feb 89 C11625.jpg Hartlepool 142025 Newcastle to Middlesbrough 14th Feb 89 C11631.jpg Hartlepool 143006 Middlesbrough to Newcastle 14th Feb 89 C11633.jpg Easington 14th Feb 89 C11641.jpg Easington Class 143 Middlesbrough to Newcastle 14th Feb 89 C11644.jpg David

Afternoon all, His ladness has taken over the dining room table as his 'working from home office' but oddly he ended hs half day at c.11.50 and then started work - I always made sure that I included the lunch hour in my half day's time off. The Good Doctor is off to the station to turn electronic whatever it is into a proper ticket as we are taking train to Southampton on Wednesday to visit the maritime training centre and its simulator(s) - presumably some sort of electronic upgrade of the pond of the old days at Wallers Ash? I wonder if it has a virtual engine room - no doubt certain ERs will require pics if it has And later this afternoon I shall be taking Mrs Stationmaster to our local (almost a) hospital for some X-Ray photography of her knees to establish the extent of arthur'sitis or whatever it is that is causing her pain. That's it for our busy day and it was homemade scones for lunch. Happy birthday to Tony and may Dorian have shot its bolt before it gets as far north as you along the US coast. Have a good day one and all

Last year I was going through security at Manchester airport and when I reached the scanner said to the guard there, "It will go off, I've got two false knees with metal in them." He told me I still had to go through the archway and, of course, the bleepers went off. "Have you got any metal on you?" he asked........... Happy birthday Tony. Have a good day. Dave

Jamie - I too have been there and done that - it is not always possible, even with the best management via Metformin and other tablets, diet management, and weight/lifestyle management to remain off insulin, if the pancreas is not making enough insulin naturally - which does happen, as I know, as I've now been on insulin for ten years, and type2, and as you know having met me, am not overly weighty. However, I just reached that stage where my pancreas was failing, but also, I am insulin resistant, so that means that I also still have to take Metformin to assist the insulin uptake, so don't be too surprised if Beth is advised to take insulin, and also Metformin - it can and does happen. I actually found that once I had my insulin dosage sorted out that I was having much better control. Morning All And generic greetings are, as ever, on offer to those ailing or celebrating. Off to LASAR soon for a few hours sorting books. My Pink Floyd memory was at Strathclyde Uni in 1970 when they were booked to perform at a gig in the Student's Union, along with Ron Geesin, and the following night an upcoming band called Yes. Well in the day that Floyd were appearing, I was in the Union having lunch when a call went out on the tannoy for anybody who wanted to get a free ticket for both gigs, and who could help with shifting equipment to go to the front of the building - the gig was on the top floor, and the artic with the equipment was at at street level. So off I went, and helped to move speakers, and all sorts of equipment cases and things to the lift, and then into the hall. Luckily all the speakers just fitted in the lift - but it was a squeeze. My reward was a free ticket to the gig, and to the Yes gig the following night - and as we had been the helpers, we were all invited to come about an hour early to the sound check, and to meet the band. By then, all the equipment was set up, and behind the speakers was a big row of tape machines with a loop of tape running the full length of them, and this was how some of the effects were done in 1970. The guys in the band were great, and really appreciated our help in getting the gear moved and set up. One of my greater memories of my uni days - I met Pink Floyd (before they were famous). And they performed live the whole of Atom Heart Mother, despite their comments that it was not their finest work - but hey- Saucerful of Secrets done live was something else. Back tomorrow Regards to All Stewart

Best way to do it. Hope there is a pay rise for the week to compensate you for all the extra responsibility that you won't have to worry about.

Good morning all. It's sunny here in the Charente. Mid 20's is forecast for today moving a bit higher later in the week. The 6 joints got made up yesterday and the frame for the bench top now exists. No weeds have been harmed in this process. 13 jars of plum jam are now on the kitchen worktop. Another 6lbs of p,ums remain to be processed. Beth has just set off to the Dr's. The possibility of insulin for her diabetes looms. I'm off to the builders merchant for some M10 threaded rod shortly. I am sure that other tasks will be suggested later. Regards to all. Jamie

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2019/09/01/sandys-treatment-day-257/

' Morning all from red dragon land. Gorgeous sunshine when I got up and expecting to get some outside work put in BUT... black clouds have arrived...so who knows? A blast of a playtime at the weekend. Down Up the A5 and stop off at Llangollen for coffee break and see GWR 6430 arrive in the platform at Carrog. On to Welshpool Raven Square Station for lunch, a train ride on the 5 inch gauge Simplex and walk round the exhibition shed - target: Mannin Middle. One I have seen before and wanted to see again. I must say - a clever idea! Then back west to Llanfair Caereinion Leisure Centre for the garden railway show and afternoon tea - bought myself some 16mm pobl bach, little people cutting slates - and with a choice of heads. How wonderful is that? I am now thinking of a little diorama for the new terrace or garden using some of our rubble leftover slate.... Back down the road to Llanfair Caereinion Station for the 17.00 to Welshpool and back but a bit of a delay on the return. The train stopped in the vicinity of Hanged Man's Tree on the steep curves. Sometime later, clinker removed, the fire going once again, steam pressure up and sun going down, we were back in time for the Evening's Entertainment of burger bar, music, and steamy night atmosphere amongst locos and traction engines. Then back to the hotel. Now the website did warn that it was situated on a Service Area (as is usual for a weekend stay somewhere) but no-one said there would be lorries unloading their wares into a superstore, loudly rumbling and banging continuously for 90mins or so immediately BELOW us at 4 in the morning. Who's clever idea was that to design such a feature? One for a layout, maybe, with little old lady in long bleached white nightgown and cap stretched halfway through an old terraced house sash window, in the middle of the night, shouting because of the noise of rumbling and banging wagons below her bedroom, though barely seen through the smoke and steam of the shunting engine! (...and no, I did not get up in the middle of the night. Ray went down to the desk and asked if we could change rooms but "We're full." Not according to bookaroomhere.com! but hey-ho. Bleary eyed, we set off for Telford and our lateness, due to time spent putting in our complaint at the hotel desk, gave us a quick entry to the show and plenty of time to do our usual round the traders with short stop for coffee, followed by lunch and then the layouts. Top of my shopping list was a 7mm sheepdog for Trip-Titch, found within minutes at Duncan's Models (TBH, I asked if they had one), although the pack just says "The Dog" but it is just the job - superb, in fact. A few items bought between us, including a couple of BR Mk1 suburbans form Ellis Clark for the new layout, gives us room to vary the stock for exhibition. Both of us found Sherton Abbas the one to eye up in respect of our new layout as it has similar concepts. I always find it helpful to go and see how others make these ideas work beforehand so you know you are not barking at the wrong sheep! Phone call. Excellent news - we are getting a full refund from the Hotel. My goodness, is it lunch time already? Er...hum? Well, we were not, exactly, early risers this morning! Have a trouble free day... Best wishes to all. _______ Polly If you were at Telford/Welshpool/Llanfair you may have seen me - the little old lady in the bowler. Next time, come and say hello. And if I failed to spot any of you, apologies...

Happy Birthday Tony. Best Concert.. Genesis with Pete Gabriel in the group. Bets free concert.. Santana.. sat outside the Student Union at Leeds Uni.. all free!! Must admit though the Kaiser Chiefs are pretty good live. and now..back to some more train fettling! Baz

Greetings from the boring borough. Rather autumnal this morning. Home again after last week's deep dive into the workings of Murphy's law. The only bits I didn't hate were the dinner Thursday night at a rather traditional German restaurant. Many of the others complained about the food, but I liked it. Friday afternoon when I had some free time, I managed to escape the rest and find solace in the beer garden of BRLO's brauhaus. 10 rather good beers were sampled and made the Friday evening a bit more tolerable. The rest of the weekend was quiet. Offspring came over Sunday for BBQ. One of the last times this will happen on a regular basis as he is following his girlfriend north and has accepted a job with Clydesdale in Carlisle. Happy Birthday Tony. That's about it. Enjoy your day.

Hope that the move goes well for you Stu. At least it sou ds as if you will start in daylight. For some obscure reason I always seemed to start a new posting on night shift. Thus I ended up not having a clue what the area looked like in daylight (probably a bonus for some towns). The other bonus was that none of the senior managers ever showed their faces. Also many happy returns to transatlantic Tony. By the way, Beth is not on i sulin yet. A new drug and another blood test are being organised. Jamie

The grammar school I went to had as two of its pupils (3 years ahead of me) Paul McCartney and George Harrison. When I was in the first and second years they sometimes used to practice in one of the music rooms, usually with an audience. Then when they started appearing at the Cavern a lot of us would go there during lunch hour to see them - strictly forbidden by the school authorities but we didn't let that influence us too much. Two other pupils there were Stu Slater of the Mojos and Les McGuire of the Pacemakers. Dave

Mick, I’ve seen both the Aussie PF Show and BritFloyd. Both attempt to deliver the music and style of Pink Floyd as near as they can to “the real thing” so yes, in some ways it can be disappointing. That said, for a generation of fans, that is all you can now get given the demise of original members and the rather public splits. Best live band in my opinion (not having seen PF in their heyday) remains The Eagles and that despite seeing most of the big names of the 60’s live. The sun shines on KZ Towers whilst dumpers, tippers and diggers raise dust on the nearby site and yes, we not only have cowboys but one or two Indians too, noticeable by their lack of hard hats and with turbans as an alternative. A steady day is planned, talking to the Sports Club chairman this morning, downloading last night’s images and having a session on the golf range / practice area later prior to a round of golf with an old playing partner at his home course tomorrow. He is currently undergoing chemo prior to surgery for bladder cancer so needs to be given the chance to do “normal things” as much as possible.

Ey up! Yesterday was "S" day..when the returning students collect the keys to this years rented accommodation. Cue chaos on the roads! No longer will Headingley be available to locals. Spare seats in anywhere selling drinks (both alchoholic and non alchoholic) will be at a premium. Frabjoy! It is sunny but cool here this morning. Sleep has been caught up (now back to an average of 8 hours a night!) Lots to do today..repairs to be made, house work to be done (no instructions yetfrom her indoors). We await a quote for some repair work. If he can get it sorted this will be followed by our painter to paint the external walls and 2 doors. Positive thoughts to all who ail. Have a good day! Baz

Good morning all, A nice sunny start here and it should stay dry but may cloud over later. Waiting in for a couple of deliveries today. The garden furniture has been given a 3 hour slot this afternoon but other stuff is coming at any time up till 9pm. At some stage I'll have to go to the dump to get rid of the old furniture but it's normally too busy on a Monday morning so will probably leave it until tomorrow. House painter is coming this afternoon to make a start. There is some touching up to do around the new windows on the rear and side of the house but the rest of the paintwork there is OK. The front of the house which gets sun for most of the day is a different matter and needs doing completely. I was thinking of tackling it myself but The Knee is not up to it and I don't fancy falling off a ladder if it gives way. I've not had any mishaps for a while and intend to keep it that way. Have a good one, M.R. Bump.

Morning All, A definite cool down has taken place. According to the weather experts, we have seen the last of the 30°C weather for this year. We had 10°C on the way to work this morning! The weekend rushed past rather quickly. Most of Saturday was spent sorting out our coat and shoe cupbord in the hall. It is a walk in cupboard which has been used in a "throw it in, and close the door" way for a while now. It was high time we sorted things out - but of course the job was more involved than we expected. Having said that, the time was well invested because it look a lot better now. Have a good day everyone...

Good morning one and all A lengthy and welcome e-conversation with Harry yesterday indicates that he and I have somehow managed to draw back from the brink of falling out completely after I had feared the worst. Something has scared him into seeking to reduce his use of technology. This is in general and not just social media, which he asserts is not good for mental health. An app which shows you how often you use your phone has had quite an effect on him. It says something when an employee of Amazon wants to use less technology! As it happens, it was social media that brought us together. In the form of Messenger it provides our only means of communication. What happens next is bound to be interesting but is set to include a holiday in Athens that he should find beneficial. All this meant that lunch was once again very late but I’m prepared to wait till after 4 pm if there is a good reason. Sirloin steak is sirloin steak whatever time it is served. Today will be another manic Monday, with a trip to the bank to order some Czech currency, the weekly donation to charity that is the purchase of lottery tickets and dealing with the pile of ironing that somehow looks threatening. In the next few days I need to sort out a weekend bag for Wakefield and prepare for a couple of other absences. There is an embarrassment of other jobs which need doing – more than I feel like tackling, if I’m honest. Best wishes to all Chris

We had a great day in New York. Now en route to Bar Harbor. Tony

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Many happy returns Tony and many more of 'em. Have to get a replacement bath mat to replace the one that I had to dump yesterday. Luckily the main floor covering in the bathroom is washable. A couple of weeks ago the council sent the gang round to prune the planting adjacent to my house. Their usual practice is to hack everything down to within an inch of its life. This year they have only done half of the usual hacking and one large shrub has been left with a Mohican haircut. Not so bad is that some of the shrubs will have more fruit and berries for the birds to feed on over the winter.

Mooring Awl, Inner Temple Hare, A good nights sleep of 5.5 hours + 1.5hours.. Well communication has been established with my sailing compatriot, he never was one for reading or writing although he can do it no problem.. He's now stuck in hospital for some weeks and having to use his Ipad.. Meanwhile my Dad has been let out of Hospital.. Straight from ICU...another change of drugs. His main problem is COPD, caused by two things, smoking for thirty years having been told to by a doctor (early 1960s) , and being daft enough to volunteer for Porton Down in the 1950's.. I'm convinced my Dad is sensitive to drug like me..Though he hasn't got Malignant Hyperpyrexia. No major systems this week, so a chance to catch up on all the shrapnel, those little annoying bits and pieces that have to be cleared.. Definately cooler this morning, and a lot more traffic as the rugrats go back to school. One of my routes to and from work was cut off by the NDR, another has road works on it, and the best route also has road works for a new gas main where at the moment that has reached.... the road outside a primary school.. wonderful timing.. I'll have to use the much longer 4th route. the one the council try to push you on to.. Right ti's 07:00 Time to check the company Spam..

Evenin' each, Latish birthday greetings to Tony and I hope you have many more. All parcels arrived as they should and the garden furniture is excellent and a bargain buy spotted by Her Bossness. Painter turned up early and has already done lots of touching in round the new windows at the rear and side of the house. I took the car to be washed by the Romanian chappies and chappesses down the road who made their usual good job of it. I was asked by one of them "How you like Romanian car?" (Mine's a Dacia Duster) I told him I liked it quite a lot. I think I've mentioned before that it is pretty basic by today's standards but it is robust, reliable, economical and goes like a good'un up hills. It'll do me for now. Tonight's anaesthetic is Black Label Shiraz. Not three bad at all. Might have another glass (or two) in a minute.

Hi all, Not a huge amount to report from WW recently. The sound upgrade to WW's Bachmann 47s is now complete and GW Green 47500 and InterCity Swallow 47834 are now nearing completion, so I hope to post some pics of those soon. I have squeezed in a couple of running sessions recently though, so I thought I'd post a few pics... 47710 arrives at Waverley from Glasgow Queen Street... ...and then departs not long after... ...followed by a 4-car DMU lash-up bound for Fife... A sunny day by the riverside... Meanwhile, 47001 is in for attention over at Haymarket MPD... ...as is 37692... I have a fair few more to post, but I've reached the upload limit now, so I'll be back! Cheers for now, Dave

My dad was in ICU till yesterday, they didn't have his visit there a couple of weeks before, on his records. The Squirrels have decided they have a new super highway, a couple of years back they replaced the old triple uninsulated wires between the electricity poles with a triple twisted insulated cable arrangement. the Squirrels now run along that much to the annoyment of Ben the Border Collie.. Unless you count a two piece folk group in the Sgts Mess on Benbecula, or a Entertainment triple performing the Mikado in the Officiers mess in the Falklands. I've never been to a concert.. Come to that I've never been to a disco, unless you count very loud music? being played at a Christmas dinner (I take ear plugs).

I got round that one by carrying a wee photo of an x-ray of my elbow in my wallet! So far, I have only used it on other hospital matters, like "do you have any metal inserts?" What does get me is: you go to A&E/other dept. in the same hospital - with all your records to hand!!!! - and they DON'T look it up! And I am not the most reliable person for remembering all my medical history...but there we go.

A quiet morning in the valley at Cwm Bach after Guildex.

Payrise was actually backdated to start of last month as I'd made a start on the necessary migration SQL.

I'm just half way through a van building program at the moment. Here's the present lot, the front line and one or two on the back line ready for the weathering paint shop.... The front three are old Airfix vans with a new chassis, most of the rest are Parkside.

Good morning everyone We have had some rain overnight, quite a bit by the looks of damp garden, although no rain is forecast until late evening, there are a few dark clouds in the sky. Breakfast has been consumed and a cake that I left soaking overnight is now in the oven. Sheila is now occupying the kitchen as she gets herself ready for her Zumba class. Once she’s gone, I’ll once again head downstairs to the cellar and start brandishing the paint brush as make a start on applying the first coat of gloss paint. Enjoy the day, back later.

Cute place but awfully touristy. Lobster with everything! Brian.

Good evening everyone What a funny old day it’s been here in the northwest of England. Bright sunny spells, followed by heavy showers, followed by more sunny spells, then more showers, etc etc, and so it was for most of the day, the rain finally stopping around 7 o’clock this evening. Anyway, a little more progress has been made in the cellar, I’ve given the storage area door a couple of coats of undercoat along with the framework within which it resides. I also gave the stringers of staircase another coat of undercoat, as the original colour was very dark before and you could still see a few patchy areas. A few other small fiddly jobs were done as well and hopefully, sometime tomorrow I’ll start applying the top coat to the staircase and all the other bits that will eventually be added to it. I also saw Pink Floyd in the 70’s, best one of the best live acts I’ve seen, some my find this controversial, but my favourite (and Sheila’s for that matter) album by them is “Wish You Were Here” I never get tired of listening to it. Goodnight all Shine on you crazy diamond

Evening. Happy Birthday, Tony. That was a day, that was. Busy and two staff down (50/50 holidays sickness) but we got there. Made a quick call to the orthopod team after the discussions here over the weekend regarding MRI and internal metalwork - apparently the warning I was given was 'at the time' immediately post surgery V1.0 when there was more in there and potentially loose, or at least not totally secure. Now after surgery V2.0 it would be possible heating issues but 'should be OK'. I was looking for a slightly more positive response! All the subsequent scans after initial surgery were CT, which now I think about it was when I was told about avoiding MRI - I wish they would make their minds up. There's also some metal bits in the hip but they're not an issue apparently. GP surgery was a bit 'what foot surgery?' sort of response when I called there first. #sigh#.

Sorry I failed to notice Tony S's birthday, have a good day and a great holiday!

Just went out to fetch the milk in when I heard something hit the fence about three feet behind me. It turned out to be a squirrel jumping onto the fence from the flat roof of the porch. He either didn't notice my presence or just ignored it and proceded to stroll along the fence before jumping into the shrubery.

This loco has been in my collection for a quite a while after I purchased it secondhand of flea bay. It started it's life as 1420 which is way to out of era even for me plus it had GWR writing on the tank. So the other day I fancied working on it so now it has reverted back to its original number of 4820 and with the nice GWR monogram. Here it is after a few days work, still needs a bit more... Hang on, the driver is shouting something to me 'w......ic...d...h...ass...umb...pl...e' What, speak up I can't hear you! 'Who's nicked the brass number plate?' No one, its still in the post....don't worry about it they will be fitted once it arrives.... The other thing is the driver face looks a bit featureless, better get the makeup out ready for the next photo shoot. Funny what you don't see until you take some pictures. General question For all my locos I have been using Fox transfers for the buffer beam numbers but they look a little large to me on this loco and had to be spaced very tightly to get them to fit. Has anybody else had this problem and if so what transfers do you use. All answers appreciated

Quick further reply re concerts. I never got chance to see the Beatles, unlike a cousin, or Pink Floyd. However one great experience was Wings, first ever concert at Nottingham Uni, cost 50p. So I have seen one Beatle who was raw but very good. Best Free Concert was sat in Hyde Park on Saturday afternoon watching Heads Hands and Feet, Humble Pie and Grand Funk Railroad. Though I did catch some of McFly from the car park outside Guildex one evening. However the best concert must be the Stones at Old Trafford last June. Jamie

I think you mean Bah Hahbah.

Never got to see the real PF, but a few years ago, I went to see "The Australian Pink Floyd Show" at the Manchester Arena. Somehow, we had tickets on the front row. It was actually a bit of a let-down because they were too perfect. Close your eyes and it was just like listening at home with a large pair of speakers. There were no imperfections/alterations/compromises that you expect at a live show, which took away the moment of being there.

Then I must be in the minority! At 34 years of age I can see a lot of potential in even the most moth eaten of models. I have over the past few years have picked up kit built wagons cheaply from Ellis Clark Trains ( other traders are available) at a few of the bigger shows, often they have damaged brake gear or are fitted with unusual couplings. I buy them, strip them, replace any couplings with three link couplings (if not already fitted), repair any damage ( usually having to scratch build missing gear from plastic strip), paint, transfer and varnish. The attached picture shows my workbench of organised chaos. All but three of these box vans are rescue kits, the rest having been built by me from new PECO Parkside kits. Why do I rescue these kits? Because I can get them cheap and I know I can do them justice, I get immense pleasure from seeing something battered returned to its former glory or in most cases better than they’ve ever been.

Today I have done nearly all of the things I planned to do, which is not bad. I have also identified a sudden desire to go to the seaside, so I intend to do that tomorrow. This golf free thing seems to be working well. Tonight's pictures then. Another WD on the way to Ferme Park, and more lighting experiments. Coming Down, the White Rose is diesel hauled again today.

Evening all. I was in a band at school and joined another when I was an apprentice, we supported a lot of bands when we played at the local uni's round the midlands, so saw a heck of a lot of bands in the '60's then in the 70's after I finished my apprenticeship I worked as a sound engineer, did a lot of agency work, mostly with American bands on the college/uni circuit, jacked it in and left London and went back home to Leicester in '74. Took up playing rugby and didn't really see many bands after that. Joan Armatrading was the last act I saw when she visited Arbroath, very good she was too. Madness were at the "Mofest" in Montrose last week, but didn't bother going as it was raining, too old for these festivals now lol. Got a bit more muddling done today as the showers put paid to my outside jobs, can't stop playing....er I mean running my loco with the sound on it, proper addictive, watching another just now.

D6322 on Shed by Pete Piszczek, on Flickr

As the owner of an MGB, I agree with Joseph's view. I didn't by it for performance but to enjoy some relaxed motoring and meeting others who have an interest in older cars. Over several years I have found owners of other older "classic" cars are very amenable, pleasant people. Yesterday I took the MGB roadster to a new classic car event at Glemham Hall (on the A12 between Ipswich and Lowestoft). Not very well promoted but the organisers had managed to get several clubs and dealers to attend. There were lots of Mini's and a BMW Owners Club display (largely ignored by visitors). Several TEAL Replica Bugatti's were on show, together with an original Bugatti Type 23, but I couldn't get a decent photo of those. Jaguar E type Coupes were also fairly well represented.

Some from last night, donny to Toton with a stud farm train new units in donny and my train in Doncaster VQ ready to pull out and run up to st caths to run round and head back to Toton, last minute loco swap as when I prepped the loco in down decoy the GSM radio handset wasn’t working on 66745 so I couldn’t take it and swapped to 66766 rugby to craven arms tonight

Busy few days at work. Golf on Thursday was good. As I said in a previous report, we only needed 1 team point to secure our place in the league away at Burnley. If they beat us 12-0, then they would go above us. We were second group out and had a slow start, 3 down after 5, but a win on the 6th to steadied the ship. we then gave away three soft halves in the next few holes, but also taking wins, to go 1 up after 12. Two up after 15 and then a half on the 16th meant that we could not then be beaten being 2 up with 2 to play. Dormie two for those in the know. We were aware that our pair in front were 1 down, so at least we knew we had done enough for the much needed point. A conceded hole by our opponents on the 17th and we won 3&1, later learning that our pair in front had halved their game on the 18th for the point. Then pairings 3 & 4 return with wins also, games 5&6 losing, leading to a team win of 10-5, our best away result of the year - saved to the last round. So far, I've played 3 times for the team away at Burnley, recording a half and 2 wins, so it's a good hunting ground for me. League President's day on Thursday - we play as singles, but all our scores count to an overall team winner. A long tough track at Berrington, near Rainford. Then more golf day on Friday - our club Captain's "Away Day" at Kirkby Lonsdale - a pretty course to play if it's dry. Thursday night is the "shirt launch" at Blackburn Hawks, where they show off the new kit and introduce the team to the fans. Junior NB and myself are planning to go. No doubt I'll get the "can you buy me a shirt please" from Junior......... and my reply will be "only if you buy me one.." The pre-season starts with a friendly weekend against Widnes WIld. We can get to the home match Saturday, but away Sunday is unlikely. Their rink is quite close to a well known purveyor of MR items....... The home rink has been resurfaced over the summer break and the infamous hump has been removed. The flat ice may take some getting used to..... Must get on and finish my magazine article. Catch up later. Have a good week folks. Cheers, Mick

Grandad has been a very naughty boy. He was aloud out to go to Telford for the weekend provided he was back by 13.00 hours on Sunday and he came back with this.

My son was doing a guitar tech role in Manchester for a band called Breaks Coop a few years ago whilst their normal techie resolved a personal issue. Consequently, he was offered passes for their show as a support act at Hyde Park. The headline act was Roger Waters doing Dark Side with Nick Mason guesting on drums - magic night and the atmosphere of cannabis over the audience saved us making any joints - Jamie style or not

Friends visiting and then out to a pub lunch and a stroll by the river until we found a bench to sit on and watch the world go by - like OFs do. Both of them are now fully recovered from recentish operations to remove tumours and all seems to be going well. The pub lunch was very good unlike yesterday's visit made by myself and Mrs Stationmaster to Root One where the café appears to be suffering a serious decline. My supposed meal of Cumberland sausages, chips and baked beans - came with but a single sausage (from a different Cumberland from the one I was expecting) and cost £8.99 while Mrs Stationmaster's pasty arrived with warm pastry and a cold interior - which was quickly returned as she rather fancied something to eat rather than going in for a bout of food poisoning - its replacement was hot all the way through. Noticeably the lady who normally seems to be in charge and keeping the others on their toes was absent which we can but hope might only be temporary but patronage was definitely low for a Saturday lunch time. anyway I have duly given them a right hammering on Trip Advisor and it will be interesting to see if that produces any sort of positive reaction. I might give them one more chance for breakfast; however I noticed that another customer wasn't exactly tucking into his breakfast so maybe all was not well there either? A great shame as I've always held them in high regard until now - just shows how easy it can be to lose the touch (as has also happened in a local restaurant where the food remains great but the service has become extremely amateurish and off-putting).