EddieB

Well, I must say that despite VARious controversies the group stage has been thrilling. Nearly every group has gone done to the wire, qualification changing through the last matches. Some great upsets, showing that the gaps between the most fancied and the so-called lesser teams have all but closed up. No team won all three matches, none kept a clean sheet. Every team scored at least one goal. Bring on the knockout stages!

Griezman - against Tunisia.

True, but had the ball been deemed to have crossed the line, would anyone now be talking about it? Japan certainly looked like they didn’t expect the goal to be given.

Only if you drop a 'C'.

Let's face it, we English are missing a decent national anthem. Personally, I'd love to have words such as "I vow to thee my country" as set to "Jupiter" (Gustav Holst, English composer) and as used as a theme in the Rugby Union World Cup. I don't know why, why, why the Welsh sing "Delilah". Much as I like the film "Zulu", it does play a little fast and loose with the officers and men of the 24th Regiment of Foot. "Men of Harlech" wasn't sung on the morning after the battle of Rorke's Drift, but certainly pre-dates the Zulu campaign as a folk anthem. I always think of McDougall's when I hear "Flour of Scotland", only to discover that the company was founded in England!

I’ll be surprised if Ronaldo doesn’t try to claim he scored the penalty too.

I support the theory that Hornby-B17 was an escape from a factory in China where western interests were sponsoring gain of traction research...

Sorry to bring it up again, but we could’ve done with that Saudi manager. The US team were highly organised and didn’t allow England any time on the ball. By keeping the press on, doubling up on the ball carrier and stopping the short pass, we were out-thought and out-played. All too predictable. As a result, no one took charge, no ideas how to counter and a lack of movement off the ball. I reckon at least half our completed passes were the Stones - Maguire stalemate. One consolation is that we can’t afford a “dear old pals” fiasco with Wales.

Not a president, but a open car precedent when Mr and Mrs Archduke Ferdinand were shot and killed in Sarajevo. Perhaps, in the grand scheme of things, an event more impactful even than the JFK assassination.

Very spooky to drive through Dallas (a fairly ordinary US city) and turn into Elm Street at Deeley Plaza. Suddenly everything came into sharp perspective. Hardly anything had changed (1996). The dark spot in the roadway marks the fateful spot.

Enjoyable and amusing, is this Henry V before Agincourt, or set to become the biggest basis for parody since “Downfall”? Nevertheless it was instrumental in pulling off one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.

I thought this would be amusing, but I’m surprised that I wasn’t too far off. Pity that Lando never had the win that I’d hoped for, but at least George did get that first win. Otherwise it was no one outside Red Bull and Ferrari winning a race.

Well done to the referee in the Denmark - Tunisia match for reviewing the VAR and staying with his earlier decision. A fair result, and a cracking game, even if goalless. Argentina looked like a group of players that hadn’t played together before. True they’re missing Lo Celso, but surely his absence isn’t as critical as Senegal without Mané? Well played Saudi Arabia - that’s what the World Cup is all about!

No, after finishing behind Mercedes last year, winning the constructor’s title was of primary concern to Red Bull and they had it sewn up with a couple of races to go. Having their second driver finish second overall was no more than a “nice to have”, and they weren’t prepared to face up to Max and his tantrums to achieve it. Rather ironic if you remember that Checo started out with bags of talent, but was far from being a team player. Back in those days, I remarked that his aggressive style and selfish attitude had kept him out of the top seats. That changed, he became one of the best team players - saving what was Force India and helping his team mate to two driver’s titles. I’d love to see something of the old Checo return next season - run his own race, go deaf to Horner and give Max the odd elbow.

Some things are more important than football. England's opponents tomorrow may not join in their national anthem. Were they to score, a goal celebration might mimic the torture of a prisoner chained to a post, unable to reach a glass of water. The team represents a country where three years ago, a protest against rising fuel costs was put down with lethal force. Reuters identify that upwards of 1500 citizens - protesters and innocent bystanders - were killed. Fired on from rooftops or from backs of motorcycles. This year protesters have taken to the streets after a young Kurdish lady was murdered in police custody. Some 340 have been killed by the authorities, 40 of them children. Last weekend three quarters of parliamentary representatives (227) called for executions - the death penalty - to be given to any protesters captured by the state.

He had his “bad boy” moments but a little sad that Seb has now retired. He’ll be missed. It was Queen Latifi’s last race as well. Level on points with Nick DeVries. If walls had emotions, I guess they’d be quite relieved.

Well done, Charles. I feel sorry for Checo, crocodile tears and no real support from his “team”, who are unwilling to criticise their golden boy in any way.

Having watched the Max press conference again on C4, it looked as though he was about to break down in tears any moment. True it is unfair that his family have been attacked (though they have hardly been innocent in some of the things they’ve dished out), but the whole tone seemed typical of the self-centred bully - complete disregard for everyone else, but full of self-pity at the criticism he’s faced since his performance last weekend.

Leaving my Cortina at a local station, and unhitching the pitchfork from the roof-rack, I tried out the benefits of through running from the Essex direction last week. Interchange at Stratford was pretty straightforward, but I found that trains from Shenfield join the line from Abbey Wood before Whitechapel rather than Liverpool Street. (The on-board maps in the carriage showed the original plan - those on the return journey the correct arrangement). To continue beyond Paddington it was necessary to change trains - not an problem, as it meant getting out and waiting for the next service (3-minute interval). Going to/from the tunnel sections involved a short stop in both directions. (Signalling system switch over?). Coming back, there was something of a queue building outside Paddington, where terminating services interleave with those coming from Heathrow/Reading and a little lateness can cause backlogs. All very good, and I'm pleased that there is now a straightforward access to the Elizabeth line from the East. One comment - it would be helpful on the surface section from the Heathrow/Reading to Abbey Wood to make a distinction (e.g. describe as "semi-fast") for trains that don't stop at all intermediate stations. Catching a train outwards from Paddington, you can work out from the destination whether stops are made at Acton Main Line, West Ealing and Hanwell, but it's not so clear in the opposite direction. While this information is given on the describer boards, you have to wait for the display to scroll to the right page - not always easy if you're boarding in a hurry. (The Metropolitan line generally gets it right).

So CH interviewed by Lee McKenzie on C4 saying how much Max has matured over the last couple of years. Then Max doing everything to prove him wrong. Max still hasn’t learnt that, unlike the rest of the field, he cannot bully his way past Lewis. His defence to George in the Sprint was aggressive, but George showed a greater maturity in picking the right time to pass - Max doesn’t have the same ability to see the bigger picture. With Lewis on the inside at turn 1, there was never going to be room to pass into turn 2 and Max could have backed out to find a better track position to set up a possible move over the next few corners. The refusal to play the team game with Checo shows that Max is still a spoilt brat. He may be a mercurial driver, but hard to respect him as a champion.

Agreed, but the time limitation imposed must make it difficult to know what to cut out when there’s a lot of action in the race. I don’t remember seeing both Ferraris get past Perez, for example. What could be cut out is some of the repeats of overtakes already shown.

We shall remember them no longer? Today being remembrance day and I travelled around and across London. In so doing, I must have walked past, shared train carriages and generally come across around a thousand other people. During that whole time, I counted just a dozen wearing poppies. In previous years there were poppy sellers in shops, stations and streets, this year barely any. Has our nation lost its sense of history, or forgotten those who gave in recent years? This year we have cadets being refused permission to march on Sunday. At least many of the trains have poppy vinyls attached.

Italian only in the sense of a Rivarossi model, because the prototype comes from East Germany. They were designated EL16 or ASF ("Akkuschleppfahrzeug" = battery towing vehicle) and used mainly for moving larger locomotives around depots or at industrial sites. Production ran to over 500 machines, with around a quarter exported to Poland. (Before Rob asks, three went to Czechoslovakia, but I don't know where or how classified). The upright Breuer tractor (mobile convenience?) also originated in Germany and was designed to allow stock to ride up on the sloping chassis, thus adding adhesive weight. Badoni in Italy and Tampella in Finland built some under licence.

Yes, they were class T200.2 (running nos. T200.201-T200.222, with T200.220 used twice). There were variations and not all of the class members were of the "classic" Köf (diesel) or Kbf (petrol) type - e.g. T200.209 was a Deutz petrol shunter of similar type illustrated up thread (going to Mödling in Austria after the war). My Czech isn't up to looking up details, but they appear to have lasted in service on CSD until 1962, with some ending up in industrial service. Livery appears to have been red/yellow (similar to the T212.0 class).

Ok, then I'll contribute a photo of the SRT 3000 class from Henschel (DHG1200). As you say, a smaller version of the V160 and something of a standard type - I've seen similar locos in Spain (DHG1200) and Bulgaria (DHG1100 - some sold on to Argentina). Nos. 3016 and 3015 standing outside Thonburi shed, February 1991.