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Morning all. An almost dry and mostly muppet free run in to work today which was nice (and surprising, as I was a few minutes later than usual and it normally gets worse the later I leave home). Hopefully get my hands dirty today, I'm migrating back to my home department in the next few weeks and will be being responsible for a test rig so I'm getting acquainted with it today. This will make a pleasant change after a year of mostly paperwork and failing to buy machines (mostly due to shifting financial priorities within the company). It's been interesting to see another aspect of the company (and the whole point of our grad scheme here, unusually long at 5 years, is that you move around and see as many aspects of the business on this site as you can- I managed to get rather pigeonholed and have only had one placement but at least it was in manufacturing) but frustrating at times and it'll be nice to be back "home". Trouble is most of our projects (be it design & development of a new product or specifying, purchasing and commissioning new machinery) take 2/3 years +. Not sure if anyone else here uses the Co Op as their energy supplier. Realised mid last year that I hadn't been billed for some time despite paying the direct debit. However they were having loads of trouble with their new online system and said to be patient. Eventually (November!) we managed to get on and check everything, no bill since Dec. 2014 and showing 0 usage on one of the meters. Laura phoned up and spoke to someone, there are now both meter readings showing but still no bill and for some inexplicable reason they've credited me £2500 in two chunks, labelled as "corrections"- I'm not complaining, but I'm pretty sure that's not my money... Phoned again last night and the very pleasant young lady on the phone said she'd endeavour to get it sorted this week. Daft thing is they managed to lose a meter a couple of years ago too! Every time I've had reason to call them the staff have been extremely friendly and helpful but their system is pants. Be interesting to see the outcome- I'm sure I've paid in more than I've used so I should be due a refund (this is the house that is currently being sold- we decided not to go with them in the new place). All the best to those with consultations and procedures today- a couple of nasties by the sounds of it so hoping for good news and minimal discomfort all round, same goes for news of DD's MiL of course.

Morning all. More illness amongst us and our loved ones- best wishes to all as appropriate. Jock's space hopper sounds particularly unpleasant! Nothing much doing here. Christmas tree disposed of last night (in the pouring rain). Our Stroud DC distributes large skips in various car parks for them, which is uncharacteristically thoughtful of them. Nearest one is just down the road from us, handily. Would have been preferable if folks hadn't just dumped them all in the front of the skip mind, I had to climb through a prickly forest to get mine in the space at the back. Ahh well. Paperwork day at work today. On headlights, I must admit overly bright lights (at both ends of the car) are a particular bane of mine. The latest generation of luxobarges seem to be the worst culprits- all the glass (including wing & rear view mirrors) on the Land Rover is clear (no tints) and they are genuinely blinding. Most mornings I have an executive saloon sat a car's length behind and a foot to my right just waiting for the opportunity to dive past me and sit up the tail of the car in front of me- perfectly positioned to dazzle me via the wing mirror- it's not the same one each morning either! It's another one of those features that makes the vehicle safer for the occupants to the detriment of everyone else- the answer seems to be to fit brighter lights to one's own car to combat this and the cycle continues. I feel much the same about excessively large windscreen pillars etc, I don't like driving most modern cars for this reason, combined with the trend of trying to remove you from the outside world as much as possible (computer screens, more controls and functions than you can shake a stick at, heavy soundproofing, overly damped controls etc) they just don't sit comfortably with me. My little Marina estate with glass everywhere, about 4 switches and 3 dials is brilliant in this respect and I feel consciously more aware of my surroundings when driving it. I think I'm just an old fart before my time... On steam engines vs livestock, the chap that owns the steam roller I crew on was a fireman at the very end of steam in these parts. He once told us of being the next train through the section after a 9F/ herd of cows interface- not a pleasant experience by any stretch of the imagination, it sounds like it was a challenge working out how many of the beasties were involved from the remains. Anyhoo- enough grumbling for one morning, all is pretty good here really (and it isn't even raining at the moment). Have a good day all

Morning all! Have been absent since Christmas, well, actually I haven't but dare I say it if I have been an ER it's because I've had to be somewhere, and I've not been up any earlier than necessary to achieve that! Most evenings over the break have been spent at a friend's house (Laura cooks, which makes him happy, and I don't have to wash up, which makes me happy)- Laura is playing through a new (ish) game on the XBox with him, given the somewhat unpleasant weather conditions this hasn't been a bad way to spend a few evenings. I'm not a gamer by any stretch of the imagination but I must admit I quite like this one- we played through an earlier iteration at uni so it's made us reminisce a bit- especially as one of our housemates from back then came to stay for a few days. Any which way, I've been keeping up on my phone but it's no good for rating posts and not much better for posting them so I've mostly been a lurker! NYE was a fairly quiet affair, just a house party at a friend's house with a group of friends from school. We're a bit of a mixed bunch at the moment as a few of us are "single and looking" so want to be out on the town, a few in longish term relationships & some single but not really looking who would rather a quieter night in and a few somewhere in between so it's difficult to find something that appeals to everyone. The only one of my close school friends to have got married so far unfortunately split with his wife (somewhat unexpectedly, not least to him) early this year. Dave has now found himself a new young lady and they've recently started renting a place together fairly close to me, she came along and seems very pleasant, I'm pleased for him as he was understandably a bit down at the start of the year. Since all the "lads" (not so much any more, we're quite some way from our teens now but some seem to be struggling to come to terms with this) have been good friends for 10 years+ it must be a bit intimidating to try and fit in but she didn't seem phased which I think was a relief for Dave. The evening went off well, some silly games and plenty of food. I was on taxi duties as usual- this happens when you are teetotal and drive something with lots of seats. NYD was an early start to light up the steam roller- the local old vehicle mob normally have a bit of a run out and this year was no exception. For the last few years a pub with a big car park a couple of miles away has been the venue of choice. 4 steam engines (including two from Cardiff, who low loaded to the yard where the roller lives and then came down with us) and a good number of tractors and cars plus a couple of classic commercials made for a good turnout. Weather held for most the day but it was blummin' cold on the steersman's stand coming back- a bitter wind with just enough wet in it to get everything thoroughly soggy. Despite leaving behind us the Cardiff engines were back on the lorry by the time we got back to the yard. Quiet weekend with a bit of modelling done, Christmas put away (although the tree is in the back of the car still as I inexplicably forgot to take it to the recycling skip last night, totally unrelated to the fire being lit and the house being warm and cosy in contrast to the conditions outside). Back in the office and to some form of normality today, although there's not a lot doing currently so I've taken the opportunity to catch up here! The boss has just appeared so no doubt we'll get some direction shortly. Unfortunately I can't offer much more than generic commiserations and congratulations as appropriate (although I've dived back through the last few day's posts and scattered a few post ratings about), but ones that spring to mind in particular are Dick's post about his amazing grandson- so nice to see some positive news, which also goes for TG's photo of Is all dressed up for a night out, lovely. Also good to hear that Jock's op seems to have gone to plan (and actually happened this time around!). Hopefully he's taking it easy while he recovers- taking it easy doesn't seem to be a Jock strong point though... On the other hand, saddened by DD's news about MiL, fingers crossed it's nothing serious (and is unrelated to BiL issues). You have more than enough on your plate with the damp issue without piling additional family issues on top- you have my sympathies. Hope the first day back for those of us on the 9-5 goes smoothly enough and isn't too much of a shock to the system. Nearly time for coffee #2 here I reckon.

Note than mine's an A1, the A1x looks like it may be a bit trickier to get right. Mine still springs up (not glued in yet) but sits better if I push it down- I'll have to hold it while the glue sets. I suspect the split is where it is for ease of moulding- I think the chimneys are actually fabricated as there's no mould lines, I suspect it'd be difficult to make in one piece. Must be a good reason for doing it that way as the Ixion HC is exactly the same.

The one on my A1 sits better now I've taken it off and cleaned the paint off the OD of the spigot on the chimney. It'll probably be better still once I've done the same to the base. The chimney and base ODs are pretty much the same diameter though. I'd have filled the joint on mine before repainting the smokebox but I want to fit a different chimney at some point.

I got mine at Christmas too, have read it cover to cover. Even better than the first one in my opinion, very much looking forward to the third now. Incidentally the Lionheart 0 gauge Air Ministry tankers in Berry Wiggins should be available soon... you could always move up a scale

Filled and sanded- I repainted the smokebox. The lamp irons on the front of the sandboxes came out OK but one the valve doohickeys snapped off at the stem so I filled the holes for them too. They were a pain to sand back though so I wouldn't recommend it! I couldn't get the smokebox off the running plate which didn't help. There seems to be a lot of glue on mine... Edit, losing the condensing pipes leaves a hole in the tank fronts too. I filled these but actually I think they should have bolt on blanking plates. DCC supplies have the blanking plates for the tank top vents but by the looks of things Dapol didn't make a blanking plate for the tank fronts.

Getting there... a bit of satin black and some transfers before the detail goes back on (steel brakes already on, not worked out how to refit the front sand pipes yet). Quite pleased with how it's coming along- bit different anyway. The camera makes it look much brighter than it is. With apologies to John for ruining a KESR Terrier!

Just a flying visit, before we head over to my parents. A very happy Christmas to all of you, however you choose to spend your day (or in BoD's case are forced to; presumably there's a turkey break timetabled in there somewhere?). Thank you for welcoming me in to your little group here, 'tiz most refreshing to see folks looking out for one another and simply getting along (with a bit of cheerful mickey taking for good measure). Have a good one all

Evening all. More or less all set here, although I haven't wrapped Laura's present yet. Better go and do that after tea... She's decided that the elf slippers with bells on are the order of the day (did I mention that she likes Christmas?) so at least I can hear her coming. 81C should be grateful for this as she's hatching a cunning plan to dognap Barney and Alfie. Traditional Christmas eve entertainment due imminently- Muppet Christmas Carol, no less. As with NHN, had some Mark Knopfler playing while tidying the kitchen earlier- a particular favourite of mine is "All the Roadrunning". No doubt I'll stick my (virtual) nose around the door tomorrow, but enjoy your Christmas Eve folks and a very happy Christmas to you all for tomorrow

To be pedantic, the maker's plates are wrong too- although I think that was discussed on the Minerva sub forum. I agree with Chaz that it's a very minor thing with an otherwise lovely model. I'll order some from Narrow Planet with a suitable works number on. Funny enough I almost picked up a can of maroon yesterday...

If it's anything like one of the calls that came in while I was in Antics earlier it's also your fault that you can't guarantee it'll be there tomorrow... While I'm incredibly disorganised (trying to remember how my boss worded it in my last appraisal, it was something along the lines of "Matthew always seems to know what's going on, but neither he nor I have any idea how"), I can't see how you could leave something that important that late. I've still had a bit of running around to do today but it was pretty low risk- anything relying on the post was sorted a week or so ago. I dropped in to a friend's earlier and he was staring out the window/ loitering by the door waiting for the courier- under strict instructions from his partner that he was to call for her and then stall the courier without looking at the present, while waiting for her to come downstairs- it was his present from her that he'd been instructed to wait for... he'd got hers weeks ago. Good to hear that the traditional train set still sells at Christmas though! Laura likes Christmas, and I admit it's infectious- must be all that sugar.

No. I've not decided yet, should be 7 but might actually be 5, will depend on what transfers I have already printed, has now been delivered- ahead of schedule. Big beastie, but looks at home. There were a few class E built later than the Fowlers but not many so it should be a lower number in the fleet than the Fowler really- I shall have to amend the history above; perhaps Mr Thorn with his eye for a bargain was better at convincing Mr Bury than we thought... This is turning into a box opening thread, sorry... will try and amend that in the new year, although current priority is to build loco & stock levels sufficiently for me to be self sufficient and not have to borrow stock (although I'm lucky to have a friend with a good fleet who is happy to loan suitable stock and indeed weathered and sound chipped his Ixion HC specially for us to run at Hardwicke exhibition). Still some bits and pieces to do to the layout though. Happy Christmas to all who follow mine & Dave's ramblings here

At risk of incurring Mister Neil's wrath, today had partly been spent doing last minute shopping... in my defence, I knew the shop was open and there were plenty of options- Daddy Thesnail collects anything GWR and he doesn't get much pocket money so the majority of the more recent additions are Birthday and Christmas presents from me. Other than that today has been the traditional slightly later than planned card run. Managed not to wrap any cars around any lamp posts this year, which is a bonus. Caught up with the chap who is partly responsible for my love of "real" steam and mostly responsible for my interest in engineering- a model engineer who was good enough to invite a young Thesnail to visit his workshop, where he'd be taught about using lathes and such, and servicing and maintaining 5" gauge steam locomotives. Visits to "Mr Jones" were very much enjoyed and helped cement young Thesnail's interest in such matters- he's promised to invite me to a running day next Summer. Sainsburys was braved earlyish this morning, although it was queued around the car park it hadn't reached the road. Nearly witnessed one bit of car park rage where someone jumped the queue and tried to pip a more patient queuee (queueist?) to a space but fortunately they were just slightly too late and had to go round again. Slightly smug in that I managed to squeeze the long wheelbase Landy into a space between trolley bay and a seemingly abandoned Audi that the Fiesta in front gave up as a bad job. Admittedly Laura had to climb out the back, but still a success... annoying the folks for Christmas so didn't need any food for the big day, but sustenance for the few days either side was needed. We were running dangerously low on sugar, not a problem for me but I've managed to avoid finding out what happens when Laura (coffee white with three please) runs out for 7 years and I don't intend to find out now... Fingers crossed poorly pets are on the mend, dentist visits (definitely the time of year for it so it seems- I was lucky, suspected lost filling was just a chip and the dentist gave it an A- OK) go OK and particularly that BoD is back up and running with no complications as soon as he can be. Fire lit, chestnut roasting test run underway, naff film on and fake beer in hand. Other than a whizz around with Henry tomorrow and a couple of odd presents to wrap we're pretty much sorted here so enjoying being lazy. Enjoy your evening folks

Morning all, not particularly ER today as managed to turn the alarm off without really waking up- just as well we're off work really. Waiting for my Christmas present (not really) of a ton of gravel, thought it'd be here by now. Realised that I'd missed out on saying "oh b****r" and "good luck" to Younger Herbert c/o Barry yesterday. So consider that done. And of course an extra good luck to BoD for today's op. Phil, based on recent practice I'd suggest it's likely to be wet and windy everywhere and all the time! That said it was a reasonable afternoon here yesterday and it's dry at the moment (blowy though). About to sneak out to the garage and splash some primer over the Terrier. That'll guarantee that the gravel arrives just as I get started! Have a good day all, may all your shopping trips be painless...

Yeah, but it makes it deeply unpleasant trying to work on it when it inevitably breaks... Also slightly worried about losing Laura's MX5 into the mire. Wouldn't have been my first choice of driveway material, the previous owner put it in- it was just a lawn before, the first owners (a family who lived there for over 80 years) didn't drive. Turns out that while most of it is laid on hardcore, the top of the slope is partially just on clay. Which is now mostly marsh. Ho hum.

Evening all. Busy couple of days, have made time to stick my head around the virtual door but not to post. Too much going on to keep tabs on everything, so generic best wishes will have to do I'm afraid. Great to see that Is has been out and about and is getting back into some form of a routine. Also pleased to hear that neither Bill nor his bike seem to have suffered any lasting injury from his argument with the car door. Best of luck to BoD for his op tomorrow- doesn't sound particularly pleasant but at least it's all in hand and without playing the waiting game for too long. Have had the usual selection of seasonal parties and gatherings, particularly an enjoyable retirement "do" on Thursday. Went to the pub Friday evening (and we did get POETS day, factory shut down now until the 4th so we were allowed to escape slightly ahead of time) and it was perfectly pleasant to be sat in the beer garden, which was rather surreal for mid December. Star Wars with friends yesterday, today has mostly been spent ballasting the driveway to try and reclaim somewhere to park the car from the marshlands. More gravel coming tomorrow so redistributing that will be the morning's job, hopefully that'll do the trick. Need to do the final card delivery run after that and then I'm officially On Holiday and shutting myself in the railway room. Enjoy your evening folks

Morning all. Actually dry this morning, and very mild- no need for heaters (although I've wimped out and rolled the back of the canvas down which helps) nor wipers. Very odd, it doesn't feel festive at all. Obviously that's not necessarily a bad thing depending on your outlook, but I admit I like this time of year. Definitely prefer dry and frosty over damp and mild though. My young lady was feeling rather grotty last night with a bad head, so a quiet evening. Managed a final tidy up of the filled bits on the Terrier before masking up ready to spray it when we get some daylight, in between domestic duties and supplying hot drinks. One advantage of the mild weather at least- should get most of it done over the weekend and I can try and get it back in one piece (with added noise) next week. Unfortunately Laura isn't feeling any better today & I'm out on the town tonight (well, OK, playing skittles in a pub just outside Gloucester, two chaps retiring tomorrow so this is the send off) but there's plenty of firewood in the basket, a pizza in the fridge and sloe gin lurking the cupboard so I'm sure she'll survive. Moose is still resident on the sofa to keep her company. The current Land Rover is my first coil sprung one- an ex military 110 with the naturally asthmatic diesel lump in. It's been fitted with power steering and does ride a little better but otherwise isn't worlds apart from the 2 & 2a that I've had before- should have kept the last one really, diesel with overdrive on a galvanised chassis. Bought it from the same chap ("Ruston" on here) that I bought my layout from! This one is good, but it sure is slow. My first had a very tired starter, but would bump extremely easily, since we lived on a hill the starter was only ever used to get home! Would always fire on the third lazy turn of the starter, amazing really. Didn't have a handle for it which is a shame as I suspect it would have been a fairly easy one to get going and it would have impressed my peers as a 17 year old! Having an old Landy as a first car has rather ruined my driving experience since as I've found that I simply don't get on with anything normal/ modern/ refined. Mind you this one makes even it's 1300 Marina stablemate seem refined (and quick). That said I wouldn't mind a Suzuki SJ, other than being a bit of a squeeze they look great fun! Good to hear that Harvey is showing improvement and seems to be following the expected course of the illness, hopefully what passes for normality will return soon. Less good to hear of DD's troubles with the inlaws. Have a good day all. Looking forward to my pub lunch here- just an ergonomic assessment to complete first...

Ahh, nativities. I can't remember any of mine, but my younger brother did one at school where the whole going to the Inn thing was done as a song. It took us quite a long time to work out who Travis was- "Knock knock knock it's Travis at the door". Took even longer to convince him that there's no mention of a Travis in the nativity story and the word he was probably looking for was travellers. Starter motors- if the motor is jammed you should still here the solenoid click. If you can't I'd suggest it's the solenoid that's stuck/ dead. Mind you that might not apply to new stuff. One of my old Land Rovers had a lump of wood, solenoid bashing for the use of in the tool kit (and a blow torch in lieu of glow plugs, although a heat gun was preferred if a mains socket was nearby). Reassuring lack of things to drain a battery though- no interior lights, clock, alarm... it's got some lights on the front, some on the back, a heater and that's about it! Plus glow plugs (turn key position 1... wait 15s... turn key all the way and hope) and a starter motor of course. Nice to know that I'd just stumbled in on a blip in Melbourne's normally friendly nature- the general feeling amongst people I know is that Aus is a pretty safe (at least from other humans) place to be.

Morning folks! Dryish run in today, but more wet forecast. Driveway has reached the point where I'm worried about Laura's car getting stuck trying to get in/ out so I shall have to attend to that this weekend. Yet another shortcut from the guy that "renovated" our house before we bought it- he's just stripped the topsoil and thrown down some weedproof membrane and then gravel- the (clay) soil underneath is now thoroughly waterlogged. I have some spare paving slabs so I'll bridge the squishy bit (the top of the slope- don't ask me how that works) with those for now and do a proper job when it dries out. Will have to have my Weetabix as they are council- spec ones and blummin' heavy! Thoroughly minor in the grand scheme of things of course, and a few bodges excepted the house is lovely (first time buyers, got the keys this summer so it's still all new and exciting and the size of the mortgage is still terrifying!) so we shouldn't grumble. Busy day in the office I suspect, our elf n' safe tea guy is back in today after a few days out and I've a load of stuff to run past him. Working on the sign off/ acceptance documentation for a new machine- lots of paperwork and quite a bit of it somewhat pointless but it's not as bad as it sounds. Extra long lunch for the canteen Christmas dinner today (although I'm not partaking, I don't like turkey!), pub lunch tomorrow because someone in our team is retiring Friday- it ain't all bad. Sorry to hear Harvey is still not well but at least they seem to have a good idea of what it is now which is half the battle- not a lot worse than "something is wrong but we don't know what" when it comes to worrying. Fingers crossed. Good to hear that folks are supporting their local timber merchants etc- Daddy Thesnail manages a small (but well stocked) builder's merchants these days which comes in handy from time to time... Have a good one all.

Morning all. Bit damp here. Lots of traffic this morning for some reason. Some kindly soul let me out of the end of my road though- it's not normally busy enough for that to be necessary. I must say Rick's posts are proving an education- sounds like our cousins down under are more like our own dear countryfolk than I thought... always got the impression things were a bit more relaxed down there. I suppose people are people wherever you go; I must admit I consider myself lucky to live relatively "out in the sticks" in what is a pretty quiet part of the country (some might say backwards...) anyway. Although I was slightly amused by the discussions around late night transport- even with the cuts mentioned that's a rather better service than we get on a Sunday! Still, there are rather fewer people to serve hereabouts. Good to hear that Harvey is on mend- I think Jock's nightcap was well deserved after that! Seems to be the week for dental attention- I've got a checkup on Thursday but my one filling escaped last week so that will need redoing. Good luck those of you having your teeth prodded today, and I hope Brian manages to get through the training without dozing off!

I looked at the overhang, my reverse curve and the size of the standard buffers and thought "naa"! Fortunately with mine being "sold into industry" I can get away with fitting bigger ones- think it'll need bigger buffer beams too though. Let us know how you get on with the brakes, I'm not completely happy with mine and think I'll revisit.

Looking good! Although it's a shame about having to (not) swap the footplates. I must admit I'd have just left mine as they were, you'd have to be looking pretty closely to spot the buffer height discrepancy. Have you tackled fitting later brake gear to the A1 frames yet? I must admit I was surprised when I took mine apart how many bits were clearly different to the A1X model- they've clearly put quite a lot of thought in to it. I've drilled extra holes for the steel brakes on mine but it's a bit of a bodge- especially at the front where it tries to occupy the same space as the sanders. I was lazy and tried to keep the raised detail in this area, result being the drill wandered- it's all in place but I had to oversize the holes as a result and then glue the brakes in place which I was hoping to avoid. I've also just noticed that I should have fitted bolt on blanking plates to the condensing pipes, instead of just filling the holes... that'll teach me to use pictures of models, not prototypes!

Morning folks. In work, coffee made, bribery chocolate delivered to the relevant support teams. Last week in work this year and theoretically my last week in this department before I go "home" so lots of odds and ends to tidy up and finish off. Annual stocktake today so although everywhere is a hive of activity very few machines are running, it's very surreal. We run 24/ 7 and it's very rare to have this many machines switched out- Christmas week and stocktake is about it. We're shutting down for two weeks this year which is unusual (but welcome). Belated Happy Birthday to John, and sending good wishes to Jock- fingers crossed it's nothing serious and young Harvey & Mum are back home soon. Happy Monday all!

Evening all. I've spectacularly failed to be anything like an ER this weekend; late nights Friday and Saturday. Not a morning person really, but I'm paid to be one Monday- Friday! Interesting discussion on steam locomotives, firing of in particular. I was lucky enough to be allowed to drive a 5" "Speedy" (15xx Pannier) fairly regularly when I was younger. A lovely forgiving engine with plenty of go and a huuuge firebox. Other than making sure there weren't any holes it was generally a case of just chucking a bit more in every now and again with no real precision required. Couple of others I drove occasionally were much more fickle- one of the more recent was a Polly V and that seemed to need constant attention. Must admit prior to that I'd always assumed firing was much the same from engine to engine but I quickly learnt that it wasn't! I did a bit of running with a modified Sweet Pea as well and I seem to recall that was pretty forgiving too- same advice as given to Polly, up to the door at the back sloping down to the front to keep the tubes clear. Seemed to work pretty well. My only experience with full size railway stuff was on the Turkish 8F on the Glos Warks on a driving experience day (21st Birthday present). The main challenge there was trying to get it to the front of the 'box, I never did get the hang of swinging the shovel round. I see the Hippo that is Happy has spent some time on the footplate of Sgt Murphy- on the Teifi Valley by any chance? Daddy Thesnail spend several years messing about down there in the early days, driving Alan George and the diesels (as well as helping on the track gang and a bit of everything I think). We were talking about it today funny enough, much like Mister Neil he recalls having warm, dry legs and then being soaked through from the waist up! Our two road steam engines are fairly different beasties too- the Fowler has a nice big grate and again is fairly forgiving, if hungry. Generally head out with a nice deep fire if going on the road, although I never have she isn't too bad to fire on the go (the worst bit looks to be getting it out the bunker). The Garrett has a smaller grate and is fussier- although she picks up quicker the fire can disappear quite rapidly too. Lighting up is rags soaked in paraffin (we have a pink tin pouring jug for it), then throw in a load of wood and wait! Usually an hour + to get up to something workable, we very rarely use the blower (in fact I'm not sure they both have one, although one definitely does). Both have canopies but you still get plenty wet. Why does it always bucket down when you stop to oil up? The Garrett has a hatch above the driver, the edge of which collects water which promptly pours down onto the steersman's right thigh the first time you turn left.... Not much to report this end- works do Friday night was enjoyable, no-one made too much of a prat out of themselves which was a relief (I always feel somewhat responsible, with my designated driver hat on). Cold wet evening and thoroughly baffled by the attire (or lack thereof) of some of the other folks out on the town- I must be getting old. Braved Cheltenham for a few more bits of shopping on Saturday, hunting down tapes. Plenty of places you can buy vinyl (second hand and new) but we only found one place selling tapes & they didn't have much to choose from. Today has been the family card exchange; actually quite a pleasant affair this year. Dad's side of the family can be a bit of a lively bunch at times but no arguments or family politics and no broken ornaments, and the little ones are a bit older now so better behaved. Entertainment provided by a ballistic Spaniel. Bedtime now as tomorrow is an ER for me, Laura has the day off. Night all!