JJGraphics

It would most likely generate an amount of bad publicity if they did that. I doubt they'd chance that in the present climate which is difficult for publishers. John

I received my replacement copy in about three or four days. Looks like they may have forgotten yours or it got lost in the post like several things which have not arrived chez moi. Suggest you e-mail them and remind them. John

I think it's now time that someone in a senior position at Warners took on board what a bad image that all the problems with RMWeb are projecting about their brand and gave Andy the resources needed to help him get things back to normal. John

It's going like coal off a fireman's shovel for the first time in weeks! John

Yes, 700 "managers" to go. Perhaps the Posties - who actually know what they are doing - will be allowed to get on with their job now! I’ve got two small parcels outstanding, one posted before Christmas and another just after New Year. I wonder where they are hiding? John

. . . or perhaps Amazon bottled it when they received many angry e-mails like the one I sent telling them I would not buy from them again if they went ahead with stopping Visa . . . ?

if you use a properly obtained and correctly installed Safari Extension, it has no impact whatsoever on Safari's security or functionality. John

It's absolutely painfully slow again this morning.

That's not actually correct about Safari no longer letting you use an ad-blocker . . . but we won't discuss that here . . . I agree that advertising is fine as long as it doesn't interfere with reading and doesn't contain near-pornographic content which is far from suitable for a forum like this which is visited by many younger modellers. John

Unfortunately, the blame is often placed on a particular browser or platform version because IT staff in Banks and other companies who create their own services on their web sites have not tested the services for compatibility with as many popular browsers, platforms or current OS versions as they should before releasing it. They have huge resources available but sometimes simply cannot be bothered to do their job properly. With something like RMWeb it is a very different matter. RMWeb cannot be expected to have the resources available at the drop of a hat to solve these problems which are intermittent and thus very time-consuming to trace and fix. RMWeb is also reliant on a software vendor for the forum software and if they don't do their job well it places a big burden on people like Andy. John

I think that seems a little unlikely as, strangely, it often runs well at times when you might expect there to be most users online. John

After another struggle with the forum this morning, I left the screen open for about five minutes, after which this appeared:

. . . or with a screaming brat standing in it . . .

I have seen the problem on my own Macs ( I have a very fast connection) and on friends' PCs, on iOS devices, iPadOS devices and Android devices with Ethernet, WiFi and Mobile Data connections in use from different ISPs so I really do not believe that the problem is device or platform-related. Sometimes logging out and logging back in again will improve matters briefly, but after a few minutes the problem usually returns if it is one of those days. The fact that the problem is intermittent will make it extremely difficult to track down and resolve. John

After almost a week of very good running, the slow loading problem has returned.

What a shame that using RMWeb has moved from being a really interesting, informative and enjoyable experience to a frustrating and time-wasting one. The site seems to hang almost every time I visit. I end up logging-out, deleting the cookies and the browser cache and logging-in again to try to read a few posts. Sometimes it does work but this afternoon it has been necessary to log back in several times. It never used to be like this . . . John

The "Forum Marked as Read" banner is now hanging endlessly at the top of the page making it impossible to navigate elsewhere on the site. I have tried different browsers on different platforms on different connections with the same general results – although looking at the recently-used devices list on my profile you'd never know it. The forum software thinks I only ever log-in with my Mac, when I also use an iPad, iPhone and occasionally a Windows PC when I am with a friend. John

Don't forget to forward any dodgy e-mails to report@phishing.gov.uk where they actually do something about them. Once you've done that, delete them! John

The slow page loading or pages completely failing to load is definitely becoming a problem after quite a long time when the site was working really well. The problem is transient and for me is not tied to any particular time of day . . . John

Have the Notch to the left then! John

Very sorry to learn of Gordon’s passing. He lived not far from me and I met him a couple of times when he started using ECoS and asked some questions on this forum. I was privileged to see his layout "in the flesh" and remember the astonishing standard of his hand-built track. As everyone has said, he will be greatly missed. Condolences to his family. John

I use a trick which has dramatically reduced the number of calls I get. When an unrecognised number calls I put on my best "computer" voice and say, "The number you are calling from has not been recognised, this call is being intercepted." CLICK! . . . dial tone, is the usual result and I rarely see that number again or one in a similar grouping. Since starting to do this I get no more than one or two calls a month. On occasions when the caller stays on the line, I then say, "Please say the name of the organisation you are calling from," which normally puts an end to the call. If somebody does give a name (usually some idiot trying to get us to have smart meters or solar panels or something else we don't want) I then say, "Please wait (ten second pause) sorry your call cannot be accepted. Goodbye" and cut off the call. I've never had any of them call back! John

For many years Berkshire has had the reputation of having the worst road surfaces in the South East, although I have seen more than a few pretty bad ones elsewhere. When we return to Berkshire, we always comment about the bumps beginning as we cross the border from Hampshire, Oxfordshire, etc. Wokingham's roads are some of the worst I know of. All they ever seem to do is bodge up the holes with some sort of soft tarmac material which is stamped into place by a couple of bored-looking workers. This stays in place for a couple of weeks (if we're lucky) before the hole opens up again with the loose material scattered over the road surface. Many of the pavements in the area are also in a pretty appalling state as many have not been repaired since they were carved to shreds by the cable TV cowboys many years ago. John

Yes, and it has the built-in ability to export video ready to be uploaded to YouTube. John

Two colleagues and I were travelling return from Reading to Bath 3 times a week whilst working on a project. The arrival of the 800's with their rough riding and rock hard seats and the commencement of back problems (one of those who suffered is young-ish, so not an "oldies" problem) changed all that and we opted to drive, taking it in turns on a daily basis. Upside: NO more back problems and door to door convenience in roughly the same time frame as the taxis-train-taxi and in reverse at the end of the day. Downside: A bit of effort on the part of whoever's turn it was to drive and not being able to enjoy a coffee during the journey. A rough calculation shows that GWR lost upwards of £50,000.00 in fares revenue (I know, only a drop in the ocean) as a result of our making the choice to drive and I doubt very much that we are the only people to have done this sort of thing. After being a very regular traveller and enjoying the comfort of the HST seats, I have not made a journey on GWR since then. The DaFT have a lot to answer for. John