PeterBB

Loch Awe - Thanks for triggering a memory. As a student I was up in Scotland relatively frequently and remember when passing by what is now the Loch Awe scene it was just a very narrow, not much wider than single track road and therefore observed its construction and viewing. The same happened in North Wales a number of years later. Apologies for going off track.

As another cheap and quick way of assessing Covid?

10" is wide enough to get 5 lines in and the above will be practical with an engine shed and short freight 'trains' and sufficient placed points bearing in mind that the passenger locos are short DMU's should work. Engine shed with back scene as there will not be much room for scenery. Having said that CovDriver is in charge of Rule 1!

Wow - this photograph approaching nine years ago, Deesdale Road last outing June 2019 and one for 2019 was of course cancelled. It still has many 'pull-wire' point changers but the added section points are motorised. What adds interest is operational shunting. In simple terms with small layouts, see Andy P's West Shed, shuffling cards gives many different scenarios and in the case of West Shed took roughly an hour each time so small layouts can give hours of interest. Hope progression proceeds well. Cheers Peter

Spent some time on Rick's post so sombre mood at the moment following his experiences at the house of (no)-fun in recent days and viewing the video clips (well, a lot longer than a clip in one case). As you know from a previous post family members have been sea-going and lost friends and colleagues so even at the time we were keenly influenced and followed the Penlee situation and disaster with feeling. These have come back watching the video and I could not leave it. Rick I believe knew some of them personally so how he feels together with the recent work experience I cannot really comprehend but thoughts go with him.

The 1951 version and PC Dixon as a jovial character early on and others who later had significant roles in future films. Rang a bell but cannot remember when so it must have been in a cinema as we did not have a television until 1956.

Thanks GDB - 39 years ago and it has come up almost as yesterday as too has the memory of having actually seen the Lifeboat. Remember them every time we go down. A late FiL was a marine engineer and lost a number of friends and colleagues when one of the company ships was lost ... and it was not helped by the fact that the issues surrounding its loss came up as a case study on a course I attended some years later. The Lifeboat men and women risk their lives on a regular basis in saving lives at sea and this end have been supporting for over 50 years.

There is also another party leader telling us one thing and his MPs telling him another ... the conclusion? It would have been the same whatever 'party' had the misfortune to be in place with the Covid pandemic and, it seems, to be the same with other countries as well with one possible exception and their finances are not that good either. Its also likely that whatever is stated, apart from one party state countries, that the main complainers will be those who will still do 'what they want' - politicians of whatever hue just cannot win.

Think it relates to a Christmas spent in hospital as a child but have always loved Christmas Carols. In the work position of being able to rota Christmas Eve and other duties over the Christmas and New Year period in times of yore always put myself on-call on 24th and, hopefully with no call during the time of Carolling round the wards or pop in and out of I, if busy. Didn't miss a Christmas Eve carolling in one place or another for 40 years then on year 41 what a night - casualty and therefore pathology very busy all night so no carolling and it stayed that way every 24th until retirement. As an aside met my then wife on one of those evenings although by then it was a Christmas Day. In all the years I've worked, like a number of you, I never ever ended up with regular hours but fortunately always enjoyed the work. Not seen Gwiwer for a day or two hope he is OK..

'Took the chance to do a cholesterol test'. In line with other tests a random cholesterol that shall we say is in a 'normalist' range will be noted. If that result is quite a way out of 'the norm' then to get the full picture they may then ask for the 'full profile' that can mean an overnight fast prior to the blood being taken for analysis. Remember the days when we, as staff, were all asked to do an extensive overnight fast in evaluating the then 'latest developments' and to see the effect the fast had on us. The practice of comparing results from the same sample by various methods was part and parcel of evaluation and by chance a number of 'ailments' were discovered and therefore treated early as a result of the evaluation of the results as the GP would not in the general run of things have actually requested them. I remember going to my GP as the last patient in the day on a Friday evening with a set of these results expecting possibly a 'so what' response but he raised his hands in glee and said "You have made my day - it is the first thing today that I can actually do something really positive about" He was a friend and then basically told me why that was so.

Extremely interesting article and also recent.

Hence why OS maps have the bearing printed on them related to the date of the map. Geologically time wise the magnetic pole changes 'quite frequently'. This to set your compass and make sure you are actually going in the right direction if you are in the wilds or plotting a route.

Rings a bell, also more recently than that from Icelandic volcanoes the number of deaths at a time that only recently have been sorted as coming from those volcanoes gave some 'darker' times.

Getting ahead of global warming?

But better cut up and mixed with butter ... thats the way SWMBO gets them down the rest of us at C******s.

Really great performance also unusual to have a double bass in the line up and a vast number of piccolos at the end.

I too have a 308 SW - a 'blue' version. Interestingly in the morning was not intending to buy a car ... the drove it and it was lovely to drive. It also carries layouts. GDB possibly has a greater storage volume in the 3008 (I seem to remember the salesman stating that) but not the length.

Strange though it may seem the real things go slow enough to 'stay on track'.

Thoroughly deserved - also missed you on ER.

Polybear, hope the scan etc. goes well and that you enjoy much cake over Chri****s.

How about the simple word 'by' - but I am sure most of the reason why 'y' is sometimes considered to be a vowel is/was because of sheer laziness e.g thinks not things grammatically incorrect as per English English. Something that couldn't happen now is what happened at school. It was important in applying for an English teacher appointment that the degree in English was obtained at Oxford - no chance if it were not so. This meant that one of our more flamboyant English teachers was an Australian who just happened to be good at cricket and also a good coach. Interestingly the alternative subject for a number of them was History.

Board rubber throwing - thanks that provides 2 memories. The first while waiting for the master to appear there was some jollity that included throwing the board rubber ... unfortunately the head came in and a direct hit was observed. The second concerned Norrie Ellison a French teacher who had studied at the Sorbonne at the turn of the century before WW1. In his class. as a French language duffer, it paid to be at the back because when you were wrong he hit you on either side of the head ... so why sit at the back? He always hit the lad who was closest to him.

9th December 2020 Well, had not realised that it was so long ago that I entered anything on this but having referred from Cadley Hill I realised that the mimic panel had not been added to this blog s here goes. Much track was laid and run but I was unhappy on the area that would be bottom left of the picture - taken now that I have a mobile with a camera! Also in the picture mid bottom right is one of the solenoid point motor supports made up by a club member on a jig. They are a bit more fiddly to put in than PECO, Hornby etc. but one of the things they do do is hold contact to the rails. The lights are either green/open or red/closed track. The frame was made from 3" tongue and groove wood and hinged as shown in the earlier rear view pictures. Power comes from regulated transformer 12v from the right.The section between Rothleigh Station and the bridge on the left is a hinged section to allow access into the room. The good news is that although irt is some years old when I moved it down tonight it still fitted in exactly in the right place but the hinges are big 5" brass. Hope that helps.

Thanks Barnaby and Ray, some useful information. For reasons that may (eventually) come to fruition Rothleigh is likely to be dismantled rather than finally completed as Rothleigh and Swithmore but if you use Megapoint boards a push and push off system not only moves the points but also changes the lights, green track open red track closed. It is a good system but like everything these days you have to 'spend to accumulate'. My 'head' layout will be able to reuse the Mega point equipment. I have been over to Rothleigh and realising that the mimic panel had never been photographed, now done so - what you can do with a mobile with a camera - and added it but also added the picture below here. Hope that helps.

Thanks for that. Veins are one thing and when small and hidden are not nice to either take from or have blood taken. You and your brother are 'normal' viz normal for you but a different normal from everybody else although there are 'ranges' of 'normality relating to age, sex, ethnicity etc. Needles are not my thing but professionally in far off days it, phlebotomy, was something that we had to do and go out onto the wards first thing to take the requested blood samples. After initial training it was normal for someone to be given a patient with easy veins needing one blood tube as the first ... but a 'You can do the next one" as my first required 50ml of blood and multiple tubes ... fortunately no problem for either the patient or me. Many years later I was instrumental in the trial and then use of 'Vacutainers' for phlebotomy and for some considerable time now people are employed just to take blood. Those were the days when there was camaraderie and Christmas parties in hospitals - great places to work in. Medicine has advanced phenomenally since then and pathology testing is vital in 76% of diagnosis and treatment. Sorry about the rambling Syd Rumbold - blood pressure monitors relate to the arteries which 'expand and contract' in time with the heart beat and it is the change in these pressures that 'works ' the monitor. First the pressure is increased until painful at which point it has stopped the blood flow through the arteries and gently releases pressure until the heart beat is found this first reading is the systolic pressure, maximum, of the arterial expansion. The pressure continues to release until the level with maximum relaxation level - the diastolic pressure. During the time the pressure releases you begin to feel the heart beat so most modern monitors will give a third reading - your heart pulse rate. Relax, make yourself comfortable and after a minute or two repeat the process. If you move about you will see considerable changes so the best time is normally first thing in the morning but if you are a glutton for punishment you can do it at varying times of the day and note what activities raise your pressure.