andyram

Morning all and generic greetings to one and all. Special wishes to @chrisf I hope that the treatment improves things. I do feel that there are positives amongst the news. I have been away from the pages for a day or two and I am writing this from my bed, looking out on a sunny corner of Bewdley. Over six months after actually turning 40, my wife finally gets to enjoy her 40th gift - a visit to the West Midlands Safari Park, complete with an overnight stay in one of their lodges. This particular one overlooks the cheetah enclosure and we have enjoyed some great views of these stunning creatures. The day did not get off to the best of starts with heavy rain for the journey. The park was very busy on arrival and it took a while to get to the slip road down to the Safari Lodge reception. Once on the slip road, it took three attempts to contact the reception via the intercom to get the barrier raised. Then poor signage meant that the reception was difficult to find and, having parked in a "five minute waiting" parking bay, my anxiety was sky high and the fuse extremely short. This was compounded by Amber announcing, five minutes after arrival in the lodge, that she has left her phone in my car which was located back in the main car park. This meant an SOS call to main reception and a member of staff taxi-ing me back through the reserve to collect the phone. Thankfully things have turned out ok since. The lodge is beautiful and we have had some close up views of the cheetahs as they pass the large picture windows. A walk around the complex has allowed views across the elephant and tiger enclosures. Through the trees we even glimpsed a steam loco (Standard 4 75069) heading back to Bewdley MPD at the end of the day's service. The evening meal, delivered to the lodge, was delicious and we sat in the outdoor viewing areas with a alcoholic drink watching the cheetahs devouring their own food. Overall a much needed relaxing evening in the end. We are awaiting arrival of breakfast before heading off around the park again before we head for home. I will try to check in later. Have a good day. Andy

I think the warping shown in your photos is severe when compared to the others I have observed.

Evening one and all and generic greetings with particular good wishes to ChrisF in hope the news is positive. I am just checking in during an all too brief quiet moment today. Things have been hectic. An early start was required in order to pay cash into the bank via the ATM. I would have let it wait another day, but some of it was Sarah's Avon money and she "insisted". There was a couple of deliveries to the shop this morning, with further supplies of the much discussed 02's (well they are much discussed on the 02 thread. I for one really like them! The shop proved to be busy. The most number of people through the door since before the first lockdown. Sadly many of them were of the browsing variety so takings ended up being about average. I was tired when I arrived home and probably did not need the in-laws visit. One of the needs for the current black dog fight is a bit of down time. The evening resulted in a late meal, promised help with Avon deliveries and Amber being late to bed. None helped the coiled spring mode! Tomorrow promises to be busy again with another early start and lots to do either side of the time in the shop. At least there is a weekend away to look forward to. Stay safe and sane. Andy

Evening all and many happy returns to Brian. I hope that you had a good day. Today was a "day off" from the shop, but was no less busy. An early start to clear some of the assignment marking was followed by a trip to the local garage to replace the two front tyres on the car. These were long overdue after being given a warning on them when the car was M-O-T'ed back in February. The garage failed to carry out the work at my request because they had "two months" wear in them! This was the first chance to get the work done (hence why I asked them to do it back in February!) Once the new tyres were fitted it was off to the GCR for the day. Amber had wanted to go to see their animal event. Due to a COVID case one of the main exhibitors had to pull out so it was a little sparse. However, she did get to hold the snake and stroke the tarantula and gecko! A run behind "Witherslack Hall" was accompanied by a delicious GC breakfast before the J94 took us back to the car at Quorn later. It should have been enjoyable, but for some reason the temper was very short and the stress levels high. The black canine seems to manage to impact the enjoyment of one of my favourite places at present! On a positive note - Hull 0 Derby 1 was enjoyed / endured with a couple of pints of Hobgoblin IPA that had been gifted for my birthday. Washed down with a decent Scottish malt the canine seems to have retreated. Alcohol not the answer of course! Best wishes all. Andy

I recently received a book on the IOW railways for my birthday. Front cover picture shows an unidentified 02 with running plate that definitely rises at the front, at least four further pictures show such distortion. I had to look closely to see the distortion on my shop display model of "Chale", although it is evident on the photo one of my earlier posts.

A not a lot sort of day in Matlock Bath too! Very quiet. Having said that there was plenty of time to unpack deliveries from both the red and blue box sources. Best wishes to you all, especially those who are visiting medical establishments. Andy

I received my stocks today. As someone who is a fan of the IOW railways, I was very keen to see the new versions. A very nice looking model indeed. I think I may have to hang onto one of them! Still have stocks of all three versions www.a2bmodelrailways.co.uk

That club viaduct is a masterpiece. I remember sat watching many trains cross over it during open days. It was my daughter’s favourite spot too.

Evening all. A quick check in to say thanks for the birthday wishes. The day was ok. I have had better and worse birthdays. One of the reasons I have been away from these pages has been due to the reappearance of the black dog. It does not help the anticipation or enjoyment of such events. I could not bring myself to plan anything for the day. In the end there was a last minute decision to walk up to a local pub for a meal. The establishment in question is one that Sarah has been eager to try out especially since we have enjoyed some of their take out food during lockdown. Sadly the experience was not up to expectations. A limited children’s menu, a more limited vegetarian menu for Sarah was not a good start. This was followed by a rather abrupt member of staff who, when taking the drinks order, seemed to think the question “what bitters do you have?” was hardly worthy of a polite answer. When the beers were delivered, Sarah’s lager had a two inch layer of froth on top! Almost more head than lager. At least the bitter was passable. The food arrived, we then had to ask for cutlery which took too long to arrive. Halfway through the meal they then tried to deliver desserts that we had not ordered. The waitress appeared offended when we declined them. These were then on our bill until I again pointed out we had not ordered them and they were not part of our meal! Needless to say we won’t be going back! A quick sign off with good wishes to all but especially ChrisF and tiger. Andy

Evening all. I hope everyone is well. As of a couple of hours ago, I have completed the 46th circuit of the big orange ball. A interesting book on the Isle of Wight Railways was received from my parents who are well aware of my interest in this particular rail network. Judging by the pre-orders received for the Island versions of the EFE Rail 02’s, I am not alone. It looks like I will be busy wrapping a few of these when they arrive early in the week. Still some left and there may be one that somehow becomes a shop demonstration model ahead of joining my own collection.

The back scene still exists. If you look carefully in my photo you can see it lying under the bench. The group have removed it so that the scene can be viewable from the other side. I know they plan to tidy up the front in time. The back scene may switch sides.

I for one will definitely follow the new thread.

I am happy to share another update on Kings Moreton. Since I last posted, the group have continued on the re-wiring and have managed to get the two circuits operational and are wiring the yards up for independent use. The layout will form the centre piece of the new museum called "The Loft" which is situated up the steps in the courtyard next to my shop. The group have been developing their collection with some of the former gallery shop units converted into individual displays. These include a display of old toys, a Hornby Triang layout complete with working Minic Motorway and a Hornby Track Mat layout which will run some of the Thomas models. No scenic work has been undertaken on Kings Moreton as yet but I can share a pic of one of the test workings The temporary sign is also in place. There are plans to open for preview days weekends from September to coincide with the Matlock Bath illuminations. I will share further updates as and when I can.

It is great to see that the new owners of both Seven Mills and Bench Road are RMWeb members. I do hope that they will either update this thread or set up their own and share the link so we can see the ongoing progress of these excellent layouts.

Looking forward to seeing this latest masterpiece develop.

Sorry to see that both Seven Mills and Bench Road have departed, but pleased to read that they have gone to a new home. I sincerely hope that the new owner of Seven Mills will continue to update us all on progress. I will miss the video updates although I think I have a few to catch up on. Looking forward to seeing the next @Andrew P masterpiece developing.

Afternoon all from a grey and soggy Matlock Bath. I hope everyone is well, I have been away from these pages for quite a while. Nothing sinister, but things have been very busy with the shop and the college marking. This has taken up much of my time over the recent months. I was certainly ready for our holiday which actually finished a week ago already. The week in Whitby was restful and, for the first time in three years, was not accompanied by ongoing marking work. Part of the reason I was so busy was to clear the decks ahead of our departure. Hard work, but definitely worth it. From our apartment there was a lovely view down the river towards the harbour. No wonder we never closed the curtains. Oh, and there was often some of these passing by.... We did manage the obligatory ride on the NYMR, marked our 11th wedding anniversary with a meal in The Fisherman's Wife restaurant in Whitby and even discovered the Whitby Brewery up by the Abbey with adjoined tap room. Some delicious ales sampled. Best wishes Andy

I am away from RMWeb for a few weeks and you are selling up!!!! Shocked! On a brighter note - look what is now adorning my shop shelves:

How time flies. It will very soon be three years since we opened our doors for the first time. Everyone who orders up to our third anniversary (on the 6th August) will be entered into the free birthday prize draw for the chance to win a £100 voucher and other prizes. Several new Bachmann products arriving soon including Bachmann Class 46’s and 150’s. www.a2bmodelrailways.co.uk

Evening all and generic best wishes. As @Barry O noted things have been busy with the shop which has kept me away from RMWeb. I have also been very tired all week which seems to be a side effect of vaccine dose number 2. A few decent night’s sleeps needed I think. Night all. Andy

Of course

That Class 121 is going to appear on a rail tour.

You are not kidding! Sadly, anther 90 minutes in the shop to go before I can partake in any alcoholic beverage. Those 90 minutes are not something I ever want to go through again. The rain has meant a "quiet" day in the shop. Well, when I say quiet that does not include the noise from the courting couple upstairs this morning. They were certainly having amnestying enjoyable time! The pay back was me screaming and shouting later in the day as I enjoyed / endured the game via my laptop. Good wishes to all, especially those in need. Andy

Evening one and all and a big thank you to those who sent good wishes and kind words about my return and my news. It is certainly nice to post some positive news. I am sure, as @Barry O stated, that many of my fellow traders are also enjoying a bit of a boom as modellers make the most of new found freedoms and the opportunity to visit their local shops. I expect business to slowly reduce to more normal levels by next month. What that normal will be remains to be seen however. Hopefully when things will settle down the normal level will still be higher than the averages for each of the previous 2 years to continue the ongoing progress I have seen from the business. Today has been a very busy one once more, but busy in many different ways. I arrived at the shop in pleasantly warm sunshine and had just unloaded my bags before a phonecall from a customer enquiring about opening times. They were apparently in their car further down the main road waiting to visit . There was just enough time to dash down to my favourite tea room to order the sausage cob for breakfast before they arrived. The next half hour passed by in a blur with a rush of people coming in, all needing attention and wanting to spend! Ironic that the first hour yesterday produced nobody at all! Proof that you cannot predict things but I enjoyed every minute of chatting and dealing with the customers! Once breakfast was delivered things had started to calm down with customers through the door but the phone never stopped ringing with enquires . One of the calls was from a very stressed out wife. She had lost a filling from her tooth yesterday and had contacted the dentist resulting in a 2.30 emergency appointment. All well and good, but she does not drive and the surgery is too far away to walk and not on a bus route. The result being that I had to close early and race home to act as a taxi service! Tomorrow should at least be a quieter day with heavy rain forecast. It will not be peaceful though - a certain rather important football match is taking place at Pride Park tomorrow lunch time. The outcome will definitely impact on my mood for the rest of the day, weekend, and possible (if things go badly) several weeks to come! Have a good evening all, a well earned beer is being poured by my good lady.

Great news. I am still playing catch up with the videos. May just watch one tonight before bed.