DonB

Harking back to domestic tranquillity, Come June we/I get to 60 years of Obedience by yours truly! Especially in the choice of colours or patterns, my response to any offer of a choice, is to point out that swmbo is our resident colour consultant.

My immediate thought was Trent Junction Near Long Eaton, without any knowledge of Midland boxes.

I was tempted to show your picture to SWMBO just to indicate how much worse I could be given more space ! I am accused ( justly) of putting things down where I last used them, and then complaining that I can't find them.

Re. the canopy over the siding at Osmaston Road bridge. It is very visible on Google Earth satellite .. sorry I haven't found how to copy the view! (it's an age thing, I'm sure) Looking very un-cared for, probably because I don't think it has been used for at least 45 years! It's a simple angle and light-girder lean-to construction, but unusually with plain flat steel sheet for roof and outward facing wall. (not corrugated !) The flat sheet steel would have come from the factory's stock, they used lots of it in their products.

Richard, nice to see that you are still active, I can't help with the weathering problem, but your loading platform reminded me of a structure on the Osmaston Road end of the Ley's factory, actually occupied by the Ewart Chain Co. now. (For the benefit of other readers this is in Derby) The last time I ventured over the rail bridge a couple of years ago it was still there, Their (long disused) siding is hard against the factory wall and access is direct into the works with no platform, but has a canopy over the rails, allowing weather-proof loading of their mechanical handling products. It is / was very close to the Osmaston Road bridge so easily visible over the bridge parapet. I wondered if an adaptation of the canopy might be of interest to you. Of course, to examine the site yourself, you will need to wait for Mr. Johnson to relax our current "voluntary" domestic incarceration. Regards .. keep safe! Don.

The sub-titles are equally amusing.

Two (shortish) stays in hospital last year gave me greater appreciation of the pressures on NHS staff. As AndyY knows, I'm really just an armchair Modeller and I'm assuming that in the unlikely event of winning a prize, i will not be compelled to build a layout to match it. --- SWMBO would not be amused!

Has anyone in the war-gaming fraternity or with other interest in historic weapons approached the professional institute for their views? http://www.materialsfinishing.org/The Institute of Materials Finishing - the international institute for industrial and academic professionals in surface finishing and coating. The only person that I know who may be able to add to the general knowledge pool is George Geear at He is the owner of the Fort, and has a personal museum of weaponry on display there. The National Coastal Path passes the front door. I believe that he and his wife are currently in residence, although the Fort will be closed to visitors due to the CV19 pandemic. He does do professional consultations, and has worked for The Tower of London . I don't know how receptive he would be to a request for ad hoc information, although when I have met him I found him keen to chat on any aspect of weaponry.

My Paternal Grandfather was very fortunate to escape from that environment. My cousin, our family archivist, told me that my great-grandfather was (almost certainly) a bigamist, apparently not uncommon in Dockland ! G-F had a withered leg , we think due to polio, and used a single crutch and walking stick. There is some doubt ( we think Banardo's was involved, but can find no record), but he somehow got trained as a tailor ( could not hold a cobbler's last between his knees.) He made Officers uniforms before and during WW1, later setting up as a Bespoke tailor which he did until he was in his mid to late seventies. He was never "well-off" because -- as he put it -- he had a wife, nine children and three bookmakers to support!

Another UK supplier into the cane sugar industry was Fletcher & Stewart of Derby. They supplied processing equipment, I don't know what archives exist of this company. Not sure who supplied the conveyor equipment to get the cane from rail to mill. may have been Renold Chain of Manchester. or Ewart Chainbelt of Derby. I have some post-1960 Ewart catalogues, but they don't list their sugar cane conveyor equipment.

No need to ask " is anybody there?" on this section of RMweb !

Item in The Times a couple of days ago,--- a letter to the editor said their paper had it's outside pages Ironed to kill infection, another said theirs was put into the microwave oven, but that treated likewise "Private Eye " caught fire!!

A neighbour's small daughter, when he drove Morris Minor which featured an indicator switch on an extended stalk with a flashing light when activated. she referred to it as the "winking stick". other misnomers were "the geever-lever" and the "wind-screamers".

My "blind spot" was with the War-time news reader Alvar Lydell , who , I thought, Was called Al Varlly Dell.

No.151 has a counterweight and a protruding boss on the front wheel . Was it capable of being adapted as an 0-6-0 ?

A company I worked for had a Shadowgraph in about 1964 which resided in the "Tool Room" where special tools were produced for the large-ish number of lathes and presses in the works. I saw it being demonstrated to a group of apprentices but never saw it used "In anger"

My Wife, born and bred at the southern edge of the Cannock coalfield and from a coal-mining family, in those far-off times did well enough to get a place at a grammar school (previously a fee-paying school), She will tell anyone that the first classes she attended were elocution lessons. In consequence she has a not-quite-posh accent, which is a stark contrast to my mixed Black Country / Birmingham / Derby intonation, reflecting the places where I have worked, usually in close proximity to the industrial work-shop.

Quote:- " 5 hours ago, Nearholmer said: Interestingly, or maybe not to anyone except me, the happiest and least worried person in my family at present is my aged mother. She lives a very secluded life already, has experience of ‘holing up’ when she broke her leg three years ago, has an excellent support network for provision supply etc, a garden that she tends with care, and is as fit as a bucket of fleas. Everyone else needs to engage with the world; she has long found contentment in doing barely any of that, and what she does do is strictly on her own terms!" My Best wishes to your mother too. I would dearly love to emulate her, but the distaff half of this household has a long list of tasks for jobs for which I have the tools and parts to complete ..... bl00dy Covid !9

According to my cousin who is the family archivist (ie no one else can be bothered!) Our family tree stretches back to American President Garfield. He is my 7th cousin, 5 times removed, I'm told (how these relationships are calculated is beyond me! ) WIKI :-"James Abram Garfield was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death by assassination six and a half months later. He is the only sitting member of the United States House of Representatives to be elected to the presidency." Seems he was shot by a disgruntled fellow politician who had not been offered a job in government. (The right to bear arms... has anyone warned Trump?)

We lost phone and internet connection for 8 days due to storm Ciaira dumping water into local BT underground connection chambers. compounded by storm Dennis a week later . Have to say that Talktalk were unhelpful and didn't seem to know what was going on, ( "could be 3 weeks") and BT shrugged shoulders ..... "speak to your internet provider" . At least 3 other sufferers in our street are contacting Virgin ( Fibre cables already installed).... costs a little more but faster and more reliable .... we are supposed to get 27Mbps .. actually normally about 15Mbps often down to 5 to7

Some years ago, I took some pictures of the western end of Slough station, but found the station staff particularly unhelpful. enquiring why I was there and why I wanted or needed to photo the place at all. I know that my movements were followed on their CCTV system.

OMG, ... just had a notification from Hermes.... "We have your parcel......"

The only Latin I recall from school... Caesar adsum iam forte (perhaps Caesar will be here) Caesar had some jam for tea. ( little things please little minds , I was 12 years old at the time!)

The proliferation of German / Austrian titles listed above, reminded me of the observation by W.S.Gilbert .... When every one is somebody Then no one's anybody ....

Oh dear, are we headed for a variation of the gauge / scale wars? Sort of High-definition text (Rees-Mogg style ? ) down to the Industrial version ( Peaky Blinders?) which I met daily during my working days. Both Rees-Mogg and Peaky Blinders could be classed as Pre-grouping , (In reality, the Black Country gang disappeared a little before the 1914 war )