southern42

that's a negative

Being of a generally quiet and serious nature, when I got to 40, I decided it was time to be a bit silly! I didn't think it would last!

Ah, and that was light wind sailing. I hate to think what it is like in a blow! When watching the video, the thought crossed my mind immediately, and terrified me especially, as you point out, at seeing the moored craft along the route. It was bad enough seeing seasoned yachtsmen in large yachts tacking in and out of the yachts moored at Beaumaris or having dinghies and jet skis prancing about you when you are moored up yourself - just watch out when you are down below making the tea when a jet skier blasts past or a motorboat's wake comings rolling in. Excellent videos, by the way. It is quite rewarding to see what it is like in other people's waters.

the town where I was born Lived a man who sailed to sea And he told us of his life In the land of submarines So we sailed on to the sun 'Til we found

I'll stand by you - Bruce Springsteen

Yahoo! Up 'ere in the top left hand corner of red dragon land, it's bin prep day for tomorrow's household waste collection. Another exciting job is to go and water the pot plants before doing dinner.

bottle of Tizer

Watching the Three River Race videos looked so gorgeously genteel in a rather narrow water system. It took me back to the great annual races in our sailing days in the Menai Strait. There was the dinghy race in the the Menai Strait Regatta from Beaumaris down to Caernarfon in which we capsized our Scorpion, in strong wind and big waves typical of that end, with spinnaker up before we got to Bangor Pier and sailed the rest downwind with a torn spinnaker stowed away, coming in last and not even getting the finishing signal to acknowledge our arrival. It was getting late, so rather than going ashore for refreshment, we sailed straight back to homebase at Port Dinorwic SC. Then there was the dinghy race from Beaumaris in a big sea, winds dying off through Puffin Sound to next to nothing all the way to Traeth Bychan in the open sea and hot sun and the tide right out when we finished. It was a long haul up across the sands to the clubhouse and toilets! Sailing in yachts was something different. Ray got asked to enter the Round Anglesey Race and I had the pleasure to drive the car round to Menai Bridge Pier and wait...and wait...and wait...until they eventually arrived in a next to nothing wind sometime after dark. My first turn came in a keelboat. There, at Port Dinorwic Sailing Club, to have a lazy afternoon in the sun, not exactly dressed for sailing, and up popped someone who said, "Polly will crew for you."* Er hum, I got soaked! A few years later, a last minute shout re the Westerly GK24, "Polly can helm for you"*. Hmmm. Well, helm I did from PDSC down towards Caernarfon, round the big red buoy and back. Spinny up, we were fast catching up on a large group of one design dinghies that had come to a halt at the buoy. Without room to overtake and round the buoy without going aground on the sandbank, I gave the command to drop the spinny so that we did not crash into them. Momentum lost in a strong inward coming tide, we had some catching up to do from being 2nd to last in our class of yacht. We made good speed, caught the other boat up, overtook, met a sudden change of wind - common at Portdinowic where the two sea breezes from either end of the Straight meet - and ended up doing a 360degree turn, so third we came and I was delighted that our friends (the owners) got a certificate, despite Mr owner (down in the cabin throughout!) telling me and my crew** a few times to "give up." No Way! * Simply because they needed someone, not because I was a greatly experienced sailor, that I was not, but that was the joy of club sailing. If you were there, and someone needed crew, chances are you would get roped in. ** a young teenage girl dinghy and keelboat sailor and mature lady mirror dinghy sailor. Great days, but in our last few years, weather conditions led to less and less time out on the water. So we swapped to playing t***ns at West Shore instead. The weather was not any better, but at least we were doing something that was not quite so weather dependent. Rain is a killer of course but then that is why we have a clubhouse - not that we gather there these days....yet...

Why Does It Always Rain On Me? - Travis

The only time I was down there "on that thar bridge" (Q), I saw Live and Let Die at the cinema. That dates it!

house is getting shaky This ole house is getting old This ole house lets in the rain This ole house lets in the cold Oh his knees are a getting chilly But he feels no fear nor pain Cause he

So, O followed R, I see. Guess Suvverner's brain cells were struggling a bit. Ate what turned out to be a bad egg - no kiddin' - and was at the end of a 24hr fast after stomach upset. Well enough today to do a spot of weeding this afternoon - my excuse to get a bit of sunshine. No explosions heard up 'ere, lots of dog barking and dog owner yelling though.

Out in the cold - Strawbs

about! Watch out

' morning all from red dragon land. Currently sunny but large covering of darkish colour clouds so the yellow thing in the sky looks likely to disappear sometime soon. I knew mentioning the G word to Ray this morning was a mistake! Feeling a bit washed out so I am having to give the CVR a miss today - so no playing t***ns today. Unfortunately, I ate an egg a few days ago which had a slightly stronger taste than usual - but since I have noticed that some eggs do taste different from others, even from the same batch, I stupidly ignored it! It must have been a bad 'un because an upset stomach was in pursuit afterwards but fortunately not debilitating - I consider myself lucky to have got away with it mildly, this time, with just a 24hr fast! Nonetheless, I am taking each day cautiously. Some gloss varnishing to do on the bus to Portmeirion, today, in preparation for adding some decals. This will be my first attempt at doing this and is in anticipation of adding them to some things that run on parallel bits of metal. I would rather ruin a £6 toy than an expensive "this is not a toy." Toot on the flute with the new tune showed promise yesterday. I hope it does not take several steps backward, today! Some G word later this afternoon to water some pot plants and assess where some of them can be planted in the ground. I do not always make the right judgment, but hey ho, always worth a try. Main problems - strong winds and too many slugs just about sum it up. The soil is great if a little stony (over ex-ice age boulder clay), light, fibrous, easy to dig. Get the right plant and it generally does very well. I bought a lovely fragrant Skimmia years ago after a visit to Portmeirion - after a few years there was not much leaf left on it! So many plants from local suppliers have had short lives. And that reminds me of another problem - Sheeeeeeeeeep! They also are partial to what you have on offer, hence some of my border plants were replanted behind others that were not a sheep delicacy! The saddest one was when the kids grew some sunflowers from seed. The sunflowers grew beautifully indoors in their pots. Come planting out and the tops disappeared within a few days of budding! Then came the strawberry plants - a present from youngest - and the only fruit was devoured before I could harvest it! Why do we bother? This might answer that question: https://www.my5.tv/kew-gardens-a-year-in-bloom/season-1/episode-1-8d8a92e1-a03c-46d5-ac75-a5c16cb861c5 Fitt and Elfie taking care of the bugs... Take care all and play safe. _________ Best wishes Polly

Thanks for the link, Chris. Despite my leanings towards steam since days too long ago to remember, as a proud owner of the 117, 121, 122, 128, and GWR railcars, and former commuter on some (the grown up version not the model!), I found this additionally informative and highly enjoyable - and excellent material for accompanying this morning's breakfast.

can't pick and

Times they are a changing - Bob Dylan

one fell swoop

After midnight - Eric Clapton

sad and lonely Tell me what will I do I can't explain, I'm

nightmare when it

Or have a go at some ridiculous modelling... _____________________________ Post Script for interest only! Choo!choo quote Click on me and have a look at the test piece!

While I was waiting for the gloss to arrive, I did a test piece for the other modules - a fir forest on the distant mountains using some dried out moss. I also have a different moss which I have pressed between model railway books specifically for the job, so I hope I may get a more life like appearance. We will see when it comes to it. For now, I am happy enough that the idea should work. Clump of tangled up moss First couple of strands cut and stuck on mountains made from a 4"x1"x1/4" cereal card frame and some Polyfilla. Some previously used diluted PVA glue on the base. Super glue on the moss. Further layers added. As I have yet to start either of the other two modules, I have used The Cob to see if it is going to work. The mountain forest is simply placed on top of a box behind the Cob's backdrop so actually outside the 8"x8" limit. Naturally(!), it will fit inside the 8"x8" ruling on either of the other two cakebox modules. The scale of the mountains and forest will need to be adapted when I scenic the other modules. I have some photos to guide me. This test was purely freestyle. Test on site with the 'trees' painted with colour washes to reflect a dull wet misty autumn day. Back to the bus to Portmeirion, next. Thanks for popping in and your ratings. Much appreciated. Polly

wasp markings on