southern42

' evening all from red dragon land. Another cold misty moisty day but nice and warm indoors. Notalot achieved today but I did get out the full list of exercises for my toot on the flute - I usually just play the "important" ones I decided to stick with ages ago. It was quite revealing, after two years of playing, how "important" the other ones are too! So I shall have to endeavour to master these as well. They should help my fingers work better - on the tricky bits, hopefully! One thing I do notice, these days, is if my hands just get a little cold it is much harder to play. Nothing like nice warm hands to make them feel supple. Less stiff, anyway! Getting dinner ready time but no bread pudding left for afters. 😪 Take care. Be good. Keep warm / cool (select as appropriate). Polly

And you say : "...and they think I’m going to sit and show them again and again." As a university library assistant for many a year, it was amazing how much some of the students relied on us for obtaining information etc etc but there were several outstanding moments ranging From: Beginner's Plea Having helped her get access to the information she required, I then got asked if I would write the essay itself... Knowing the feeling of being out of your depth, I did hope she got on alright, in the end, by herself. To: End of course Boast Coming in with a group of friends, he proudly came out with, "I have been here for three years and never used the library..." Shame - all the resources he could probably have benefitted from gone to waste.

TBH I would even find it difficult to keep up with this lot... Or with these Though marching may be easier than sitting - A fairy godmother may help. pics from https://clipart-library.com

' morning all from red dragon land. Early misty moisty morning is more moisty than misty now. Whatever, it is cold and wet outside, warm but dark inside. Just about to have another toot on the flute with the beat box. Mojo was all over the place yesterday giving me problems with coordination, concentration and patience so, hopefully, I will do a bit better in those compartments this morning. Best get it all set up and give it a go. Take care. Be good. Stay with it. Polly

' night all and nos da

That has just reminded me...I made bread pudding, yesterday, and have forgotten all about it. Double helpings, tomorrow, then. 😋 Wetnwindy all day in these parts and not very warm 8C. Slow off the mark, today, but I did get a few toots on the flute though it was pretty rough going <<or was that the weavva?>> First off was a couple of exercises to 27 beats per minute (allowing 4 notes per beat) on my beat box and 8 beats to a line. After finding it difficult to match a couple of the exercises to this I abandoned the project and returned to the song using 27 then 30 bpm. Song: first line fine. Second line too stretched out. After what seemed an age, I eventually worked out there were a few notes that I had not shortened when using the faster speeds. Once that was settled, and the reworked notes fitted the beat, I started on Lines 3 and 4 and noted similar timing issues and managed to fix them as well. There was also some training of fingers to make some of the twiddly bits more consistent while trying to overcome some of the symptoms of ageing. I put it this way - I managed to train my left hand fingers to form some very awkward shapes when playing guitar, so I can make those fingers perform some tricky bits on the wee flute. The whole of my going Indian has been built on this "philosophy." A whole new world - different form of notation, different musical forms, scales and instruments, with different language, etc etc... but hey, when I started at the age of nine - I knew NOTHING about music - I just got on with what was put in front of me - and without the bright colours, large alphabet letters, or pictures kids get given, today - just plain music and you picked it all up up as you went along. OK I google a lot of information now, but then I want to run before I can crawl. <<Don't we all?>>.

Beat box set up to 30bpm and I (wisely, it turns out) tried it out with a couple of exercises, first. It took awhile to adjust to the basic 8 beat backdrop but long enough to have a go at the first line of the song. After a few feeble attempts, I played the tune several times without its twiddly bits to get the feel of it and establish a regular beat. Eventually, I was able to play Line 1 with the twiddly bits 7 times without stopping which is reassuring as I have 6 lines to work on. Keeping going is not one of those things I find easy, certainly not from memory. Line 2, shall we say, needs a bit of work - without the beat box, in the first instance. There is obviously a few places which I need to sort out where the rhythm/timing may not be quite right or I where I may be trying to rush it. Probably both! Will try again... Chuckinitdarn makinadin on the windows. It suddenly went very dark at 4pm!

' night all and nos da if you are still up that is!

With the beat box set to 36 beats per minute,* it was "Woah! Slow Down!" So, I did, to a more controllable 30bpm - and that is still faster than I normally play. Without the ornamental notes the speed is fine, but keeping up with quick speed fingering is a bit of a struggle in quite a few places. And I only tackled the first two lines. At least I know what I will be doing in the morning! * The tutor's set speed on one of the videos.

' evening all from red dragon land. Jobs done, toot on the flute done. Dinner to do. The most painful is keeping an eye on the magma situation in Iceland. Having enjoyed the opportunity to see and better understand volcanic activity for the past three years, albeit only via online videos, I can now only think about those who have had to evacuate their homes and places of work, and all those on emergency standby or assessing the situation. Nowt on TV that I want to watch, tonight, so I might have another toot on the flute and maybe get my beat box out gain. I would like to get that going with the current song before going onto the second half. Up until now, I have occasionally used online videos but I have more control over the speed on the beat box. So, that is a must, then! Time to geronwivit. Take care. Be good. Help your wishes come true. Polly

And the music not mimed, either!

In our day (back in the good ole days), they did not pay much for their players, unlike today: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66613444 I doubt things like insurance was as much either, or everything else that goes with the game at the top these days.

Apologies, if any typos appear but that brought some wet stuff to the eyes. Do enjoy your GWR surprise. It is so good to hear of the kindness and dedication that bears fruit among us. Polly

The music was cool, too. Interesting to see it combined with the dance.

' morning all from red dragon land. A tad warmer today, 10.3C, and some blue sky and notalota wind. Yesterday was one of those afternoons spent on the phone trying to sort out a problem that has transpired involving several agencies so, after the bins had been sorted, I only had time to do the chicken pie. However, I did make a pastry top instead of mashed potato and stuck jacket potatoes in the oven instead. The advantage of adding pastry is we get a second helping tonight.* 😋 Some more mags were sorted into wanted, or not wanted and put aside for sale in the museum shop. The wanted ones remain to have the required articles removed and the rest put in the recycle bin. Hopefully, I will have time to do that today. Other than that, there are just the routine jobbies and some toot on the flute with the concentration going into getting the first part of the new song into some sort of respectability before tackling the next part. This may take some time as I keep finding bits for improvement - reminds me of the school report: "she needs to improve..." How things come back and haunt us....! Time for a mugadecaf before I die of thirst. Take care. Be good. * Be clever. Polly

' afternoon all from red dragon land. Ooohh! The sun has popped its head out and the terrace has dried out. Strong winds first thing this morning, and dark, so I had a (little) bit of a lie in. Toot on the flute this morning to tidy up a new twiddly bit. Seems to be working - fingering played in reverse progression is interesting. Getting it smooth is not as easy as it looks, though. <<I'll get there.>> Some more sorting of stuff in the pipeline ahead of bin collection day, tomorrow, though I want to get a fruit crumble made as well, then I can do a chicken pie as well - Trying to keep oven (electricity) use down - so it is two for one, these days. Clear up the lunch things and a mugadecaf to begin with. Take care. Be good. Hope the weather is not too bad. Polly

' evening all from red dragon land. 6 o'clock and pitch black out. <<Blurrrrr>> Some sorting out, this morning, of recycling and shredding paper and card material. At least that is going well. I am also trying to keep up with everyday household recycling. Most is ok, it is just an awful lot of bother having to rinse out (and get dry) the drop-off-at-large-store bags. I generally just put them to one side ready to go into a plastic bag which is ready for recycling but there are so many bags and wrappings now I feel as if I am drowning in the things. I have been thinking of getting one of those suitable for kitchen multi bins for ages but looking at the recycling which goes on here makes me hesitate. I think, as it gets colder, wetter and windier over the coming months, I will not be wanting to go out to the recycle bins every few minutes and will have to make a choice and get one! I managed to sort out my railway society membership renewal this week. I had renewed it online, or so I thought, but I soon discovered, when I tried to pay someone else, that there was another "submit" button off screen (i.e., Scroll down...!), on what I thought was the last page, to complete the process! One of those we-want-to-verify-this-time pages. You live and learn. Looking at my bank statement confirmed my idiocy! Today's toot on the flute sessions highlighted a couple of problems with the new twiddly bits so it will be back to the video, tomorrow, to see how it is supposed to go. Now, I am off to do dinner. Take care. Be good. Be ready...! Polly

I followed on to another article, from a link on the page above, featuring echidna Zaglossus attenboroughi at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-67363874 Amazing stuff. Having recently been to Bodnant Garden (pic below), it doesn't seem half as bad when compared to the likes of the Cyclops Mountains which are: (quote) "dangerous...(has) narrow ridges of moss and tree roots...sheer cliffs....earthquakes...venomous animals...deadly snakes...leeches..." (Photo of the Indonesian Mountains in the article.)

' evening all. Tooth fixed - well, I hope so. I was told, today, that the filling that came out after the last fix-up job two weeks ago, was only temporary and because I was given another "emergency" appointment, today, he could only give me another temporary but stronger fix-up job. If this one decides to falter, I have to ask for a longer appointment! <<hummmm>> To make things worse, the instrument, which he used to keep flesh away from the tooth being fixed, was the cause of some trouble I had this afternoon. A short while ago, I discovered it seems to have caused a blister and the roughness of the tooth is rubbing against it <<Pah!>> as @Barry O would say. I just hope I didn't look too glum when I attended my other engagement with a few friends. A quick toot on the flute before the day passes. Yesterday, I began the last set of twiddly bits in the first half of the new song, so more work ahead of me before I even think about tackling the next half of the song - 7 lines of it! So far, I have done 6, so feeling hopeful. It is so far beyond what I have ever tried to do before on any size/type of flute, and I never got much more than the odd 3-note trill when I played the piano. Do I find it easy, then? No! Pollywollydoodle Just been told Big names Li'l tr***s is on at 9pm :D Ah! It's the man who rekindled my dream of having a "tr**n set"!!!! ;)

Welcome back to my Half Term break. Glad you can join me for a wee bit of wallowing in the good old days. East Lancashire Railway Part 2 Half Term October 2023 Museum and Show Companions: Tender, Southern42 and family On our return to Bury Bolton Street station we follow the signs to the Bury Transport Museum in the Old Goods Warehouse where I am in my element! The family have gone off a-wandering, so I take my chance to inspect the vehicles. However, it has come to my attention that a dear fellow RMweb member has raised some concerns about my sElf and Safe Tea policy but I do like to clamber about when I investigate things. I did fall into a puddle once - on a Bluebell Railway platform - but no damage was incurred, and I am very soft at heart. I am a bit grubby, though, but I am an engine driver, after all! Anyway, some pics. See for yoursElf. I clamber on onboard one of the Leyland buses - upstairs is roped off. 😪 Ah! That's more comfy. I wonder, how many of you remember these? I can just see myself in the driver's seat! My companions' memories are of the AEC-Leyland Routemaster, "darn sarf," as some of you call it. Back in the top left hand corner of Wales, my memories are of the Crosville Motor Services AEC Renown. And who remembers scene-makers like these? Every good layout deserves one! Another soft seat. It couldn't get better! Now, do I fancy a job change... ...in the Manager's Office... ...shifting paperwork instead of coal? Hmmm? 🤔 I would have to get a soft seat, of course! Or maybe out on the road on a steamroller? Hilda, she's called. These may be more my size. 😉 But I must do honour to Ivor's counterpart... though he isn't working, today! Maybe it's because I only have a shilling and not one of your new pound coins I have seen used on similar vehicles! My weekend finishes with a visit to the Warrington MRE with some excellent layouts... ...this one engaging our young girls as they are introduced to a bit of DIY running and shunting... ...traders* ...picture show up on the wall... ...and some good food and drink for lunch. * Apologies for the blurry pics but they are distant scenes grabbed, at the last minute, from larger images. (Jones the Steam's PA) A brilliant weekend, thanks to the family group, but I am back on duty at 04.00, tomorrow, and looking forward to catching a few winks in the car on the way home - south on the M56, turn right (west) at the A55, and back into Wales ❣️ Thanks for poop pooping in. Regards, Edwin

' morning all from red dragon land. Showery. Just a quickie as I have a couple of engagements this afternoon. Sent to me earlier:

' morning all from red dragon land. Sun in and out, a mere 8.4C outside, a pleasant 19.4C inside. At least my hands are warm though I do have an extra layer (cosy fleece) on these days. No swanning around in Ts and shorts for (quite) awhile, then. Currently, working through some piles of stuff that have collected over the year. Where it is all going I do not know! <<sigh>> Filing into muddling and non-muddling, with not-needed going to the recycle bin/shredder, is the easy bit. <<Well! It's a start!>> That is between being PA for Jones the Steam's recent ventures, to be completed and posted, later today. Time for a mugadecaf, a short toot on the flute, and lunch but not necessarily in that order. Take care. Be good. Keep warm/cool. <<Select whichever is most appropriate!>> Polly

When I was a young teacher in London, accompanied by another adult, I took my class of 30+ lively 7-8 year olds to the science museum and got congratulated on their excellent behaviour. It surprised me at the time, because I had never been accustomed to anything else on school or other childhood outings. Over the years, I have become more and more appreciative of the comment.

Hello all. Come and join me in a visit "oop norf," as I believe you call it in these parts. Ivor is back in action in the top left hand corner of Wales. I must admit, he did rather enjoy the Coming Home Party, especially the visit of Idris the dragon, who spent the afternoon in Eli the Baker's oven to bake the special cake; and singing with the choir. Ivor's brilliantly shining whistles did sound beautiful. With School closed for the autumn half term, and it being my weekend off, I get invited up to Lancashire by my companions for a family get together on the rails. You might recognise a couple of station names... ...and the railway's name, seen here at at Rawtenstall. East Lancashire Railway Part 1 Half Term October 2023 Round Trip Bury to Rawtenstall Companions: Tender, Southern42 and family Tickets pre-booked, arriving early to catch the first train of the day, we enter the Platform to see our loco typically steaming away on the other side through the windows of a dining car. As the bridge over to the other Platform is closed, we have to walk from the carpark and around the corner to the main entrance. Entering the Booking Office and Gift Shop, it is "kinda spooky", 👻 "done up," as they say, for the festive period. Once on the platform, we are greeted by our loco and friendly crew. A very pleasant surprise for my companions as City of Wells visited Llangollen Railway a few years ago, and another of the West Country Class being their "must have" mascot. I spied a pair of smart looking Class 105 DMUs in Her, my companion's, favourite DMU livery... ...and, on our return, an English Electric Class 50. In the meantime, we travel north to Rawtenstall for a walk in Whitaker Park... and a session in the playground for the girls... No play for me - everything too wet after a lot of rain... and lunch in MrFitzpatrick's Temperance Bar where both the staff and food were great. All too soon, we are back in Bury, Bolton Street. A short walk takes us to the Old Goods Warehouse, now the Bury Transport Museum, where you can join me in my next post. Regards, Edwin

Turkish delight? Edit: Apologies @monkeysarefun - only just read comment above. Real Turkish delight, made in Turkey, brought back to England and given to me by a school friend (Turkish mother), 1960, was the best ever.