Bernard Lamb

Which is why at Sotheby's you need to register with a credit card 24 hours in advance. Bernard

More the opposite with model railways. People buy craft or artisan products as they are better than the mass produced equivalent. With model trains the RTR versions are so far in advance of anything that the vast majority of people can make. I am happy to buy RTR and carve it up to suit my requirements. Most of my freight stock is kit built and even then heavily modified. Others feel pain when taking a knife to what they perceive as a valuable investment. I do make my own bread but am not up to having a go at beer. Bernard

Or, as in the case of a late former labour minister who I was at school with, diminishing his history to make him appear more working class. Bernard

Part of the problem is that Human Rights kick in. As the athletes are professionals they cannot be deprived of the right to earn a living. If the national federations set out rules that make these cheats eligible then they have to select them. In cricket the rules leave the selectors a wider choice. If the rules say that you win a trial then you are automatically selected then the sports controlling bodies are stuffed. They say they want to tighten the rules but as Coe said yesterday the have not been able to do so. I wonder just how hard they have tried and how much behind the scenes pressure has been applied by rather wealthy interested parties. I feel some sympathy for Gatlin as there are far worse people about. The authorities are failing to chase and deal with the backroom people who are behind the cheating. Only Rugby, both codes, seems to understand the real problem and has been chasing the suppliers. Back On topic. Well done Jess. It was a nice touch to get the medal in London even if it was several years too late. Bernard

Back in the early days of the internet I went on a cycling holiday. On the first evening we all had to introduce ourselves and give a brief personal history. Most of the group were surprised when one couple said that they knew all about me as they had looked me up on the internet. At that time it was unusual,l but these days it seems to be the norm. Which is where the problem comes in with inaccurate information and .a weird selection in respect of those who are included and those who are omitted. One very sensitive area is military history. Some on line articles give the impression that the subject won the war almost single handed, while the official accounts, that can be seen only if you sign up that you will not quote from them, tell a very different story. Bernard

I suppose it has been a tradition in this hobby going back a very long time. I believe the Estate Agents on the Madder Valley Railway has the name Quibble and Cuss. Bernard

There is a great inconsistency between entries for those that are still living. One person I know for example has a very comprehensive entry that suddenly stops around 2004. If you look into their life thy were always in the public eye. At that date they published an autobiography, did a last interview and quietly dropped out of public life. I am sure I am not alone in knowing where they are and what they are doing. The media it would seem have an agreement to respect their wishes regarding privacy. Again regarding details of families some entries are very comprehensive whilst others say nothing. Same goes on here I suppose with some members who mention partners and some who live in a secret bubble. Bernard

Twenty posts and not one about fishing. I shall moan as I thought this would be about carping. Bernard

I find Wikipedia a very strange beast. Various people who I would consider to be "famous" and worthy of an entry are not included, but all sorts of other people are in there. If I were to look up several people that I know well who are in there I am sure I would find errors and omissions. I have done just that with a couple of people who I know like to keep their private life private. Ironically the wife of one of them, a well known railway man, has just published her autobiography where all is revealed. By all means add an entry after consulting those concerned, but I am afraid that I for one will take it with a large pinch of salt. Bernard

Chris, You are wasting your energy. I keep pointing out to disbelievers on here that tender drive works superbly when designed and built correctly. But then what do you, me, the Germans and Pendon know about such things. Bernard

The other side of that is the respect that they still have around Leipzig for the help provided by The Essex Regiment and William Congreve and his rockets in the battle against Napoleon. Regarding relative casualty figures let us remember the city of Manila, I am sure I have mentioned it previously. One of the most devastated places on earth, but hardly ever mentioned. Spare a thought also for the millions of Romusha worked to death by the Japanese. Again an almost taboo subject. Bernard

A detail from the war memorial at St Anne's, Limehouse. Rather more direct than the usual depiction. The artist was GA Walker. Bernard

Soon found on line Bernard

You did leave yourself wide open to such a comment. Bernard

Blame it all on Boris. A big factor in getting the 2012 Olympic Games was the case made about a "legacy". Ride London is just a small part of that legacy. The races now have top status and are attracting the best riders. That also means they get the best world wide coverage. The race for women last night was a show case for London as an attractive city and was virtually a free advert for the tourism industry. I would like to see a figure for the total revenue the event generates. What is a few hours of restricted travel compared to that? The people of London are still paying for the games so it can't be bad that some money is indirectly going back to them. Sit back and have a glass of your favourite tipple and enjoy the spectacle. There is far too much at stake for the odd moaner to have any influence. Lighten up folks. Bernard

All very true. However it is rather like comparing a mongrel rescued from the local dogs home with a pedigree specimen. Having spent all my working life in an environment where continuous improvement was one of the key points I find this race to the bottom hard to understand. Lots of detail you say. I can't help adding and most of it wrong. Reminds me of a certain car. Lots of trouble and usually serious. There must be a place for such models but I fear this thread and the other one, is trying to treat a cheap and cheerful offering as though it were a state of the art model. Bernard

Nothing wrong with taking that view of things. However others strive for a more accurate representation. This particular model is of little interest to me. If it was to 3.5mm scale I would have been very keen. The photos so far seen do indicate a bit of a mess. Can I refer readers to the excellent Model Rail review of the Warwell. You pays your money and you takes your choice regarding that model. Unfortunately with the Dean Goods there is no choice and the production of the Oxford version might just have killed off any other interested parties. A shame really. Bernard

It did move to Kings Langley at one time. Seeing that the current occupants of the site are having a few problems they might be up for a swap. Bernard

Bromley by Bow. I believe it to be unique in having burnt down twice. Around 1892 and again around 1970 from memory. The mainline part was closed long ago. The underground booking hall, being generous there, was covered in scaffolding a couple of weeks ago and had been like that for a long time. I have never been there when the barriers were working. If you do manage to reach the outside there is the traffic on the A12 to deafen you and the site of dereliction on the other side of the road will finish you off. Bernard

So why make this film now? I don't think I will be going to see it. If the current taste is to rake over past defeats, then I do look forward to Singapore appearing in a couple of years time. Bernard

Now that the Chinese are actually going ahead with the idea in a modified form, standard gauge and missing out Alaska, I wonder if it can be considered such a mad concept? Funny that the originator was not keen on railways as a young man but after seeing what mass car ownership really meant became much more interested in rail as a viable mass transport system. Bernard

Another skin lover here. It depends to some extent on the quality of the milk used and the rate at which the liquid cools down. The thicker the better for my taste. For some long lost reason the skin was at one time known in our house as "The Trousers". Part of SWMBO's education when she came to the UK was how to make both crumble and custard. I now get, alongside apple, all sorts of mixtures based on gooseberries, rhubarb and various types of currant. While crumble has to be served with custard that other delight of the English country kitchen, namely summer pudding, has to be served with cream. But that is another story. Bernard

The people at Kings Cross were the first to introduce a scale section bull head rail. Part of the Kingsway range. From memory, if you need a source with some authority, try looking in the Ian Rice book on building scale track. Pretty sure that book contains a comprehensive history of 4mm track. Bernard

I find it rather odd that not one of the presenters on the London early evening news is on the list, whereas both regular presenters on the following programme are. The London people speak very good English that can be readily understood by Londoners, whereas the other pair have such dreadful accents that become a pain to listen to for any length of time. They even have a young lady in London who referred to Waterloo Railway Station last night. The same comments apply to Scotland where the choice of presenter always seems to me to be excellent. To put things in perspective. The Directors of the Tate and National Gallery are paid £167 and £168 thousand. At a talk by one of them the other week the chap who introduced the Director made the point that he does not do it for the money. Meaning that he could earn far more working for a different employer. The Director made the comment that he did the job as he just liked hanging pictures. I wonder how many on the BBC list would continue to work if they just liked being on telly. Bernard