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Mike Bellamy

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Everything posted by Mike Bellamy

  1. Or does he build Airfix kits in his spare time - or has a Scalextric set up in the loft . . . we need to keep reminding ourselves that Hornby is not just about model railways. .
  2. HMS Vengeance has just returned to Faslane after 201 days at sea - in fact 201 days under the sea if news reports are to be believed - said to be the second longest underwater deployment of a nuclear submarine - presumably with no support or logistics as that could / would give away their position. Not the sort of job I could do ! .
  3. As shown in a Channel Five programme last year. Link to Army News and TV below https://www.army.mod.uk/news-and-events/news/2023/08/military-justice-on-the-small-screen/ https://www.channel5.com/show/court-martial-soldiers-behind-bars .
  4. Last year I went to a small railway/museum which had a gala with a visiting loco as well as their own stock being used. For £3 more than the gala ticket, I joined the Society and got free admission for the rest of the year, discount in the shop and a magazine each quarter. .
  5. If he's with Hurtigruten, then the most northerly port is Kirkenes where you can get an excursion to the Russian border. Interesting to see that Germany posted 100,000 troops there, and that after Malta it was the most bombed town during WW2 with 320 raids from USSR. We will be there mid April celebrating my "Three Score Years and Ten" but I'll keep well away from the border. https://www.hurtigruten.co.uk/ports/kirkenes/ .
  6. Thanks - I blame the BBC as it's obvious that they got the info from Wikipedia and seem to have missed the fact that the private investor (Moorcroft Capital) was actually owned by another of the Douglas-Miller family and so still a descendant of Charles Jenner . . . . . . . BBC The new building opened in 1895 and was extended in 1903. Further extensions were added in the 1950s and 1960s. The building was sold to private investors in 2005 after House of Fraser bought the Jenners brand and property. It was then bought by Anders Holch Povlsen in 2017 for a reported £53m. WIKIPEDIA The lease of the building remained with the Jenners holding company JPSE Ltd, owned by the Douglas-Miller family. In August 2005 it was sold to Moorcroft Capital Management, owned by Jenners' former chief executive Robbie Douglas-Miller. In 2017 the building was bought by Danish billionaire fashion retailer and landowner in Scotland Anders Holch Povlsen, reportedly for £53 million. .
  7. In my case, it's a right angle scar on the tip of the left index finger - caused by the corner of a corned-beef tin I was trying to open at a scout camp 55 years ago. I can still feel it tingling at times. .
  8. When I worked in the Partnership office at the University, we had very flexible working hours, with most staff coming in early as our overseas partners were ahead of us by several hours. As this meant an earlier finish, a couple of staff found it better to come in later due to child care commitments so that the office was always manned (am I allowed to say that ?) during normal office hours. All worked well until the manager went on maternity leave and after complications with her pregnancy, didn't return. Eventually a new manager was appointed who wanted to understand and record the start and finish time for us all, rather than the flexibility and trust we had enjoyed in the past. After entering everything into a spreadsheet, she made one member of staff alter her finish time to 5.01pm rather than 5.00pm as the spreadsheet proved that she was working 5 minutes less than everyone else - of course this wasn't true as she was one of the hardest working staff in the office, almost always in early and staying later. A prime example of how to get staff on your side - or not ! Caused a lot of resentment amongst the staff including me. We never worked well together and eventually she complained to HR about me. A senior member of another area investigated and was very much on my side - so much so that as soon as the manager went on holiday, I was moved to another department and she lost one of her most experienced staff ! .
  9. Going back to the original announcement . . . . . . . 1. I had no idea that Game was part of Frasers 2. I had no idea that Game stores were stockists of Hornby products - their website only lists four items !! https://www.game.co.uk/en/brands/Hornby/ EDIT to add that Scalextric have 13 products, Corgi 7 and although they have an Airfix page, they don't stock any of their products. .
  10. You have to prove that you have 'Charitable Aims' and that you are not just a group of friends with a model railway. How do you benefit others? What do you hope to gain from becoming a Charity? There is a lot on the Charity Commission website https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charitable-purposes/charitable-purposes https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charities-supplementary-public-benefit-guidance On a related topic, our club at one time had discretionary relief from business rates from the local authority. We had to reapply every five years and after the last submission of the paperwork (before Covid and cuts in local authority spending) our application was rejected on two counts. 1. We showed no evidence of financial need (as we had money in the bank) 2. We did not provide any benefit to the wider community (the benefit was only to our own members) However we still don't pay business rates on the clubroom as there is a central government scheme for small business rate relief which covers the cost of business rates for small and low value buildings. We still get a rate demand each year from the local council (£1,800 last year) but that is offset by the same amount from the government - so it's a way for Derby City to get money from Westminster . . . . . . . . . .
  11. Jenners is undergoing a major renovation and most of the building is to become a luxury hotel - owned by a Danish billionaire. Although the shop was part of the original House of Fraser group long before Ashley took over, the building was actually sold back in 2005. Detailed BBC report in link below https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-68153251 .
  12. Full text copied below . . . . . . . . . Christine Hatton: "My 26 years of full time work here have been an absolute blast. I will have fond memories of Hattons, the people I've worked alongside and the community we have served. I am now looking forward to a happy retirement including plenty of travel, golf and tennis - as well as some part time voluntary work. I would like to thank all of our customers and everyone associated with Hattons over the last 77 years." Richard Davies: "I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has worked & shopped with Hattons over the 25 years I've had the privilege to work here. Since 1999 the internet has transformed the world and invigorated our wonderful hobby. Hattons have sold over £225 million of model railways to over 425,000 different people in more than 150 countries - it's been an incredible journey and experience. After Hattons I'll be: Doing some consultancy work in the UK model railway industry. Consultancy work with companies outside of model railways - feel free to enquire by connecting on LinkedIn. I'm particularly interested in working with firms in Chester & North Wales on an ongoing basis, but more than happy to use Zoom to speak to anyone around the world Potentially visiting model railway clubs around the world and telling the story of Hattons - feel free to invite me! Spending time with family in Flint, North Wales Contactable at davieshq@gmail.com I would like to say thank you to Christine Hatton for asking me to help run Hattons, after her brother Keith died in 2008. Keith was an such incredible & unique person, that it was understandable many assumed his passing would lead to our closing - we surprised many by achieving a huge amount between 2008 & 2023. I wish Christine, and all the dedicated colleagues of Hattons, all the very best for the future. I am very sorry my best wasn't good enough to maintain Hattons success." Connect with Richard on Linkedin → Contact Richard via Email →   Hattons Staff move on to new pastures... We are pleased to announce that several of our staff members are continuing to work in the model railway industry. You may be familiar with Dave, Jack, Christov & Tom: Dave - Commercial Projects Manager Dave has been with Hattons for many years working in practically all areas of the business! Dave is moving on to Rapido Trains UK to assist with their forthcoming projects. Jack - Chief Content Officer You may recognise Jack from our popular Platform 1 livestreams and at exhibitions. He started in 2017, managing our marketing campaigns and content. He is moving on to work with Rails of Sheffield. Christov & Tom - Helpdesk Assistants If you've ever called or emailed us, you have likely spoken to Christov or Tom - who were two of our extremely knowledgeable helpdesk remote workers. Both have now moved to The Model Centre. Seeking staff for your organisation? We are more than happy to circulate any opportunities you may have to our highly capable former members of staff.
  13. DJH is (was ?) a lot more than just model railways (such as 'Knobs and Knockers' and all sorts of tourist souvenirs) - see link below listing six companies in the group - if we assume Squires have bought the loco side of the business, what about everything else ? https://www.djhgroup.co.uk/our-brands .
  14. We all have a friend in Norfolk - it's Ben (and his master @TheQ ) - in fact that sounds very much like his estate near Sea Palling (if memory is correct). We hear a lot about several sheds needing repair and new discoveries in the undergrowth which always seems to grow faster than he can clear it. .
  15. Les - are you sure about this one as comments in another topic indicate that the business has closed - see link below https://www.rmweb.co.uk/forums/topic/184049-rocket-railways-leicestershire/#comment-5425161 .
  16. Last summer, a couple of members were in the model railway clubroom one evening (not a normal club night), when a couple of teenagers started messing about outside and banging on the doors before trying to climb an adjacent wall to get on the roof. They were genuinely frightened, locked the doors, and rang the police on 999 and let a couple of other members know what was going on. When I got there about ten minutes later, there was one police car in the middle of the car park, unoccupied but with blue lights still flashing. Just then another car pulled in, with four officers and one suspect - turns out the second car driver had seen his colleagues chasing this youth and joined in. Later a third car arrived followed by a van, although that was sent away again as they had enough officers on the scene. One car set off with suspect one to the station, and after a neighbour showed them a photo of suspect two, wearing a hoodie with a distinctive logo, they soon found him and he was off to town as well. The first officers to arrive took statements from our members and said that as the two suspects were under 18 they would be given a talking to and be taken home to their parents. Not a bad response though, four vehicles and eight officers all on scene within twenty minutes.
  17. As Richard has mentioned above, David is still very much about and regularly attends local exhibitions as a demonstrator. There is some information in the topic linked below although he closed the Dovedale Models website several years ago and so he now has a different email address which I will send to you by PM as I don't have his permission to make this publicly available. I don't know if the DVDs are still available, but if not, he also has a series of six books published by Crowood Press (although I don't think the Isle of Man TT Racing books are by the same David Wright !!) https://www.rmweb.co.uk/blogs/entry/9193-dovedale-models/ https://www.crowood.com/search?type=product&q=David Wright* .
  18. Happy to help and pleased that Chris has produced exactly what you wanted - we all now look forward to seeing the completed model! .
  19. . . . . . and there were other meetings before SWAG with the first in 2007 at Mickleover (Derby) - at that time there were only a few hundred members - now almost 45,000 !! .
  20. Jay - sorry to read about the unwanted visitor at the studio last week . . . . . . . . . . . Mike.
  21. Our local model railway club organise three swapmeets each year and charge £15 for a 6ft table and have between 15-20 traders there. They all spend the time before the public come in circulating around the tables buying from each other anything they think is cheap and then adding stuff to their pile of sales items. Of course the ordinary punters start to queue early in the hope of getting some bargains but don't realise the other traders have been there before them. At one sale, one of our club members was in your situation with a table full of OO stock - by the time the public were admitted, he had an empty table as everything had gone to two dealers - he was happy with the prices he got which were at a 'bulk buy' discount off his individual prices but the advantage was that he had nothing left to dispose of. .
  22. I understand the proprietor has been ill for around 18 months (?) and the shop had been kept open by a group of friends helping out as best they could. .
  23. Oh yes - he's always there - not just at work but also things like DIY, modelling etc. I do spend rather a lot of time thinking about things, usually until it gets urgent and then get on with it and it usually turns out OK. Just lack confidence in my own ability - but managed 25 years in first job at Lloyds and then 20 years at the University - an example was working in the Overseas Partnership Office . The second in charge of our little team of 10 left after a year or so of being useless and the boss said that she would be very disappointed if I didn't apply. After a brief chat that was supposed to be an interview, I got the job. A year later she had to suddenly leave due to a difficult pregnancy and I was left running the show with help from others higher up the tree. I made it clear that I didn't want the job full time and they recruited someone from outside the organisation who had no idea about what was going on but had 'management' experience. A lot of advice and guidance was given before he cracked and moved on and another 'manager' came in who I just couldn't get on with and in the end she found several ways to complain about me to HR. This resulted in a couple of formal meetings chaired by a senior officer in the Registry who although supposed to be impartial, was definitely on my side. A few months later when she was on holiday, he moved me to another unrelated area and so when she got back, I wasn't there. She didn't last long either and then the overseas partnerships team was merged with the UK partnerships team which never seemed to have had any management issues. .
  24. In my situation at Lloyds back in the late 70s / early 80s, after an intensive training course I was offered promotion to assistant manager in 3 or 4 months if I moved to London - or 3 or 4 years if I stayed in the East Midlands. I chose to stay. My promotion prospects were knocked back when visiting Head Office Inspectors said my lending (all personal customers not business) had been 'over generous at times, and had put the Bank at risk'. I moved to Financial Advice but they then appointed 'salesmen' to Black Horse Life who had company car, worked evenings and got commission so much of my branch based business disappeared, except for sorting out the mess they left behind with most policies cancelled after a month or two. The take over of Cheltenham and Gloucester Building Society took away all my mortgage business and the merger with the Trustee Savings Bank was the final straw. My last 12 months were spent answering the phone - great for customers as by then I had 25 years experience and could answer all their questions. However the Bank could pay someone half my age half the salary to do the same job - and of course call centres then went off-shore. Offered redundancy in 1997 and was glad to get out. .
  25. The Museum of Childhood has been at Sudbury for 'decades' as it was opened in 1974 by Derbyshire County Council - and as many of the visitors are children, they need things they can relate to - the captions on some of the paintings are humorous and tell the story about the person and their part in the history of Sudbury. Having been there recently with a seven year old grandson, he thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it and we stayed all day - unlike the other local attractions at Kedleston Hall and Calke Abbey where he couldn't wait to get out again. At Belton House his favourite part was the adventure playground and of course the train ride - but at least he was out enjoying himself and engaging with others - not sat at home in front of the TV or playing games on his tablet. .
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