Mike Bellamy

Thanks for that - it must be an absolute nightmare trying to keep on top of all that, as well as running the rest of your business and keeping the customers satisfied. I clicked on "Thanks" but perhaps it should have been " Friendly and Supportive" - keep up the good work as it's always interesting to get the real information from a retailer. .

Would a small deposit make a difference - I understand the "normal" retailer discount is 15% so why not charge 15% of the list price up front . . . . . ? You could of course be a bit selective as I'm sure you have your regular customers who will always buy from you and so perhaps as they are genuine buyers, you don't charge them in advance. Bit of a nightmare for the bookkeeping though !! .

Very interesting to see who clicked on "Agree" for that comment . . . . .

It was only a few days ago the plumber called "Half Dead Dave" got £25,000 from a tribunal - he was the oldest there and it was seen as age discrimination when he was selected for redundancy. He's now 71 but has proved that he isn't half dead - actually probably near three quarters. As for my son, he's a plumber as well and his nickname was 'Leaky Pete" - nothing wrong with that as it was true - he always went to every job twice ! Click for news link to half dead dave .

As someone who worked for a major bank (riding the Black Horse 1972-97) I am very disappointed flipping angry to hear that what I could have achieved in person in branch in about half an hour has now become such a long drawn out bureaucratic and centralised process. I really can't think what else to say on the matter . . . . . .

I wonder if @Ralf would agree with you . . . . . . .

Sounds a bit like Derby . . . . . . . . . . . .

Agreed. Many years ago, a friend who was a regular volunteer on the Festiniog Railway had a private charter train for his 50th birthday. The arrangement was that he had to find enough volunteers to work after hours - driver, fireman, guard, control etc which was achieved without a problem and then there was the cost of the fuel etc - but if the onboard bar sold more than a certain number of pints gallons, then the train would be free. I understand that the bar profit had paid for the train by the time we went past Boston Lodge ! I have no idea how far up the line we went and only have a vague recollection of walking across the Cob from the station back to the house I was staying at - No 1 Boston Lodge - the big white house that features in so many photos of the works. Slept on the sofa downstairs, awoke early to a beautiful morning with bright sunshine and blue sky. I was back in Derby before anyone else got out of bed ! .

. . . and talking more about bikes - remember Stuart Garner who bought Norton and then went bust - he's now in court for stealing £11m from three pension schemes and reinvesting the money back in the company. Also owes £300,000 to HMRC. Back in court on 28th Click for local news report .

Sorry for the confusion Richard - it was in Early Risers on Friday https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/229-early-risers/&do=findComment&comment=4732670 Thanks for the comprehensive reply. I haven't touched a firearm since I left the CCF in 1972 and the air rifle in the garden ( a fairly low powered .177) was probably at least 5 years before that. .

Terry Christian started his broadcast career at Radio Derby in 1982 and a couple of weeks ago came back for a series of 40th anniversary programmes Very quick (outstanding) service. Back in 2019, it took about three months for a postal application - I seem to recall that this was after the introduction of some online applications and the system wasn't working properly so it was all a bit chaotic. To make a payment over the phone I had to phone the Brighton office, then post the papers to Manchester, but the Probate came back from Newcastle !! .

Father had to replace our back fence as it had so many pellet holes in it that it was in danger of falling apart. Luckily it was our allotment behind it so no danger of killing anyone. At school the indoor cricket nets were also the air rifle shooting range. Locally we used Beckingham Range near Newark for proper shooting with Lee Enfield Mk4s. I remember back in the late 60s / early 70s, Dad did a lot of plumbing and heating work at the home of one of the Samworths (probably father of the 'Brothers' (?) - back then, Pork Farms was the family business and I didn't realise until I just checked their website that they bought Ginsters way back in 1977, just before they sold Pork Farms. https://www.samworthbrothers.co.uk/about-samworth-brothers/our-history/ .

In another topic which has been overflowing with complaints, Andy has posted the comment below .

Hi John - that's a bit different to Uttoxeter Road, Derby . . . . . . !! .

Agreed - all seems normal here today - but then after all the bother we have had, it all depends on your definition of normal !! .

Received. Now testing my reply to your test If this is in any way linked to the problems over the past week or two, then you seem to have fixed it - everything seems normal today - if you can call anything on here normal. Thanks

Remember the comment from Douglas was based on his experience as a young enthusiast based in Oklahoma, USA - I believe he's still at school and working part time(?). He may not even be aware of the work shown on the TV programme. I agree with your comments about Steve - he makes it look so easy but remember you only see a tiny fraction of the work involved which will be heavily edited and could even be shown in the wrong order or the same work repeated several times to get it right for the programme maker. Speaking from experience here as a friend was very involved in the recent Guy Martin programmes racing three wheel cars and rebuilding a Landrover for off road racing. Several months work and many days filming all cut down to less than half an hour of the actual build work as the main focus of the programme was Guy Martin racing - at least he got to keep the Landrover which he had to keep hidden until after the TV programme was shown. .

Kev - pleased to see that the layout is still going out to shows - by coincidence my wife and I went for a walk only yesterday along the trackbed from the station towards Etwall. There's a great deal of new development going on at the moment and many more houses being built around the station and surrounding area. As well as Hackwood Farm to the north, the three fields to the east (over the road from the station) are now being built on as well. We had a job getting onto Station Road as the temporary traffic lights were both stuck on green so it was a bit chaotic with drivers moving cones so they could get past!! https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.919814,-1.5530168,1133m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en .

. . . . . . or pulling your hair out - Oh hang on a minute, some of us remember you doing that years ago when we had a self funded site that often disappeared for days at a time. You got that sorted and I'm sure you'll get the current difficulties sorted as well . . . . .

Agreed - worked for me when I had the same problem earlier.

Sorry to hear that and it's always sad when any club or organisation has to close. Our attendance at the clubrooms is still well down on our before covid numbers but out of around 65 invitations sent out earlier this month, I'm pleased to say that already half have renewed their membership even if they aren't making use of the clubroom. We are in the very fortunate position of owning the clubroom and although we don't have the additional liability of rent to pay, we are actively looking for ideas about how to replace the building for something more suitable. .

Agreed - I understand that there were 760 visitors to the Museum, which is the most visitors they have had since the full refurbishment and reopening. It was a little disappointing that they haven't had any flyers/brochures printed as the one we were given was from a few years ago at the start of the project and didn't include a map to show where it was. When I enquired about parking for a visit, it was suggested that I use the car park of a disused pub in Cotmanhay - need to go exploring when it's a bit warmer !! .

Unusual - no postings for 4.5 hours especially from the regular UK members - has RMweb been broken overnight ? .

I went to the Museum of Making today with my grandson and had the pleasure of a quick chat with Dave and I would estimate that there were about 20 members of the local club there as exhibitors, visitors and demonstrators. A very well attended event and my first visit since the whole building was stripped clean and fully refurbished - I will definitely be back again when it isn't so busy - there were so many fascinating exhibits that I would say it's now one of the best museums of its kind. Jacob's favourite was the Toyota car built about 10 miles down the road which was displayed in kit form hanging from the ceiling - I bet they didn't use B&Q plastic plugs to hold up that weight !! https://www.derbymuseums.org/collection/railways-revealed/ .

I have seen others saying about slow loading but I haven't experienced that at all - I view on a large PC screen so the small video just plays with itself in the corner and gets ignored. However I can understand the frustration for those using tablet or phone. It was several weeks ago now that Andy said a paid for solution was imminent. .