Invicta Informant

SP Rail has uploaded their footage of the show to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCIf96JbWtQ

Absolutely. Organising a show in the Greater London area seems to be more expensive compared to other areas in the country. The Erith MRS show in January takes place in Longfield, a place difficult to reach by public transport from our base, but the venue offers the space we need for a large event. One neighbouring club, the Chatham & District MRC, have not organised a show for a few years now and they used to run one of the largest shows in the south east. The only other neighbouring clubs to us that currently organise shows are the Beckenham & West Wickham MRC, the Gravesend Railway Enthusiasts Society, the Tonbridge MRC, and the Orpington & District MRS. I unfortunately could not attend Tolworth this year as I felt ill on Friday afternoon and I had to be fit for work on Sunday, but I am glad people who went there had a good time. Plus I can sympathise when it comes to working in the car park. I have had many experiences of drivers treating you as if you do not exist, despite wearing a Hi-Viz vest or coat. And (when it comes to my line of work) you are pushing a line of trolleys as well.

The phrase 'bangers and mash' is (unsurprisingly) in the Viz Profanisaurus, complete with a 'quote' from the totally made-up, Thomas and the Dyno-Rod Man.

From checking Google it is now called the 'COOL Coffee Shop', it still does all day breakfast.

The draw for the Grand Slam of Darts has been made: Group A: (1) Gerwyn Price (WAL), Dave Chisnall (ENG), Raymond van Barneveld (NED), Ted Evetts (ENG). Group B: (8) Danny Noppert (NED), Simon Whitlock (AUS), Mensur Suljovic (AUT), Christian Perez (PHI). Group C: (4) Michael Smith (ENG), Joe Cullen (ENG), Ritchie Edhouse (ENG), Lisa Ashton (ENG). Group D: (5) Rob Cross (ENG), Dirk van Duijvenbode (NED), Martin Schindler (GER), Adam Gawlas (CZE). Group E: (2) Peter Wright (SCO), Nathan Aspinall (ENG), Alan Soutar (SCO), Fallon Sherrock (ENG). Group F: (7) Jonny Clayton (WAL), Damon Heta (AUS), Jermaine Wattimena (NED), Leonard Gates (USA). Group G: (3) Michael van Gerwen (NED), Ross Smith (ENG), Luke Woodhouse (ENG), Nathan Rafferty (NIR). Group H: (6) Luke Humphries (ENG), Ryan Searle (ENG), Josh Rock (NIR), Scott Williams (ENG). The top two from each group qualify for the knock-out stage. The tournament starts on Saturday 12th and concludes on Sunday 20th and is broadcast by Sky Sports. Gerwyn Price is the defending champion of this event. The finalists from two years ago, James Wade and Jose de Sousa, have not qualified despite being ranked 5th and 6th respectively in the PDC Order of Merit (at the time of writing). Like last year's tournament, there will be no representation from the WDF or the defunct BDO. When this tournament first started in 2007, the PDC had always invited the best performing players from the rival BDO and was not a ranking event, but it is now just another ranked PDC Major. ITV were the original broadcaster until Sky picked it up from 2011 onwards.

Two more championships have come to their conclusions this weekend gone. In the NASCAR Cup Series, Joey Logano won his second Cup series crown driving for Team Penske. While in MotoGP, Italian Francesco 'Pecco' Bagnaia riding for Ducati won his first championship since winning the Moto2 crown in 2018. This season also marks the first time Honda finished last in the manufacturers' standings in the modern era, being the only manufacturer to not score a victory (Ducati, Yamaha, Aprilia, KTM, and Suzuki, who are withdrawing from the championship, are the others). The only other championships that have yet to conclude their 2022 seasons, are the World Endurance Championship (final race being the 8 hours of Bahrain on 12th November) and the World Touring Car Cup (final rounds in Bahrain on 10th-12th November and Saudi Arabia on 18th-20th November). The World Touring Car Cup, formerly the World Touring Car Championship, will be discontinued following these final two meetings.

The Erith Model Railway Society's January Exhibition, one of South East England's largest shows (and probably Kent's largest by stand numbers), will (hopefully) return to The Longfield Academy for our 6th show there (and our first since 2020). The show will continue to encompass at least 30 layouts, extensive trade and society support, demonstrators, static exhibits and charity raffle (in aid of the Association of Bexley Charities '78), making about 90 stands in total. Venue Address: The Longfield Academy, Main Road (B260), Longfield, Kent, DA3 7PH. Opening Times: Saturday 28th January 2023 - 10:00am to 5:00pm & Sunday 29th January 2023 - 10:00am to 4:00pm. Entry Prices: Adults - £9.00. Accompanied Children - £1.00. Entry price includes free exhibition guide. The venue can be reached by Longfield railway station (5-10 minute walk away), Arriva bus services 423 (from Dartford and Bluewater), 433 (from Bluewater, Sunday only) and 489 (from Gravesend), and Go-Coach bus services 474 and 475 (both from Bluewater). The buses stop within a 5-10 minute walk from the venue. Some services may stop at Longfield Academy itself, but ask the driver for the nearest stop to the venue. Please be aware that there are NO Sunday services for the 423, 474 and 475 routes. There is a sizeable free on-site car park, full disabled access (including toilets), a large refreshment area (200 seats) and an extensive range of hot and cold food and drinks at reasonable prices. There is some off-site parking available at a day nursery in Brickfield Farm just up the road from the venue (5 minute walk away), should we run out (and we usually do) of on-site parking. There will be a FREE Shuttle Bus service running between Longfield Railway Station and the Longfield Academy on BOTH days of the show. So if you cannot get parked at the venue or the day nursery in Brickfield Farm, you can park at Longfield Railway Station Car Park (88 spaces, Pay-and-Display - £2.80 all day Saturday, £1.00 all day Sunday) and catch the shuttle bus to the venue. List of Attendees (correct as of 21st January): Layouts: Back On The Buses Ballyconnell Road Bletchinghurst Browning Street Clayton West Crumbling Edge Deyton Yard/Deyton Heights Fawcett Street Feldspar Frittenden Road Garden Gateway Container Terminal Hallam Town Hoppers End Hornby Live Steam Lancaster Lane Lenham Long Sutton Junction Mertonford Summer '83 N E Where Oakbourne Padden Flats Quarry Falls Quevy Santa Maria (RhB) Sarre Scrapworth End Seaton Sheepcroft Slades Green Smallwald Valley Railway Somewhere In France St. Saviour Street Strood Dock Swanswell Vine Street Riverside Wilmington Other Exhibitors: Charity Raffle Double O Gauge Association East Kent O Gauge Group Gauge 1 Wagon Building Demonstration Orchards (Junior) Scale Model Club Display Trade Stands: 3mm Scale Model Railways All Wheels Andy Lynch Railways Brookes Models Ltd Cambrian Model Rail Limited Carriage & Wagon Models Coastal DCC Colin Penn David Wills Dixon Upcott Euroscale Models Falconwood Transport & Military Bookshop Heritage In Motion HobbyTools4U Invicta Model Rail JB Photocards Joe Lock Model Railways Kent Garden Railways Kent Model Exchange Layouts4U Michael Land Models U Drive Online Models On The Rails Plus Daughters Railway Memories Ray Morris Roxley Models Sudbury Model Railways Supercast The Wagon Yard Thunderbolt Models Trainsporters WM Collectables Society Stands: British 1:87 Scale Society Charity Transport Models & Books Class 47 Preservation Project EMRS Information Desk EMRS Members Sales Stand EPB Preservation Group Network SouthEast Society Railfuture South Eastern & Chatham Railway Society Southern Electric Group Spa Valley Railway Please check our website for further details (directions etc.). There is also an Access Statement available to view or download. https://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/erithmrs/exhibit_january.html Thank You. Access Statement for the EMRS Longfield Show.docx

Meanwhile, there is the World Cup for the other code of Rugby going on at the moment.

Following the conclusion of the European Championship, we have a new Major winner in Ross Smith from Kent who beat Michael Smith (no relation) from St. Helens 11-8. Ross Smith, who had never won a European Tour event, now moves up to 20th in the World Rankings and qualifies for the Grand Slam of Darts at the Aldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton on 12th-20th November. The 32-player field for this tournament will be confirmed following the qualifying event on 6th November.

Erith MRS Club Member's layout Scrapworth End will be in attendance. This exhibition normally has some quality layouts and rather nice show guide. You can always catch the No. 71 TfL bus to and/or from the show (nearest stop Southborough High School) if there is an issue with shuttle bus.

Philips no longer owns PSV Eindhoven, but still are a partner sponsor. Bayer Leverkusen are still owned by pharmaceutical giant Bayer and Volkswagen owns Wolfsburg.

Fort William FC had been known as 'The worst football team in Britain' after they finished their 2018-19 season in the Highland League on -7 points (32 defeats and two draws in 34 games, plus they were deducted nine points for fielding an ineligible player on three separate occasions). Thinking of football clubs with 'odd' names there are: The New Saints (formerly Total Network Solutions) of the Cymru Premier, Port Vale (of which there is no such place, it refers to the valley of ports on the Trent & Mersey Canal) of League One, Vauxhall Motors of the North West Counties League, Willem II (named after William II of the Netherlands) of the Eerste Divisie (Dutch second tier), Newell's Old Boys from Argentina (named after Englishman Isaac Newell, one of the pioneers of Argentine football), Club Atlético Douglas Haig also from Argentina, O'Higgins from Chile (named after the country's founding father Bernardo O'Higgins), Mighty Blackpool from Sierra Leone (named after their admiration of Blackpool player Stanley Matthews), Cape Coast Mysterious Ebusua Dwarfs from Ghana, Always Ready, The Strongest, and Blooming from Bolivia, and National Bank of Egypt. Plus any club with their sponsor and/or owner in the club name or makes reference to it, such as any of the Red Bull clubs (Salzburg, Leipzig, New York and Bragantino).

Paying to get into shows itself is comparatively cheap. But there are many variables that can make the cost of attending exhibitions expensive, such as travel, parking, catering, accommodation, products for sale that you would like to buy, etc. Of course, these depend on how much you are willing to spend and how far you are prepared to travel. Some of these costs can be partially reduced with some careful planning and research. For example, bring your own packed lunch and if you are travelling by train, use a Railcard to get up to a third off your ticket price. It is ultimately down to the individual. I and other members in my club (Erith MRS) always try to take a wad of flyers whenever we go to other model railway shows, toy fairs, preserved railways, model shops, local events, etc. to get as much exposure for our exhibition as possible. This sort of advertising is often crucial for getting numbers through the door of an exhibition.

I remember coming across some footage of one the Finnish steam locomotives in working condition at the Epping Ongar Railway on YouTube. This was posted back in 2009 (though it might have been filmed before then) and it also gives some idea how much the railway has changed since then.

Wasps have entered administration and are now suspended from all tournaments, though their results have not (yet) been expunged, like what happened to Worcester Warriors. Wasps' fanbase is/was predominately in the south as they played at Adams Park in High Wycombe for many years, and before that Loftus Road (home of QPR), so I never understood the logic for moving up north to Coventry, other then playing at a better facility (Coventry Building Society Arena, formerly the Ricoh Arena). The move was very reminiscent of many North American sports franchises relocating to cities where they had a better stadium to the one they had previous (the Colts moving to Indianapolis from Baltimore, the original Browns moving from Cleveland to Baltimore, the Raiders moving to Las Vegas from Oakland, etc.). I wonder if this could cause problems (again) with Coventry City who have had to play 'home' games at Sixfields in Northampton and St. Andrew's in Birmingham for a few seasons.

Following the Gibraltar Darts Trophy, in which Damon Heta beat Peter Wright 8-7, the field and the draw for the European Championship on 27th-30th October has been confirmed. Rob Cross is the defending champion for this event taking place in Dortmund. Qualification for this Major is decided by the top 32 in the European Tour Order of Merit, which consists of prize money won in the 13 European Tour events that have taken place this year alone. The prize pool is £500,000, with £6,000 just for qualifying and £120,000 to the winner. World Ranked No. 10 Gary Anderson is the highest ranked player not participating in this tournament (as he does not compete in the European Tour events). Draw bracket: (1) Luke Humphries (ENG) Vs (32) Krzysztof Ratajski (POL) (16) Ryan Searle (ENG) Vs (17) Martin Lukeman (ENG) (8) Michael Smith (ENG) Vs (25) Karel Sedlacek (CZE) (9) Nathan Aspinall (ENG) Vs (24) Josh Rock (NIR) (4) Rob Cross (ENG) Vs (29) James Wade (ENG) (13) Dirk van Duijvenbode (NED) Vs (20) Madars Razma (LAT) (5) Damon Heta (AUS) Vs (28) Vincent van der Voort (NED) (12) Danny Noppert (NED) Vs (21) Andrew Gilding (ENG) (2) Michael van Gerwen (NED) Vs (31) Chris Dobey (ENG) (15) Jose de Sousa (POR) Vs (18) Martin Schindler (GER) (7) Dave Chisnall (ENG) Vs (26) Stephen Bunting (ENG) (10) Jonny Clayton (WAL) Vs (23) Gabriel Clemens (GER) (3) Peter Wright (SCO) Vs (30) Ryan Meikle (ENG) (14) Gerwyn Price (WAL) Vs (19) Rowby-John Rodriguez (AUT) (6) Joe Cullen (ENG) Vs (27) Ross Smith (ENG) (11) Dimitri Van den Bergh (BEL) Vs (22) Daryl Gurney (NIR)

Another really nice show by the Beckenham & West Wickham MRC and thank you for putting it on. This exhibition only has a handful of layouts, but what was in attendance were quality layouts in my opinion. My favourites were N gauge Brinkrow, EM gauge Horsebridge Wharf, and O gauge Hospital Gates. I also liked the water effect on OO gauge Oakbourne.

As I could find a thread for this year's show, here is one! The Beckenham & West Wickham Model Railway Club are hosting their annual one-day Beckenham Model Railshow at their usual venue at St. John's Church, Eden Park Avenue, Eden Park, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 3JN. Entry Price: £6.00 (children under 16 free if accompanied by an adult). Opening Times: 10am - 5pm. http://www.bwwmrc.co.uk/exhibitions/StJohn22Oct/index.shtml https://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/event/24051-BeckenhamWestWickhamModelRailwayClub_Exhibition I have no connection to the organising club, just a satisfied visitor to their October shows.

Following the World Grand Prix final, where Michael van Gerwen beat Nathan Aspinall 5 sets to 3, Peter Wright returns to No. 1 in the World Rankings with Gerwyn Price dropping to No. 2. Van Gerwen stays 3rd while Aspinall goes to No. 11. The next few tournaments are crucial in determining qualification to the remaining TV Majors in the calendar year, especially for the World Championship. There is the Gibraltar Darts Trophy on 14th-16th October, the final European Tour event before the 32-player European Championship on 27th-30th October (live on ITV4). There are six one-day Players Championship events on 20th-23rd October and 4th-5th November which will decided the final 64 players that will qualify for the Players Championship Finals on 25th-27th November (live on ITV4). There is the Grand Slam of Darts on 12th-20th November (live on Sky Sports), known for its group stage format, featuring the winners of the Majors over the past year, plus qualifiers (and there is a risk that both James Wade and Gary Anderson could lose their ever present records, having participated in every staging of the tournament since 2007). All this leads up to the World Darts Championship on 15th December-3rd January, consisting of 96 players, where the top 32 in the World Rankings have a bye through to the second round where they will face one of the first round winners, consisting of 32 players from the Pro Tour Order of Merit, various International Qualifiers, and qualifiers from the PDC's secondary, youth and women's tours.

The final meeting of the 2022 of the British Touring Car Championship will take place this weekend at Brands Hatch, racing on the GP circuit. Coverage is on ITV4. The top three drivers in the championship standings, Ash Sutton on 345, Jake Hill on 340 and Tom Ingram on 338, are the favourites but Colin Turkington on 318 is not mathematically out of the running.

Just want to mention quickly that the club's Exhibition Manager Paul Plummer has participated in the London Marathon, raising money for the British Heart Foundation in memory of his father-in-law and dearly missed Erith MRS member John G Jones MBE who passed away in 2021. Paul's time was 4 hours, 39 minutes and 35 seconds. Congratulations! There is still time to donate (if you want to) by following the link here: https://tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/paul-plummer

Following the recent round of the World Rally Championship in New Zealand, Kalle Rovanpera has become the youngest ever World Rally Champion at 22 years old and the first Finnish champion since Marcus Gronholm in 2002. Rovanpera's co-driver, Jonne Halttunen, also becomes a World Champion too. There are two rounds of the championship still to go in Spain (20th-23rd October) and Japan (10th-13th November).

Similar story in motor racing. Making the cars safer could in turn encourage riskier overtakes and manoeuvres and complacency in that if they do have an accident they should be able to walk away.

As a Miami Dolphins follower, I am shocked at what has happened to Tua Tagovailoa. From what I have seen and read, this sits very uncomfortably with me. I wish him a full recovery.

I remember Borchester Market from A Lineside Look At Model Railways. It is in this part between 0:59 and 5:51. From what I have read and seen on this thread, I am glad that it has been saved for posterity.