brianusa

Unlikely; more than likely he had a lot of pleasure from singers and their songs that he was familiar with. The older you are , the more in your repertory; you hum or whistle them and pull back songs from the Great War or even the Boer War and the years between. Twenties, thirties, and forties, jazz, big bands and the best pop music! Wars were a great source of songs, mainly sentimental for obvious reason or songs to raise the spirits against Boers, Kaisers, Fuhrers or whomever. Not so much recent conflicts though! Brian.

Nelson Riddle could make any singer sound good and he did with possibly the best backing in real music. Lind Ronstadt was one who really benefitted by his orchestral style along with Frank Sinatra and most of the pop singers of that era.

How about our "guests" at Costco and elsewhere? I am a customer, certainly not their guest! As for their "associates," they used to be shop assistants or clerks. We can be nice without having to be grating ala Heep! Brian

Surely there must be a cleaning company who will do such a job for a few Pounds? Far better than knackering oneself and the older one gets it feels even worse. Brian.

Can you imagine the protests! Brian

Pre war Dublo SNG Passenger set. Brian.

Third month of hip rehab! Slow progress but go somewhere new next time so hope for the best. Prettier therapist anyway so I won't mind being handled so much especially if it helps things! Brian

Seeing how you are much closer to the incident. It probably wouldn't have made much difference either way! Brian.

I thought this was about the bridge bash on Ashford Hill, in Plymouth! It was always a bit dodgy - a narrow bridge at the bottom of a steep hill, the poor driver probably couldn't stop even if he wanted to! Brian

Over 70s, I'm well in my eighties now and drive OK as well as remembering where I'm going and where I've come from. Also I'm fully aware of my present faculties and drive OK accordingly, licenced and all. Never had a major prang and try and avoid such a probability. My wife is with me on major drives, just in case and so far we've survived, so to say that we are all in the situation, driving or covid, is a bit prejudicial in todays day and age. Brian.

Why, after all these years do the British still serve coffee in tiny cups? Brian.

<The weather has been predicting thunderstorms for weeks.> Here in GH the weather has been perfect for weeks; yesterday afternoon was spent with the cat on our shady back deck with a Railway Mag and a cup of tea every now and again. It was warm but with just a small breeze to keep it comfortable. All this with a nice roast dinner to follow. Hard to believe that in a couple of months it will be all over. Brian.

I will refrain from upsetting @chrisf any further! (For now, at least!!) This sounds rather like a difference in age thing! Brian.

I'd get that checked if i were you! Brian.

While there are many books on this line, I don't recall so many great pictures of Tavistock station. A lovely selection! Brian.

A well run forum such as this shouldn't really need filtering; its participants generally hold to the rules and it is free from the usual verbal fights and insults found on some others. The mods display a certain tolerance which provide for the occasional saucy or forbidden content although they have been known to wield the black marker sometimes, so when you lose your post..................! Brian.

PC killed off the source. Can't tell religious jokes any more nor anything remotely discriminating. No naughty jokes about the clergy nuns or choir persons. Nothing that could be considered personal. Even Benny Hill would have a problem in this day and age; the Venerable Beeb was happy to run his show, girls and all though and everybody laughed. So how does one turn off humour and what do you laugh at these days? Brian.

The usual US TV rubbish. Young men must be bearded, muscular and seemingly continuing laughing. Must be bare chested with the latest hair craze. Young women, also laughing showing off whiter than white teeth, showing a boob or two and preferably blonde. Look upon this show and despair, as this is the future of TV and possibly society. Gone are the days when the US produced great TV comedy and series as this is the standard fare today. World wide, TV is just as bad with just a few shows that one would want to see, sadly few and far between. Brian.

How does one get a vegetarian carvery? Brian

There's been an interest in such a project now for quite a while; on and off. It obviously benefit tour train operators who offer trips to Cornwall without the need to go all the way back to Laira for turning. Why trains weren't turned at Par is a mystery as wyeing would be possible via the Newquay line, unless there is a pathing problem or similar. Sadly none of the other ventures came to fruition, so hopefully this one will be more successful. Brian.

Problem appears virtually every day, evenings your time! Brian.

Sad news indeed. Pop music was never the same after rock 'n roll arrived. It got worse and worse until there is no melody and no intelligible lyrics, just enough noise to keep its aficionados rockin' in the aisles and waving their arms in the air to the 'beat' Brian

In view of your Australian background, it must be horrifying to read of the AV protests in Sydney and elsewhere. I always thought they were smarter than this though if it was the US it would be understandable! Brian.

Well, you could always change your name to something a little bit more unusual and thus memorable. Ethelred, Alois, Eustace and Abner would all be good choices… ethelredusa has a certain ring about it, wouldn’t you say? My mother thought about Geoffrey as a name at one time! Brian.

You can never have too many trees especially in this part of Devon. Alex of Yelverton fame, has the right idea on the very convincing "Yelverton" station area and trees will grow in the most unusual spaces. If you think you have too many they can always be chopped down! Just compare the pictures of Tavistock or Yelverton in their heyday versus todays overgrowth; ignore all the houses! Brian.