Jock67B

Andy,Might be a good idea to ask George to come armed with his glue gun on his next visit - bet he'd have it done in short order! Might cost you a couple of bacon butties tho'! Kind regards, Jock.

Thanks Andy, For the kind words and the layout info for the future. The only loco that to my eyes at least is as lovely as the Jubilee (Note 'Valiant' in my avatar he says again!) is the Princess from the pen of the same man, but it would probably stretch the imagination too far to stable one at 'North Road. We did however have a couple of visits at Hurlford once they had come to be used on mundane duties like parcels before withdrawal. I still marvel at the simple clean lines on such a large and powerful locomotive. We had lots of jubes through for service/repair, and they really look like the racehorse in the pack! Mustn't forget however that beauty is always in the eye of the beholder - why, we have someone on here who loves a Q1, dirty as you like HaHa! Really looking forward to the next few chapters mate, you certainly inspire a remarkable number of people! Best wishes to Dee, Kind regards, Jock.

Afternoon Jeff, Going through a really bad patch with the health at the moment, but the treatment I'm getting is fantastic! The wonderful drug that has given me eighteen months more life than my original prognosis has sadly stopped working (it actually does this after 6 - 8 months for most people!) but meanwhile, a new one has just been released and I'm only the hospital's third patient to have it - they start you on a low dose and subject to fortnightly blood tests and check, gradually increase the strength. My first check is on Thursday. Meanwhile, I start a five day targeted radiotherapy course on the 15/02 to try to alleviate pain in my pelvis. Bad headaches have also featured, so I'm having a brain scan on 16th to eliminate the cancer from the scene. To help me control the pain at the moment, I'm on increased morphine so can't drive, and the oncologist has given me a course of steroids to help me fight it all. This means more side effects as the combination has led to the quite common 'oral thrush' which is treated with a couple of foul tasting potions. Hence the late night posts, as I never know when I'll get a sleep. I absorb 36 different medications in a twenty four hour period, so the iPad diary system is indispensable at the moment. Another three weeks or so should see me climbing the other side of the curve, and there is no slackening in my resolve to beat the b*stard thing for as long as I can. I really do want to get some modelling done this spring! Meanwhile, your sites, ERs, the support of AndyP, Ian(Oldddudders), and many many others, really lifts me for which I'm truly grateful, I'll look in on the next plastering job on KL2 later hopefully. Kind regards, Jock.

Jeff, I think you've said it all, and I remember the incident you referred to about a fellow 'star-gazer' parting with some rather rude comments. I have never been a 'yes-man' in my life, but I simply took to you, your background and the way you reason and build layouts that I certainly couldn't manage myself. Based on this, I look on you as a 'digital friend', but I believe I have at times made suggestions which you have discussed amicably. The person mentioned above, appeared rather to be making 'pronouncements of incontrovertible fact' as he saw it - not topics for discussion. My lengthy career in dealing with people has shown that in any sample size you select, there will always be a percentage that you wouldn't deal with again. Life is easier if you simply elect to ignore or shun those that upset you. I find most advertising, especially the patronising pathetic ones, really annoying at any time and so I only read it if I'm looking for something specific. Now over to KL2 for a bit of sanity! Kind regards, Jock.

Morning all, Joanna drove me to this morning's meeting with the 'Count's Daughter', and found the strong and intermittent gusts coming off the sea from Imogen, most worrying. Now it's wait until Thursday's oncology consultation to see if the new chemo strength can be raised until I'm hitting the 'bar steward' with maximum force! Very tired tonight, won't bore with all the details, but as I can't get to sleep yet, I'm attempting a short post. Duncan(emt911), good to read of your intentions for the upcoming Telford show weekend (though do watch out for the Hippo colony!) - it does seem to be a well liked and supported event. Hope you don't miss out again. Baz, hope you've managed to resolve your phone problem - how did we ever get by without them? Polly, you caught me out, just like Tony, with your DD reference - I naturally assumed you were referring to Peter your nearby Welsh resident! A nice set of images of your journey, but lots of people (especially regulars to Cornwall) have said that the old 125s were more comfortable! What do you think? Have you posted your show pics elsewhere by any chance? Neil(NHN), your post underlines what I suspected from the images, the terrain simply doesn't allow for a much easier solution, unless you want to dump a one-off large sum of money down the drain! I must say, it looks like it will last a time - has any scale been projected as a matter of interest? Brian(BSW001), I hoped you'd be able to select the pages on the spirals separately. The recent banking trick only came up a few days back, so shouldn't be hard to find. Perhaps, just like me, you can't help reading on when the content is so clever? I'm going to attempt some sleep shortly, so I'd like to wish everyone an improvement in health as required and a balance of the week that brings more happiness than pain! Kind regards, Jock. G'night all!

Sad as you say Robert, although 85 is quite a good run. It really saddened me to read the full Telegraph obituary and discover that he had started to turn in to a 'bit of a fruit cake', even as early as on the way back to Earth according to one of his fellow travellers! In the end he was convinced that 99% of the UFOs we've seen are real visits from extra-terrestrials! Very sad, but RIP nonetheless! Kind regards, Jock.

Thanks Andy, A very well reasoned blog, which as I mentioned elsewhere, almost made me feel that I'd actually visited (important to me as you know because I am unable to attend such events due to illness!). As a show organiser yourself, any criticism you make is both useful and constructive, and I now look forward to seeing the images when you get time to load them! By the way, the '0' gauge Jubilee, 'Blake', was pictured by Mike on Dent Station and I fell in love with it! Shudder to think about a price though! Thank you for your efforts, Kind regards, Jock.

Morning all, I've had a lovely day, despite my various health issues at the moment. I sat first thing this morning and listed all the times and quantities of medications required for the day, as several have to be taken with, or after food - others simply taken more than once. I've just finished the last pill at 11.30pm. No1 Son and his beautiful Chinese girlfriend duly turned up at lunch time, having raided M&S food somewhere en-route for the constituents of a beautiful buffet. Joanna and I enjoyed the remains for tea and there is still a lot in the fridge! Archie the Westie absolutely loves both of them and also had a super day, with other family members calling from time to time as predicted to see the couple. The work on my computer was also successful, easy when you know how? As always when they come to see us, our lounge now bears a slight resemblance to a florists, and they hope to be back in two weeks to see how I've coped with the latest round of radiology! Ian(RH), it sounds like a great little show at Alton with the plus that you got the food and drink sorted as well - does it get much better? I'm definitely going to seek out the annual YouTube video as soon as possible. Your later post would suggest no hitches at all? Duncan, I suspect you might be guilty of working yourself too hard, but not going to the show is very sensible if your body is telling you it's tired. Sorry I missed the point, but that's me! Hope your week isn't too stressful. Andy(ram), that is indeed good news on your intention to blog about Stafford - makes me almost feel I'd been there. Doubtless YouTube will also show a video soon as well. Dave(TG), he of the cheeky avatar - thanks for the set of images and short history lesson. Peter((DD), I do hope that your recently landed sick friend manages to recover quickly. Flavio, the news on the job front sounds very encouraging, I hope it now satisfies your work requirements through to retirement. That meal you describe sounds absolutely delicious, and there isn't one element of it I'd change. Your wine choices also show very good taste in 'matching the dish', a feature that has disappointed me often in the past, even in some supposed 'fine dining' establishments. As a matter of interest, what year was the 'Abadia'? A true prince of wines in my opinion! I must confess that the current state of my health has meant that I simply can't stand at the worktop for any length of time so my hobby interest has sadly been cut back. Neil(NHN), the words 'glutton for punishment' spring to mind! I have to say that the work looks to be carried out to a high standard though, and that timber in the sleepers looks very substantial. Mal, Joanna and I will be thinking of you next week - I wondered if your body has in any way responded to try to accommodate the 'attack', or indeed has the opposite been the case with a cumulative effect? I have to do the blood tests tomorrow for the first of my fortnightly consultations with the new drug on Thursday, where I hope the results so far will be good enough to move me to the next strength level - I want to hit it as hard as I can! Stevo(28xx), that is an absolutely awful list of worrying situations - are you closely involved in all of them? It must be terribly difficult to avoid being depressed yourself. Make sure you use the combined 'broad shoulders' of ERs if you wish, switching to PM if it helps. Our thoughts are with you. Brian(BSW01), I wonder if you'd been following my fellow Scot Mike(61680)'s thread called 'Dent Station' which sports two superb spirals at either end. He likes to run nice long trains and recently had lots of traction problems, but managed to solve them with a clever banking device. Well worth a look if you haven't already found it, and page one has a clear index to manoeuvre to the relevant section. Rick, glad to hear that Paws appears to be gradually settling in, it will be interesting to see how your absence at work affects the progress. It will probably be a wrench for you after four days leave! I suddenly realised that another missing person, from my list in any case, is Iain(railsquid) along with little Leo. Let's hope we get them all back soon. Off to try to get some sleep now, so as usual, continued improvement to health for those that seek it, and good luck to our Monday commuters, although trouble free might be too big an ask! Kind regards, Jock. G'nigt all!

Evening John, My goodness what painstaking workmanship, this is really going to look special from any angle!! Kind regards, Jock.

Now that is just teasing us Andy! Hope all you boys had a lot of fun at Stafford, and the wallets didn't suffer too much. As George has often pointed out, '0' gauge looks splendid, but I really wouldn't know how to justify the expense. I'm really looking forward to this new project now - are you going to be able to operate all your different options from time to time? Hope Dee's keeping an eye on you to make sure you're not overdoing it. By the way, I've got quite a few health issues that are hopefully to be resolved over the next couple of weeks, and so if I just make sure that I get a short post into ERs at least I won't have disappeared altogether! Kind regards, Jock.

Evening Mike, Lovely images as ever, and it was nice to see the pics from Stafford, especially 'Blake' on he turntable! It does look lovely in '0' gauge, but how to justify the expense? I reckon your Clayton has probably covered more miles now than any of the real life ones managed? Thanks a lot for sharing your work with us, Kind regards, Jock.

Morning again, PS post, Pete(themole), sad to hear about the passing of 'Pixi' who certainly sounds like he would have been a most interesting character to know. Duncan, what a great shame that you look like missing the Alton show - so much work deserves a break surely? Brian(BSW01), sounds like grandad might have enjoyed the 'cup cake' experience as well? I had a great time making the Morrison's Christmas gingerbread cottage with little Freddie - that is until I realised how many years it was since I used to make the IKEA version with his dad! Reminder of 'tempus fugit' as if I need any more. Thanks for the kind words on the medication - I guess it will be a couple of weeks before any change shows. Good news on Ian's hand and a very nice gesture indeed this afternoon to cheer up Vickie and the wee ones as well as their dad. By the way, Joanna also accompanies me to my oncology appointments, and will doubtless be there again next Thursday. Kind regards, Jock. G'night again all! PS did anyone notice who dozed off before pressing the 'post' button - lucky it was still there when I came to! J.

Morning all, A brief look in before trying to get some sleep tonight. As I mentioned in an earlier post, No1 Son and beautiful Partner are due for lunch tomorrow, and he's very popular with the rest of the family that live nearby, so we always expect an invasion! He is very thoughtful however, and if I seem to be 'flagging', he'll go to visit them in their own houses. He also insists that he is providing said lunch (normally my task of course!) so we are unsure what to expect. The timing is good, with him being a computer whizz (he used to build his own from scratch!), I've got a couple of queries for him on the PC over setting up my own 'Cancer Research' web site as part of the 'Relay for Life Team' event planned for the 16th/17th July. Andy(ram), thanks for the update on Stafford show - what a nice surprise to be chauffeured there too! I would love you to do one of your blogs with attendant images as I'm now unable to travel to such events, but watch out for any 'troll' types that are itching to start some nastiness that seems difficult to avoid, even when constructive advice and criticism is offered by someone with several years experience completely arranging such shows! Baz, I hope tomorrow's Stafford show second day goes well for you - I'm sure your demonstrated skills will bring in plenty of work over the next few weeks. Dave(TG), OOPS! I believe you might well have been spotted! Don't suppose the 'friend' did that on purpose? So we are now getting worried about several missing persons - Trev, I guess we might never know, and Tassie Tex has not replied to yet another e-mail, but more recently Pete(trisonic) and Lisa P4 as well (that of course could be issues over the health of her father). I don't know about anybody else, but having made digital friendships on here, I find it impossible to just walk away! Let's hope we get some news soon, or does anyone have Facebook/e-mail connections? Best wishes to our sufferers and recovering sick, and of course a great Sunday to everyone else, Kind regards, Jock. G'night all!

Evening Andy, Hope you and the other stalwarts that are meeting at Stafford have a fantastic time - I'm sure you'll take pity on us poor s*ds who can't get there, and post lots of nice pics for us in due course! By the way, the 9F, in the shed line above, looks exactly the state they'd been allowed to get into when we had a couple at Hurlford shed towards the time of closure - superb work mate! Safe journeys tomorrow gentlemen, Kind regards, Jock.

Evening Mike, Looking forward to the Stafford pics tomorrow, a long no doubt with your normal excellent fare! Kind regards, Jock.

Afternoon all, Not a good start to the day, with the headache and the like - should be able to regulate the medication over the next couple of days. I should have put more emphasis on the superb treatment I had at the hospital yesterday - when told to take a seat at reception, I explained the discomfort that this caused, and within moments my grandson and I were shown to one of the consulting rooms which was equipped with a fully adjustable electric reclining chair! Thereafter, all business was conducted in there, with the consultant coming to there as well - such lovely caring people. As indeed is everyone on here as I am once again in the position of being choked by all the lovely comments posted! Apologies for posting about what is now 'old' but I'm catching up! Stewart, in one of my insomniac moments during the night, I thumbed through the late W.A.C. Smith's 'Last Days of Ayrshire Steam' and in it were three fairly poor images of the Caley 0-6-0 that I hadn't noticed before. One was at Hurlford shed, another on a short coal train and the third with a couple of suburban coaches doing a 'local' turn! Amazing how useful and versatile they were after such lengthy careers, but of course they were never as good looking as the G&SWR locos and for proof it's worth seeking out pics of those scratch built by 'ian@stennochs' of this parish whose 7mm versions bring out the true beauty! Gordon(bluebottle), truly beautiful images to cherish. With our brood Joanna and I are Gran and Grandad to the grandchildren, and 'G' and 'Grumps' to the great grandchildren.(G was shortened by Freddie from GG which once stood for great grandmother!) Gordon(gordon-s), I do hope you manage to get mum's problems resolved as soon as possible - she must have been very frightened! I agree that getting old can be very hard (I am!), but I'm not too keen on the alternative! Mike(SM), good to hear that Dr Station Cat is getting ever closer to getting her 'wings'! She'll soon be able to chauffeur you to shows. As a matter of my professional history, I wondered if she had yet chosen a car, and if so, what were the buying decisions? (This is only for my interest so to be ignored if preferred!). John(KB), I simply pick up BBC iPlayer, and several others, by simply googling them on my iPad or PC and looking on-line. Our isp is 'btinternet.com'. Tony_S, good to read that last night's problems with Matthew appear to be resolving themselves - it must have been awful for Aditi and you to feel so helpless. Hope he gets the all clear soon. Rick, I'm delighted that Sharon and you now feel strong enough to take on another cat, especially as the loss of Gwyn hurt so much. I like the name 'Heliopause', although we must remember it is only a theoretical concept (yes, the geek is interested in the Solar system as well!), but 'Paws' sounds just fine and the later pic looks lovely. Dave(r-a-r), amazing that you should pick on J.M.W. Turner as an example - one of my all time favourite artists! Thank you. Gordon((bluebottle), thanks, but I'm not sure about Gibb's Crimean War image - perhaps Turner's 'Rain, Steam and Speed', even if it is GWR? Loving the discussion by the way,most cheering. Just noticed that Queen Elizabeth II would have been told of her father's passing during the night whilst she was in Kenya - haven't noticed much celebration of the fact that this is the moment of 'accession'. She's certainly had a fair run since then! I hope everyone who has been show visiting today enjoyed themselves, and I'll try to get on here again later tonight if I stay awake! Thank you all again and kind regards, Jock.

Tony_S, Very sorry to hear of Mattews misfortune, and I can fully appreciate how helpless you and Aditi must feel. Warren's well chosen words are very true, and in any case, 'clipping his wings' would avoid the problem, but certainly cause some consternation I imagine? I do hope you can resolve the issue in the morning, Kind regards and Goodnight, Jock.

Morning all, I started ages ago catching up, but obviously dozed off after dinner some time and so with apologies, I'll post tomorrow, but I've noticed lots of kind comments throughout for which I'm truly very grateful! As to my consultation, I had a productive if rather taxing morning at the hospital - starting with the usual form filling with the senior sister. For a couple of days now, I've been troubled by my mouth drying out during the night and struggling to speak at times which I mentioned in passing, the sister immediately examined me and pronounced that she thought I'd got 'oral thrush' which is apparently common when having chemo and taking steroids concurrently. My oncologist duly appeared and to organise the planning scan, writing prescriptions for my mouth treatment (2 more meds to take, one four times a day!) at the same time. With my scan complete, the experts consulted and have booked me for treatment on five different days, targetting the area most likely to be causing my excess pain. He wants my first fortnight on the new chemo to complete first, and so will start treatment on 15th February, with my brain scan being conducted on the 16th while I'm at the hospital in any case! I am buoyed by the feeling that the whole team there are working to keep me ticking as long as possible! Sadly, the overall experience was soured by a c*ck up in the supply of my mouth medicine which cost us over one and a half hours - the hospital pharmacy somehow lost it somewhere, and the young nurse who was sent to get it for me was at a loss as to how the problem could be resolved. It would appear that the pharmacist noticed that I was a patient of the 'Mary Barron' oncology unit, and decided to send it there, despite the request having been placed by the radiotherapy department. Ironic that they only arranged it there to save us time finding a chemist en-route!! Another loophole in the administration systems that needs plugging - perhaps that's why we are called patients? All I've got to do now is work out the logistics, and my lovely No1 grandson has said that, after his heart surgery, he will be off work until early March, and he immediately insisted on doing it each day - how lucky am I to have such a family? I wish all those that ail a speedy improvement, and a good weekend to everyone, especially those attending or exhibiting at shows. I will look at a few more posts now, but hopefully write one sort of post tomorrow, Kind regards, Jock. G'night all! (Still no Pete?).

Evening Jeff, Thanks for the kind comments - I'm enjoying following this so much, but my presence may be a little fragmented over the next couple of weeks as my appointments come through. You must be getting fairly excited by now, the way it is shaping up! Kind regards, Jock.

Morning all, Still feeling far from right, but I should see the oncologist in the morning and hope to stir up some action then! Cards and phone calls from all the kids as usual, and No1 Son and his lovely partner are coming to see us on Sunday (bringing lunch with them apparently!). Lovely to see posts from two of our lovely lasses again, Deb's and Sherry, but not much from our resident steam loco driver from Wales, and it seems that young LisaP4 hasn't posted since Christmas Eve, I do hope she is OK. Jamie, congratulations to,your daughter-in-law on passing her test - I'm not absolutely certain that I'd pass myself now! I suppose I'm also in favour of Red on the 'Stanier' designs although the aesthetic shape is probably more important to me. This is where the Princess just wins - such amazingly clean lines on such a large and powerful locomotive! Many congratulations on the success of your talk to the theology students, it can be a daunting task. Baz, thanks for the lovely images - as I mentioned in my post above, I too feel the Princess just 'shades' it, but not by much. Brian(BSW01), Fingers crossed (certainly no pun intended) that your daughter's partner hasn't done any lasting damage to his hand - we really are very vulnerable! I used to use a Tassimo machine to kickstart me with a nice double espresso before going to work each morning, but the use of oral chemotherapy has clearly changed my palate to the degree that I now prefer a mug of tea. Don't know if you found similar issues. DonW, that is indeed a fair run - Joanna and I are of course on our second marriages and she would have made 50 this year, but I was a late starter (and still c*cked it up!!). I really do hope that the medics can come up with a solution to Marion"s eye problems - they are possibly our most important organs. Just saw the news (BBC24), that Maurice White of 'Earth Wind and Fire' has passed away at seventy-four - we really do seem to be losing so many this year to date. Not my kind of music really, but obviously relished by many fans. RIP. Good luck to those who seek the 'E' in Poet's later today, and rapid improvement to those unwell amongst us. I'm on early start tomorrow when my eldest grandson is taking me to the hospital as I really don't feel comfortable driving at the moment, so it's off to seek some sleep now. Kind regards, Jock, G'night all! (Come back Pete, all is forgiven!!).

Evening Jeff, Still on the sick list, and back to hospital tomorrow - just popped in to be cheered up, and I am thank you. I'm right with Peter K on the lovely way the viaduct draws the viewer in to that most impressive piece of landscape! Be back soon I hope, Kind regards, Jock.

Lovely informative images and text as ever Dom, thank you, Kind regards, Jock.

Afternoon all, Thank you for the anniversary greetings, although at the moment I am too unwell to give my beloved the sort of celebration I would have liked. (In the past, I've done several silly surprise things like flying to Berlin for a long weekend three months after the wall came down ; flying in to Boulogne in a private plane to have lunch at 'En Bascaille La' a then favourite restaurant of ours in the 'Old Town' ; or a night away at the late Gerard Milsom's then very exclusive 'Dedham Vale Hotel' and restaurant!) We also returned to our favourite little Cornish port of Porthleven on many occasions as that is where we honeymooned! The cards today contained beautiful words though. Stewart, I have several books featuring the superb photographs and words of the late Derek Cross. The one published posthumously by his son David has a lovely image of 'the Twins' as they were known, 2 Caley 'Jumbos', taken at the Annbank junction. I was lucky enough to have lots of footplate rides on those venerable locos with whichever of dad's driver pals was in control, doing shed pilot duties, or exchanging empty mineral wagons for full on the coaling stage - always exciting for a youngster as it took a run at the steep grade, which also sported an 'S' bend at Hurlford. I got such rides on the Fowler 2Ps as well, that worked most of the local services at the same time. Both had very simple back-head detail, and little in the way of crew comfort. Imagine how bemused I was in the late 50s when these locos switched to 'Mickey Mouse' Class2 2-6-0s and Standard 2-6-4Tanks with their more complex controls and creature comforts, especially in the Tanks! By the way, I don't think Deb's worries too much about real loco/train travel discussions, being a gifted engineer in her own right - I believe she thinks that models belong in model threads. I might of course be wrong as it wouldn't be the first time that I've read a lady's thoughts and got it completely wrong. Try to get on again later, Kind regards, Jock.

Morning all, Not a very good night again last night, or day for that matter yesterday - possibly a cumulative effect from all the pain killers? Seeing the oncologist on Friday morning so hopefully things will get a bit better after that! Couple of things to cheer me up however - I did remember that Joanna and I tied the knot on the 4th February, twenty seven years ago, and a nicely worded card awaits opening in the kitchen. No doubt with another alongside! Don't know why I put the event off for so long, although it could well have something to do with the disaster known as my first marriage. This one has been great to date! The next event was to note Deb's avatar appearing a couple of times in my ratings list this morning, topped later by a short but welcome post later in the day. Deb's, I hope this is a precursor to further visits, especially if they contain some of your much appreciated humour. John(two-sugars), I think Sandy Denny had the most haunting of voices and 'Who Knows Where the Time Goes......' is particularly poignant when you consider how young she was when she went! I was lucky enough to see her both in the 'Fairport Convention' and as a solo performer. Dick, that was a moving and thought provoking tale from WW1. It raises the question, in view of the medical knowledge of the day - how often did it happen? Joanna and I often visited 'Terlincthun Cemetery' just South of Boulogne and noted that a large number of the interred had been laid to rest a considerable time after the end of WW1. This is explained by its proximity to a massive field hospital, but to be taken from your family nine years later, presumably being slowly poisoned by the metal content of the shrapnel, is tough! Did mum ever discuss the event? Dom, ref. L. Cohen and your 'Bird on the Wire' comment - I always thought 'shame about the singing talent!', but there can be little doubt about his qualities as a poet! Others of 'better voice' have produced some beautiful songs from his art! Dave(Danemouth), as Neil(NHN) said, we are an open hearted bunch on ERs, and although arguing about religion would be frowned upon, it is refreshing that most participants would actively fight for the individual's right to hold the beliefs that most suit them. Your mention of a requiem mass raised an interesting point - one of the most played pieces of music in my collection (as well incidentally in my late atheist father's), is the Verdi 'Requiem Mass'. If by chance you aren't familiar with it (I don't know your musical tastes?) I'd recommend you to bring it up on YouTube as a start point. Truly as stirring a piece as any in my large collection! AndyB, thanks for the link to the streamlined Duchesses - they'd gone by the time I joined the population, but I love the original and de-streamlined versions, even being lucky enough to get a couple of footplate rides thanks to my driver dad. Not the most beautiful Stanier design perhaps, but it simply exudes strength and power! For beauty it has to be between the 'Princess' or 'Jubilee' - might not get full agreement there? Mike(SM), I clearly remember the animosity (caused by several historic disputes as well as the scrapping of the entire G&SWR fleet by the LMS at 'big four' time) that existed between the G&SWR and the Caledonian from my early days, but having Mike(Dent Station) as a digital friend, who worked in old Caley part of BR at a time when diesels had begun the big modernisation, softens that! Lots of the Hurlford drivers came to really like the old Caley 812 0-6-0 locos when they had to do turns on them. Ian(Abel), so sorry to hear how ill you were after the epic at the dentist - was it a reaction to the anti-biotic? I have to say that the snow looks very attractive, from indoors! Dave(TG), didn't find the targeting tattoos any problem at all, in fact mine have now been used four times so they don't wash off! The worst part was lying still on a very hard scanner with my now rather bony body! Hope it all goes well for 'Is'. Flavio, we are keeping our fingers crossed here, that one of your options finally becomes a job that suits you very soon. If it hadn't been for this accursed illness, I would certainly have carried on until at least 70! Dave(r-a-r), nice bit of history there, and superb weather to go with it. I loved tracing old routes, one in particular being the 'Redruth and Chacewater' whilst living in Cornwall in the seventies. Interesting little finds, like granite sleeper sets peeping through tar in front of garages in Redruth, that even the garage owners didn't know about for instance. Or where the line crossed the Falmouth/Truro road, a single level crossing gate still embedded as part of a garden fence. Fascinating hobby, and how lucky that Mrs 'r-a-r' doesn't mind doing her 'Miss Daisy' impression. DonW, sorry I'm late on the news, but I'd like to add our commiserations to you and your family over the loss of your uncle - tough even when expected. Get well soon all that ail, and stay healthy everyone else. The eyes are drooping again now so it's time to try som zzzzs Kind regards, Jock. G'night all! (And hopefully I'll be able to add our friend from New York back soon!).

Phil,''Twas me! Just type personal e-mail addresses of CEOs in UK into Google, and it should come up with a simple to follow set of boxes! (Make sure it isn't a subsidiary company). Good luck, Jock.