AndrewC

See also Eurostar. 2 bag limit in their terms. 2 bag limit on the e-ticket. People with enough bags to mount an Everest expedition taking the entire carriage end racks and about 20 seats worth of overhead.

moaning all from the boring borough. Crabtree says it's too damn cold for him this morning. No snow here due to the heat island effect. Only 2c though and it rained all night. Nothing else happening so I'll just say commiserations and congratulations as appropriate. Enjoy the day.

Has this anything to do with the Black Friday Sails? I had a week of sailing lessons way back in school. 1977 to be exact. Calm weather all week. 33c and 0 wind. I think we rowed further than we sailed.

Greetings from ye olde boring borough. Another day begins. The longest part of my commute is the stairs to the kitchen for my brain boot sequence coffee. I really don't miss travelling to work, but that is likely to change soon. Once upon a time I used to put around 1000km a week on my car. Today I barely do that in 6 months. When I was still travelling into Central London by SouthEastern, I worked out the cumulative cost of delays, cancellations, and being unable to board due to overcrowding. At minimum wage it worked out to around the cost of an annual season ticket every 9 months. I'm not sure how accurate it is but one number I've seen online and repeated several times is that London loses around £600M in productivity per annum due to railway 'issues'. In other news, for the 14th straight year I shall be missing Warley. I had hoped to make it this year but no chance. That is all. Enjoy the day.

The downside of that material is it is designed for solid surface application. Apply it over wood or foam insulation and it will crack if any pressure is applied to it. Been there done that with our recent building works and the builder had to go back and cover the celotex fill of the old chimney gap with wallboard before replastering. The paper fibres in sculptamold gives the finish some flex. You can gain similar by using hydrocal or dental plaster with pva added to the mix.

Good moaning from the boring borough. It's raining. It's Monday. It's waste of time meeting morning. Meh. I have a feeling our resident from the hill of Strawberries isn't going to be a very happy bunny when he checks in this morn. Twitter has now renamed SWT to S*itheads, W***ers & Tw**s. Despite the cause being Network Rail's sub-contractor's engineering works overrunning. I'm very glad to be in my home office, warm & dry, and travel stress free. Time for another coffee and mentally prepare for a technical interview with a potential new employer. Enjoy the day.

I'm a fan of Sculptamold. If I'm doing fairly flat or low hills it's carved foam, sculptamold (with a couple of drops of Woodland scenics pigment added), then sifted chinchilla dust glued over top as a soil base before adding static grass or other scenic materials. I'd probably look into making my own a la the video If I needed a lot, but I found one bag did my whole 16 by 2 Freemo module with enough left over for a 3' by 18" extension piece.

Ian, you will probably have to do a factory reset on the Vermin StupidHub. I long ago set mine to modem mode and use ASUS AI Mesh compatible routers instead. Range is so good I no longer need a repeater in the shed, and I can still get a decent connection in the local chippy. I'm also running 4 Sonos speakers and a Sonos connect with no drop outs or hiccups, even when streaming vinyl from an analogue amp via the connect. An early night after a failed second attempt to restore the landing lights on the deck. At least I did manage to get a few other bits and bobs done. Notably the 3 Metropolitan A stock luggage racks have been installed. SWMBO has now finished painting the dining room so one more item off our list. BBQ tonight. Low and slow baby back ribs, hasselback potatoes, grilled pumpkin, & coleslaw for dinner.

Good moaning. Crabtree is taking the day off. Ian, I wish I'd known you were short staffed. I could have schlepped down for the day. Normally you are chocca with operators. Power properly restored to the shed. Part of the decking around the front of it has been lifted to try and find the fault with the LED edge lights. UFO landing strip as SWMBO refers to it. I was hoping it was just a bad connector but that appeared to be intact. Ran out of daylight to finish testing. Today I shall take the meter to the connection to see if the break is with the previous light or further down the line. If the latter it means ripping up more boards. Hopefully I can find some more deck screws. Even though the decking is preserved, stained, and set to allow runoff, the boards are still saturated and soggy. Maybe time for replacement next spring. I've noticed some board swelling that has started to interfere with the back gate too. The joys of home ownership. That's about it. Enjoy the day. Latte awaits

Greetings all from the boring borough. It's a pleasant but cool November Saturday here. Brekkie consumed at the very nicely reborn cafe nearby. A quick run to the shops for a few items and a visit to Screwfix for some.... err screws to fix stuff to the walls. An antique plant stand that almost matches our umbrella stand was spotted at the local SELKENT branch. Basically it's a house and business clearing shop that usually stocks furniture that would be too ugly and trashy even for a Nevada brothel. Sometimes though there is a gem amongst the crap. A quick haggle and I was carrying it home. Result. The recently deceased model shop appears to be transforming into a travel agent. The children's dance clothing place has moved and a new coffee shop looks to be moving in. Hopefully it will be a coffee shop and not another cafe. The high street already has 8. See I told you the area was boring. Time for a break then onto hooking up the shed's consumer unit to the newly laid cable. One more thing off the list of stuff the incompetent sh*tweasel left unfinished. The hole(s) in the kitchen wall have now been filled. Enjoy the day.

Convert it to a Freemo module.

Argh. Things just get better. Our former builder (from now on referred to as the incompetent sh1tweasel) strikes again. I noticed some of the tile grout in the kitchen looked a bit dark. It was damp. After managing to get the plinth off the cabinet I find the whole area under the cabinet is wet. Since it was never cleaned or swept during installation there was a layer of sawdust paste and standing water. Turns out the moron never sealed off the hole in the wall from the old bath drain. (kitchen used to be a bathroom) This hole is about 50mm in diameter and low enough to let water in. On top of that the old wiring to what was the electric shower is still under that cabinet, and the breaker was live. Yes, exposed live wiring in a wet space. It was supposed to be re-purposed as the power supply for the shed but he never finished it. Asshat. Instead of painting, I've been busy ripping out bits of kitchen to reach the wiring so I can at least put it into a junction box, then I have to fill the drain hole and render over it. I'm really hoping he doesn't pay up once the judgement is settled. I'd love to sick the bailiffs on him just for some payback.

Greetings from the misty blue hills of the boring borough. Well one hill, but very misty. A few pints and 3 hours at the oche in the pub last night. A rather therapeutic way to spend an evening. Today I shall be mostly painting the hallway and stairs, still. Parcels expected so not allowed by SWMBO to wander away. Bumping into people from the past far away from home is an art form my FiL has developed. They are spending SWMBO's inheritance by going on a couple several cruises per year. As both are retired teachers they are constantly running into former students. Italy, Singapore, Machu Pichu, Alaska, Falklands, etc. We've bumped into a few people we know from Canada while wandering around London but that is almost to be expected. Time for coffee and to dig out the paint. I just hope I don't get them mixed up. Enjoy the day.

Check the wiring connector to the blower. If the under dash layout of your Ewok is similar to my old Freeloader, chances are it has worked loose. I find that I put my left foot against the blower casing and keep kicking the connector. The result is at times the blower works and at other times doesn't. May be worth looking at.

Greetings from a slightly tender resident of the boring borough. Yesterday's exam didn't go well. 90% is the pass mark and I ended up with an 88% (one question) More revision and try again in a week. Meh. Another interview lined up for this morning so maybe I won't need this certificate. The product's company has a nice racket with their certifications. You have to have the course, you can't just challenge the exam. Exams are $150 and the cheapest course is $2000. For a consultancy to be able to partner with the product every person must have at least 3 certifications. Certifications expire after the third version update so about 18 months. For my employer that amounts to around $200k per year just to stay as a product partner. Last night on the other hand was rather good and we were both rather naughty on a school night. Dutch brewer De Molen tap takeover at the Bottleshop in SE1 followed by a visit to the opening night of Cloudwater Brewing's new London taproom. We are both rather tired this morning. Little else happening so I'l bid you all a good day and go in search of coffee.

For some strange reason the ignore topic button is missing from this thread. Personally, I'm enjoying the post broadcast conversation.

Never doubt the power of the Beer Fairy. Only just last week a box of very nice Dutch beers from Het Uiltje appeared on my doorstep. The 16.5% Bock was especially nice. Greetings all from a remote connection in deepest darkest Woolwich. Some quiet study time away from everything today and a certification exam later in the afternoon. Tonight is a visit to Druid St SE1 for some rather nice beers. We have about 9 pubs in walking distance including a Neverspoons. All but one is total crap, including the micro. (known locally as Ray's Twig Emporium for his selection of the dullest, most twiggy beers he can find. 3 casks only, all basically the same, boring, brown, & <5% ) The only decent place sadly has a rather boring beer selection (chav wee or London Pride). The area has lost 4 pubs in the 10 years we've been here. None of them were worth saving. 2 are now Tesco with flats above, and the other 2 are just flats. That means for us a bus ride to get anything decent. Sigh. Back to study. Enjoy the day.

Get yourself a pair of gel filled knee pads. They'll make a big difference. Been there, done that, no t-shirt, but 20m2 of engineered flooring laid & I could still walk the next day. I use them when setting up or dismantling my Freemo modules as well. Without them I can't even get onto my left knee. Greetings and sanitations from the most boring of boroughs. Little of note. Bad weekend. Exhausted and an unwanted visit from a large black dog. Managed to accomplish the sum total of burger all. Yesterday I had a job interview. Went well but not sure about the position. Where I am may be a pile of fetid yak excrement but at least it has variety. This position would be doing one narrow channel of work instead. I think I'd get pretty bored within a couple of months. Oh well. Maybe the next one. Today I shall mostly be revising for a product certification exam. Waste of time as far as I'm concerned but it allows the employer to charge more for my services while not paying me any extra. Bunch of shite-weasels. If I could afford it, I'l take a 6 month leave of absence. That's about it. Coffee time. Enjoy the day.

Nice to see Jamo the Alco-holic modelling again.

My sincerest hope is the teams continue to be modellers (not necessarily railway) and there is something in place to filter out any wannabes that are only after their 15 mins of fame. (see also just about every other "reality" show) Worse still would be a contrived team of vacuous morons only there to provide comic relief or drama. * Then again a team of totally unlikable, unwashed, sock&sandal, miserable, luddite, curmudgeons might make a good pantomime villain team. * something like Team Hipster. <tongue fully in cheek, don't take this seriously> Gerrald is a barber and will be styling the static grass. Bjorn works as a barista and once rode a train to Hackney Downs. Dixie is a tattoo artist in Shoreditch and she is in charge of painting and weathering Adley is the team leader as he works in IT (well a call centre supervisor) Orlando spent 10 mins once repairing his fixie bike so everything mechanical falls to him Saffron is the vegan yoga chef. Her job will be to keep the team motivated and fed. She has a large shoe collection so is hoping for a repeat of the scratchbuild challenge but with a 9" stiletto.

And re-imported the misspelling of Invicta from your website.

One hipster deconstructed Wigan Pie. Scythe, mill, butcher, oven not included.

Too many beans in the pile and the brown sauce should be in the form of a Turner seascape. nil pointe from me.

Greetings all from a warmish but still boring borough. Stephen of DPD arrived with my parcel of doooooom from Hattons exactly 40 seconds early. He had to wait until his gizmo counted down before I could sign for it. Right now there is a yard of prehistoric Atlas 2 rail O scale track on my desk with Fenchurch shuttling back and forth. Like GDB only a few wagons and maybe a small shunting plank...... Fenchurch will shortly be swapped over for LT pannier L.94. Sadly both arrived with minor damage but nothing 5 minutes and some plastic weld couldn't cure. Attempted an evening out playing darts with an old friend last night. Unfortunately we bumped into league night. so every semi-decent not totally shite pub in the area that has a dart board was busy. The crappy ones with boards but no teams playing had their boards blocked by tables in an otherwise empty pub. It brought home a few things. First, how universally crap the majority of pubs in Woolwich, Plumstead, and Welling are. Second, how few pubs still have dart boards anymore. Bloody pool tables and fixed odds betting machines have taken all the space. Third, how much schitty beer is still being served when there are so many decent alternatives. Oh well, need to either get the shed cleared for playing or convince one of the micro pubs to put a board in. AndyRam. Good luck with the dog of blackness. Remember, you are always welcome to vent here. Many of us have been or are going through similar. Some to a greater or lesser extent but we understand how it feels. Emotional quicksand is one term I've heard. The more you try to escape the tighter it becomes. Slow and easy movements is the key. Time for more coffee and pretend to do some work while waiting for the next project to start. Enjoy the day.

Fenchurch sans DCC arrived today along with L.94 a London Transport pannier. I'll likely pop a pair of ESU Loksound V4 decoders into them eventually. I predict that in around 12-18 months exhibition managers will be snowed under with a plethora of O gauge micro layouts featuring Terriers.