GeoffAlan

It obviously pays them to send emails or ring. Nobody, even criminals , works for nothing. That they pray on the most vulnerable makes the crime worse in decent people's minds.

I suspect that Ferrari have thrown in the towel on 2018. Their failure to swap the cars position on track, and this from a team who managed to issue team orders when they were supposed to be banned, suggests they know they're beaten. As to the engine issue, Ferrari had certainly done something 'special' and were obviously told to stop it by the FIA. The differences in performance between Mercedes and Ferrari before during and after those races says it all.

I managed to catch up on the programme last night. I was expecting to be disappointed and was pleasantly surprised. While not on my must watch list, I will try to watch them all.

I never can get used to people's stupidity. Some years ago my wife got a letter from British Transport Police. Her car had been spotted zig-zagging the gates at a local level crossing. Fortunately the car at the time of the offence had been in the local garage for a service. So we contacted them for the name of the driver. Their MD was horrified and got in touch with BTP for a copy of the video in order to identify the driver. When they eventually got that, apparently they were reluctant to let it be seen, it showed a red car, ours was blue, with a vaguely similar number plate in the video. The grovelling apology from the BTP Inspector was a sight to savour.

GNU Terry Pratchett

The spall chicken can get it wrong, and if you think spelling, grammar and appropriate capitals are bad in a post here, you should try one of the Facebook tropical fish groups I'm on. I am not the world's best speller, and my 'grammar' was learned by reading and listening, not by rote. But some of the posts on that group are streamofconshonsnes inn akure ate lee spelled none sens.

see HMRC do indeed give discounts, to large corporations. It's us poorer types that have to pay 100% of the bill. HMRC are a nasty lot! The beggars even refunded me £1.59 last year when we ended up paying Capital Gains tax on a legacy [long story, don't get me started]. Why did this upset me? They'd owed from 2000, not that I was aw\re, when apparently they'd overcharged me on tax I paid on some shares I sold. Can you imagine them not clawing back the £1.59 on my PAYE in 2001 had it been the other say around?

This is the issue. When we eventually get the carriers in service, plus the F35B in numbers to properly load them. There will be occasions where only 1 is available, and other occasions where neither is useable with one refitting and the other with 'the usual teething problems'. IF a crisis occurs and we do have a carrier available will we have the support group available too? Given the numbers of destroyers and frigates dedicated to other duties [anti-piracy, Falklands guard ship, Gulf guard ship, etc. etc.] I very much doubt we could protect it from a serious threat. IMHO, the carriers are only going to be of use for uncontested power projection as in bombing Syria, Afghanistan or other states without a serious blue water capability, where some RAS support and a couple of frigates will suffice. Then we look at the RAF and Army and see similar lack of capability..... It's a situation where we are barely capable of dealing with nuisance attacks, and incapable of acting alone. Our role seems to be reduced to legitimising US foreign interventions and little else. If only our politicians looked at this clearly we'd have a choice. We could either raise the cash to rebuild the UK's defence to a level where we could intervene where we really needed to act, or be able to reconfigure our forces into a cheaper but effective self/defence force.

One of the best explanations of why our high streets are failing. I'm afraid, for those who like shops and shopping, it's unlikely to reverse.

IIRC Legally any price ticket is 'an invitation to treat.' IE negotiate. I certainly try to negotiate any second-hand price and will, in the right circumstances, do the same with new items. A few years ago I was looking for some military kits, tanks and other vehicles, and a shop I walked into while on holiday had several items I was interested in. All were in faded and dusty boxes and some had artwork which I knew had not been used by the manufacturer for some years. Knowing that the price asked was the same as Beatties charged for pristine examples I picked out 6 or seven I wanted and asked what his best price was, 'seeing you've had them in stock a while'. His best price was staggeringly below his ticket prices.

FIAT 126 and 127 Vauxhall Chevette and Viva There were still Hillman Imp, Hunter and Avenger around.

It looks more exaggerated than you'd see. perhaps a lens distortion effect?

While we're into nautical terms, is 'Avast behind!' an insult?

edit.... Unfortunately, there is a sector of cyclists which equates physical separation with second-class road user status, and which refuses to use anything but the main carriageway, despite there existing a quality off-carriageway alternative. edit...... That sector is viewed in my former profession as arrogant, and as being as inconsiderate of other road users as motorists who drive with no regard for the safety of cyclists. I disagree with the premises that physical separation has been executed with any 'quality'. The reason I refuse to use separate provision is that uniformly it requires the user to give way far too often as is usually cursed by bad sight-lines for both cyclist and the main road. That such a 'quality' alternative exists is yet to be proved to me. I can take anyone interested to such a farcility in Sedgefield County Durham where vast expense was spent in providing cyclists with an off road/on footpath rout around two small roundabouts. the road is not particularly busy but if I were to ride it it change the need for me to look right 90 degrees twice at each roundabout give way in 9 places, the crossing of a carriageway three times and the need for observation at 180 degrees from direction of travel twice. It's not always perverse on the part of cyclists to avoid the provided alternative, sometimes it is survival.

Back to Battle of Britain, the merlin engined 'Me109s' and 'Heinkel 111s' are bad enough but the hodge-podge of Spitfire marks, most from much later in the war is hard to ignore.

Yes I have the DVD and that bell push jumps out every single time!

I gave up on shared paths some years ago. Before that I met many helpful people who, like me, were careful and considerate, and sadly the few who were a total pain.

A sad day 50 yrs ago and Railway Modeller refuses to mark it! A mistake I think.

The hot weather has brought about a number of roof pillar failures. You see the poor souls riding around having to hold the roof on with their right hand while changing gear, steering, texting and operating the radio with their left hand.

IIRC Lilliput make a fireless loco in N. As it's a Bachmann company you may find an HO equivalent.

Except when ,Silver, or Garter Blue!

Call me a suspicious old beggar, if you must, but IMHO the re-brand looks like the start of a privatisation. I know Locomotion has had issues resulting in some disruption to the cafe and organisation in general, and suspect that that too is part of the preparation process.

The very worst models I've owned are the Lima class 31 and the GF J69. Both would almost disassemble themselves if I picked up a screwdriver. I had them apart that often! The class 31 would, when running gallop along at a scale 200mph. The J69 was particularly fickle dropping connecting rods, pins and even the screw that held the body on neither were worth the money.

I'd love the N gauge S&DJR 7F, please.

I seem to remember London Transport wouldn't allow duplication of their logo. The net result being no models of the London tube network were (or should that be are) on sale.