Dave Hunt

Muggocoffee consumed, various bits of niff naff and trivia done and now about to go and sort out delivery of Dad's mobility scooter. Later on there is a lot of writing to do so not a particularly exciting day ahead. Have a good one everybody and commiserations for those who don't. Dave

I've soldered steel to nickel silver quite successfully many times using ordinary Bakers fluid flux. Dave

Happy 40th Jamie and Beth. Good to see you and have a chat yesterday at Doncaster Jamie and many thanks for the suggested alterations to the MPD layout plan. It was also good to meet up with Supersonic and the other RMWs I saw and I managed to get rid of a good few modelling tokens to positive effect. During all this SWMBO and the other female representatives of our party had been out to a plant fair and other arcane feminine venues on a revenge spending spree so several bank balances suffered. We got home at about 1800 and after dinner when all but SWMBO, me and and pal from Aberystwyth (Crimson Rambler) had gone, he and I set about a malted Scottish water appreciation society meeting on the patio until 0200 so I've been feeling a little delicate this morning. Time now for some admin duties - yuk!! TTFN Dave

Tony, Thanks for posting those superb photographs of Little Bytham. Along with other masterpieces such as Copenhagen Fields your layout has to be one of the most inspirational things in railway modelling. Much power to your elbow! Dave

Plan for today: Finish muggocoffee Do some preparation for tonight's dinner Go to model shop in Whitchurch for some plywood Possibly spend some time in workshop Go to Telford station to pick up friend from Aberystwyth who is staying the weekend Have a few drops of malted Scottish water Go to bed A simple but hopefully satisfying plan. Tomorrow we are going to the GOG show at Doncaster where I expect a few (or more) modelling tokens will be exchanged for essential supplies. My Dad is coming with us so progress may be a little slow but since such events consist largely of chatting it probably won't be too restricting. Have a good day folks. Envious thoughts of Chris's Welsh cakes - as Baz says, yum yum. Dave

Goodnight everyone. Sweet dreams. Dave

Not a lot planned for today, which is forecast dull but dry here. Yesterday we almost managed to decide on a mobility buggy for Dad and I'm hoping to get a couple of quotes as well as another test drive for him in the next few days that will decide the issue. I also got sufficient workshop time whilst SWMBO was hosting her bridge party to seal the tops of my base****ds with thinned waterproof PVA so it's on with tr*ck laying soon. Unfortunately I've got a writing commission that I have to get on with so progress will be slower than I would like for the rest of this year. Just finishing mugocoffee then off to take Dad to the dentist. Dinner at a friend's place this evening so no kitchen chores to speak of. TTFN, hope your day goes well. Jamie, stop smiling like the Cheshire Cat - it's not good for your image! Dave

Cheers Michael, it's always a good start to a day to collect an award. By the way, how did Mrs Lincoln enjoy the play- did anyone ever find out? Off to the market then taking Dad to look at some mobility scooters this morning. Thanks to all who helped with advice re the personal alarm query. SWMBO is hosting a bridge session here this afternoon so I'm banished to the workshop for three hours - result!! Have a good day everyone with commiserations to Ian and Mrs. Ian. Dave

Thanks LE. Which company is it? Bit of an unexpected turn to the day when I spotted sewage coming up through the grid just outside our kitchen window mid- morning, which effectively put all other plans on hold for a while. To cut a long (and smelly) story short, we ended up with two very nice and efficient chaps from Severn Trent water sorting it all out. Although the event was somewhat unpleasant, there was a bonus as because the drains from the two adjacent properties run under our garden and join our main drain it is classed as a shared system, meaning that S-T pick up the bill and it costs us zilch. Even with this interruption I managed to get all my chores done and actually partook in some workshop activities so the day wasn't lost. Here's wishing everyone a peaceful night with thoughts and prayers for those suffering in any way. Dave

If I may add my two pennorth to the discussion on the present and future state of railway modelling, I think that Tony is largely right in what he states whilst others also make valid points. As well as personally being in the pre-grouping camp (although that in no way diminishes my admiration for layouts and models of other eras) I am or have been involved with other modelling disciplines and I think that there are parallels to this hobby in aeromodelling, model boats, military modelling etc. Whilst many modellers wish to portray what they see before them today, a good number of the older generation are more taken with what they remember from their youth. Then there are those who depict scenes from bygone days that they have never seen but which hold a fascination for them. I suspect that the second category are in the majority, although I have to admit that I have no direct evidence of that other than what I see and hear at exhibitions, on RMW, in conversation with friends etc. but that the other types are also well represented. What has and most obviously is changing, though, is what Tony often discusses and that is the decline in the number of those who actually make things rather than depending mainly or wholly on RTR, which again has parallels in other modelling disciplines. I suppose that the bottom line to these ramblings of mine is that yes, the hobby is changing, and in the eyes of those of us who derive most pleasure from the 'modelling' aspect not necessarily for the better, but as an activity is reasonably healthy in the number of participants. Even old dinosaurs like me who like to scratchbuild models of more than a century ago can still enjoy the hobby and I think (hope?) that we will continue to do so in the company of those who also enjoy it, albeit with different emphases. I hope that that some of the above makes sense. If not, please put it down to the ramblings of the aged. Dave

A covering of light cloud meets the North Salopian eye this morning after a somewhat wet previous day and evening - good for the garden of course and no sign yet of last year's scorched earth that is still evident in a few small patches of scrappy lawn. SWMBO recently spent some time re-seeding said bits and is pleased that so far there has been no need for watering. A slow start for me with the second mugocoffee being consumed before taking Mum's clothes to the charity shop. There are still more to be sorted out but we're leaving that job for a while; I have to confess that it was a bit of a traumatic exercise and I'm not looking forward to doing it again but it will have to be faced in the near future, just not today. Do any ERs have experience of getting personal monitors/alarms for anyone? I want to get my Dad one of those devices that alerts others, the emergency services etc. in the event of a fall, illness etc. and wondered if any of you could offer advice? I'll also be making some catering preparations for a friend coming to stay for the weekend. We'll be going to the GOG show at Doncaster on Saturday along with another pal where I'm hoping to see Jamie and maybe some other RMWebbers. Apart from a few odd jobs that SWMBO says she has lined up, that's my day, although I have fond hopes that somewhere in there I can sneak in some workshop time. Cheers everyone. Have the best day you can. Dave

A belated good morning from the North Shropshire borderlands where it is sunny but with the threat of rain later. After being up to my ears in dust, spiders and rubbish in Dad's garage yesterday and making two trips to the tip ten miles away I'm hoping for at least some quality workshop time today. Before that, though, we are going to get a car load of Mum's clothes from Dad's house ready for taking to a charity shop tomorrow. It's getting on for two years since she died and it's about time we sorted her stuff out. Stop press: SWMBO has just announced that the freezer needs defrosting. Deep joy! Time for a second mugocoffee methinks. Dave

I just knew I'd blown it and dragged us off topic again.

I've just realised that I've possibly caused us now to wander off onto eye tests or the legibility of Network Rail signage or something...

Well, it was only my reading glasses so I'm fairly sure it was Wem, or was it Wembley .......

????????

Stephen, I'm loving this thread; it takes me right back to when I was a kid in Liverpool in the '50s. I remember travelling on the LOR with my Dad as well as seeing the MD&HB locomotives on a daily basis. I'm really looking forward to seeing it reappear in your model. Dave

Just to get back on topic, I went over the level crossing at Wem again today and remembered that last time I had forgotten my reading glasses! Dave

I'm pretty sure that Jamie is correct in thinking that his workshop houses a miniature black hole into which pinged items disappear; in fact, I reckon that it is a feature of most, if not all, modellers' habitations - certainly of mine anyway. Somewhere out there is most of a locomotive of mine. You never know, they may all be linked via wormholes in the space/time continuum and if anyone ever comes up with a way of accessing the central chasm they could open a model shop with the contents. A rather dull and damp North Salopland today, which matches my mood as I contemplate venturing into the dark recesses of Dad's garage and trying to make a start on sorting out the mess. Once I finish the mugocoffee SWMBO has provided I'll have run out of excuses. As Captain Oates would have had it, "I may be some time." Dave

Thanks CME. After advice from Steve and others I've decided to go with an allover coat of thinned waterproof PVA followed by a coat of grey paint. As far as cork is concerned, I reckon that the layout will probably take me a good few years to complete and since I'm 72 I doubt that I'll be concerned with reusing the boards! My good friend the late David Jenkinson would have described the present undertaking as the last great project. Cheers Dave

I have just the opposite effect from pushing a supermarket trolley as it actually helps my back. I have a lower spine condition that puts pressure on the nerves and leaning forward slightly whilst supporting part of my weight on the trolley eases the pain somewhat. It actually led in part to the diagnosis of my condition when the consultant had one of those lightbulb moments and asked if what I have just described was the case and when I confirmed that it was he leaned back and said, "Ah, I think I see what is going on...." I'm really looking forward to tomorrow (he lied) as we are going to start sorting out Dad's garage. I can hardly wait. Have a quiet, peaceful night everyone. Dave

I painted the floor in my workshop light grey in the fond hope that it would make finding 'ping offs' much easier to find - some hope! Even brass nuts, which you would think would stand out, assume a level of camouflage that any military tactician could only dream of. Hence I put carpet offcuts on some of it just to make things bit quieter when I zoom round on my office chair and it doesn't seem to be any worse - I think that the lower coefficient of restitution (posh phraseology or what?) means that the pinged bits travel less far when dropped on the carpet than they tend to on the concrete. Well, that's my theory anyway. Dave

Like Jamie, we were visited today by a grass snake that SWMBO spotted outside the conservatory door basking in the sun on the paving bricks. It was only about eighteen inches long and pale green with small darker spots. After a few minutes next door's cat wandered along whereupon the snake darted off into the thick hedge bottom, which caught the cat's attention and for at least the next hour it was immobile, staring at the spot where the snake had disappeared. Knopfler worked a treat Baz. Not a single word of complaint from Dad and he even asked who it was playing! Next time I take him out I might try the Mark Knopfler and Chet Atkins album. The clinic gave Dad an OK for the skin lesion biopsy they had taken but there is some question over a blood test result and they want some lymphoma tests done in Birmingham but no timetable as yet. This evening I spent an hour in the workshop applying several different materials to patches of one of the baseboards to see what I'm going to use for sealing the surface and preparing it for track laying. Currently I'm watching a programme about the making of Saturday Night Fever; can't believe it's over forty years ago that I saw it when I was on a detachment in Denmark. As soon as I've taken Dad home I think I'll need a small Scottish water to get over it. Have a peaceful night everyone. Dave

I don't do twitter or Facebook so I wouldn't know Chris. Dave

A sunny day here in North Hipposhire started off earlier with a nice SWMBO-made muggocoffee. Shortly taking Dad into Shrewsbury for a clinic appointment, the main problem being what shall I put on the car stereo that won't result in a grumble of "just a lot of noise" (which, I have to admit, is often my thought when hip hop or rap stuff is audible)? I think I'll try Dire Straits today - how could anyone not appreciate Mark Knopfler's guitar genius? Best have a soothing classical piece standing by though, just in case. Salmon for dinner tonight done in a ginger, orange, garlic and soy sauce marinade (Hairy Bikers recipe) that always goes down well. Not a very exciting day really but at least I'm not a politician..... Dave