Dave Hunt

As a matter of interest, Plastic Weld is just methylene dichloride (AKA dichloromethane) that sells on theBay for about a tenner per 500ml as opposed to the price of Plastic Weld. Dave

Actually my achievements with the mountboard I purchased did me a bit of good as Jill was so pleased with the two pictures I framed using it that I was able to have a couple of hours modelling time this afternoon. Mind you, there are plenty more to do so a visit to the Hippodrome may be on the cards after all. How's the Bara Brith production? Dave

There's a fungus that can get into not so fresh flour called ergot, the active ingredient being lysergic acid that is used to make LSD. That could explain Polish Andy's mad painting sprees if his fresh flour is past its sell by date. Dave

Art shop visited, mount card purchased, first two frames and photographs identified, coffee break completed, down to the shed for frame fettling. Thinks - if I'm careful I may be able to sneak in the odd few minutes of modelling time, or is that too risky? Dave

Today will probably be spent re-framing family photographs as Jill is having one of her “We’ve got too many pictures standing on the piano and other surfaces. We (?) need to sort them out and change the pictures on the walls.” Roughly translated that means she will decide what is required and I will do the resulting chopping and changing. First off is a trip to the art shop for some mount card. So as far as modelling time today - forget it sunshine. Dave

I was nine years old when the LOR closed and travelled on it many times. Thank you for posting that link to a film that brought back many happy memories of a Liverpudlian childhood. I'm enjoying watching your layout develop as well as seeing the many photographs that are posted. Dave

As far as I am concerned, the scrote who killed that woman and her unborn child due to driving like a madman at 123 mph and weaving all over the motorway driving with one hand whilst filming himself was a MURDERER whatever the legal wording suggests. If he wasn't aware that his actions would probably lead to someone's death or serious injury he is seriously mentally deficient and should be locked up for good anyway as he is obviously a danger to the rest of the populace. And yes, that is most definitely a rant, Dave PS, and as for maiming the kids, he should be sentenced to spend the rest of his misbegotten existence in solitary confinement.

The 30 zone for the village of Loggerheads (yes, it is a real place) was in the past few years extended both north and south of the built up area by about a mile into open countryside for no apparent reason. Dave

I was under the impression that judges can now give harsher sentences in cases such as this up to life imprisonment. Dave

Too right! I hope that there will be an appeal against the sentence resulting in the piece of **** that murdered and maimed the family being locked up for life. Dave

Slightly? Dave

The son of a friend has recently resigned from the police force even though the job is both secure and carries with it a generous pension because he says that he was fed up with not being able to do the job he joined to do and being regarded by a great many people as no longer a trusted or valued public servant to the extent that even apparently decent and law abiding members of the public viewed him and his colleagues with distaste. As someone who has always respected and valued the police force I am deeply saddened by that. Dave

I was 'caught' on a 30mph speed camera seven years ago in a small Leicestershire village. The road leading up to the village was 60mph and the 30mph sign was round a bend such that it was only visible from less than 50 yards away; less than 25 yards further on was the camera. Although I wrote to the police authority issuing the summons stating that I considered the arrangement to be nothing short of entrapment as in order to reduce speed to 30mph before passing the limit sign would require quite sharp braking there was no response other than a repeat of the summons. I elected to do the speed awareness course, which to be honest I thought was next to useless, and when the 'trainer' asked each 'trainee' to explain how they were caught I said what I had told the police authority, i.e., that the layout of the speed limit signs and camera was patently meant to trap motorists rather than being a safety measure. He told me that I must have been mistaken as such things were never done and safety was the only consideration. A few months later I drove through the same village and was interested to see that although the speed limit sign was still placed as before, there were signs starting at 400 yards leading up to it warning of the upcoming restriction. Maybe I wasn't the only driver to have raised the issue? Dave

In Germany we had BFG (British Forces Germany) number plates that in appearance were UK plates but with different alphanumeric sequences. The German and Dutch police were familiar with them and they caused no problems but occasionally when in the UK on leave we were stopped by policemen who were apparently not familiar with them. On posting back to UK we had, IIRC, six months in which to register the cars. We also had to have BFG driving licences and since Jill learned to drive in Germany in 1971 she had both a BFG licence and a German national licence that she used to obtain an international licence. When we were posted back to UK, where I was stationed at RAF Valley in Anglesey, because she was then a UK resident her licences various were valid for 12 months, after which she had to have passed a UK driving test. Hence, after about 11 months she applied for a test in Holyhead and had the slightly bizarre experience of legally driving herself unaccompanied to the test centre, then putting L plates on the car and taking the test. She passed OK but even if she had failed she could have legally taken the L plates off the car and driven herself home unaccompanied. All a bit silly really. Dave

I suppose that tax discs were relatively easy to forge though? When we lived in the Netherlands in the early 1970s there were no tax discs or other visible means of seeing whether a car had road tax paid on it. A Dutch friend worked for the tax authorities and his job was to drive round all day with a colleague photographing car numberplates to see whether the owners had paid their road tax. Dave

And to think that I regarded straightforward panniers as 'orrible! Dave

Panniers moving. Dave

What locomotive? Dave Edit: Just seen that PB beat me to it

It's almost as bad as that preserved LMS 2-6-4T that was once turned out in Caledonian Perth blue. Dave

Had an MRI scan of my lumbar and sacral spine regions today to see what is wrong down there and whether anything can be done about it. I hope something can be done as the sciatica is getting bl**dy awful and worst of all it's starting to affect my modelling!! Doing work on the layout has to happen in bursts of no more than about half an hour before I have to sit down, which at least means that I can work on rolling stock or other small items, or in some instances to lie down, which scuppers things until it's back under control. To quote the Bear, turdycurses. Anyway, Jill's eye seems to have recovered very well so at least one denizen of Hunt Towers is properly on the mend. She still has to use eye drops for another three weeks and avoid heavy lifting or otherwise straining, which this afternoon included putting salt in the dishwasher (???). I find it best not to ask. Dave

I have recently joined the Warley club as an associate or ‘out of town’ member for several reasons even though it is a good hour’s drive from home. It has an S7 layout on which I can run my locos and stock, I have several friends and acquaintances who are active members, it has magnificent club rooms and runs what is probably the best advertisement for our hobby in the annual show at the NEC (whether you like the set up of the show or not I think that it attracts a lot of people who could well become the Railway modellers of the future) so I want to support it and be involved as best I can at somewhat long range. I also know several of the club’s officers and have faith in their approach to their jobs. Hence, although it can not really be classed for me as a local club I am looking forward to it providing at least some of the features I would hope to enjoy from one. Dave

We had a similar situation at our RC church when a priest we had for a short time established a parish committee. I was asked to be chairman but declined as I was up to my ears in other things at the time so a woman parishioner took the job with me as a simple committee member (committee membership being open to anyone who cared to attend). Sadly she was so dogmatic and dismissive of anyone else’s opinions that attendances fell to the point that the whole thing became pointless and the committee faded away. Dave

Sick joke I once heard coming up: Q. What was the last thing to pass through Churchward’s mind? A. A locomotive. I suppose that could be taken one of two ways. Dave

I once went along to a local model railway club to see what they got up to. Although I didn't expect that they would have any S7 track my idea was that I could get involved with making things for one of their layouts. Shortly after I arrived the chairman asked me which scale I modelled in and when I replied S7 he said very dismissively, "Well, I don't think you'll fine anything to interest you here. We don't go in for the elitist stuff." I never went back. Dave

Put it in York. Dave