Jinty3f

……and a very small tube of superglue?

Think long term. Your knees are not going to get any better as you get older, and loft ladders are not as easy to climb in your 60s as they were in your 40s. And it comes around quicker than you imagine.

In 1969, fresh from school at the age of 18, I joined the long defunct Midland Bank at the bottom of the ladder. I was tall, skinny, docile and immediately terrified of the accountant, who was the deputy manager. He shoved me ( literally) at a similar skinny and unpreposessing youth, my senior by all of two weeks, who was designated as my mentor, who quickly warned me keep well out of the accountants way. Every Thursday, the security van arrived to exchange surplus cash, warning the branch five minutes in advance that they were headed in our direction. To my total bemusement, my mentor and I were bundled to the front entrance, by the accountant, out into the street, each issued with a truncheon and a sort of flimsy tin helmet so large that it covered my eyes, and instructed to defend the bank’s money / personnel / customers against any attempts at robbery. We were, frankly, more scared of the accountant than any possibility of an attack. When the security van arrived, a huge bloke got out, built like the proverbial, wearing the body armour of the time, complete with visored helmet, and lugging a steel box chained to his wrist. He took one look at us and dissolved into laughter, and as he strode past, he suddenly yelled “Boo!” scaring the daylights and she ite out of us. On his way out five minutes later, he stopped and thanked us for cheering up his day, and told us that the accountant did it to all the new lads in spite of standing instructions from the Midland that staff were not to be used as security. He was a mean old cuss, and at the end of the year, I left to start teacher training, but today, at the age of 72, I still think of the miserable old sod and the humiliation of that day.

At the start of this year, my wife bought for me an HP printer, costing £49.00, which included 3 months of free HP ink, and a code to give to friends / family, which would give them 3 free months worth, and another 3 free months for me as long as I was in the HP ink scheme. In addition, if I quoted an existing users code, both he and I would get an additional 3 months. Having bought it on Amazon, I noticed that many of the reviews quoted their own codes, and so I copied one, and then left a review with my own code prominent. For three weeks, I received almost daily multiple notifications of 3 additional months ink added to my account, as new buyers used my code, and I do not exaggerate when I say that I will be 98 before I have to buy any ink (72 now). The only down side is that the printer needs to be connected to the web all the time, and my usage is tracked. However this results in new cartridges being sent in advance of running out. The deal does not mean that I get inundated with cartridges every month, just when needed. I have a limit of 700 pages per month - my usual usage is about 20, mainly brick paper. I have had no problems with the heads drying out at all, unlike my previous printers. edit. I notice that the same printer has been reduced to £28.00 on Amazon, but the ongoing free ink deal has now been stopped for new buyers. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09316DC61/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

‘Gifting’ or ‘gifted’. I blame online or T.V. shopping channels.

I know I am old at 72 because my daily comfort is a priority. This includes sitting down for a pee every time at home. Sorry to lower the tone.😳

Probably been on here already, but still, following your cue………

I didn’t get an invite myself :(

This was advertised on our local Neighbourhood group. Don’t think the poster realised what they were offering.....

Thank you both for your excellent advice. This has indeed worked and I can now access all the sounds on the TTS decoder - although I can see only a few will be needed on my shunting layout!

I have just installed a Hornby TTS decoder into a Dapol 08, a simple job and with an upgraded speaker it sounds fine to me. I use a basic NCE Powercab, but cannot figure out how to access the function sounds on the TTS above 12, because the keypad only has numbers 0 to 9, and it was pure chance that I found the shift enabled f10 to 12. Experimenting with various buttons and combinations has resulted in lots of unwanted things like creating “old consists” which take some extricating, and the manual is not very helpful. Can anyone advise me how to access f13 and above on the basic Powercab please?

Thank you to all who have replied. After consideration, I have gone with Woodyfox’s solution, because the available sleeves seem to be too big. I filed a flat on the motor shaft, and a couple of shallow V grooves on the opposite side and filled the worm with J B Weld 2 part, hoping the flat and grooves will help secure the worm. So far, on a rolling road, it meshes well and seems to be fine, although as the bodywork is added, ( Eric Underhill O gauge Peckett) and extra lead weight goes in, it may fail, in which case I will have to grin and bear the expense of a new motor and gears etc.

Hoping for advice - I have a 40:1 gear set, make unknown, which I acquired long ago, which I intend to use on a Mashima 1833 motor in an Eric Underhill Peckett kit, but the worm does not have provision for a grub screw, and while it fits the motor shaft, it does not grip it tightly. Is it simply a case of using superglue or Araldite to secure it, or is there something more secure that anyone can recommend? In addition, can anyone tell me the size of the 1833 fixing screws, which I have of course, managed to lose? Thank you.

A Limerick on the topic of punts: There once was a girl from St Kath’s who went for a swim in the lake. a man in a punt stuck a pole in her ear and said, “You can’t swim here it’s private.” I have never understood it.

I am in the process of ballasting some O gauge track on a relayed section of my layout. For pre-gluing, I use a washed out bottle of 1Cal or Frylight spray, which gives an incredibly fine spray of water plus a slug of screen wash ( which contains alcohol or meths I think?) (My daughter is a hairdresser and uses the same spray bottles in her salon, because she says the spray is finer, and a bottle is only £1.25 in the local supermarket.) I follow this up by dribbling Copydex diluted lightly with more screen wash to fix the ballast in place. The process works successfully and the spray bottles are highly effective.