Ohmisterporter

Interesting picture Mark. She looks like she is painted Highland Railway Muscat Green, rather than yellow that she was originally preserved in. Northern Rock on the R&ER is also in that colour and in certain lights it can appear yellow, though not to the extent of that preservation colour of 103 e.g. Those Magnificent men in their flying machines. Geoff.

If he does I will be ready for him. I retire in November so shall have no excuses. Geoff.

"Alabaster baublers". I bet that would have beaten them on What's my Line?. My son only ever wanted to be a train driver from the age of three. Guess what? He is now a train driver with twenty years experience, so perhaps it all ended well after all. Geoff.

Whilst on the Railway Quiz topic I was reminded that my wife's grandmother had a dancing school in Morecambe and taught Eric Bartholemew to dance. He is better known as Eric Morecambe of course. Gandmother also tought her own two daughters to dance, sing and play musical instruments, to a standard where they had a double act doing end of the pier shows and similar and could earn a good living at it before and during the war. This is where the subject of the topic comes in. My wife was never tought more than basic dancing by her mother or grandmother, and she cannot even read music let alone play an instrument, which I think is a crying shame. When we have particular skills should we not pass them on to our children? A workmate is Italian, but married an English girl and has lived here for twenty five years. His two sons were born here but he never taught them Italian, not even basic conversation. To the extent that when they go back to Italy for a holiday with the family the two sons cannot converse with their grandparents, apart from the bits of English the latter have picked up. I think this is very sad. I was talking to my wife about this and she pointed out (I should have known) that I had never taught our son to use a lathe although I had one sat doing nothing in the garage. I just didn't think he would be interested, or more likely couldn't be bothered. When you come home from working on machine tools all day the last thing you want is to go and do some more at home, however good the cause. If I repeat this mantra often enough I may start to believe it. What an opportunity missed. Does anyone have similar regrets? Geoff.

Yes, but have you seen some of the hoarders? Collecting tools and equipment that "may come in someday" is one thing, but completely filing every spare foot of living space is quite different. To the extent people cannot walk across the floor of their own home. That's proper hoarding. Geoff

I do not know about the museums Mark, I have never seen 103 other than on film. I have seen a Loco Profiles volume on the Highland Jones goods and Indian L classes IIRC. The centrepiece is a Jones goods in HR green, not the Stroudley yellow she is preserved in. Best of luck with the build. Geoff.

Two of my biggest dislikes, unfortunately seen regularly on this forum among others, are : - "Dons tin hat and ducks for cover" and "Methinks" I know I am probably guilty of writing other people's dislikes so there is an element of stone throwing in glass houses here. Geoff.

I was under the impression that mobile phone signals were somehow blocked in the quiet carriages. Obviously not. Geoff.

There is the Churchill ad with a tug-o-war contest in which a bloke on the left is actually pushing the rope instead of pulling it. Watch out for him, blue shirt and brown shorts. Geoff.

Anyone remember the Pot Noodle horn? There have been several comments about the compensation ads that run mainly in the daytime. My biggest dislike among them was Injury Lawyers for You in which three men and a woman walk down some steps and the woman falls on the floor, the men rush to her aid. Nothing is said, but the implication is that there could be a claim for compensation in this. The woman was wearing high heels and as far as I'm concerned the only blame lies with herself for not taking care. And there is a bloke who falls off a ladder and gets a nice compensation cheque. I've watched him do this every week; he never learns does he? Geoff.

TV ads can become victims of their own success. The meerkats and Go compare started out as simple ads that made their point by being different. They must have been popular because it is the singer and meerkats that developed, as though they were the reason for the ads rather than the product they were trying to sell. With this they have become ever more complicated and less watchable, they are a turn off now. Geoff.

If there are any Birmingham fans on here perhaps they can tell us if winning the Carling Cup was more important to them than staying in the Prem. I have to laugh at the big clubs that think it isn't important, wait until they reach the semi finals and there is a chance of some silverware. On slightly more serious note, do the clubs still have to pick from the 25 man squad for Carling Cup games, or can they field players from outside the 25? Geoff.

I have a work mate who has done so. He now has a pay as you go mobile and a laptop with a dongle for tinternet. He never gets nuisance calls. Geoff.

Another problem with this type of call is that when you return home and dial 1471 there is only the last call that is registered, so you never know whether or not a call that you really wanted has been made because it is overtaken by an unwanted caller. On my phone anyway. Geoff.

I think the Figaro is the car that Andrew Marr drives at the start of his Sunday morning show, just before I switch off. Geoff.

Of course the really clever bit is moving his car out again. Geoff.

Another vote for Simon Kernick. I started reading Relentless and couldn't put it down. All his books come thoroughly recommended. Geoff.

Hull City 0 Blackpool 1 It's started again! Too early to say how these teams will fare for the rest of the season, both looked a bit rusty at times. 'pool actually have players moaning about having to take a pay cut due to getting relegated last season. What did they expect? With Karl Oyston as chairman I don't think we will be going into administration unable to pay the bills. Last season we had players on loan that were being paid more by their Championship clubs than Blackpool could pay them in the Prem. Sometimes I wonder if anyone plays for pride any more, or is it all about the money? Is it worth asking for suggestions for the first manager to be sacked this season? It looks pretty wide open in the Prem this year. All I am sure of is it won't be Dalgleish or Fergie. I won't be surprised if Wenger has had enough and walks out at Arsenal. My prediction for the first chop is Steve Kean at Blackburn. Geoff.

I always thought this was from Mark Twain. I use IE at work and Chrome at home, so perhaps I'm thick only half the time. I feel much better now. Geoff.

What happened to Summer? It seems one season has just finished and another is round the corner. Not sure how Blackpool will fare this season, you can't lose your best players and not have an effect on the team. I don't blame anyone for wanting to better themselves mind, I wish I'd tried harder myself looking back! I have a feeling in my water about this year. No prima donna players, no crowding round the officials, total respect for all the decisions right or wrong. Only the captain allowed to speak to the referee should be a rule in any case IMHO, it works in Rugby League backed up by disciplinary boards that come down like a ton of bricks. And for the first time ever there will be tv reviews for goals and penalties. Does anyone else have the same feeling? Geoff.

Was it not part of the marriage vows? You start decorating when you marry and only finish on the day you die. Geoff.

At one time there used to be sellers on Ebay who regularly used makers pictures to illustrate items they were selling. Often with words such as "Library picture" in the description. This does not exempt them from being copyright thieves of course. I cannot believe they contacted the big train makers and asked permission to use the pictures in such cases. I prefer to see a picture of the actual model I am buying anyway. Geoff.

Nice model Mark, I look forward to seeing it finished. Number 103 was one engine that I missed when BR ran those specials towards the end of steam, showing my age. Geoff.

Just found out that the next open day as part of the National Gardens Scheme is 19th June. Admission is £3.50 and proceeds go to a good cause. Train rides will be available so here's hoping for fair weather. Geoff.

Excellent film there Stewart, although one has to see it live to appreciate the civil engineering that was involved in the construction. If the young chap driving is the son of the owner he was a nipper when I first saw the garden. I feel really old now. Geoff.