Oldddudders

Morning All I got my hair cut by Chloe in St Marychurch, and Sherry seemed quite pleased with the result. En route I bumped into a couple of Sherry's friends. Keith had a prostate op similar to mine - but was kept waiting for several months with a catheter in place! Last evening we were supposed to be Front of House at the Little Theatre - actually a deconsecrated church - but Sherry, while improved, was certainly not up to standing around on duty, so I went alone. Jackie, a rather elegant copper's widow, picked me up in her mini, which is good for my image, as she is a few years younger and blonde! The Manager for the night was Reg, recently 80 but very sprightly and with a great sense of humour, and he posted me to serve pre-booked tickets as patrons arrived. These included one or two acquaintances, including a retired tax inspector and railway enthusiast who also writes erotic literature. During the interval I was able to chat to his wife, who is recovering from varicose vein surgery, and must not sit around for too long. Hence she was hopping from leg to leg as we talked, but assured me she did not need the loo! The performance - Charley's Aunt - was excellent, despite several of the key roles being performed by Tadpoles - junior society members, who were simply outstanding. With over 200 in the house, it was a great success - as has the whole run been, with all programmes sold by Friday. Today we will try to get a bit of a toddle as part of Sherry's recovery programme, and expect to take in the Grand Prix. It's a lovely morning, so being out and about is tempting, but moderation will be essential. Hope Sunday suits you.

Ian - (RH) - I am intrigued that the Gosport poster shows that Queen Victoria's funeral train went to Waterloo. If so, why would it have had to reverse at Fareham, and then be hauled by the LBSCR? Obviously twaddle, as it went to Victoria - where else would you direct such a train?

Morning all I am safely tucked up with Sherry, who is full of post-flu feebleness, as one always is. We did walk slowly round to the Co-op for a top-up shop, but poor thing did not relish cooking salmon afterwards so I went and bought fish and chips. Sherry was convinced her poached haddock and chips was the biggest meal she'd eaten in a week or more. Recovery is under way! Alison had been on-time for her 0715 taxi duty - in strong contrast to the days when Sheena had provided this service, invariably leaving me wondering if she was even awake yet! I was a trifle surprised to find my TER train to Paris was loco-hauled, but was reminded just how smooth such stock can be. While we were at distinctly terrestrial speeds, the ride is sublime, better than anything I can recall in the UK. As we were getting closer to Paris I saw a particularly lavish chateau - and guessed the next station might be Versailles Chantiers, which I had seen in pics and which has a distinct whiff of Moderne architecture, right down to the style of lettering painted on the canopy ends. The Eurostar boarding commenced a little late, which was a pity because the terminal was heaving. I was in Coach 16, of 16, which was not going to enable an early getaway at St Pancreas, where the exit is ahead of the entire train. We had a 5' late start, and some of the running before Lille seemed to be at less than warpspeed - the traffic on the parallel Autoroute wasn't being passed fast enough - but we still got our slot through the tunnel and arrived right time. Having finally cleared border controls - there were far fewer watchers than usual - I then hied rapidly to the Circle/Met, and found a Hammersmith & City train. This dumps one too close to Royal Oak at Paddington, and miles from the concourse, so I changed at Edgware Road, where a Circle Line train was waiting to bounce back round. Sadly this involved using the footbridge, and these days two-at-a-time up the stairs takes it out of me, even with only a rucksack! But I easily made the 14.06 Penzance service. Changing at Exeter, I braved the 2-car 150 to Teignmouth, the train full of students at that time of night, of course, and then had a pint before boarding the hourly 11 bus which passes close to Sherry's flat. Today I am booked for a haircut, then Front of House at the Little Theatre for Charley's Aunt, which should be fun. Sherry has had to withdraw from that duty, but may feel inclined to drive me there. I'm not sure she is really fit enough but we'll see. Hope your weekend goes well.

Nick - we believe that Jock is currently detained in hospital at Clacton, where the medics continue to support him. We hope he will be back among us shortly.

The Sunset Bell - Gary Burton

An 'improper' video featuring a well-known pair of sisters could be a crowd-pleaser, too!

Well done John. I had tried to come up with something about 'rug day' as the opportunity for a mature couple to relive former passion before the bambini arrived. As for credit card fraud, in 2008 Barclaycard rang me to ask about the holidays in Japan - while Deb was in the early stages of recovery from her accident, and 3 months before she saw her home again, and then only for the weekend. What seemed odd is that a holiday booking can be traced, and when you turn up to take your places on the plane presumably they put the bracelets on you! There were also some cases of posh wine, apparently. BC were perfect in their response and I lost nothing overall. I blame a supermarket petrol station in Le Grand Lucé, the only time in previous weeks when my card had been out of my hands. Sherry's temperature seems to have remembered where the normal zone is, so perhaps she may now start to recover. Fingers crossed, and thanks for all the kind wishes. Flu is flu and no more for a reasonably healthy person, but very debilitating, as she has found.

Delighted to see this as a 'going' concern, having been privileged to see parts of the viaduct chez Re6/6 a year or two ago. It is a truly remarkable piece of endeavour, modelling an iconic Brighton structure, and seeing trains rattling over the top is surely the icing on a very rich cake. Well done, chaps!.

I had a similar situation in the '90s when I broke my left kneecap. The morning after I got home from hospital my boss was on the phone for me to get back in harness sharpish. So I did - and when I appeared in his office on crutches I think he realised that getting from rural Kent to Kings Cross was a bit of a challenge! 6 weeks of commuting like that was no fun.

It must be nearly 40 years since I did occasional stints as Station Manager at Cannon St, and it was a rather serene sort of place, with reasonable staff at all levels, including an announcer who is now an RMwebber. No doubt the knives have been out many times and the staff are a lot less numerous - and of course there are fewer platforms.

ISTR the Hastings unit prime movers were suddenly available due to a cancelled order for Egypt, or something like that? Otherwise might Southern have had DMMUs like everyone else?

GC's right-hand lamp appears to have been given a good kicking!

Sadly, Andrew, that ain't how it works. If a new franchisee arrives the existing staff, including senior managers, are simply TUPE'd across. Don't hold your breath for change at that level.

Listen Here - Gene Harris

No idea, although it sounds very likely, but TT looks like a Devon plate to me, and thus feels at home here.

My first thought was the Nick of Pendle! A modern pub building on a bit of a bend on a steep hill? Deb and I took refuge there in some weather. Nobody seemed to mind our muddy boots etc. 1998. She was born in Colne.

Sherry had a friend whose wife also died of ovarian cancer, a few months before Deb. In her case she had felt unwell for some time, but done nothing about it. We do attribute poor health to our age, perhaps, rather than a treatable condition, as we get older. Her faith meant she declined chemo, was gone quite quickly. He has now remarried.

Wow! If Stubby47 sees those, he may be interested......

Ovarian claimed Deb, too. It is extremely difficult to detect in the early stages - the patient has no idea she is unwell until too late. A small loss of appetite is one of the few symptoms - but who would regard that as a significant sign requiring a medic's attention?

Too effin' true, squire. Cost me a fortune, and of course only three days before travel, when all the cheapies are long gone. But I'm booked at least. Sherry is so down today she couldn't even summon the energy for a lunchtime chat, which is unprecedented. But it's only flu, as they say. And the doc has told her to look for other symptoms which would mean she'd need to be hospitalised. None so far.

ISTR the Rio Grande had a railcar named after that individual, perhaps unsurprisingly.

The idea of a preservation group running the Torrington branch echoes the Spa Valley between Eridge and Tunbridge Wells West. Good idea. But to retain the separation between Network Rail and Society rails, the loop on the Torrington branch would need to be retained, complete with ground frame. And on my 4mm Halwill, a 159 in NSE livery will make occasional appearances. My era is really post-war to early '50s, and therefore a steam-era layout is required, but the complexity of the trackwork at the Padstow end does make it difficult to compress without losing facilities, e.g. the parallel departures from the Down Bay to Padstow and the Down Main to Bude. The modern era layout would indeed be thinned, the yard would be the inevitable car park, and the down bay platform long gone. The key crossover for the Padstow line to gain the Up platform is far too far from the "junction", but the long siding on the Bude alignment would also be gone, permitting the junction to be brought back there, perhaps, as already suggested.

Morning all Sherry's flu is not shifting. Her conversation with the doc indicated it might be around for several more days yet, with full recovery taking up to three weeks. Accordingly I expect to rebook my planned Wednesday Eurostar for Friday, on the grounds that her temperature and hence infection might be under control by then. I am required to be Front of House at the Little Theatre on Saturday, so need to be in Torbay by then. Fingers crossed that the SNCF office in Le Mans can get me rebooked at short notice. News from Jock is now rather overdue. Keep everything crossed. Hope everyone's week progressing as required.

Yes, but at least the bus has a Devon registration.

I thought they were all green, and no silly yellow bits, when I first saw them?