DaveF

I no longer have butter, I changed to cholesterol reducing spread. The level was not too far above desirable, the spread has reduced it. I did have statins but had a nasty reaction (I had memory problems and could not sleep at all) so that my GP said never ever take statins again and wrote it in my notes. As for salt there is some in the house, it is useful if the path gets icy and once in a blue moon I put a little bit on boiled new potatoes if I am eating them with fish without a sauce. I usually get enough salt from food I buy - and living near the sea I breathe tiny particles in all the time, especially when there is a strong wind off the sea. In prolonged hot weather I sometimes get a lot of cramp, relieved by drinking water with a small amount of salt added. This morning has been a normal Tuesday, the groceries have come and been put away and the house is tidy. It is dull and cold so I will just go to the beach and have a walk as it is not going to get above 10°C . Then I will scan more photos. I may also contact the Salvation Army to see if they have any details of what my great great uncle did with them in Africa. Some time today I need to start to sort out the intercesions for church on Thursday. Apart from that I can do what I like. Last night I watched an old episode of Vera. I am pleased I did - I hadn't seen it before which surprised me. As usual places near to each other in the programme are not in real life. David

A set of what are really reference photos of Crianlarich in 1973, 85 and 86. Some were taken from the train - I only used to put my head out of the window of a Mk1 door at places where I knew there was a safe clearance! Crianlarich view south July 73 C1349 Crianlarich July 73 C1351 Crianlarich loco shed 11th May 85 C6843 Crianlarich 11th May 85 C6844 Crianlarich 11th May 85 C6894 Crianlarich 11th Oct 86 C8056 David

It's one of Dad's photos, I just copied the caption from his catalogue and didn't check it. Many thanks for pointing it out. David

Thanks very much for pointing it out. I think it is now correct, all that was wrong was that I had got the photos in the wrong order and then messed up the train workings as well. In other words, everything was wrong. David

Leonie came and did the house work both effectively and efficiently, as usual in somewhat less time than it would take me. All I have to do is empty the vacuum cleaner sometime. Much of the day passed quietly scanning more old photos, I've put a few of Grandfather's cars on the "For those interested in old cars" thread. There were a few photos taken in France and Germany, possibly when my great aunt was living there working (I think) in a British Embassy. I've also learnt more about where relatives lived and have been able to find several family houses using Google Earth. Some still look very like the photos, others have been extended. I've even found a Great Great Uncle who was a missionary with the Salvation Army somewhere abroad. I wonder if they have any records? After lunch I did some light gardening using a weed extractor to get rid of the weeds which were either flowering or about to flower. I also put a couple of houseplants outside so I could deal with white fly living on them. It is not very likely that they will come back into the house as whitefly make a form of honeydew so anywhere undet the plant gets very sticky. I will not try a biological control such as parasitic wasps in the house, I might in the greenhouse! I had a quick walk as after being in the garden I felt a bit sore, it eased the pain a lot. Soon it will be tea and then a relaxing evening doing not a lot. David

Swayfiled on the ECML on Stoke Bank for this teatime. Swayfield Class 47 11.50 Edinburgh to Kings X Sept 71 J2770 Swayfield Class 55 9012 16.00 Kings X to Edinburgh "The Talisman" May 72 J2918 Swayfield Class 55 9020 16.05 Kings X to Harrogate "THe Torkshire Pullman May 72 J2919 Swayfield Class 47 1987 18.30 Kings X to Hull July 72 J2955 Swayfield Class 47 No 1109 12.40 down Kings X to Hull Oct 72 J3112 David

I've been scanning old family photos and have found photos of some of my paternal grandfather's cars. Does anyone know what they are? His car in 1926/7 caravan holiday 1933 Grandmother and car 1939 1948 David

A couple for lunchtime. The first is Dad and his younger brother on their first "locomotive" in 1929. The second is from a German postcard of the "Flying Hamburger". My grandparents visited Germany in 1935, my great aunt lived there then, I think she was something in the Britsh Embassy, I know she was fluent in German and Russian. Dad and his younger brother 1929 img551 Hamburg Der Fliegender Hamburger Hamburg to Berlin in 2 hr20 min 160kmh max 820bhp from an oldpostcard David

The sun is shining from a mainly blue sky but there are clouds in the distance, it is mild, around 14°C. According to the Met Office there is very heavy cloud with a temperature of about 11°C and rain soon. I have done my part of the housework, Leonie or someone should arrive soon to do the rest. Then I shall probably stay at home and do more scanning along with some bits and pieces for church. I might even find time for some model making. David

Some more recent photos for a change taken at the Tanfield Railway, near Gateshead on 17th June 2017. BSC_3857 Marley Hill Bagnall Gamma in the loco shed 17th June 2017 BSC_3870 Andrews House Hawthorn Leslie 21 Linda 17th June 2017 BSC_3872 Marley Hill Hawthorn Leslie No 2 17th June 2017 BSC_3876 Marley Hill Stephenson Twizell 17th June 2017 BSC_3888 Andrews House RSH exStewart &Lloyds 62 17th June 2017 David

L1s used to reach Grantham from Nottingham on the Nottingham - Grantham workings, I quite often travelled behind them . I assume they may have also got to Skegness as a part of the workings. Colwick and Grantham both had allocations in 1961, my locoshed books do not go any further back than that. David

I am very fortunate that both sides of the family almost always either wrote on the back of photos or on album pages so I can work out most of the people. Also at least three relatives have been working on family trees on Dad's side of the family. The copy I use is from my Great Aunt and goes back to about 1815, a cousin has got back to about 1750 but I haven't had a good look at it yet. I also have a136 page A4 book on the family done by distant relatives in the UK and Australia which is supposed to go back to 1713 but have only read it and never really checked through the bits relevant to me. On Mum's side there is less detail but she did most of the main members tree back to around the middle of the 19th century, one day I want to go further back , if I ever get time. No one else is interested. David

I've done enough scans for today, I started making mistakes in captioning them, always a sign I am a bit tired. It's been pleasantly mild all day so the heating has stayed off for the first time since last autumn, the thermostat is now set to its summer level so it only comes on in cold weather - i.e. most days at the moment! The chicken joint cooked well for lunch, it was tasty along with some sausages, stuffing and an assortment of vegetables and there is at least enough left for 2 more meals, probably 3. It means that tomorrow can be a "no cook" day as I have some salad stuff to go with it. As tomorrow is a Bank Holiday I'll probably stay at home as if it is dry places will be busy - at least by Northumberland standards. Those living in some other parts of the country might think of the number of people out visiting places tomorrow as about that of a cold Sunday in mid winter where they are, but up here it feels busy. David

Little Mill, a level crossing on the ECML in Northumberland for today's final bacth of photos. They were taken in 1974 and 1983. Little Mill Class 47 down May 74 J3707 08.45 Leeds to Edinburgh "The North Briton" Little Mill Class 40 down freight May 74 J3708 Little Mill Class 46 Edinburgh to Bristol May 74 J3709 Little Mill April 83 C6028 The signal box has gone. The building in the centre of the photo is I believe an old lime kiln. Little Mill Class 254 HST down July 83 C6105 going away David

More photos scanned. Here are some from the distant past on Dad's side of the family. The photos seem never ending. I am very glad I have copies of the family tree! George and Eliza my great great grandparents and their first son my great grandfather about 1876. Back then small boys were usually dressed like this until they could cope with trousers for toilet purposes. My great grandmother Sarah about 1874. Sarah some years later. My grandmother on the right and a friend in 1914. David

A black and white photo taken near Rigby by Dad in July 1950. David

I went to church this morning and as one of the churchwardens is away found myself doing a "few" extra jobs. All was well in the end. Looking in the freezer I found a chicken joint which needs eating so have decided to cook it. It seems to be taking a long time to thaw and cook in the oven so have delayed putting all the other things on. Lunch may be a bit late as a result. The nice thing is that it provides meat for a sandwich at tea as well as lunch and probably tea tomorrow. Fortunately I like chicken, both hot and cold. The garden is too wet again to do anything and the water hasn't drained out of the greenhouse so there is nothing strenuous to do today. Last night I watched a free DVD which came with the May issue of a magazine, it had some nice film of things on strips of steel around Glasgow, Arrochar and Tarbet, Carlisle, Silloth, Alston, and North Wales, East Anglia etc. It was a lot better than I had expected. David

Places in Scotland beginning with "G" this morning. Glen Douglas 37037 Glasgow QS to Oban 11th May 85 C6901 Glenluce P&WJR viaduct over A75 and Water of Luce July 74 J3831 P&WJR = Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway. Grantshouse Class 47 down ex pass Aug 77 C3517 Greenock Princes Pier bridge over A8 July 74 J3849 Greskine Class 47 down Aug 73 J3341 David

This morning I scanned more photos, mainly 1930s of my grandparents on Dad's side of the family and other realtives and their friends. Fortunately the names were written on the back of the prints along with dates for many of them. Then I had a quick walk as the rain decided to stop and came back home for coffee and a sit down not looking at a screen. After a simple lunch of sausage and baked beans on toast I went out to Homebase, they had bedding plants on a buy one tray get one free offer so I stocked up. As usual it wasn't busy, at least for once there was someone at a till, sometimes you have to walk round the store to find a member of staff when you want to pay. I am hoping that soon I shall soon be able to bend and kneel enough to plant them. I also went to Lidl, despite it being a bank holiday the car park was only about 1/3 full and just three tills working so it was easy. Back home again to do more scanning, this time going back into the second half of the 1920s plus a few just after the war. The next batch go back a bit further with photos of my great great grandparents who were born in 1850, together with one of their children who was my great grandfather. In the photo he is perhaps 5 years old, he was born in 1873 so it is quite an old photo, taken around 1878. Next will be tea, then put away the photos I scanned and copy the files on to more hard drives. Later I may watch Dixon of Dock Green on Talking Pictures. Last week they had part of it set in Devon at Bigbury on Sea and Burgh Island together with the old sea tractor they used to get to the island when the tide was in. It brought back a lot of memories of holidays in the area when I was young. David

Yorkshire next at Kirkstall and Horsforth, more of Dad's photos from June 1976 He had gone to see Hardwicke and Evening Star double heading a train. Kirkstall Class 108 Morecambe to Leeds June 76 J5305 Kirkstall Class 108 Leeds to Ilkley June 76 J5307 Kirkstall LNWR 790 Hardwicke and 92220 Carnforth to York The Fells and Dales June 76 J5309 Horsforth 55007 Kings X to Harrogate June 76 J5315 Horsforth LNWR 790 Hardwick and 92220 June 76 J5316 David

It's rained just about all night, about 14mm so far but it is supposed to stop soon and then just be dull all day. It's cool as well, 9°C now, it might reach 14°C by teatime. I suppose the weather has realised it is a bank holiday weekend so it cannot be too good. I had planned on some light gardening today and also planting some begonias in pots in the greenhouse. That won't happen, once again the greenhouse has water inside it. I'll probably end up scanning old photos again, the next batch are Dad and his brother in the 1930s, old photos of two schools grandfather had shares in, followed by an assortment starting in the early 20s going on to the 60s. Some of them are interesting. I think there are so many as my grandfather took quite a lot of photos. He also took cine film, 16mm including railways but that seems to have been lost over the years. I suspect it may have gone in one of grandmother's periodic clear outs after Grandad died. She would have been very good at telling people how to declutter their homes, though after she died a lot of stuff was found, some quite valuable but they may have been her second husband's things. Further down the pile are photos and documents of and about my Great Uncle who was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Sherwood Foresters, captured in Norway and taken to be seen by Hitler before spending the rest of the war in prison camps. Sadly he died quite young in 1949 so I never knew him though he did see me just after I was born. Three photos below. Guess where. Grandparents holiday snap 1939 Me with Mum at Nottingham Victoria learning about trainspotting I've always liked cars - Brighton David

A trip to Crich this morning to see some trams in 1974, 1989 and 1983. Crich Glasgow 812 Aug 74 J4016 Crich Glasgow 115 Aug 74 J4019 Crich Sheffield horse tram 15 Aug 74 J4022 Crich Glasgow tram 1282 April 79 C4450 Crich Sheffield 510 Aug 83 C6203 Crich Paisley 68 Aug 83 C6204 David

I went to Plessey Woods this morning, a country park which like all in Northumberland offers 1 hour of free parking which is usually enough for me. You have to know just to press the "OK" button to get the free ticket, it is not immediately obvious from the instructions. There was a family there from Scandinavia who were trying to sort out how to pay, I saw them as I was parking but by the time I had parked and changed my shoes they had managed to get a ticket with the help of someone else. For longer than 1 hour is is coins or phone (this is one of the few country parks here which has a phone signal). I had a pleasant walk for about 45 minutes through the wood to the river and back by another path. There were lots of wild flowers, especially bluebells and wild garlic, a few photos should be below, this time taken with a Nikon D7200. I shall be pleased when I can bend and kneel more easily, it will lead to better flower photos but these will do for now. On the way back I saw an friend who was a headteacher of a primary school, since he retired he has worked part time as a ranger. He had a group of primary school pupils with him looking at things living in a stream. Back at home I had coffee and sorted out the photos, then had a piece of pork pie with a salad for lunch. On the label it said Melton Mowbray so it had the correct shade of grey uncured meat and tasted good. I spent most of the afternoon scanning prewar family photos taken at Challaborough in Devon and at the house where my grandparents lived until the war in a village in Nottinghamshire. I visited it once when it was for sale about 50 years ago, it was very nice and had a huge garden with a tennis court. I've just looked it up on the web, in 2016 it was worth £600,000, it has since been extended and is now worth around £1.6 million. I doubt my grandfather got anything like that much when he sold it early in the war and became a headmaster. I am beginning to wonder how long this scanning will take, the more I look the more photos I find! Plessey Woods bluebells Plessey Woods wild garlic Plessey Woods red campion Plessey Woods May blossom David

The next batch of photos are of trains on the Blyth and Tyne. Marchey's House is the junction where the line splits to Bedlington or Winning heading south from Ashington. West Sleekburn Junction is where the line splits for Ashington and Winning when heading north from Bedlington. North Blyth is on the north side of the River Blyth. Marcheys House 37132 North Blyth to Alcan Lynemouth 10th April 85 C6791 Marcheys House 37132 l e and brake Lynemouth to Cambois 10th April 85 C6796 North Blyth Alcan 37048 l e Dec 80 C5252 North Blyth Class 37 shunting Alcan wagons and MV Donnington 25th July 85 C7089 Taken from Blyth Quayside near West Sleekburn junction Class 37 to Alcan April 83 C6006 David

Another black and white from one of Dad's whole 8"x6" prints of an A1 on the down Flying Scotsman at Garntham North in May 1950. David