tetsudofan

Yesterday I received two emails from Kernow, one saying that my IZAs were being sent to me by DPD and the other saying that my Model Rail Busby 16xx was being sent to me by Royal Mail. .... and a couple of hours ago DPD delivered a box from Kernow containing both the IZAa and the Busby. As these were two separate transactions (one for Kernow, one for Model Rail) I was expecting two separate parcels but somehow, in what must have been a very, very busy mail room, someone must have noticed that there were two shipments due for one address and they decided to combine the shipments. Many thanks Sam! Decision now is which boxes to open first, the IZAs or the Busby......... Keith

What I think we need is an up-to-date version (electronic/digital whatever) of the World Health Organisation - International Certificates of Vaccination which, in my travelling days, was a yellow covered passport-size document. One version I had was issued by the Republic of Viet-Nam, Quarantine Office Saigon and covered such vaccinations as smallpox, yellow fever, cholera and a page for others: Interestingly I also have an additional page in the same format as the above with the wording "Form of Certificate prescribed by the International Health Regulations and supplied in the United Kingdom by the Department of Health and Social Security, London". This document was just as important as my passport and went everywhere with me when I was travelling to and from Asia and was recognised in all the countries I visited. Identity cards are not a problem for me as far as I'm concerned. Apart that the identity card I got in 1945 (found it recently but can't find it at the moment) the first modern identity card (including photograph) I got was issued in Hong Kong the day after I arrived there back in 1966 and the last was the Certificate of Alien Registration issued by the Government of Japan which included a picture, date and place of birth, a thumb print, passport details and name and address of my employer in Japan. On the back of the card were details of my working visa. The card had to be carried by me at all times. Interestingly, the quality of the colour picture on this card is a lot better than the black and white picture on my driving licence which is a copy of the picture on my passport. Keith

..... and I also got a "I've had my Covid vaccination" sticker which has been stuck on the back of the little card mentioned above by NHN. Keith

Dave, Snow clearing equipment being prepared for snow clearance duties if needed..... Keith

Well, the Met Office forecast did not look dafter than ever this morning as down here in the south east corner of Kent we got exactly what was forecast - snow and its still snowing now. First time my Japanese-style teahouse has got covered in snow: as did the stone lantern on the left side of the garden: OK, not as much snow as we got a few years ago: but we got snow as forecast.....and it came in from the east as forecast as can be seen by the amount of snow on the side of the other stone lantern in a more exposed part of the garden facing eastwards: Keith

Up until just over a week ago being in Priority Group 3 I thought exactly the same as you do especially as one of my neighbours aged 95 had not been contacted for a jab but then things suddenly changed. On Saturday 23/1 I was sent a link to the NHS booking system which I followed and within minutes I had booked a jab at the new Folca jabbing centre for 10:10am on Tuesday 26/1. Turned up for the jab at 10:10am and was jabbed at 10:27am and on my way home at 10:35am. During the afternoon of Tuesday 26/1 received a call from my local GP surgery asking if I would like a jab at their jabbing centre at the Civic Hall Car Park the following day Wednesday 27/1. So going from virtually nothing happening to having had the jab and being offered another one by my GP indicates how quickly things can change. The Folca centre has been set up in what was the local Debenhams store and jabs are being offered to people with 45 minutes driving time of the centre. As Folca is in the middle of the town the NHS website even gives details of the location of local car parking spaces. So, as far as I am concerned, the mandarins at the NHS are getting things arranged and not just sitting around on their backsides. To be honest I was amazed at the number of people working in the Folca centre. People are working hard to keep us safe even though they might not be visible to us. Keith

I've been lurking here for sometime so suppose it's about time I made an appearnce. As regards layouts I suppose I would be classified as somewhat of a peasant when it comes to themes, basically if I like that's what I do. What's out in the garden takes up most of my time, one day I might go for German narrow gauge around Dresden: or another day might fancy going to Switzerland: or for something completely different maybe a trip to the US: Indoors I'm just as bad: Also lurking around is some German 0-gauge which I accumulated whilst helping out on a certain German layout normally spending most of the time in the fiddle yard using the cassettes shown on here a couple of days ago. Keith

Last Saturday (23/1) received an email from one of my friends saying that as I was (just) over 75 I could book an online vaccination appointment without having received a communication from the NHS. Went online to the (real) NHS website and within a few minutes I had booked an appointment for Tuesday (26/1) at 10:10am with a follow-up appointment for April 14th. Turned up at the venue (which had only just opened in what was once a branch of Debenhams) at 10:10am, had my jab (the AZ one) and was on my way home at 10:35am. Organisation was just fantastic - many thanks NHS!! Later that afternoon (26/1) I received a phonecall from local GP surgery asking if I would like to have a jab the following day (27/1) at the GP run vaccination venue which I declined telling them that I had already received a jab that morning. Yesterday (27/1) I received the letter from the NHS regarding the booking of an appointment for the jab. So, I received all the necessary documentation etc. but not in the order that I expected. The system is working which is the important thing when you bear in mind how much work is involved in getting the system going. To be honest I did not expect to get my first jab until mid-February but I've got it now thanks to all the work being done by the people in the NHS. Keith

Further to yesterday's posting, during the afternoon received a telephone call from my GP surgery, would you like a Covid-19 jab whilst this morning received a letter from the NHS (dated January 22nd) telling me that I'm able to book my free NHS coronavirus vaccine now. It doesn't rain, it pours...... Feels a bit sore where they did the jab yesterday, other than that all's ok. Keith

Well, everything went well this morning, I got my first AstraZeneca jab. Turned up outside the venue at 10.10am and was on my way home at 10.35am. Just missed being filmed by the BBC. The venue is in what was the Debenhams store in the middle of town taking up what was most of the ground floor. To gain access one needs to produce details of the booking, I used my booking form printed off when I did the online booking. There were also a group of rather burly guys standing outside to ensure that only those who had bookings could enter. Once inside you followed the arrows to the "consent area" where your details on the system were located and checked and your medical history was discussed. Think there were around 10 desks so 10 people could be processed at the same time. When that was done you followed some more arrows and ended up at the "jabbing area" with a similar number of jabbers. Personal details were checked again, you got jabbed (did not feel a thing), was given a credit card-size jab record card and a "I've had my covid vaccination" sticker as well as a common side effects leaflet. After that I headed for the exit where they checked that I was ok mentioning that I should not be driving a car for at least 15 minutes - no problem there as I walked to and from the venue. All in all, I was amazed at how smoothly things went, all the staff and the voluntary helpers could not have been more helpful and they all seemed proud of what they are doing. Personally I just can't believe that a few days ago I was wondering when I would be getting the jab as I had not received any written invitation or contact from my local GP surgery. It was only on Saturday that one of my friends sent me the link to make the booking which I followed through even then thinking that maybe I was not entitled to make the booking so much so that (after feedback on here) I even phoned 119 to ensure that I could make the booking. Keith

Regarding driving tests I had to take two. One of my 21st birthday presents was a course of driving lessons - my Father was a driving test examiner (retired Metropolitan Police Traffic Car driver) and thought that it would not be "proper" for him to be seen giving driving lessons. Based upon the quality of driving of his test candidates he chose an appropriate instructor to teach me. I only had a few lessons and then had to give them up as I was despatched by my employer to Hong Kong and Vietnam for nearly four years. After a few months in Hong Kong I took some driving lessons and later passed the test which comprised of three parts - a written test, a hill climb stop and start & parallel parking followed by the road test. It was amazing that back in 1967 Hong Kong had a three-part test years before anything like that was started in the UK. I didn't do any driving in Hong Kong or Vietnam (apart from riding a Honda SS50 bike in Saigon) but when I got home I rented a car (as I was on home leave) and Dad gave me some refresher lessons (didn't have to have an "L" plate on the car as I had a full valid Hong Kong licence so Dad was ok giving me lessons) before I took the test which I passed. Had no problem reading the car number plate at a distance as the examiner chose the car I had rented. Whilst abroad I did very little driving apart from during a year in Singapore and a few months in Bahrain (where I fell in love with Mercedes-Benz haring across the desert ). Didn't do any driving in South Korea (you were mad to drive there as a foreigner back in the late 60s/early70s) or Japan (no need to drive, public transport fantastic). Most of my driving done during that time was when I was back in the UK on home leave. No altercations with the law. Came close to it once in Saigon riding back home one night in the early hours during curfew (most of the Vietnamese police were normally asleep by that time) when we were stopped by a joint American/Vietnamese patrol. The American thought we were American but couldn't touch us when he found that we were English. He then tried to get his Vietnamese colleague to deal with us but after a few minutes of grovelling, apologising etc. we were sent on our way much to the dismay of the American. Keith

Managed to visit two shows last year, the Canterbury show on January 18 followed by the Tonbridge Show on February 15. February 15 was also the last day that I rode on a train - to get to and from Tonbridge. Keith

Morning from a rather chilly and overcast patch of the far south east corner. Not wanting to have done something that I should not have done I decided to dial 119 this morning and after a short wait talked to a guy in the Covid Jab booking session explaining to him what I had done and should I cancel the appointments if I had done something that I should not have done. He took down all my details (with the exception of the booking reference numbers) and came up with the details of the first appointment due on Tuesday. He then went on to say that due to my age I was entitled to make an online booking for a jab without having to receive a communication from the NHS. To be honest I still have my doubts but I'll have to wait until Tuesday morning to find out whether or not I'll get the jab. I've kept a note of when and why I made the call this morning so I can refer to this if there are any problems. When I made the booking yesterday the system came up with a list of available sites which did not include the site (in the Civic Centre car park) used by my GP surgery so maybe getting eligible people to book online is a roundabout way of trying to reduce pressure on the GP surgeries. Keith

Yesterday I walked along part of the Pilgrim's Way overlooking the Eurotunnel Terminal, plenty of trucks loading or waiting to load onto a shuttle heading on the way to France otherwise completely deserted. Dropping away from the Pilgrim's Way I passed through Peene with remnants of the Elham Valley line from Folkestone to Canterbury clearly visible around what is now the Elham Valley Line Trust Railway Museum which also has one of the cars from the Leas Lift at Folkestone clearly visible from the road. Will take my camera when I next wander over that way. Keith

It will be interesting to see what happens, my own gut feeling is that it seems to be too good to be true. Keith

Evening from the far south east corner, cold but no sign of the white stuff. The sun was shining yesterday so decided that the time had come to to do my planned 3-hour walk which would involve a circumnavigation of the Eurotunnel Terminal. Started of by heading up to J13 of the M20, locating the subway under it and then heading back to the start of the climb up Castle Hill to meet part of the Pilgrim's Way. After puffing and panting a bit made it to the top and started walking parallel to the terminal down below. Plenty of large trucks seen waiting to get aboard a shuttle. After about 30 minutes started the descent to the village of Peene but was rather surprised at the lack of pathway signs - what signs there were seemed to lead into the bushes but I finally found the road leading into Peene and once past the Elham Valley Line Trust Railway Museum and the remains of the railway bridge for the line leading to Canterbury. Once back on the main road had to go under the bridges leading into the terminal and then up over the M20 on a bridalway close to J12. Once over the bridge it was a 40 minute walk back home looking back across to the hills that I had just been walking on. Got home in just under three hours. Today is was a short walk to and from the out-of-town Sainsbury's to collect a purchase from Argos and to get some bits and pieces from Sainsbury's. All this walking means the car has not been on the road since before Christmas. One weekly visit to Sainsbury's to do a big shop using the car has been replaced two or three walking trips to either the town or out-of-town stores. Once home found an email from a friend including a link to a NHS website where, as an over 75, you could book Covid jabs online. Followed the link, answered all the questions and was offered the jab at what was the Debenham store in the centre of town and booked an appointment for Tuesday morning and a follow-up appointment on April14. Was rather surprised at being able to do this as I was under the impression that you had to wait for a letter from the NHS and then wait for the local GP or someone else to contact you to organise the jab. Be interesting to see what happens on Tuesday morning. If it does happen one good thing is that the centre is indoors and not the out-doors Civic Centre carpark that my neighbours were to visit today. Keith

Just got a call from my 95-year old neighbour, he got a call from the local surgery, him and his (87-year old) wife are getting their jabs tomorrow in the car park of the local Civic Centre. Keith

You're lucky where you are. I'm just 75 and a bit and have not received any communication about a jab. Spoke to one of my neighbours last week, he's 95 and his wife is 87 and neither of them has received a communication let alone the offer of a jab. Was looking at the death rate statistics for the local area a couple of days ago, at one stage we had the highest death rate per 100,000 in the country beating Barnsley according to what they said. Our MP puts it down to number of care homes and OAPs. Keith

Yes, I was on that trip and it was something special. The unit we used was one of the District/Circle line trains (comprised of seven cars) which were not normally seen on the Metropolitan Line from Baker Street (where trains had eight cars). Our journey took us out to Amersham and instead of returning directly to London we took the curve into Chesham where, waiting on the adjacent platform, was the actual unit modelled by Bachmann waiting for a photo session. Whilst we were on the Circle line we were moving quite slowly as we were timetabled in between service trains stopping at all stations. Although platform announcements were made that our train would not be stopping the look on the faces of many waiting on the platform when they realised that there were passengers on the train was just amazing. All in all a great trip. Bachmann organised a excellent day helped of course by the staff of the London Underground. Keith

Things have changed now John. If buying a new car now and you want to have your personal plate on the new car the first thing you have to do is put the current car "on retention". This can be done online at which time the DVLA will issue you with a new local age-related number. You then have to get a new number plate made and put that on the car. DVLA will then send a new V5C Registration Certificate showing the new number as well as the V778 Retention Document for the personal plate. In my case I then went off to the local M-B dealership with the above documents and they made the new plate and put in on the current car and arranged to have the new car registered and delivered with the personal plate. Soon after that DVLA sends a new V5C for the new car. Compared to what is was when I first got the personal plate the current transfer procedures are a doddle most of which can be done online. Keith

I've often thought that when driving around here as my plate is MB which I believe indicates Manchester (but for me it means Mercedes-Benz ) whilst I'm down here in Kent. Only time I seem to have been of interest to the authorities is when I was showing one of my ex-work colleagues (UK-born of Chinese parents) the area around Dungeness and we stopped to watch a couple of fully-armed policemen opening and closing a gate leading across the shingle to the sea without put their rather large guns down. As we moved on they got back in their Range Rover-looking vehicle and followed us down the coast for 12 miles before they left us. Checked them out when I got home and found that they were members of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary who are fully-armed and have the right to patrol upto 12 miles from Dungeness Nuclear Power Station. As an aside I've just been reading a book on Dungeness (as part of my Covid reading) and found out to my surprise that locally Dungeness is/was known as "Nanny Goat Island". Quite surprised when I found out what it means. Keith

mervyn, The track is Peco Streamline Code 100 wooden sleeper type track. Keith

Having had my #54 for a few days I suddenly remembered I had some coaches in S&DJR livery (special commission by Dapol) which I located in the depths of one of my storage boxes: No problems taking two coaches up the incline but not sure if it could take three coaches. Maybe give it a try tomorrow. Keith

My sound-fitted Collector's Club S&DJR loco arrived a couple of days ago and was setup on my Z21 yesterday, sounds are quite good. After poodling round the layout for an hour-or-so it was soon time for the no.54 to head for home.... but seems as though it took the wrong turn somewhere an came up against something from another era - both in blue though: A few days earlier 58072 arrived and after running-in was pleased to see that it had no problems hauling a couple of Hornby ex-LMS surburban coaches up my gradients so no need to fit the traction-tyred set of wheels at the moment. Last to arrive will be my MR red version which, ironically, was the only model that was pre-ordered at my localish model shop. Was hoping to collect it yesterday when I visited the shop but had not arrived by the time I left the shop - had to compromise with a 2-HAP and a GBRf Cl.50. Keith

We are talking about a supplier sending his details to his customer.... not to some unknown odd gob. Keith