chrisf

Who are you calling an old lag ...?! Chris

Good morning one and all I had a good weekend at ExpoEM in Bracknell. A disgraceful amount was spent and it was good to have a brief chat with Ivan. Away from the show, apparently £47m has been spent on renovating the town centre. Methinks that value for money has not been obtained. The view from my second floor hotel room suggests strongly that much more needs to be done. As always, it is best viewed under cover of darkness. Saturday night in the ‘Spoons was convivial and I was blissfully unaware of Eurovision. The motorway network was quite kind in both directions. I used the M4 as I tired long ago of the 50 mph trundle on the M3. Before all that, as others have reported, Flavio’s Brains Trust met on Friday. Chewing the pork that I had for lunch was good exercise. Remind me to have the fish next time unless it is on a Friday. Social engagements in the week to come include Area Group on Wednesday, meeting in Bedford this time, and a railtour to Barrow Hill on Thursday for the beer festival. Of the latter it must be said that Sister Diabetes would not approve so guess what, I am not going to tell her. She says that I need more exercise. Does ironing count? Now to unpack my shopping from Bracknell … Warm thoughts to all in distress Chris

E167 brake composite. Chris

Good morning one and all After much procrastination the lawn has now finally been mowed but I have stored up trouble for the future. The act of mowing dispersed countless dandelion seeds which the mild breeze took to the south-facing bed wherein the strawberries try to flourish. Before I got the mower out the phone rang. It was the care line to which Mrs Electric-Chair subscribes. She wears a button about her person which she is supposed to press if help is required. Would I go next door and check on her? Of course. After no reply came to the doorbell I let myself in. Mrs E-C was in her dressing gown having only lately risen. She was terribly apologetic for she had of course pressed the button by accident. These things happen. Of more irritation was the discovery of bits of kitchen unit in what I thought was my green bin. It did in fact belong to my other neighbour and I cannot help wondering how the bins came to be exchanged. This morning I travel to Londinium for the solemn conclave of Flavio’s Brains Trust, giving tacit thanks that the venue is no longer a Whitbread pub. I had better withdraw some cash on the way, not only for lunch [pricey] but for the expenses of the weekend at ExpoEM in Bracknell. I do not expect to post here on Saturday or Sunday so do not fret. Warm thoughts to all in distress Chris

Whether your timetable does or does not require many corridor thirds, it does not alter the fact that they existed. Chris

Do Hornby not realise just how many corridor thirds there were compared with other types? D95 brake third 78 [both types, and no I do not know how many left and how many right], E127 composite 43, C54 third 200+. Chris [edit because I can't count at this time of the morning!]

Good morning one and all Late to bed, early to rise, leads to bags under the eyes. The 'late to bed' was worth it following last night's concert. Calan's music is exciting and Welsh though they did seem to be having problems with the sound to judge by the gestures from the stage asking repeatedly for this or that to be turned up or down. Even with all that I could barely hear the pibgorn, which in full cry is a rasping, strident instrument not unlike the bombarde. It matters little, for I have four more new CDs. Four? The other three were by the support, Dan Wilde, who is a cut above the archetypal singer-songwriter in that he seems to enjoy sharing what he has written and telling how the song came to be created. Despite being consigned to an all-stations Thameslink train which was full and standing leaving St Pancras I was at home by 00.10 with the aid of a taxi. I am not braving Bedford town centre on foot at that time of night, so there. Today will be more routine and prosaic as the fodder run needs to be done and I must sort out my overnight bag for Saturday. If I do not mow the lawn soon it will be knocking on the window and if the threatened rain materialises it will cause more delay. Higher up the urgency scale is to put out the bin for emptying as I forgot two weeks ago. Oh, and i ant to get something written ahead of tomorrow to inform a discussion. It's all go here. Warm thoughts to all in distress Chris

You are even younger than I am! Enjoy the day, Chris

Good morning one and all Lunch went well yesterday. I can now reveal that we had stir fried pork with hoi sin sauce and a bold selection of vegetables. Some m*d*ll*ng got done and the evening talk by Stephen Gay was as entertaining as ever from this speaker. This morning the car has been moved, unloaded and moved again. It is now in the right place and for the time being all is fine with the world. Later today I shall travel to London for a concert by the fine young Welsh band Calan at Kings Place. It will be sensible to have a late lunch before I set off. There is no shortage of eateries in the Kings Cross and St Pancras area but I see no reason to pay through the nose when I can meet my needs at home for a fraction of the cost. Warm thoughts to all in distress, of whom there are far too many. Chris

Good morning one and all Nurse Minor-Illnesses stood in for Sister Diabetes yesterday. She was quite unconcerned about the diabetes but much more fussed about my triglyceride reading and a noticeable weight gain, so she has upped the dose of statins again. I feel like a lab rat. She interrogated me ruthlessly about cooking oil, porridge, stir fries, fruit pies and that lesser spotted commodity of late, beer, as well as [gulp] exercise. As much for light relief as anything else I then strode relatively briskly to the blood testing centre to visit Countess Dracula so that Professor Oncologist can make an informed decision about my future treatment. With any luck he will communicate it to me this time. Aside from all that, the food for Poorly Pal and me is prepped ahead of today's visit. I bought enough of the pork and vegetation to feed me later in the week. Sometimes I wonder whether I should continue to buy the Radio Times. It is not well served by the controllers of the BBC who have got down to a fine art the process of rescheduling programmes after it has gone on sale. Such a victim is the re-run of the Irish police drama Red Rock on BBC2, billed for 3.50 pm yesterday but shown at 2.15. "And now in a change to some listings ..." does not cut it. It is nothing compared with what will happen during Wimbledon, when despite having access to two entire channels for a fortnight the BBC will insist on using BBC1 to show Andy Murray's matches irrespective of the audience's expectations and desires. Yes, I know: I watch too much TV and there are many better things to do, such as m*d*ll*ng. Warm thoughts to all in distress Chris

The current A14 "improvement" works will not help. Chris

Good morning one and all In addition to cooking and enjoying the steak yesterday I managed to get a heap of magazines sorted and put away. In the afternoon I was overcome by sloth once again and watched ‘Diamonds Are Forever’. The week ahead will be quite busy. I need to do the fodder run this morning before an appointment with Sister Diabetes at 13.10 and a blood test for Professor Oncologist after that. On Tuesday there is lunch with Poorly Pal and an RCTS meeting in the evening. Wednesday sees me at Kings Place for a concert by Calan which will mean another addition to the CD collection. As far as I know Thursday has only a rescheduled fodder run to distract me before Friday’s conclave of Flavio’s brains trust in London. On Saturday and Sunday I will be at ExpoEM, so expect some rude comments next week about Bracknell town centre or what is left of it. Warm thoughts to all in distress Chris

Good morning one and all It seems that constant vigilance of the strawberry bed is required. A brief inspection yesterday revealed some tiny little weedlings which soon fell victim to a flailing hoe. While I had a moment I took the shears to the ivy overhanging the path at the side of the house. It originates from the garden of Mrs Electric-Chair, who pays a man to come in and tidy her garden from time to time. There is still room in the green bin for grass cuttings when I finally mow the lawn. While I was shearing a near-neighbour started the engine of her car and left it running for a good 10 minutes before moving off. Hither and thither she flitted, loading the car with assorted things and another person who kept remembering something that had been forgotten and going back for it. Gentle reader, would you not have loaded the car before starting the engine and moving off? Today there will be steak for lunch. Dessert will be some rather sinful double chocolate gateau. Later there will be some ironing, Ed Sheeran on Desert Island Discs and some unspecified pottering. The week ahead is a busy one but more of that tomorrow. As I type, the dawn chorus is on Radio 4 as it has been all night. My overnight radio comprised a bit of Dotun Adebayo's virtual jukebox in 'Up All Night'. A listener's selection of the late Randy Vanwarmer's 'Just when I needed you most' jerked memories of my 40th birthday party and, yes I admit it, a modest tear. How many hit singles have featured the autoharp, I wonder? On that bewildering note, warm thoughts to all in distress. Chris

Outstanding! Chris [friend of Pendon for 40+ years]

Good morning one and all I spent much of yesterday slobbed out in front of the TV watching the election results unfold. Suffice it to say that many will find little cause for comfort. The fodder run yielded a nice bit of beef sirloin in steak form so that is Sunday lunch sorted. In the evening I enjoyed the concert with Geoff Lakeman at the Abbey Theatre Studio, St Albans. Also there were a former workmate from my time in Westminster 30 years ago and a fellow RMwebber and his wife. How widespread indeed is good taste! The drive home was impeded by speed restrictions and lane closures on the M1, made less worse by one more play of Geoff's CD which he kindly signed for me. Today? I could try venturing out into the jungle to see if weeds have sprung up already to mask the strawberry plants. I need to put a cheque in the post as well. Let's get breakfast over before any rash decisions are taken. Before Monday I need to interrogate recipe books as Poorly Pal would like pork for lunch on Tuesday. When typing the first paragraph I must have had the Crabtree filter on by mistake. How else could the word 'Westmonster' have appeared? Warm thoughts to all in distress Chris

Oh dear. I have a 4 wheel Beetle part completed and have realised that it is not too late to add the middle axle ... Chris

Welcome to the madhouse, Turtlebah! It was once said of the late Frank Dyer, one of the all-time great modellers, that he had modelled a real railway and not a model railway. Infer from this, if you will, that it is much better to be inspired by what the real railway did than by what your fellow modellers have done to it! While you ponder on this I will digress and comment on the photo that Karhedron has posted. I know it well but cannot recall who took it or where it has appeared before. The photographer is standing on a footpath which ran from opposite the entrance to North Acton station across the Central Line, past the site of Old Oak Lane Halt [just out of the picture to the left] and down some steps to come out in Old Oak Common Lane. Where the path passed under the bridge carrying the North London line over the tracks pictured it was cantilevered out from the bridge pier. As a little kid, approximately 60 years ago, I found it scary to say the least! The last time I was in that neck of the woods I found the path closed and a retaining wall that looked in need of repair. I can remember being taken to Wormwood Scrubs in my pre-teens to look at the barrage balloons, one of which can be seen in the sky. Evocative or what?! Chris

Peter, thank you. I would not disagree with you as to the correctness of the English term. It is reassuring that someone else is trying to defend the language against the erosive forces that batter it with unremitting constancy. However, it seemed to me that the American term was more expressive in the context. Had I been a little more conscious when posting I might well have used 'inquest' instead. Serves me right for having the radio on all night ... Chris

Phil, the first two images show unconverted Collett coaches, The third, W7346W, is an unconverted Hawksworth and the fourth is too. A good way of spotting the converted ones is the modified underframe. Chris

Good morning one and all Today will see the fodder run and some laundry. If it is warm enough I might, just might, disinter the mower and give the so-called lawn a seeing-to. This evening I will be at a concert in St Albans with Geoff Lakeman, a singer and concertina player who I last saw sitting in with the Tannahill Weavers on spoons! I wanted to check that the ticket says 'concert' rather than 'gig' or 'recital' but I found no ticket. A brief panic ensued until I remembered that I made the booking over the phone and the ticket is awaiting collection at the box office. Friday tea-time on the M1 - hmm, hadn't thought of that. Oh well. Best allow plenty of time. Now to listen to the autopsy of the local election results. There was no contest in Bedford but our turn will come soon enough. Warm thoughts to all in distress. The sick list does seem to have lengthened lately. Chris

Good morning one and all Last night's concert was not particularly well attended. I had forgotten that Benji Kirkpatrick produced an album of reworked Hendrix songs and bought a copy but as a singer-songwriter [him, not me, obviously] I fear that he does not excel. There was an interesting conversation concerning one who does excel, who is returning to the UK in October and who is looking for small venues in which to play. I wonder if anything will come of it? Dear me, it is Thursday already and I have again overlooked the need to put out my recycling bin. There will be time after I have bathed but clearly my forgettery is not functioning properly. I blame the bank holiday, which never helps me know what day it is. What sort of pickle will I be in if four more are introduced after the election? I see that we are no further forward on the difference between a recital, a concert and a gig. Never mind, it will keep while there are important topics to discuss. I will pass on the subject of colonoscopies, thanks very much, since the two to which I have been subjected were not a success. You will not be surprised to learn that it was because I was too full of sh!t. On that happy note, warm thoughts to all in distress Chris

7376 was carrying lined maroon when photographed at Highbridge on 1st August 1965. My copy of the photo gives no clue as to authorship. Chris Oh, and while I think of it: the underframes of the converted Hawksworths were rebuilt to accommodate the extra cylinders. Chris

Many happy returns, Stewart. It is good to know that you are even younger than me. Chris

Good morning one and all The paviours have been and gone and with them the cones. Where once stood tree stumps is now nice and level, slabbed in granite or whatever ersatz replaces it these days and protected with some sort of trestles until the cement sets. The jostling for convenient car spaces resumes undiminished in the excess of demand over supply. Amid this hurly-burly I have a task today, which is to write a report of last night's talk. Later comes a concert with Benji Kirkpatrick. All together now: who he? Why, a former member of Bellowhead and the most musical son of John Kirkpatrick. Who he? A virtuoso of the squeeze box, former squire of Hammersmith Morris Men, a schoolfellow of mine and future guest at the same theatre as tonight's recital. Oh dear, my fingers are typing in Crabtree again - that last word came out as 'rectal'. We might one day consider the difference between a recital, a concert and a gig, for they are not at all synonymous. Some of it is pure elitism. A friend of mine sometimes gives organ recitals but ask him how the gig went and the look is as if I am something in which he has just trodden. There must be more to it than that. Discuss! Warm thoughts to all in distress and enjoy the music. That reminds me: during the May day real ale quality control session in Ampthill we tend to pitch up at a pub where there is a juke box and a pool table. As five people cannot play pool simultaneously the other four tend to grab the table, leaving the juke box to me. Then they have the nerve to moan about what I choose! Can't win ... Chris

My understanding is that they were both taken on the same day. I have print copies of both images and there is a third in the collection which shows the driving end at the first class end of the coach. The stone building in the background of all three photographs suggests strongly that they were taken at the same place, Bodmin General. The photographer was the late John Cull, whose record keeping was a sight better than that of many other cameramen of his day. The livery is in both cases chocolate and cream. All three Hawksworth conversions were outshopped in that livery in 1958 because at that time it was still possible that they would be marshalled in a titled train. One of the last slip workings involved the up Mayflower. Once they were no longer required as slip coaches many such vehicles were allocated to Taunton. The slip apparatus was decommissioned and the coaches put to work on local branches. One regular working was on the Chard branch and what is clearly a chocolate and cream coach can be seen in some photographs on that line. On the Taunton - Barnstaple service a slip coach could often be found augmenting a non-corridor formation such as a B set following complaints that it was a long way to run a train without a toilet! As the branches radiating from Taunton closed, so the slips dispersed. In addition to the one recorded at Bodmin, W7376W was photographed at Highbridge on the Somerset and Dorset in 1965. Chris