chrisf

There are those who do not have the manners of pigs and those who do. Chris

Oh heck, I remember that! Oh for the days of good old-fashioned modelling ... Chris

Good morning one and all Yesterday was recuperative, for which read unproductive. I managed to stay awake through Dr No before rustling up ribeye steak and the trimmings. This week is going to be busy. Today I need to collect another batch of meds and some milk, the latter because I thought on Friday that what was in the fridge would last till tomorrow. It won't. Tonight Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham are in concert at The Stables and I must remember to take with me the album of theirs that I bought two years ago and get it signed. On Tuesday there is a talk in Welwyn that I rather fancy attending, given by a friend. Wednesday sees another visit to Greater Milton Keynes for the HMRS area group. Thursday will be spent chez Poorly Pal and between now and then I will remember who the speaker is at Stevenage Locomotive Society that evening. Friday should be relatively tranquil and at stupid o'clock on Saturday, All Fools Day, I head for Wakefield and Scalefour North for the weekend. Phew. Sometime in all of that I need to talk to Ffestiniog Travel. The prospectus for the Christmas Swiss trip arrived on Friday. The tour has undergone something of a reconstruction and not all of it is for the better. I need to be clear in my own mind what sort of customised version I want but it needs to be one that makes better use of the 15 day Swiss Pass than the 10 and a bit days currently offered. This may take more than one phone call. Something tells me that the changes are not all down to the formidable administratrix at FT so I shall try not to shoot the messenger. Warm thoughts to all, particularly those in distress for whatever reason. Andyram, make that call. Chris

What time do you call this?! Good morning one and all After a 21 hour day yesterday [rise 04.00, bed 01.00] I could not shift my weary carcase from my bed so it is just as well that I have no pressing engagements today. The evening was spent at the Green Note in Camden once I had found it. It is another intimate venue with a good ambience [no real ale though]. Add The Hut People and you get a terrific atmosphere, particularly when the percussionist "played" two latex pigs which sort of grunted and accompanied another piece half-kneeling on the floor playing two copper saucepans. I'm looking forward to playing the new CD! The homeward journey was mixed, with some hilarity on the Northern Line involving two lads with broken legs, apparent victims of a misplaced meeting of skis and alcohol. Less hilarious was just missing the semi-fast train to Bedford and having to endure the all-stations with one coach locked out of use. The taxi driver at Bedford clearly did not relish being on duty at 00.30 and was such a grump that I gave him the exact fare instead of instructing him to keep the change. Before that, of course was Ally Pally. I need to make it clear that The Boss was at the 12.30 meet at my invitation. I bought two books and two packs of Microrod and met some but by no means all of the inmates present. A busy week lies ahead but more of that tomorrow. Warm thoughts to all, particularly those in distress for whatever reason Chris

Yawn. Greetings. Up early enough for a brief visit before setting off for Ally Pally. See some of you there. Best wishes to all Chris

1. Buy a phone. Mine is a very basic Nokia which cost me £20. 2. Buy credit in £10 or £20 lumps. 3. Don't spend your whole life using it. Works for me! Chris

Those captivated by Madder Valley may like to know that it should be working on Good Friday, 14th April. Chris

Good morning one and all I had another go at registering for an alumni webshite yesterday so as to stay in touch with one of my old schools. The first attempt disappeared into cyberspace and I left it a month before trying again. This time it worked, sort of. The sections covering other schools and past jobs is flaky and relies on exact dates. This is not a good idea. Can you remember the date on which you started infants school? No, neither can I. I decided that incompleteness was better than fiction. We ought to be able to design user-friendly systems by now. Today will see the fodder run and the ironing, both chores which I prefer to complete speedily so as to leave time for more enjoyable things. An early night would be a good idea as I am off to London tomorrow for that well-known endurance test, Ally Pally, and a concert by the Hut People in Camden Town. Google Map will be my friend in the latter case. Tomorrow would not be a good day to sleep in as I did today and I will probably not post before I leave in the morning. As I type I hear a journalist busy getting splinters under her fingernails through scraping a barrel. So much is being dug up about the man who was shot after stabbing the policeman on Wednesday that I expect to hear the sound of a JCB at any minute. I do hope that the work of the police is not being hindered as a consequence. Spot the badly mixed metaphor, folks. Warm thoughts to all, particularly those in distress for whatever reason. Chris

The GUVs which were converted had their flat ends replaced with bow ends. Jim Smith-Wright has done the conversion. I would give the web reference but I can't without logging out of RMweb! Chris

One little thing: E116s were not flush glazed. Chris

Good morning one and all I enjoyed the concert last night and added two CDs to the stash in the hessian bag. Earlier I had looked out a CD to take with me for signature. When I reached the venue I realised that it related to the concert that I am to see on Monday. Oh dear. As for yesterday's headline news, today's warm thoughts should be with the families and friends of the casualties. Carry on, London Chris

A friend who is helping with making tea tells me that a second urn would also be very helpful! Chris

Good morning one and all I have now resized and cropped one of the photographs I took on Monday afternoon and it is my pleasure to share it with you. This is a warm and fitting tribute to my late father, Harry Foren [1919 – 2005]. In addition to being president of the Godmanchester Community Association he was for many years the Mace Bearer to the Town Mayor and looked dead important in his robes. 12 years after his passing I hope there are sufficient people in the town who remember him. About an hour after I took the photo I stopped at the Kettering West Little Chef for cod and chips. While I was waiting for it to be cooked the server sat down opposite me and asked if I had done anything nice that day. We’ll take that as a Yes. Tonight there is a concert at The Stables with Oysters 3, which I expect to enjoy. Why else would I attend? The usual warm thoughts to all, particularly those in distress for whatever reason. Chris

It is also worth saving the packaging in which Christmas cards are sold in bulk, for the material appears to be acetate and would fit nicely behind an etched brass side or into a moulded rebate such as that on the Parkside Beetle. All you have to do then is find your stash when you need it. Howard, don't worry about finding joke where none was intended. These things happen. Chris

The ones he is selling at the moment are brass but those in his range which he cannot or will not make any more are plastic. Apologies for butting in. Chris

Good morning one and all I took a less than direct route to Kettering last night so as to take some photographs. At this time of the morning and state of wakefulness I do not trust myself with resizing and/or cropping images to post them here but they should get done today, all being well. The film show which was the reason for my trip to Kettering was suitably entertaining, thank goodness. After the fodder run today should be quiet but said expedition will not take place until I have had a nice soak in the bath, hopefully to remove aches and pains. Warm thoughts to all, particularly those in distress for whatever reason Chris

Is the motor in the trailer and is it DCC fitted? Seriously though, folks, many years ago I was on the first train up to Devils Bridge after the winter and the rails were rusty. Despite this the loco lost its footing several times. I think I detected bad language from the crew. Chris

Good morning one and all, with thoughts to Rick for today's event. The journey to and from Nottingham went smoothly. I chose A6/A14 in preference to the 50 mph limit on the M1 and had a suitable breakfast at the Harvester in Donington Services where a modest discount may be had on production of an Automobile Association membership card. Aunt Nottingham has a chest infection but is not bad for 93 and was able to put up with me for an hour. This evening there is a railway film show in Kettering. I may take an indirect route there. Gosh, doesn't that sound mysterious? Fear, not, all will become clear in due course. Later in the week Oysters 3 are at The Stables and on Saturday there are two reasons for going to London - the Hut People, a band, are at the Green Note somewhere in Camden and there is some sort of model railway show at Alexandra Palace. Let the world draw near. After a late-ish night caused by trying to reconstruct some bygone train workings on the computer from fragmentary evidence I was wide awake at 3.15 am so feel like death warmed up now. A kip in the afternoon may not be such a bad idea. Yawn. Warm thoughts to all, especially those in distress for whatever reason Chris

Another potentially useful material for glazing coaches with thick sides is broken CD cases. They crack so easily and it seems a shame to throw them away once replaced. Chris

Good morning one and all Off to Nottingham after my bath, pausing only for breakfast at Donington. It is fitting that the news bulletins are full of Chuck Berry. I shall listen to some newer music on the road. Warm thoughts to all Chris

What a beautiful Grunge! Do those Wogans contain Kettle? Chris

This is something which will bring more grief and woe to the enlarged Thameslink. Be warned. Chris

Good morning one and all An item on You and Yours grabbed my attention yesterday. It seems that some users of a paraffin based emollient cream have suffered severe or fatal burns after a naked flame got too close to the person to which it had been applied or the bedclothes on which they had been lying. As any fule kno, paraffin is flammable. That should be sufficient warning without the manufacturers being made to explain it in a Janet and John manner. It so happens that I was prescribed the version of this cream made by Cetraben, which is the same as E45 only different, to soften the skin on my legs after an outbreak of cellulitis, hence my interest. It beats me how anyone can be so stupid as to smoke in bed at all, particularly when said bed is a gigantic paraffin-soaked wick. That said, many things surpass all understanding. With any luck today will be quiet and the ironing will get done. Tomorrow will see me taking on the M1 again, this time to get to the Nottingham show. Sort of on the way home I plan to have a cuppa with one of my 93 year old aunts. I expect her to berate me for not having photographed the street sign at the entrance to Foren Crescent. Such an omission must be remedied, and quickly. A cunning plan begins to form. Watch this space ... Warm thoughts to all, particularly those in distress for whatever reason Chris

Good morning one and all Friday dawns and with it the prospect of another fodder run. The past few have been done by car and I have been incredibly lucky in finding that the place vacated by the car was still empty on return. This morning I am minded to return to using the bus but this must now be after 9.30 am if I am to use my bus pass. The spectre of ironing returns tomorrow, oh joy, and on Sunday I make the journey to the Nottingham show. Between now and then I may accomplish something useful. Much of what I have just typed was in fluent Crabtree so it had to be corrected. My fingers are behaving like thumbs today, a phenomenon normally associated with m*d*ll*ng. I seem to be suffering from that the Navy Lark used to call the twingeing screws. Perhaps this is caused by my medication. I do hate being treated like a lab rat. Oh well, should I be spared for eleven more months and three more days I will hit the key stage of three score years and ten, possibly amid rejoicing. BSW01, very sorry to hear about your niece. Such unwelcome news. Warm thoughts to you and to all in distress. Chris

Good morning one and all I treated myself yesterday. Whilst in WHSmith to purchase the latest Today's Railways UK, which used to be called Entrail IIRC, I saw a modest stack of Mary Berry's new book on offer for half price, ie £13. This will go to the top of the insomnia pile. I like her current TV programme and particularly enjoyed watching her make rosti. Later we had a good Area Group, so good that I slept in this morning. Inevitably the car had to be put across Mrs Electric-Chair's gateway and I am waiting for someone to go to work so I can snaffle their place. Hark! Is that the sound of an engine? JohnDMJ, I take your point about enjoying the car but remember that mine has only just spent a month in the body shop thanks to that ruddy deer. Warm thoughts to all, particularly those in distress for whatever reason. Chris