chrisf

Good morning one and all I am not entirely certain, even now, of the etiquette for talking to people at shows. If the person with whom I would not mind a word is already in a conversation I reckon it is better manners to wait for a natural break in the interlocution than to interrupt or yell across the hall. Others have no such qualms! Andyram, I do wish that you had tapped me on the shoulder yesterday for my friend behind Ellesmere would not have minded in the least. All that stems from my visit to the Stafford show yesterday which was a worthwhile trip in many respects. Fortunately the road network behaved itself in both directions. My outward run was via the A6 and A14. That new junction at Catthorpe is a jolly sight better than the puny roundabout which used to be there. It was with some relief that I found a full English breakfast at Corley services in the Harry Ramsden’s outlet, though it is on the southbound side and a traipse across the footbridge was required. How anyone thinks that Subway, KFC or Burger King can deliver an adequate breakfast is a mystery to me but then I am easily baffled. Coming back I used the M1, complete with 50 mph restriction all the way from junction 19 to junction 16, but still made good time. I had Sister Diabetes on the phone the other day. She is worried about a high level of something in my blood of which I forget the name [triglycerite? troglodyte?] and has put me on a different type of statin. When I collected the prescription I noticed an addition to the request form, viz the chewy minty things that are supposed to boost my calcium levels. I was issued with a month’s worth by Professor Oncologist but he never made it clear that the need for them was ongoing. Good job I know now. I wonder why I feel like a lab rat? Never mind. As always, there are others in trouble a lot worse than me. Warm thoughts to all who need them Chris

Abyss by Talisk. Eight powerful instrumental tracks featuring concertina, pipes, bodhran and assorted strings. Chris

Good morning one and all, after lying awake waiting for the alarm to sound. I will be off to Stafford in a couple of hours or perhaps less. It should be good and usually is. Unless I forget to don it I will be wearing my RMweb badge in case anyone fancies a chat or, as the case may be, prefers evasive action. The last time I saw a GP he asked me three times in 10 minutes whether I used salt in cooking. I use only the bare minimum, in vegetables to be boiled and in porridge, and do not add it to meals when served. Yesterday I finished the packet of frozen broccoli and served it with coq au vin. I use frozen vegetables because sometimes I am an impulsive cook. Enough already. Warm thoughts to all, especially those deserving of them. Chris

I was Chris F at work, to distinguish me from Chris H, but when I first joined RMweb there was already such a name, based in Arizona IIRC. So 'chrisf' it is. Chris

Oh how I enjoy rummaging in books! I'm going to have to come back to this topic later in the weekend but so far it seems that it was only the 70 ft trailers, and by no means all of them, that were fitted with gangways. Some of the earliest trailers acquired them in 1912 and spent most of the rest of their lives shuttling in pairs between Plymouth and Saltash. Some of the trailers given gangways were intermediate, ie they had no driving compartment. Whether any railmotors had gangways is a good question but it would be surprising if some at least were not thus equipped. That will be in another book though. Watch this space ... Chris

I hope so too. While I go upstairs to find my books, note that the one pictured at Stratford is the one preserved at Didcot [92] which runs with the railmotor. Chris

Good morning one and all At last there is news of my Polo. An essential part is on back order from Germany but will not be available to the body shop until mid month. Until Stewart 45156 posted yesterday I had presumed prescience by the insurance company in extending the hire period of the courtesy car. Keeping me informed of developments was hampered by the body shop choosing to leave two voicemails on my mobile instead of using the landline as I thought we had agreed. I only discovered them yesterday morning when the phone switched itself on in my jacket pocket and I heard the beep signifying an incoming text. Likewise, the insurance company returned my landline call on the mobile not two minutes after I had put it on charge. One day, I know, landlines will disappear, but not if I have anything to do with it. My mobile is switched on only when I need to use it. So there. Another book of draw tickets arrived from the well-known charity. They have gone straight back with a copy of my previous letter, telling them not to send me any more begging letters, enclosed. For good measure I have copied that letter to the head office of the charity. Gushing letters thanking me so much for my donation cut no ice and waste too much of my money. On a happier note, I will be at the Stafford show tomorrow. It will involve an early start so I may not post here. I am expecting to meet my cousin 88C at 11.30 am at the refreshment area so if anyone else fancies a brief encounter you know where to find us. Warm thoughts to all who need them Chris

It costs nothing to dream ... Chris

One way of dealing with the moulded handrails might be to use the Dart Castings detailing kit designed for the Airfix/Hornby A28/A30 trailer. It also includes etches for replacement folding steps. I do think that a crimson or blood and custard example would have been closer to Johnster's chosen period though. Chris

Good morning one and all There is a deathly hush from the direction of Swindon, where I hope the body shop is merrily engaged on removing damaged Polo bits and fitting undamaged ones. The car hire period expires on Monday and I doubt that I should extend it without consulting the insurance company first, so I will. Making the phone call will put off today's key task, to wit the ironing. I cannot tell you how much I enjoy it without triggering the profanity filter. There may be some benefits from the amended bus pass rules. As I strode briskly into town yesterday morning I overtook two buses stuck in traffic. At least one of them was a good 20 minutes late on a 12 minute frequency. After completing my errand I took the longer route to the bus station to ensure that I would not be tempted to board the 09.29 departure by the market square. It may well have been better for my health had the pre- 9.30 concession not been available for so long. On the other hand, having a bus pass has cut my use of the car when I do the fodder run. Felicitations to Sherry and warm thoughts to all in distress, for whatever reason. Chris

Good morning one and all Last night's concert was almost excellent. I say this because I feel that the insertion of material dealing with Syrian refugees was intrusive to a story of people transported to Botany Bay under the rough justice of the 1780s. Nevertheless the performance won a standing ovation, a rare event at The Stables. As from today Bedford Borough Council has withdrawn the concession whereby bus passes may be used before 9.30 am on Mondays to Fridays. Pass holders wishing to travel before then will have to pay £1. Although this brings Bedford into line with the national scheme, not a bad thing in itself, it will have the effect of emptying early morning buses and overfilling those running after 9.30. Less importantly in the grander scheme of things, I will now have to revise my fodder runs to avoid the surcharge. Shopping is something I consider best accomplished early and swiftly. The reason for the change to the conditions is the decision of the government to reduce central funding of local government. This is not politics but a fact. Here endeth the gripe. At least I did the laundry yesterday. Sadly this means that either today or tomorrow there will be ironing. Whoopee. Never mind, worse things could happen, and do. Warm thoughts to all in distress Chris

The view of this P4 practitioner is that much RTR stock these days is good enough to be worth improving. Some is not. It is all a matter of opinion! Chris

Good morning one and all There is a very promising concert tonight. It is at The Stables and comprises a performance of 'The Transports', a folk opera by the late Peter Bellamy with a new young cast. The tour of which it forms a part has been featured on Front Row so it's a bit high profile and verging on mainstream. I spent an hour or so yesterday morning booking gig tickets and a hotel room so when the time comes I will have pleasure in telling those interested that I will be going to see the Hut People, Calan, 4square and some pictures at an RCTS meeting. Trust me, it's all good stuff. Before all that we must return to reality. There is a batch of laundry in soak, prompted by the sight of quite the filthiest hand towel in captivity, to be processed once the fodder run has been done. I fancy turning my hand and palate to coq au vin and need some ingredients for that as well as more mundane fare. There will need to be changes in the arrangements for the trek to Tesco but enough of that on the morrow. Warning: may contain a gripe. A man on the radio is talking about clamping down on diesel cars. As I have the use of one at the moment in the absence of my own vehicle [which, I hope, is receiving works attention] my ears pricked up. Not so long ago we were encouraged to have them but now they give off dangerous emissions. They always did, of course. So do diesel trains but we will never be rid of those as long as such a mess is being made of electrification. It would be nice to live long enough to see affordable and long-range electric cars - and receive a telegram from the King. Yeah, right. Warm thoughts to all in distress, for whatever reason. Chris

Bless my soul! Wherever did you find that book? I have just spent a good half hour browsing through it because I lived in Acton as a boy. I spotted references to the Lord Chancellor in the mid 17th century whose name was Clarendon. The layout of that name is, of course, said to be set in a bygone Acton. Tell me that isn't a coincidence ... Chris Oh, and in that connection, the well-known public open space east of Acton is spelled "Wormwood Scrubbs" but isn't now.

Good morning one and all, after one of those nights when you wonder when sleep will come at 3 am and realise just before 6 am that it arrived without telling you. Ah yes, the griping instalment. It was meant to be a joke but events had the last laugh. I missed out on my full English breakfast yesterday because I was too early to have one at Toddington and neither Fleet nor Winchester service areas were able to supply anything remotely resembling one. If I may be allowed a harrumph, this is a disgrace. A bacon bap and a sausage bap at Winchester had to suffice. Junction 2 to Junction 4a on the M3 is a long way to trundle at 50 mph and for my return journey I took the A34. This was made less enjoyable by torrential rain the whole way and by lorries charging by at line speed blotting out my vision with spray. I know, I know: at least I was able to drive. Thank you, benevolent insurance company and Europcar. When I got home I found that the delivery brat had defaulted again. As I actually got a paper last Sunday this is a disappointment. There is one more gripe but it can wait till Wednesday when it will be more topical. As I gripe I am well aware that others have matters of much more concern. Let there be deliverance, and a good one at that, from all of these. Chris

Good morning one and all This is a flying visit before I set off for the Southampton show. How bad will the motorway network be today? Where will I have breakfast? Tune in tomorrow for the next griping instalment. Condolences to John CB, go for it Andyram. Warm thoughts to all with needs of them. Chris

Good morning one and all, after a nice relaxing bath. The postponed fodder run can be delayed no longer. I should have checked the stock of bacon before making my decision yesterday. [Oh dear, I seem to be typing in fluent Crabtree today as 'making' came out as 'maiming'!] Anyway, once the run is done I must go to Waterstones to collect my copy of the book on Cardiff trolleybuses. This will be top of the insomnia pile for some time. This evening there is a concert by Stick In The Wheel about whom I have heard great things. Tomorrow I hit the M3 - but hopefully no animals - on my way to the Southampton show. Reverting to 'gaudeamus igitur', while it seems that I was mistaken in linking it to the line from Ecclesiasticus, I recall that Tom Lehrer used it in one of his songs, possibly the one with a reference to ivy-covered professors in ivy-covered walls. That is pure genius, especially for a maths lecturer. Nobody does convoluted rhymes better - unless you know differently? Overnight the passing of the actor Sir John Hurt was announced. As he had claimed to be in remission from pancreatic cancer I hope it was something else that took him. On that less than happy note, warm thoughts to all who need them. Chris

Igitur - therefore in Latin. I can't recall the rest of it but it translates as "let us now praise famous men" as in the Apochrypha. Chris

Good morning one and all Poorly Pal enjoyed his lunch yesterday. To be fair, he usually does but this one was a bit experimental. I had added a small amount of honey to the marinade to give the beef just a little sweetness and chopped and sliced an apple to go with the onions, garlic and sweetcorn. A packet chow mein sauce managed not to swamp all the delicate flavours. I need to scrub the wok though. Later we fancied haggis, tatties and neeps but sadly the local 'Spoons had sold out. More sadly the adverts for the stuff kept flashing up on the front of the tills. Hello, is that Trading Standards? I finished the feedback on my Swiss holiday. The administratrix general at the travel company was kind enough to say that I had taken a great deal of care with it. This may or may not be code for "any more bright ideas?" but we shall see. Today's scheduled fodder run can wait. It is still perishing out there to judge by the deposits of ice on the cars. I have but one compelling reason for venturing outside today and that is to move the car from across Mrs E-C's gate to somewhere convenient for the hovel so that my toolbox etc may be unloaded. First it is necessary for someone - anyone! - to go to work. There is no more news about my own car but I have not checked the landline for messages yet. That can wait till after breakfast, where the case for a bowl of oat cuisine is ever more convincing. Warm thoughts to the lonely and depressed, to all travellers, to the ailing, recovering, supporting, grieving and missing and again to Andyram. Chris

When we talk of milk traffic I first recommend an article by R C Riley called "Home with the milk" in Trains Illustrated for March 1959. It deals with the WR's West Country milk traffic. IIRC here was an article in the HMRS Journal about the Southern's milk traffic. It is a very complex subject and it is not always very clear just how it was handled, even with the aid of working timetables. Demand fluctuated and with it the length and composition of loaded trains. Kris is quite right about the Penzance trains growing as they headed east, picking up two or three tanks at each calling point. The fun really started when the train reached London for there were many destinations around the capital to which the loaded tanks were tripped. It would make a fascinating subject for a book! Chris

Good morning one and all I see that some have been pouring scorn on morris dancing. As I see it, this is an activity that calls for physical fitness, agility, stamina, co-ordination and mental alertness. Clearly some people cannot do it because they lack one or more of those attributes. I admire those who do. Furthermore, I am insanely jealous of the amount of beer that some of them consume! Morris dancers can defend themselves. Some carry staves made of good English willow which are supposed to go with the dances. For all I know some have been used in anger ... We pursue a hobby that is vulnerable to ridicule by the ignorant. It is unwise for any of us to treat morris dancing similarly. Today I visit Poorly Pal. The ingredients of our lunch have been prepped, the major one being beef. I have photocopied the recipe and must remember to put it in the crate along with the wok and other vital stuff. I do not expect news of the car for a few days yet. The hire car has some interesting characteristics, such as wanting to go much faster than 30 mph in an area subject to that speed limit. It should like the A1 today then. Being larger all round than the Polo it presents more of a challenge to park in this constricted street and it has already been placed across Mrs Electric Chair's gate, moved to a newly available space just 30 minutes ago. Warm thoughts to the lonely and depressed, to all travellers and to the ailing, recovering,supporting, grieving and missing. Good luck also to Andyram in fighting the good fight. Chris

According to Alan Jackson the link was proposed not to the West London line but to the Hammersmith and City in the vicinity of the bridge carrying it over Wood Lane. Chris

Good morning Tony My copy of MRJ arrived yesterday and I must say that I found your article on Little Bytham a good read and an excellent account of a fine layout. In my view it does belong in MRJ despite your reservations about it being regarded as finescale. There is no one definition of finescale but my take on it is that it includes a hefty chunk of attitude of mind. Other elements might well include prototypical operation, faithful portrayal of the chosen scene and, above all, setting and maintaining a high standard of design and construction. More of us than you might think have views which accord with yours. Chris

Good morning one and all Thanks again to all with kind thoughts about the car. The body shop in Swindon is "approved". An examination has been made and approval to order the parts and start work is awaited. I have a copy of the pre repair inspection form and it shows all sorts of blemishes of which I was not aware. I will worry about those when I get the thing back! As for getting it back, the insurance company suggested using the hire car to get to Swindon. The lady in the local Europcar office doesn't see why not and it is certainly a more attractive idea than spending five hours on the bus. Having the repaired car delivered to my door, or as near to it as the parking situation will allow, is also an attractive idea but I do not see it happening. When I contacted VW Roadside Assistance for rescue from the scene of the prang I was told that I was only entitled to local area recovery, which is why I had to endure the train journey back home. I have submitted the receipt to the insurance company because if you don't ask you don't get. With that mantra in mind I will ask the insurance company if a home delivery is an option but at the back of my mind will be another mantra: he who expects nothing is rarely disappointed. Oh boy. Let us consider happier things. A supplementary fodder run is needed this morning to finalise the ingredients for Poorly Pal's lunch tomorrow and to get the Radio Times. Tonight there is a [an?] HMRS meeting in Bletchley with two speakers. Between those events I need to finish the feedback on my holiday for the travel company on which I spent a couple of hours yesterday afternoon. Submitting it on line using their proforma is all very well but there is much more to say than can be uttered by clicking boxes - mostly good, it must be said. Doing it my way means that I can share my comments with friends on the same tour. Warm thoughts now to the lonely and depressed, to all travellers and to the ailing, recovering, supporting, grieving and missing. Let us all hope also that Andyram finds the means and courage to achieve the right solution. Chris

Irresistible! Chris