chrisf

Good morning one and all Felicitations to Jamie on l'anniversaire. Think of it as being even younger than me. My take on age is increasingly one of putting the mental above the physical. I shall continue to mis-spend my youth but confess that it is increasingly overdrawn. By accident I took a book with me to the surgery yesterday awaiting the pleasure of Sister Diabetes. This was fortunate since the time for my appointment came and went, as did the other patients in the waiting room. It seems that my Type 2 is more or less under control although one of the readings was a bit high for no apparent reason. In the fervent hope expressed by both of us I must have an extra blood test in early January on top of the regular one in April and the one in November for Professor Oncologist. Meanwhile I am still here. After clinic I embarked on the fodder run. I took the bus which goes the long way round to Tesco and of which the unpunctuality can be chronic. Departure time came and went. Far from immediately the driver started the engine and off we went, only to wait for two minutes or more at the next stop. As we negotiated the narrow estate roads we had to wait for oncoming traffic again and again, incurring further delay when the man in the electric chair wanted to alight. The driver was a tad sluggish in sorting the ramp. Guess what: nearly five minutes late at Tesco, almost all of it avoidable. Tonight there is a concert at a nearby theatre featuring Gigspanner, the band formed by Peter Knight, late of Steeleye Span. Gosh, you cry, something to do in Bedford on a Saturday night. Indeed. On too many Saturdays if I am not out and about elsewhere there is nothing better to do than go to the pub or watch Casualty. Does this reflect badly on me or the town, or both? Discuss. Best wishes to the missing, to all travellers and to the ailing, recovering, supporting, grieving and depressed. Oh, and don't forget to put the clocks back. Someone else may need them. Boom boom. Chris

Your memory does not let you down. She was stunning when I first heard her perform this song and she still is. Chris

It is so good to see Brian's work again. I had a stab at such things 50+ years ago of which the least said the better ... Here are some more trails to pictures of WR BSOs. Tribute to the Western – R J Blenkinsop · Plate 115: SLS special from Birmingham at Swindon, 7th September 1958. First coach is a BSO. It and the only other visible coach, probably a SO, are in crimson and cream. Loco 3440 Steam Colour Portfolio Great Western Region Volume 1 – Keith R Pirt · Front cover: Unidentified train. First coach is a lined maroon BSO, as are the two second class coaches behind it. Loco 5025 · Page 28: Paddington to Villa Park [is there such a station?] footex on Hatton bank, March 1962. [According to Wikipedia the date was 10th March and the fixture the sixth round of the FA Cup. Tottenham Hotspur 2 Aston Villa 0. Spurs went on to win the Cup] The leading BSO is in lined maroon, followed by an SO in chocolate and cream and at least five others in maroon, punctuated by a refreshment car. Loco 5007 · Page 42: A special working off the Reading line at Basingstoke, April 1960. The BSO leading the train is, like the rest of it, in lined maroon. It carries what appears to be a blank roofboard. Loco 4974 carrying reporting number X25 Steam Colour Portfolio Great Western Region Volume 2 – Keith R Pirt · Page 3: A down, late afternoon, express on Hatton Bank, October 1961. Of the 7 Mark 1s in the formation one is in crimson and cream, the others lined maroon. The first is a BSO, with a blank roofboard, the second a CK and the remainder indistinct. Loco 7008. If this is a service train the presence of the BSO, cleaner than the other coaches so possibly very new, may be due to it being the nearest available substitute for a defective BSK. There are no other clues, least of all a reporting number · Page 13: Banbury to Shrewsbury footex at Hatton bank, November 1961. [Wikipedia: 4th November, 1st round, FA Cup. Shrewsbury Town 7, Banbury Spencer 1] The BSO is the second vehicle with brake end inwards. Possibly the last vehicle, 11th or 12th, is in crimson and cream with the rest in lined maroon. Loco 6911 with garish headboard · Page 25: Down express for Wolverhampton LL at Hatton Bank, August 1961. The first two coaches of the 12 coach rake are a CK and an SK, probably for strengthening. The third coach is a BSO. Three coaches are still in crimson and cream, the remainder lined maroon. Loco 5025. · Page 77: Up Cathedrals Express near Ascott-under-Wychwood, June 1962. The first two vehicles are a BSO (W9276) and an RB in chocolate and cream. The remainder of the set is in lined maroon save for one in chocolate and cream, only two months after the decision to abandon this livery was announced. Loco 7007 The quest continues. Next under the spotlight will be Dick Blenkinsop's other books. Meanwhile my street cred is feeling distinctly bruised with the revelations above about BSOs in service trains. Chris

Good morning one and all, after a varied day with Poorly Pal. He enjoyed his lunch, thank goodness. He told me that he has engaged a gardener despite having nowhere near enough to do to keep himself occupied and having a very small garden. It's all down to confidence, or more accurately absence thereof. You're not alone, amigo. Another day, another irritation. As I was posting some letters yesterday morning I spotted a small sticker on the pillar box proclaiming that as from 31st October the last collection will be 9 am. For some strange reason this has not been headline news but it should be. This represents a considerable worsening of service and will render next day delivery a happy memory. If this is meant to be an improvement in the service offered by Royal Snail I would love to hear their idea of making things worse. I have an appointment with Sister Diabetes at 9 am so must not tarry in this place overlong. Best wishes to the missing, to all travellers and to the ailing, recovering, supporting, grieving and depressed. ERs is nothing if not inclusive. Chris

Good morning one and all I wonder if I will enjoy lemon and lavender marmalade. This was one of the innovative flavours on sale by the WI yesterday on Bedford market. Much later I found a jar of marmalade made by my late father in 1990. I dare not open it. Today I will visit Poorly Pal. As well as a bit of m*d*ll*ng I will cook tuna as per Sophie Dahl. You sear the tuna steak for a minute on each side and lay aside. Then you stir fry some suitable vegetables upon which to lay the tuna. The last bit is the sauce. One spoon of soy sauce and one of runny honey, mixed and boiled up in the wok, is dribbled over the tuna and vegetables. With any luck it will not trigger the smoke detector. The recipe came from the BBC website when it still carried recipes. Evil was the day when they were taken down. I fear that some have detected humour where none was intended. Much as I like some of my ramblings being rated 'funny', I do not think it a laughing matter when some good m*d*ll*rs are rusticated from the forum, still less when others feel constrained to flounce off and take their skills and wisdom with them. Granted, every village has its idiot and every ballet its prima donna but this place is the poorer for their absence. Best wishes, then, to the missing, ailing, recovering, supporting, grieving and depressed, and to all travellers whatever their journey. Chris

This set me rummaging. I have already explained that they had a BSO at each end and some SOs in between. From some of the photographs that I have found in books it is clear that the number varied. It is important to remember that the sets were first assembled in 1954 but the MK 1 BSOs did not arrive on the WR until late 1955. Until they did it was necessary to use other brake vehicles. Here is a list of the photographs that I have found so far. I expect to find more when I have time to look. Without exception the BSOs appear in specials or in one case a relief train. The rostering of W9276 to the Cathedrals Express is the only instance I have found of such a vehicle running in a WR service train. By contrast the Eastern seemed to have them coming out of its ears. Steam between Swindon and the Severn, Mike Arlett and David Lockett · Page 43: City of Plymouth Holiday Express at Weston-super-Mare Locking Road, summer 1959. The frst BSO is in crimson and cream but much of the rest of the train is maroon. · Page 58: RCTS ‘Gloucester Rail Tour’ at Stonehouse, 21st July 1963. 3 maroon SOs flanked by 2 BSOs with chocolate and cream RU at far end. Loco 82036 · Page 79: SLS special near Cricklade, 10th September 1961. First coach is a maroon BSO with brake end inwards. Loco 7808 Western Steam in Colour, Hugh Ballantyne · Page 96: SLS special at Appleford, 16th June 1957. First coach is a crimson and cream BSO with brake end inward, followed by 5 SOs and, probably, another BSO in same livery. Loco 3440 Western Steam in Colour 2, Hugh Ballantyne · Page 95: WR Last Steam Special at Mangotsfield, 27th November 1965. First coach is a very clean BSO in maroon with crest and maroon ends. Loco 7029 Steam Around Devon and Cornwall, Peter Gray · Page 78: Relief to Wolverhampton at Dainton, 12th August 1961. First coach is a BSO in lined maroon, followed by an SO and assorted other coaches including at least one Hawksworth. Locos 4087 and 5164 in that order Chris

Good morning one and all I spent some of yesterday looking for something in a stack of magazines and have come to the conclusion that it was a mirage. What is supposed to happen now is that I pick up a random copy of said magazine which falls open at precisely the reference I was seeking. Dream on, Chris. At least the ironing is up to date. For now. Partly because the car was across Mrs Electric Chair's gateway because there was nowhere else to put it on Monday night, I took it on the fodder run in the morning. When I returned there was a car in the space that I wished mine to occupy. This time it was a driving school car. Its lights were on and the engine running. As I lugged my groceries past it the driving instructor got out and sat in the passenger seat. Several minutes later his pupil arrived. I left my shopping in the hall and returned to my car. It must have been a good five minutes before the hesitant mirror signal manoeuvre of the pupil freed the desired space at last. I should have thought that the process of starting the car was part of the lesson. Clearly things have changed since my last one, 48 years ago. Today I will visit the market. I could do with some marmalade and on Wednesdays the WI have a stall which sells it home-made. Normally I get it at Apple Day but I missed it this year. While I'm at it I may stock up on spuds. Later I will load the car ready for the visit to Poorly Pal tomorrow because tonight I'm off to Bletchley for the HMRS meeting and who knows where the car will be left when I get home afterwards. Clue: not in Bletchley. I forgot to be surprised yesterday at the discovery that Bobby Vee was only five years older than me and a year younger than the late Dave Cash. My life has not been sufficiently star-studded for me to have met either of them. I have met Tony Blackburn though. Perhaps we will mark the 50th anniversary of that brief encounter when the time comes. Or not. Not before time, best wishes to all travellers and to the ailing, recovering, supporting, grieving, missing and depressed. Chris

Some have, but it was not their idea. They have been kicked out. Chris

I believe you think of Motorbooks. I'm not sure whether it is still there. Someone will know! Chris

Good morning one and all Somehow I bought a C*****mas present yesterday. Whilst in town for other reasons I spotted a sale at Body Shop. I go in once a year to procure toiletries from White Musk and have it gift wrapped, a necessary evil before I can give it to the lucky recipient in the festive spirit, or at least as much as I can muster in October. Up to now the gift wrapping has consisted of a round or oval basket with a clingfilm topping. This year it is a round box, which means I do not have to apply tacky wrapping paper. I wanted to include talc in my selection but it is no longer in the range. May the makers come to regret dropping it. I have recalled two more things to say about flight. On a trip to Ireland, of which there have been a few over the years, I was displeased to find on arrival at Rosslare that Ryanair's baggage tossers had broken my tripod. Ryanair could not have cared less and it will be a sad day if I ever have to fly with them again. The tale of how the tripod was mended is worthy of a separate outing. Then there was the time when I went on official business in a helicopter. I used to deal with noise insulation in connection with trunk roads and motorways. Anglian Windows won some of the contracts for installing secondary glazing. One day they invited the team to visit the factory at Norwich Airport. The boss man was flying in his private chopper from Cheltenham and was able to land at a small airfield near Bedford to pick us up. Flying past the top of the TV mast at Sandy Heath was quite an experience. So was working out what to say on my travel claim form. Today will see ironing and the fodder run. How mundane. Best wishes to all travellers and to the ailing, recovering, supporting, grieving, missing and depressed. Chris

Frankie Valli will be most upset ... Chris

Have you tried Replica? I have a Replica BCK body which has window frames. Chris

Good morning one and all I see we are discussing flight. My first one was in a glider, at Tibenham airfield in Norfolk during that unsettling time between finals and results in 1969. The sensation of being aloft in silence almost total except for air rushing past the dome and the distinct unease of seeing the ground rushing up to meet us on landing. My first commercial flight was from Heathrow to Ronaldsway in 1976 for the probably one and only Isle of Man folk festival. Since then - not much, actually. Berlin twice, Luxembourg once [one way only], Beijing via Charles de Gaulle once and Gatwick to Ronaldsway in, I think, 2006. My most recent flight was from Heathrow to Vancouver and from Toronto to Heathrow, both overnight. On that trip the outward flight as an hour late taking off because the aircraft was too hot. In December. I'm not sure which I dislike more, flying or airports. Eurostar and its terminals behave too much like airlines for my liking but I find it the lesser evil. Yesterday was almost uneventful. The delivery brat defaulted again but he/she has managed the vital task of providing me with 'Bedfordshire On Sunday' for four consecutive weeks. As I have to go into town today anyway it will be no big deal to go via the newspaper office and collect a copy. I'm used to it. The only event of note was receiving an e-mail from someone from whom I wanted to buy something, apologising that my mail had been routed into his spam box and he had not spotted it for several days. I was able to tell him that it keeps happening at my end. Despite adding the addresses to my contacts list there are at least three regular originators whose material goes into spam. I wish I knew how to cure this. In other news, carrot does go well with gammon steak. One mega-carrot remains in stock so that is one less thing to add to the list for tomorrow's fodder run. Tonight there is a railway film show in Kettering which, despite being linked to F***** S*******, looks good. Later in the week there is a meeting of the HMRS chapter in Bletchley [Wednesday] and a visit to Poorly Pal when I shall cook us tuna to a recipe by Sophie Dahl [Thursday]. As a result of what seemed like a good idea at the time yesterday, laundry, there will be ironing tomorrow. Whoopee. Best wishes - all together now - to all travellers and to the ailing, recovering, supporting, grieving, missing and depressed. Chris

11th November and I'm prepared to make you an offer. Chris

He doesn't even offer the kit now. Chris

Good morning one and all With all the furore that erupted yesterday over Swiss timetables it somehow seemed appropriate that I took an hour and a half out to watch "Carry On Regardless". There was a minor culinary triumph to report. I made another jelly with fruit cocktail set in it and this time it did actually set. The block of jelly was purchased recently, unlike those that I used in my previous attempts which were the results of archaeology in my store cupboard. The latter is something of an oubliette if I'm honest. It is all too easy to buy something, put it in a cupboard and lose all awareness of it. As m*d*ll*rs we know this. Lunch today will major on a gammon steak, vacuum packed and purchased within living memory. Conventional wisdom does not advocate carrot as an accompaniment but I have what seems an everlasting supply of carrots, having been given three enormous examples last weekend. News broke yesterday of a change to the routine of life. The Borough Council is changing its refuse collection arrangements. From next month general refuse will be collected fortnightly, with recycling and garden waste being taken away in the intervening week. Most important, the collection day is moved from Tuesday to Thursday. It will soon become clear how many of my neighbours cannot read. It did not seem the same yesterday not proffering best wishes to all travellers [with or without Swiss timetables] and to the ailing, recovering, supporting, grieving, missing and depressed. I do so now. Chris

The combined thickness of the timetable books is five and a half inches. I thank you for your interest but would prefer a realistic suggestion. Chris

Chas and Dave's Greatest Hits Live! At only £3 how could I resist? Before that, Proper Job by Fishermen's Friends. Before that, Anian by 9Bach. Coming up next, A Fade In Time by Sam Lee and Friends. Chris

It could spell disaster! I don't fancy forking out on a tablet and faffing around loading it with data. The printed Kursbuch is part of a ritual. You go to the travel centre, work out which queue is the right one, take a ticket for it, make the member of staff understand what you want and hand over 16 francs. What you get is a random carrier bag containing one blue covered book [trains] and two yellow covered books [buses] which together weigh several kilos and do not fit very well in the camera bag. That minor drawback aside, the books are absolutely vital for travelling around Switzerland either making it up as one goes along, for meticulous planning the night before or, more often, for spinning yourself out of trouble when the previous night's planning turns out to be not quite so meticulous. For those who don't know, John is actually quite good at making a tablet work. I, on the other hand, have got the hang of the process correctly described as riffling, ie quickly and accurately finding the right page in the timetable book. For speed of information retrieval honours are about even. I need to be convinced that having all the gen on a tablet enables satisfactory browsing and that I would know where to look to find what I need. Oh dear ... Chris

Only sketchy, I'm afraid, Brian. A lot of the WR's MK 1 open seconds were allocated to this work but when it was realised that some were needed for dining car work some of the sets were disbanded. A typical excursion set would have comprised BSOs at each end and eight SOs in between. The fun started when a cafeteria car was added and/or the odd coach with first class accommodation was inserted if the set was used on a working other than an excursion. Unadulterated, the sets were known as Vestibule Trains and based at strategic points. How to identify them from photographs? Except for the example drafted into the Cathedrals Express set which has been illustrated a few posts back, it is a fair bet that a set on the WR including a BSO is some kind of special. Chris

Good morning one and all The C word [C*****mas] made an unwelcome appearance yesterday in the form of a suitably but prematurely titled draw from a certain charity. This finally galvanised me into writing the stiff letter that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago. I asked the charity to remove me from its mailing list with immediate effect and mentioned my unease at the amount apparently being spent on trying to get me to part with more money, adding a reference to my details having fallen into the hands of another charity operating from the same address and speculating that an offence under data protection legislation might have been committed. Two lots of draw tickets and one pile of guff relating to a prize draw went into three prepaid envelopes and off I went to the pillar box. As the charity is Macmillan and I am a cancer patient I continue to feel uneasy about all this. However, there is such a thing as greed. When I finalise my Will it may contain a bequest to Macmillan but sufficient of that unto the day. No-one could have been left unmoved by the sombre broadcast material about Aberfan. I had been at university for three weeks when the disaster occurred and knew it had happened but I never knew the whole shocking story until this week. Those responsible through their negligence deserve to rot in hell if such a place there be. After hearing the moving piece by John Humphrys on Today I discovered that he had been the first reporter on the scene, working for commercial television [TWW] and aged only 23. What a man! As far as I know the weekend will be quiet and undemanding. May others be similarly blessed. Chris

You RC. It is W9276 which is preserved at the Great Central. Chris EDIT - most of the BSOs allocated to the WR were formed into excursion sets which were sometimes used for reliefs

You will probably find that the MJT extruded roof is a better match than the Comet one. Chris

Good morning one and all I don't think I got annoyed about anything yesterday. This is fine as far as it goes but it does make it a bit difficult finding inspirational material at this time of the morning. Cue signs of relief? There was no postal delivery but three comics came the previous day and I have not finished reading them yet. The run of 'Yes Prime Minister' on BBC2 has now finished so that is one less thing to make me chuckle - or, at times, guffaw. The transitional episode 'Party Games' was not shown but it was not of the standard length so that would explain it. Even the ironing is up to date. This cannot last. Today I must do a fodder run to which ought to be added a greetings card for a pair of new parents and a trip to a cash machine for topping up the wallet. Then what? Not m*d*ll*ing, surely? Something is bound to happen to thwart that ambition. It always does. Aha! I have remembered something. A discussion began here yesterday about the festive season. That is something which I prefer to avoid. To an extent I acknowledge its influence by sending seasonal greetings cards to about 70 people from my past and present, enclosing in most cases a round robin letter which some recipients are kind enough to call entertaining. I saw some nice cards in Oxfam a week or so back and bought some. The cards are entrusted to the mail service at the beginning of December and apart from selecting and delivering a gift for a friend, that is it. I avoid the British experience or, as I prefer to think of it, endurance test, by clearing off to Switzerland and leaving it behind. Yes, folks, I am firmly of the humbug persuasion. On that happy note, best wishes to all travellers and to the ailing, recovering, supporting, grieving, missing and depressed Chris

G'day one and all I made it to Witney last night for the Jack Carty gig, which I enjoyed very much. It's a shame that there were no more than two dozen in the audience. The venue, Fat Lil's, does duty as a comedy club and I can imagine the need for one in Witney. As I was waiting outside I spotted some people sporting orange rosettes and wonder whether the result of today's by-election will be quite as predicted. I introduced myself to Jack as one of his 'Plegends', which means that I contributed to the crowd-funding of his "Home State" CD back in the summer. He will be back, but possibly not in Witney. Getting there was quite fun. The centre of Hemel Hempstead is no place for timid drivers but from Harpenden there is precious little option but to negotiate it if heading for the A41. Why Harpenden, you ask. Because it was Area Group yesterday afternoon. There were eight of us round the table for lunch and a further three afterwards, which is most satisfactory. The least expensive petrol I saw on the whole journey was in Bicester so I stopped briefly to top up the tank and buy a couple of baguettes for me and some Yazoo flavoured milk to wash them down. I plan to spend today quietly. Ironing can be done quietly and must be soon as there is quite an unstable pile of it. I might venture out for a while though as I need to buy a tasteful greetings card for friends who have just become parents. The trouble with being out all day is that there are 10 pages of new posts to digest. Oh joy. Best wishes to all travellers and to the ailing, recovering, supporting, grieving, missing and depressed Chris