jamie92208

Good moaning from a distinctly cool but dry Charente. Some more photos from Tuesdays expedition to Angouleme. A s mentioned, once the works train had headed off back to Ruffec things started happening. After the freight this light engine appeared on the regular infra working. An 81xxx had come in from the Saintes direction and was waiting to head back there on our platform line. Meanwhile the tamper was having some attention after being parked up for the night. I suspect that it's a specialised switch and crossing tamper.1 Then one of the few remaining Atlantique sets appeared on a working to Paris. About 20 minites late. Then an 51xxx came in on the northbound working to Chatellarault via Poitiers. These straight electrics are usually working around Bordeaux and don't head up our way very often. Then another came south. Plenty of activity after the very quiet start to the visit. More tomorrow. Jamie

Good moaning from the Charente. I got our taxes done yesterday. About 2 hours work. Most of that time was spent going through bank statements and setting up my spreadsheet that will work out the figures in 2025. For various arcane reasons French tax is on the previous calendar year.. However because most of our income and rises are aligned with the British fiscal year they allow me to use that. Thus the figures that went in yesterday are for April 22 to April 23. I have most of my figures for next year's submission ready. The actual online tax form only took about 20 minutes. The main complication is that Virgin Money, actually Clydesdale bank, now pay a modest interest rate on our UK accounts. A total of £39.98 but that had to be worked in. Anyway it's done. Today is more getting ready for visitors day. Wine boxes to be refilled,shopping to be shopped then grass to be cut. Ttfn Jamie

An interesting video from HS2 about the crossing of the A43 near Brackley. Jamie

Good evening from a sunny Charente. Andy and I have had a couple of afternoons out since my last post. on 10th April I headed for Juille on my own and Andy joined me later. There still wasn't a lot of traffic but a couple of freight arrived after 4.30pm. The main ne of interest was this. 27008 on a solid train of Ambrogio wagons. Possibly diverted from the normal route via Modane. Then on Tuesday afternoon and Evening we were both allowed to play out and headed down to Angouleme after lunch hoping to see the cement train. On arrival this olf friend was playing near the pointwork at the north of the station. There was a tamper visible as well and they are obviously installing new pointwork by the signal box there. We went onto the station and it was deserted with only a few units coming in from the south from La Rochelle and Royan. Then the orange army headed off and this appeared from the north, creeping over the newly ballasted points. We were sitting well up Platform 2 on one of the glass waiting shelters which kept the rather cool breeze off us. We were able to see signals in both directions and the first freight f the afternoon appeared. Heading north with a rake of steel wagons. More tomorrow. Jamie

As promised a photo or two. Here is the verandah. As you can see it has a lovely view over the septic tank and it's outlet grid. It faces south east and gets the morning sun. This is one of the completed pillars. Th e hole will be filled with concrete. This is the remains of the foot of that pillar which looked solid externally. This is the end pillar that had a lot of rot in it that I will have to splice. And these are the remains of the bottom six inches. This is the next six inch length showing just how much the rot had extended up. Not much good timber left, the rot goes right through. And here a much happier subject a 186 southbound at Angouleme on Tuesday evening. Jamie

So is one of our friends and I am always accused of leaving the lid up when we visit. I have thought about insisting that she leaves the lid up when she visits our house. Jamie

Domestic engineering © Gwiwer, completed then our French tax return so that's a good mornings work. Jamie

Thanks, yes it was quite heavy work. Fortunately a friend was doi g much of it but my shoulders and knees are complaining today. The ones I've used are like the ones in the lower photo. I think that damp is the main problem. They were set on concrete but the patio had been tiled with the tiles surrounding the bases so water has obviously run into the bottom inch. On the worst one the steel spigot had expanded and split the timber as it rusted. I'll take a couple of photos. Jamie

Good moaning from the Charente. Whose stolen the sun. I've had to skip a few pages as stuff got in the way. However I had a very good evening trainspotting on Tuesday. Yesterday was spent fitting steel replacement feet to the 6" square wooden supports for the verandah roof. Much rot was found but work is in progress. I even learned a new word. Pied de poteaux regulaible which means an adjustable pillar foot. Today is much cleaning day as we're are having friends to stay over the weekend. Regards to all. Jamie

Good moaning from the Grey and overcast Charente. I didn't get chance to visit yesterday so have skipped a page. However we had fun trying to fit new feet to the four big pieces of timber that support the verandah at the front. These are 6 to 7 inches square and were rotting at the base. The roof is an extension of the house roof and is heavy. Acrow props were used to prop each one up at a time. Then the base sawn off and a steel foot inserted. Sounds simple. First discovery, there was a steel spigot sticking up the centre of each so the cut off piece had to be chiseled apart then the spigot cutoff with a cutting disk. Problem 2 was that there was rot in three of them and in one this extends over 2 feet up. All good fun. 3 of the pied de poteaux regulaible, (adjustable pillar feet) are now in place and the fourth is sitting on a temporary pillar of breeze blocks and timber. I am going to have to source a suitable piece of timber to replace and splice in the lower metre of that one. Anyway after that Beth and I went out for a nice meal at some friends. Jamie

Wander g Northerner has posted another video progress on the two viaducts in the Wendover area. Wendover Dean and Small Dean. It's welshot but could do with a couple of subtitles when he jumps from one viaduct to the other. However it shows real progress. l Wendover Dean looks as if it is nearly ready for the next big push to launch over the next four piers. Albut the final abutment seem tbeonearly complete. Jamie

Page12951 is a repeat of 12950 Jamie

Ahbut have the scales fallen from your eyes yet. Jamie

Good moaning from the Charente, where the temperature dropped by ten degrees yesterday. However the weed patches got mowed. The French word for weeds is great, mauvais herbe, literally bad grass. Then in the evening we went to some friends for supper and ended up playing Uno Stacko, a cross between Uno and Jenga Great fun. Shopping this morning the after lunch I'm off for aafternoon/evening,trainspotting with Andy. A good day in prospect. Jamie

When the George Davis is Innocent crowd, from London, dug up the Headingley test wicket, they had to move the trial to Birkenhead to get an unbiased jury. Jamie

Beth would never ask me that question, she knows that the answer would be yes regardless of the time period specified. I usually have a wry smile to myself when people say they are 'off their food'. That's not something that I can identify with. Jamie

Pivkersgill Kaye in Leeds will supply all the locks you need with the the required railway certification, off the shelf. As I mentioned before, it was they who did some of the original research on doors that flew open. Jamie

It's one way of keeping death off the roads. Jamie

You must have kept fit doing that route with a long climb in each direction. In 82 I was pedalling a heavy pushrod round Drighlington Gildersome and into Morley each day as their caring community Constable. I could eat as much as I wanted and not put weight on as well as being able to sneak up on scrotes driving whilst disqualified in a certain estate. Happy days. As to cycle tracks there weren't many in the noughties. The longest was down Stanningley Road but that was too dangerous to use due to rubbish. I used to annoy taxi drivers who parked in the cycle zone at traffic lights by getting in front of them at about 60 degrees. Most other car drivers observed the signs. Jamie

Many years ago, a certain police lady who 'd worked with became one of the first West Yorkshire lady motorcyclists. One day she turned up at a major event in Roundhay Park and parked her bike at the end of a line of other bikes. Hers fell over and the others all went down like skittles. Jamie

On a more serious note, I rarely used the cycle lanes in Leeds because use they were so full of rubbish and broken bottles etc. Obviously a cleaning budget hadn't been allocated. I did use one occasionally and often had to go out into the main carriageway to avoid parked cars. As to traffic lights. I ended up on the bonnet of a car that turned across me at some lights. I had the right of way,she was turning right. I didn't see you she said, I am fairly large and had a yellow jacket on. I did ask her when she was going to get her eyes tested and she had a large dent in her bonnet to sort out. Fortunately I was unharmed. Jamie

Good moaning g from a sunny but cooler Charente. We had a good afternoon playing Belote and beat our tutors. Today it's French class so I better get my homework done. Definitely no AI involved in that task, and decidedly a lack of actual intelligence. Grass to cut this afternoon. We have sections of 30kph (20mph) in most villages usually near schools. I warn UK visitors to obey them, 99% of them have quite vicious speed bumps. Jamie

I did them both many times when volunteering on the Ratty. I even once took a transit minibus full of senior Indian officers over it. Most of that went OK but it struggled on the final section going up Harknott. I made them get out and walk. Some of them even pushed and thought it was great fun. The story I was told was that Signor Lamborghini wanted a Ferrari but Enzo wouldn't sell him one as he didn't want to see a tractor maker driving one of his cars, so he built his own, Jamie

As a cyclist I think we should construct a spider lane across the bridge that @polybear has to cross.. Jamie, who would stop at traffic lights if there were any near here.

A new contributor, certainly to me, called Wandering Northerner, has uploaded a new video of the Thame Valley viaduct. It is certainly coming in with the beams in on some 22 spans, Deckingbeing cast on at least ten spand a d I thi k 13 spans still to go. Most of the abutments and pillars are done but it looks as if two sets are still to be started. Jamie