jamie92208

It's wet in the Charente and cool today. Car dropped off for service and log burner goi g well. Jamie

There is a picture somewhere on faceache showing that the crane has arrived from the north. From other pictures it seems that the westernmost unit is completely derailed and the eastern one is still on the track. Jamie

Good moaning from the Charente. Much to do today. Beth is currently waiting for the good county's daughter to appear and extract red fluid. I'theoffnmto take her car in for service. A good friend is going to bri g me back. Then I need to take her to a podiatrist and after that the same friend is taking her to the hairdressers. A busy da ahead. Jamie

Is it the flue/ chimney for a line kiln as it looks like a limestone quarry. The kiln may be a short distance away with a ground level F, ue to the actual chimney. That was quite common. Jamie

We've just had that. Beth iwas filling in a form to accompany a b, good sample that will be taken tomorrow morning. On question stumped us but sounded like it was to do with her heart. Google translate was our friend. It meant " are you pregnant". A very quick nwas entered. As regards the Great Escape, my art teacher was one of the main forgers and was in the list of escapees. He was waiting to go down the tunnel when it was discovered. He quietly made his way back to his own hut. A very lucky man. Jamie

I'll try and find the video again and post a link. It does give a good shot of the actual washout as well. Ignore the first three minutes. Jamie

A video of the site has been posted on Youtube. It shows blue marks on the seawall approx where the bogie centres are. I suspect they may have to cut gaps in the wall to get access. Jamie

It must be catching. I discovered somwisdom tooth has gone AWOL last night. Fortunately no pain. I never was ful of wisdom according to someone not far away In France maison secondaries have to pay the full tax fonciere (rates) and a tax d'habitation that has been abolished for permanent residents. Jamie

Back from our hospital tour. The eye appointment went well. No cataravtboneeced. Then a nice Chinese buffet lunch and even had time to buy a strimmer at Castorama (B and Q). Then a p, peasant hop down the autoroute to The Danglies. We got there in time to visit a cheapo pounshop called Action before seeing the cardiologue. That was a tad worrying as he suspects some Angina. However as he wants Beth to have her shoulder Op he's arranged a stress test on Thursday morning so that she i'lhave the results before seeing the aneasthist on Monday. He is confident the ocean go ahead. Jamie

I forgot to mention, we watched The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, on Amazon, yesterday. We thoroughly enjoyed it. Jamie

The problem in Settle and Giggleswick was an influx of media and entertainment types, led by a certain Russell Harty. They bought up a lot of the cheaper housing and it then stood empty for most of the year. A very town based civic Society emerged that wanted to pickle the place in a time warp. They lead a vociferous campaign against quarrying and the expansion of the dairy. These two were the two main employers, both directly and Indirectly. This had a very bad impact on the village. Jamie

Good moaning from the Charente. We are off out today. Beth has two medical appointments. This morning in Niort, 35 miles north West of us. The journey wil involve a stop to administer eyedrops. Another set of drops needed on arrival. Then after that lunch at a Chinese buffet. After lunch we head south to the Danglies. 22 miles south West of our home. Fortunately there is a motorway for that bit. At the Danglies we see the Cardiologue so that Beth can get the all clear for her shoulder next month. Then home. A full day. Ttfn. Jamie

Having seen the way that minor weeks to conditions and pay affected the quality of life of a shift worker, and that not being recognised by the 9 to 5 brigade, I don't tend to comment on such stories. The devil is always in the detail and train drivers work some awful hours. What time does the driver of the first train out of Euston goi g north, have to. Get up. Jamie

Sad to hear that. I felt the same way about the second honers who priced my primary school friends out of the village in the Dales that I grew up in. However we have got Model Railways to keep us sort of sane. Jamie

They ran to Carlisle and then accessed the WCML there. Jamie

Rail Focus have just uploaded a video about the project. Jamie

I suspect that the company that owns it will mothball it again. As far as I know it was developed to build a viaduct in Hong Kong in about 2003 and has been in store since completeing that job. It belongs to a French company. Jamie

They really cracked on with that span. It does mean that the canal is now clear for Easter which is traditionally the start of the main cruising season. Jamie

Did your uncle wear a hat when driving by any chance, that was a usual giveaway. Jamie

The A65 north from Skipton used to be full of 40mph drivers. Constant speed through the villages and out in the cou try, especially on Sundays. Jamie

In the middle of La Rochelle there is a big statue of a French Admiral, Villeneuve IIRC'. Not many victories listed on the plinth. When we went to Versailles I did suggest to Beth that they should employ me as a historical consultant as they seemed to have missed out, Vittoria, Waterloo and several others. Jamie

Antwerp is stilfull of roadworks as we have found out on our way to and from the ferry at Rotterdam. Strangely the satnav took us West bound on the ring going north, through a long toll tunnel, and eastbound coming back nearer the city centre. Our gizmo for French motorways paid the tunnel toll. Jamie

Good moaning from the slightly cooler Charente. The girls are to be talked to later then not a lot is programmed. I will probably head for the market as Beth has a chest infection. I got the remains of the hen house cleared yesterday along with some other tidying in the garden. Not a lot else to mention. Ttfn. Jamie

It's a while since there was a Y news about what's happening at the HS2 EWR crossing but this has just been posted. It was a bit confusing till I got my bearings and could do with some captions. However it does show the current state of play. The run round loop from which the construction and maintenance ce depot wilbe accessed is looking good. Jamie Ja

Especially if it's Harris Jamie