jamie92208

The two girls had left me another prezent this morning. It's now near the cooker. They obviously like me. Anyway despite the drizzle the remaining 2 stears of wood are now inside and stacked. Jamie

Apparently one of the main reasons for using the dynamic brake facility on the diesel is to save brake shoe wear on the loco and ciaches on the long tours, of several thousand miles each, that the loco is now doing. It also neans that they don't have to take another set of fitters with them to change brake shoes on a night. Jamie

Morning all. Not raining at the moment. Nurse has been and the builder has started. Breakfast has been taken and I'm off to feed the chicks shortly. Not a lot on the agenda today but ut us a but warmer so the log burner has been alliwed to cool down. If it doesn't rain I may well move some more logs into the shed. We now have enough in dry store for the winter. The new delivery just needs cutting to length. Regards to all. Jamie

Good morning all from the Charente where there is also drizzle. 4 stears of firewood were delivered yesterday. They ard in metre lengths tied in bundles. I have sheeted them but hope to get them moved inside and stacked today and tomorrow. Beth is up and about. The plumbing in the new bathroom has been pressurized with no faults found, YET. It's now undergoing a lo g term prssure test that I hope doesn't turn into a soak test. I've just gelped pull the main cable through the vinduit in the loft so shortly thd ele trical system will be tested, once the new circuit breaker is installed. Then it's time to start wood shifting. We are out for q meal this evening. Not a lot else to report. Regards to all. Jamie

From the alignments you can see that the Eastern side was the original Leeds and Bradford railway. The other two sides, with the very sharp curvesl, were added when The Leeds and Bradford extension railway was built to Colne via Skipton. Jamie

It certainly confuses many. However it's quite a nice town. It used to house a small and little known wagon builders called Beadman. They built most of the private owners that served the quarries and coal merchants on the S&C. It was also memorable in transport circles as one of the few examples of the Cedes Stohl trolleybuses. These towed a large trolley with q pendulum underneath, that ran on top of the twin wires. On several occasions the conductor let go when turning round at Oakworth terminus. The trolley then set off slowly down the 4 mile gradient and derailed every time into the same shop in the town centre. Fortunately there was usually ti e to telephone a warning that it was on its way. Totally off topic but somethi g if interest on a grey wintry morning. Jamie

My daughter gets involved in the process as a University Security Officer. They get the phone calls that a body is on the way and have to go and receive them if it's out of hours. Anyway good morning all from a wet place. However the log burner was relit yesterday and the room us nice and warm. The rest of the house is gradually warming up. Not a lot on the agenda today apart from feeding the chickens. I might even go and do some work in the woodshed as we have another 4 stears of timber arriving either today or tomorrow. Regards to all. Jamie

And I thought Morecambe. Jamie

As someone who did missionary work in the broad acres for sone 60 years i would point out that Keighley is the correct spelling, often mispronounced as keeley by Southern based BBC announcers. However the pronounciation is 'keithley'. Pedant mode off. Jamie

Unfortunately the manual release doesn't work as it's supposed to. However I am able to recharge the battery in situ or remove it too recharge it. Jamie

As far as I know Keighley was home to the locos used on the Worth Valley line. An old and unfortunately late friend of mine was a Mannigham man but spent time at Keighley before finally movi g to Holbeck when Manningham closed. Jamie

Unfortunately it only came with 1 set. The key part(excuse the pun) is a clicker that activates the fold/unfold mechanism. I have suggested to one or two people that what we really need is a big A plate (The French equivalent of an L plate) for Beth to wear on her back. This suggestion did not go down very well in certain quarters. Jamie

I use a similar system. Trains are pulled out of the fiddle yard to a handover section by the FY operator then left for the main line operator to pick up when ready. They can then be driven right back into the FY by the main line operator which clears the train from the scenic area. However they can be stopped at any time by the FY operator in case of difficulties. As long as the FY operator has switched to another track for the next departure the incoming train stops automatically just before it reaches the fouling point. This arrangement was done to take workload off the FY operator so that it could be single manned. The mainline tends to be double manned with an Up and a Down operator. Jamie

Oh that I would dare. It belonged to Beth's dad so I am not allowed to do such things. The problem is that it's a fancy folding one but will only fold/unfold with the keys removed. Thus the keys reside in the house. Jamie

Afternoon all from an even more profonde part of La France than Smiffy. I've been out and got my hair cut by the fair Veronique, then fed our friends chicens that had left me a thank you present that will be cooked later. Then I took Beth out to the Supermarket. I am definitely not trusted to comp,ete that task unsupervised. However a cunning plan, that I would have been proud of if I had actually planned it, emerged. I had loaded the electric buggy but not they keys. This omission was discovered when we got to Intermarché. Some wailing and earbashing ensued so i stead of coming 10 miles back home I took Beth, at her suggestion, to the nearest cafe then did the shopping on my own. Whether this has enabled me to retain a provisional shopping licence remai s to be seen. This afternoon I intend to head for the shed to work on the new shutter. Warm thoughts towards Rick and Sharon. Love and tlc goes a long way. Jamie

Good evening from a dark and dry Charente. A busy day has been had. Nursey arrived before 8 then the builder. Beth was up early for the nurse. After that some errands were done and I also replenished stocks of red falling down water, some 10 litres were purchased, which should keep us going for a week or two. I even nanaged sone work in the shed and had a practice with the router as preparation for making a new shutter for the side door. This afternoon as a strange yellow object was sighted in the sky, I managed to cut the weed patch near the house. 2 sets of visitors then came and went and I gained some brownie points by producing a macaroni cheese. Then after a break the plum crumble was heated up. I managed to retain my provisional cooking licence by managing to spill the custard powder and ended up looking like a Homepride flour grader from the waist down. I did however manage to produce sone custard. Beth is rather tired after all the visitors and has gone to bed. Not a lot else to report except that it will be an early start in the morning. Regards to all. Jamie

All my kids got a TB innoculation at a few weeks old as at the tine I was a desk sgt in a busy cell area and we were all classed as being at risk. Jamie

They were cut back when the main line was electrified as far as I remember. Jamie

Red falling down water is in plentiful supply here. 3 miles away with a hosepipe and nozzle in the wall. I will be attending in the morning with two 5l boxes that need refilling. €1.70 per litre and very drinkable. As to the 28% beer at $210 per bottle, 20 year old Cognac at 40% and €24 per bottle is also available. A plum crumble was made by SWMBO today despite her mobility issues. My provisional cooming licence is obviously safe from an upgrade as I am in trouble for serving us quarters instead of 6ths of said crumble. Personally I can't see a problem. Jamie

Intersting to see that trains are still running past at line speed. Someone has obviously done a proper risk assessment. Jamie

I went past the site a few days ago on my way to deposit family at the airport. On the way back I stopped near the bridge site and walked alo g the tracks from a nearby level crossing to the fence protecting the worksite. I had forgotten my camera and my phone decided to produce some unreadable photos. However I can confirm that the bridge is definitely for the railway and on the correct alignment. They were busy constructing rebar ready to cast the decking. If I pass that way again I will take my camera and try again for some pictures. Jamie

The few French in the bar went rather quiet, unlike HH. Jamie

Will HH be joi ing the Scotsman and The Irishman or will our neighbours be drowning their sorrows. It could be interesting in the PMU(Bar) this morning. We wouldn't want HH to be too supercilious. Jamie

Morni g all from a still dark and wet Charente. The nurse has been but Beth wants to stay in bed for a little longer. Thus a quick visit to ER's. The market will be vusited then I mY well wander across to the shed. I need to convert a door from left hand to right hand hinging. I made a start yesterday so have a plan of action. Regards to all. Jamie

I think that 6' high side walls are now standard on bridges that cross live 25Kv overhead. Nice to see the pictures. Jamie