jamie92208

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

And the two destroyers that were escorting the Belgrano were British built. Jamie

When Leeds City Libraries tried to make us all use a machine to take books back and get new ones. I was always the awkward one that went to the counter to get mine stamped. When asked why I replied that I liked to interact with a human being. I believe that Vickers sold arms to both sides in the Boer War and certainly made money by selling battleships to opposing nations in South America. Jamie

Two thi gs,. Apparently a class 331 has run as a proving train from Manchester Victoria to Stalybridge. Secondly this video of works at Ravensthrpe has just been posted. No very informative but there does seem to be a lot of work going on. Jamie

According to my kids one is typing this reply. Jamie

Cheques are still quite popular here in La France profonde. The older end use them a lot and the tills all have a printer that puts all the info on them. However the search for Le Stylo doesn't start till after the cheque has been printed usually. My kids don't carry cash. I feel naked without some cash on me. I make a point of using cash at our favourite restaurant when Patricia explained how much card payments cost them. My kids say I'm a dinosaur but I don't care. As for Amazon I agree with both Barry and IDand use it as little as possible. I detest their business practices. Jamie

Good moaning from a sunny Charente where there are very few self checkouts though we have to bag our own stuff. The biggest holdup is old ladies paying by cheque. By the time they've bagged everything then searched their handbag for the chequebook, then the pen, it seems like manage. The MRC lunch went well though it was 84 miles not 60. On the way home I stopped briefly for a coffee. By some peculiar coincidence I was by a railway line and in the 10 minutes I was there a train came past with a loco that I needed. Happy days. No chatting to a 4 year old today as she is on a sleepover. We will talk to the girls tomorrow. Meantime the G word beckons. Jamie

Bradford installed one on the new inner ring road in the mid 80's. Set to about 37 in a 40 limit. It worked. Jamie

I hope you enjoy your researches at York. If you happen to notice any Beadman built wagons in the GCR register, details would be much appreciated. Jamie

Good moaning from the Charente. I managed to take my trailer to the tip yesterday and reversed it all the way to the right skip without jacknifing it. The entrance is awkward and it would be impossible to turn the trailer and car round so I have to reverse in without the trailer heading down the lorry ramp. My first ever attempt took me 10 goes. I wouldn't like to try one of those road trains though. Anyway a new day is dawning and I'm off to a n MRC lunch 6O miles north of here. I might even do a bit of trainspotting on the way home. Jamie