Kylestrome

Since the beginning of the year I've noticed that I get a sound every time I receive a new notification when I'm viewing the the forum. Is this something new? What's more to the point, can it be switched off? I nearly jumped out of my skin just now because the volume was turned up too high! David

Well, I’ve just had my first experience of post-brexit trading with the UK. On December 28 I bought a pannier tank for 147,19 Euros from a shop on eBay but it wasn’t sent until January 5. I’ve just received it and had to pay an extra 21,17 Euros at the door. Although I specified Royal Mail International tracked postage it came by DHL Express so whether the extra cost has anything to do with that, I don’t know. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get much information from the DHL driver because his German was somewhat minimal. Make of that what you will. David

I thought this was the most interesting snippet from the article, which would seem to contradict the rest of it. Quote: "We'd been using British coal the past ten years but our supply ran out in mid-December," said Duncan Ballard, the railway's contracts manager. "We are currently sourcing coal from abroad and are working with other railways to secure a sustainable and reasonably-priced source. "One of the unexpected benefits of this is that its CO2 emissions are significantly lower than those of our previous coal." David

For everyone who's fed up with all the doom and gloom here's a positive post-brexit story to brighten your day: https://www.suffolkgazette.com/business/uk-banana-plantation-selling-bendy-fruit-after-brexit/

I'll be interested to see what happens with my Accurascale Class 37, when it gets delivered to Germany, which was ordered and paid for in 2020. Accurascale is an Irish company but I suspect the loco will be distributed from the UK. David

That's because the German government reduced MwSt (VAT) for several months in an effort to encourage consumer buying to counteract the effects of the pandemic. Since the 1st January, the rate has returned to the normal 19%. David

Popcorn, anyone? ...

I agree with you about the 2020 season and it was enough to rekindle my interest in F1. Unfortunately, RTL (in Germany) has lost the TV contract for next year to Sky so I won't be spending Sunday afternoons on the sofa any more.

Thanks very much for this, Duncan! I was going to make it my New Year's resolution to finally get around to converting some steam locos to P4 (I've been putting it off for years), so this is very timely. David

As far as I can gather, DM Toys is only for N gauge and Modellbahn Union for all scales including N. Both shops have the same owner. David

It's funny your should mention DM Toys. I'm in Germany and sometimes order British items from them . They quite often have things in stock long after they have been sold out in Britain. I would also recommend their service. David

Crikey, Graham! That's speedy work even by your standards. How close are you to having all the buildings you need for the layout? David

There's nothing much under the sun that's new, but it's nice when someone comes up with a new angle on something. There is also very little originality in our model railways, but we still enjoy seeing one that's well executed and presented. David

Somewhat nerve-wracking, I would think. What are they? David

That's OK, so long as they refrain from reciting any of their poetry ...

There will be an answer, let it be ... Or, as they say over here, "Tee trinken und abwarten". David

We've caught up a bit since then! These days I pay mostly contactless, which is now the preferred method due to the pandemic – not that this has much to do with the OP.

In Germany (and I've no doubt in the Netherlands too) we've relied for decades on direct bank transfers (Überweisungen) which are easily accessible to ninety year olds without internet. Since the advent of IBAN and BIC it's also a simple matter to make payments internationally except to Britain. PayPal has made life a lot easier in recent years and I hardly ever need my credit card except (you've guessed it) for some payments to Britain. Vive la différence! David

While I like to see examples of British eccentricity, it can sometimes be frustrating when you want to order some items and you don’t live in the UK. David

Well, at least their packaging was environmentally friendly ...

"Apologies for the horrible model makers fingers!" I think we needed to see the fingers to appreciate the scale! You must be using quite some magnification? David

For those having trouble finding their website : https://shop.wedo3dprinting.com PS. It doesn't look like they do SLA printing.

Excellent!

Excellent stuff Steve, but I'm surprised you don't call yourself 'Cavalier Models'! David

I hope nobody young and impressionable is reading these last comments. The best 'tip' of all is, don't mess with mains electricity. David