wollastonblue

It'll probably shock but I need it to negotiate Tomix 140mm Radius. The original Glacier Express has no problems with it. Also received from Japan, yesterday, Kato are now going to offer a DCC Sound Board for the GE 4/4 III!

Had a very cold morning down by the rifle range this morning. Having treated myself to a Canon EOS 1300d camera this week, I thought I'd go a try it out. Here's some of the better shots:

I'll have to get a copy and get Andy to autograph it for me. Thoroughly enjoyed the series, and glad they did what they set out to achieve.

Having eaten at a few Celebrity chef places, and own a collection of cookbooks by them, while certain chefs do annoy me. I have to say some of the best meals I have eaten have been at these places: Rick Steins Seafood Restaurant Padstow, 3 times I have eaten there. I had the best curry I have ever eaten in the form of a Goan Monkfish curry, and the previous visit the Fruits De Mer was stunning. The Lobster and Foie Gras salad was just amazing, as was the Turbot on the bone, but Mrs Wollastonblue reckons the Singapore Sir Fried Crab is one of the best things she has ever eaten. It is worth the money IMO. The Waterside Inn, Bray. Michel Roux Snrs place which holds 3 Michelin stars is an experience to behold. Yes the bill was £144 for me (I went on my own), but the food was spectacular, and the wine recommendations from the Somellier were unbelievable. The Fat Duck, Bray. Heston is a mad scientist, and it does play with all you senses. The sound of the Sea is an incredible dish, and it's mad that the dish tastes different without the the sound playing in your ears. While Heston may not have the personality of say Keith Floyd, he makes up for it in creativity. One of the things he wrote is completely true, that food can taste better depending on the environment, and moment. The example he used was imagine sitting outside a restaurant on the banks of the Loire, and the bottle of Rose you ordered is fantastic, so you go to the nearest place and bring 2 case home with you. When you get round to opening it, it tastes completely different. Oysters to me taste far better near the sea, than when I do them at home. Mentioning Jay Rayner, his books and restaurant reviews are brilliant to read. As I always to say to Mrs Wollastonblue, who wouldn't look at a Mussel before I met her, you don't know you don't like it until you try it. She adores Seafood now.

My top 5 of both for you: Favourites: 1. Chris Evans (It may be a generational thing, I've enjoyed him since the 90s) 2. Fiona Bruce (Speaks for itself) 3. James May (My hero) 4. Rick Stein (I find his enthusiasm for food, literature and travel infectious) 5. Claudia Winkleman (Well who wouldnt?) Worst: 1. Rylan Clarke (Mrs Wollastonblues favourite, but I find him soooo annoying) 2. Evan Davis (Destroyed Newsnight) 3. Any of the Loose Women (How is this program allowed?) 4. Alex Jones (Sorry just don't get it) 5. Jo Coburn (Very condascending on the Daily Politics show)

Personally I prefer to: Turnham Green

Time to run away as far as possible using the Perimeter Escape Plan (last used in 1959 to great affect during the great BOAC vs BEA game which didn't finish until 1974) to: Heathrow Terminal 5

The new PIKO DCC Control system looks interesting.

I though York was treasonous!?!? So therefore straight to Tower Hill

By moving to Arsenal, are we invoking the Whinging French Gambit or the 1966 Geoff Hurst variations? I think the latter, which means the next move must also be in accordance with the FA. Wembley Park

Well with the excitement of Christmas and Mrs and Little Wollastonblues birthdays, I could only get the electrics all finally sorted. I have found out that Peco fish plates are not compatible with Tomix track, and with the rails not accepting solder at all, I discovered that underneath the track I could solder connection wires to the rails. I have also wired up another point. I received the EW1 coach set from Mommy Wollastonblue this Christmas, and I have the Glacier Express on advance order from Japan. Still have a massive shopping list, and funds and time will allow for it slowly but surely. It is nice to see that other companies are supporting this range, and I will be ordering some wagons soon. But other bits need to be purchase first. In other news, I am finally going to actually see and ride on the Rhatische Bahn this year. As Little Wollastonblue is starting school in September, we have decided that this year we are off on a European adventure. We are driving from Glorious Kidderminster all the way to the Venetian Riviera and back, but not all in one go. We are going to spend 1 night in Boppard, Germany, hopefully see some ICE action along the Rhine Valley for me and Little Wollastonblue, I did stay in Boppard on a School trip in 1993, and I kept all my spending money back so I could buy a Marklin Train Set to bring home, relatives weren't impressed due to the lack of gifts. After stocking up at a Supermarket in Boppard, we are driving down to Celerina for 2 nights where we have an apartment. On the Sunday we are off on the RhB from Celerina to Filisur, where we are going to have a picnic overlooking the magnificent Landwasser Viaduct, back up to Bergun to go round the museum. From Switzerland skirting Lake Como, we head to the Venetian Riviera for 4 nights, so the little one can have some beach and pool time. I am hoping for a trip to Venice itself and wander round Venice Santa Lucia station, hopefully get to see the Orient Express too, but I not going to push it if the beach is too much of a pull. From Italy back up to Munich for a night of beer, sausages and sauerkraut, then across to Lille via Luxembourg for 2 nights so we can visit Paira Daiza zoo in Belgium for Pandas! Cheers for now.

Have to say I enjoyed it, as my neighbour was involved. Although IMO it's more Model Engineering rather than railway modelling. The only thing I really had an objection to was the way that the guy yelled at Team 1 about how to get the loco on the boat. In fact there was some yelling at the volunteers in general. I felt a bit uncomfortable with that, as the majority of people were volunteers.

With the Northern Line in Spoon, time to move using the Ray Davies Kink to Victoria

I'd be flushed by that move, but according to my calculations, we have entered a period of 5 moves all to Mainline Stations so with that and a bear in hand: Paddington

According to Radio 2 this morning it is World Trivia Day, and as a keen Pub Quiz writer, I wondered what sort of trivia people knew? My favourite piece of trivia is that Rats cannot vomit. Over to you.

I did note in the latest Almanac that London Overground, DLR and Emirates Cable cars can be brought into play now. So I think it's time to play the Hipsters Dodge to: Shoreditch High Street

Katherine Jenkins might be available? Failing that how about Ruth Maddock?

Well I've booked the apartment in Celerina, and booked a hotel overnight in Boppard. I have can get a Campsite similar in Italy via the Sun £9.50 holidays. So now I'm looking at somewhere potentially in Austria or southern Germany on the way home to stop for maybe 2 nights.

Have to admit I use Wikipedia a lot when I'm writing pub quizzes, I do donate, maybe not as much as I should, but I do think that Wikipedia could make a lot of money down the advertising route like Facebook et al.

The reason I want to go to Filisur is just to see the Landwasser Viaduct, it's seeing a photo of the viaduct that got me interested in the RhB in the first place. I have worked it out so that we see the Glacier Express go over it while we are there, if the timetables are correct. I also don't want to bore Mrs Wollastonblue too much with trains, although I'm sure once she's lazing on the beach on the Venetian riviera, she won't mind that much.

Thanks for all your help. I have found an apartment for 2 nights in Celerina for £75 So the plan is on the Saturday to get the train to Filisur, walk to the Landwasser Viaduct Viewpoint, have an hour there, and then get the train back to Bergun to visit the museum, and then back to Celerina. Just a couple of questions regarding travel on the RhB: i) Can I break my return journey on a return ticket from Celerina to Filisur? ii) Does my 4 year old travel for free (it only show 6-12 on the child prices)? Cheers again.