bluebottle

"I gave my father $100 and said, 'Buy yourself something that will make your life easier.' So he went out and bought a present for my mother." (Thank you, US standup Rita Rudner)

Exhibitors: - Andersomefell - 00 Scale - Apagele - N Gauge - Apagele - N Gauge (etc...) Apagele must be hot stuff - so good they had to name it twice, or two builds to double our chances of a good view? Can't wait!

Edit: Click to enlarge

Interesting weathering technique.

The Romans appropriated the Greek pantheon, giving each god a more exciting name; e.g. Ares became Mars, Zeus Jupiter etc. The Greek god of fire and metalworking, Hephaestos, became the Roman Vulcan. Zeus, the sky-god, father of the gods and of men, was known by many epithets, including "Lord of lightning" and "dark-clouded". To swear in the name of Zeus was the most dread of oaths, and to break such would mean death by a thunderbolt hurled by Zeus. "Vulcan" by Mario Raggi, 1897 The town hall in Sheffield is topped by a statue of Vulcan, clutching a hammer and holding aloft a sheaf of arrows, emblematic of the Steel City. Note the idealised figure of the god; the Greek Hephaestos was deformed and lame.

I associate the storm phenomena with Zeus, myself. According to Wikipedia, China has thirty-six gods of thunder. Must be a noisy place to live .

A Garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!

On family holidays to the Costa Del Sol, my requirements were 15x each of T-shirts, underpants and pairs socks; half a dozen pairs of shorts; two pairs each of lightweight trousers waist sizes 32", 34" and 36".

Re: Yacht hit by tanker off Cowes, Isle of Wight - Tut! One never sees that sort of thing on the Rother Valley Country Park lake!

Was that the bomb which won the battle of Stirling Bridge?

Hm... A friend, you say? So you weren't a victim of cold calling...

I can't imagine anyone falling out with such an amiable man as yourself, Jamie.

That's a thought, Bob. Two wheels bad, three wheels good!

Somebody aimed at the piano player and missed? ( Hope the poor wight wasn't badly wounded.)

Down the road for a dental checkup this morning, a little apprehensively as I'd overslept and missed the booked appointment a couple of weeks ago. Was greeted with a welcoming smile by dentist Rachael, however, and she accepted my apology graciously: "Well, that's not like you, is it?" So we're still friends. Back home to find I'd won a fiver on St. Luke's Hospice lottery. That'll do for a bottle of vino collapso from the convenience store when I go out again to post niece Dawn's birthday card. Found a nice picture on the internet to make up a card with - she likes flowers!

Keighley, tha means!

Perhaps a bit late in the day to ask, but has anyone on here ever tasted ersatz coffee made from acorns? I think that everything I've read about Germany during WW II has mentioned that infusion, and I used to imagine some desperate coffee hound thinking; "Well, 28 million pigs can't be wrong..."

The first coal mine in the world to extend under the sea was that established by Sir George Bruce at the end of the 16th century, at Culross in Fife, which followed a seam out under the Firth of Forth (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culross). This and later similar workings may have been part of the inspiration for a story I heard (I think from Alistair McDonald) some years ago: During the Second World War, a wide boy, anxious to avoid conscription into the forces, volunteered as a coal miner. Turning up for his first day, he was jammed with the rest of his shift into the "cage" and dropped at unnerving speed hundreds of feet down the shaft into the bowels of the earth. This was followed by a seemingly never-ending ride on the paddy train, swaying and jarring through a claustrophobia-inducing tunnel before a trek on foot and, as the roof lowered and water dripped from above, a crawl to the face. Here he laboured through his shift until he was released to the long journey back to the surface, where he accosted the gaffer. "Right, that's me finished wi' that!" he said. "Ah'm awa' tae jine the Commandos!" "Whit? Naw ye're no'! This is an important job! In case ye've forgotten, we're at war! We're fightin' the Germans!" "Ah'm no' surprised! Ah think we're stealin' their coal!" Edit: added Wikipedia reference.

Near where I used to live in the Hunters Bar area of Sheffield was a small hotel which for some reason had a clientele largely composed of overseas visitors. I gathered that it was not noted for large portions at mealtimes, and their guests used to slip out to the local chippie for extra sustenance. One evening, after ordering his fish and chips, the chap ahead of me in the queue said, cheerily, "Just come from Australia!" Came a voice full of grim satisfaction from behind us: " Well, tha chips'll be cold by the time tha's got 'em home."

"Urban Decay"? Is that the fashion for young ladies to wear torn jeans? Silly, really - unless kneecaps are the new erogenous zones ...

Already? ? ? Are you in the same space time continuum as the rest of us, Tony?

Hearing the sounds of magpies squabbling earlier today, I looked out of my back bedroom window to see a furious altercation between three birds at the bottom of next door's yard. Two were attacking the third, and quickly had it sprawling on the paving, trampling it while they stabbed down with their beaks. It weakened and lay still until one then the other of its assailants flew off, then painfully dragged itself off out of sight behind the shed. God knows what it had done to deserve that ...

As a result of being miserably seasick in a small boat on Loch Lomond 60+ years ago, I am happy to admire such craft from a nice dry vantage point, and assumed that the yellow things were merely some form of decoration. The only observation I can offer about the nature of the Rother Valley lakes is that they occupy what was at one time the site of extensive water meadows, so the water will be of no great depth. I'm sure that Paul would be interested in the above comments, and I'll pass on any replies he might make.

Quite a busy Father's day,spending the afternoon at the Rother Valley Park, keeping Emily amused and out of mischief, then more of the same while enjoying a tasty barbeque at Helen's in-laws Paul and Christine's place in the evening. Helen had decided that Father's day was also to be Grandfather's day, so that meant another home-made card and extra chocolate. Here's Paul and Richard trying out Emily E's new spinnaker, though they could have done with a bit more wind for the occasion... ... and the usual book, beer and sweet stuff to be enjoyed!