Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71

Aft'noon all from our library PC, I'm computerless just now due to a necessary warranty repair but should resume normal blatherings from next week. Is is fine.....settled into chemo routine as well as can be expected. Hope everything is as well as it can be for you all Best regards Dave

Hi Duncan, In common with many others, we know a lot of people who are having to learn to live with this condition. We have always been most impressed by those who persevere with as normal a life as possible and we simply try to do the same. I can't measure where we would be if we allowed it to change most of what we've called normal for many years but I can say that Is responds very well to being included in as much normality as possible and a positive mental attitude seems to be an important weapon in this battle. Ironically, several people are saying that she looks better now than she has for years. Dave

Hi Jock, I try to vary the post content a bit so that it doesn't read like a 'who's who' of hospital visits....any significant issues re Is are mentioned though. The last wobble being the one with her temperature see-sawing....she felt that an infection was getting a hold but I felt that the fitting of the PIC line was resulting in her body reacting to it, one consequence being the temp issues. Pleased to say that her temp has settled down again now....I was even able to take her to a church meeting on Friday...she sat away from the others.....with around a dozen of us present. She enjoyed saying hello and the others were pleased to see her looking so well. I have also managed to take her out for lunch 4 times during the last week. Thanks for asking Dave

Aft'noon all, Warm and sunny with fluffy clouds in The Moorlands today. A few night shifts to contend with just now , therefore, an afternoon calorie burn through the scenery before spending the night cooped up again is the norm in dry weather. Ongoing traffic issues around Leek town promotes ideas of cycling in the opposite direction....hence a 2 hour circuit along unclassified roads/lanes based on Morridge, Waterfall Cross and Ford..... Haymaking or 2nd cut silaging are amongst the principle agricultural activities around here at the moment. The dry shade of the rowed grass suggests haymaking..... A grain crop waves in the breeze above the hamlet of Ford Looking towards the cement works at Waterhouses from Ford Ford is in the dip in this view towards the Manifold valley A vintage Leyland tractor turning/rowing mown grass as it dries into hay ready for baling Round bale silage is the alternative Leek from Morridge....traffic chaos due to roadworks/temp traffic lights makes this an ideal distance from which to view the town Towards Tittesworth and The Roaches from Morridge Towards The Roaches from Morridge View along Morridge The evening meal should be on the top patio today....a rare event this Summer but the opportunity for al fresco dining is seized as it presents itself. Enjoy what you do Dave

Mornin' all, Blue sky sunny good to be alive start in The Moorlands for the 06.30 constitutional. A bit of an effort to focus on calorie burning instead of experimenting with the camera. A few visuals have sneaked through though..... Some lanes just invite exploration The reservoir level has dropped steadily in the drier weather....the nature reserve area is now almost without water When the reservoir is full the long thin islet to the centre left is just submerged Harebells Umbelifer Now music by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong....Summertime Feathered ones provided for Church meeting with the architect today Enjoy what you do Dave

Evenin' all, The cancer centre was quite happy with Is's progress....PIC line dressing changed. Blood test on Tuesday should lead to chemo on Wednesday. We came home the pretty way and spent an hour with mum & dad in the well ventilated conservatory. These images were the first opportunity to trial the new camera in lovely evening sunshine half an hour ago, panorama format better suited to landscapes..... Ipstones edge towards the Manifold valley Morridge towards the Churnet valley Morridge towards the Manifold valley Dave

Aft'noon all, Whilst scratching around looking at a few old 35mm slides I came across a couple of Cornish ones from around 30 yrs ago..... At 07.02 on the 02.05.87 47628 OC bursts from beneath an overbridge at Respryn en route to Penzance with the sleepers. Meanwhile another early start on the 06.05.87 was rewarded with the thrash of 37196 LA (newly painted red skirt & no nameplates) echoing around the hills for some time before she burst into view near Respryn at 07.45 with empties for the dries at Moorswater. During the same Cornish holiday the last rays of sunshine could usually be had high on the golf course at Carlyon bay. We'd noted 196s absence when we arrived in Cornwall and for a few days after but at 19.25 on the 02.05.87 she was providing the audio entertainment on the climb out of Par whilst heading a Plymouth to Penzance working....clearly popular with the local bashing fraternity as a way of returning her off maintenance at Laira. It was a waste of time asking for guest house breakfasts around 6am so we slept in the car when a sunny start was forecast next day and booked into B&Bs when the forecast said poor start next day. It balanced out well in terms of being on hand for decent early pictures without being too fragrant. The B&B highlight was staying on the St Austell side of Par station near the line, with the dining room windows facing the action. We were dining around the time that the sleepers arrived in Par on their way westward which meant that all windows were opened wide for 50006's departure....hellfire!!....the fumes were still clearing the dining room when the landlady arrived with breakfast and a somewhat bemused expression on her face. Dave

Mornin' all, Overcast and threatening rain for the 06.30 short anticlock constitutional in The Moorlands. Shame really as my new Lumix digital compact arrived yesterday and I had hoped to trial it. The LF-1 is a lot of camera for £200...around half of the launch price some 3 years ago and quite adequate for my demands. Is enjoys fresh flowers in the house constantly, I usually fetch them from Sainsburys and arrange them for her in the lounge. I tested the new camera on these instead..... A little experimenting with macro/square frame Is is concerned that her temperature is rising this morning, 37C at the moment, so I'll be keeping an eye on her during the day.....2nd reading half an hour later is 35.7C so we'll be checking again in another half hour in case of a spurious thermometer reading....false alarm (likely spurious reading)...temp now normal again. Once she announced bacon & egg for both of us at lunch then I felt that normal service had resumed. Now music by Bronski Beat....Smalltown boy Hi ho, hi ho its off to do the shopping I go.....hospital again this afternoon. Feathered ones provided for Enjoy what you do Dave

Is echos your sentiments G....myself, I prefer to remain a visitor. Dave

Aft'noon all, One for the Teignmouth residents on the thread..... Signs of a mispent youth.....45104 TO on a westbound working in Sept 85. A morning spent in the cancer centre waiting for Is to have her PIC line fitted ready for the 2nd chemo infusion next week.....boy, do you give thanks to not be a patient amongst those poor devils. I headed straight for a decent eatery in Sandbach...quiet area of the Old Hall....and a good lunch once I'd extracted Is from the centre....she is still eating as much as me and even demanded that we call for cream cakes on the way home...to go with a decent cuppa. Enjoy what you do Dave

Mornin' all, Whilst having a look see for the 40s in Devon image I found another couple which might be suitable for this thread. Peaks were getting rarer in Devon by 1985....here 45104 passes Teignmouth with a westbound working on the 7th of September. Earlier the same day 45111 TO passes through Totnes with an eastbound working The grim reaper is sharpening his blade....No11 was one of the first casualties....here she is on the same day as the above pics with a westbound service. Dave

Mornin' SK, Fraid I was on holiday in Paignton when it rolled in and I simply caught the bus towards Torquay to head it off on the rtn leg. I've seen occasional images of 37s on these Summer workings but not many. Thanks for the complement Dave

Railtour images of the 40s to Paignton trip Not the best image but no doubting where it is or what it is. Seen passing Torre.....Meldon Quarry to Paignton leg with the other portion of the train....31259....thanks Rivercider Not every day that a Cardiff 37 rolled up in Paignton on a passenger working in 1984....37275 heads for home past Hollicombe on the 23rd of June. Dave

....beware of static Pete. Dave

.....Ed, any gentleman in my position would have offered similar assistance. Is there anyone on-line who would have turned down this damsel in distress? Her earlobes were tricky to reach after all. Dave

.....I once offered a girlfriend the use of my razor.....but she wanted to use it in a delicate, hard to reach area, so I said that I'd carry out the work for her....just to make sure that she didn't injure herself you understand. Dave

Mornin' all, Overcast but warm with a few spots of rain for the 07.00 short anticlock constitutional. Head down calorie burn to offset those taken on during a smashing lunch at The Riverside yesterday....they even gave us our own dining room.....so much for Is feeling queasy before breakfast, she ate the same meal at mid-day that I did. Very pleasant drive around the Peak District too...much more sunshine than forecast. Still on the anti-MRSA regime with Is today...ready for the PIC line being fitted tomorrow. I've offered to take her back to The Davenport Arms, Marton, when she has the appetite, for probably the best ribs & fries available locally. Can't imagine that she'll take long to drum up the taste for them. Now music by The Houghton Weavers....Wild Mountain Thyme Feathered ones provided for....another feeder stripped down for cleaning, disinfecting and damaged component repairs Enjoy what you do Dave

Mornin' all, Warm blue sky sunny good to be alive start in The Moorlands for the 06.30 short anticlockwise. High summer tones abound from the long grass waving richly scented roadside verges across the flora of the wider landscape. Not such a good weather forecast for middle England this week.....today at least being promising in the North Wales direction but Is is at a low point with little energy so we shan't be straying far. If I can't tempt her with coffee at The Riverside Hotel, Ashford-in-the-Water later then I'll know that it is a bad day for sure. Now music by The Pretenders....Stop your sobbing Feathered ones provided for Enjoy what you do Dave

Mornin' all, Overcast but dry for the 07.00 short clockwise weekend circuit. One or two demanding hills on this one and my conscience has taken to saying pint of beer, glass of wine or jam & cream scone as I puff & pant towards the summits....oh well, we all have to die of something. We're trying to spot windows of opportunity to invite friends/family to share meals/drinks in the garden, so as to stay in touch with them and not expose Is to unnecessary risk of infection. Unfortunatley, living in The Moorlands calm, warm, sunny weather is usually at a premium. Now music by The Lotus Eaters....The first picture of you Church duties later Arrangements to complete for the next fund raising coach outing....this one to Harrogate....has been fully booked with a waiting list for some time Feathered ones provided for....something is already eating the peanuts from the new feeder Enjoy what you do Dave

....I've filmed 36 of the 40 species which have so far visited our small garden Jock. Once I saw todays woodpecker I headed straight down to the garden centre for a squirrel proof peanut feeder (post mounted) to try and tempt him into a filmable position, as I haven't managed to film either the lesser or greater spotted in the garden yet despite their occasional visits. No worries about overdoing the chores.....Is will remain priority number one for the foreseeable....but she will need clean and hygenic facilities. I find that specific food presented in a specific way governs the bird species which feed in our garden.....e.g. the bird table is surrounded by wide gauge nylon mesh with holes cut into each side to allow doves, jackdaws, magpies and anything smaller (starling, jay, blackbird, great tit, blue tit, coal tit, robin) to feed but the pigeons are too big and not nimble enough to get in....therefore they have to eat off the ground when windfalls from the other feeding birds drop. All metal post mounted feeders are generally squirrel proof and attract specific varieties.....sunflower hearts for bullfinch, chaffinch, blue tit, great tit, sparrow, greenfinch, goldfinch.....niger seed for siskin, redpoll, goldfinch, greenfinch.....peanuts for tree creeper, nuthatch, blue tit, great tit.....apples spiked onto cut off twig spikes in trees in winter for fieldfare, redwing, blackcap......numerous plant pot saucers filled with water for bathing/drinking attracts song thrush, sparrow, blackbird....coconut shells full of fat in the winter attract starling, great tit and blue tit....ground feeders such as dunnock and blackbird hoover up the windfalls.....brambling appear amongst the chaffinch....groups of long tailed tits come to feed occasionally on the coconut shell fat too....wrens search for mites etc around the pots and dead wood which I deliberately leave in the garden.....etc etc etc Rarest visitor so far was a single goldcrest.....much too fleeting to film but I was pleased enough just to ID it. I use the house as a hide and have arranged the facilities/feeders to enable me to film from within. Here is a sample film..... Meanwhile the sparrowhawk dines on the diners....mainly pigeon thankfully. Dave

.....I find it strange that individuals bemoan the changing face of town centres when it is their own changing shopping habits which cumulatively have caused their town centre to change in the first instance. It isn't difficult, if the public want a good variety of shops/pubs/cafes/street markets etc in their own town then they have to be prepared to spend towards 50% of their weekly outgoings on consumables in that self same town centre....no rocket science, just common sense.....and yes we do and yes Leek has a very good town centre thank you. My own aunt accused me of snobbery for buying our meat fresh from our local butcher (he sells mainly locally reared/slaughtered meat) when she was buying supermarket meat. I quickly clarified that she didn't even know which country her meat came from and her own children are local beef farmers! Dave

....as for Route Availability SK a 40 is better than a 47 for axle loadings e.g. the Cambrian....40s could go to Aberystwyth whereas 47s could not....I'll bet that a 40 is better than a 50 too. D336 reached Plymouth in the late 60s I seem to remember....will need to revisit that article too. Dave

....sorry Dick....intended to click the friendly icon but they obviously moved as I clicked what I thought was the correct one. Dave

Mornin' all, Overcast and just about dry in The Moorlands at 7am for the short clockwise weekend circuit. We're more geographically limited over the next 4 days as Is must ideally be around home mid-day for doing the 2nd of 3 daily MRSA prevention applications ready for having the PIC line fitted on Wednesday. Much tighter domestic regime too with daily bedding washing/hoovering of the bedroom carpet and cleaning of the bathroom. I'd better get the decorating of the bathroom finished today. Feathered ones provided for....a rare sight on the garden fence this morning was a greater spotted woodpecker Enjoy what you do Dave

.....Railway Magazine contained a section called 'Traffic & Traction' (other titles had similar) where a brief account of railway events during the previous month or so are collated. 40028 is listed as reaching the Parkandillack branch on Dec 13th 1978 Dave