Hollar

On the other hand, it's nice to know that not every Irish character in the programme will be a thick, drunken paddy who likes a good fight. I daresay this applies also to the more obviously migrants and gay people. And also, the media sometimes regards us as sopmething other than inadequate ninnies who never grew out of the train set phase. Tony

Something very odd about the numbering. Definitely should have gone down the pub instead of squeezing in the last little job;

I saw Davy Graham as a teenager, and for me this is a Mozart and Shakespeare discussion - who's the second best. Tony

I've just bought a very nice-looking WD on eBay, powered by a Portescap and described as a runner. It arrived very well packed and in really good visual condition. However, on the test track it refused to move and gave off an unpleasant screaming sound. With a lot of prodding it moved, was controllable and smooth, but still very screamy. When I tried to switch direction it stopped dead and only moved when given a smart tap in the right direction. It doesn't move at all on my rolling road, just sits there complaining, so I can't try to run it in. Does anyone have any suggestion that doesn't involve sending it back and getting a refund? It looks great but I'm not looking for an ornament. Tony

Coming in rather late, since I have been busy elsewhere. Both Retford and Carlisle are vast, prototype-based layouts in EM, representing steam days. Where are the P4 equivalents of these? At the serious end of the hobby I can't see much of a visual difference between EM and P4, any difference owes more to philosophy and self-image. (And this is an observation, and emphatically not a criticism.) I would add John Brighton's Millhouses to the list of spectacular EM mainline layouts. What it and Retford have in common (and by reputation Carlisle, but I've not seen it) is that stock falls off the rails about as often as it does on the real thing. As a country memberof the team, building wagons for Millhouses, I can testify to the unforgiving standards and rigorous running standards are required. (John's kindness and advice has radically improved my modelling building skills, from a low base') His EM work is in no way different to that of the P4 Somersham layout when it was run by the CLAG team. After all, there's nothing more unprototypical than stuff falling off the rails all the time and locos needing digital assistance to get moving. In my experience seen this is at least as likely to be seen on OO exhibition layouts as in the finer scales. Go to Scaleforum and Railex and see what high-class engineering skills can achieve. If I were a Preser seated figure in a hurry, I'd probably want to go finescale. Tony

And your point is? It's art and entertainment. If you want history, Penn's The Winter King is as good as you'll find; and if you're looking for tissue-thin entertainment I would much rather watch Ian McKellen's Richard III than some straight-to-cable Ricardian rubbish. For one thing, you get Stacey Kent's brilliant singing of a Walter Raleigh song rather than that strange woman and Robert I'll Do It Rinder. Not that I'm an opinionated Bardophile, or anything. Tony

My one brush with r/c aircraft was when I was umpiring a Middlesex trial colts cricket game on Hackney Marshes. I had to suspend play because some idiot was buzzing the pitch with a very large plane. Tw*t stopped play, you might say. A possee of very angry dads was very quickly organised and they stalked off to remonstrate with the flier. At least a couple of the dads were keen to show him what a cricket bat looks like. Perhaps fortunately for everyone, they didn't find him. We continued the match confident that there wouldn't be a repeat. Tony

I am very clumsy and would fear for the layout. Tony

Does anyone know where to buy a single large sheet of extruded polystyrene, for a 6x2 foot ultraportable layout? I spent a lot of time this morning searching the web, and the smallest quantity I could find was a pack of 18 sheets, which would be enough to build somewhere to house it. I'm able to collect it anywhere around Greater London. Tony

Nigel Gresley looks rather live Ian McKellan in his film of Richard III. Maybe this is why Thompson was so anxious to plough his own furrow Tony

Silly question time. If the Kylchap was better, why didn't they just get a variation on the licence? Tony

A sudden stop and yellow-trousers will be mourning Obamacare Tony

I stuck tiny lengths of styrene rod into the door groove. The "hinges" look fine when the coach has been painted, and don't seem to fall off. Tony

This may be a silly question, but with all those saw cuts do you end up with a slightly shorter vehicle? One or two cut-and-shiuts I csn inderstand, but seven might have an impact. Tony

Like a bottle of fine brandy or a First Folio, you'd be frightened to even file the tabs off for fear of ruining your investment. Tony