The Night Mail

[Happy Hippo]

13 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

Does this mean that HH's famous muddy hollow is actually the sh1tty hollow. 

 

Jamie

What do you think?

 

You have  seen with your own eyes my wonderful complexion.

 

Come to think of it, so has Beth.

[Happy Hippo]

I do not normally comment on such matters, but I was pleased to to see that Pakistan have extradited back to the UK, Piran Ditta Khan, who was wanted in connection with the murder of PC Sharon Beshenivsky.

 

The perseverance of West Yorkshire Police and the CPS has finally paid off.

[Sidecar Racer]

On 10/04/2023 at 22:47, Winslow Boy said:

 

If memory serves me correctly I seem to recall that the various imperial measurements are set in stone in the Guildhall in London.

 

Not according to these .

 

[Happy Hippo]

7 minutes ago, Sidecar Racer said:

 

Not according to these .

 

The difference between the metric and imperial inch!

[Florence Locomotive Works]

On 10/04/2023 at 16:47, Winslow Boy said:

 

If memory serves me correctly I seem to recall that the various imperial measurements are set in stone in the Guildhall in London.

Not if you want access to them. The public set in stone measurements are on I think the south facing wall of Greenwich observatory, for the use of all folk in the land. 
 

However the really nice ones from the 19th century are in the basement of the Royal Society and are sometimes put on display in the Palace of Westminster.

Edited April 12, 2023 by Florence Locomotive Works

[AndyID]

Hit the piste today, probably the last time this season. There was some new snow and the weather was great.

 

View from the parking lot at Lookout Pass. It's just off the I-90 interstate freeway at the Idaho/Montana boundary.

 

 

The drive along I-90 is quite spectacular. I think it's one of the most impressive in the US. I pulled off the freeway to take this pic on my way home today. That's the North end of Lake Coeur d'Alene. We live by the lake a bit further South.

 

 

Andy

 

 

 

 

[J. S. Bach]

7 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

 ...snip... Both versions of The Golden Fleece ended up in the bin.

Such a waste!! I would have been tickled pink to have them on my layout!

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from a warmer (finally) Piedmont.

[iL Dottore]

2 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

Such a waste!! I would have been tickled pink to have them on my layout!

That’s very kind of you to say so.

 

I’m fairly certain that they were “binned” (which usually means being broken up for recycling useful bits), but I could be wrong (it has been known to happen), especially regarding the Heljan pub. I’ll wander down to the workshop later on and see if it is in my Dr Caligari Cabinet of Criminal Curiosities.

 

The Heljan kit is a pretty easy build (particularly if you just build it stock from the box), but it is certainly showing its age. From my current day “grown-up”  railway modeller perspective – having acquired quite a few years of modelling experience since then (these pictures date back to 2011), the model is rather problematic: firstly, it’s HO scale, not 4mm; secondly, and as far as I can tell, it is not of a real prototype (unlike the Georgian Terraced houses or the Brunel Pub) - more like “inspired by”; and finally the kit is fairly crude inasmuch as window bar are over scale as are all the water goods (like the guttering and downpipes) - at least such as they are. 
 

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a pretty decent kit given all the provisos, but built “as is” from the box it’s definitely more “train set“ than model, railway layout

[jamie92208]

Good moaning, no snow here but a lot to do today. All being well train watching this afternoon and evening. 

 

Jamie

[polybear]

7 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

I do not normally comment on such matters, but I was pleased to to see that Pakistan have extradited back to the UK, Piran Ditta Khan, who was wanted in connection with the murder of PC Sharon Beshenivsky.

 

The perseverance of West Yorkshire Police and the CPS has finally paid off.

 

Bear thought the very same - it's reported here:

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-65258849

 

It's good to know he's extremely unlikely to ever walk the streets again.

 

6 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Not if you want access to them. The public set in stone measurements are on I think the south facing wall of Greenwich observatory, for the use of all folk in the land. 
 

However the really nice ones from the 19th century are in the basement of the Royal Society and are sometimes put on display in the Palace of Westminster.

 

How does Florrie know these things??

A certain Bear is rather pleased just to know what day it is - and I often need help with that...

[Winslow Boy]

7 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Not if you want access to them. The public set in stone measurements are on I think the south facing wall of Greenwich observatory, for the use of all folk in the land. 
 

However the really nice ones from the 19th century are in the basement of the Royal Society and are sometimes put on display in the Palace of Westminster.

 

I stand corrected. Thank you Florence.

[Oldddudders]

Reading? Did someone mention Reading? That was the site of the only problem I encountered yesterday, en route from La Ferté Bernard to Newton Abbot. My TER into Paris was on time, and I have now got the hang of looking for the ex-composite, with 2+1 seating, so I get a single seat. The Metro Ligne 4 was as frequent as usual, and I even got a seat after a couple of stations. Breezed through Eurostar check-in, although my 2016 passport still refuses to be read by the Borderforce auto gates, but works perfectly when their desk reader is used. And we were prompt at St Pancreas, so the Hammersmith & City got me to Padlington in plenty of time for the 15.04 to Penzance.

 

Then we got to Reading, where we sat for 10 minutes, with the Train Manager advising us of a signalling system issue at Westbury - and we would be diverted. So we were off like a startled rabbit down the Thames Valley, through Swindon, turned left at Wootton Bassett, but then slowed through Chippenham, and came to a stand soon after. The TM said we were awaiting access to the single line, all of which was unfamiliar to me, as I have limited knowledge of railways thereabouts. I was sorry to see that the train coming off the single line was no local, but another IET heading for London - clearly the signalling issue was affecting both directions. It was indeed - a lightning strike, probably on an interlocking. Cue techs running round replacing singed cards! So we were 38' late at Fairwood Junction, and at Newton Abbot. 

 

But at least I am actually in the UK, which is more than I managed a month ago, thanks to French strikes, of which there is another today. Talking to my urologist on Tuesday, he pointed out that while SNCF staff walk out, their pension rights etc are unaffected by the new legislation - they are just striking to support others. Little enough of that solidarity in the UK, I think.

[Compound2632]

49 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

Then we got to Reading, where we sat for 10 minutes, with the Train Manager advising us of a signalling system issue at Westbury - and we would be diverted.

 

I thought there was something up when I was at Paddington around 6pm as there were large crowds milling about and the semi-fast I got was 20 late (I assume they'd not been holding it for me) and crawled down the relief lines as far as Acton Main Line as if we were in a queue. 

 

56 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

Talking to my urologist on Tuesday, he pointed out that while SNCF staff walk out, their pension rights etc are unaffected by the new legislation - they are just striking to support others. Little enough of that solidarity in the UK, I think.

 

Such action in solidarity was made illegal by the first Thatcher administration, wasn't it?

[Happy Hippo]

55 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

Then we got to Reading, where we sat for 10 minutes, with the Train Manager advising us of a signalling system issue at Westbury - and we would be diverted. So we were off like a startled rabbit down the Thames Valley, through Swindon, turned left at Wootton Bassett, but then slowed through Chippenham, and came to a stand soon after. The TM said we were awaiting access to the single line, all of which was unfamiliar to me, as I have limited knowledge of railways thereabouts. I was sorry to see that the train coming off the single line was no local, but another IET heading for London - clearly the signalling issue was affecting both directions. It was indeed - a lightning strike, probably on an interlocking. Cue techs running round replacing singed cards! So we were 38' late at Fairwood Junction, and at Newton Abbot. 

Bring back mechanical signalling, point operation and signal boxes.

 

None of this high end techno failures with the good old system.

 

It would increase train journey times as well, so important business men would be able to spend more time relaxing and looking out of the window rather than hammering away at their laptop or shouting into their mobile phone.

[Compound2632]

2 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

It would increase train journey times as well, so important business men would be able to spend more time relaxing and looking out of the window rather than hammering away at their laptop or shouting into their mobile phone.

 

As presently set up, the railway is designed to encourage our entrepreneurs to invent a better ironing-board.

[Winslow Boy]

2 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

As presently set up, the railway is designed to encourage our entrepreneurs to invent a better ironing-board.

 

Are so that's what they have have been up to is it and there was I thinking that they were just counting all there spondula. Silly me. When can we expect the announcement for the carbon neutral, solar powered, made with all natural organic materials ironing board then?

[New Haven Neil]

15 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

As presently set up, the railway is designed to encourage our entrepreneurs to invent a better ironing-board.

 

While getting a numb ar$e on the Manx Electric Railway open toastrack trailer last week, I was mulling just how much progress hasn't been made in this area since the 1896 build date of it!

[Oldddudders]

27 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

It would increase train journey times as well, so important business men would be able to spend more time relaxing and looking out of the window rather than hammering away at their laptop or shouting into their mobile phone.

My lengthened journey was not enhanced a by a chap of that sort. Laptop on table, but instead of shouting into a phone was equipped with a proper headset, microphone et al! Got off at Exeter. And behind me a mum w three bored teens. At least the free tea was served by an immaculate steward. 

[SteveyDee68]

On 10/04/2023 at 12:44, Tony_S said:

My wife worked in inspection for quite a few years. This was within a college though they did use the same criteria as other inspection bodies. The academic studies department had for years flatly refused to,be inspected by anyone they didn’t consider their academic equal. 

Very late responding, but I have been *very* busy doing my other thing*…

 

When I worked at the University of Manchester back at the turn of the century, there was an Academic Standards Unit whose purpose was to ensure that lecturers were doing their job. Arrival of new VC and within a couple of weeks the small but admittedly very well paid department were dissolved - the VC’s reasoning being that when lecturers were employed that they were obviously intelligent enough to understand the terms of their employment and therefore why the hell was the University wasting money on having a bunch of NON ACADEMICS deciding whether teaching was up to standard or not?! I think in one move he gained a lot of support from the academic staff!

 

Back then, academic contracts simply stated X salary for X number of hours, X proportion of which will be lectures and X research. As to time actually worked, that was entirely at the discretion of the individual lecturer! (The Personnel Department (thus it was called in those days!) was divided into Academic and Non-academic offices, and anyone working any role got extra pay if they held a degree! No micro-managing, and certainly no “HR” as we know it today!

 

Steve S

 

* Being preparation for a big band revue show that opens tonight in Bolton, Lancashire! Tickets still available, cabaret style seating at tables and a BAR open throughout! If any RMWebbers want to enjoy a night filled with Rat Pack and Bublé numbers with a splash of Moulin Rouge, Greatest Show and James Bond thrown into the mix, look up “Sing That Swing”  on FaceBook (warning - Friday night is almost sold out! 😉🤣)

 

PS

If I get into trouble for “advertising” I shall plead that I understood that The Night Mail was for any topic (other than. Politics and Religion! 😉)

[Happy Hippo]

22 minutes ago, SteveyDee68 said:

 

 

* Being preparation for a big band revue show that opens tonight in Bolton, Lancashire! Tickets still available, cabaret style seating at tables and a BAR open throughout! If any RMWebbers want to enjoy a night filled with Rat Pack and Bublé numbers with a splash of Moulin Rouge, Greatest Show and James Bond thrown into the mix, look up “Sing That Swing”  on FaceBook (warning - Friday night is almost sold out! 😉🤣)

 

PS

If I get into trouble for “advertising” I shall plead that I understood that The Night Mail was for any topic (other than. Politics and Religion! 😉)

That's not a problem as long as there is free cake for PB and myself

[jjb1970]

1 hour ago, Oldddudders said:

My lengthened journey was not enhanced a by a chap of that sort. Laptop on table, but instead of shouting into a phone was equipped with a proper headset, microphone et al! Got off at Exeter. And behind me a mum w three bored teens. At least the free tea was served by an immaculate steward. 

 

That's one thing I really wish Japan would export to the world. People go to the vestibule if they need to make a call, or go outside if in a restaurant. Airport lounges have special phone booths. A much more civilized approach. Singapore is worse than Britain, people will use mobiles anywhere and in any situation here.

[jamie92208]

My journey has started. I'm sitting at Limoges airport which is working. Others are not and we have some passengers diverted from Toulouse. Stansted next stop.  Sandwiches have been consumed attended by 5 sparrows at the outside table. 

 

Jamie

[polybear]

4 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

But at least I am actually in the UK, which is more than I managed a month ago, thanks to French strikes, of which there is another today. Talking to my urologist on Tuesday, he pointed out that while SNCF staff walk out, their pension rights etc are unaffected by the new legislation - they are just striking to support others. Little enough of that solidarity in the UK, I think.

 

When Bear worked in Italy in 1985 the workers had "strike days" - apparently the number of which were decided at the start of the year.  No-one ever seemed to know what the strike was actually about....

 

1 hour ago, jjb1970 said:

 

That's one thing I really wish Japan would export to the world. People go to the vestibule if they need to make a call, or go outside if in a restaurant. Airport lounges have special phone booths. A much more civilized approach. Singapore is worse than Britain, people will use mobiles anywhere and in any situation here.

 

When I used to travel up to Edinburgh on the ECML you could book a seat in the "Quiet Coach" - which for the most part did what it said on the tin.

[jamie92208]

Flight now delayed by 30 minutes. 

 

Jamie