The Night Mail

[Tony_S]

4 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

have a real sweet tooth

We have got used to a lot less sugar in things. The Chelsea buns were sugar glazed but just enough to look right! Although thanks to a little medication our blood sugar levels are back to pre diabetic levels we don’t go mad with cake. When Aditi bakes cakes(she really really likes making them) we will keep a couple, freeze some and donate some to neighbours. We have got used to fruit pies or crumbles where the main taste is the fruit rather than sugar. We don’t use artificial sweeteners in cooking. We also use a lot less salt than previously. We don’t add salt to potatoes, except for a tiny sprinkle on chips. Aditi’s mum used to use loads of salt in her Indian recipes. When we eat in restaurants food tastes salty to use now. 

Edited February 6 by Tony_S

[Hroth]

5 hours ago, SM42 said:

Boddingtons is a fine tasting beer.

 

Then it leaves the brewery gates and something happens to it. 

 

Some sort of proximity fuse I think

 

Andy

 

From the old adverts, you got the impression that they drew their water from the Rochdale/Bridgewater canals...

 

[New Haven Neil]

@J. S. Bach  That really is Zermatt!  We were up the Kleine Matterhorn at the time!

 

[Happy Hippo]

3 hours ago, Hroth said:

 

From the old adverts, you got the impression that they drew their water from the Rochdale/Bridgewater canals...

 

So that wasn't a flake stuck in the top!

[Willie Whizz]

9 hours ago, GMKAT7 said:

Good morning folks,

 

Following on from newbryford's comments about Boddingtons beer, when I was an apprentice in Crewe Works the locals used to say about Boddie's:

 "If the bottom has fallen out of your world, drink Boddie's and the world will fall out of your bottom" .

 

Although I later heard the same in Derby about Shipstones beer. Sometimes known as Sh1tstones.

 

Cheers, Nigel.

Shipstones was one of the four medium-sized Nottinghamshire breweries I mentioned in an earlier post.  Local deliveries used to be made until very near the end by traditional red-painted horse-drawn drays pulled by lovely white horses.

 

It was most peculiar, because more than any other 'real ale' bitter I've ever known, the taste really did depend how well it was "kept".  Go to the right pub on the right day and you would struggle to find a better pint anywhere.  Catch it in the wrong pub, or on the wrong day, and it was almost as undrinkable as fizzy keg Watneys Red ...

[bbishop]

47 minutes ago, Willie Whizz said:

Watneys Red ...

... what I still drink!

[Happy Hippo]

All went well with the visit to Hunt Towers today.

 

I arrived, and was ushered in by Jill to find the cake plate down to a single slice.  Airnimal had got there before me!

 

Jill kindly replenished the plate, enabling me to have some more, but I was careful to leave plenty for Horace the Cat who was lurking nearby.

 

For those who follows airnimal's scratch building exploits in S7, I can honestly say that they are even better than the pictures.  Also on display was a selection of S7 LNWR passenger stock, which was sublime, and only went to prove my earlier comments about LNWR coaching livery being the best.

 

 

[Dave Hunt]

As indicated by HH's post, Hunt Towers was graced today by visits from him and Airnimal. A few locomotives were driven up and down, gums were bashed, Airnimal's models were admired, refreshments were taken and HH went home with several boxes of scenic materials that both frees up space at the Towers and enables work on Aberflyarff to be undertaken in due course. All in all a very pleasant day. Thanks to both attendees.

 

Dave  

[airnimal]

Today I was granted a shed pass to view a magnificent array of red engines. All were admired and most were run up and down the shed yard with Victorian elegance.  I took along a few items to try out with mixed fortunes but the main conclusions were that the sand pipes and guard irons will need to be shortened on my chopper tank.  Even in S7 scale, clearance will need a little help to avoid the small problems with shorting and the main frames spacers will need a few thou removing to to ease it through the curves. 

 

Many thanks to Dave and Jill for the refreshments and cake. I limited myself to just one slice because I have to get back into shape for my return to cycling on Sunday.  

[New Haven Neil]

Ohhhhh that Yankee.........

[monkeysarefun]

15 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

On disappointing places, I'd suggest avoiding Bali. There are many wonderful places to visit in Indonesia but Bali unfortunately isn't one of them. Well, if you go inland it's lovely, but the coastal areas are awful. I'd recommend the Central Javan highlands, beautiful and with a lovely climate.

 

 

Australia's Benidorm.

 

Recently began  filling up with Russians.

[newbryford]

10 hours ago, Hroth said:

 

From the old adverts, you got the impression that they drew their water from the Rochdale/Bridgewater canals...

 

 

Only marginally cleaner than the River Irwell.....

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[Dave Hunt]

Off this morning to take Jill's car to Crewe for servicing and MOT. While it is being fettled we are going to Bridgemere for Jill to look at some more 'essential' additions to the contents of her wardrobe but I am being let off that particular hook as it has been officially declared that I have sufficient in that department (in fact, as far as I am concerned I have enough to see me out) and since there is a Hobbycraft there I can fill in at least part of the time looking to see if I can find some really essential supplies. During yesterday's gathering at the Towers HH mentioned to Jill that next time she was going shopping in Telfland maybe she could drop me off at the Muddy Hollow and collect me on the way back and she acknowledged that it did make sense so next time ..... Well we can live in hope.

 

Dave

[Happy Hippo]

8 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

During yesterday's gathering at the Towers HH mentioned to Jill that next time she was going shopping in Telfland maybe she could drop me off at the Muddy Hollow and collect me on the way back and she acknowledged that it did make sense so next time ..... Well we can live in hope.

 

Dave

Ex Military gentlemen, need to put on a united front.

 

We are both well aware of the need for service support and inter-service cooperation in such matters.

[Hroth]

Its nice to be allowed out to play with friends!

 

[Happy Hippo]

6 minutes ago, Hroth said:

Its nice to be allowed out to play with friends!

 

Play?   PLAY?

This Sir, is Army v RAF:  MR v BR(W)!

 

That's not play it's total WAR.

 

A bitter conflict fought in battle grounds over many years and actions, and with no quarter given.

 

For the pacifists amongst us rest easy as the score is still 0-0, and there have been no casualties, apart from copious amounts of cake which are deemed acceptable losses.

[Winslow Boy]

So you won't be calling a truce and having a game of kick ball in no mans land then?

[Northmoor]

42 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Play?   PLAY?

This Sir, is Army v RAF:  MR v BR(W)!

 

That's not play it's total WAR.

Toi paraphrase the great "Shanks": Some treat railway modelling as a matter of life and death; it's much more important than that.

[jamie92208]

13 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

So you won't be calling a truce and having a game of kick ball in no mans land then?

You could always use Pannier tanks as the object to be kicked. 

 

I've been allowed to play out tomorrow  so better get the painting finished this afternoon.  A minor job of tidying up the cables behind the TV has, as is the nature of such things, turned into bigger job.  It can't be finished until I pick up some stuff from Ruffec so I am combining that task with some trainspotting. 

 

Jamie

[Hroth]

6 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

You could always use Pannier tanks as the object to be kicked. 

 

I've been allowed to play out tomorrow  so better get the painting finished this afternoon.  A minor job of tidying up the cables behind the TV has, as is the nature of such things, turned into bigger job.  It can't be finished until I pick up some stuff from Ruffec so I am combining that task with some trainspotting. 

 

Jamie

 

You can't be beastly towards Panniers, you've got to choose a neutral object that the opponents can bond together to safely insult.

 

Say, one of those ghastly green machines that trundled up and down the east coast?

 

You know the one I mean...

 

Edited February 7 by Hroth
completed thort

[airnimal]

After yesterday's meeting at Hunt Towers where I tried out my chopper tank with mixed fortunes, I have reduced the length of both the guard irons and sand pipes to give more ground clearance.  Hopefully this will now solve the derailments problems because I hadn't realised how close to the rails I had made them. 

 

I said as well that the engines on Dave's layout were full of Victorian elegance which most of them were but of course the compond was built in 1902 which makes it Edwardian splendour. 

[br2975]

Whilst thumbing through my 'phone earlier, it dawned on me that two years ago today on my ride back from Dolan Springs Az. to Las Vegas I met an interesting American chap, who was quick to point out he was  a former US government employee, trained in intelligence, surveillance and counter surveillance techniques.

.

My new found friend gave me a potted history of Area 51, where an alien known as Elron has lived for many years since crashing his spaceship near Kingman.

.

Through Elron we have developed fiber optics, the printed circuit and stealth technology.

.

It appears 'Vernon Von Brown' sic invented the jet engine ( someone tell Frank Whittle ) and only joined the Nazi party because they would fund his space programme.

.

I was astounded to learn from this font of knowledge that during the Vietnam conflict, the US government were concerned at their aircrew losses at the hands of Russian made MIG fighters.

.

So, the CIA were tasked with obtaining a MIG, and flipped one of Saddam Hussein's Iraqi pilots, ( irrespective of the fact Saddam came to power 4 years after the US left Saigon ) who flew the MIG to Israel, from where it was smuggled to Area 51 and the defector disappeared "into the programme".

.

The MIG was deconstructed ( an Americanism for dismantled, I believe ) and it was established by the USAF via Area 51 staff, that the MIG was no better than an F4 Phantom, but the Russian pilots flying in Vietnam were better trained than their US adversaries......so the Red Flag programme was introduced at Nellis AFB to improve US fighter pilot skills.

.

My new found friend claimed "these skills will lead to NATO success when Putin invades......Kosovo in the coming weeks" -  ( would this be after he invades Ukraine ?  I thought ) This has to be the best hours entertainment I've had this week, and was worth travelling 5,000 miles to hear.

.

I wonder what happened to my 'friend' ?

.

Edited February 7 by br2975

[Happy Hippo]

10 minutes ago, br2975 said:

 

I wonder what happened to my 'friend' ?

.

He's probably living in Roath.

[Hroth]

11 minutes ago, br2975 said:

I wonder what happened to my 'friend' ?

 

He's awaiting the call from the Orange Plonker to Make America Great Again?