The Night Mail

[pH]

There’s a series started on ‘public’ TV here called “Trains at War”. It’s about railways in WW2 only. The first two episodes have dealt with Operation Barbarossa (the German attack on Russia) and the Battle of Britain (titled in the program schedule as the “Battle of England”!!).
 

Interesting programs but, obviously, a shortage of film taken at the time. So all sorts of clips of steam engines used, taken from various sources. Thus there were e.g. quite a few shots of French locos (not 141Rs) purporting to be in southern England.

 

The best, though, was the clip shown behind the description of Lenin’s embalmed body being removed to Siberia as German forces neared Moscow. Apparently, the train carrying the body was headed by a GWR Castle. Who knew?

 

Edited March 23 by pH

[AndyID]

4 hours ago, pH said:

 

The best, though, was the clip shown behind the description of Lenin’s embalmed body being removed to Siberia as German forces neared Moscow. Apparently, the train carrying the body was headed by a GWR Castle. Who knew?

 

 

Re-gauged no doubt.

 

[Willie Whizz]

So Brunel was right, but just by too big a margin!

[Winslow Boy]

3 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

Re-gauged no doubt.

 

I think the fact that they got the Battle of Britain wrong should have been a good indicator that research wasn't there strongest influence. I'm surprised they didn't include a few dinosaurs because they were around right up to 1930's weren't they.

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, Winslow Boy said:

I think the fact that they got the Battle of Britain wrong should have been a good indicator that research wasn't there strongest influence. I'm surprised they didn't include a few dinosaurs because they were around right up to 1930's weren't they.

According to my kids one is typing this reply. 

 

Jamie

[Winslow Boy]

3 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

According to my kids one is typing this reply. 

 

Jamie

I rest my case M'Lord.

[Hroth]

15 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

I watched 'Beyond Paradise' earlier this evening, FYI it was filmed on the Dart Valley Railway and featured GWR Prairie 5527.

 

I've recorded it for "later". How risible was the plot?

 

[AndyID]

Not just hippos.

 

https://news.yahoo.com/lifestyle/-whales-drop-giant-poop-204925781.html

[SM42]

Hello from a soggy Poznan. 

 

Arrived about an hour ago, but our trip didn't start well. 

 

We hadn't gone 10 miles when Highways England sprung the first surprise by closing the M5 south to M42 east link but not mentioning it till the cones started at the junction. 

 

Had I known earlier I could have used the A38 rather than the M5, something I eventually did from Droitwich. 

 

Ghent was the next problem with another closed slip road involving an 8 mile leap of faith and following the sat nav back the way we came, hoping that I could get back on course for Antwerp. 

 

Fortunately we could. 

 

In total we have driven around an extra 24 miles to normal. 

 

The Germans still have border checks in place, but the queue was only about a mile long, so hopefully won't be too bad on our return when most of Europe is enjoying a public holiday (less trucks I hope)

 

Meanwhile beer no 1 has been consumed accompanied by a sandwich and I could probably use a nap right now  

 

Andy

Feeling a little jaded 

[polybear]

22 minutes ago, AndyID said:

Not just hippos.

 

https://news.yahoo.com/lifestyle/-whales-drop-giant-poop-204925781.html

 

If 30 Killer Whales were chasing Bear I'd sh1tmeself too......

[J. S. Bach]

One of the comments about the whales' actions:

 

 "Everybody was flung poo fighting"

[pH]

8 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

I think the fact that they got the Battle of Britain wrong should have been a good indicator that research wasn't there strongest influence.

Nothing to do with research. To many people in North America, UK/GB/England are completely interchangeable terms. It can really tick off those of us who came from UK/GB, but not England.

[Dave Hunt]

19 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

I watched 'Beyond Paradise' earlier this evening, FYI it was filmed on the Dart Valley Railway and featured GWR Prairie 5527.

 

I missed that because I'm not a fan of horror movies.

 

Dave

[Dave Hunt]

A quiet day for me today as I've picked up a snotfest bug (not Wuflu) so I've spent most of the day in an easy chair wrapped in a blanket imbibing Lemsips and such and watching TV. At least there was some rugby on and I rather enjoyed watching Saracens demolish Harlequins. I just hope that the lurgy has cleared up by the time I'm due to go in to hospital a week on Tuesday for my spine operation 😟.

 

Dave 

[AndyID]

46 minutes ago, pH said:

Nothing to do with research. To many people in North America, UK/GB/England are completely interchangeable terms. It can really tick off those of us who came from UK/GB, but not England.

 

Not just North America. On one occasion a very English taxi driver in Oxford asked me if I'd had a rough crossing on the ferry coming over from Scotland 🤣

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[pH]

1 hour ago, AndyID said:

 

Not just North America. On one occasion a very English taxi driver in Oxford asked me if I'd had a rough crossing on the ferry coming over from Scotland 🤣

Possible if it was Scotland to Scotland. For example:

 

- Utter He-brides to the mainland

- Dunoon to Gourock

- Yoker to Renfrew

 

or, in former times

 

- Partick to Govan

- Old Kirkpatrick to Erskine

 

Etc., etc. …

😁

Edited March 23 by pH

[PhilJ W]

2 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

One of the comments about the whales' actions:

 

 "Everybody was flung poo fighting"

[PhilJ W]

5 hours ago, Hroth said:

 

I've recorded it for "later". How risible was the plot?

 

It involved an amateur acting group playing a murder mystery where the 'victim' is actually murdered (on the train).

[Tony_S]

3 hours ago, SM42 said:

I could get back on course for Antwerp. 

I was rather pleased I had registered my car with Antwerp’s version of ULEZ as we got diverted off the motorway into the city on our way home from Germany a few years ago. 

[AndyID]

13 minutes ago, pH said:

Possible if it was Scotland to Scotland. For example:

 

- Utter He-brides to the mainland

- Dunoon to Gourock

- Yoker to Renfrew

 

or, in former times

 

- Partick to Govan

- Old Kirkpatrick to Erskine

 

Etc., etc. …

😁

 

I went to school in Paisley with a guy who lived in Renfrew who had never been further North than  Yoker :)

 

I was born at home in Renfrew. My mum used to put my oldest brother in the pram and walk down to the ferry. She bought a ticket and sat on the ferry for an hour or two while it chugged back and forward across the river. 😄
 

[AndyID]

I've also been congratulated here for speaking pretty good English :)

[Dave Hunt]

1 hour ago, AndyID said:

 

Not just North America. On one occasion a very English taxi driver in Oxford asked me if I'd had a rough crossing on the ferry coming over from Scotland 🤣

 

Well, the Tweed can be quite rough at times.

 

Dave

[Dave Hunt]

3 minutes ago, AndyID said:

I've also been congratulated here for speaking pretty good English :)

 

My Dad was once told by a New York cab driver that, "For a foreigner you speak pretty good English."

[Northmoor]

A lot of people's knowledge of their own country's geography, let another another's, is pretty dismal.  My wife watches "House of Games" every night and the round ("Where is Kazakhstan") where contestants stick a pin in the map for a given location, shows how this even afflicts people like TV presenters and stand-up comedians, who you would think had travelled the country and so might know where some landmarks and famous locations are?

 

Mind you, Bill Bryson wrote that British people believe all other countries fall into three categories: the USA and Canada which are just off the coast of Ireland, some European countries which are all lined up about 20 miles off the English coast, while all others are entirely fictional or can only be reached by spaceship.