RMweb Premium southern42 Posted December 20, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 20, 2015 Cake out of the oven, the best ever. Got it right, at last! Only taken 40 years! Smells good. Hope the inside is as good as it looks. Marzipan tomorrow. Icing Monday or Tuesday...or...depending on what the rest of the week throws up but for now... ' Night all. Pleasant dreams. 17 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Gwiwer Posted December 20, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 20, 2015 depending on what the rest of the week throws up but for now... Oi!!! No throwing up this side of Christmas. And definitely NOT in the ER room Sleep well. I'm off for another hot day under the Great Tin Roof. Only 39C today! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Gwiwer Posted December 20, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 20, 2015 Just checked the weather reports. It was 32C overnight. No wonder a 1am swim went down so well!!!!! Can't beat jumping off the train onto the beach. Then jumping off the pier (having first checked it was safe to do so ) into the water 16 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two_sugars Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 (edited) I went guitar shopping with my mate today. . .He bought an Epiphone dot. . . . An absolutely beautiful instrument (SSSHHH! . .I bought an electro classical for lees than he paid!) So, of course, we had to give them "what fettle" tonight in my kitchen . . .We are both happy chappies. . . .I even had another couple of bottles of Ba! Humbug!!!!! . . . This could get to be a habit! Goodnight Everyone. . . Sweet Dreams. . . . John. Edited December 20, 2015 by Two_sugars 19 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium NGT6 1315 Posted December 20, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 20, 2015 Mawnin' awl. Up for about an hour already. At least a calm Sunday beckons! Reading the comments on the Penlee tragedy and the loss of the Derbyshire, and remembering our recent North Sea vacation where we experienced a late autumn storm ourselves, I am in full agreement that even with all technology to assist sailors at sea in this age, nature as a whole and the sea in particular are best taken seriously indeed. I certainly share the deepest respect for maritime rescue crews everywhere on the globe, and the admiration for the tremendous courage they show in heading out when everyone else would prefer to literally batten down the hatches. The Derbyshire tragedy also reminded me of how in December 1978, on our about the 13th, the German LASH carrier München was lost in a severe storm in the North Atlantic – possibly struck by a rogue wave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisf Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Good morning one and all I survived Panic Saturday, as I believe some know it. By good fortune the occasional promotions at a health food store extended to wheat germ so two kg packs of that flaky substance are now safely gathered in, having between them almost filled my backpack. The chief goal was a pair of braces. I splashed out on a pair in rich maroon. How closely it colour-matches with the shade applied to an LMS Period 3 SO currently awaiting works attention I cannot say. Also garnered was a new pair of slippers and a bargain pack of long socks, which takes up less space in the suitcase than the equivalent number in ball form. Now there is only one item of shopping left, ie lottery tickets. Giving as much to charity as I do through the intermediary of Camelot should make me feel smug and self-righteous but it doesn't. A win once in a while would be nice but always remember, good friends, that he who expects nothing is rarely disappointed. Amid the cards that arrived yesterday was one from a friend who has never sent me a card before. He had inscribed it most thoughtfully and I was most touched by both the sentiment and the deed. It is the sort of thing that should happen at this time of year but does so rarely. How inadequate and how knee-jerk was the immediate reaction of despatching an e-mail to express my thanks! I have not mentioned Poorly Pal for a while. We spoke on the phone yesterday. All is not well but does seem to be improving. Climbing back up from what appears to have been a nervous breakdown will be a long job, calling for much patience on his part and that of his friends. Again, there is something about this time of the year which makes the travails of others that much more noticeable and does not sit too well with comfort and joy. Jock, whether the six hours available will be enough to make much of a dent in the task of putting the world to rights is debatable but I'm sure that Flavio and I will have a good go. Exploring Brig for a suitable venue will be fun. I recall a restaurant, but not its location, which serves antelope. No thanks! Watch out for something seasonal tomorrow. Until then, good health to all who need it. Chris 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Barry O Posted December 20, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 20, 2015 Up early as her indoors has decided we need a mug of tea. Nuff said! Have a great Day everyone. Tree is full of baubles and lights, apparently I have to put up the cards today. May chance a walk to the pub for a pint at lunchtime. But then again..... I detect that management UK style in the rail sector is turning to rat sh1t. Too many people being promoted and paid too much for not being very good. Unfortunately that seems to be the way things are today. Baz 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted December 20, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 20, 2015 (edited) Morning all. Occasional strong gusts of wind outside then it all goes all for a while. Up early setting both the slide and the negative scanners to work. A tunnel motor on the test track being added to the JMRI roster. Plenty of jobs to do today. No train travel at all today. Edited December 20, 2015 by roundhouse 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDolfelin Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 The empty place. A little symbolism this morning. There are many empty places at the festive board and, as it is such an important time for family, their absence is even more noticable. Something we all have to deal with and it's not easy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDolfelin Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 DD, it's good to read that Annie was in such good spirits. I'm surprised you haven't had a comment on the guitar images from Pete (trisonic) or Stewart, our resident guitarists - do you play yourself? (careful!). Yes, Jock - I can manage to finger pluck Fur Elise if given a day or two! (being careful). No - I could earn a good living by folk paying me to stop. SWMBO is a gold medal standard pianist so the incentive isn't there to be the musical one in our household. 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 (edited) Sorry have been rather busy... I liked the photos in DD’s post particularly the bass in the middle - which looked like an original Fender Precision from 1951 - 56, difficult to tell because of the hats! There have been many later production lookalikes. I’m assuming it’s real as his friend could purchase a recent Rickenbacker - which are Pro instruments and most definitely NOT cheap. Nice bass collection. I understand ChrisF asked me a question - but I can’t find it! Chris please repeat and I’ll answer if I can.... In haste, Pete. Edited December 20, 2015 by trisonic 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted December 20, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 20, 2015 Morning all from the village that never really got light yesterday. I managed to get some modelling done yesterday as you will see from my layout thread but SWMBO was not pleased about ne doing it in the dining room However everything was tidied up and put away. She has ended up inviting all the family for dinner on Friday. There will be 14 of us for dinner on Friday which is making for a certain level of stress. Apparently I'm not competent to assist with most of these arrangements. Anyway there is a busy day at church to contend with, with the morning service and then the carol service this evening. I might get some modelling done at some point. To everyone else I hope the day goes well. Jamie 14 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71 Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 (edited) Morning all, Got some sleep last night but busy again today, got round to putting up the Christmas tree and placing the lights on it so that Joanna and little Freddie could 'dress it'. A great investment in the January sales over 25 years ago - Debenhams had it priced at over £120, and I paid less than half that! Previously we'd paid over £20 per annum for the type of 'real' one that don't drop their spines. Most visitors over the years have commented on how good it looks! Had another 'play' with Harvey when we dropped his brother Freddie home - he seems to have bounced back remarkably. Apologies if some of my comments relate to older posts, but at least I've now caught up. Chris, how lovely to read that you and Flavio are going to get together and doubtless puttting the world to rights. Seriously, I would like to wish you 'bon voyage' and hope you thoroughly enjoy your break. Rick, thanks for the bulletin on the current weather where you live. I believe I've only been that hot a couple of times, and one of those was out in the Sahara. I simply don't think I'd like to work in that heat. You and Lisa P4 have certainly opened my eyes to the level of adaptation required by those emigrating from the UK. Jamie, how nice to read that Tony was in such good spirits despite all that ails him. You truly have shown once again, what a loyal and true friend you are. I admire him and look on him as an inspiration - he certainly does more modelling than I do, despite his disability. I'm only sorry that I can't come to your Lancaster extravaganza to meet you both. Dom, lovely night images, the second one with the reflections is exceptional! Baz, terribly sorry to read about 'youngest herbert's employment woes. There really isn't a good time for this to happen, but Christmas always seems worse. Hopefully he will find something very soon that is an improvement, and he can then salute his old company in true Churchillian manner! Mick B, that lot in Wrexham hardly showed what could be called a Christian attitude? Sorry to hear about your cold/flu - however trivial you might say it is, it still makes you feel miserable! Mal, I'm sorry to hear of the loss of your cherished pet - I very much like the idea of the family meeting for memorial drinks, it's a lovely idea, a time to reflect on all the joy you've had. Perhaps your time with Gabe's sister and brother-in-law will take your mind off things in the meantime. Ian and Sherry, glad to see you've landed safely. Lovely picture of Cooper, that left paw looks like he could deliver a left hook like 'Enry's Ammer'. I hope Alison managed to keep the equine crowd in good shape during your absence. DD, it's good to read that Annie was in such good spirits. I'm surprised you haven't had a comment on the guitar images from Pete (trisonic) or Stewart, our resident guitarists - do you play yourself? (careful!). Brian (BSW01), thanks for braving the weather to capture the steam pics, you can almost smell it! Andy (the leopard), really good to hear from you, however briefly. I hope your absence has been due to playing with old buses and trams, rather than suffering illness? Dave (TG), that looks like one seriously relaxed lady pictured in the church. How lovely that 'Is' managed to walk so far, can we take it that she has shaken off the worst of the effects of the infection now? Neil (NHN), it looked really good at Groundle Glen in your photographs - nice to see the customers smiling. Did Deb's get roped in again this weekend? Have you planned anything for Christmas that involves Jayne? You must have felt very lucky indeed to have 'missed' the MV Derbyshire disaster, but no doubt the loss of so many workmates must have been an awful experience. I still find it hard to believe that any storm was capable of destroying such a massive vessel. You, of course, have no doubt endured heavier seas than I've experienced and I suppose we should never underestimate the power of nature, especially an angry sea! Best wishes for improvement in health for those that need it, and I hope Sunday is enjoyed by all, Kind regards, Jock. G'night Pete! G'night insomniacs! Mornin' Jock, Is is over the infection now and returning to circulation as the chemo effects lessen. Her operation site is delicate so we avoid any gatherings of people in number to help avoid her getting knocked. Re-building muscle tone and getting more normality back into her life are my current objectives. Dave Edited December 20, 2015 by Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold grandadbob Posted December 20, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 20, 2015 Good morning all, Seems to be dry outside and a bright and breezy day forecast with some heavy showers later. Tea taken to The Boss who has decided (unusually) to stay in bed and read for a while. Today I will be trying to relay a small section of track which up until now has performed faultlessly but now seems intent on derailing some of my stock at one particular joint. Most things sail over it but most is not good enough. Never mind - one of these days everything will work perfectly and I'll have nothing to whinge about! Talking of whinging it seems that yet again the Lottery jackpot has not been won. If I was really cynical I might believe that something is afoot and that some sort of skulduggery is happening. Have a good one, Really Cynical of Sutton. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iL Dottore Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 (edited) Morning All, Bad news for youngest herbert - he now needs a new job. Merry Christmas from Hein-i-can.. not..... Being from a mining background I am not sure about Kellingley - it was said that geologically it was the "wrong way round" due to local fault lines etc. The nearest faces are one and a half hours travel from the pit head so it makes the process far less productive no matter what the miners do. On a personal note I hope that they keep the head gear etc in moth balls as you never know when we may just need it again. Baz Sorry to hear about your young sprog, being made redundant is never pleasant (I speak from experience, I am now on redundancy number 3). It's bad enough when one is made redundant due to mergers and takeovers (redundancies number one and two) but pretty bad when a few better decisions by the owner could have prevented the company from sinking (redundancy number 3). At least the youngest herbert has the advantage of being both young and cheap (not meant but in a positive way. I am quite old, have > 30 years experience in my chosen profession and I am very expensive compared to an relatively inexperienced youngster - so I get a lot of job application rejections, even though I could do the applied for job with my eyes closed and with one hand tied behind my back...). You make a very good point about mothballing the mining equipment, but thinking ahead is NOT something the English have excelled at lately. e.g. Even if there was a true case for Beeching to close down so much of the railway infrastructure (and I have read that some of the data that was collected that supported Beeching's [and the government's] decision to close was very, very dodgy indeed), then one would have thought (using made up examples) that if It cost £10,000 to build It costs £600 to run Earnings are £580 It looses £20/assessment period Then they should have calculated: It would cost £700 to tear up it would cost £70 to mothball There will be population growth in certain areas in the future (this being the difficult thing to "guesstimate") To replace (if torn up) at any future point would cost X x £10,000 - where X is a multiplier based on cost of a replacement item vs cost of original item Had they mothballed a lot (but not all) of the 1963 closures, then reopening them as places around London (and elsewhere) mushroomed would have cost a fraction of the costs of building the line again. ...Our 18-year old petite black cat, Molly, died this morning, so we're all a little sad here, remembering the good times. She really was a part of the family and such a joy to have around. Think it's hit the kids hardest because she was a part of their childhoods. She wasn't too well last month but really went downhill the last two or three days, off her food, really tired. The vet told us this morning that she had acute kidney failure. We'll have a family get together next week to remember her and all of the happiness she brought to us.... Sorry to hear that Mal. Still 18 years is good going and it does sound that the end was fast and painless - an ending that I think we all would want: for ourselves, our loved ones and our pets. Evening allNot had much time to inspect RMweb today, but we had a reasonable overnight and were safely home by midday. The vessel was not one of the usual ones. When did you last use a ferry with a swimming pool? So dinner was a bit pricier, much to Sherry's disgust. We simply don't need 4 courses. Plymouth - St Malo is not a regular run, either, really. The next sailing is in March!I have now got Cooper back from Mme Blanchard's cattery. He seems to have charmed her as he does everyone. He still has the collar on and is unimpressed with that, but is purring a lot. His stitches come out tomorrow.image.jpeg Good God, Ian. If that is Cooper when he's happy, I wouldn't want to see him angry. His expression is such that it appears he is thinking that he'd scratch out your eyes and disembowel you just for fun and then claw off your nadgers for an encore. That is a seriously tough looking moggie! Thought it might be time to refer to the Humbug celebrations. First pic. is a Christmas Line-up including a couple of Fenders. Festive lineuprmw.jpg My friend's present to himself. A lovely Bass sound on this even to my ear. A Rickenbacker. Rickenbacker2rmw.jpg Went out to lunch with Annie and her husband today. A great laugh! Is that a short scale Rickenbacker bass? I've never been much of a Rickenbacker fan, being more a Gibson and Fender bloke, but I've always wanted a Rickenbacker 330/12 for that jangly Byrds/Tom Petty sound. Has anyone else received cards with a slit in one side of the envelope? We had one today with a slit about two inches long on one edge, just long enough to look inside and check for banknotes. As the card was from a friend whom we knew would not send money we didn't bother about it but our daughter called this evening and said she had had a similar slit envelope from her aunt and thought there was a good chance that money had been taken from the card. Obviously there is no likelyhood of retrieving any money but we should all be on the lookout for this sort of action and contact the relevant authorities. Perhaps they keep tally on how many such incidents they get, though I am not over optimistic about that. Has anyone ever received compensation for such a loss? On a personal note I would never send cash through the post without it being tracked and signed for. Stay safe all. How the hell would anyone find time, during the Christmas rush, to carefully slit and check envelopes for cash? If they did it during the shift, surely they would get caught? likewise if they stayed after the working day to sort through the most likely targets, surely this would be noticed and - at the very least - brought to the attention of senior Postal Authorities (or is it considered "someone else's problem" by anyone who notices?). So, I recently treated myself to the Hakone Tozan Railway 2000 Series… (Photo by toshinori baba, CC licence) …and 3000 Series units by Tomix… (Photo by Cassiopeia Sweet, public domain) …and one of the Toden Arakawa Line 8800 Series trams by Modemo, all in N scale. (Photo by Kunio Horikiri, CC-BY-SA licence) Those models will probably arrive after Christmas, but I felt like I had to reward myself a bit for the things I accomplished this year. Woah, those are realistic models! The Japanese make some very beautiful N gauge models. I bought a Tomix boxed set as a souvenir of my visit to Tokyo and it is absolutely exquisite. You must post photos of the models when they arrive. That was the trouble with all our family's dogs (all Heinz loo brushes - except one, an abandoned Doberman in E Africa - and all strays) - no matter how much you put yourself out for them, it was NEVER enough.They'd all look at you with "is that all?"After walks/stick throwing/food/tickles on the tum/rides in the car...dh Ain't that the truth. Schotty, our Border Collie mix, could run after a thrown ball for hours on end and until he drops from exhaustion (that dog has a serious ball addiction!). Lucy is somewhat less demanding, but still requires attention (and like the females of all species, demands attention at the most inconvenient moments). Still, I wouldn't have it otherwise... Jock, glad to hear about the good news regarding Beth's health. One less thing for you to worry about, thank goodness. With everyone mended/on the mend, let's hope that your Christmas this year will be incredibly unremarkable and unexciting (for good reasons). Interesting comments about HR and current management. I have heard the saying "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach. And those who can do neither go into human resources". And I think that it is very much a truism (at least the last part). I have lost count of the number of times where I have applied for a position that matches item by item my experience only to be informed by HR (IF they bother to reply at all) that my "experience does not match the job profile". So either the HR person is incompetent or following an unofficial guideline (as it would be illegal to officially discriminate) of "no old people" - probably both. As for management, I think that - unfortunately - the business world has been swamped by a combination of Political Correctness and management incompetence masked by the use of "buzz words", acronyms and poorly designed processes to be used instead of one's brain. Were I to have my own company, anyone using terms such as "low hanging fruit", "granularity" or nouns as verbs would be shown the door pretty quickly1. All English used in documentation would be British English and vistors would be offered a choice of white or black coffee. Tattoos would need to be covered by clothing and if a candidate could set off an airport metal detector whilst walking through it naked, they may be invited to apply elsewhere (although the latter is open for discussion). God, I love being an old curmudgeon. And on that note, have a great Sunday iD 1 Any additional suggestions for so-called "business" speak that should be binned would be most interesting to read - get posting Edited December 20, 2015 by iL Dottore 15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted December 20, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 20, 2015 Early start today, off to london for 3 days, kids bouncing off the wall already and we have 3 1/2 hours on a train yet, a london midland stopper via stoke, cheapest way there, £30 return for the 4 of us advance booking with a family railcard, cant knock that at all, wifes birthdaybon tuesday so this is her present Staying in wembley premier inn, it overlooks the stadium out front and wembley park station out back, hoping for a front view though Got lots planned with our merlin passes, tussauds, london eye, sea life, shrek adventure and they want to try and find danger mouse' house on baker st (basically a post box on a corner), hopefully we can go and see a show on the tuesday too, wicked or charlie and the chocolate factory all depends on the price once the discounted tickets go on sale tomorrow morning, going to avoid oxford st but my wife does want a ride on the top of a london bus to see the lights 18 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDolfelin Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Is that a short scale Rickenbacker bass? I've never been much of a Rickenbacker fan, being more a Gibson and Fender bloke, but I've always wanted a Rickenbacker 330/12 for that jangly Byrds/Tom Petty sound. I have no idea, Doc. I just took the pictures. What I do know is they are original Fenders and not copies and the Ricky is brand spankers. The acoustics are probably of good quality. The owner was, until last month, a director of one of the largest building companies in the UK. If one gave him a Chinese guitar for Christmas he'd probably light the woodburner with it. Also, they've just made the last payment on their £2,700 a month (!) mortgage so there is spare cash too. Good to see you posting - good luck sorting the wheat from the chaff in the employment stable. Merry Christmas if you don't get back on here. 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold grandadbob Posted December 20, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 20, 2015 Enjoy your break Jim. Sounds like you'll see more of London in 3 days than I have in the last 10 years and I only live 11 miles from Charing Cross! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisf Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 I do not plan to take a long car journey between now and my departure for Switzerland. If I did, I would fish out my CD copy of Phil Spector's 1963 album featuring such interchangeable acts as the Crystals, the Ronettes, Darlene Love and Bob B Soxx and the Blue Jeans. For an album that came out 52 years ago it has endured well after the unpromising start of having been released on the day of JFK's assassination. I do have a vinyl copy as well. It cost me £1.40, which is stupidly little for an import on the Philles label. Feel free to comment, Pete Trisonic. Found it, Pete! Chris 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDolfelin Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Enjoy your break Jim. Sounds like you'll see more of London in 3 days than I have in the last 10 years and I only live 11 miles from Charing Cross! I would advise cutting that schedule in half! I don't know anything about the cards mentioned but it sounds like a very costly venture to me. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium southern42 Posted December 20, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 20, 2015 Chrisf. "Also garnered was a new pair of slippers and a bargain pack of long socks." You mean, you don't receive these as Ch***tmas presents? Zheesh! ' Morning all. Misty moisty morning giving way to blue sky. I wonder how long it'll last. Washing up to do now. New (faulty) dishwasher being replaced, tomorrow! At least it's before Ch***tmas. Hope none of you get any wobblers thrown up today. Best wishes Polly 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Barry O Posted December 20, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 20, 2015 Rick looks nice in Melbourne now that it stopped raining. The view from the sky camera above the MCG is very nice... just wish we were there in person rather than via the TV! Il Dottore - agree in full ref HR transpires the "lots of jobs on offer" was 1 and the person who has got it has worked for the company for 6 years so the redundancy would be higher. Plus they have screwed up the redundancy offer any way - seems he may be seeing my very goo HR litigation lawyer. Shame really but they are very definitely not the most organised company in the world - just like so many others! Baz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
emt_911 Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Morning all. Another good nights sleep and now I feel like carp. Not a lot to do today getting ready for a short week. Have a good day everyone 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDolfelin Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Hope none of you get any wobblers thrown up today. Is it OK if I have at least a tremble? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold grandadbob Posted December 20, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 20, 2015 (edited) I would advise cutting that schedule in half! I don't know anything about the cards mentioned but it sounds like a very costly venture to me. I think the annual Merlin pass covers all those attractions. (and a few others) Edited December 20, 2015 by grandadbob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now