Early Risers.

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

Overcast and quite warm.

MiL may or may not be having some family members from another part of London over for afternoon tea. If they do arrive I will take Matthew over to meet them. Aditi will stay at home with Robbie. If MiL's visitors don't visit, we may take Robbie for a walk and visit to a pub. He is the sort of dog that would try to endear himself to other people with the "do you want to see my stitches? " look.

Tony

[roundhouse]

Morning.

 

I have lift back to the Freemo meet in a, short while so better get ready.

Finished a stock tray for us late friends CSX Difco side dump cars. Hopefully they will get a run today.

[andyram]

Morning all. Not a lot of sleep last night so feel quite tired. Generic greetings to all, but good to hear Chris is home and had a good time at the Sidmouth Folk Week. Andrew.C I hope you enjoy the second day of your Freemo event.

 

Sarah and I had an enjoyable meal at home last night - a fairly hot curry accompanied with a couple of glasses of wine. The latter was finished off whilst sat outside on the garden bench by the light (and warmth) from the wood burner. A very relaxing evening and much needed after the recent tensions. Apart from when we were in Somerset I think that is the first time I have truly managed to relax during this summer break. The constant emails and texts from the headteacher about one ongoing issue or another have not helped, a few even arrived during the week away.

Today has dawned sunny but very windy. I am off to watch the team play football this morning, picking up one of the team on the way. I won't be playing (at least I am not planning to) due to my ankle still offering some pain from the time I aggravated it on the last day of term.

Later this afternoon I will be helping Sarah with the marathon Avon book collection. Hopefully some modelling may follow later.

 

Enjoy your day.

[jamie92208]

Morning all from the village north of Ikea.  Cloud cover means a bit cooler than yesterday.  Church duties beckon and I've just taken the boass a coffee so morning orders may be posted soon.

 

Good to see Chrisf back amongst us.

Yesterday went well starting with a good breakfast at church, got home and a friend called and we sat out in the garden and nattered till lunchtime.   Then an afternoon/evening of watching events from Rio punctuated by nipping out to do ​modelling then nipping back in to watch more sport and check on the test match scores.   I managed to get quite a lot of stonework scribed and even checked the inside of my eyelids for half an hour.   Not a bad way to spend the day.

 

​Regards to all.

 

​Jamie

[edcayton]

Good morning all. Welcome back Chris, I wish I could have been there too.

 

Wheel changing. Most new cars come without a spare wheel now-there is often nowhere to put one. But what on earth was that man thinking of, stopping to "help" on the motorway? Quite apart from breaking the law, he placed his family at risk by leaving them in the car on the hard shoulder. The ONLY correct course of action is to get behind the barrier and call for help. You don't need to walk to the emergency phone any more, and the nearest 100m post will give your location to the emergency services. The first Police or Highways Authority vehicle along will almost certainly stop (and probably help a damsel in distress!), parking a large vehicle in a position to protect the broken down vehicle.

 

We were talking about reading the Highway Code recently, the "good Samaritan" clearly doesn't.

 

Ed

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

The sun is trying to shine and it's rather breezy. As long as it stays dry I don't mind as we're going into BBQ mode later with kids and their offspring visiting. I will of course be I/C meat, The Boss will of course know her place and do things in the kitchen with salad and stuff! 

Thanks for the loco suggestions Bill & Brian - I just need to conjure up some more tokens for the purchase thereof! Might have to wait a bit as there are one or two other (non railway) things needed.

Have a good one,

Bob.

Edited August 7, 2016 by grandadbob

[AndyID]

Good morning all. Welcome back Chris, I wish I could have been there too.

 

Wheel changing. Most new cars come without a spare wheel now-there is often nowhere to put one. But what on earth was that man thinking of, stopping to "help" on the motorway? Quite apart from breaking the law, he placed his family at risk by leaving them in the car on the hard shoulder. The ONLY correct course of action is to get behind the barrier and call for help. You don't need to walk to the emergency phone any more, and the nearest 100m post will give your location to the emergency services. The first Police or Highways Authority vehicle along will almost certainly stop (and probably help a damsel in distress!), parking a large vehicle in a position to protect the broken down vehicle.

 

We were talking about reading the Highway Code recently, the "good Samaritan" clearly doesn't.

 

Ed

 

When we lived in Arizona I was impressed that the driver's manual there teaches, in the event of a dust storm, drive as far off the highway as possible and turn off your lights.

[Ohmisterporter]

Morning all. Very windy here so my wife is not going to car boot sales today. That means she will be supervising my re-sealing the gap between bath and tiles that I managed to cock up yesterday. For some reason the sealant set too quickly and was going off before I could smooth it and it ended up lumpy in places,  which means it will have to be stripped out and redone. I watched a Youtube video of a chap sealing a bath and he made it look simple, which was partly due to him using a new bath with no taps fitted. When you are trying to get a smooth line around the back of the taps and cannot get your fingers in because the gap is too narrow that's when you need a clever dick on Youtube to show how it is done. Although he did say smooth the sealant with a bit of white spirit on your finger, never heard that before, I will give it a try.

 

Stay safe all.

[Tony_S]

Those YouTube DIY videos are quite helpful but I also remember watching my uncle who was a professional decorator "cut in" with a 12 inch emulsion "walloper" brush so sometimes skill and much practice helps too.

I think with mastic modern baths move a lot and put mastic under some strain. Some years ago I replaced the awful en-suite shower that seemed to need mastic every month. The replacement doesn't, as it is a resin stone shower base set on a mortar bed. Am I imagining some advice about filling the bath with water before applying mastic?

Tony

[Ohmisterporter]

 Am I imagining some advice about filling the bath with water before applying mastic?

Tony

 

That's the way to do it. If the sealant is put in with the bath empty it can stretch and break the seal when the bath is filled. I think this applies to glass fibre baths rather than cast iron which is unlikely to flex much whether full or empty. I am convinced this is why freestanding roll top baths became popular, no need to bother with sealing them to the tiles.

Edited August 7, 2016 by Ohmisterporter

[southern42]

Morning all from red dragon land.
Gorgeous summer's day yesterday.  Not a patch on that today.
 

A Song for Polly (and Julie Christie and Terence Stamp - know thy ’60’s)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-D9xcZgKX4


One of the best songs of the sixties.....

Sorry about the video but it had the best audio...


Best, Pete.

Pete.  Thanks for posting the video.  One of my favourites - I'll be singing it all day, now. 
Just made my day.  Being a Suvverner, those London shots brought back some happy memories, too.
Dreaming, now, of a steam tour from Waterloo for next year. One from Victoria booked for this year.  From Kings Cross in 2014.
Paddington - GWR livery HST 125 and Victoria - Class 377 on the cards, too - soon...!  Ah! You've noticed - not steam...there's fickle for you.
 

Youngest over this week "boom binging" for two local carnivals.
 
Yesterday, drove 1500 0-6-0T on passenger trains solo (without Ray sitting behind me, that is).  Great feeling.  Confidence boosted.
Hopefully, taking our own loco for a run this week - that'll be getting used to running at ground level and using injectors again.  Nah!      I'm not nervous... 
 
 
Penrhyn Quarry Railway open today...

Enjoy the rest of the weekend, all

.

Edited August 7, 2016 by southern42

[Tony_S]

Morning all from the borough of boring. A grand day out yesterday playing trains with a bunch of others Freemo style. Like Mr Roundhouse says, far more relaxed and to me more enjoyable than an exhibition. I think the main difference is the "exhibitors" are there to enjoy themselves and not be on stage as it were. Anyone can grab a train order and go to it.

Nice dinner afterwards at the pub literally next door. With 20 of us the poor girl serving was on her own with her mum in the kitchen. They did amazing to get everything out and correct with only a couple of last minute substitutions due to running out of a few things.

 

About to hop back on the M25 for day 2 of fun. Have a good one.

The Freemo type event does sound fun. When I was in a club we used to assemble the club modules and run trains or do some work on modules. Due to change of circumstances the location of the club had to change. This enabled the emphasis of club activity to become more exhibition orientated. I didn't enjoy that as much.

Tony

[Happy Hippo]

That's the way to do it. If the sealant is put in with the bath empty it can stretch and break the seal when the bath is filled. I think this applies to glass fibre baths rather than cast iron which is unlikely to flex much whether full or empty. I am convinced this is why freestanding roll top baths became popular, no need to bother with sealing them to the tiles.

That is a good tip.

 

Istr mentioning using cellulose thinners to do the same with epoxy resins some a long time back.

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all,

 

GDB to note that Kernow currently have a T9 in post-war black at £80.

 

Bit of rain overnight but reasonable outside now so we'll see what orders come forth from the management - and a third cuppa would be nice, I hear teapot & kettle noises from the kitchen so fingers are duly crossed.  Maybe i should also offer to eat up the bacon from the packet opened the other day?  But there should also be some leftover sausages in the fridge - ah ....

 

Good to see that Chris survived the rigours of a life under canvas in Sidmouth.

 

Have a good day one & all

[lightengine]

Morning all. Very windy here so my wife is not going to car boot sales today. That means she will be supervising my re-sealing the gap between bath and tiles that I managed to cock up yesterday. For some reason the sealant set too quickly and was going off before I could smooth it and it ended up lumpy in places,  which means it will have to be stripped out and redone. I watched a Youtube video of a chap sealing a bath and he made it look simple, which was partly due to him using a new bath with no taps fitted. When you are trying to get a smooth line around the back of the taps and cannot get your fingers in because the gap is too narrow that's when you need a clever dick on Youtube to show how it is done. Although he did say smooth the sealant with a bit of white spirit on your finger, never heard that before, I will give it a try.

 

Stay safe all.

Fill the bath as said previously.

I always dip my finger in water to smooth it off. Just keep dipping it in water and wiping any surplus sealant off onto some rag.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Pete, the way the engine of that car exploded suggests that it was running something more volatile than petrol. Perhaps that is why they wanted to examine the car as many such fuels are banned. Another tip I was told about is when applying sealant to a bath was to sit or kneel in the bath when doing so. Have a good day all, be back later.

[Happy Hippo]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Pete, the way the engine of that car exploded suggests that it was running something more volatile than petrol. Perhaps that is why they wanted to examine the car as many such fuels are banned. Another tip I was told about is when applying sealant to a bath was to sit or kneel in the bath when doing so. Have a good day all, be back later.

I prefer to stand in it,, half full of cold water topped up with mud.  Then use my tail to smooth the silicone into place.

 

(Tip: Use the brown silicone sold to seal in upvc window frames.  You then can't see any mould forming and, of course, it matches the mud.)

 

I must now adjourn to my workshop and tidy up the desk which has suddenly become a dumping ground.  Since it is a flat surface, I should expect it to be so used.

Edited August 7, 2016 by Happy Hippo

[Donw]

Those YouTube DIY videos are quite helpful but I also remember watching my uncle who was a professional decorator "cut in" with a 12 inch emulsion "walloper" brush so sometimes skill and much practice helps too.

I think with mastic modern baths move a lot and put mastic under some strain. Some years ago I replaced the awful en-suite shower that seemed to need mastic every month. The replacement doesn't, as it is a resin stone shower base set on a mortar bed. Am I imagining some advice about filling the bath with water before applying mastic?

Tony

 

A professional tiler advised me to half fill the bath with water before doing the tiles this takes up any movement in the bath fixings and gets the tiles nice and tight. Which means less sealant can be used to seal the gap. What you do not want to do is put a big bead of sealant on run a wet finger along it squashing sealant out along the bath and up the tiles. It always seems to attract the dirt and look grubby. What I try to do is to smooth the surface without squeezing it out.

 

Don

 

Incidentally if the bath does not seat well against the wall ( i.e plaster not flat or bath edge not straight ) I will put a bead of sealant tight down of the curved edge of the bath before tiling then run a thin bead along once tiled.  

Edited August 7, 2016 by Donw

[davefrk]

Morning all, just. I had the same problem with our bath and was told about a fancy bath seal that was in two pieces, one glued to the bath and the other glued to the wall, it had a tongue and groove arrangement that could move up and down but being a good fit didn't let any water pass, the water would need to climb up the 12mm tongue anyway. Still working ten years later and no more marks on the kitchen ceiling, only thing is, madam is on about a new bathroom suite, the old one is only 28 years old but it's coloured....

 

Dave Franks.

[The Stationmaster]

On Friday evening we heard a sort of barking-bellowing noise in the garden - turned out to be a muntjac.  Same again most of Saturday during the day and again this morning - the same again but a while back the noise stopped.  On his return from breakfasting at 'spoons laddo noticed we had two muntjac in the front garden - so obviously the noise worked and attracted a pal, ran like a rocket when it saw the camera. 

[grandadbob]

I always put a drop of washing up liquid in the water before dipping finger to smooth mastic.

[JohnDMJ]

Belated greetings!

 

Have taken Vodafone's advice and been to their local shop. Their reaction: Waaaat? After some 40 minutes on the 'phone to various of their help desks he tells me to expect an email in the next 72 hours to say that it's been sorted! Welcome back to the surreal world, ChirsF; sounds like, apart from nearly drowning on Monday, you had a good time in a potentially more real one!

 

Morning all.
Overcast and quite warm.
MiL may or may not be having some family members from another part of London over for afternoon tea. If they do arrive I will take Matthew over to meet them. Aditi will stay at home with Robbie. If MiL's visitors don't visit, we may take Robbie for a walk and visit to a pub. He is the sort of dog that would try to endear himself to other people with the "do you want to see my stitches? " look.
Tony

 

In the event of the latter, don't forget some slops in his bowl, Tony , that should calm him down!

[bluebottle]

I seem to have "accidentally" turned onto women's beach volleyball at the Olympics.

 

I may be awhile before I go to bed......................

 

Cheers,

Mick

 

Perchance to dream...

[Tony_S]

 

 

 

In the event of the latter, don't forget some slops in his bowl, Tony , that should calm him down!

Robbie didn't get taken to the pub. We had a nice lunch at home. I am just about to drive Matthew over to MiL's house to meet the relatives. Aditi seems keen to stay at home with Robbie and relax in the garden!

Tony

[The Stationmaster]

I think I've now got the muntjac worked out.  The noise of Friday and yesterday was I'd assumed an effort to find a friend, or perhaps a mate.  A bit of checking on the 'net indicates that the one making all the racket was indeed a female - and the one that has turned up today is a male which suggests the lady might well have been looking for romance.  I wonder if our back garden is big enough and wild enough for us to hear the patter of tiny hooves in seven months time?

 

Neighbours over the road have put their house on the letting market as he has a temporary job in Scotland starting soon - lots of fancy pictures on the 'net.  I suppose that if we ever came to rent out ours we would simply say 'comes with menagerie' or 'ideal for observing wildlife'?

Edited August 7, 2016 by The Stationmaster