Early Risers.

[Smiffy2]

Still can't find the ballast but I've had a brainwave. I'm going for a short train ride later to Tooting to Jane's Trains. I've never been there but I seem to remember that Dick (Smiffy) speaks quite highly of them.

You never know, I might see something else there to buy as well as ballast. (assuming of course that they stock it 'cos I can't find it on their website)     

Easy parking at Lidl opposite, but you have to buy something to get free parking. I always buy the nuts, excellent quality and value.

[grandadbob]

Mission aborted.

Got to station at 11.35 12 minutes early for the 11.47 to find it wasn't coming until 12.03

OK I thought - I'll wait.

11 minutes later it was cancelled.

Next one due 12.17 and then that was going to be late. I decided not to wait for that to be cancelled, gave up and came home because Mrs GDB was making up some fresh soup and I thought that was a better idea because I knew that she would get that on the table on time.

Edited October 18, 2016 by grandadbob

[grandadbob]

Ha Dick, just been discussing that with The Boss so she's going in there while I go to Jane's tomorrow.

[Happy Hippo]

Not sure what else I'll do today but I'm going to enjoy it. 

Do not, under any circumstances buy or even borrow the Neil Parkhust books on the Forest of Dean and surrounding area.

 

Br2975 warned my I would not be able to put them down, and since i bought them on Sunday, it is very difficult not to resist their siren call.

 

Should you delve into these books, then LGE will be ripped up and demolished quicker than The Stationmaster could say 'Swindon'  or Captain Kernow could shout 'Sausage', and a new Midland line based in the FoD would be the only outcome.

[br2975]

Do not, under any circumstances buy or even borrow the Neil Parkhust books on the Forest of Dean and surrounding area.

 

Br2975 warned my I would not be able to put them down, and since i bought them on Sunday, it is very difficult not to resist their siren call.

 

 

 

"....... told you so !........"

.

Brian R

[jamie92208]

Do not, under any circumstances buy or even borrow the Neil Parkhust books on the Forest of Dean and surrounding area.

 

Br2975 warned my I would not be able to put them down, and since i bought them on Sunday, it is very difficult not to resist their siren call.

 

Should you delve into these books, then LGE will be ripped up and demolished quicker than The Stationmaster could say 'Swindon'  or Captain Kernow could shout 'Sausage', and a new Midland line based in the FoD would be the only outcome.

I must have had the vaccine at some point Richard. Paul (5050) of this parish gave a very good talk about the FoD railways a few months ago and is now building a layout based on a small part of it I the clubrooms. I thoroughly enjoyed the talk and learned a lot about an area that I knew nothing about. However at the moment I've not got any settled plans for my next layout. However I did buy the Oakwood Press book about the Waterloo and City. Could I produce some etches for the Bulleid era stock!!!!!!! Stanley Ferry with Tom Puddings setting off across the fields on 8 wheel transporters has a certain appeal.

 

Jamie

[The Stationmaster]

When I had the Astra exhaust done two weeks ago it was replaced all the way back from the manifold, so it was both front and back boxes plus a new flexible coupling.  Cost me £184 at our local tyre and exhaust centre. They did offer to put the original front box back on as it 'wasn't too bad', and if I'd agreed it would have been a bit cheaper.

 

What car does Laddo have, A Porsche?

 

Or is that darn sarth prices?

 

Nah, he's got a Fiat Punto - hence 'Fiat type spares' prices plus it was Slowfit and they no doubt saw him coming (he's not mechanically minded, at all - but he's learning signalboxes on the Great Cockrow so you never know!).

 

BTW the day has improved - mushrooms for brunch and a trip to Pangbourne now being openly mentioned.

[grandadbob]

Well the s(o)uper soup has been supped and jolly nice it was too. (butternut squash and sweet potato neither of which I particularly like but it was actually s(o)uperb!)

 

There are some home made scones and mince pies left over from the weekend.  I feel an (even) bigger midriff bulge coming on later with my afternoon cup of Rosie, especially as there is a large tub of extra thick cream left as well.  Now where did I put the jam? Hopefully not with the missing ballast.  

Edited October 18, 2016 by grandadbob

[Ian Abel]

Morning, I think <yawn> <groan>

 

I really do HATE travelling to Long Island and the dungeon client.

I doubt there is any route "IN THE WORLD" where they can consistently cock-up the scheduled departure so regularly!

 

Last evenings effort (and I'd tracked the plane all the way back from it's FIRST flight of the day), should have been a non-event, there was no serious weather anywhere, no stated delays other than a slightly tardy departure of the equipment from Bermuda for its first leg to Boston in the morning.

 

SOMEHOW, the Bermuda -> Boston leg went slightly t!ts-up (reasons unknown). Boston -> Minneapolis went TOTALLY PEARSHAPED, and the result was that even at 3PM yesterday the 7:40 departure was delayed to 8:10.

Not THAT bad I noted (foolish boy). Time Jemma dropped me at the airport I got a text as I walked to the gate stating another 30 minutes added to the delay.

Sitting at the GATE, when the inbound finally arrived, I had the same expression as our two pilots waiting to take us to JFK - "um, that Airbus(A319) looks kinda funny, must be the NEW variety with engines on the tail"

Swift announcement of a GATE CHANGE (no SH!T SHERLOCK) - 3/4 mile walk from one end of the airport to the other, and the inbound is STILL delayed/not there - I think they decided to do a tour of Canada for the passengers enjoyment.

The inbound arrived, deplaned, and we were told boarding would be imminent. 20 minutes later they announced the cleaning crew had only just found the plane - apparently the gate change confused the CARP out of the cleaners too <sigh>  

Eventual boarding followed by sitting on the ramp for 20 minutes - announcement from the captain, that they'd been given a re-route and had to reprogram the entire flight plan ARRG!!!

 

Arrived at JFK about 1.5 hours late - made up some time at least, but I still didn't manage to get to the hotel/bed until 2:15AM

 

I struggled to get into the dungeon at 7:45 - necessary evil to be here that early otherwise there's nowhere to park close by.

 

Today, simple dungeon duty.

Tonight - nope, no early night for me.

Jemma and the Mrs are coming in on the same late plane (supposed to arrive at 11:30PM) and staying overnight with me, before travelling on to Madrid tomorrow to visit a friend of ours.

For their sake I hope the plane is on time (and mine too, but maybe I can get a nap before I go pick them up from JFK).

 

Unseasonal warmth here on Long Island, already 16 when I drove in, supposed to be 24 for a high and sunny (average high around 18 for this time of year).

Same tomorrow, which will be nice as Jemma and the Mrs can do some sightseeing along the coast/beaches. Their plane doesn't leave until tomorrow evening giving them the day to explore some of Long Island.

 

<yawn> enjoy the day everyone <slumps over laptop>

Edited October 18, 2016 by Ian Abel

[Debs.]

I always find baking to be rather therapeutic, and so today`s produce from Deb`s 'Zen' bakery.......

Pumpkin pies and Zucchini bread........and consequently; Collie Towers is filled with the heavenly scent of warm spices.

[jamie92208]

I always find baking to be rather therapeutic, and so today`s produce from Deb`s 'Zen' bakery.......

Pumpkin pies and Zucchini bread........and consequently; Collie Towers is filled with the heavenly scent of warm spices.

Instead of letting your fingers do the walking, let your baking do the talking. It sounds good to me.

 

Jamie

[Purley Oaks]

Beautifully sunny day today, just walked back from my mum's having done her shopping - up passed the Commonwealth Pool and by Hunter's Bog across Arthur's Seat, in case you know the area. A good hour.

 

If you're wondering about the long walks, saw my consultant at the hospital a couple of weeks ago - he did the bowel op in September last year and will also be repairing my stomach hernia (a result of the earlier op). He told me to go for an hour's walk every day and it's surprising how quickly your stamina improves. Op is scheduled for 12 weeks, but the pre-op checks are early November, so hoping for a cancellation.

 

A tale of two banks: just received cheque books from both of our banks, Bank of Scotland and Royal Bank of Scotland. Both had printed our names wrongly for some reason. BoS forgot Gabe's name - popped in and they were apologetic and altered it on their screen then showed me to check it was correct and ordered another book. The RBS cheque book which used to show M & G Surname now only shows Mr & Mrs Surname, no initials. Popped in and they said they couldn't change it because it showed the bank's new logo (I know, I know). Even checked with the very young manager who agreed. Bunch of w*nkpuffins, as AndrewC might type. To think that at one time they used to ask how you'd like your name to appear on cheque books. And this is their head office in Edinburgh. Have banked with Williams & Glyn's then RBS for more years than I care to remember. We've decided to go to another bank.

 

Sorry to read of your flight problems, Ian. Hope you'll be rested soon.

 

 

Easy parking at Lidl opposite, but you have to buy something to get free parking. I always buy the nuts, excellent quality and value.

Judging by your avatar, Dick, I'm surprised it's not bananas...

 

Have a good day

 

Mal

 

edited for spelling

Edited October 18, 2016 by Purley Oaks

[bluebottle]

Instead of letting your fingers do the walking, let your baking do the talking. It sounds good to me.

 

Jamie

The wedding cake specialist whence came Helen's excellent cake has a sign in the window saying:

 

"If Cake be the food of Love, bake on!"

[shortliner]

So today I shall be doing................very little! I decided, yesterday to sharpen the blade of my carpentry marking knife on my diamond "stone". This morning I needed to drill a couple of holes to fit plugs to two baseboards - The drill broke through the back of the side and left large splinters, and I decided that the easy way to remove them was to use the newly sharpened marking knife which I had with me rather than hunt for a chisel. Successfully tangled my feet whilst holding said implement and fell on the back-door steps - stabbing myself in the fleshy part of the hand, at the base of my right forefinger! However I managed to prove that CA glue does do exactly what it was originally made for and seals bleeding wounds very efficiently. Must add some to the first aid kit, soonest

[laurenceb]

It is the only way to find the missing ballast, by going out and buying some more.

And the more expensive the thing that is lost the quicker it reappears after you have bought its replacement!

 

So today I shall be doing................very little! I decided, yesterday to sharpen the blade of my carpentry marking knife on my diamond "stone". This morning I needed to drill a couple of holes to fit plugs to two baseboards - The drill broke through the back of the side and left large splinters, and I decided that the easy way to remove them was to use the newly sharpened marking knife which I had with me rather than hunt for a chisel. Successfully tangled my feet whilst holding said implement and fell on the back-door steps - stabbing myself in the fleshy part of the hand, at the base of my right forefinger! However I managed to prove that CA glue does do exactly what it was originally made for and seals bleeding wounds very efficiently. Must add some to the first aid kit, soonest

Are we starting our own clumsy club? Worrying!

[grandadbob]

Perhaps Jack's middle name is Bob.

[Horsetan]

Perhaps Jack's middle name is Bob.

 

...and presumably he's someone's uncle.

[BSW01]

Ha Dick, just been discussing that with The Boss so she's going in there while I go to Jane's tomorrow.

This is sounding very much like a plan!

 

But we all know what happens to plans!

[Horsetan]

This is sounding very much like a plan!

 

But we all know what happens to plans!

 

Yes, just read any MRJ thread....... 

[The Stationmaster]

Ah, one plan which did work.  We not only went to Pangbourne and managed to place the Christmas order with the butcher but having looked at two local eating places decided we would eat in tonight so went back to the butcher's shop.  As we were looking at various things another customer purchased a rather tasty looking pork chop and Mrs Stationmaster suggested that maybe I would also like a chop like that for my dinner tonight.  She was absolutely right so I could hardly disagree with her suggestion and such a chop is currently sitting in the fridge ready for cooking this evening.  Sometimes things can turn out the way they ought to.

[Happy Hippo]

 Successfully tangled my feet whilst holding said implement and fell on the back-door steps - stabbing myself in the fleshy part of the hand, at the base of my right forefinger! However I managed to prove that CA glue does do exactly what it was originally made for and seals bleeding wounds very efficiently. Must add some to the first aid kit, soonest

Welcome to the GDB club.

 

I hope you remembered not to use accelerator with the CA glue

[Ohmisterporter]

Just back from our favoured tyre and exhaust centre. About a month ago we had an advisory on the MOT for the two front tyres and got them changed. Yesterday I was looking around the car and noticed one of the back tyres was legal on one half and well worn on the other. So off to have another tyre fitted. I mentioned that the MOT had no advisory for the back tyre and the chap was non-committal "It happens", was all he said. I think he didn't want to slag off a fellow business. At least we are now driving on four decent tyres with Winter coming. Stay safe all. 

[shortliner]

Welcome to the GDB club.

 

I hope you remembered not to use accelerator with the CA glue

Now that is one thing I don't have any of - so "No!" And I'm certainly old enough to be a GD, and probably a GGD, but again "No!"

Edited October 18, 2016 by shortliner

[Simon G]

It seems like autumn has arrived properly here. It is cold and windy, and occasionally wet. The sky is grey, the sea is grey and everything else seems grey! Still we had a good walk in the wind, and I have a beef stew in the slow cooker for dinner , so things aren't all grey.

 

The wood burning stove will be called into action tonight and I plan to burn mostly small bits of wood which have accumulated around the garden. The only trouble is that it takes a while to load a few small bits of wood into the stove, and it has a tendency to smoke with the door open. Solution? Either put the bits of wood into an A4 envelope or secure all the bits together with sellotape. That way I can chuck a load of wood in very quickly, then shut the door before the smoke comes out.

[grandadbob]

Joe has had his jab. Rather strangely the nurse said "Are you OK  with needles Joe?" Joe gave her a funny look and said "Er, I test my blood sugar and inject myself with insulin several times a day, so yes I'm fine" You'd have thought the nurse might have known that.

In other news earlier today I suddenly remembered that our new boiler was due for its first annual service. Phoned our friendly boiler man this morning and he said "I might just be able to pop in this afternoon if I finish this other job early enough". He was as good as his word and all tested OK so fine for another year. I'd have been a bit unhappy if it wasn't!