Early Risers.

[jamie92208]

Morning all from a sunny village.   At the moment I'm the only one downstairs but there is much movement upstairs so I suspect that my peace will be shattered shortly.   However yesterday went well and our 'leaving do' at the Con club went well.   I was quite bowled over by how many people turned up from all over and many different aspects of our various lives.  All the kids were there with their spouses/partners and friends.  Everyone seemed to get on and well.  We think that about 80 turned up and very little food left.

 

Today It's the church anniversary (The 311th) and our house guests are taking the service.   It should be a good do.   Then Martin (No 1 son) and Katie are due to join us all for dinner ( if their heads are clear).

 

Great news about Debs.

 

Jamie

Edited May 20, 2018 by jamie92208

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Nice sunny start and a fine warm day is promised.

Really glad to hear some more positive news about our lady awl wielder.

A great day was had yesterday. We didn't go to our friend's house as early as intended because Joe had to go to school until 13.45 for a GCSE revision session. The wedding was watched by the girls here whilst I pottered around although I did catch some of it and it was good to see most people having a great time.

Once we got to the do at 14.30 wall to wall eating and drinking commenced. There were lots of silly games and things like tug o'war, three legged and egg & spoon races and such like for both kids and adults. There was also a quiz in which our team of three,(Me, friend Steve who was seriously ill last year and Nick, our host) were just beaten by 1 point by a team of ten.  Got back home just before midnight and a birthday party next door was still going on. We'd been invited to that one too but had already accepted the other invitation. We had been told to go in when we returned but after 9 hours solid drinking we'd all had enough and just wanted our beds.

Now had a couple of teas and parrotseatemall so my headache has subsided. No movement from upstairs yet but tea has been taken to The Boss as a hint that we need to get the breakfast show on the road.

I suspect today will be spent doing not very much apart from watching 2 games of rugby. A well meaning person told me the results yesterday but I don't know the scores yet.

 

I think another tea is called for.

 

"TEA!"

 

Have a good one,

 

Bob.

[Simon G]

Another disturbed night due to the steroids. I reckon I got between 2 and 3 hours sleep only. I may be cat-napping during the day to catch up. Fortunately, we have nothing planned so I will be able to nap if I choose.

 

Great to get an update on Debs. I am hoping that her chemo has done its intended job, as mine appears to have done. Greetings to all others with health and black dog issues.

Edited May 20, 2018 by Simon G

[81C]

Morning Peeps 

Her done a lovely dinner last night the onions were in a thick gravy yummm.

I'm in the mancave wondering what to do today several purchases yesterday need my attention a nicely built Ian Kirk GWR V7

van kit which requires some addition of lead to keep it on the track there are some new coach sides the donor coaches will require

surgery with the Dremel to cut the slots out along top and bottom window line.

Later we are taking a leaf out of GDB games day we will have an adults game of Tiddly Winks 

 

Ivan Railex will be on Sunday for me it's easier to park and get round the show and spend time at the trade stands as they are less

busy on a Sunday. 

                                                                                                                                                                   enjoy your day all  A. Morus 

 

And it seems to be sitting on double-mushroom rail in France too.  the Pyrenees in the distance Spot on Andy it's the preserved railway Caudies de Fenouilledes to Axat in absolutely stunning scenery you could even ride in the drivers cab certainly worth the trip 2 other lines done as well the rack railway up to the Sanctury of Nuria and Villefrance to Font Romeu line. most UK fossil tours companies do the trips.

 

 

Another photo for good measure.

Edited May 20, 2018 by 81C

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all,

 

Herself is out dealing with the veg patch and I'm here so all would seem to be reasonably well in the world although we have a shopping trip to follow in order to restock various essentials.  No other plans are so far planned but one (this one) can never necessarily predict what instructions might be received as the day wears on (apart from hints about the making of tea).

 

Have a good day one and all

[grandadbob]

I can smell breakfast. At last!              

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Not much else on the news except that wedding so after catching up on the weather report I switched the box off. Yesterday there seemed to be more than the usual amount of traffic on the roads while the wedding was in progress, probably doing the same and avoiding said wedding. Glad to hear that Debs is over the latest lot of chemo and lets hope that she's back wielding that awl soon. Bye for now, be back later.

[iL Dottore]

Morning Awl,

 

Oh dear, oh dear. Now that (hopefully) Debs is on the mend, some of the denizens of ERs will be facing "The Wrath Of Debs"^TM once she finds out about the unrestrained promiscuous posting of r a i l w a y pictures. There may be heavy casualties....

 

I managed to avoid the Royal Wedding yesterday. From some of the commentary made here, and elsewhere, it seems that I did not miss any high quality television coverage. Mrs iD has acquired a set of filing cabinets and much of yesterday was spent cleaning them, making some space in the work room (our back cellar) and moving the d**n things into place. And ALL by myself! (SWMBO is off at the holiday hovel with the doggies).

 

I suspect that - sooner or later - I'll have to rent a skip and do some serious clearing out. The workshop/back cellar really is unusable owing to the huge amount of material accumulating there: much of which is perfectly good, but obsolete, although I have mixed feelings about what I'll have to throw out. I've always followed the philosophy of buying the very best of "X" that I could afford and keep it for, well, forever. For example I have a Nakamichi cassette player, a Cambridge Audio amplifier and large Wharfedale speakers and they are now all obsolete. My newly acquired AV Receiver and BluRay player provide equal (if not, perrhaps, better) sound in less space and with less energy. But still, I am somewhat loathe to get rid of them, as they are still high quality items. Perhaps I should hold a "Garage Sale" and get a little money for them - but SWMBO says that older electronics are impossible to sell on...

 

I suppose that it's the thought of the waste that bothers me. Perhaps I'm just getting old, but even though I am quite happy to embrace new technology, but the "use and dispose" vs "use, repair and re-use" approach to everything nowadays feels... well wrong.

 

Anyway, now off to have a light lunch (alas, no "proper" Sunday lunch for me ["proper" Sunday Lunch being - as ane fule kno - Rare Roast Beef, Roast Potatoes, Yorkshire Puddings {note plural}, buttered cabbage and a rich gravy with mustard {English} and creamed horseradish on the side], but tonight it will be slow roast pork belly with crackling!)

 

Have a splendid Sunday afternoon.

 

Stay Frosty

 

iD

[Gwiwer]

 

 

I see Gwiwer is going to be a busy man tomorrow, the news reports a complete rewrite of London timetables. I can guarrentee many passengers won't have read notices about it and I suspect somewhere the planners will get it wrong..

Yes and no.  Many Southern train times are altered and their alerting campaign suggests "every single train time will change".  It won't.  Most are re-timed but in many cases by only a minute or two and not then at every station.  There are some more significant changes here and there including more trains on some routes at peak times and the promise of longer ones where possible.  The reshuffle of rolling stock has been made possible by the reassignment of some London Bridge services to Thamesstink using class 700 stock releasing class 377 units for other duties.  Look out for white trains to East Grinstead for example. One major change outside London is the cessation of diesel services to Brighton. The Ashford service now reverts to a Marshlink shuttle to Hastings which forces a change of trains for some but allows the use of 4-car 377s in place of 2-car 171s at the busy Brighton end.  More trains run between Brighton and the East Coastway route too.  Please DO check all times and all journeys and with the best will in the world there is going to be some level of unfamiliarity as things settle down.  Stopping patterns, departure times and stock formations will be unfamiliar to everyone from signallers who have to make regulating decisions every few seconds (and who these days carry the can for getting it wrong) through to platform staff who do not yer have any form of information available over and above the public apps which anyone may use.  It's not our fault if things aren't perfect on Day One.  We will do our best to give you accurate and timely information and get you to your destination.  It's as big a change for us as for anyone else.

 

South Western has altered a few trains by a few minutes to accommodate Southern's changes and has altered a few stopping patterns largely on the West of England line.  There are changes too on South Eastern again to accommodate Southern / Thamesstink's new timetable and because part of the South Eastern service will also now go Blackfriars to end up in Peterborough, Cambridge or Bedford.  The Thamesstink changes are being phased in over a four week period so not all trains will run from tomorrow.  North of London there are significant changes to the Great Northern services which means many that formerly arrived at Kings Cross will now run to the underground cavern at St. Pancras and continue to Southern Region destinations.

 

Some commuting patterns will change.  Some new opportunities will arise and some journeys will now require a change of trains or of London terminal station.  Whether the expanded cross-London operation, which has cost a very fancy sum of money and taken many years of disruption to achieve, actually delivers is definitely open to debate.  As a cross-town suburban operation it worked.  The Brighton - Bedford service was claimed to be popular but in reality wasn't used throughout by too many people.  How much demand is there for travel between Haywards Heath and Harlington I wonder?  Now it is being offered as the core artery for many routes.  Cambridge - Gatwick I can understand at a push but Peterborough - Littlehampton - why???  I foresee platform capacity issues at London Bridge where those waiting for the next several evening departures all crowd onto the one platform - decently wide though it now is - and attempt to board a train which instead of arriving 5 - 7 minutes before departure empty from the sidings now arrives 1 - 2 minutes before (assuming it has negotiated the Core on time) and arrives part-filled from somewhere much farther north.  Already there are many many complaints about the standard of accommodation aboard the 700s.  Clean and clinical - yes.  Comfortable and suited to medium-distance commuting and leisure travel - most definitely not.  

 

We shall see what happens.  

 

Meanwhile it is still Sun Day, the locals are already enjoying the weather on the lawns, breakfast was enjoyed on the Terrace and even the cat - previously confined to quarters lest he bolt and never return - was allowed out and enjoyed a roll on the coir mat and a half-hour of fresh sunny air.  

 

In other news I re-established contact yesterday with a friend I have not seen in 23 years.  I last knew of her working in the Barking area.  By a remarkable coincidence she is now working not just nearby to me but in one of the offices which form a part of the main entrance to the House of Fun.  In other words moments away after all this time.  We have arranged to meet for lunch this coming Friday as the four other days are not convenient for one or other of us.

 

A quick trip through the in-box is required before the pressing of shirts and trousers for tonight and tomorrow.   Continued best wishes to Debs and her support network, and to those with dark-coated canines currently off-leash.

[JohnDMJ]

Morning Awl,

 

Oh dear, oh dear. Now that (hopefully) Debs is on the mend, some of the denizens of ERs will be facing "The Wrath Of Debs"^TM once she finds out about the unrestrained promiscuous posting of r a i l w a y pictures. There may be heavy casualties....

Stay Frosty

 

iD

 

Freedom of speech rules! This IS an open forum.

[TheQ]

Afternoon Awl,

A 15 ft long wall 4 ft high has been built, I've also lifted a 10 ft lintel on it concrete reinforced that is. All SWMBO can do is stop one end moving while I lift the other.

 

The lintel covers above the bin cupboard doorway and an alcove for plants.

 

My back was complaining before, it definitely is now. An Irish coffee, heavy on the aqua vitae is being consumed, before a long soak in the bath in the sun.

 

I solved the excess hifi problem by having one in the parallel metal pieces shed, one In the mobile home, one in the house, one boom box in the boat shed another in the now covered ally way and a third in the garage. These are all left overs from our previously separate lives. (And inherited from the dragon in-law)

 

Meanwhile 400 miles to the North of here, one of my sister's has informed me, my mum finally has a date for her hip replacement... The 8th of June... My parents 61st wedding aniversary that's some aniversary present...the original provisional date was February.

 

I suspect my sister's will have to look after dad, he's likely to go to pieces with worry, He managed to have a heart attack as a visitor in hospital in the past, while attending my mum who had fallen down the stairs.

 

I also suspect burgers for tea, that might be because SWMBO is in the much making a big stack of burgers from scratch. A couple for now, many more for later...

 

Right, time to go for a soak...

Edited May 20, 2018 by TheQ

[New Haven Neil]

A'noon.

 

Rough night, SWMBO was snoring her beak off, so I had to de-camp to the huffy bed.  At 2am..... so rather knackered as we had to be out and about early for several things this morning.

 

iD, I totally agree about the HiFi situation.  My beloved Musical Fidelity (many, many ££££ some years ago) amplifier recently developed an odd crackle - investigating repair also produced a lot of teeth sucking and mention of those ££££ again.  So whilst in the UK a fortnight ago I purchased a £250 ish Rotel amplifier..... which in most respects is better!  To be fair the MF is about 25 30 years old so I have had good value from it, but it is astonishing how much electronics have improved per £ in the intervening years.  I can't bear to bin it though.....but no doubt it will 'disappear' when I'm not looking.  I certainly can't afford MF products now, but are high-end devices that much better, I suspect the law of diminishing returns kicks in big time.

 

Usual supportive wishes to those in need, struggling with the important issues in life.

Edited May 20, 2018 by New Haven Neil

[81C]

 "The Wrath Of Debs"^TM        

[AndyB]

Afternoon all, and it's a sunny one here.

Just had an interesting experience whilst placing an online order for mum.

Not surprisingly the checkout process asked for me to type in the delivery address. 

What I haven't seen before is that as you enter the house number you get a predictive list of ALL the same house numbers.

 

Now, having some appreciation of how different commercial gazatters respond to address search and I know you can get some "odd" results thrown up unless you programme them to recognise that a string of text is explicitly a postcode. And even after that only about half the postcodes in the UK give the correct results. Very much a case of GIGO.

But I've never seen this kind of thing in an address checker. 

This leaves me wondering if all the results shown to me were for the website's customers. In which case, oops. By the nature of the website the delivery addresses may well be for those who are somewhat vulnerable. Lets hope the company wasn't giving out their addresses.   

[45156]

Afternoon All

 

Yes, I have to admit the wedding was watched here and I did partake thereof - it was as Pete pointed out, a very unusual event indeed, with a lot of conventions broken,  Nuff said.

 

We were awake quite early this morning, as it was a good bright start to the day, and the car was loaded, so we decided to do the A6 car boot again - but as we are running out of stuff to sell, the law of diminishing returns has set in a lot.

 

Pleased to hear that Debs has finally finished her gruelling chemo sessions, and will hopefully be getting home sometime sooner rather than later.  Of course, mentions as well for Andy, ChrisF for their black dogs, Robert, Tony and Aditi, Simon, and Mal.

 

As to NHN's comments about diminishing returns on high end HiFi, my friend has a system which cost him well over (and I mean WELL over) £20k, and to be honest, I can't tell the difference in sound between his system and my Arcam FMJ CD player into an Arcam 8R amp, Nakamichi Cassette, and Arcam 7 tuner, into a pair of B&W DM speakers on decent stands, and which set me back a whole lot less, probably about 3 grand tops.

 

Back tomorrow.

Regards to All

Stewart

[Coombe Barton]

 "The Wrath Of Debs"^TM        

 

 

FYI Debs and I have been talking about trains this morning. (EDIT - model ones at that!)

 

To be continued after her parents' visit.

Edited May 20, 2018 by Coombe Barton

[The Stationmaster]

Rick,

 

Can't you get station simplifiers off TRUST nowadays (or haven't you got a suitable terminal to access the system)?

 

Or even do it the old fashioned way and write your own off WTTs?

Edited May 20, 2018 by The Stationmaster

[Simon G]

Well miracles can happen! The new timetables have restored the Sunday service along the full length of the Cumbrian Coast Line for the first time in about 40 years. Trains have been seen on the line today. I just hope that they get well used, or it could be a short lived service.

 

Now feeling well knackered after my lack of sleep last night. All attempts to take a nap have so far failed, so I will try again after a cuppa tea.

[Coombe Barton]

If anyone's trying to send stuff for Debs via my University email account - it's been down since early this morning.

 

Also not very useful when students want last miniute advice about assessments.

[Barry O]

game umpired..haven't got to the Yorkshire match as the 2nd innings had started and I was hungry--cricket or food?  Well food won.

 

There are some very brave people on here!  Debs upholds the notion that this thread should not have railways (model or real) as subjects....To face the wrath of Debs is, indeed either foolhardy or very brave...or both!

 

Time to cook tea...

c u later

 

baz

[Gwiwer]

Rick,

 

Can't you get station simplifiers off TRUST nowadays (or haven't you got a suitable terminal to access the system)?

 

Or even do it the old fashioned way and write your own off WTTs?

Mike - I am sure we could if we had access to the terminal. Of course there is nothing “simple” about a place the size of CLJ and the term is a well-seasoned railway one.

 

We have used loading books in the past though only our own as Southern and TfL decline to share them. Now they are only issued to “key” stations (possibly a cost saver in the new franchise) and since we do not normally terminate nor, apart from the 07.54 Teddington, start services we are apparently not a “key” station.

 

Result? For the winter timetable period we have used Waterloo’s previous summer books as almost no changes were made and we could easily adjust the timing. For instance our xx.27 Exeter is the xx.20 off Waterloo

 

Now we have nothing. Unless the new pocket timetables have arrived today we don’t have hard copy at all. We do have RTT and OTT if we care to run down our battery and run up our data charges. Not all of us have company phones either.

 

The morning might be very interesting indeed.

[BoD]

Gosh, I did post a bit last night.

It's amazing what a bit sunshine and a glass (or two) of a full bodied red can do.

Apologies.

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. ID's comments about the obsolete sound systems reminded me of some of the antiques on display at Battlesbridge yesterday. One dealer specialised in 60's items including items such as radiograms and record players. In fact it was reminicient of my home when I was a teenager, except that we didn't have a home bar though we did have a 'drinks cabinet' built into the sideboard that was only rarely used except at Christmas. One thing missing was the horrendous 60's wallpaper, a good miss IMHO.

Edited May 20, 2018 by PhilJ W

[Purley Oaks]

Evening all

 

Popped into Morrison's yesterday at wedding time and found the fuel pumps empty and easy access to tyre air; then did some grocery shopping in-store.

 

It was another beautiful day here yesterday, today has been overcast but more sunshine is expected tomorrow.

 

Anyway, visited Hampden in the afternoon - the Celtic win puts local team Hibs in Europe, kicking off in a few weeks. Mind you, be lucky if they get past the first or second round in the Europa Cup.

 

So pleased to hear that Debs is up and going for coffee, getting up and about and doing normal things makes you feel human again.

 

The black dog remains firmly out of the kennel at the moment. I feel like a coiled spring, ready to "fly off the handle" at any moment. I think time in the garden enjoying some fresh air may be in order.

Andy, a few years ago Gabe was off work for a few weeks with depression (her company was down-sizing and she was charged with deciding who in her team should "go" and telling them the bad news, too - not being in HR nothing had prepared her for this). Anyway, her doc suggested that running may help so she gave it a go and it certainly helped her. Course, we have the advantage of running on Arthur's Seat rather than on city streets.

 

For those with changed timetables tomorrow, hope it all goes well.

 

It's a local Edinburgh holiday here tomorrow - don't ask me why - some firms will be shut tmrw but open on the bank holiday in a week's time. Whatever you're doing, hope it goes well.

 

Mal

[Tony_S]

I did some admin this afternoon. Doing an IHT online report for Matthew. I didn't really intend to but I was logged into my Government Gateway account anyway so I thought I may as well. I put together a package of documents for his Dutch bank account ready for dispatch tomorrow.

We have also been packing today. Nice and early for our holiday next week. I have printed luggage labels and sorted out documentation. I don't cope too well at the moment with being hurried so I am trying to be be relaxed and do things slowly.

I sent Debs a "wave" via Facebook Messenger and got a wave back.

Tony