Early Risers.

[Simon G]

Thoughts with John (Combe Barton) and family with their ailments. I hope that Sandy’s chemo goes well.

 

Afternoon mostly spent (wasted?) watching Scotland play Argentina. Not a classic match, and Scotland were rather fortunate to win, but did score a good try from one of the few bits of creativity. This evening, I have watched the England v Australia high.ights, which were much more entertaining. Wales v South Africa recorded and will probably watch it tomorrow.

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[Purley Oaks]

Evening all

 

Special thoughts to John & Sandy and to Debs. Hope things are sorted soon.

 

Yes, Simon G, the Scotland match this afternoon was pretty boring - speaking as one who had tickets for the game, which took ages to get going. The Murrayfield roar just wasn't there today, the first time I've not heard it in ages. The match had no atmosphere and Scotland were lucky that the Argentina penalty kicker was off his game this afternoon. So many mistakes by both teams. Hope Scotland manage better in the Six Nations next year - think it'll be tough judging by the standards of play from Ireland, Wales and England.

 

Happy birthday Judge!

Mal

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone

 

I enjoyed myself at the NEC show today, the only disappointment being the transport. The train from my local station was cancelled due to strike action. Luckily I knew before hand about this and was able to make alternative arrangements to get to Manchester. Also the direct train from Piccadilly to the NEC, both ways, was cancelled and I didn’t find this out until I got to the station. This meant that I had to change at New St in Birmingham, which is not my favourite of stations. It ended up quite a long day and I doubt that I’ll do it again.

 

Still it was nice to meet a few fellow ERs whilst there, Bill (Bishop), Mike (The Stationmaster), John (DMJ), Ian (roundhouse) Mick (New Bryford) and Baz (Barry O).

 

Thoughts with John (Coombe Martin) and Deb’s.

 

Judge Dread. Happy birthday.

 

Time for bed now, goodnight all.

[Gwiwer]

 

 

Special thoughts to John & Sandy and to Debs. Hope things are sorted soon.

 

Same here.

 

Still reluctantly wide awake.  Took myself off for a stroll around the local area just now.  Saturday night is sometimes alive and kicking; tonight despite having the university so close it is as the dodo.  If it were not for SWMBO snoring for her country you could hear a mouse break wind.

 

I suspect many of our student neighbours are out.  They may return at some small hour of the morning and I might or might not be aware of it.  They are often just loud enough to awake me briefly; if Upstairs starts with a hippo stampede I simply message all their phones asking them to desist.  It's what phones are for and it works.   This year has been much better than last; the irresponsibly noisy elements have long gone.

 

So it shall be a coffee and bikky for me before delving into the murkier waters of RMW until such time as I feel a need for sleep.  

 

Night all.

[Barry O]

Belated birthday wishes Judge.. long may you continue to contribute to Ers.

 

Busy day at the NEC and nice to see a lot of Ers including Mike, Bill b,, Brian, Ian, Polly (And tender), apologies if I missed anyone.. It was a busy day.

 

John, best positive thoughts to you and Sang.

 

Debs.. stick with us..we all miss your guidance (but not the aww!)

Time for sleep

So

 

Night All!

Baz

[southern42]

' Evening al from red dragon land.

 

I finally got myself together again after a brilliant, whirlwind kinda day at Warley.  With lots of 7mm stuff on show and lots of 4mm stuff at the example stage on display there was so much to examine/explore/measure/praise/buy/photograph/... not too mention squeeze in time to view pre-selected and other layouts; chat with RMwebbers notably Ian (Roundhouse - caught him "in", at last!), Mick (New Bryford). weathering champ, BarryO; and Castle (Little Didcot).  I also picked up the extra laser cut bits so now I can try a dry run of the 4ft long wall.  For those familiar with the west London route out of Paddington, the design of the building is inspired by that of Otto Monsted's margarine factory's (later Maypole then Wall's Sausages) shipping shed at Southall though nowhere near as long.      The pre planning sheets helped enormously but we still ended up going round in circles looking for stand numbers and referring to the Show's Big Map!  But hey! That is all part of the fun, isn't it?  

 

Good evening fellow ER's. My goodness, over 400 unread posts. I must have been away for longer than I thought. My apologies for anything major I have missed. I offer generic good wishes, congrats and commiserations as appropriate. 

 

Things have been very busy. Last week was my best ever in the shop. There is a feeling that things are starting to take shape. I am starting to get a few regular customers and the website is finally beginning to bring in some customers too. Perhaps, just perhaps, I have made the right decision. Meanwhile the marking continues to consume a lot of my time. Once again last month brought in the equivalent of a teacher wage. Of course, as a self employed person, this will need considering for the tax return next year. But the income provides a security blanket as the business builds. 

 

 The black dog is currently back in the kennel. Last week probably helped! Sarah and I even managed some useful time together on Monday. We enjoyed dressing the window for Christmas before an enjoyable pub lunch. Here is the fruits of our labours:

IMG_2217.JPG

 

Looking good, Andy.  Really pleased for you.  Wishing you all the best.  

 

Beddybyes now.  

' Night all and nos da.

Sleep tight.

 

 

Oops! Edit typo!

 

Edit 2:  Happy birthday Judge

Edited November 25, 2018 by southern42

[AndyID]

You can get Sanglier (Wild Boar) sausages in the local supermarket.   However the venison and boar meat is apparently distributed around the members of the Chasse.  I believe that all kills have to be labelled so that they can be inspected by the authorities. As to Truffles we are going for afternoon drinks to one of our neighbours tomorrow.  He has an orchard of summer truffle oaks alongside the top of our garden and another orchard of winter truffle oaks at the other end of the village opposite the cemetery.   He is apparently and expert on their production.  We will no doubt find out more tomorrow.

 

Jamie

 

It seems dogs are much better than pigs for finding the truffles. Dogs don't actually eat them.

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl,

After just under 5hours sleep I'm awake with a painful back, caused I think by an over enthusiastic throw of the ball for Ben the border collie.

 

Sailing later with a forecast of light winds and a strong incomming tide.

 

In the meantime time I hope for the snooze button to work.

[chrisf]

Hi

 

I am going to Warley and may be some time

 

Bye

 

Chris

[roundhouse]

Good morning all.

 

Good to speak to so many rmwebbers including numerous ER's and my apologies if I walked past without noticing anyone on here - it can be quite hard to navigate through the throngs when heading somewhere.

 

The layout performed very well.

 

I gave so far managed to keep my purchases to under a tenner but that could change at any time although mindful that I am trying to clear stuff to make space. My other half did buy an N scale Norfolk Southern loco with a decoder fitted for a very good price. I then sat behind the layout getting it to work which turned out to be a good clean after taking the trucks apart and it now runs very smoothly.

 

Also the potential of some more work for next year fitting decoders for someone.

 

The usual looong wait to get out of the car park at NEC despite the roads were very clear to the right, the queues heading to the motoryways to the left were blocking our exit.

 

Looking forward to day 2 but not the packing up and drive home.

Edited November 27, 2018 by roundhouse

[jamie92208]

It seems dogs are much better than pigs for finding the truffles. Dogs don't actually eat them.

 

Yes, Andre has a truffle dog.   No doubt we will find out more about truffles this afternoon.

 

Good morning all from a somewhat damp corner of the world.   Good to hear reports from Warley.   A good evening out was had with much laughter and conversation in two languages. Nothing on the agenda this morning so I well may head for the shed.   Then the afternoon drinks and nibbles with the truffle farmer.   Not a lot else to report.

 

Thoughts are with John (CB) and Sandy and also Debs.   Also hope that those at Warley survive the day.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

[AndrewC]

Good moaning from the slightly less boring than usual borough. 

 

Yesterday was done and dusted by noon. Brekkie, found more furniture in the local hospice charity shop, some music in the record store, and a fast dash painful crawl around Horrorsons. 

We have both grown to hate that place. Normally our big monthly stock up is at Sainsbury's and Horrorsons is for our weekly items. Not any more. Tired of them constantly moving everything around like it was some sort of puzzle that needs solving before you can get a tub of soured cream. The other issue is that for some reason it is rammed with coffin dodgers from opening till late evening. No idea why but the aisles have become some sort of oldie's drop-in centre. They all have the knack of being able to locate the narrowest point and congregate there blocking passage. What should have been a 10 min, in & out precision operation took over 45 minutes trying to find things, and then discovering they were guarded by a Hell's Granny chatting to another about their neighbour's cousin's cat. 

 

The rest of the day was a total write off as intentions to do some more work on the house went down the tubes with my knee refusing to cooperate. 

 

No idea what is happening next door. When I popped out around 3pm to feed the glass recycling bin, the Bill were just exiting the unlicensed HMO. Flashy lights still on their car. Then around 8pm another showed up with flashy lights, and were there for around an hour with a second car arriving on scene. Didn't see them leave so no idea if they dragged off one of the residents or not. I will have to try to corner the lovely Russian lady who acts as their Den Mother for some goss. SWMBO and I have decided that once she leaves, we'll be reporting the unlicensed property to the council as I fear the only thing keeping the other inmates on a short leash is Natalya. 

 

To those going to Warley today, may it be a body odour and rucksack collision free day. 

 

Thoughts with John, Sandy, and Debs.

 

edit: speeling cogue ups from autocorrupt

Edited November 25, 2018 by AndrewC

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Sorry to hear your news John and hope that things soon improve for Sandy and you.

 

A dull but dry start here with the chance of some showers and even sunny intervals.

Up late but The Boss brought me tea in bed and has offered to cook a large breakfast. I don't think she has an ulterior motive.......or has she?    *

Rugby was enjoyed yesterday, firstly England demolishing a not very good Australian side. Another controversial tackle by Owen Farrell. Great player but he does fly by the seat of his pants sometimes.

Good to see Australian captain Michael Hooper refusing to be drawn into the controversy after the match by a pushy (and not very good) Sky news reporter. Also watched the excellent Wales v South Africa game. (Well worth watching Simon)

Today I will be watching Leicester v Saracens and possibly the F1 if I can't find anything better to do. (small wheeled objects may take precedence)

Have a good one,

Bob.

 

 

* Oh yes she has! She wants us to start putting up decorations ready for THE Party next Saturday! As this is for me I suppose I had better comply. 

 

And it is now pouring with rain.

Edited November 25, 2018 by grandadbob

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

I think it has rained, it isn’t now.

No plans for today.

Have a good day.

Tony

[New Haven Neil]

Morning.

 

Firstly belated birthday wishes to Judge Dredd, my apologies for tardyness Your Worship.  Supportive wishes to John & Sandy have been passed elsewhere, tough break, hopefully all goes well.

 

After yesterday's wood chopping I am now in a similar state to Q, this body isn't as good as it once was.  Its got to last a while yet hopefully so a day of gentle recovery is prescribed. 

 

Lunch out with Jayne planned, all the way to the Sound (our Land's End) is planned. Again yesterday she was in good form, is it so heartening to see her recovering from her devastated mode of the last few years.  We'd love to see her move on with a new relationship in time but suspect she won't allow that, Gary and her were together from schooldays.  She would be a great catch, very attractive and highly intelligent (MSc Metallurgy).

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone

 

Just up from a very late lie-in, we must have needed the rest. The sun is shining and I’ll be off to the workshop shortly to stash the few goodies I purchased yesterday.

 

Back later

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. As Tony said there may have been a bit of dampness overnight but no sign of it now. I would like to have visited Warley this weekend if it wasn't such a pain getting there. The same applies to the Peterborough show in a couple of weeks. I feel disinclined to drive such distances, mostly because of the cockwombles you meet on the roads. Muggatee awaits so its be back later time.

[Gwiwer]

G'd morning all.

 

Finally got some sleep some time after 2am and slept through (which is most unusual for all sorts of reasons) until awoken at 9am by SWMBO venturing to the kitchen.  As she isn't in the habit of doing that without good cause - and making breakfast is not good cause since that is my job - I followed her.  It was, apparently, time to make use of the newly-acquired Carlton-ware tea service which arrived in a box a few days ago.  

 

So tea was had and breakfast with it.  Launwet has become laundry and put away.  The dishes have been wrangled.  Leaves and general magunga have ben swept from the back pathway and terrace to the leaf-depositing point which shall in future become the compost-collection point.  I am now at liberty to fire up the computer and delve into the murk of cyberspace.

 

I trust none of our number has been inconvenienced by the frying of a dozen buses in Orpington in recent days.  I am aware that this has caused a reduction in local services in the short term.  There is obvious shuffling around the fleets to help out since a few of our local vehicles have departed Fulwell and have been replaced in their turn by some from distant Borehamwood still bearing the BT depot code for Borehamwood Travel.  I suspect the need is for particular types to be lent as Orpington depot covers a number of very rural routes restricted to tiny single-deck buses so if those have been lost they will be a priority for replacement.  Otherwise the good folk of Halstead, Knockholt and Cudham will be without buses.  For those playing at home those are the R5 and R10 routes, successors to London Country (and LT Country Area) 431 and 471.  Several other Orpington area routes also require small vehicles to negotiate narrow roads or "Bus gates" 

 

The Great Strawberry Hill Silence has persisted this morning.  It isn't uncommon to have near-silence here on Sunday mornings but we commented over breakfast that not even the birds were awake today.

 

Ron requires some attention to the micro-electrickery for which I shall have to order specific colours of wire.  I suspect a trip to Ford will occur as Camborne is a little too far just to collect wires and Ford is close to my sister who requires my attention to sort and remove some of the parental photo albums.  Ron?  That's Later Ron, chaps.  

 

Good luck to those suffering asphyxiation at Warley.  Good wishes to our sick and injured.  Good grief - is that the time???  I'll have to put the kettle on again! 

[81C]

A good start to some chores today I went out to clear some leaves with the blower and it started to pee down "Her" says pick them up by hand, 

will come and hold the umbrella then I ask, (door slams) Pah                                                                                                          ###################

I retreated to the mancave till the Grand Prix starts plenty to do with the new layout and the brass plates have turned up for my # Christmas present #

a Hornby Castle which beckon to be fixed on.                                                                                                      ###################

 Enjoy .

[AndyB]

Afternoon all, and its a drizzly one hereabouts.Weak sun is trying to break through.

 

Achievements of the day so far have been to pre-order a new locomotive, buy some light bulbs, and determine the size of bag allowed by SleezyJet for this week's trip.

 

As far as business trips go this is going to be dire as I don't think my itinerary takes me more than 5 minutes drive from the airport. It will, however, mean I generate a day of flexitime which has to be used by the end of the week; use it or lose it.

The worst bit seems to be having to use a phone to check in and store a boarding pass. I really only want to do a print out. The app I was forced to use required me to sign up to all sorts of stuff I try my best to avoid. 

 

Other tasks today are an eye test and bolting two baseboards together. I believe I may also be lined up to watch the next in a Spiderman film fest once homework has been completed.   

[45156]

Afternoon All

 

A word of advice to make sure you don't lose all your brownie points - don't clean and repair the hoover on the dining room table.  Ask me how I know!!!

 

John and Sandy - hope that the next few weeks bring favourable news.  Thanks for the update on Debs - I'm either not getting her FB posts again, or she's not posting.  And belated happy birthday J D.  And of course, the now-obligatory generic greetings to all who are ailing or celebrating.

 

Today was spent on matters domestic, and we were moving furniture in the front room before 9, then the carpets were hoovered (after the aforesaid repair as it was not sucking properly again), and as "we have the furniture pulled out, we may as well shampoo the carpets as well".  Just got finished, and there are still other jobs a-lurking.

 

Back tomorrow.

Regards to All

Stewart

[The Stationmaster]

G'day all,

 

Warley is becoming a dimming dream as a visit to Tesco has taken centre stage this morning and i've now finally got here.  Tomorrow is anther day out as I shall commit myself to the tender mercies of GWR, NR, and SWR in order to get to and from Portsmouth Harbour near which station I shall be consuming my first 'C*******s Meal' of the season along with other OFs once upon a time employed on the Western & Southern Regions of our previous state owned railway concern.  The infernal-net indicates that following different outward and return routes might offer the best journey times in each direction so a sort of circular-ish tour could well result in out via Guildford and back via Eastleigh and Basingstoke - I shall see 'on the day'.  With one  'C*******s Meal' knocked off tomorrow that will leave two more (at Exeter and Kemble) to come prior to the main event - and not a single morsel of turkey shall pass my lips at any of them (thank goodness).

 

Have a good day one and all.

[Tony_S]

I got the leaf blower/ vacuum out initially to blast the garage and layout (yes, it was the correct tool for the job). However I collected a lot of leaves from the bottom of the garden around Aditi’s sheds. They could go in the compost. The leaves from the pear trees need to be disposed of some other way as they had some sort of blight this year.

Tony