Early Risers.

[Kingzance]

That's farewell to the latest visitors to our air-b-n-b home gone so, apart from dealing with a shortage of roast and ground Brazilian beanz, it could be garage time and then some serious attempts at railway modelling before the inspirations of Hamburg's visit are lost. Good luck all with whatever challenges occur today.

[TheQ]

OOOh There will be consternation amoung some of the competitors of the 59th 3 Rivers Race.

For those who don't know the 3RR is classed as the 3rd toughest mass participation event in the UK. 100 sailing boats have to sail around 50 miles of course on the Norfolk broads in 24 hours and that includes taking your mast down 4 times to get under bridges.

In 10 boat groups at 5 minute intervals  , boats start  at 11:00 on the 1st of June this Year at Horning. with an extra  break in the middle the last start is at around 12:30. There are about 100 boats this year.

 

The consternation?

 

For the last 40 years of the race in which I've either competed or officiated it's been fastest boats start and slowest last.

 

 This year it's the slowest boats first and the fastest last....

 

I'm not involved with the race officer decisions.. I'm on the safety side,  on one of 12 motor boats round the course each with radios, a rescue boat, first aid kit.  we also monitor the position of any boat and report back to base when they go past..

Edited May 13, 2019 by TheQ

[grandadbob]

Happy Birthday Rick.

New glasses collected.

Timber merchant visited and timber for shelving ordered and shelf brackets etc collected.

Coffee being drunk and then tools will be deployed in the shed.  I may be gone some time.

This new laptop is brilliant, much faster than my old one.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Happy birthday Rick and many more of 'em. Having a re-think on the baseboard for the young mans layout. The redundant paste table is too far gone to be of any use, even as a paste table. The optimum size is 50 X 85-90 centimetres and I've calculated that I will only require two sheets of 100 X 50 centimetre ply plus a bit of squared timber which I have to hand. Thats it for now, be back later.

[bbishop]

53 minutes ago, TheQ said:

 

 This year it's the slowest boats first and the fastest last....

 

I'm not involved with the race officer decisions.. I'm on the safety side,  on one of 12 motor boats round the course each with radios, a rescue boat, first aid kit.  we also monitor the position of any boat and report back to base when they go past......

..... or sink.

 

Bill

[Kingzance]

11 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Happy birthday Rick and many more of 'em. Having a re-think on the baseboard for the young mans layout. The redundant paste table is too far gone to be of any use, even as a paste table. The optimum size is 50 X 85-90 centimetres and I've calculated that I will only require two sheets of 100 X 50 centimetre ply plus a bit of squared timber which I have to hand. Thats it for now, be back later.

If you have to buy something Phil, is it worth considering 50mm closed cell insulation board such as Cellotex? It is quite robust, very light and forgiving plus you can glue straight onto it using a contact adhesive and it will accept track pins easily. The only drawbacks would be if you wanted to have sub-surface devices (turnout motors?) and the edges ideally need framing in a thin timber batten to prevent damage to the edges.

[bbishop]

I was going to invent a new word for Chris, but "omniphobia" already exists.  Like the King, I sometimes speed-read; the vision of Chris dancing in boot, spangly shorts, bobble hat and the TIE ....

 

Christian Aid collecting then practice for my requalification.  so no EM this weekend.

 

Bill

Edited May 13, 2019 by bbishop

[PhilJ W]

6 minutes ago, Kingzance said:

If you have to buy something Phil, is it worth considering 50mm closed cell insulation board such as Cellotex? It is quite robust, very light and forgiving plus you can glue straight onto it using a contact adhesive and it will accept track pins easily. The only drawbacks would be if you wanted to have sub-surface devices (turnout motors?) and the edges ideally need framing in a thin timber batten to prevent damage to the edges.

I'll have to take a look at that. The boys dad is owner of the shed I mentioned a day or two ago that requires insulation, I'm sure a suitable offcut can be procured.

Edited May 13, 2019 by PhilJ W

[Kingzance]

21 minutes ago, bbishop said:

..... or sink.

 

Bill

This was the format used in banger racing in the 1970s with the better vehicles and pilots having to “work” their way through the field. As Croft and Perry scripts go, “we’re all doomed I tell you, doomed”. Good luck Q.

[Kingzance]

14 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

I'll have to take a look at that. The boys dad is owner of the shed I mentioned a day or two ago that requires insulation, I'm sure a suitable offcut can be procured.

Any thickness of 50mm or more would be ok Phil although I would add an under frame brace for lengths over 1000mm at 500mm centres if the thickness was less than 100mm. I have seen this stuff used and I also laid out a test track on top of a few floor cupboards quite successfully.

[The Lurker]

Greetings all from a sunny LBG.

 

The weekend saw a lot of time spent drafting the parents' contribution for Younger Lurker's EHCP - which basically agrees what support he needs and should be used to determine the level of funding his school gets to provide that support. We seem to have moved from a position where the school were taking the funding but spending it on someone else's support to not really wanting to get the funding. This could make the review meeting with the LEA very interesting, particularly as a representative from the school we are thinking he might go to at secondary level will be attending. They will see the need for funding for sure. All in a time of straitened circumstances.

 

I haven't been to Tonbridge Station for more than 30 years; but it was instantly recognisable from Keith's photo, although the Hastings units were blue/grey back then!

 

I hope Chrisf has recovered from his brush with a bus and that Natalie can find the help that she and her Mum need. Sometimes the hardest thing is to accept advice/help.

 

And if I read Rick's post correctly, his birthday is coming on Friday...

 

I am interested to read the comments about travelling down the West Coast - we are doing that later this year. Mrs Lurker's brother moved to Seattle last year, and it's a great excuse to show the Lurker boys San Francisco - and have a road trip in between.

 

[TheQ]

1 hour ago, bbishop said:

..... or sink.

 

Bill

it's a rare occurance but does happen, a few years ago a friend came back from Hong Kong for the race, He was in the first start..

He sailed out of Horning, at the second bend  Hauled up his spinaker, caught a huge gust capsised and sank.. The boat sat up right on the bottom with him standing on the boat in the water up to his thighs holdiing onto the mast , as all 100 other boats sailed past... once they were clear the rescue boat was able to go and get him and the boat..  He's in a much bigger boat this year a broads sailing cruiser with cooking and toilet on board.

Edited May 13, 2019 by TheQ

[roundhouse]

21 hours ago, The Lurker said:

 

 

I am interested to read the comments about travelling down the West Coast - we are doing that later this year. Mrs Lurker's brother moved to Seattle last year, and it's a great excuse to show the Lurker boys San Francisco - and have a road trip in between.

 

The North West coastal roads often follow beautiful rugged scenery along with some sandy beaches so well worth visiting. I have driven from Seattle to Arcadia Astoria  OR and then from there down through Seaside, Garibaldi (train rides at weekends), Tillamook (famous for the cheese factory and an air museum in an old blimp hangar plus remains of locos at the old HQ of the Port Of Tillamook RR). Canon beach is a good place to stay but can be expensive. Pacific Beach has a hotel and a brewery and restaurant opposite on the beach. We have travelled to an hour south of Newport beach but have done the bit between there and Fort Bragg in California (where the Skunk train runs). Inland you have Portland which we really like (and will be back there this summer) but there aren't any particular monuments to see although on a clear day you do get good views of Mount Hood from up high. The light rail and Union station are worth seeing.  Mount Hood  is about an hours drive form Portland along the scenic Columbia River. Further South there is Crater Lake but even in Summer quite often some roads are closed due to ice and snow.

 

Hope that helps.

Edited May 14, 2019 by roundhouse

[Ian Abel]

Natalie, I can only echo the support and comments of other ERs. Whatever virtual help and support we can provide is freely given and hopefully can provide something of a respite from your current challenges. My late MiL was equally stubborn as my wife tried to provide help. Hopefully, lessons learned by having near-misses with falls and maybe only spilling something, will show your mum she does indeed need your help and support. Stay with us, and know we're all here for you...

 

Chrisf, hope you're recovering. I couldn't help but be reminded of the oft heard (when  we were lads!!) comment from my mum "if xxx jump under a bus would you too??" Glad you got the correct score, Chrisf 1 - bus 0

 

Morning all, from a rather damp Long Island.

Weekend went well it seems, though has flashed by as well. Most of Saturday busy at the other house, flooring the basement and various other tasks.

Mothers day was excellent, even though it only amounted to the entire family being together, including all three dogs, and us preparing dinner whilst the Mrs/mum relaxed and was pampered.

Trip last evening to JFK uneventful.

 

7 damp/drizzle driving to the client, only expected to manage 10 and rain/drizzle for the day.

 

Hope the week starts well for all.

[Kingzance]

29 minutes ago, The Lurker said:

And if I read Rick's post correctly, his birthday is coming on Friday...

 

I am interested to read the comments about travelling down the West Coast - we are doing that later this year. Mrs Lurker's brother moved to Seattle last year, and it's a great excuse to show the Lurker boys San Francisco - and have a road trip in between.

 

Ah, the west coast highway! The route below SF to LA (Route 1, The Big Sur) is spectacular - we hired a convertible in 2010 or 2011 and drove it southbound, stopping off at (amongst other places) Santa Cruz, Monterey, Carmel and Santa Barbara. I know those are south of your present itinerary but it is a great drive, friendly folks, excellent scenery etc. We departed LA rather than SF but went on for a week in Hawaii before back to Blighty. I tried unsuccessfully to get SWMBO to sit on the back of a Harley - missed opportunity! Seattle to SF is a very different sort of nice - more temperate and wooded but my knowledge of that is only from many years back making visits by cargo ships.

[Tony_S]

Aditi’s uncle lives in California. We do have an invitation to visit but for many years when we could go he wasn’t there. I suspect after this year’s travels are over we could possibly get round to planning something. He is 70 but the sort of 70 that goes hiking in the Himalayas or Patagonia. His wife who is slightly older still works, something to do with computers/spreadsheets/accountancy. They have promised to show us all the sights when we go! 

I haven't done much today.  I have moved stock boxes for the layout down from the bedroom to the storage space under the layout. 

Aditi is off our soon to Waitrose to do some shopping and collect something she ordered online. Some sort of mini food processor for things that it isn’t worth using a big food processor for.  I suspect it is the kitchen equivalent of the Bosch multi bodging tool I bought recently. So many DIY tools seem to be rechargeable now but kitchen tools still seem to be mains powered. 

Tony 

[Happy Hippo]

51 minutes ago, TheQ said:

it's a rare occurance but does happen, a few years ago a friend came back from Hong Kong for the race, He was in the first start..

He sailed out of Horning, at the second bend  Hauled up his spinaker, caught a huge gust capsised and sank.. The boat sat up right on the bottom with him standing on the boat in the water up to his thighs holdiing onto the mast , as all 100 other boats sailed past... once they were clear the rescue boat was able to go and get him and the boat..  He's in a much bigger boat this year a broads sailing cruiser with cooking and toilet on board.

Well judging by his past performance, he certainly knows how to clean out the heads!

[BoD]

9 hours ago, chrisf said:

In other news, I am now the proud owner of a rainbow bobble hat and you bet I’ll be wearing it in public! 

 

That’s one way of ensuring that bus drivers can see you.

[jamie92208]

7 hours ago, newbryford said:

 

Four days less than two years ago.

 

 

 

Thoughts to Natalie and her Mum.

 

Today is our first game in the North West Seniors League.

 

Time for a bacon butty before heading to Hurlston Hall near Ormskirk.

 

Catch up later.

 

FORE!

 

Cheers,

Mick

Snap

[jamie92208]

Morning all from sunny Roseville. S's completed and breakfast awaits. However I have already been for a productive drive round part of the yard.  Off to meet our friends later.

 

Thoughts with Natalie and good luck to the shed builders.

 

Jamie

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. 

4 hours ago, Kingzance said:

Any thickness of 50mm or more would be ok Phil although I would add an under frame brace for lengths over 1000mm at 500mm centres if the thickness was less than 100mm. I have seen this stuff used and I also laid out a test track on top of a few floor cupboards quite successfully.

As the layout will only be 50 X 90 centimetres max 50 mm should suffice. I have worked out that I'll only require a single sheet of 50 X 100 cm ply to make the ends and sides with additional longitudinal slats to add strength and rigidity, rather like the old wooden seed trays. Any left over Cellotex might be put to use in constructing the required tunnel.

[Kingzance]

16 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. 

As the layout will only be 50 X 90 centimetres max 50 mm should suffice. I have worked out that I'll only require a single sheet of 50 X 100 cm ply to make the ends and sides with additional longitudinal slats to add strength and rigidity, rather like the old wooden seed trays. Any left over Cellotex might be put to use in constructing the required tunnel.

That sounds like a good plan Phil. I would add two slats running parallel to the short sides 30cm in from each edge rather than any longtitudinal slat(s). When cutting Cellotex try to do it outside with a mask or damp cloth across your nose just in case. I used a nice sharp breadknife running it along an aluminium straight edge as necessary. I will be making the cuttings for Kingzance out of this material but will leave the foil faced surface exposed, gluing the cut surface wherever possible. As for the edges / bracing, what thickness ply will you use? I'm sure you could get away with 5.5mm but I would personally go for 9mm as it is a little more robust, less bendy yet not too heavy. As you can afford to "lose" the corners (because the track won't go to the very edges), you could use 20mmx44mm PSE timber internally in each corner against which to butt your ply and as something to which you could screw the cross-braces.

If you need support legs, (as Kingzance does) I am using 25mmx25mmx1.5mm aluminium box section. This is easy to cut, light and is available with plastic insert jointing pieces to make 3-way junctions, right angles, tee junctions and you can also get adjustable feet for it. I have found it strong, light and very good value for money when bought from Aluminium Warehouse - their "easifix" range (www.aluminiumwarehouse.co.uk). I have no commercial links to that company, I just use them for both good pricing and quick service.

Keep us posted with progress please!

[grandadbob]

Not a bad day today, well almost not bad.

Shed visited and circular saw deployed, large sheets of ply are now smaller more manageable pieces suitable for model railway building. Other stuff done in the shed with drills and drivers so garden tools etc can be hung up and GDB  had survived with no mishaps or loss of blood. Gazebo now almost empty, just a couple of more things to find a home for. It all went swimmingly until..........

 

.........wait for it.........

 

.........I slipped off the edge of the remains of a path,  fell and sprained my ankle and twisted my bloody knee again, just as it seemed to be recovering from the last time. You couldn't make it up. Well, you could, but no bu##er would believe you.  

 

Beer, wine, scampi and chips and now more wine have been prescribed along with some painkillers.

 

H.E. Fellover

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by grandadbob

[tigerburnie]

With SWMBO's words ringing in my ears "you be careful you daft old b*gg"r", I duly clambered on the roof and applied wood treatment and applied nails with no falling, whacking of body parts with hammer or any other mishap, sure there will be plenty of time to rise to the higher standards set by GDB and maim myself when the new roof panels arrive, getting quite excited now(I really should get out more).

[lightengine]

My great uncle, aunt and their son all lived in Roseville for their final years after having lived in Sacramento for many years.  Visited Sutters fort, the old town, railway museum, native American museum and a shopping mall at Arden that had a huge sliding door that was the bricked corner of the building. Sacramento was also one end of the Pony Express service. Many relatives still live in Sacramento.

I much preferred San Francisco, a thoroughly enjoyable city to be in and so much to see and do.

 

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by lightengine