Early Risers.

[New Haven Neil]

8 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

A good evening at SEERS this evening. Started with a talk by the owner of a garden railway demonstrating the forty plus members of his stud in action, he also bemoaned the demise of Track Shack.

 

Aww!  Gone but not forgotten.  We were 'big' in the garden railway world of course, the largest Accucraft dealer, and would you believe the 4th largest Peco dealers (all gauges/scales) for a few years.  A couple of well known other outlets were probably very happy when we stopped trading!

 

As an addendum to that, John recently re-married and is very happy in his new life, I'm happy in retirement!  The rest of the crew are doing fine, there were 8 altogether.  Some may recall Jane, bonkers 'front of house/phone girl' she now has a good career in PWC of all people, and is also a published author.  I trained her well!

[New Haven Neil]

A crisp -1c this morning on the rock, wish that 10c would come back.  Lovely sunrise and clear skies now, not a bike day though, looks like the car to the OF's breakfast.

 

Then have to think up a nice meal as it is Mrs NHN's 59th birthday today, just a young thing!  Offers of a train for a present not well received. She is however driving around town in a Unimog they have on test, intimidating traffic and having fun undertaking serious reviewing of it's capabilities.  And yes she is licenced to drive it.

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Dull but dry.  A breezy cloudy day forecast with the chance of a few bright intervals.  3°C rising to 7°C.

Not firing on all cylinders today,  there is a hint of the dark animal in the background.

Time to gettamoveon,  "we need" to go to Sainsbury's.

Have a good one,

Bob.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. The eczema was on fire last night and I'm cream crackered so its back to bed for some eyelid inspection.

[Grizz]

43 minutes ago, Barry O said:

Ride of the valkeries was used on one film about tanks..

 

Baz

Mmmmmmm I trust that it wasn’t used in a film about tanks in the following paint scheme……as that might just probably be viewed as a tad insensitive in some camps…..🧐 as apparently it was sadly a favourite of Mr A Hilter…although some may prefer to remember it’s use in Apocalypse Now with the ‘Air Cavalry’…

 

[Barry O]

Memory playing tricks .  It's Mars the bringer of war...at least that's the Vickers one I found on YouTube

Baz

[Compound2632]

13 hours ago, The White Rabbit said:

Though if my country had been invaded as many times as Russia had, I'd probably be worried about actual and potential threats too.

 

I can think off-hand of three times but maybe I'm missing some:

1. By Poland-Lithuania, in 1610-12
2. By Napoleon, in 1812-13
3. By Nazi Germany, in 1941-44

On the other hand, I've rapidly run out of fingers on which to count the times Russia has invaded other countries. 

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

A dull, grey, cool but dry start to the day here in the northwest corner of England. It’s back to normal here now, so I’ll shortly be heading off to the butchers to collect the weekly meat rations. After that it’ll be a visit to the Trafford Centre for a few more bits and pieces. I had a successful visit to Halfords yesterday, I exchanged the paint I bought in December for the correct shade of red. When Charlie called round yesterday afternoon, we decided to stay in the cellar, he continued working on his modelling project, whilst I decided to strip the paint of the 1/2 scale signal arm, as I wasn’t really happy with the finish. Once I’d got all the paint off, I gave it a rub down with various grades of sand paper and it’s now ready for re-painting. 
 

Time to set off, back later. 
 

Brian

[southern42]

' morning all from red dragon land.

Overcast. 3.1C. Brrr!

 

Yesterday, transfers on one little orange box with flanged wheels were lightly covered with matt varnish and left to harden up slowly on the landing as it is cooler there than in the muddling room dining room. A test - to ensure the transfers are secured - will be made to make it grimy as per photos of the real thing before I varnish the other five little boxes. It worked on my Cakebox Challenge campervan so I am feeling fairly confident.

 

Time for some jobs. Click and collect groceries arriving this afternoon.

 

Keep warm / cool. Be good. Go with it.

 

[The White Rabbit]

36 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

I can think off-hand of three times but maybe I'm missing some:

1. By Poland-Lithuania, in 1610-12
2. By Napoleon, in 1812-13
3. By Nazi Germany, in 1941-44

On the other hand, I've rapidly run out of fingers on which to count the times Russia has invaded other countries. 

 

I certainly do not claim any moral high ground for them. My post was intended to comment on why some Russians feel the way they do on geo-political matters. And, yes, I thoroughly accept that may lead to certain people and factions exploiting that for personal political and economic advantage. But on the being invaded side and without getting into the rights and wrongs of the situation, off-hand (and as a result, my dates might be a bit out), I'd mention/add:

 

In the 13th century:

The Swedes 

Teutonic Knights?/[Eastern European] Crusaders around the same time - including that battle on an ice-covered lake

Mongols/Tartars (ongoing for about 200-300 years, IIRC) 

 

16th century - Crimean Tartars

 

19th century - Crimean War

 

20th century:

Poland in 1919-21

Western intervention 1919-1923(ish) in support of the 'Whites' following the revolution. 

Japanese forces c1931-1941

 

I've not mentioned the first millennium AD as my dates are too hazy for me to want to mention and there's considerable scope to debate when Russia became Russia - but the Huns and Khazars caused much 'distress' on multiple occasions. 

 

The above is just from memory, I am sure I've missed some, if not plenty. 

 

[Compound2632]

22 minutes ago, The White Rabbit said:

I'd mention/add:

 

Fair enough, but for balance you should list the occasions on which Russia has invaded its neighbours, from Poland in the west to Japan in the east. As I recall, when Peter the Great founded St Petersburg, the location was Swedish territory.

 

As to the Crimean and Polish-Russian wars, they were both fought on what is now Ukrainian territory.

 

(And in the latter case, Belarus and Lithuania.)

Edited January 27, 2023 by Compound2632

[The Lurker]

37 minutes ago, The White Rabbit said:

 

I certainly do not claim any moral high ground for them. My post was intended to comment on why some Russians feel the way they do on geo-political matters. And, yes, I thoroughly accept that may lead to certain people and factions exploiting that for personal political and economic advantage. But on the being invaded side and without getting into the rights and wrongs of the situation, off-hand (and as a result, my dates might be a bit out), I'd mention/add:

 

In the 13th century:

The Swedes 

Teutonic Knights?/[Eastern European] Crusaders around the same time - including that battle on an ice-covered lake

Mongols/Tartars (ongoing for about 200-300 years, IIRC) 

 

16th century - Crimean Tartars

 

19th century - Crimean War

 

20th century:

Poland in 1919-21

Western intervention 1919-1923(ish) in support of the 'Whites' following the revolution. 

Japanese forces c1931-1941

 

I've not mentioned the first millennium AD as my dates are too hazy for me to want to mention and there's considerable scope to debate when Russia became Russia - but the Huns and Khazars caused much 'distress' on multiple occasions. 

 

The above is just from memory, I am sure I've missed some, if not plenty. 

 

I don't think you could go back to the first century AD because the Rus as a people grew out of an admixture of the slavs and the vikings in the 9th or 10th centuries. The kingdom was initially centred on Kyiv/Kiev, with Moscow coming to the fore in IIRC the 11th or 12th centuries, in time to suffer at the hands of the Mongols. Once Russia expanded into the steppes, it was always open to invasion of sort because the steppes were the highway of the nomadic tribes that occasionally expanded westwards or eastwards or southwards (at different times).

 

wikipedia has a list of wars Russia has been involved in and the list starts in the 830s with a Rus expedition vs Byzantium

[BoD]

Many happy returns to our archer on the rock.

[Gwiwer]

Nothing says “Happy Weekend” like the cat leaving welcome-home berries just inside the front door! 

[DaveF]

 

This morning is bright and sunny with a fresh feel to the air (i.e. cold) but it is lovely to get outside for a while.

 

Yesterday I went to church and acted as server which was interesting as the vicar is away so it was a "stand in" who I'd not met before.  It all went OK though.  I had to explain that I was in hospital last week as my absence had been noticed.   After a coffee I called at the beach on the way home and had a gentle walk.  I've found the chest is not too painful if I walk a bit more slowly than usual and keep my shoulder still by putting my hand in my pocket.

 

I fell asleep again after lunch - surely I must have caught on the sleep I missed in hospital by now - and then continued fitting the pieces into the jigsaw.  It is now just over half completed.  

 

Then it was time for tea after which I tried a hard sudoku and got it wrong - I may try again later today.  After that it was the usual reading and TV until bedtime.

 

David

Edited January 27, 2023 by DaveF

[jjb1970]

I always think going back into history is a bit pointless in terms of the blame game or looking for justifications for contemporary actions.

 

Quite aside from historical events being just that, with contemporary events being determined by political leaders, the unfortunate reality is that there aren't that many mature nations with no skeletons in the cupboard and most countries have acted like complete you know what's in the past.

 

History can help explain social attitudes and long standing enmity but ultimately wars happen because of deliberate decision making by politicians.

 

One of the most enduring myths of history is that Europe just drifted into WW1 as a result of forces outside human control. Self serving politicians like David Lloyd George were very successful with their self-exculpatory memoirs and stories, and scape goating generals for the carnage.  

[iL Dottore]

It’s interesting to contemplate how geography determines national character, society and civic behaviour.

 

Take for example Switzerland and Japan, which although ostensibly on the surface are very, very different, they share a considerable number of similarities: they are both surrounded by a hostile environment (although in Switzerland’s case that hostile environment was political rather than a geographic), both countries are highly regulated, prize conformity, expect everyone in that society to do their job properly and to a high standard, both make a virtue out of the necessity of eking out the absolutely last erg of value/utility from their limited and minimal natural resources, both value education and promote strict civic responsibility And both Switzerland and Japan were quite poor countries until after the second world war, when a combination of education, social cohesion and having high standards in doing whatever they made/produced resulted in both countries becoming very wealthy.

And returning to Russia for a moment: with its history and given that there is not much in the way of natural obstacles between Berlin and the Urals, one can understand why the Russians might get a bit twitchy when former members of The Soviet bloc (and former buffer states between Russia and Europe) start cozying up to NATO and Western Europe.

 

[petethemole]

"Nothing says “Happy Weekend” like the cat leaving welcome-home berries just inside the front door! "

 

I was doing some decorating work on my then boss's town house, which was empty prior to being sold.  The subterranean garage at the rear had a sliding door that didn't always shut properly.  One morning I found that a cat had got in, gone upstairs and done its business on the front door mat....and all the mail.  Fortunately I noticed it as I opened the door so didn't tread in it, but it all had to be cleaned of the worst and bagged so it could be taken to his new house.

Edited January 27, 2023 by petethemole

[Coombe Barton]

16 minutes ago, DaveF said:

surely I must have caught on the sleep I missed in hospital by now

I don't think that 'catching up on sleep' is the end of it - you're banking it for the next time, but it's never enough

[polybear]

1 hour ago, Gwiwer said:

Nothing says “Happy Weekend” like the cat leaving welcome-home berries just inside the front door! 

 

Spotting it before you (a) step in it, and (b) tread it right thru' the house is often considered to be A Very Good Idea..........

 

Bear here.....

Toolboxes all sorted; the Postie then delivered the much-awaited 10-32 UNF screws needed to complete the M.E. Group Project - a small amount of fettling was required (enlarging the holes a smidgeon) but all is now well and it's been stashed ready for use.  Big Tick - and the morning gone.

Right, first a trip into Beamland to see if I've got any M6 studding stashed away, followed by looking for a new pendulum mechanism on the 'bay.

 

In other news......

Bear has been A Naughty Bear - involving the spending of exactly one Deltic's worth of tokens on something that's green with small yellow ends; it won't be delivered until Q1 2024 though, but that's OK.  This'll be from "Batch 2" - which apparently has been slightly modified/improved from Batch One.  That's a result.  Incidentally, buying direct from the manufacturer means no postage costs.  Another Tick.

 

And finally......

It seems that Memphis are to be releasing a Police Video later today.  Bear predicts trouble ahead.....

 

Bear gone.

[The Lurker]

Thinking of the Khazars, who were mentioned earlier in connection with wars with Russia, I have recalled that the Khazars, almost uniquely, converted to Judaism. The Khagan got representatives from Islam, Christianity and Judaism to extol the virtues of their respective faiths. He then chose the one he liked best for him and his people. 

[Gwiwer]

23 minutes ago, polybear said:

Spotting it before you (a) step in it, and (b) tread it right thru' the house is often considered to be A Very Good Idea..........

 

Both completed safely!!!  

 

As luck has it the door opened to reveal some junk mail seed catalogues for Dr. SWMBO meaning I was already aware of something on the mat before taking that first step inside.  And then I became aware of other things on the mat ......  

 

Other than that today has thus far been a Good 'Un.  Slightly warmer again than the previous few and with no need to deploy the hand-warmers at all.  Mostly well-behaved customers made all the difference although there "is always one" who today wasn't even on the platform - not even within sight nor hearing distance - yet still claimed I had "Seen her coming and heard her shouting" but still let the train go.  I wasn't aware of her until after the train had left.  And - as it turned out - it wasn't even her train!!!  

 

The laundry is in progress.  Woodwork has been cut to size and fitted with adjustable feet; to avoid the awl please click the link to Porthgarrow in my signature.  It is now Muggertea Time at the computer with more work for the No.1 book in progress.  No.2 and No.3 are well down the queue at this stage!   

 

 

[The White Rabbit]

2 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

Fair enough, but for balance you should list the occasions on which Russia has invaded its neighbours, from Poland in the west to Japan in the east. As I recall, when Peter the Great founded St Petersburg, the location was Swedish territory.

 

As to the Crimean and Polish-Russian wars, they were both fought on what is now Ukrainian territory.

 

(And in the latter case, Belarus and Lithuania.)

 

I was replying to your post, rather than presenting a legal defence or historical analysis of who's been most aggressive/'wicked'. Hence my 'disclaimer':

 

3 hours ago, The White Rabbit said:

I certainly do not claim any moral high ground for them. My post was intended to comment on why some Russians feel the way they do on geo-political matters. And, yes, I thoroughly accept that may lead to certain people and factions exploiting that for personal political and economic advantage. But on the being invaded side and without getting into the rights and wrongs of the situation, off-hand (and as a result, my dates might be a bit out), I'd mention/add: ...

 

As far as certain wars being fought on what is now disputed territory or other states' land, true, I won't argue about that but would like to point out that at the time in question, the land was claimed by Russia/the Soviets, de facto if not de jure. If we are going to get into the legalities and moralities of rebellions, civil war and multi-ethnic empires, then I fold - not because I doubt my reasoning but because I'm not prepared to get banned over debating something I can't change. Or being bogged down in participating in what is potentially an extremely complex historical debate when I have neither the time or energy for that. And any objective post on the history of armed conflict and state policy in that area would be an extremely lengthy one. I would not be surprised to hear it's been the subject of various PhDs. Should you wish to write one, as someone interested in history, I would be quite happy to consider your points. And I may well agree with them. But ... 

 

A) 

2 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

I always think going back into history is a bit pointless in terms of the blame game or looking for justifications for contemporary actions.

 

Quite aside from historical events being just that, with contemporary events being determined by political leaders, the unfortunate reality is that there aren't that many mature nations with no skeletons in the cupboard and most countries have acted like complete you know what's in the past.... 

 

(My italics) - I can usually tell when someone's worked with the media and in PR - that's a very 'juicy' quote - and devastatingly accurate! 

 

 

B)

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

It’s interesting to contemplate how geography determines national character, society and civic behaviour....

... And returning to Russia for a moment: with its history and given that there is not much in the way of natural obstacles between Berlin and the Urals, one can understand why the Russians might get a bit twitchy when former members of The Soviet bloc (and former buffer states between Russia and Europe) start cozying up to NATO and Western Europe.

 

I'm not asking anyone to support Soviet/Russian state actions, just to understand why they might (either reasonably or unreasonably) fear certain things which they see as threats. And react accordingly. The English Channel/La Manche has always been something of a private moat for Britain against the tides of european events. Switzerland has the Alps. Japan also has a maritime 'buffer zone'. As Il D [almost] says, Russia has nothing ... For better or for worse, that's always going to affect a country's behaviour, both at an individual and state level.  

 

C)

The signature of another forum contributor was along the lines of 'the world may not be what we wish it to be but wishes won't change it'. Like it or not (and it probably won't surprise many to hear there's quite a bit I don't care for) we have to deal with things (and international relations) as they are rather than what we would like them to be. 

 

[Gwiwer]

5 hours ago, Barry O said:

It's Mars the bringer of war

As composed by one Gustavus Theodore von Holst, not a German but English-born of a Swedish mother and English father despite his name; that more often being abbreviated to Gustav.  

 

The strident 5:4 metre of "Mars", one of the better-known pieces with that uncommon time signature - was composed in the most un-warlike  environment of a country house in the sleepy Essex village of Thaxted.  Not a million miles away from the equally tranquil "Constable Country" of The Haywain and similar scenes.  

 

One can only wonder what creative processes occur in those or any locations to leave such a contrasting, yet magnificent, legacy.

[Compound2632]

4 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

The strident 5:4 metre of "Mars", one of the better-known pieces with that uncommon time signature - was composed in the most un-warlike  environment of a country house in the sleepy Essex village of Thaxted.  Not a million miles away from the equally tranquil "Constable Country" of The Haywain and similar scenes.  

 

One can only wonder what creative processes occur in those or any locations to leave such a contrasting, yet magnificent, legacy.

 

At Christmas time I posted Herbert Howells' A Spotless Rose, composed to the accompaniment of the clashing of wagon buffers and squealing of brakes from the Midland sidings at Worcester, that his house overlooked.

 

So, it works both ways!

Edited January 27, 2023 by Compound2632