big jim

And one from Stoke back to meeting it at Stockport tonight!

yeah but cat hair sandwiches aren’t that appetising!

One of our biggest pet hates at home is cats on worktops, for obvious hygiene reasons. fae has been pretty good and no longer climbs but hank is an absolute sod for it, as soon as he jumps up we get him and throw him down (gently of course) with a solid NO, if we see him about to jump again it’s a NO and he will look at us and not jump up until he thinks our back is turned anyway this morning, got up for work and went into the kitchen only to bust the pair of them asleep on the tops, it’s not a food prep area but all the same despite fae bing in a few sleep I had to get them off, moved them to what I would say is a far comfier sofa! Busted! much better

Just one from stockport getting on a bit later in Stoke tonight

Sad news to report, clooney the rescue cat who is pictured a couple of pages back has had to be put to sleep this evening, he had to be put down as his internal organs had finally failed he’s the 13 year old black cat who used to belong to a druggie who had to be shaved as he didn’t clean himself (the cat not the druggie) and became matted, he had not been himself for a couple of days apparently and when he went to the vet he had to be put to sleep for the best we are so glad the grand old boy managed an extra 8 or so months more than we expected, when we got him in February he was in aright state and he was very nearly put to sleep then as it looked like there was no helping him, 13 years, not litter trained, no fur, one tooth, damaged by illegal drugs etc but lockdown happened, he was stuck with us for the foreseeable future and he bounced back to have some form of normal life, and his final few months were spent with us in foster getting better (and loved) and he got a couple of months with his new family living like a lord in a Cheshire Manor House! The day we got him, all shaved and one tooth left after he had the rotten ones removed and after going to his foster home for his last few months enjoy it over rainbow bridge old man

Edit: this is on the description page Profits from this figure will be passed onto the Scottish British legion Scottish Charity No. SC003323 didn’t notice that until you asked the question and I went back to have a look TBH the British legion is a cause closer to my heart than the NHS charities as my grandad used to do quite a lot for them and was quite a prominent figure in the local region

Superb, just ordered one, £5.79 in 1:76 scale painted

Just 2 from today, worked the Stone train Stockport to washwood Heath via Stoke on Trent Stockport and running round at landor st, the Mountsorrel train waiting at the junction too same again tonight

Back to the stone job again couple of freightliners on the mainline, light loco waiting to run round 66735 this week, same loco I had Saturday night got to work it from Stockport tonight via Stoke

If anyone is interested I’ve just put the 3D printer up for sale in the classifieds for £100 (Ono) quite simply haven’t used it for 2 years and it’s just in the way gathering dust in the mancave so I've decided to sell it on comes with a spool of filament and ready to print

I found having a display in front of you saying it’s costing this much right now made me think about what was running round the house, things on standby etc, it certainly made me more conscious about the kids leaving lights on around the house etc, the biggest change I noticed was swapping to LED bulbs from normal filament type, the usage certainly dropped when we made that switch similarly when we had a hive thermostat fitted that’s saved a fortune in gas by not heating an empty house on a standard timer set up, if were out now it’s set that once we move 3 miles away from the house I get an alert on my phone and watch telling me the temperature and whether the heating is running asking me if I want to adjust it, similarly coming home I can set it to turn the heating on 5 miles from home so it’s warm when we get in, if I could be bothered I could have it switch lights on too just as we return home

Just a couple from today nuneaton possession tomorrow night near Tamworth then another week of the washwood Heath Stone, should be a different loco/wagon set

I’ve just had a year of being supplied by a company (EDF) who couldn’t use our existing smart meter as it’s a first generation one so I’ve swapped back to the company I was with when it was fitted (OVO) so it can be used again out of protest I didn’t send any meter readings in for the year I was with EDF As they didn’t tell me when switching the meter was useless, sent one in today so it will be interesting to see if I’m in credit or debt with them when I swap at the end of the month

Just one from this morning in basford hall

Actually he doesn’t like people to know his real name is yellow McYellowface! thankfully he was named after his favourite colour, not after his original layout ‘blackmill’

But even the sea is ruined by the hundreds of wind turbines in Blackpool bay

Newbryford = Mick

go back a page, I’ve put a google street view image of the same location up, houses long gone and flats/maisonettes are in their place but no doubt ridiculously priced

The best view of Rhyl is in the rear view mirror

I’ve just looked on line and had we had the licence I could have got it booked for this Saturday! other than that there are plenty of slots available between now and the end of the month, we may just have to run him in for a few days until it’s all sorted

we’re going to see our local CBT trainer later and if they are looking at the same timescale I’ll see if we can book it without actually having his licence to hand As we only applied for it on line yesterday

Eldest lad had a trial in a butchers again yesterday and after 3 hours got a call to come and collect him, feared the worst but he said it went well, then got a call from the college and the butchers have agreed to take him on as an apprentice, he was sent home as the days work he was given to do, mincing and making burgers etc he did in the 3 hours he was there! hes made up obviously as are we but the butchers is in kelsall near Chester which is a 12 mile trip each way which with me being on shifts and my wife having to get the younger one up for school means we won’t be able to take him there everyday, it’s not on a direct bus route from Crewe, he would have to get 2 buses at almost 2 hours or a train to Chester and bus back to kelsall at an hour and a quarter but it’s the cost of that 4 days a week that’s prohibitive My wife and I had discussed a few months back getting him his CBT so he could get a moped/motorbike If he got his work placement a distance away so we have gone down that route, only being 16 he is limited to 50cc/30mph which is a bit of a worry as the road to kelsall on the non 30/40 bits can be very heavy, id have preferred him to be able to have a 125/60mph machine to keep up with the traffic flow but so be it, nothing I can do to change the law! we've seen a few Decent 50s though, looking about £1100 for a brand new one on the road with 5 yr warrantee, he has the money to buy it himself When he finds the one he likes, then of course he has to insure it, buy wet weather gear, fuel, helmet etc!

you could always venture to Prestatyn and go to the top of gwaenysgor hill and have a nice view of rhyl

stupid autocorrect

i must admit I always thought Lincolnshire to be flat until I drove from Lincoln to Louth, really surprised me how hilly the north end is similarly railway wise I was expecting the east Sussex line between Ipswich and Lowestoft to be fen like flat, Couldn’t believe the climbs and dips between Trimly jn and Beccles