BoD

Welcome from the Costa del Durham

I read 1984 recently and you know what... I don't remember it being anything like that at all.

Can one still buy these (and whoopee cushions) in joke shops nowadays. Are there still such things as joke shops. Asking for a friend.

Happy 40th, Mr &Mrs Ian A. I hope you can enjoy a good celebration when you feel more up to it.

In Scotland they have provided very sophisticated and accurate measuring equipment to help you in these matters ...

Put them to one side and come back to them when you are further down the grieving road. You will enjoy them so much more and they will bring memories, mostly good and probably some less good , but you will be in a much better position to appreciate and enjoy them. I have couple of boxes of such stuff waiting for the right time.

What’s Nicola Sturgeon doing down there?

To be fair, Arnold Shwartzenegger in 'The Abortinator' doesn't have quite the same ring to it.

You were in Masham yet still had to order beer in?

Another WHL layout I’m looking forward to following.

It really does worry me… on so many levels… when this sort of news makes front page headlines.

The Northumberland coast is a truly wonderful place. History, nature, unspoilt beaches, those huge skies… but I guess I don’t need to tell you that. We are having a run out up that way tomorrow.

At least it might have a use … Not sure that colour nail varnish suits you though.

You don’t necessarily have to use DCC to control your points just because you have a DCC controller. Solenoid motors with a mimic panel at the controller end of your baseboard with switches, push buttons or stud and probe via a capacitor discharge unit will work just as well.

Yes, I was doing some research and saw that. The ones today sounded much louder though, from slightly further away too. They were on the cliff top facing out to the North Sea. I hope those two Russian submarines don’t think they were firing at them,

I have just got back from a pleasant and, at times, poignant ceremony where the 4th Regiment Royal Artillery were presented with the freedom of our town. This means that (apart from grazing their sheep and what have you) they don’t have to camp outside the town and wait to be invited in but can, should they wish, freely march into town to music and display their colours or, rather being artillery, their guns. Having been officially invited in by the town elders the regiment marched in to a pipe band and paraded, there was a service, the official conference of the freedom and then individual members of the regiment were presented with their Queen’s Platinum Jubilee medals. There was also an official act of remembrance, which was the poignant bit. The parade itself and minute’s silence were started and ended by the firing of their guns. Probably nothing to some here, but I got the feeling that the blank rounds carried quite a full charge because they were much, much louder than the ones used for the one o’clock gun in Edinburgh. Perhaps their guns are bigger than the one used in Edinburgh Castle but they seemed similar. I suppose those there should be grateful that they are a light artillery regiment rather than heavy. Whatever, the appearance, deployment and timing of the gun crews was precision itself and very impressive. Altogether a rather enjoyable morning.

Ouch. Thankfully it wasn’t in the scenic area.

Your ground cover (static grass and other bits?) Is very effective indeed.

You must be pretty famous there for them to arrange a flypast for you.

Afternoon all We went to do our usual weekly shop at one of the main supermarkets. We had most items needed but when we got to the chilled section we found it roped off. Apparently the chillers hadn’t been able to cope with yesterday’s heat. They were all empty of stock so I don’t know what had happened to it. This meant we finished our shop without things like cheese, cooked meats, yoghurts fruit juice etc. Means we will probably have to do another shop. Once a week at a supermarket is more than enough for anyone, darn it.

It would appear so. Take, for example your car handbook. It used to tell you how to replace things, adjust timing and tappets and other useful things Now it just tells you not to drink the contents of the battery.

Tartarians must have existed. We still use the sauce they invented.

I don’t know. I’m not an education minister.

I’m sure HH would give that comment the proverbial two fingered salute … … if he could.