PhilJ W

How many base model Mk. I Cortinas are left? Very few if any I expect.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. A bit dull and overcast this morning but the forecasters say its going to brighten up this afternoon. Another phishing attempt arrived in my spam file this morning and like the previous attempt was binned but not until I had reported to the internet fraud people. Birthday wishes to Mrs. Gwiwer and many more of them. Thats it for now, be back later.

"I paid a reet load of cash for this holiday so we're going to enjoy it!"

Goodnight all.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. If you think your having a bad day, not as bad as this little fellah >> http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=437091589772475&set=a.121 By the way I've reported the car parking near the station to both the local council and the fire brigade. The fire brigade are aware of the situation and 'will be taking action'. I might get an acknowledgement from the council if I am lucky.

A belated good morning from Estuary-Land, overslept again. Very sorry to hear of your travails DD, I hope that things improve soon. Teaching in the same school that your daughter attends shouldn't be a problem Andy as she will be going up to junior school within the next couple of years. On that subject in my class at school were twin brothers, the sons of a teacher at another nearby school. The school were their father taught was co-ed whereas our school was boys only. What is more surprising perhaps is that they both failed the 11+ and 13+ despite them both being accademically bright. I cannot recall what occupations they took up after leaving school but like the majority of us already had a job lined up when we left school.

So it is, I realise now I was looking for a Volga. The sight below can be used to check how many are left. http://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/#

Goodnight all.

It's a Vauxhall Victor FC. Minic made one in 1/76 scale but its now very rare.

Your supposed to post models on this thread, not the real thing.

GROAN BUTTON NOW!!!!

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Car stayed on the drive today as I decided to take a walk into town as it was a good day. Near Basildon station there is was an office block that has been converted into luxury flats. My route takes me past said building and the footpath in front of the building is crowded with parked cars to such an extent that it is difficult to get a pushchair or wheelchair past, thats if there is any part of the footpath that isn't broken and there is no alternative footpath. What makes it worse many of the cars are sporting 'parking permits' issued by the developer of the flats and furthermore part of the area taken up by parked cars is a fire path to give access to the same flats in an emergency.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Thought I'd overslept this morning, woke up, checked my watch, thought it said 8:10 then rushed about getting washed and dressed. Switched telly on to catch the weather forecast and my ears pricked up when he said he'd be back in half an hour. Checked my watch again and realised I'd misread my watch and it was an hour earlier than I thought. Spent last evening sorting out the club library, still only half done. Many of the books have never been read and/or rubbish such as those 'coffee table' books labelled St. Michael, I expect the majority will end up in the charity shop. Off now to examine my eyelids, be back later.

Goodnight all.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Congratulations to Dom and Elise and best wishes. TheQ, I would think that plenty would surrender if they looked up and saw a kilted Scotsman decending on a parachute above them. I've been lucky with various properties I have owned, I purchased my parents house for considerably less than its market value, they only required sufficient funds to purchase their retirement property. Then finding that a large three bedroom house was too much for someone living on his own I sold up and bought a cottage in Burnham-on-Crouch, the year before the local branch line (to Southminster) was electrified, the 'sparks effect' virtually doubled the property value overnight. I was then able to purchase my present property closer to work. I did start out with an endowment mortgage but I was able to change it to a repayment mortgage just before property values crashed and I just avoided negative equity.

A quick look in before going to the model railway club. I am fortunate in that working for a local authority for 37.5 years my pension is safe. Pity the poor devils who worked for BHS whos pension money bought Cur Philip Green another luxury yacht. The state pension scheme is not much more than a glorified Ponzi scheme where current investment is paid as dividend to previous investors, the whole pension scheme in this country needs a good shake-up.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Looking forward to seeing one of the new £ coins and the jokes have started:- 'Why does it have ten sides? So that you can use a spanner to remove it from a Yorkshiremans hand.' A bit overcast and breezy at the moment but the forecast is mostly dry. But what if they said it was a correct answer? So long for now, be back later.

The second picture shows the reason for the erosion of the concrete steps, shingle.

Goodnight all.

A suitable load here? http://www.sandmmodels.co.uk/shop/new-arrivals/

Evening all from Estuary-Land. To retire or not to retire, I was in the fortunate position of having all of the figures at my fingertips when I looked at taking early retirement which I did 9 years ago this coming Friday. After taking into account no more NI and pension deductions and a reduced tax liability and using the lump sum to pay off mortgage and credit cards I found that I would be slightly better off and thats how it worked out. In fact it worked out even better as there were no costs for the daily (car) commute but as I was using the car more for 'leisure' it was difficult to calculate.

I was at an exhibition just before Christmas, I carry my exhibits in a small trailer which I loaded up in the hall after the exhibition closed. I parked my car near to the doorway but making sure that the exit was clear and went to collect the trailer. When I returned to the car I found a van parked close to my drivers door so close in fact that I couldn't enter my car. The van was also parked on a grassed area in front of the door despite there being a hardstanding a couple of metres away. When I asked the people to move the van I was told that I would have to wait until they've finished loading. I complained to the exhibition manager and he got the same reply. The people concerned will not get an invitation to that show again and a few others around informed me that they do not receive much in the way of invites to other exhibitions due to their attitude

Morning all from Estuary-Land. The seaweed wranglers predicted a bit of mist this morning that appeared as a rather thick fog, at least being retired I don't have to contend with the morning cockwomble on the roads. My clock is still getting used to the hours change, I normally wake about 6 then have about an hours snooze, this morning I woke at 7 to late for a snooze so had to get up, I might will fit a snooze in this afternoon. Bye for now, be back later.

Goodnight all.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Ian, the 'blob' on the map was Arizona shaped but somehow they managed to move it nearer to the Canadian border hence my uncertainty about which state it was. I for one think its about time that the whole idea was scrapped and we stuck to BST. Tony, the converted chicken shed sounds familiar, it wasn't the Maldon club by any chance? I am quite happy to see static models at exhibitions, it gives a good chance to examine and admire the details and workmanship whereas others I know will walk past layouts where nothing is moving.