PhilJ W

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Glad to hear that all our invalids are on the up and Andy, you don't need a Zimmer frame to clear your way through the crowds at exhibitions as has been suggested. A walking stick is more than adequate for the purpose and theres something satisfying about seeing someone wearing a knapsack hopping about on one leg clutching their shin, even more so when the knapsack throws them off balance. Have a good hump day those who still have to earn a living, be back later.

Goodnight all.

Pity I didn't have my phone handy but this lunchtime when I looked out of an upstairs window I saw what I believe to be three juvenile rooks in my front garden. They were pecking at the edge of an old carpet that I had laid down as a weed suppressant, removing tufts of carpet as they did so.

There was such a power station proposed here about 15-20 years ago. There was strong opposition to it but our former MP, who had debunked to a safer seat a few miles to the east when it became obvious that he was going to lose, fully supported the idea. At a meeting with regard to the proposition he stood up and spoke up in favour of placing the power station as the chimney would be of such a height as to distribute the fumes well downwind. However the following speaker then pointed out that his 'safe' seat was directly downwind of the proposed power station much to his chagrin.

Morning all from the Estuary-Land. I see Jock has been doing some catching up on reading ER's, no wonder he feels tired. And welcome to Kelly, great to have you with us. A toddle into town today as I need to attend to a bit of business. Hope your feeling better Dom, and Andy I hope they can give you something for the pain.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Just got a 00 road/rail Unimog from e-bay. Its one of the Atlas ones and a really nice model. The fact that I got it for £15 which is the standard Atlas price is a bonus as they usually go at a premium, well chuffed. Glad to hear that Andy's op was successful. My dad was ambidextrous, he was normally left handed but when he was at school in the 20/30's it was common practice to force left handed kids to use their right hand. When they tried to do the same with my brother who is also left handed my dad went ballistic and the school backed off, when I joined the school the following year they seemed relieved to find that I was right handed. In fact I'm Clumsidextrous like Mrs. BSW. Now for a soak in the bath and then bed, goodnight all.

:scared: :scared:

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Great to see Jock back to his usual health and best wishes to Andy for the op and hopefully we'll be hearing a lot more from railsquid and squidlet. Nice and sunny here but not to warm due to the cold wind blowing up the estuary . Not much else to report, have a good day all, be back later.

Goodnight all.

You've heard the expression 'tighter than a ducks @rse, and thats watertight'. Therefore he didn't need them.

Hillbilly couple Mary-Lou and Billy-Bob were expecting their first baby. On the day the doctor and midwife were called and eventually the doctor came out to tell Billy-Bob that he had a healthy son, just then the midwife called out "Theres another on the way." This time it was a girl to be followed by another boy. After the celebrations the happy couple were discussing the multiple birth as neither of their families had had even twins before. Billy-Bob said "I know why it is, remember when we ran out of vaseline and we used 3-in-1 oil instead, I think that is the reason." Mary-Lou answered "Just as well we didn't use WD40 then."

Morning all from the Estuary-Land. Not much to report today and not much to do so I might as well do a bit of tidying up of the spare/modelling/workshop/junk room, that is until I come across something interesting or forgotten. Expecting a few more parcels this week, ordered a couple of books mentioned here on RMweb as well as some more successful e-bay purchases. Thats all for now be back later.

Goodnight all.

Back in 1976 I had a Bedford Dormobile. I was driving into Romford when I saw a mate waiting for a bus outside North Street bus garage so I offered him a lift. Only a few yards further on I found myself behind a learner driver who was getting a bit flustered, even stalling the car on one occasion, there was no way to pass the learner so I had to wait patiently until they got moving. A few seconds later the driver behind me started sounding his horn and flashing his lights. After a few minutes the leaner was able to pull away and we were able to proceed. As soon as the road opened up the driver who was behind me pulled past in front of me forcing me into the kerb then turned round and started gesticulating. My mate who was with me was a police officer who was on his way to work, he had taken off his 'civvy' jacket and donned his tunic and cap. He just stepped out of the Dormobile and the other drivers face was a sight to behold, my mate then spent a couple of minutes pointing out to him the error of his ways.

I last went down that way in 1973, then all that remained was the towers on the east bank and the tunnel.

I recently purchased two packs (4 per pack) of Gaugemaster working street lights for £2.99 each from e-bay. When they arrived they still had the price tag showing £9.99 on them.

I recall seeing a conversion of a WW2 Willeys Jeep to RHD, a notoriously difficult conversion. On the one in question to get the instruments moved to the right hand side involved removing the dash board and refitting it upside down. This was an Australian conversion necessitated by legislation. By all accounts it was one of the better conversions but not many were done due to cost.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Nice to hear from Jock once more even if his tale was a bit gruesome but bought to mind a similar accident I was told of. The chap who told me of this was a toolmaker at Fords Dagenham plant with the body press tools were made/repaired. As the press tools wore out they had to be replaced in situ, the hydraulic press was the biggest in the factory used for producing roof panels. Normally the machine opened up about a couple of inches, the steel sheet was slid in by the operator, pressed and then removed. To replace the press tools it was neccessary to open the press to a couple of feet, brace it and then the fitter had to crawl into the space to release the tool. On this occasion the fitter failed to brace the machine, its not certain what happened next but there was a loud bang as the press closed with the fitter inside. All that could be seen of the fitter was a pair of feet sticking out of the side of the press. The panels made in the machine were about 20 thou thick, about half a millimetre and the fitter was 'pressed' into that space. It was speculated that as it was a Friday the tool fitter had tried to rush the job by not installing the necessary bracing that was designed to stop the press from closing accidently. Having received training in health and safety I have heard some hair raising tales of accidents most of which could have been avoided. Edit spelling.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Great to hear from Jock who certainly sounds as if he's back to his old self again. Two more parcels arrived today, one was the plastic kit for the FWD lorry and reading up on the prototype I see that the track of the axles was set at 4' 81/2" deliberately so that they could operate on rail lines. Eyelids are drooping so its goodnight all.

There is now a plastic kit available of the FWD lorry on which the Hardy locomotive was based. It is made by Rodin to 1/72 scale. Several are available on e-bay.

Do they have railway modellers in India? There is a small but developing hobby in China with a limited number of Chinese prototypes becoming available so perhaps India will follow suit.

Very sorry to hear that Debs but 17 years is a very good innings for a dog, equivilent to 120 years in human terms.

I know I shouldn't but I did laugh at Smiffy's report about the accident to the OG, but I did give it a 'friendly supportive' instead of a 'funny amusing'.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Great to hear from Jock, I just hope the single malt is still on the medicines list. I have never fortunately had a serious DIY accident, mind you though I'm not that good at DIY, at school carpentry lessons I made the best firewood. A trip into town today, to avoid cooking I'll nip into the chippie for fish and chips. Have a good poEts day all.

Goodnight all.