PhilJ W

All the way from Australia? Seriously though I haven't even received that one. Fortunately the prices on E-bay are running out of steam and I've bought a couple of the models from there as I wanted to acquire a few extras of some models. Indeed some of those on e-bay are going for less than what Atlas charge for them.

As I spent most of my career working in the payroll department hearing choice language was part of the job, the worst offenders were some of the female office staff. Worst of all was one woman manager and what was more surprising was that she was a devout Christian who went to church every Sunday. I found some of our IT people a bit strange but not surprising some of the cockwombles we both had to deal with. The best managers to deal with were those in the departments where they had 'come off the tools' that is where they had in most cases worked in that department since leaving school. They knew their own job, and the job of everyone under them like the back of their hand, to work alongside many of them was a pleasure. Unfortunately most if not all of those sort had gone before I retired, replaced by those with a piece of paper in their hands saying that they can do the same job, as if.

Not a crane but by all accounts a tele-handler. One of the pieces of modern machinery used on farms today. They usually have the operators cab set low down on the side resulting in the operators view being obstructed by the lifting arm. I was wondering if this contributed to the accident. http://www.rocketrentals.co.uk/images/Upload/Telehandlers/THL_540-170_02S1.jpg

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Going into town today to get that haircut but the weather indicates I ought to take a cap to keep the brain warm afterwards. The sciatica seems to have abated but I'm still taking a pain killer a day but I can now get my socks on without too much difficulty. Hope for some more good news from our invalids soon, bye for now, be back later.

Goodnight all.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Great to hear from Jock and to know things are going as well as expected. Returning from doing a bit of shopping at about two this afternoon there was a hailstorm, quite heavy but the sun kept shining, I stayed in the car for a few minutes until it passed. Now time to put the kettle on and prepare for dinner, be back later.

Morning all from a bright but chilly Estuary-Land. Nice to see the post from Debs and as others have said hope to hear something from Jock soon. Chris, I have two pairs of slippers waiting in the wings for when the current pair disintegrate. The reason for having two spare pairs is that Tesco's don't always have the ones I prefer, nordic slippers, in stock. An added bonus of buying slippers and some other footwear from Tesco's is they are attached to a strong spring clip that makes a very useful clamp in the workshop. Thats all for now, be back later.

Goodnight all.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. I got a reply lunch time from Atlas Editions. My account is still (in)active but they've just run out of models to send but will send them when they receive more supplies, the catch is that they have no idea when that will be. On the Facebook group some people have been reporting that it has taken as much as a year for deliverys to re-commence on other series. Its not rocket science to be able to calculate how many to order when you know how many people have subscribed to a series. Most galling is that the same models that are in short supply pop up on e-bay at three times the price charged by Atlas almost as soon as those lucky enough to get them do so. Left my best wishes for Debs on her Facebook page and I expect she'll be back here soon. Hope we here a bit more from Jock soon as well and appologies if I've missed any commiserations or congratulations due.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Nice to hear from Debs this morning and best wishes to her and to Jock as well. I mentioned earlier that I had e-mailed the CEO of Atlas Editions about not receiving any models. I e-mailed him only late Friday but first thing this morning I was copied in to an e-mail he had sent to the manager responsible asking for it to be sorted. Fingers crossed something will happen soon as I'm quite impressed with most of the models received so far (as well as the couple I have obtained from flea-bay). In fact I've got to stay in this morning in case another arrives in the post. I did pay a little over the odds for the ones from e-bay but a fair bit less than the ones that were for sale at the toy fair yesterday even taking postage into account. Talking of the toy fair, I managed to snap up a few bargains there, a brace of EFE buses and a lorry at £2.50 each and an Oxford lorry for a fiver amongst other things, I'm glad I went. The sciatica still likes to remind me of its presence but the Co-codamol seems to be winning the battle. Nearly forgot, the talk of regional accents reminded me of when I moved from Romford to Burnham-on-Crouch I rapidly acquired a rural 'Essex' accent, I say acquired as I must have had it all along but it must have been there beneath my 'Estuary English' accent. I only realised this when I heard a lady speak in the local pub and she sounded just like my mum. However my mum was born in East London but her mother was Brentwood born and bred and though I didn't realise it at the time spoke with a distinct Essex accent.

Goodnight all.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Just spent a couple of hours reading and watching what is happening on my Facebook groups. I was surprised when I got to one group to discover that there was no Admins. A discussion was going on as to why this had happened and what to do about it. It eventually came down to forming a new group which is what I did. Within about 10 minutes I found out what had happened to the old group. Two of the new members had a spat which soon became apparent that it was a continuation of a spat on the old group. One of the protagonists had been an admin on the old group and for whatever reason his fellow admins had left and he was the only remaining admin on the group and then he left in a fit of pique. I done no more than deleted their little spat and warned them if they start throwing their toys out of the pram again they will be OUT. If anyone is interested the group is 'Code 3 models', pop in and have a look.

Just a quick question. When did these trolleys survive in service too? I have some of the on track plant models from the 'World of Stobart' collection and was wondering if any of them were contempory.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Glad to report that the sciatica is improving if rather slowly. No comparison really to Jock and Debs and my best wishes to them. Off later to the toy fair later this morning so dosed up with the paracetamol and as its a smallish couple of halls I won't have too much trouble getting around. The walking frame I was looking at I haven't purchased as it looks as if it will not fit in the car, there is a more compact one but thats about three times the price. I struggled a bit with the sock device this morning but I put that down to the rather old pair of socks rather than the brand new ones I wore yesterday. Not helped by my size 12's, there are few socks made that size, most of the largest ones are size 10 or 11 at best and are a tight fit. Thats it for now, be back later.

Goodnight all.

Looking at JZ's pics I wonder if the Corgi glazing and interior will fit the Matchbox casting?

Fortunately a lot of these vehicles are now available from Oxford and Classix so there is no need to resort to modifying these old toys. IMHO the Minix range were amongst the best and even today can be modified and upgraded, the only thing that let them down was the wheels and the lack of interior on some models.

A lot of the smaller Corgi models are to 1/72 scale so do look big even against the Oxford models. Some of the proportions are a bit odd as well, their Ford Anglia and Morris Minors are awful.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Belated birthday wishes to Chris and what he said about his mother dying made me think about my own mother and I realised by doing a quick calculation that last week I was exactly the same age as my mother when she died. Great to hear from Jock, hope he will be able to leave hospital soon as. Great pics Light Engine, Belgium is one of my favourite country's and the Belgians always make you feel welcome and with all that great beer, chips and chocolate a lovely place (if you avoid the coronary)

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Not so difficult putting the socks on this morning, the device works quite well but I have doubts about whether the socks will stand up to the abuse. On the news this morning Umberto Eco has died at the age of 84. I have enjoyed his novels, very dark and gothic. Only one other item on the news this morning but thats politics so the less said the better. Still dry but a bit overcast but the forecast is for the odd shower. Thats all for now, be back later.

Went into town today, the sciatica is not as bad as it was, the Co-codamol seems to be doing the trick. Managed to find a device to help me get my socks on, I'll be reporting on its usefulness in the morning. Time for bed, goodnight all.

House prices are rising rapidly anywhere within sniffing distance of London. As for Boris Island, I don't doubt even if it ever goes ahead I'll be pushing up daisies, or fertilizing a rose bush long before. I doubt that I'll be around to see this opened either http://www.lower-thames-crossing.co.uk

I have been unable to find anything for P4 on e-bay. I need some P4 track for displaying some static models in a diorama. The models are from the 'World of Stobart' series from Atlas who have produced them to exact 1/76 scale including the rail wheel gauge on the road/rail vehicles and it is not possible to 'narrow' the gauge without a lot of effort.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. At last I think I have discovered why my Atlas 'World of Stobart' models have ceased. I attempted to phone them this morning and got out my statements for my account number only to find that the last one had a different account number and was not linked to my account and not paid. All the other details on the statement were correct except for the customer number. I think if a cockwomble league table should be compiled, Atlas Editions will be near the top of the league. Will be going into town later, I have been looking at one of those walking frames with the wheels and seat and a local specialist shop has some very good ones, the one I like is only £79 but I will have to check that I can fit it in the car.

Just posted my best wishes on Jocks thread, now the Co-codamol is starting to kick in its time for bed, goodnight all.