PhilJ W

Morning all from Estuary-Land. The sciatica woke me up this morning about half an hour before my normal getting up time so I decided to get up anyway. The sock hoop-lah had to be performed as usual this morning but a bit more successful after trying it seated in a chair rather than on the bed. Jock, I hope the treatment goes well, great to hear from Lisa P and Pete again. Robert, back in the 50's my grandparents lived in St. Leonards and I spent a lot of the school summer holidays down there and around Hastings. Many of the houses and hotels along the front had large 'caves' hewn into the soft sandstone and a lot of the houses in the old town were built into the rock. Our favourite playground was the cliffs and caves to the east of the town which I understand are now fenced off because of the danger of falling rocks. EDIT Jamie, metre gauge was the usual narrow gauge in India as well as East Africa but just as likely that it was chosen because the material was at hand. Lightengine, I didn't know that about the basalt rocks but they are unlikely to be Roman. Hastings was one of the Cinque ports which were involved with the Hanseatic League in the middle ages, those basalt rocks could be from the Baltic. I wonder if they have been analysed to discover their origin.

Goodnight all.

The tunnel and railway was built originally for the transfer of stone from quarries on the east side of the rock to the west side for the construction of dry docks. The tunnel was used during WW2 as a naval command centre. Its the only east/west tunnel on the rock, it is named Admiralty Tunnel. The line was metre gauge and was built in 1893. There are photographs showing rails in the dockyard serving storehouses but when it was closed I don't know but it seems likely that the tunnel closed earlier than the rest of the system.

Not that one, it was the Gibraltar Dockyard Railway, it was confined to Gibraltar and did not connect to any other line. http://www.defenceofgibraltar.com/poi/ws150-1-railway-wagon/Regretably there is very little information on the net, Apparently it used tunnels burrowed into the Rock of Gibraltar.

I follow the Industrial Railway Society page on Yahoo. They do often come up with some real gems and this morning someone mentioned that there was a Railway on Gibraltar. It only came to notice because a van and a couple of wagons were found in an abandoned shed. No mention of the gauge but it looks to be between 2' 6" and 3' 6".

Morning all from Estuary-Land. The sciatica came back with a vengance last night but somehow I managed to get enough sleep but the usual sock hoop-la dressing this morning, its almost disappeared now and hopefully won't be coming back. I'm looking forward to the program tonight as well Jock, like you I like to watch such programs. When I first went over to cable from terrestial TV I was delighted to find quite a few such programs among the plethoria of channels available. The only problem was finding them as some TV listings don't feature them prefering such dross as dropping so called 'slebs' into the jungle, mind you my real objection to such programs is that they get them out of there afterwards. Enough of my drivel for now, be back later (with more drivel?).

Goodnight all.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Thanks for the commiserations Jock. As I said my dad also suffered from sciatica, he had a nasty bout of it on my sisters wedding day nearly 45 years ago and in the pics he can be seen hiding the walking stick he was using behind his leg. I think (and hope) that treatment has improved in the meantime, my dad was offered a corset to relieve the condition and one of the treatments on offer was being stretched on the rack. I find the recent scientific discoverys amazing and if anyone is interested tomorrows 'Sky at Night' program (BBC4 8 pm) is devoted to the new '9th planet' that has been found in the De Kuyper belt.

I found that as well, the pain is worse in the mornings after laying in bed all night. Also what you sit on has an effect, the toilet seat is the most uncomfortable seat but in my case I find a small wooden stool the most comfortable and with what Jamie said about his cycling friend it seems that sitting on ones bum crack gives the least pain.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Not a bad night last night in spite of the sciatica, it is easing slightly but not enough as far as I'm concerned. It took half an hour to get dressed this morning having to play hoop-lah with the socks to get them on. Jamie, like your cycling friend I am surprised to find that the most comfortable thing to sit on is a high-ish wooden stool that I use when on my lap top. Also rather surprisingly the drivers seat of my car is very comfortable, I hardly notice the sciatica when I'm sat in it, one up for Hyundai. Weather a bit damp at the moment but according to the forecast its going to be a bit dryer if colder over the next few days.

Still troubled by the sciatica but its getting better. I mentioned salt glazing earlier so just out of curiosity I Googled it. As I said its done by throwing salt into the kiln during the firing process. The sodium in the salt combines with the silica in the clay to form sodium silicate which forms the glaze. A wood burner however would not generate enough heat for the process to take place. Thats enough of my useless information for now. I've been listening to the information about the gravity waves that have just been detected, the figures are mind boggling. Two black holes combined creating the gravity waves, one was 30 times the mass of the sun and the other was 36 times the mass of the sun. they were travelling towards each other at one third of the speed of light but at the last moment that speed doubled so their combined speed was one and a third times the speed of light. What is even more remarkable is that this all took place within about one tenth of a second. Well thats enough of my ramblings for now, goodnight all. EDIT Jock, you wrote as I was typing this. Unfortunately there are not many painkillers that I can take that do not affect the blood pressure drug that I have to take. The only effective one that I can take is paracetamol, and you have to be very careful you don't take too much. As for morphine, my dad was offered it as he also had sciatica but he refused as I would also do. As I said it has eased a lot during the day so hopefully it will clear before the weekend is out.

Are they salt glazed? IIRC salt glazing of pottery is done by throwing a handful of (damp?) salt into the kiln.

Don't try moving a sofa when drunk (contains swearing)

Decided not to hobble into town today as the sciatica is unabating, at least as I pass the surgury I'll be able to make an appointment with my GP. Mind you this cheered me up this morning.

For parcels stock its not dirty enough.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Jock, good news and bad always seem to come together but what has happened to your BiL only shows why it is essential to check things out. As I mentioned my sister found a lump on her breast about 25 years ago, got it treated straight away and has no problem since. Didn't get off to sleep until early this morning due to the sciatica, its never been so bad before, I did eventually nod off but woke up a couple of hours later and could barely move without a great deal of pain. It was almost as bad this morning which made dressing difficult but I managed in the end. The pain has eased somewhat since so hopefully it will continue to do so. I was intending to hobble into town today but that depends on how I feel after lunch.

Goodnight all.

Morning all from a bright and sunny but cold Estuary-Land. Hope things go well for you today Jock. CM could it be that doggy knows best and that oily fish like salmon is better for arthritic/skeletal conditions, perhaps try giving her mackeral or tuna? Smiffy, sympathies with the cold. Richard, be careful not to squander those hard earned brownie points. Now to get out and enjoy the sunshine, be back later.

Goodnight all.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Club night tonight so out shortly, be back later. I take it that will soon be renamed 'Pranger Strasse'.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Sherry and Ian, I hope everything turns out OK. Catching something like that early is the key to a complete recovery. My sister had the same thing about 25 years ago, fortunately it was found early and after treatment she has been clear since. Jock, hope you had a better night and things settle down soonest. Great to hear from Pete and to know that his absence is only temporary. I need to do more exercise, as I mentioned yesterday, I left the car on the drive and walked hobbled into town and returned the same way. Its not uncommon for me to feel drowsy of an afternoon but yesterday despite my exertions I was bright eyed and bushy tailed until bedtime when I went out like a light as soon as my head touched the pillow. I really must make more effort to lose weight anyway, a couple of stone would be good, four or five would be great.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. I should be knackered but I don't feel so. Took a walk into town today, and walked back again. As the return journey is via a steep hill and I am laden with shopping I normally catch the bus but in this instance I decided to walk. Neil, I see now what problems you have with tracklaying as theres not much machinery that can be used in such a confined space. I was sketching out an idea I had for something that could lift track panels into place but it appears from what you said and your photographs that the track formation isn't wide enough to operate safely. Time now for a soak in the bath and then bed, goodnight all.

The MSC started using the Sentinel diesels in 1959 so theres plenty of opportunity to have them alongside steam.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Neil, the ex Southend pier machine went to the Brecon Mountain Railway, there is a photograph of it being used in the rebuilding of the railway http://www.breconmountainrailway.co.uk/gallery page down to 'History of rebuilding the line' and its the pic second from the right top row. Bit overcast here at the moment but the wind and rain has stopped so I might venture into town. EDIT The pic top right also shows the machine in action, in the first pic you can see it lowered onto the rails.

Goodnight all.