PhilJ W

Rail blue did tend to fade to a greyish shade and so appear to be grey.

I was told that the front pads would need changing by the tyre fitter who replaced my tyres. Apparently whatever the mileage a seven year old car would be expected to have the original pads well worn. However I was taught to control the speed of a car without touching the brakes (but the clutch needed some adjustment).

That seems to be a common price on e-bay. There is about 30 now advertised ranging in price from 99p (newly listed but bound to go up) to one at £64 BIN!

There was a photo of one in blue on a Facebook model bus group. There is at least two or three such buses going by the registrations and other differences.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Car passed its MOT with flying colours and the bits I thought needing doing didn't (disc pads). Computer sorted and I can now access my e-mails. I expected to be called back after my retirement to cover maternity leave but budget cuts meant that the work was distributed amongst my already overworked former colleagues.

Afternoon from Estuary-Land. Problems this morning accessing my e-mail, it kept sending me to G-mail instead of my usual Virgin Media page, despite my typing in 'virgin media' I was redirected to G-Mail. As I was in town after dropping my car in for service I popped into the Virgin shop and queried it. They said it could be an app and to try clearing my history. This I did on Firefox and found that it worked except that I had to sign in to RMweb again.

Thanks for that John, there are some other useful bits there, I like the etched barbed wire.

Morning from Estuary-Land. Happy birthday Jock, and many more of them, and congratulations to Aditi on her forthcoming retirement. Have to take the car in for its annual service/MOT this morning, I'm aware of some things that need doing so I'm not expected any surprises. I also have hip problems and what Jock said about having a 'tall' car that is easy to get in and out of is very true.

Goodnight all from Estuary-Land.

Diecast manufacturers produce models that have to sell or they go out of business, that is why they make more Ferrari's than Fords.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. I had a school report book that followed me through my 'academic career' in fact I still have it somewhere, I'll have to find it for a laugh. My headmaster was also of a literary bent, not the heady heights of Gordon's teacher however. You might still find copy's of 'A guide to Essex pubs' by Glynn Morgan in second hand book shops, it ran to several editions and IIRC he wrote more than one book on the subject.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. A little while ago my doctor told me to cut down on my sugar intake or run the risk of diabetes. I have succeeded quite well in that though my blood glucose levels are still more than they should be they are reducing. However at this time of year it was my habit to drink a lot of fruit juice so I looked around for an alternative. I found a carton labelled 'coconut water' that seemed to fit the bill as the 1 litre carton only had 2.5% of the recommended daily sugar intake, however it was rather expensive for what was basically water with a bit of coconut flavour added. I then tried what was labelled 'coconut milk' which had even less sugar but no taste, when I read the label it turned out to be a milk substitute for those with lactose intolerance, it may be of interest to Mick for young Jamie though as it is protein free. I then tried a similar product made from almonds, absolutely zero sugar but with a slightly 'nutty' taste which I like.

I'll have to check the tyres on some other model tractors, the cleats should appear as a V from the front of the tractor. This was a common problem with the Matchbox Mercedes MB-Trac tractor, not helped by the tyres being quite 'stiff' and the thin axles having a tendency to bend easily. I have a set of agricultural equipment made in HO scale made by Wiking about 1980 consisting of a (single sided) 3 furrow plough, a tine harrow and a seed planter. This was intended for use with their HO scale model of the MB-Trac and is an ideal size for use with smaller 00 scale tractors. The Matchbox MB-Trac is 1/77 scale and therefore suitable for 00 scale. Siku produce some modern farm equipment in 1/72 scale.

A Couple of interesting conversions appeared on Facebook over the last few days. First was a 4X4 conversion of an ex GPO Morris JB van, apparently using Austin Gypsy bits making it a virtual 'bolt on job'. The second was an estate car conversion of a four door 100E Prefect, done in the same style as a Farnham conversion of the larger Consul/Zephyr/Zodiac.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Today is my birthday (67), still counting, and still able to count.

And Goering's were very small.

Behind the second coach in the photograph of the Peak? It has to be between the two coaches (in fact a single coach) on the left.

ED, a Warrington mark issued between October 1960 and August 1964. 1960 1000-1345, 1961 1346-3009, 1962 3010-4734, 1963 4735-6782 and 1964 6783-9999. The first 999 numbers were preserved for motorcycles.

Well at least he had another one.

A slopping cab? perhaps its for use with the muck spreader.

Doug N, the 'off the leash' park sounds like a great idea. I don't have a dog myself but ER's abounds with dog owners many of whom would love the idea. It all depends I suppose on the training/temperament of the dog.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. I seem to have recovered quite well from the weekends exertions and no disasters or panics as far as I am aware. Sorry to here about your friend Smiffy, it comes as more of a shock when you think all the troubles are over, the same with my mother, she was in remission for one cancer when it re-appeared somewhere else and wasn't discovered until far too late.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. By all accounts the show went well and the extra hall proved a boon. Jock, glad to hear that your day went well, I wish I could have been there myself. My sister and her husband live not far away at Kirby Cross and as she is involved with a charity shop in Frinton could possibly have been there. BoD, I've been retired more than seven years, I had/have a bucket list of things to do when I retired, if anything its grown even longer when I've read or seen something that attracts my interest. Feeling a bit tired now after the weekend exertions so off to bed shortly.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. A lot cooler and fresher today and according to the forecast the thunder should stay to the east. Report back later after my exhibition duties.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Show seemed to go well but no information as yet and there's another day tomorrow. Had to shoot home just before the show opened as I'd realised I'd left a couple of fanlights open but made it back in time (just) but inevitably I had lost my parking space, which was in the shade in the afternoon, so having to park the car in another spot the car was like an oven by going home time. Last nights storm passed right over with heavy rain and thunder but some who came from Southend seem to have missed the worst of it.