PhilJ W

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Plenty of sparrows around here but so many cats as well that they have to choose their nest sites carefully. One of their favourite places is the berberris in the council shrubbery, no cat is going to get in there. Plenty of magpies for them to look out for as well but the other day a young magpie was a victim of one of the cats who was walking along with it in its mouth ignoring the protests of the other magpies. Theres also sparrowhawks around but they seem to prefer larger prey such as pigeons. Tea has brewed so I'll be back later.

Hello again from Estuary-Land. In a similar vein. In the early 80's the London borough where I worked in the payroll department took over the GLC houses when the GLC was abolished. We also took over the maintenance staff. One of the painters, who had worked for the GLC since he had left school more than forty years previously fell ill soon after the take over and the problem was identified as his being allergic to the brand of paint used by the council (different to the GLC paint). As he was about 61 at the time he was put on ill health retirement, the only thing was he didn't want to go. But go he did and the next thing was he tried to sue the council for unfair dismissal which as you would expect was thrown out by the court. He was about to appeal when he dropped down dead at the age of 63. The only one who benefitted was his lawyer. Just how accidental was it getting into the 'to be sent' pile?

Bury the little bu@@ers alive, oh hang on.

But isn't that a Singer?

It used to be called asset stripping.

Almost certain that is what it is.

But you don't buy a house with the idea of making a profit, its somewhere to live.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. I mentioned a few days ago about beach huts, on the BBC Breakfast show this morning there is an item about beach huts in Walton-on-the-Naze. This was the area where I was looking at buying a beach hut about ten years ago. Back then they started at about £5,000 the current start price is now £125,000! The reason for the prices soaring is covid and the ban on foreign travel. The down side is they are high maintenance, basically a wooden garden shed exposed to all that the North Sea can throw at it. That and the distance (about 60 miles away) was another reason for my dropping the idea. I've just heard the lesser spotted glass and bottle wagon outside and I've realised I'd forgotten its bin day today. Too late now but I double wrap everything and I will be putting it where the foxes cant reach it. The recycling isn't a problem as there's nothing there to attract them.

Goodnight all.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. There was a person in one of our departments on the council who used to claim overtime which he hadn't worked. He got away with it for years as he was his boss's 'blue eyed boy'. Then his boss took early retirement and the new boss who was on site when he was supposedly doing overtime and knew he hadn't done any overtime so he refused to sign the overtime sheets. Then the idiot complained and it was discovered that he'd been claiming overtime that he hadn't done for years. He wasn't prosecuted because it would have opened a can of worms but he was quietly ordered to resign. He was a nasty bit of work anyway and everyone was glad to see the back of him. Very true, there was a printer who used to come into a working mans club in Romford, stay till closing time getting very drunk the drive to Fleet Street and get there sign on and then go and sleep it off until knocking off time. Until one night he was stopped and breathalysed. He wasn't sacked but the drink got him within a year.

I still want that Ford Y roadster for £10, even with the cycle front wings (1950's boy racer?)

Indeed so, I found a photograph of a very similar machine on a Bobol modified from a Warwell but as it was in a book I can't reproduce it here.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. My dad held the highest regard for the Gurkhas having served alongside them in Burma. He ended up at Imphal where the Japanese had surrounded the Allies. At night the Japanese tried to infiltrate the perimeter but that was protected by the Gurkhas who used to go into the jungle at sunset and come back in the morning with several pairs of ears each. That reminded me of a story I was told. Many Australian Aboriginals were also cannibals. There were also many Chinese labourers imported during the early years when Australia was opening up. It was said that the cannibals preferred the Chinese to the Europeans as their meat tasted sweeter.

A clue is the beginning of the next item at the end. 1956.....Suez crisis.....President Nasser.....petrol rationing. You couldn't even give a car away, especially older cars. The scrap dealers had as many as they could cope with resulting in a lot of abandoned cars.

I've enlarged* the picture and it appears to be a Track Replacement Unit. Some of these were based on bogie well wagons with built up decks with cranes over the bogies. *To enlarge the pic, click on it and with the cursor on the pic right click and then click on 'show in new tab' the picture remains the same but the cursor is replaced by the enlarge symbol. Move that to the part you want to enlarge and click.

Is it a rail vehicle? There's a chap kneeling down doing something to a wheel and to his right it looks like some sort of framework.

I looked again and now the one showing his posterior has moved slightly and been joined by a mate.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. For bears information I was dressed before nine, but only just. I have a few bits for the scrap man, who usually drives slowly around the estate ringing his bell. Just heard the bell but by the time I'd got to the door he'd gone past, drat! I won't leave the items out as there are members of the travelling community about. Its now night time on the other side of the world but you can see two koala's fast asleep one showing their posterior to the camera. Might have to delay my shopping trip today as DHL have informed me that they are delivering a parcel at the time I usually shop.

Goodnight all.

Found this on You-Tube. The Ford model Y roadster for £10 yes please.

The verdict is in:- https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/breaking-derek-chauvin-found-guilty-23943835#source=push

Its been cancelled, Atletico and Barca have also pulled out.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. The European super league is being scrapped. Barca and Atletico have also pulled out, good job too. All those billionaire club owners should look on the bright side, there won't be so much money for them to count.

Well its happening, Chelsea have just announced that they're pulling out of the proposed 'super' league.

Translation of the above. I lived in Fanling, New Territories from 1967-68. My father belongs to a Gurkha regiment there. Our home is on the way to the railway station. I ride the train regularly and I am honoured to know most of the drivers and staff. Because they all like me, I always make them laugh. I was allowed to go where and when I wanted to go, even hiding in front of the locomotive. Unless I take the entire trip to Kowloon, I never need a ticket, and I never need a ticket. I know very well about railways. Most of the trains are old-fashioned passenger cars, the inside of which is green, with black balconies and rotating fans. I lost the pig train from China. They smelled very bad when they passed by. I remember seeing two steel cars with high hatches placed on the back wall and filled with sea water, which leaked from the rivet holes. The children dived in the hatchery and fished out live fish, which are big fish, and then threw them down and put them in the basket below. Many good memories since then. I did start to build a model of the Guangzhou Railway, but since I am still building Barnstable Junction, my birthplace. The model was discontinued last year. The ancient Taw viaduct and the Ilfracombe station are 25 feet long and 50 feet long, and they are modelled to scale, so the workload is huge. The following are some Kowloon drill bits from the railway around 1957. The Royal Artillery is being sent to the low nest to guard against the Red Guards, because they always seem to be in trouble, and to this day. Tim S. I did start to build a model of the Guangzhou Railway, but stopped last year because I was still building a model of Barnstable Junction where I was born. The ancient Taw viaduct and the Ilfracombe station are 25 feet long and 50 feet long, and they are modelled to scale, so the workload is huge. The following are some Kowloon drill bits from the railway around 1957. The Royal Artillery is being sent to the low nest to guard against the Red Guards, because they always seem to be in trouble, and to this day. Tim S. The Royal Artillery troops were sent to the lowlands to keep the Red Guards in trouble because they seemed to be causing trouble until today. Tim S. The Royal Artillery troops were sent to the lowlands to keep the Red Guards in trouble because they seemed to be causing trouble until today. Tim S.