PhilJ W

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Spent the best part of the morning clearing out the shed that is attached to the house. This is the same shed that I was preparing to be lined out about 18 months ago. The timetable seems to have slipped a bit lot since then and it became a depositary for all sorts of rubbish (2 pink sacks full). I've temporarily installed the 18 mm ply shelf that I had cut, not fixed yet as there are still adjustments to be made. I also checked out some other things such as space for shelving etc. Hopefully it will be a lot less than 18 months before I carry on with it. Tea is made so I'll be back later.

Just hope that the Q has ordered the right type.

The Sherpa was popular because it could be had with the Rover V8 engine for emergency work. Also it was slightly larger than the Transit or CF. Its one drawback was it was not as chuckable as the other two chassis and rollovers were not uncommon.

I was a regular reader of Practical Classics until a couple of years ago but now I only buy it once or twice a year. I found that the 'Memory Lane' quite often featured useful pics for railway modellers showing the ambience of a particular time. Of particular interest to me in the current edition is an article on classics converted to electric drive, some fitted with units taken from modern battery electrics and some with the petrol or diesel engine replaced with an electric motor driving through the gearbox. In the latter category was a Morris Minor and a series Land Rover, the Land Rover in particular has ample space for batteries without impinging on interior space (under the bonnet and under the front seats in place of the fuel tank). Interesting is that if the gearbox is retained the vehicle will pull away from a stop in any gear such is the torque of an electric motor but like an internal combustion engine careful use of the gears will increase the range on one charge.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Those scales will not be able to weigh your trailer. They are solid state, they work by passing a small electric current through your body (thats why you have to stand on them in your bare feet). It was from using one of these scales not set up properly that someone got a four figure BMI. I would suggest using a spring balance if you have somewhere to hang it from and enough space.

The blue lights on the honkers fire brigade version are correct. They were clear with a blue coloured bulb and a revolving spoon shaped reflector.

Goodnight all.

Though I agree with the sentiment I know of a few instances where family members have been allowed in to be with their dying relative. Usually it is with full PPE so I imagine it will be the same here.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. I might very soon have a layout, a chap was offering a couple of micro layouts for sale on Facebook at what looks like a very reasonable price. What is more he only lives in Southend so collecting the layout won't be a problem. Perhaps someone had chicken for dinner today.

Talk of cakes reminded me of a Danish pastry that needs to be eaten.

They also do a van and minibus.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. A very good Zoom chat yesterday, I hope that in future even more can join in. I was trying to read the spines of the books behind Tony, I managed to read a few. There was a news item about a week ago about lockdown causing a surge in demand for second hand books. Not to read but to fill the bookshelves used as a backdrop when doing Zoom meetings, you order by the metre. I have plenty of books anyway, about 6,000 at the last count.

They do want our scallops but now they are tied up in red tape and go 'off' before they get there.

Hello again from Estuary-Land. I did hear somewhere that since Brexit English sausages cannot be taken into the EU. So the only way that Flavio can get English bangers to Switzerland is by air. Unless of course someone is able to smuggle them through France. There is an alternative route through Ireland where before the troubles the border was very lightly controlled and it was a smugglers paradise. It was said that cattle near the border was trained to walk backwards to confuse the authorities. I have an Anglepoise lamp on the rear corner of my computer table that seems to do an effective job.

It looks like a continuation of the roof covering.

I've spent quite a bit of time recently watching the sparrows making their nests in the shrubbery next door to my house. They found a piece of old carpet that they are tearing to shreds for nesting material.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Had a long lay-in and an equally long soak in the bath this morning but it's still morning (just).

Goodnight all.

I have one but in HK fire brigade markings. A really good model, at least as good as Oxford Diecast.

Or fill them with Milliput and then sand and paint them.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. A very enjoyable Zoom meeting this evening and looking forward to the next one. Polybears mention of granite kitchen worktops reminded me of of a mate of mine who had kitchen worktops made of solid slate about two inches thick. And he didn't have to pay too much for them either, the slate came from a couple of old snooker tables.

Nothing will stop them until they come down hard on the people smugglers.

Was her name Matilda by any Chance?

Mention of palm oil made me check the contents of my cupboards. I found several items containing palm oil which once used will not be purchased again.

The Hornby brake ends are clear plastic so it should be easy to replace them with a clear plasticard blank and etched or laser cut panels.