PhilJ W

I'm pretty sure they would have removed or neutralised anything like that before he was allowed anywhere near the car. Did he touch anything under the bonnet or inside the car?

Not by the number you used to see about. The reason for the two front axles was that for a large heavy coach the Bedford brakes were inadequate and with the heavy engine ahead of the front axle(s) causing handling problems under braking it was decided to fit an extra axle. This effectively solved both problems. The extra brake area solved the first problem and the first axle supported the weight of the engine.

This can be a problem with bird feeders. They attract many species of birds some of which are prey species which in turn attracts the raptors. The raptors drive many of the other birds away but there's still enough prey for them in the area to make them stay. Try moving the bird feeders nearer to trees and shrubs where the birds can take cover if a raptor is around.

Morning all from Estuary-land. Still a bit windy here this morning but not as bad as last night. Whats more the bins etc. are still upright and where they ought to be, I might even do a bit of work outside this afternoon. When I started researching my family tree I had difficulty tracing one of my great great grandfathers in the 1871 Census. His first name was George and the surname was not common in Gravesend where he resided but he wasn't at home on census night. When I put his name into the search engine it came up with his father and his infant son (my great grandfather) who were both named George but he was nowhere to be found where you would expect it to be. I then went through the whole list and then I found him at the bottom of the list, his name had been transcribed as Georges. I obtained a copy of the original census return and a transcript, the transcript was full of errors, understandable perhaps as the documents had been transcribed in India and a lot of the original was hard to decipher even for an English speaker like me. It did reveal a great deal of information and not only that turned a family history story on its head. The story was that my great grandfather (the one mentioned above) had an uncle who was chief engineer on a steamship and was killed in a boiler explosion. I couldn't find any trace of this uncle, as far as I was aware my great great grandfather didn't have any brothers. The census revealed however that he was chief engineer on a steam tug named Rambler. I then discovered that he died later that same year (1871) at the young age of 32. His death certificate revealed that he was the victim of the boiler explosion not the fictional uncle. Further investigation revealed a report in the Times of the inquest which was only found by searching for the name of the vessel as they had spelt the surname incorrectly.

Goodnight all.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Still blowing a hooley outside, bought a bit of heavy rain with it a while ago but its soon dries up. At least the wheelie bin has stayed upright and in place. Most people seem to be wearing face masks in Tess Coe's today including the staff. I receive an update each morning from In Your Area <info@inyourarea.co.uk that includes details of coronavirus rates. Here in Basildon its very low but its increasing in other local areas. Just go into the site and enter your postcode.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Apparently there was a local power cut this afternoon but as I was eyelid inspecting at the time I missed it. Only evidence of it was the need to reset a digital clock and re-tune a radio. Its still a bit windy out, it finally got the green bin, it was on its side this morning but placing it close to the house seems to have stopped it from blowing over. Purchased a new kettle, yet to try it out, still used the old one to make a pot of tea which is about to be drunk.

Thats exactly where I'm going. I've got a double points voucher to use as well.

Thats a different livery to other photos I've seen of the same loco. In the other photos and the illustrations of the model the cab is all over blue.

Got to do a shopping run, out of almost everything and it looks as if the kettle will need replacing. At least its dry out if a bit windy.

Well it is American.

Newfoundland was an independent nation until 1949 when it joined with Canada. The loss of so many young men and the depression had hit the nation hard.

Not necessarily so, certainly not in the diecast market. For every camel coloured coat a diecast model will sell in hundreds if not in thousands. A lot of other factors come in to play as well such as changes in the production line since the original model was produced. Also production facilities in China are booked well in advance so its not that easy to produce a second run. Its hard for manufacturers sometimes to predict demand so they tend to over order. With production costs so low they can afford to do so with sufficient profit on the first sales to make it worth their while. A prime example of this practice is the London Transport Museum shop. They will stock an item and say order 120 of that item. They expect to make an overall £500 profit on the sale of those 120 items so they 'mark up' each individual item by £5. Once 100 have been sold they have made their profit and the warehouse space is required. If the price they were sold at was £50 just to get rid of the stock they would sell the items off at knock down prices, £50 could be cut to as little as £10. Last year the LT museum sold off a number of Heljans Metropolitan Bo-Bo locomotives at £34 each and earlier this year they sold off the 'S' stock models at a very low price, less than £100 IIRC. Now both those models are selling at ridiculous prices, just check on e-bay.

They would probably follow the pattern of Oxford Diecast. Once a particular colour/livery/finish has sold out unless there is still a huge demand thats it. From time to time models do reappear in the catalogue but the majority seem to be the slow sellers rather than another run of a popular model.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Francis was persisting down for most of the night but now has moved on and it appears to have stopped raining. The forecast is that it won't be back this far south but north of The Wash it will be doing an Arnold S (I'll be back). Thoughts are with Tony and Aditi today. Time to run a bath, be back later.

Goodnight all.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. My roof tiles were rattling in the strong winds a couple of nights ago. A subsequent inspection revealed nothing out of place but it sounded as if the whole roof was going to go. I used to get a sudden stabbing back pain that I put down to sciatica but it turned out to be a kidney stone working its way out. My brother had exactly the same sort of back pain and like me thought it was sciatica. Unfortunately his kidney stone stuck and now he's on dialysis three times a week for the rest of his life.

Where's my invite?

There was a Reliant Robin fitted with a V8. And an Isetta https://www.autoevolution.com/news/this-v8-has-a-bmw-isetta-attached-to-it-87650.html

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. I was intending to get a few things done outside this afternoon but now its persisting down. That reminds me of when my mum was having radiation treatment for her cancer. My dad and myself went to see her in hospital and found she had been put in a side ward on her own. Visiting time (1 hour) was almost up when the matron came in and asked us how long we had been there. We answered since visiting time started (about 50 minutes) whereupon the matron ordered us out. Because my mum was radioactive we should only have been there for 20 minutes max.

Surely it would be easy for someone with a laser printer and decal paper to produce such signs as an aftermarket accessory?

Morning all from Estuary-Land. My brother was an Electrician, the company he worked for specialised in fitting out hospital operating theatres so any work had to be perfect. As a senior chargehand he had to double check the installations after they had been signed off by the electricians. When I need a tradesman to work on the house I go to Checkatrade.com, I have always found them to be very good and have never had any problems. Also their prices are quite reasonable. Time to get on, be back later.

Goodnight all.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. I have removed a few more bits from the old garden shed. Found an old barbecue that must date back to the 70's. Before it goes out for scrap I'll take the wheels off of it as I may have a use for them.