PhilJ W

Evening all from Estuary-Land. A rather surprising fact about the Great Eastern. It was not the wealthiest or most profitable of railway companies but of the companies that made up the LNER it paid the highest salaries and wages across most grades. The agreement was at grouping that to level up salaries and wages they would all be raised to the highest rate paid by the constituent companies. So employees of all the companies making up the LNER had a pay rise except for most of those from the GER. Or how to wrap a hippo round your little finger.

The best railway IMHO was the one who painted their locomotives royal blue, the Great Eastern Railway. Even Gresley appreciated what good locomotives they were by continuing to build and develop them even sending them to work as far away as Scotland.

They were good cars, in some ways better than their 1100/1300 predecessors, less liable to rust to begin with. The problem was that the 'management by decree' at British Leyland that contributed to the downfall of the company.

It wasn't exactly PC as I recall, one of the regular acts was Bernard Manning, say no more.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. I went to pour my morning tea this morning and there was white bits floating on top. A quick eyeball of the milk revealed nothing apparently wrong neither did a sniff test. There was a lump of the white bits in the bottom of the mug. Not wanting to risk anything I threw the rest of the 2 pint plastic bottle (about a quarter of a pint) away though the use by date was 3rd.July and it had been kept refrigerated. I managed to squeeze my usual 2 mugfuls out of the pot. Interesting prototypes. I notice that a couple of the vehicles are right hand drive. This is because many American homes have a mailbox kerbside and the postie can deliver without leaving the vehicle. The 502/503 classes had a very long life and a wide range of liveries from LMS maroon through various shades of green with different applications (or not as the case may be) of yellow ends. All over blue and ending up in blue/grey. It would be great if an enterprising manufacturer could produce a model of these units.

Goodnight all.

Mine was British Telecom yellow. It still didn't stop an idiot coming out of a side turning into the side of it, in broad daylight. He said he didn't see me!

I had a yellow one.

The car is a very early model Y. I've checked a book on the small Fords and apparently the very early ones did not have gutters and the one in the pic doesn't appear to have any. Gutters were fitted from April-May 1933. I know this doesn't help much in precisely dating the photograph, the best bet would be the newspaper headlines.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Whats all this arguing about kettles and what colour they should be. My kettle is black, the only copper is on the three pin plug and it goes by the name of Russell Hobbs. Its been in action to make a pot of tea that is now being drunk. Proper locomotives should be rail blue with yellow ends. Tin hat and flak jacket donned and I'm off.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. The package has been collected and the new wheelbarrow (from a different vendor) has been delivered so I've got the rest of the day free, after taking a trip to Tess Coe's.

Just looked out to my back garden and I espied a white carrier bag sitting on the lawn. So I went out to investigate, it turned out to be a complete uneaten Chinese take away meal (cold)! I sometimes get bottles and cans thrown over the wall but there's a first time for everything. I have placed it where the local foxes can help themselves.

Its a pity that the registration of the Ford car isn't visible. I have a Glass's registration guide that is useful in dating some photographs. All I can add about the car is that its almost certainly one of the early 'short radiator' models, identified by the straight front bumper despite that feature being obscured by the policeman. The later models had a longer radiator and the bumper curved down to match which resulted in the number plate being moved from its central position to above the bumper on the offside.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Got to wait in until Parcelforce arrive to collect the dodgy wheelbarrow. The dealer informed to late that they didn't want it back but its got to go as its blocking half the hallway. Alternate sun and cloud this morning but it seems that the wind is getting up which leads into this:- Many years ago we had a boxer bitch who like most dogs commandeered a place in front of the fire. Whilst doing so she released a 'silent but deadly' My mum caught the whiff and blamed my dad, the dog sat up and quietly left the room. Dogs are usually silent, humans can be silent or noisy but as for Hippos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQkATGaVZt8 The same applied to the above mentioned boxer, she wouldn't touch greens though, much to my sisters annoyance. When it comes to eating habits, teenage boy = eating machine.

Goodnight all.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Had a bit of hail this afternoon, only lasted about 10 minutes and no thunder and lightening with it. Dinner today was lasagne, as dictated by the use by date. I do really need a haircut, but although the barbers will be open soon they're going to be very busy so its going to be some time before I get a haircut.

It was produced from late 1932 but not on sale until 1933. It depends as well how quickly the trams were repainted into London Transport colours. I read somewhere that some were not repainted until two years after London Transport took over and some were withdrawn without being repainted. Not as bad as British Railways who still had locomotives in pre nationalisation colours as late as 1955.

Install wig-wag lights as on a normal highway crossing. I know the initial cost would be high but not as high as if a train struck one of the enormous agricultural machines you see nowadays. Another alternative would be electrically powered gates operated remotely by a button in the tractor and tied into the track circuits so that the gates only open when it is safe to do so.

This pic is a bit later. The Ford Y on the extreme right was introduced in late 1933 and on the news vendors banner it looks as if it says 'War bonds' (third item down).

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Wind has dropped a bit but its still what could be called a bit very breezy. While the window man was here on Friday I asked him about the back door that was sticking. He showed me a couple of tricks to stop it sticking. One is a seal that has stretched and just needs trimming and another is adjusting the hinges, pushing the hinge pins back where they have worked loose. The door and the window are both over thirty years old but still doing their job. Just proves that paying a bit extra for quality works out cheaper in the long run. Its a pity that the company that installed the windows (Zenith) are no longer in business.

Goodnight all.

Comparing the photos of Unilever House under construction and the photo of the tram it looks as if that is Unilever House under construction. Seeing as it is a foggy night I would suggest the photo was taken in the winter of 1931/32.

Evening all from Estuary-Land, Still blowing a hooley outside but its also blown away the rain. A heap of dead grass cuttings I had swept up on the patio have disappeared, they're probably in Clacton by now.