Broithe

I bought my nephew a 'generic non-Lego building set' in the mid 80s. It was supposed to be suitable for creating various ship models, impressively featured in pictures on the top of the box. Realising that I was likely to be required to 'assist' in the construction, I decided to have a few practice runs beforehand, carefully perusing the instructions, so as to appear competent on the day. Upon opening the box, I discovered that the instructions were only in Spanish... Luckily, we had a chap in the factory who had arrived in England as a child refugee from the Spanish Civil War. I gave him a 'working number' for one of my projects and put up some 'danger' barriers, so that we could work unmolested on a more important project, hidden behind some cabinets. I often wonder what would have happened, if we'd been caught building Lego ships...

And there's this thread. This remains my all time favourite Guinness tanker picture, albeit a road vehicle. The chap with the washing-up bowl is just superb. To be fair, it is delivering water during a supply issue - allegedly.

We still have time to form a band... My sole excursion into the world of public performance involved playing a triangle. When the bit where I was required to 'play' it arrived, I struck it at exactly the right moment... ... and the string broke.

Not really what you're looking for, but there was this, too. https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/irnirishrailwaynews/guinness-darts-t1227.html

Ah, I did have the Lego motor unit and the individual rails. Lego had the advantage of packing down with little airspace and not being very fragile. With traction tyres and ridged rails, it would ascend a fair slope and rather extreme bridges could be constructed. The batteries fitted in the larger box, above the motor housing. You could, of course, make all sorts of things with the motor as the basis, not just railway-related items.

I don't remember him ever smoking, but he managed an occasional pint...

If you look at the houses along the southern section of Cardiff Castle Road in Finglas, you will notice the similarity in style, but that doesn't give away the full history. They were built by a 'commune' of building workers, for themselves. My uncle was one, he was the carpenter of the multi-skilled group. The roofs still look OK. He died in 2021, aged 103.

I've tried raising one finger after they ask me for the money. That doesn't work. Neither does raising two fingers...

That's an 'example picture', not my actual stuff.

Moving regularly, I never had a real train set, but I did have some bits of the 'Lone Star' stuff - not motorised - all die-cast, even the track.

It's this. It's not as 'chaotic' as it first seems, the vowels run across the fingertips in order, for example. And some letters are 'shape-related'. It's been around for a long time, it would be twenty years ago that I was doing it. Practice makes (almost) perfect...

Apart from the in-house Murphy set of three, there was another "Coal Traders" set, with different numbers.

Someone once told me that, if a layout has more than one public clock on it, a church and a town hall, maybe, then he has to check that they show the same time.

They can aim at me all they like, if I stand sideways they have little chance of success. In my youth, I got apprehended at gunpoint a good few times, but only once did I feel in proper danger - that was an RAF Regiment chap, with a bayonet on his SLR and in danger of collapse from heat exhaustion - also, he was heavily Geordie and I really didn't know what he was demanding that I should do. Only once were actual shots fired, in a theatrical manner, for 'effect', and that was from a beautiful, museum quality Thompson gun. I did receive an accidental near miss from Canberra, when one fell off into the NAAFI car park - that was exciting, hiding in ditches until its 'safety' was confirmed.

I no longer have an identity. Someone in Nigeria has it now. But, I never used it much anyway.

I would prefer that you were watching the front, then you might at least get in the way of something...

There is a post below it suggesting that it's in New Zealand.

It was the Garda ERU and a few other European police force units gaining entry to railway carriages in simulated "tactical manoeuvres". Now that it is, apparently, sub judice, it may be that I have said too much already...

They all happen in a 400 yard stretch - you think somebody might look into it?

Yeah, but no speed cameras, either. put your foot down!