Broithe

Information is power.

32 now...

That is exactly how this place works. It's almost a documentary.

Models flaunting themselves in front of the vehicle and draped over the bonnet - like a Motor Show in the 1970s. Great news, though. Probably a better bet than a Deltic-powered E Class.

I imagined a Turfburner with a couple of Deltics flung inside....

I think now that there are two models on that line - a CIE E class and a Superdeltic (Designed but not built), rather than one 'mythical beast', as I first read it.

It seems to be an issue of the odd use of a comma, when the Q Kits list has been separated by full stops elsewhere - the unbuilt proposed loco was not an Irish thing at all...

What is this legendary E class that is mentioned ^ ? Maybe for another thread?

I've found somebody actually selling coasters - might come in handy whilst you're still in the design phase? https://railwayposters.co.uk/products/rail499-southern-railway-for-sunshine-at-home-or-abroad-coaster

That article contains the phrase - "one of the cranes also had a cameo role in the 2002 film Reign of Fire, an apocalyptic action fantasy set in 2020 Britain" - sounds more like a documentary from our current perspective... Not mobile, but this still exists next to the canal in Tullamore.

Reports of disruptions do seem to have become more common lately - whether that is a reflection of an increased incidence of events is another matter.

I remember being promised Eurostars stopping in Stafford. They even printed timetables. It would have been possible to go to Avignon and back on a Saturday, with three hours there in the early afternoon - if it had actually happened, of course.

Possibly using a false name, in case he checks the list..?

Whips are quite cheap, or easy to improvise. However, if you are concerned about safety and welfare issues, such as important staff members being disturbed by the noise, then cattle-prods could be worth considering - or electric-shock collars, that could be remotely operated?

Twitter says it's back again next Tuesday and on November the 1st.

We only do it to keep you busy.

I have some swans and ducks - cast metal - but I'm not sure of the origin. There are seagulls available, too. These aren't 'mine', they were unpainted, but they're much the same. https://www.modelscenerysupplies.co.uk/brands/preiser-models/ducks-geese-swans-oo-preiser

It looks like there is potential for there still to be evidence on the ground? https://www.mayonews.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22239:iconic-mill-levelled-at-last&catid=23:news&Itemid=46

Look on the bright side - you saw it, rather than finding out later. It's not like failing to notice that extra dollop of mayonnaise on your burger at the seaside... On that subject, I actually saw someone put a squirt of hand sanitiser on their burger, as it was next to the ketchup/brown sauce/mayonnaise pump bottles at the boot sale last week. They didn't seem to notice the difference. And, memory foam mattresses are the work of the Devil.

http://thumbsnap.com/sc/ZtASmyyG.jpg

Another photo has reminded me me of this magnificent event - luckily, I was not involved, as it could easily have killed me. We had a chap called Bob - he seemed very upright and 'straight', quite posh, but he could be remarkably 'forthright', once he was sure about your attitude. His language could suddenly change from 'professional' to 'dockyard'. A lot of people didn't know this, because he kept his guard up with them. Bob could talk continuously - so much so that several of us had a scheme where we would let another one of us know that we were going to see him and, if we weren't back in fifteen minutes, someone should ring him and declare that a 'boss' wanted us now. We had a giant explosion in a substation in London and Bob was delegated to go down and inspect the devastation, recording it on a video camera, for a subsequent meeting at the factory, between the National Grid, the CEGB and the 'defending' management. It wasn't really his problem and he tried every excuse to get out of going, but 'they' removed all the obstacles that he could think up - his final ploy was that he couldn't operate a video camera, this being the early 80s and not many people had experience of them. They declared that they would send an apprentice with him, one who could operate the camera. Bob was snookered and the trip was now unavoidable. Cameras then were VHS-C - a compact cassette in the camera, to keep the size down, that needed to be put in a full-size adaptor to be played in a 'proper' machine. The camera would play the compact cassette back for you, but with some limitations - as we shall see - or hear. The apprentice drove the car and Bob spent the whole journey down to London comprehensively and very bluntly slagging off everybody else involved, both within the company and the customers. They spent a couple of hours at the site, videoing the aftermath, eventually filling up the 45 minutes they had on the tape. All the time, Bob kept up a barrage of abuse about everybody else. When it was full, they rewound the tape and checked what it had recorded - of course, it was only a black and white screen back then, and Bob wasn't happy about that, but he was assured that it would play in colour when adapted to play in the 'proper' machine - OK, so they drove back up to the factory. There was something else that the camera didn't present, but the 'proper' machine would, but nobody thought of that... This only became evident when everybody involved, including Bob, was sat down in the meeting room to watch the video, shown via the 'proper' machine. The video was not only in colour, but it had sound - the sound of Bob systematically insulting everybody who was in the room, with the most basic of language. This was before we had a TV with a remote control, so turning the sound off would have involved getting up, going to the TV and turning the volume knob - this would have involved acknowledging what was actually happening, so it seems that it was felt better to just pretend that nothing untoward was going on. They all sat there for the forty five minutes and nobody ever mentioned anything about it - ever. If I had been there, I would probably have laughed myself to death.

I, with two others, run a Facebook page about the old factory. I was there for twenty years, 74-93, one of the others did 1965-2005, but might not have been as 'widespread' as I was, the third started in 1986 and is still there, after various mergers/downsizes/dismemberments. Between us, we generally know most people - this is necessary as Facebook produces a few "trawlers", people who probably hope that they might get a job from their 'involvement', so we need to weed them out from applicants. The youngest of us three came across a load of old company magazine articles, usually with photos, so she stuck them in. They're always interesting. One of these was a retirement presentation, with the happy escapee smiling for the camera. It was a newsprint picture, subsequently photographed for inclusion on the Facebook page, and the chap was named in the caption, but I didn't recognise the name at all. I was about to comment, using the chap's "work name", but was put off by the facts that - A, He was smiling* & B, I didn't recognise his real name. I could have been wrong and upset somebody, so I left it. * The person I had in mind was noted for being exceptionally dour - as we shall see. A few days later, somebody else, with less trepidation than I, posted "Is that Captain Concrete?" This, indeed, was who I thought it was. The oldest of 'us three' doubted that Ken Wells was his real name - "I'm sure it was Cyril Something". There was some, inconclusive, discussion on the page - with one person stating that 'three named people' would actually know what his real name was'. Eventually, one of them arrived and confirmed it was him. It is remarkable that you can work with someone for decades and not know his real name. I had proper work interactions with him, but I don't think I ever heard the name Ken Wells until it was in the caption of that picture.

Having spent most of the last year on the Western Island, and the last five weeks on the Big Island, it is as though nothing has happened here - it's really odd - very similar to the Foot & Mouth scenario... Despite there still being a death every ten to fifteen minutes here... I look forward to escaping westwards again shortly.

I've just been to my first 'large event' on the Big Island since the Great Plague arrived - a Barry Potter toy/train fair. Attendees are probably about 50/50 pre/post pension book age. Masks appeared on about 15 % of the total - and about 25% of those were protecting the apparently highly vulnerable under-chin area. Ventilation was largely non-existent, I would have thought it 'stuffy' two years ago. If breathed-out droplets, touching and multiple handling of products are really an issue, then some people may get a 'result' from being there. There were actually people vaping...