May to June plus a bit of April ......

Whilst I may be writing this installment in June, I must start off with a little bit about April that I forgot to put in my May installment.  Over the weekend of 6 and 7 April 2013, Yate Rocks Tramway journeyed up the M5 to Cheltenham where it was exhibited at a model railway exhibition for two days.  Its previous exhibitions had been only 'one day'ers', so Cheltenham was an interesting experience.  Very exhilarating, but also very tiring, especially  for the old vocal chords.  Profits from the Exhibition all went to CLIC.

One thing which came out of the two days was that the ideal locos, both in functionality and based on a possible prototype was for the little Minitrain diesels to take over, with the Pecketts being 'retired'.  So two more diesels have arrived at the works and the Pecketts have been transferred to another part of the GSCoLtd empire.

The new little blue diesel passes one of the now 'retired' Pecketts.

For my birthday treat, we went off in our caravan (part test run - part holiday  all the way to Tredegar House in Newport.  This gave us a chance to see the house, now a NT property, and get some wood form ISCA Woodcrafts.  Any way we wnet back there three weekends later when ISCA were having an open day with demonstrations by other 'wood nuts'.  That weekend coincided with our 24th anniversery .....  

ps Latest piece of wood turning:

X shaped bowl in Elm

More soon ....

May

The Humours of May Day by Anon (1770)
What Frolicks are here
So droll and so queer
How joyful appeareth the day
E’en Bunter and Bawd
Unite to applaud
And celebrate first of the May

May has arrived and the sun has come with it.  Not that I've had time to enjoy it much, as 'her that must be obeyed'!!! got the whip out and forced me into rebuilding one of our raised beds in the back garden.  Okay, I was happy to do it, but it didn't do my back any good, I can tell you.

Fallen head over heels in love with lovely Natalie, the Hackney Girl made good.  I have followed MasterChef from it's early days and with out doubt the standard of cooking has improved no end.  However, I still feel the judging should be done by THREE people and there should be a clear scoring system.  Using a multi-stage cycle race as an analogy, both of the male finalists would have been eliminated in the semi-finals for failing to complete the stage.

It was also interesting the backgrounds of both Natalie and Larkin.  Their families must be really proud.

As for Scotch Eggs, as a Coeliac, these have been -off-limits'for quite a while, until last Sunday, when Mrs M. came back from 'WonderWool', with two lovely Gluten-Free  Scotch Eggs produced by the 'Handmade Scotch Egg Company'.

Last week I finished the best bowl I have turned to date.

Turned from a bowl blank in Elm, it required both the top and bottom section to be hollowed out, thus making it very light.  If I was going to criticize it, maybe the waist could have been even thinner.

Well done Argyle, you survived again JUST.  Time to move upwards again, but on a firm financial footing.

My 'twin' website is being vastly altered at the present time but will begin to feature information on the M,G&SLRly .........

April at last

Before I get onto talking about April and the events of March, I must tell you about what Mrs M has just been up to.  She had to search in the cupboard under the bathroom hand-basin and discovered toiletries that had a use-by date from before we moved some ten years ago!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So where is Spring?,  does anybody out there know?????

Produced a super bowl for Mrs M..  It was turned from spalted beech, this is where a fungus causes thin slivers of rot in the tree and at the same time produced a super pattern in the wood, as can be seen by this photo:

Part of the problem with spalted beech is the hardness of the wood varies according to the amount of rot, so its easy to cause depressions in the wood.  However what is really special about the bowl is, and this is not that apparent from the photo, is the underturned lip, which goes in some 2 to 3 cms .  I'll try to post a better image in the near future.

The second photo is of Orchard the sheep, (named after where I have been taught wood-turning).  He was made from birch and african blackwood.

Nice to see Argyle are winning some matches, just hope they can keep it up and therefore stay up.  

Mrs M has recently acquired a Schacht Matchless Spinning Wheel.  Features lovely woodwork, jealous!!!

Getting Yate Rocks Tramway ready for an exhibition soon, then its time for the garden and caravan.

Thats all for now folks ....

Its March and Spring is poking her nose out and beginning to scent the air ......

March is very nearly my favourite month, actually April is but that may be something to do with my birthday being in April!!!  For Spring is very nearly upon us and some of my favourite flowers appear in Spring,  daffodils and primroses (link back to Devon), but I will have to wait a bit for my favourite flowers, Sweet Williams.

Wood-turning is progressing well, even if I am 'handicapped' by Mrs M and all her demands for various wood-turned spinning objects.  Over the past twelve months I have built up quite a nice stage of wood, as bowl-blanks, as spindles or as planks,  ..... BUT why is it I don't seem to have the right wood when I get a request for a certain object.  Furthermore, just as I produce a new object, all I seem to get is something like "that's gorgeous, however, if you had done this or shaped that bit differently it would be even better"  ggrrrrrrr .

Last week had two very interesting days. On Thursday evening I went to visit a friend from my model railway club in Ward 103 at Frenchay Hospital, the very room I 'stayed' in when I first went in with my heart condition some three and half years ago.  Strange, but good, because that was the start of my period of heart repair.

When I got back home, Mrs M told me we had to go down to Petersfield in Hampshire either on the Friday or the Saturday to collect a spinning wheel she had just bought on Ebay.  Thats okay, but I'll just check to see if the Mid-Hants Railway will have started it's Spring Timetable on the Saturday.  Well blow me down, the season started that weekend with their Spring Steam Gala.  So on Friday we spent a good three hours on the Watercress Line, FAB !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Waiting for some new 009 locos to arrive from the 009 Society Sales Stand,   more on this next blog.

photo taken from

FolkestoneJack's Blog

Hope you don't mind

Post Exhibition

It is now just over a week since my model railway club's annual exhibition.  It was a long and tiring day BUT it was well worth it.  The Exhibition was as far as I know the biggest it has put on and possibly the best ever.
My own layout was well received and I had some lovely comments about my new mini layout based on a canal lock in Staffordshire.  The night before the exhibition it poured down which washed the last of the snow away, but it then froze over.  Fortunately by the time the public were allowed in it had more or less thawed.
Yesterday we were driving along a Cotswold Road within a strict speed limit.  We had a car on out tail driven by what looked like a 60 odd year old with his wife .. she was the passenger of course ... As soon as we went into the 50 limit he passed us and was off like a rocket only to have to brake because the speed limit soon went back to 30, not he clearly knew what meant.  Once out of the limit he was off again around a dangerous z bend.  I don't suppose he noticed the wreck of another car that tried to take that bend at speed!!!!

Good to see Parliament is slowly working towards equal rights for gay couples.  Too many anti-gay marriage types go on about that marriage has only ever existed for a couple to produce children.  That means that Mrs M and I should not have been allowed to marry, because by the time we tied the knot both of our internal reproduction pipework had been knotted.  Surely whats important is that marriage is all about a couple wanting to show off their commitment to each other.

Further thoughts on religion

Latest astronomy research has concluded that there are at least some 17 billion earth size planets up there in space. Furthermore millions of these have probably already gone and  I assume millions having been formed but from which light  has not yet arrived.  It makes you realise how large the whole cosmos is and how small we are, that the Earth is but the size of a grain of sand  compared with all possible planets which together are the size of Earth.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20942440

A win at last !!!!!!!!

Well done Argyle, a win at last.  So much about winning or losing is often just about whats in the a persons head, such is life.  Managed a walk/push yesterday (Sunday), it was really sunny but cold here in South Glos.  Trouble with this time of the year are the short days and when it's warm it's wet and when  it's sunny it's cold.

New mini-layout is nearly ready for the SodburyVale MRC Exhibition.  The new layout is based on an actual setting in Staffordshire.  It will be interesting to see how it is received.

Watched an interesting programme last night (Sunday) on BBC about the the 5th Royal Tank Regiment.  I was particularly interested in the part about the Sherman Firefly, because it was in one of those that my father fought with the 86th Anti-tank regiment (5th Devons) RA through Normandy and onto Hamburg in 1944-45.

Photo sourced from http://www.strijdbewijs.nl/tanks/sherman/m4eng2.htm

More Woody objects

Seaton Beach Pebbles

kate

Some photos of some of the objects I have recently turned

New Year

The calender new year has arrived and yet more money went up in bangs, flames and smoke.  Wonder if any of the people who went into debt to buy the fireworks gave any thought to the sweat shops in China where poor people are exploited just to make a few rich?  Doubt it.  Daft thing is the new year started on the 22 Dec .......

Escaped to my home county for the Christmas break where Mrs M and I had a really good non-Christmas and listened to our collection of 'Harry's Game' audio cd's.  Twas a bit wet and we did need to divert around  floods but the sea was fantastically wild on the 25th.  Gave Mrs M a pebble sculpture that I had turned out of three different woods.  (See photo)

So Argyle are in trouble again and now need a new manager.  Feel sorry for Fletcher but his way of playing was not getting the results the Club needs to get it's rebuilding going.  Who'd be a football manager!!!!!!!!!!

Not long to go and its all over

Today its the 4 December, only 17 days to the true new year and only 22 days and the biggest con since the South Sea Bubble will be over.  Millions of children across the non-Christian world would have worked under near slave conditions to produce cheap rubbish for 'not-well-off' Europeans and North Americans to spend money they have probably borrowed from loan sharks or at best near legal loan sharks like Wonga and which they will spend months paying off, so keeping them in the poverty trap.

Right, I feel much better now having got that out of my system.

Watched a fascinating programme the other day on the way JC has been portrayed in painting and sculpture over the last two centuries.  He has been through more transformations than Dr Who, from a typical Greek fair haired boy, (short hair cut) to a European Jew with long dark hair and a beard. Pity the fakers who produced the so-called Turin Shroud didn't do their research beforehand.  Can someone explain what God was up to for the 6billion plus years that our world had been spinning around Sol, and the first MEN who could read and write came along, some half a million years plus that homo-sapian had first stood up and not straight away fallen over.

On religion, I did feel sad for those men and women who seem to think its alright to be led by men in frocks rather than women in frocks.  If I was  a women, and an Anglican Christian, I'd tell the 'men-in-frocks-lovers' where to go ......... but then the actual 'boss' of the Church of England is a women !!!!!!!!!!!

Good job November is over, it was a lousy time for Argyle. At least December started with both the English men and women duffing up the All-Blacks.  Sorry any colonial readers but when it comes to rugby, like you , I'm biased.

Well that's all for now folks .....................

Autumn arrives

So the clocks have gone back and Autumn has arrived with a vengeance.  Argyle, having started to do well have suffered  two defeats, admittedly both away games.  After the hectic summer we had its nice to settle back into a normal period of life.  The wood turning is going well, but I must concentrate on my 'chisel action'.  Problem when I watch my teacher working she makes it look to easy.  Talking about woodturning, I had a look to see if I could get some recycled plastic planks to work with.  Yes its out there but large orders only.  Is it any wonder its hard to use recycled material when you can only buy in large amounts.

had a great visit to Coldharbour Mill near Tiverton the other weekend.  It was one of the rare days when they 'steamed' their steam engines.  Well worth a visit.

Post Olympic and Paralympics Depression!!!

Well, its all over.  What many people call the greatest show on Earth has come to an end once again until it reappears in Rio in 2016.  For the Olympics Mrs M and I were merely spectators, usually at home, sometimes in our caravan and best of all on Kingston-on-Thames bridge to watch the Cycle Road Time Trials and for 3 magical hours in the Velodrome, even if we did only see Ed Clancy win bronze. (tears).

Whilst we were up in London we travelled during the Games to just outside the complex to collect our Games Makers uniforms.  Good job Mrs M is good with a sewing needle, she had to take 5ins off the bottom of my trousers.  Otherwise the uniform was quite good.  Just had a look on EBay.  It's amazing what people are willing to bid for a games maker Watch.  My hasn't been off my wrist since our first day on duty, other than when  I shower!, although it is meant to be shower proof.

Mrs M and I were part of the 'meeters and greaters' team at Eton Manor, the wheel chair tennis venue.  The six days we spent there were (showing my age) absolutely FAB.  Tiring, hot, aching feet, but ggggrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaattttttttttttttttttttttttt. We wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Yes there were hitches both within the Park and on the buses and Underground getting there.  I think I should contact Boris to discuss how he should be getting TFL to improve the trains and stations fro wheelchair users.

But all things consdered, it is clear that the Para' games has come a long way.  Pity the folk in the good old US of A weren't able to have the same TV coverage that Channel 4 put out. Considering you had so little to base your coverage on WELL DONE CHANNEL 4.  It was good to see Russian paralympians doing so well, especially as according to the old Soviet Union, there were no disabled people in the Union when the Games should have been held there in 1980 - it was held in Holland instead.

A further interesting point is that Papa G' thought that amputees and the blind and such like had no place in the Games.  Can't work that one out myself, so even the great can and do get it wrong sometimes.  I always wondering what Joseph Kennedy (JF' s father) thought in may 1945 when Britain ended up on the winning side.  In 1940, when he was US Ambassador to the UK, he told Roosevelt that the UK was about to go under.  Perhaps it was the Irish blood in him.

Being Hurt

Why is that there are times in your life when someone close to you, who up to that point in time you had totally trusted, turns against you.  Even though its clear that he or she has been influenced by someone else, someone who is clearly jealous of your freindship, their actions still cut deeply into you.  I know that we cannot always be perfect and I know  life does not stand still, but .......

Catching-Up AGAIN

It's nearly three months since I last blogged so it's time I caught up.  Since I last wrote Wiggo has won leTour and now Chris Froome is having a serious go at the Vuelta.

Mrs M and I had a good day at Wimbledon, we had Centre Court tickets, and since then we have been up to London to watch the Olympic Road Time Trial and a session in the Velodrome.  We've also collected our Paralympic Games Maker uniforms ready for the far more important Paralympics.  Wasn't that a super play about Poppa, pity it wasn't the full two hours.  Just shows how things have changed since the 1940's.  Mind you we still get people not knowing how to cope with Mrs M, after all surely a broken back is contagious!

Not a good start by Argyle, surely it must get better.

Our very nice neighbour Mer' died recently of the Big C.  Why is it always the nice one's that depart leaving the nasty ones behind. Mer' was very special because he asked for nothing of anybody, nor did he impose.  Perhaps it's something to do with surviving a North Korean POW camp.

Well Done Team Sky - Professional Cycle Racing Team

Well done all of the Team Sky riders in the Giro.  A super team effort.

Marks for the Giro organisers varies from 10 for the last Mountain top stage to 0 for some of the finising routes for most of Sprint stages. Seems someone thought that a Sprint finish without a crash would be boring.

Many Italian Railways were shown but no trains, until they got to Tirano, then we saw a train crossing the main square - no, sorry that was a Swiss train.  See video. But what a route through the town.  No barriers, lights etc, just bells and horns ............

Quiet Week

This has been quite a quiet week, a bit like the calm before the storm.  Mind you the weather hasn't been very exciting, has it!  Had a good shop at ISCA Woodcrafts at Tredegar House, Newport.  I am sure other woodturners think the same as me, in that inspiration for a nice project comes form the wood to be found at places like ISCA.
We've been keeping a close eye on Mark Cavendish in the Giro.  Seems he can at last survive in the mountains.  For instance on Sunday, in appalling weather whilst he may have finished third from last for the stage he was in a group of 58 riders.  Proves to me that he is a far better rider than Cippolini, who whilst a great sprinter, gave up as soon as he saw a hill sign!!
Good luck to Jeremy Hunt who has gone home to catch a child birth.  He's been the main man in getting Sky to front on the sprint stages. 
Don't people take photos with strange things today.  Saw a number of people taking pictures of the torch relay with their I.tablets, strange, surly a nice little digital camera is far handier!!!

Croydon Trams

Whilst in London I had the chance to leave Mrs M at the Olympic Park for a few hours.  So a long walk back to the exit gate, through the Westfield Centre, onto the DLR and then transfer to the District Line, change at Earls Court for a train to Wimbledon, change platforms and straight on top a tram.  Nice line as far as Croydon on former railway line and then interesting section through he streets of Croydon including past the site of the fire destroyed Reeves shop, change trams and then onto Elmers End, off the tram and onto a 'south-eastern' train to London Bridge, onto the Jubilee Line back to Stratford and then another long walk.

Stratford Station Platforms

There has been a great fuss by the powers that be about how the 2012 London Paralympic Games will be the most accessible games ever!  Trouble is, it seems that most of these wise and wonderful people have no idea what so-ever what being disabled means. 
The Olympic Park is served by a number of railway lines and below I have listed the platforms we used this last week:
The Underground - Central Line westbound - acceptable - simple bunny-hop.
                                          eastbound - 30-40cms step up with gap - assistance required.
Jubilee Line - new platforms both okay
DLR - new platforms - excellent
Overground to Highbury and Islington - Impossible to get on without a ramp although with help it is possible to get off at Stratford.  We caused our return train to be late because of the time it took the conductor to find the ramp, get it out of the on-board cupboard, put it in place, then put it back into the cupboard!  A good example of the practice being far more complicated than the theory.

We did use a bus in Highbury and the driver was excellent in 'launching' the ramp out of the rear door, first attempt too far from pavement , so moved bus and repeated the exercise.  He then kept  a check on where we wanted to get off.

General Comment on the Central Line platforms.  Bearing in mind that the dimensions of the trains have been more or less the same for the past 75 years how come the heights of the platforms vary so much, some you step up, some you step down, some are fairly level but maybe at only one end.

CONCLUSION
There are only two parts of the London Public Transport System that I feel is fully wheelchair accessable and therefore is the only parts fully accessable to all, able and disable and I therefore award first-equal prize to the Docklands Light Railway and the Croydon Trams

Our days at the Olympic Park

Over the next few days I will enter up on this Blog some of my experineces of being a 'wheelchair companion' at the Olympic Park.  I am going to endeavour to get word of the Sassy Spinners blog to both Boris and Seb.  Maybe then they will stop going on about how acceccisble the Park is and how easy it is for wheelchair users to get there and use the facilities.  Best to say that it doesn't come up to scratch to say the least.  But more of this to come.  Plus I'll write about my trip to the Croydon Trams, great fun.

Docklands Light Railway and Egger

Last Monday I had a vacant time slot from 6.00pm to 8.00pm during which I had the opportunity of spending two hours on the Docklands Light Railway.  Mrs M had a Paralympic Games Maker training session at Canary Wharf leaving me twiddling my thumbs for two hours.  I spent most of that time sat in the front/near front of the driverless DLR trains.  From Canary Wharf I was able to fit in journeys to Lewisham, Stratford and Woolwich.  What I found really interesting is the way the tracks have been fitted into the existing landscape including using old industrial lines.  Yes I know this seems a bit trivial but it makes me happy.

Thanks to a fellow member of the 009 Society my little 009 loco Egger has returned to work.  Due to mechanical problems it has been little more than a museum piece for some twenty years.  It is now some 43 years old and has been given a second wind.  The photo shows it drawing past the Engine Shed siding on it's new home line the Yate Rocks Tramway.