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The thoughts of Chairman Q


TheQ
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People are getting it wrong today,

Google has a browned out picture of a "lady with a lamp", clicking on the picture brings you to a wiki about Mary Seacole, who probably did more for the British troops in Crimea than Florence Nightingale.

The problem with the picture is, Florence Nightingale is known as the "lady with the lamp".

The BBC keeps saying, today is the aniversary of the Norman invasion in 1066 "the last time Britain was successfully invaded".

Errr in 1688 William of Orange invaded (invited by some) and with his wife ( the Daughter of James II /VII) took over the throne from James II / VII who after raising an army to fight for his throne, chickened out and fled to France.

Oh and Louis VIII of France invaded and was proclaimed King of England in 1216 in London, to usurp King John. Ultimately however, the Barons made up with King John (See the Magna Carta) and Louis went home.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Oh well at least 4 more years of Trumpery, :shock: we have to see how much damage he can make in that period. :shock: Sadly that gives him diplomatic immunity so he can keep coming back and visit his golf course he lied about. (promised 6000 jobs less than 200 have actually been made which sounds hopeful for the US economy)

TV "experts" said if the Republican controlled house of representatives doesn't hold him back, he could turn the USA back to a 1920s depression.... :shock:

I see the Portuguese Government has now taxed sunlight (I'm not joking) ie you get more sunlight on your house hthan another your taxes go up.

Please don't tell our government that idea... Though John Two Jags Prescot had a similar idea just before he was kicked out, he was going to raise taxes if you had a good view...

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I vow to the my country,

All earthly things above.

Entire Whole and perfect,

The Service of My Love.

The Love that asks no Question,

The Love that Stands the test.

That lays upon the Alter,

The dearest and the best.

The love that neaver falters,

The love that pays the price.

The love that makes undaunted,

The Final Sacrifice.

And there's another country,

I've heard of long ago.

Most dear to them who love her,

Most great to them that Know.

We may not count her armies,

We may not see her King.

Her fortress is a faithfull heart,

Her pride is suffering.

And soul by soul and Silently,

Her shining bounds increase.

And her ways are ways of gentleness,

And all her paths are peace.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

No work has actually gone on on the garden side of building the railway, I'm having to build a shed extension as SWMBO moved into her end of the railway shed before I completed the other, so I've got nowhere to work to finish the insides, as all the stuff for finishing the insides is in the way.

The new shed extension will eventually be the "dirty workshop" ( spraying , her stained glass work Etc) and storage area, I've got the foundations down, the floor frame work, the four corner panels and two sides are assembled and the eaves ring beam are in place. The shed is in it's most vunerable position at the moment as there is no real strength until the rafters are in place and with the early nights that won't be happening until next Saturday, so I hope we don't get any gales. Thursday looks worrying as the forecast is gusting westerly 28mph :shock: (though no rain), luckly the shed extension is mostly sheltered from that direction.

Off to get something to actually make the floor with on the way home from work tonight, which will give me something to stand on to put up the rafters...

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  • 1 month later...

The Tin shed extension is built, it just needed the following Saturday to finish the build and since then it's been mostly insulated (polystyrene stuck to the walls).

The structure of the corridor between the tin shed and the railway shed is built, but awaiting dry weather to seal the roof of the corridor (could be a long wait). The walls of decking planks are sealed but need dry weather to paint externally.

There is one fixed window in the corridor, the same as used in the main shed, an old sash from the house, and I've started cutting the slots for the door hinges in the frame. The door was acquired some years ago, it's an old front door but needs some new glass in places.

The corridor is built from left over wood from other projects, mostly decking, after a decision was made to change from timber decking to raised patio over two years ago.

I bought the timber and ply to complete the lining yesterday (I already have the insulation). Also the wood is to start building the work benches, spray booth, and shelving. It's been decided to build an electronics work bench in the shed as well, but it will be the opposite end near the door. The Spray booth is the far end, and I'm building onto the wall an air duct and fan to blow the excess spray away through existing ventilation in the shed.

I noticed on the way back from the DIY shed yesterday, that the price of fuel is really rocketing, our local tesco was 114.9p a fortnight ago, it's now 119.9p.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The doorway through to the old shed is now cut through and the entrance reinforced, unfortunately While SWMBO was clearing up the mess another dead rat was found, that makes four since they broke in some time ago, they paid for it by also breaking into a tub of rat killer... Hopefully this isn't a new one since the original break in.

The door way to outside has been finished except for paint and has now got a lock on it. and the floor of the corridor is gratifyingly dry after last weeks excercise with the plastic.

The framing for work benches has been started and more ply lining put up, this will be continued next Saturday.

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  • 3 weeks later...

The Work last week in the shed conisisted of shelf building, more ply lining and a little roof insulation. During this week's work, it was discovered in the old commercially made shed where the rat had come from ... a 3 inch hole chewed through the floor. Rat poison duly deposited down hole, and it has been covered temporarily with some heavy wood and weighted until I can clear the area to fix the hole properly. This will be followed by more sealing of the spaces between the beams that support the shed. (Around the outside edge of the shed). Three sides of the shed had already been done so there is 20ft to go. Having done the shelving framing on one side of the shed extension, I now know I'll need 24 X 30 inch by 16 inch by 12 inch plastic boxes. £12 for four if the've still got the sale on..

No work on the shed tomorrow, due to the above Show,  at which I'm helping exhibit someone else layout.

 Meanwhile, I'm dropping off SWMBO at one end of Norwich's shopping area and She'll shop to her hearts content working here way through till walking down to the show hall. Last year it took her 5 hours + to reach the show....With it being Valentines on Tuesday this could get Expensive!!!

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  • 3 weeks later...

That show went well, the owner of the layout had several prospective buyers, he's selling it because it's too big for his new car...

There were a couple of very nice layouts there and some I didn't like so much.

 The biggest problem was cold feet... every time someone opened the outside doors a wave of cold air blasted in, the numbers were probably down a bit on last year due the cold wet day....

Suprisingly SWMBO didn't spend that much:-D, and neither did I just a couple of books.

 

Since then the lining of the tin shed has been done, clearing of the old shed has commenced, another dead rat has been found...

Humans like popping bubble wrap...so do rats, there wasn't much left of the roll that was in there.

 A couple of old large glass TVs have been evicted, they were put in there some time ago for me to fix, but technology has moved on so much it's just not worth it...

I've been using up a lot of old bits of wood in an effort to clear the pile so the tin shed is not as pretty as it could be. But it's just the dirty workshop..

All the ceiling and the wall linings have been completed, shelving is all down one side, and the future electronics work bench is in place, the other side of the shed for the moment will be left for storing construction materials for the railway.

 Much planning has been done and some electrics are now the main task, lighting first, 8 Flourescent tube units each 4ft long which will daisy chain along the ceiling of the railway shed. The fuorescents were from when I was a maintenance man for a supermarket. A team came in to completely replace all the light units in the main shop, they brought too many units, so a dozen left over units were going into the skip new boxed with tube, So I intercepted them for the shed.

When the lighting is done, I can see what I'm doing to fit...

4 more General purpose sockets in the railway shed, then  a circuit of the tin shed with 6 more general purpose sockets and a RCD spur to a specialist workbench set of sockets. Then it's take the cable all the way back to the main door to complete the ring main.

 

Edited by TheQ
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  • 3 weeks later...

Just a heads up if you happen to be in the area, It's a well organised Show that I like.

 

Norwich Model railway Show, http://norhams.org.u...ess/exhibition/
Address: Hellsdon High-School, Middletons Lane, Norwich NR6 5SB

Day 1: 08 Apr 17
Opening time : 10:00
Closing Time: 16:30
:
Prices: £5 accompanied under 16s Free
:

Disability access: Yes
Car parking: Yes

Layouts
Bassington Garden N
Bastogne Rue De Clervaux HO
Bedford Road O
Blackshaw Road/ Coopers End O
Brankstone Junction N
Charlston N
Horndale OO
Norwich MRC Test Track Various
Roydon Road OO
Sefton Yard O
Shepherds Mine N
That Dam Railway OO9
The World's End OO
Thomas and Friends
Tolzdorf N
War and Peace OO

 

Traders
Bob Pearman Books http://www.pearman-books.com/
Bure Valley Model Shop http://www.bvrw.co.uk/models
Caistor Loco
David Rowland Art
Great Eastern Films http://www.greateast...ortfilms.co.uk/
Great Eastern Models http://www.greateasternmodels.co.uk/
Layouts 4U http://www.layouts4u.net/
Squires Tools http://www.squirestools.com/
Train-Tech http://www.train-tech.com/
Terry Durrant Model Railways
The Railway Photoman
Train Terrain
Model Scenery Supplies
Joe Lock

 

Demonstration
Norfolk Mardlers- O Gauge Modelling
Advent Modellers- Scenics

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  • 2 weeks later...

This week I start my weekend tale on Friday or actually the previous weeks Thursday 23rd April night at a friends house while I was not there.

Late in that evening Harry was getting comfortable in his reclining armchair in the living room, which by now was his bed. He'd had cancer for several years and 3 months before the hospital had stopped all chemo etc as there was no more they could do.
His wife covered him with a blanket, said good night, and got no reply. He had slipped into unconciousness, half an hour late he had died.
So last Friday they were not at the Model railway club, but this week she came, she is actually the railway enthusiast.
I spent 3 hours chatting to her which I think she needed, shortly after she gave me a bottle of Laproiag whisky from his collection knowing I drink malts.

We also discussed the fate of Harry's railway, Harry had got bored at the model railway club while his wife was involved with the railways, and he got the opportunity to buy one. This model railway was built on the Isle of Tiree, just 60miles from the Islay distillery of Laproiag. It was built by a retired electronics engineer whos sister lived next door to Harry here in Norfolk. When the engineer died it was extracted from being built into an upstairs bedroom, down some narrow stairs across by ferry and driven the long journey to Norfolk.

For the last 2 years I have been simplifying the electronics, so Harry could use it and removed over 30 circuit boards from the underside!!! we had it running at a club show last year where, because the layout is called Tiree I was kilted up appropriately. Since then we have cut the boards in half to fit their car, and I divided the still considerable wiring underneath with plugs and sockets. Harry did the woodwork this entailed and they both started restoring the landscape.

I asked Hazel what she wished to do with the layout and offered to buy it if she wished to sell, saying she could take her time with a decision. But after a few thoughts she GAVE it too me. Her own interest is the London overground railways of where she was brought up and so a Scottish fictional layout didn't really fit in with her plans.

Next week we will sort out the pile of stuff under the railway on the table at the club, so she can have Harry's tools and anything personnal, I'll then sort out what to do with the rest. Half of the railway will come home to make more room in the clubhouse and I will work on board by board restoring the model swaping with those at home where appropriate.
when restored. the model railway sign will say
TIREE,
In memory of MR D.H. Clark, and MR H. Nudd.

Since then I've opened the bottle and raised a glass to Harry...whos funeral will be April 11th their 40th wedding aniversary.         

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  • 1 month later...

Morning, not much has been going on with the garden side of the railway, because a huge amount has been going on inside the shed.  The previously mentioned lighting and wiring was completed,  ten foot by 10 foot of shed ceiling was installed and another 10 ft of planking has been painted ready for installation.

20ft of layout supports have been installed, one old chest of draws, an old cupboard, and an old box storage unit have been built in so far. Ten slide out plastic trays have their own shelves,  the true are just deep enough for a loco and big enough for a dozen carriages.

Todays work, weather permitting, is more concrete laying for the raised patio, time permitting, work on the path to the wall the railway will sit on will continue. Back in the shed on Sunday, for less strenuous work putting that ceiling up.

We've had a total of 4 rat holes eaten through the shed floor,  these have been repaired, breeze blocks have now been dug in all the way round blocking their routes under the shed.

I must say I expected UKIPs vote to reduce but this amount of collapse wasn't, neither was the amount of labour collapse. What was also a surprise was the conservative resurgence in Scotland. With the SNP having moved steadily leftwards over the past 20 years taking labours ground.  There are many mildly SNP supporters who were on the right of the political world now wondering where to go.

This amount of swing to the conservatives will probably go against them in the general election, as more labour will come out to vote as a reaction to the council votes, and some conservative voters won't bother to come out as they think it's a done deal...

Right time to put the overalls on, there's a bonfire to light as the wind is away from the neighbours thatched roof, then get the concrete mixer out.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well the concreting was done till I ran out of supplies. I've since been and got another ton, luckily as I arrived at the DIY shed they were selling 25kg bags of sand and cement off because they were out of date £1 a bag half a ton later the landrover was loaded up!!  And I've been back since.

Still not much done on the garden railway as I'm pushing one to get the patio and pathway completed, the inside the shed works have continued when it's raining / my back has had enough of concrete.. 

 

Well the election continues , I had vast amounts of stuff from the orange team, a small amount from the blue team and nothing from anyone else. Anyone would think the orange team are worried about the loss of their sitting candidate to the blue team. With the Purple team having withdrawn, if all their votes went to the blue team the Blues would win here.

Corbyn never seems to not amaze me with his historical version of labour, spend every pound you can and make no credible explanation of where it will come from. He pretends to be a friend of the poor, something he has never been. He went to  private school and then grammer school, something he wishes to deny others. Even with two divorces he and his well hidden third wife are millionaires, the average house price for the area where he lives is £800,000.

 His prime supporter in parliament Diane Abbott sends her children to private schools

Event though Blair and Brown pretended to be on the right of their party, they increased the government spending every year until two years before the crash they were spending more money than was coming in. Something labour governments have always done.

In times of boom you are supposed to pay off debt.....

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Yet another weekend of concreteing, 1.5 tons laid in the raised patio area, the roof of the corridor between the tin shed and the Railway shed has been completed.

 Approval had been sought and got so that when I finish this section of the raised patio, I will then finish the path out to the Garden railway and then turn 90 degrees path that will go along side 20ft of it.. Of course the wall to hold the concrete in will need to be built, and it just happens the railway will run on top of that9_9.

Back in the political world the ukip Candidate in the Scottish election came out with one interesting comment ( not the exact words), the only thing She (Ms Sturgeon), wants is independance from Britain while becoming subservient to the EU, which is not logical.

The green candidate said he was totally against capitalism, which means he's communist, as I have always thought, the Greens are the Communist party painted a different colour..

Meanwhile Corbyn, is trying to buy the students votes, a bit too obviously...

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by TheQ
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It is sad news from Manchester today. my thoughts are with all those involved.

The fanatics of all sides, fail to read the basic rules of their, Bible / Torah / Koran. ie the Ten Commandments, which is in all of them. The prime rule they ignore being.

THOU SHALT NOT KILL.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Morning ,

Well no garden work this weekend I'll be sitting in a Motorboat on Hickling Broad. This weekend is "The 3 Rivers Race"  one of the ten toughest mass participation evens in the UK.

Up to 150 boats( this year 90 -ish) starting in ten boat fleets from Horning Sailing club every 5 minutes from 11:00 tomorrow Saturday the 3rd Jun 2017. They have to sail 54 miles, under 3 bridges (twice under each). There are four legs to the course and you may choose to go round in any order you like and it's tidal.

Getting the tide right at two key points, Potter Heigham Bridge and the lower Bure Buoy can mean the difference between doing well or even not finishing.

I'm controlling a guardship, of which, there are ten scattered round the course each with their own rescue boat. The guardships role is to count all the boats going past and radio each one back to control. Advise control of any retirements and of course provide rescue cover.

Here is the website, which includes more details of the race and there are webcams around the course so you can see whats going on.. https://horning-sailing.club/index.php

just click on web cams to see the waters, 5 running at the moment hopefully the 6th will be up shortly.

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Morning, the 3 Rivers Race went well last week, due the state of the tide and wind , we on Hickling Broad saw the first boat at about 14:00 and the last boat at about 22:00, with all but six between 17:00 and 21:00.

Due to the wind dying early overnight very odd situations occurred with very slow, on handicap, boats beating very fast on handicap boats on the water!!!!

It was overall a very successful race.

 

Today I'm hoping to lay another  dozen or so foundation blocks for the wall the railway will actually run on!!!! Something of a milestone this, this is on one side of the patio where the tracks approach the nearest point to the mobile home.

A key block was laid last weekend which is the starting point for that particular line of wall, all I have to do now is join the dots/ blocks. Once all the foundations blocks are in then the walls / viaducts themselves shouldn't take too long.

I reckon I have another 60 blocks to place, unfortunately in the last year they've gone up 25% to 50% in price ouch.... About £300 that lot before building the actual walls, viaducts care looking more popular more holes less blocks!!!

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  • 4 weeks later...

Not much has been said mostly because I've been very busy on other things. Earlier on in the year a friend died, and I inherited his N gauge railway. This had been built on the Island of Tiree, by an electronics engineer, the whole underside of the 12ft by 2ft railway was covered in circuit boards!!!

 When the electronics engineer Died, it came to his sister who lived next door to my friend, who bought it. He was a marshman, born and raised on the Norfolk Broads marshes, spent his life working on the marshes and the surrounding area. Originally on farms, lately doing garden maintenance (in his 80s). So i had spent many hours simplifying the electronics for him.

So MRC work has now been spent working on "Tiree" continuing the restoration of  the model and changing some elements as I intend using it as my show layout. The layout had been built into the upstairs room of a tiny cottage, it had been extracted with some difficulty down narrow stairs. Then a ferry journey to the mainland and a long trip down to Norfolk. 

Meanwhile in the garden, not a huge amount has gone on for the garden railway, My parents are here for their annual months visit and neither are steady on their feet. Work on the mobile home and the garden has been going on to help them. Also further extensions to the raised patio have continued, last week I dug soil  and rubble from the site of some old privies (from when there used to a pub on the site pre 1895) and filled an area of the raised patio about 10ft by 5ft by 18 inches. 

Also last week we "rescued" a six year old dog, well, through a mutual friend who has 8 Border collies (and some sheep) a friend of hers needed to rehome their Border, as that persons Mother has just had a stroke, the father has dementia, She has a job and just couldn't give Ben the Border Collie the attention all Border Collies need. Since we were on the look out for a Collie we've now got him. All work in the garden is now interupted by a ball arriving at your feet.. and him trying to round up the wheelbarrow as I'm pushing it.

 He is absolutely lovely as a dog, very well behaved and just needs a little reassurance due to the changes in his life. The only thing is, He's done very little lead work, So SWMBO is trying to do some obedience training with him at the moment..

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Ok you lot wake up9_9,

Broadland Model Railway Club are holding their Open Day on Sunday 13th of August 2107 at:

Stalham Town Hall, High Street Norwich Norfolk NR12 9AH.

We do have to have a small charge for entry to cover costs.

There will be Club and Members layouts in a variety of Gauges,

We hope to have a second hand Stock and Book stall,

Tea and Coffee will be available, there is a pub across the road!!!

 

:no: Drop in if you're in the area, have a chat and see what we do. :no:

 

I'll update this with the entry charge and opening  hours once I've been to the club on Friday..

 

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