Fresh air & photos

[Andrew Duncan]

Hello Andrew,
Thank you for your concern. I am not feeling too bad but still have bouts of tiredness throughout the day. After a 999 call the paramedics found me a jibbering mess slumped in a chair at home. It took some time for A&E doctors to figure out that I had excess fluid in my head. I was operated on a while later and had a shunt fitted to drain the excess fluid and reduce the pressure in my head. It appears that no actual damage has been caused to my brain(!). The scars from the operation are healing nicely so it should be just a matter of time bfore I am back to normal - apart from the SOS alert bracelet I will have to wear for the rest of my life - at least it will make diagnosis easier if anything goes wrong in the future.

I hope you are managing some sense of normalitity since your sad loss and hope you are in good health.

Rob

Hello Rob
Well, what an exciting life you lead, holes drilled in your head, and you're still alive after all that, well done! So ok, joking apart I'm really pleased that your ok and the prognosis is good. The bracelet sounds intriguing.

As for my family and me, yes we are keeping well and occupied, learning to live without Babette, which while sad has, as these things very often do, had some surprisingly positive results, with old friendships renewed and new friendships beginning. So given that I can't change anything, really the support we have had, and certainly that I've had, has been huge. And whilst it doesn't stop feelings of loss especially when I wake in the middle of the night (as now!) the ability to be able to talk this through(as I am now) is very helpful and is, I believe, part of the healing process.

So back to you Rob, and I'm very glad you're ok.

Hello Igor, thank you for your post, really very kind and generous of you, as always!

Andrew

Sorry to hijack the thread everyone. Back beautiful pictures....!

 

[Hayfield]

I remember Martin bought a boat kit but lost the thread, so posted it here

I decided to take the plunge and asked for a radio controlled yacht for my birthday, when I got the hull out of the box the wife said I thought it would be bigger, changed her tone when I put the mast and sails on

There ia a large boating pond in Maldon

Around 2.1m tall, and 1m long This is a relatively cheap entry level boat, but as I have no idea if I will get the bug a good way of learning how to sail without spending a small fortune. Certainly its easy to sail, but I have not quite got the trimming yet

In Heybridge there is a RC yacht racing club, both me and the yacht are no where near the standard required. But very enjoyable to sail

 

[Steve_Cornford]

Yesterday was the first time I have alighted at London Bridge station since it was rebuilt. Wow what a difference! Before retirement spent a lot if time commuting from there to Brighton.

The dirty grimy brickwooooork arches in St. Thomas street have cleaned up well to reveal the Yellow london bricks used.

A few repairs here and there.

 

[Martin Wynne]

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Fish pass update:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-63646271

 

[Steve_Cornford]

Don't tell Mortimer & Whitehouse!

 

[Justme Igor]

Estimated time of a train passing? Every half an hour?

with best regards Igor K

 

[Martin Wynne]

Estimated time of a train passing? Every half an hour?

with best regards Igor K

I thought we might add some live streams to this topic.

Right now it's a lovely sunny morning over Ribblehead Viaduct.

Click to play live. Click [ ] icon bottom right to go full-screen:

Live train running information at Ribblehead, passenger and freight is here:

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/detailed/gb-nr:RHD

Click the +1 Hour buttons to see future times.

Click on each train to see its detailed timetable and progress.

(p.s. currently in the UK there is a lot of disruption to railway services due to strikes.)

Ribblehead Viaduct is a famous iconic structure on the Settle & Carlisle railway line in northern England. See pictures:

https://www.google.com/search?q=ribblehead+viaduct&tbm=isch

Here is a map of the location -- the camera is installed on the Stationmaster's House looking North-West:

https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=18/54.20632/-2.36252

Zoom map out to see the viaduct.

Google Streetview: https://goo.gl/maps/zKcbfGg2kDb3mEzH9

Info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribblehead_Viaduct

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Martin Wynne]

@Justme Igor

If you have been watching activities on the webcam at Ribblehead, you may have noticed that at about 08:12 GMT some mornings, a train of empty mineral wagons arrives from the south (from the left), coming to a halt in full view. And then reverses back into Ribblehead Virtual Quarry, out of view behind the camera.

The "virtual quarry" is a stockpile of railway ballast ready for use (delivered here by road!), and the train has arrived to be loaded with some of it, before returning south.

There are 2 sidings in the yard behind Ribblehead station, accessed via a ground frame, and requiring some shunting operations to get all the wagons loaded. This video shows the shunting activity one morning, in typically bleak Settle & Carlisle weather:

The video is in HD, so can be watched full-screen.

The loaded train departs from the yard at about 12:54 GMT, initially heading north over the viaduct. But only as far as Blea Moor (1mile, 19 chains), where the loco runs round. The train then returns back south over the viaduct at about 13:29 GMT.

This is all happening today, detailed progress will be shown at:

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:H37335/2022-12-20/detailed

(It is necessary to keep refreshing the page to see progress.)

The scene at Ribblehead is a fascinating mix of old and new, with Midland Railway diagonal fencing and station lamps -- watching the orange army out on manoeuvres:

cheers,

Martin.

 

[AndyB]

It's very fresh here at the moment. -10C in fact and getting a lot colder, but it is very seasonal. We don't bother decorating trees at this time of year. It's too hard to compete with this

 

[Martin Wynne]

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First blue skies of 2023.

Martin.

 

[Martin Wynne]

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London Bridge, Ribblehead, Rugby. This topic is getting a railway feel. I think this is 1983.

Martin.

 

[richard_t]

I think 1983 is a tad early. "Dutch" engineers livery on locomotives was introduced in the early 90's (according to google.)

 

[richard_t]

I think 1983 is a tad early. "Dutch" engineers livery on locomotives was introduced in the early 90's (according to google.)

And the Mark 3 coach in the background lead me down a rabbit hole. Zooming in it looks like it's in Intercity "Swallow" livery (although some say it's a Swift rather than a Swallow). So a quick google for the introduction date of that (1987), lead me to this In pictures: every single HST livery, ever (although the coach is probably a Mark 3 coach, rather than a HST trailer given it's the WCML).

To my eyes, you can't bet Blue/Yellow on a HST ... (although GWR Green comes a close second)

 

[Martin Wynne]

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Occasionally it's pleasant to have a wander down memory lane, looking through my photos. This afternoon for example, with a cup of tea and the very last of the mince pies.

I have thousands of images, but the vast majority fall into the WDYTTF* category, and are rarely worth sharing. Here is one such, which caught my attention:

Notice this detail, bottom right:

I can't recall ever seeing one of those before. I'm wondering what it's a junction of? Gas pipes? Sewers? Electric cables? And where should I start digging? Usually such markers for pipelines, hydrants, etc., give a distance to the location. Anyone?

Bishop's Castle, Shropshire. 25th February 2022.

Here it is in 2009 on Google Streetview: https://goo.gl/maps/ECBAFLrw2vrP9c1L7

Which shows something at ground level below it: https://goo.gl/maps/8CQTKtKP35LvPSZb6

*What Did You Take That For?

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Martin Wynne]

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A couple more WDYTTF:

Shame about the rubbish bin.

Martin.

 

[Martin Wynne]

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More. On Haws Hill in September 2019.

Martin.

 

[Steve_Cornford]

Stanmer park last year. My contribution to the WDYTTF theme.

 

[Martin Wynne]

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Little Tedney. The bike appears to be the house name sign.

Martin.

 

[Steve_Cornford]

The answer(s) to my WDYTTF :-
Unusual horizontal sliding sash window, and Flemish bond brickwork.

 

[Phil O]

The answer(s) to my WDYTTF :-
Unusual horizontal sliding sash window, and Flemish bond brickwork.

Probably nicked from a signal box, when the Bobby wasn't looking.