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| Thursday 3rd May 2012
April Monsoons Yes, it's the wettest drought on record. Whatever you do don't use your hosepipes as localised flooding is a real and present danger - I know that because my insurance company have told me(!) We've never had it so good! Apologies, I got that wrong, it's a double dip recession and we've never had it so bad. I just can't decide what to worry about next - pass me a Daily Mail someone, they'll have lots of suggestions I'm sure. Only in dear old Blighty could we worry so much over so little..... Sorry for that, I've been unduly influenced by our Easter break which saw us visiting several countries by virtue of a large floating structure that travelled around the Western Mediterranean. Language apart I always come back from these trips wondering about the sanity of my fellow countrymen. Anyway thank you very much Ron for your company and for financing the whole adventure - much appreciated by the family Castens. In the meantime for landlubbers on this Sceptered Isle I recommend BBC Radio 7 (for the moment snappily re-named as "Radio 4 Extra"), entertaining radio combining old and new, drama and comedy, and (joy of all joys) no "news" to fret over. It's so good they're bound to change it, so tune in now. Or of course you could always read a book, perhaps while listening to the radio - cup of tea anyone? City of Bath I am expanding the range of model railway iems in the shop now that Bath Model Centre has shuffled off its mortal coil. Bachmann's "City of Bath" is in stock right now at £115.00 and I have just ordered ina wider range of new wagons, including the new "Blue Circle" Presflo bulk pack and the ex LNE open wagons, amongst others. The complete range of Peco OO track and a wide range of Wills building sheets and kits, Ratio kits and Parkside Dundas wagon kits, including quite a few in 7mm scale. Silent Trains On the personal modelling front I have returned to my John Dale kit for a Manning Wardle L Class and have (much to my surprise) successfully completed it. It currently awaits detail painting and fitting of a Lenz Gold chip and its completion means that I finally have a correct period locomotive for "Pomparles Siding", which is due to attend Railwells this year. Here is a short video of its first tentative "steps" in the shed the other night. Still Expanding Back in the shop I am having a bit of a re-arrangement in order to make best use of my new bookshelves. I still have a bit more work to do at the rear of the shop, where I want to concentrate the model railway stock, and have given more prominence to the books on London, London Transport and Posters and Design, all of which make a colourful contribution to the shelves. That's it, I've got to go to put the finishing touches to our window display for the Larkhall Festival this coming weekend. The theme is the Olympics and we have put our own unique slant on the event, as ever, featuring Uncle Colin's figures, Brio and some masking tape - I'm not at all sure we will regain the cup this year. We didn't, but Goodies Delicatessen did. Our mystery object was a giant onion..... |
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Simon Castens |