Recent content by Foxhunter

I was a signalman on The Watercress Line this evening, where we ran a sold out View The Eclipse train. There was a lovely chance gathering of a few people from the village who came along to the station to see the eclipse from our footbridge, sharing glasses and pin hole viewers. An infectious...

Just fwiw. I have been surprised how pleasant it has been to do 'workstation work' outside in a shady spot. The only downside (maybe upside?) has been that the all metal garden chair discourages extended sitting. I'll be the first to acknowledge my good fortune in having a garden of sufficient...

Is the answer. My understanding (from a few years ago) is that the same calculation happens the opposite way around in Hong Kong. Everybody has AC, but plenty forgo a bit of heating when it is needed on a few days per year. But it is coming in the UK. My personal annecdata points are a...

Watercress Line (Mid Hants) has Two Steam Trains (expect Canadian Pacific and the Ivatt Tank), with Flying Scotsman on static display at Ropley as a bonus.

Fascinating thread, thanks to everyone for contributing. One (recent) historic aspect that hasn't come out yet is how common it was in the mid 20th Century for young men moving residence to take up career opportunities and lodging with a family in their house for a period - read any of the...

What I have observed in Hampshire is that road closures are a lot more frequent than they were. No data, just observation that in the past a road resurfacing would be on one side of the road, then the other, so that traffic could continue on the other side with traffic lights or men with boards...

And its supermarket equivalent where 'Improved Recipe' invariably means 'we've used cheaper ingredients that taste worse'. (Particularly applies to soups).

Excellent plan, clearly some thought has gone into it. I've said before on this forum, if your funds run to it then the Bernina and Glacier are to be done at least once in a lifetime. I don't normally go for the 'touristy' things on holiday, but I thoroughly enjoyed both of them. Given your...

Ropley Down Main Starter on the Watercress Line. I know it's still there because I operated it last Wednesday. (Also on approach to the Ropley Down Inner Homes the footplate crew see twin Semaphore Banner Repeaters. And the Yard Exit has a Yellow Shunt Dummy. A treasure trove of ephemera).

The Hong Kong Tsing Ma Bridge says hello.

Leeds was where I spent my formative years. I left in the early 1970's and remember that as a time of decline with the contraction of the wool and garment trade, and almost complete elimination of heavy industry in South Leeds. I return periodically and see a city very much better than when I...

I cannot believe I'm here, first venture into General Discussion, but a topic I am passionate about. I'm now north of 70, and I have seen a lot of life. But I have never encountered parents who didn't do their best for their children, want them to have a better life than they had, and make...

Fwiw About 4 years ago on my previous desk top I had a similar experience. An upgrade failed during the install process and the machine reverted back to the previous version. My recollection is that over the months there were 3 further failed attempts until eventually succeeding on the fourth...

Some more so than others. The hire car I had in Germany last year was quite forceful in wanting me to drive into the path of the oncoming combine harvester travelling between fields on a country road. At that moment, searching for an off button was not high on my list of priorities. On the...

A small contribution from a heritage sector signalman. I was on duty last night and for the first time I was unable to see my fogging point (Up Main Starter). The box I was working has semaphores in the station area, but colour light Distants. Our Rule Book requires that I prevent the Distants...