Friday, 30 December 2011
A tall tale of an espionage Korea.
Back home now after a hasty exfil' and the usual full de brief.
Suffice it to say the new leader is as tricky as the last two.
Oh well.
Tuesday, 27 December 2011
Actual Mission Action!
This is an ammo box for 7.62 mm blank rounds. I guess these are for training sessions prior to live missions.
All I need to do now is think of something cool to keep in it and a convincing back story about my time on a deep mission in the middle east gathering intel' and zeroing in on CIA targets.
Thanks to the kind fella who wrapped it up for me.
Get in!
Thursday, 22 December 2011
Christmas Merchandiser.
While we were in the city she was browsing and I was just spugging about waiting.
I noticed these personalised coat hooks where you buy one that matches your initial.
Took me a while to clock it but then had to take this picture for Blog BS5.
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
Even more train drama.
Plenty of seats in the entertainment carriage where you can pay for movies or hit the free to view screen for a location map that also shows speed.
Heading home at 124mph.
Get in!
Monday, 12 December 2011
The elusive banana.
Today after about 30 months travelling in my current role on very many a train indeed, I bagged the Flying Banana.
This is the Network Rail
Measurement Train, an ex-service Class 43 that now runs a 13 week programme covering all the rail track in the UK and measuring its safety or need for repair. There is no published schedule so you never know when you'll see it. There is only one . It's long and bright yellow and you can't get on it unless you work for Network Rail.
Since I moved from regular train geek to the sort who collects numbers ( for class 43 only) I have not clocked 43014 The Flying Banana, but today at London Kings cross there it was in splendid yellowness. I was so excited and I had 22 minutes to my connection to take a gander.
There I was along with a discreet group of about eight other blokes equally thrilled. Harmless fun.
What a cracking Monday and out of the house from such a lovely weekend too.
Friday, 9 December 2011
Cool!
Get in!
Thursday, 24 November 2011
Total train drama!
Saturday, 19 November 2011
He is on the way....
Cosmic!
Thursday, 6 October 2011
No more updates :-(
He was a divisive sort of a chap and I am certainly in the group that liked him, but I was less fond of the control in the ecosystem.
That aside Steve Jobs has checked out and that's a real shame.
Thanks for all the cool products and the fantastic presentations and the branding.
Steve Jobs. Bit of a dude.
Thursday, 29 September 2011
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
Weight for it!
He is 28.8 kilos ( the dog, obviously).
Monday, 26 September 2011
Get ahead, get a hat!
He bought me this soviet era souvenir and I am mightily pleased with it. I am looking forward to winter testing and to seeing if it persuades me into the way of collectivisation, centrally planned economies and long queues for bread.
Cheers Greg!
Sunday, 18 September 2011
He has become one with The Borg.
It seems The Borg have infiltrated the house and Quaddie is now an automaton-canine swiftly despatching his brother Toby and moving on to look for new drones to join the collective .
If you know your Trek lore you'll know one of the first things you see of The Borg is the red laser eye supports
scanning space and time.
Saturday, 17 September 2011
Winston Churchill.
We went to the Theatre Royal to see Three Days in May, a fine play about Winsto' having to persuade Halifax and Chamberlain not to capitulate to Jerry in May 1940, 18 months before the Americans came in.
It was a belter of a play and this is a picture of the set just before kick off. Winsto' was played by Warren Clarke and very good he was too.
(We won, by the way).
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Special Forces Pa.
Here's my cool Dad checkin' out the route on a debrief over a pint.
I like this picture a lot.
Friday, 9 September 2011
Rushin along.
My folks recently went on holiday and stopped in at Murmansk. At a hotel there my Ma and my Pa picked this Russian newspaper because they thought I'd like the lead story.
Too true but no idea what the article is really about.
Any readers of Russian out there?
EBay special zone
I put in a bid for £1.10....
Spod post
The picture from Doom is just for entertainment (and cool nostalgia).
Monday, 5 September 2011
Spooky!
Fancy that in BS7's garden.
Spod!
Sunday, 4 September 2011
Progress!
The anorexic thin carpet is going and I think I'll sand the floor (Daniel son).
Excited!
Thursday, 1 September 2011
Fuse the Force , Luke.
All I have to do now is work it all out.
All this and two new lights too.
Thursday, 18 August 2011
Very unsupervised.
Here I am at a show for work in charge of a lorry with a tail lift. I'm unsupervised with the keys.
What could possibly go awry?
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
Getting on with it.
Down to the brick where the plaster is done for and some damp proof and scratch coat before building back up and plastering.
I may have a new lodger next month and hopefully he'll find a sorted house!
Friday, 12 August 2011
Invasion!
Wednesday, 10 August 2011
Water sight to behold!
Holiday reading.
Now nearly forty years old and holidaying alone with BS7, it hasn't changed much, save for the medium. I purchased a book on my whizzy iPad and have been savouring it each morning this week, mixed with anticipation of the day ahead and the train, castle, garden, museum, bookshop or event that we will see together.
The holiday book is called Go, Go, Go! It is an insider's account of the Iraninan Embassy siege at Princes Gate in 1980, broken up and concluded by the Special Air Service. Aged only 8 at the time, my Special Forces Skills were still in their infancy and I was not called in, so it is enjoyable to read the account.
The book is choc' full of drama and bloke-friendly illustrations just like this one. On reading the background it is an irony that the siege takers were protesting against Ayaltollah Khomeini and fundamentalist Islam becoming the cornerstone of Iran just the year before . All the siege takers were after was more democracy in Arabistan. Once they'd killed a hostage though, it only went one way.
It's a great book!
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
Mpg geek post.
Thank you VX 52.
I'm sure bridges and trains and stuff will follow this holiday week.
Thursday, 4 August 2011
Wednesday, 3 August 2011
North Devon County Show
The show ticked all the boxes for a Blog BS5 country show visit:
1 Large moo cows
2 A well made pork pie
3 tractors and farm machinery to have a gander at (not pictured here)
Great sunshine and a country pub pint of the way home. Ideal.
The Devil's Bridge.
Anyhow we had a right old time of it crossing back and forth and splashing about.
Top bridge action!
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
Lynton and Lynmouth.
As the bottom one releases its water so the top one becomes heavier and begins to travel. It drops 500 feet down on a steep 800 foot track and pulls its partner up. The whole thing recycles water and uses no oil, fuel or electricity. It is in Devon and has been in operation since 1890. 40 passengers per carriage and no harm to the environment. It's £1.50 each way and a right old caper. We had fish and chips on the beach at the bottom and then explored the shore. Perfect English holiday.
Sunday, 31 July 2011
Friday, 29 July 2011
Tuesday, 26 July 2011
Top tunnel action!
Three of us ventured out this time and visited Old Warden Railway tunnel that used to link a line between Bedford and Hitchin. It was built in 1857 and decommissioned in 1962. Both ends have have handsome capped stone and the length is 882 yards. The echo was really long.
Top geeky action.
Tuesday, 12 July 2011
Signs
Here are some brand new signs at a Bristol station (Filton Abbey Wood, BS7).
This now means you can tell what's going on in the sunshine. Previously the 1970s goldfish bowl tv screens were useless in the glare and you never knew where you might end up.
Monday, 11 July 2011
Almost out.
Plenty of signs for fuel stations and a fantastic destination to head for but I took a random turn off the road and it's headed for a stop. I was navigating on my own (and I think that's the point).
It's the best road I've known and I turned off the thing.
I really don't want the route to end here, but then I shouldn't have veered off.
Thursday, 26 May 2011
The 43 List!
I have started to make a list and a very geeky list it is too! The list has about 198 pairs and therefore nearly 400 separate entries and so far although I have seen about 200 I have only noted 4! It's very socially backwards and very exciting too.
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
Last post at 38.
Here is my Blog in May 2011, days away from my turning 39.