firbeck

No, it's easy to get it right, they could have gone to the Bluebell Railway, cheaper and simpler than going all the way up to Scotland and make a cock up and as for the USA shots,pathetic, lots of attention to detail with everything else, so,,,, why not with the trains, lazy production, ignorant people in charge!!!!

My favourite film involving locos is ' The Train', shot in France and starring Burt Lancaster, but I can't recall the last time it was shown on TV.

The loco was the D49 'Morayshire' 62717 based in Scotland with two ex Caledonian railway coaches. Couldn't figure out where the terminus scenes were filmed. Best bit was the scene of the loco passing at high speed which was actually an American loco with front headlight and USA coaches, what idiot slipped that one in. Let's face it, films, TV programmes always get the trains wrong, even the famous Railway Children film managed to do that, GWR pannier tanks in Yorkshire around the time of the First World War, NOT.

Watched it on the old black and white TV of course, I was 15 then. When Germany equalised my dad went ballistic and walked out the house, he said he was going up ' The Train Bridge' to see the last Jubilee steam loco come through on the Skeggy return, which we both did. There was a youth up there doing the same thing, only he was listening to the match on a tranny radio. 'Alberta' came thundering past then we shot off home to find mum entranced in front of the telly, we saw the 'They think it's all over, It is now!!' moment. There you go, I recall going to see Forest play West Ham the followi

I thought you might be interested, Flying Scotsman, Tornado and their resident BoB and WC Pacifics will be operating together on the Severn Valley Railway in September for a 'Big Pacific' week. The railway is awsome, if FS is teamed up with their 8 coach teak LNER/GNR set, as I suspect it will, it will look amazing.I have travelled on the LNER teak train it's incredible, the attention to detail with even the upholstery is fantastic, just a bit wierd the whole ensemble being pulled by BoB 'Sir Keith Park' but hanging out of a restored GNR coach just behind the loco was a great experience, espec

Oh, do you realise that the Nottingham Industrial Museum were given the chance of obtaining the LMS Pacific 'City Of Nottingham' for nowt but couldn't be arsed to take it on,'No Room' was the response, don't believe it. Birmingham was the only city that took on an offered Coronation, I went over there last week to see it, but after wandering around the art gallery vewing Pre Rhaphaelite paintings in 35 deg of heat, it was a pleasure to get back on the air con train to Kidderminster, walk across the car park and, pint in hand, sit in the concourse at Kiddy GWR station and watch the steam trains

If they show the film of the last steam train departing Vic for Marylebone I will be on it. Funny how I now regularly use Marylebone to travel to Kidderminster, services to Snow Hill used to go from Paddington, can't work that one out.I have to say that Chiltern Rail from Marylebone have really nice trains, if you catch it right the direct service on refurbished Mk3 carriages hauled by a Class 68 is awsome.

People wandering about in the garden centre at B@Q who pick up plants then dump them on top of other plants in my recently organised and watered displays, or drag out large shrubs in pots and leave them in the middle of aisles, leave large pots in front of doors, why??????

Ben Kingsley was brilliant as the psycho, but he's pretty cool at anything he does, remember Ghandi. Once went round Ray's house to do a survey of his daughters bedsit, a very attractive girl, her floor was covered in discarded sexy knickers, she asked me if I would give her her lift to get her car back from it's MOT, I had to put my head under a cold tap afterwards.

Go to the Severn Valley Railway, awsome! Was there a couple of weeks ago, 1940's weekend, everyone in Kidderminster and Bewdley got in to the spirit of it all, kid evacueise getting off trains with their gas mask cardboard boxes, spivs and German troops lurking around Kiddy, GWR coaches pulled by a Manor, a whole train of teak LNER carriages pulled by BoB pacific 'Sir Keith Park'. Going back next week for more!!!!

Oh, by the way Fly2, I got to know Ray Winstone personally, he and his family are lovely people, I designed his garage and swimming pool for him. He once phoned me up to see how things were going, he was in make up on the set of 'Cold Mountain', crapping himself because he had to snog Nicole Kidman in the next take. Yes, those betting adverts are a pain in the bum, but, let's face it, wouldn't you do it for the amount of money he probably earns from it. Have you watched 'Sexy Beast', great film, might change your mind about Ray.

Couldn't agree more Benj. Who's watched 'Golden Gordon' by Michael Palin, now that's what football is really all about.......'Shorts don't matter, it's what's inside them that counts'......

Sounds devine, I used to grow my own samphire at home, I love it. Remember the whelk and seafood store right at the bottom of Central Market, next to the door that led onto Huntingdon St bus station, it was all white ceramic tiles. They sold cockles, whelks et al on small dishes.On our perpetual Saturday morning trips into town, my old man took us on the same route, bacon from Pork Farms on Parliament St, lurking on the wall going down to Vic south turntable, Central Market and whelks, Hockley, Gee Dees and Beecrofts, then a trip to the Victoria St art gallery with the trains rumbling undernea

Can anyone recall the name of the chap that ran that toy store. As far as I remember he dealt exclusively in Meccano Ltd products, Dinky Toys,Hornby Dublo, etc. I don't recall him dealing in Airfix kits. I still have boxes of HD locos that he'd signed as reserved for my dad as Xmas presents for me. I recall going there once to find he'd died suddenly, cancer, heart attack, can't recall, his wife tried to run the stall for a bit but it didn't work, she, quite understandably hadn't got the knowledge and enthusiasm he had, and, it must have been very difficult for her in view of her loss.

Hi Chulla Watched 'The French Lieutanants Woman' on You Tube the other night, a very clever film version of the original book, hadn't seen it for years but still found it very moving, have stood on the end of the Mole at Lyme during a storm with a girlfriend with red hair, though I wouldn't consider her as Pre Raphaelite, well, maybe,in a contemporary sense, and actually camped out in the 'Undercliffe' with a bunch of scouts, a very strange place to be in. A really great film.

Where's Bilbraborn!! As I've said on here before, we were both very much involved in the trolleybus preservation team and much so during those last rights, I can't believe it was 50 years ago that all that was happening. Look up what we've both published on here before. I think I mentioned it before as well, I do have the original starting handle from trolley 506, a great lump of rubberized brass that lived down near the driver's left foot.

It would have been on Angel Row, Vans are still going, I have a very nice pair of green suede one's these days.

No Vans is still a tradename for what I think is an American shoe company, they still trade and had their own outlet just up from the Odeon, you were clearly not cool enough to go to places like that and probably bought boring black old man's shoes from the Co_Op,tee hee.

Beecrofts used to sell Merits chemicals in small round tubs, some, if not all, would be considered lethal, dangerous, and in breach of 'Elf and Safety' these days. I used to be able to buy whatever I wanted in order to make my own fireworks back then, went a bit further and worked out the chemical equation and ingredients to produce nitro glycerine, the contents for napalm could be bought for bugger all from that lovely Art Nouveux Boots shop near the Council House, it's a wonder I'm still here!!

No, Vans, a couple of doors away from the Odeon on the right hand side.

I haven't walked round Nottingham city centre for probably over 20 years. I recall a Vans shoe shop near the old Odeon, I bought what I thought was a very cool but expensive pair of suede trainers, they remained my faves for years till my Labrador had them for lunch a couple of years ago, I was heartbroken. Remember the toy shops, Skills and Beecrofts, Gee Dee's were just down Hockley from Beecrofts, I seem to recall Bee's were all on one level but GD had a tiny tortuous staircase you had to go up to the model railway dept, I remember the left hand side of the staircase had display cases set

In 1975 my ex, having got her degree at Nottm Uni, got a job near Braintree. She found a flat in Bradford St, wonderful 15th century place on the back of Andrew Philips house (remember him, lovely bloke, at the time Jimmy Youngs 'Legal Eagle'). She went to the call box at the end of his drive to ring me and was amazed to find it was a press button A & B box, she had to keep feeding it 2p pieces. We think that Braintree was one of the last places in the country to go over to STD, does anyone know whether it was, have tried to find out but get nowhere. The phone box is still there as the s

Remember Dennis Hollywood of Southampton, he'd have bitten off the 'Hand of God' and shoved it up Maradonna's backside! But were'nt/are'nt Argentine players cheats, remember Rattin in the 1966 World Cup finals and that scumbag who set up Beckham and got him sent off. The exception is possibly one of the best footballers of all time, Messi, I've watched him get hacked mercilessly in Barcelona matches and he rarely throws himself down in 'agony' or complains ceaselessly to the ref. I'll even forgive him for his tax dodges.

How on earth did Cyril Jacobs remember me, we must have made a profound impression on him in some way. The last time I saw him was at a production of Under Milk Wood in 1970, after I'd left.My then/now girlfriend (long story) was playing the prostitute in the play, silly sod didn't bother getting changed afterwards, we went to The Pelican and the blokes in there decided she was up for it, we left in a hurry!!!

Clearly the basis of the character portrayed in that great film 'The Commitments', if you've seen it you'll know who I mean. Will be sadly missed. Joey 'The Lips' Fagan was the fictional character, clearly based on Wayne Jackson.