albert smith

Excuse me for a little boast but have a peek at our photo p2. in the 'Wedding Photo's' topic. I still have the Kodak Photo colours book I used, similar to use as in water colour painting but obviously more care with the lines and density. once it's on that's it!

Ditto? This looks better!

Now what's happened? http://s1055.photobucket.com/user/bootneck5/media/2015%20No8023_zpsotlxr5fn.jpg.html

Hi, I'm back! after a very traumatic time when my previous 'server' cut off both phone & B'band. It's still ongoing so I won't bore you with the details but it couldn't have happened at a worse time, less than a month before our 65th. Wedding Anniversary on March 18th. We had 3 'Do's' planned, a Saturday Family (of course) meal so the 2 youngest grandsons still at university could attend,a buffet lunch for 40 or so Sequence dance friends on the 18th. & a carvery lunch for 20 homebrew wine groupies the following Sunday. I'm pleased to say they all went off well but mobile phones can be

Back to the post a group of us go several time each year to what used to be "The Lord Mayors Tea Dance" in the Council House ballroom in aid of his named charity, now they are still well supported but for different worthy causes.

Off post I know but Thank You Firbeck for giving Bborns grandfathers name as I'd completely forgotten it but remembered he was a great enthusiast for the international language "Esperanto", d----d memory!

Mmm! nobody's noticed that the 'parrot' #18 is a young woman who won first prize in a body painting comp. but she can of course wash it off afterwards. I seem to recollect a 'forces' song about "One night in gay Paree we paid 5 francs to see, a great big fat French lady who was tattooed from her head to her knees/on her 3penny bits were 2 big battleships/ between her kidneys was a birds eye view of Sidney, & round her back was the Union Jack, so we all paid 5 francs more!! someone else can finish?

Of course, you can just have her painted!

I heard a bit of sad news last night, Reg Slade age 95 & ex Colwick/Nottingham driver passed away after short illness. I met him last year for just a 1/2 hour chat whilst attending a neighbours birthday party, oh how his eyes lit up to talk to an ex loco man, among his memorabilia was a shoebox of notebooks with listed in them every turn of duty since he became a 'passed cleaner' in 1935 to his retirement but he regretted only recording the basics,sign on/off, mate & wages! What a history that would have been.

Sorry about the break, I hope the pics, the panoramic view of Harringworth Viaduct! So around a long bend and there it is, over a mile of dead straight track across the top of 90ft. high viaduct, flat out now for the climb out of the valley up via Wing- Manton (the junction southbound for Stamford & Peterborough) & the 1/2 mile long Manton tunnel, top of the hill so back up to speed enough to rattle the Xing gates at Oakham- Langham, noted for its 2 shelves of all year round display of geraniums & fuchsias, Ashwell with the ???Hunt kennels alongside so a quick whistle sets them a

Oops problem with the pics. Looks like I'll have to do a part 3. CU

Phew I thought Sidha #245 had beat me to it with his viaduct photos but i 'll crack on with my Pt. 2 #239. On Friday evenings back in the steam days it was usual for the 18.40 St. Pancras- Bradford to have extra coaches added & an extra engine manned by a Nottm. crew to assist. This Friday, August 1962 with Dvr. Charlie Stuart we arrived at Kentish Town Loco. to find we had not only been allocated a scruffy Midland compound engine but were, in fact, working a duplicate to the 18.40, 10 mins. before him! A bit daunting as I'd never worked out of Pancras with a compound before but one thin

On the Antique Roadshow recently a man showed part of his 242 piece collection of what to me are rather insignificant items of railwayana, namely the builders name plate usually fixed to the driving wheel splasher as in this photo Yes, that is me so it must have been the drivers turn to put the coal on! 1 plate in particular does stick in my mind though, fixed to a Midland Compound engine as scruffy as No.1000 in this "before & after" photo, coincidently I have a very good memory of 1000 as after the refit/repaint in the old Midland colours I was the first fireman to take charge, only

oops found another!

here's a trio more from the top of St. Mary's tower, can't remember when though?

I can't remember the 'hut' in Bulwell Mkt. we've only been here since 1965 but I'm sure the bank in the background was the Nat. Provincial, later Nat. West the pub the 'Horse &Jockey'? but I do remember the hut near the Globe but not who used it , there was a horse trough across the back of it so it probably had some history to it. There's also a small hut on the end of Turney Bros. building for police use/contact with a nice oasis of a garden area down that path to the right. Doesn't Trent Bridge look narrow between the Town Arms & Turney's!

The entrance to the goods yard was off Newark St., the opening in the blue brick wall is/was the entrance to the warehouse beneath the goods yard. I first knew it in the early '50s when the warehouse was used for ripening bananas for Hintons, Wholesale Fruiterers(?) in Sneinton Mkt. The LMS Rifle Club were able to use the loading dock roadway as a 25 yd. range until Ffyfes took over the warehouse and we were chucked out but eventually rehoused down Castle Meadow Rd. in some converted disused stables.

Fair size oh and I forgot, you'll need a step ladder too as they're 8ft. up the wall! I used to have one of those signal lamp vessels in the outside toilet during the winter with some 8" plant pots stacked over it, as good as a radiator!

Sorry folks , it's that time of year again:- "What is yellow & white and goes down a train track @ 100 miles an hour" "the drivers egg sandwich" Hang on Bilbroborn I may have a present for you I spotted these at the Thursford Show last week ( if you and Firbeck go to "visit" you'll need bolt cutters!)

Thanks again folks, Great night among about 70 Friends, Carni we didn't get to do the carribean but did the jaqui.& also the Sally Anne cha cha i'm sorry to say i mimed the last 2 sequences of the Red Hot salsa. I'm taking my wife of 64 years out for lunch shortly as a Thank you for keeping up with me on the dance floor. We are both Thankful that we can still get up and 'do' most of these dances, something we only started after we retired 22 years ago.

Many Thanks everyone. Just checked, yup shoes clean,shirt clean , knee supports, bow tie found, all ready for the Bramcote wine circle Christmas dance tonight. Not bad for a birthday party, 90 odd friends and they bring their own drinks ( Thank goodness!) We''ll probably have a 'Waltz across texas, a quickstep down Broadway, a saunter together, might even manage a jacqueline cha cha and for a nice party dance a' caribbean salsa', progressive of course!

Poor reproduction but it's copied from the inside of the 'Gents' toilet door at the Ecclesbourne Rly.Wirksworth!

Night Mail? This one Bb?

I understood Sam Meakin, landlord of the Loco' pub also owned the Imperial that was back in the 50s.

I'm right in the middle of changing phone & bb servers, on tuesday morning I had a BT phone call from a very nice irish lady (makes a change from radio india!) and I explained the 'changeover time' was midnight last night so what do BT do? they pulled the plug at 9am yesterday morning even though the bill is paid to the 18th. Red light still on the new router at 9am this morning so a premium rate call on the mobile to chase up TalkTalk and the 'green' lights just come on,10.50am, on the router but phones still dead! Try the computer and the first post I try is Compo's pictures. Brilliant!