Chulla

Ben card 18. A moody moonlight picture of a Bentley. With a few Hobgoblins inside you, you could be forgiven for thinking that the little stone bridge is the one over the River Leen in Bulwell, with St Mary's church in the background.

Bullhead rail, chairs and wedges, in 2017! Does a man walk along it with a long-handled hammer knocking the wedges tight?

I love it too. The drapes, the widow in her weeds, the flowers (should be lilies on the coffin to counteract the smell). The coffin - with its viewing window? The only thing missing is the master's whimpering dog with its paws on the coffin.

Our local Heron store has tins of Baxters soup as well as Heinz at very low prices. The Heinz have 99p printed on the label and they sell them at 65 p. The Baxters they sell at 50p. Tesco sell the very same tins at £1.10 - 60p more!. I tried the Lentil and Bacon - wow! absolutely gorgeous. Went and bought some more before they sold out.

I thought that, MI, but that's what it said on the back of the card. I think that the artists aren't that knowledgeable about such things. Gelding - yeah, a Freudian slip.

Now that you are back, carni, what I wanted to ask you is: How many fire-tubes does the firebox feed? And what coal do you use for the best steaming - Welsh or another type - Gelding Colliery perhaps?

Ben card 17. A different artist. The bus is a 1957 Dennis Lancet, the motorcycle is a BSA, and I think the sidecar is a Watsonian. The artist has skilfully depicted the horrible wet, slushy snow conditions.

I always just have new lenses installed in my frames. I like the style, so why should I change them? Each lens costs me just over 40 pounds. Don't think the optician is too pleased that I don't purchase his overpriced frames from him.

I don't quite understand your problem, carni. I never resize my images. However, when you call up Postimage you get a window that has at the top 'Do not resize my image'. If you should wish to resize it there is a little down arrow beside to 'Do not ...'. Click on it and size to you requirements. What size are the original pics that have been scanned? Anything above postcard size should produce a fair-sized imge in NS.

After clicking on icon and getting 'copied', a window appears and I click on 'Allow'. Then I come out and pick up NS. Alternately, put NS and Postimage on the screen (reduced size) so that you don't have to come out of PI and go into NS.

I think you are spot on MI with the identity of the car. And thanks for info on Belpaire fireboxes (I asked carni, but she didn't know).

Ben card 16. Back to an earlier period now. Don't know what the car is - early Singer?, but the vehicle behind it is one horsepower. Note that the tricycle has an engine powering the front wheel - take note Rog. Question: Did railway locomotives in the early part of the century have that type of firebox (Belpaire?) The advertising sign is for Hercules cycles.

Postman delivered the Tabac aftershave this morning. Can't wait to slosh it on for the next meeting. Ladies. bring your smelling-salts. Carni, get Chris to tie you down. BTW, on a serious note. Yesterday I received an email from Amazon telling me that the order had been cancelled because my card details were not correct. Two day previously Amazon had informed me that the order had been dispatched. This is what happens when hackers get hold of your details. I often get them from 'Talktalk'.

I think you are spot-on WW, after Googling it. It was a single-cylinder two-porter, 500cc. Edit: The lorry's registration is a bit out, being 739CT

Back in my DIY days, in 1984 I designed and made our kitchen units. Still going today though other things have changed. The photos below are scans from slides - the greenness due to the low light level at night.

On Christmas eve 1965 I bought a sheepskin coat from Burtons at the bottom of Friar Lane. Cost me 25 quid. Last week I wore it on a visit into town. It's still going strong.

Ben card 15. A different artist this time. No details but: Am virtually certain that the car is an Alvis. The lorry, from its radiator top, looks like a Morris. The Matchless solid-frame motorbike puzzles me. Is it a twin-cylinder sloper, or a single-cylinder two-porter sloper? The silencer does not look right for the period. Note the cooper in the workshop heating up the metal band rings ready for knocking down the barrel staves.

There are two Christmassy films on BBC2 next week. Both are superb and well worth watching. ARE YOU LISTENING CRANKYPIG AND CARNI. Not quite so high on the clapometer as It's a Wonderful Life, but just as entertaining. The first one Holiday Affair (1949), starring Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh. I told you about this one earlier in the year. It is on at 7.35 in the morning (Friday the 22nd). These early Mitchum pictures are really good. As I remarked earlier about the film, there is a scene that makes you glad that you were never in such a situation. The next day - Satu

Good idea, Ben. But we don't want Catfan with us - he doesn't smoke. I mean, with us and our Tony Curtis hair styles, drainpipes and a Park Drive dangling from our lips we have got to create the right impression.

Grab his what?

Thank you all for your kind thoughts. Now that the chemotherapy has ended I am virtually back where I was before; being normal and not really aware of my cancer condition except for little things that are of no consequence. It's been three years now and I am still here, but there are signs that it is changing course. I have great faith in the oncology team at the City Hospital; they are doing their best and I have no complaints.

Phil, Just put the DVD on my desktop and looked to see what the quality of the colour is like. Excellent all the way through. Then tried on the TV - again, excellent. The 2-disc box was £7 from Tesco. This is a good deal because it has been £12 in previous Christmases at Tesco and Sainsbury's. I note that some people say the colour is rubbish (it isn't) and it is still better in B x W. I agree with the latter, but it makes a nice change - definitely not Crappycolour. There are a few clips in colour on YouTube, but the best example - the first scene on the frozen pond - I

I bought missen me own present this morning. The DVD of It's a Wonderful Life'. But, I hear you all say, haven't you seen it fifty thousand million times, and haven't you got the VHS tape of it. Well yes, but this disc has the colour version on it as well as the normal black and white. I looked on YouTube last week and saw a scene from the film in colour and it was superb. So I want to see the whole film now in colour. Mrs C asked me what I wanted - I never want anything, but told her that i would like an aftershave that I considered to be the dog's whatnot when it comes to mascul

Stick to fish and chips. You know they haven't been through a microwave. Some of the extras might have, but not the main meal.

Further to my last report on 30 October, the oncologist has told me that the results of the last blood test showed that my PSA number had increased from 41 to 70 in three weeks. So, the chemo hasn't done me a deal of good. We discussed the next move, and I was told that it could be more chemo (different kind) or radium treatment (not radiology). I went for the radium treatment. Yesterday I had my first injection. This is a much better experience. The chemo infusion would take about an hour and a half by the time all the preliminaries and finishing-off operations had been done. The radium trea