A Grand Erection....

That's it then, the new garden shed is erected, completed around midday on Friday. I then spent 5 hours painting the outside with Protek treatment in golden cedar cover. Yesterday Ros and I spent just as long painting the inside, which of course is a greater surface area as the roof and floor needs to be done as well.

Anyway, I am well pleased with the result - it was worth the wait. The tree sculpture to the left of the shed used to be a lilac tree, which needed a good pruning. You know how these things seem to gain their own momentum; I got carried away I guess. Mind you, we won't be bothered with falling leaves this Autumn.....

I'm thinking about painting it the same colour as the shed...

BTW

For those of you who might have followed the garden shed saga, well, we are about 36 hours away from delivery and erection. We have enjoyed about two weeks of fine weather here in Southern England and today was no exception. Overcast at times but plenty of sunshine. But as Sod's Law predicts, things will go wrong at the wrong times. The weather forecast for Brighton on Friday 27th June is for 'Heavy Showers'....

The shed company has assured me that delivery and 'on-site' erection will take place no matter what the weather conditions. So, I am likely to finish up with a new garden shed that is thoroughly wet on the inside as well as the outside and in need of 'paint treatment' when it ultimately dries out.

In no uncertain terms this could be a bit of a 'bummer'....

Memories of Childhood

I was born in Teynham, a small village in Kent, at 2:00am on 9th May 1945. Victory in Europe celebrations were in full swing as my mother gave birth to me in the back bedroom of a terraced house where the occupants had witnessed, first hand, the Battle of Britain. Dogfights between the RAF and the German Luftwaffe were everyday occurrences in 1940 and my mother recounted tales of fierce battles that were watched overhead in this corner of Southeast England. The Luftwaffe often jettisoned bombs overhead and one fell close and destroyed a church not 100 metres from where I was born...

My father joined the army in 1939, the Cheshire Regiment, an infantry brigade heavily armed with machine guns. 24 hours before mobilisation for North Africa and ultimately the Al Alamein campaign his commanding officer seconded my dad to the Royal Engineers, as it became news that he could drive steam locomotives. Ultimately he drove ammunition trains for the Western Front campaign.

His love for these magnificent locomotives began when he served an apprenticeship in Crewe locomotive works and his love rubbed off on me. From the age of six I lived with my parents in Rugby, Warwickshire, a focal point for the LMS railway (London, Midland, Scottish). Inevitably, I became a 'trainspotter' and from the age of around nine would spend hours at the embankment south of Rugby station and record all the locomotives seen.

I spent my school holidays at the place of my birth - Teynham - with my maternal grandparents. And my love of steam locos came with me. I would encamp at Teynham railway station and see the 'Golden Arrow' express thunder through the station, hauled by a King Arthur class, or Schools class, or, on special days, a West Country or Battle of Britain class Bulleid Pacific locomotive, with a golden arrow emblazoned to the front smoke-box and on the boiler sides.

This love of steam has carried me through many years and into railway modelling. And the Southern region is no better represented than by the 'School' class 4-4-0s, represented here by "DOVER" a locomotive that I saw as a child and the Hornby model of which has just been added to my collection.

The age of steam is now a distant memory, a memory of my childhood, but an era that still reminds me of days of innocence and fulfilment. Days spent with mates and Ian Allen record books, a notebook and pencil, a bag of sandwiches and a bottle of dandelion & burdock pop, and above all, a sense of adventure and anticipation as those steam locomotives thundered through....  

 

The Flying Scotsman

Here is another fabulous model from Hornby - The Flying Scotsman - shown here in its LNER apple green livery, the model that I have added to my collection and looks stunning in its display case.

The Flying Scotsman began life as No 1472, an A1 Pacific-class locomotive. The Pacific class had a 2-6-2 arrangement of wheels, which enabled it to carry a bigger boiler, making it suitable for long-distance passenger services. Under ownership of the London and North Eastern Railway Company (LNER) it was renumbered the 4472 and christened the Flying Scotsman.

When it broke down and was taken out of regular service it was the ideal candidate for putting on show at the British Empire Exhibition in 1924 and 1925. It was an immediate hit with the public, and its fame was sealed when in 1928 it launched the regular 10am non-stop Flying Scotsman Express Service from King’s Cross, London, to Waverley, Edinburgh.

To cope with the 631km (392-mile) route the locomotive pulled a special eight-wheel tender that carried great quantities of water and coal. Since the crew had to be replaced during the eight-hour journey without stopping, a special corridor was built in the tender to allow the relief crew to pass between the train and the cab.

The Flying Scotsman became even more famous on 30 November 1934, when it travelled at 160.9km/h (100mph) breaking the world speed record.

In January 1947, the Flying Scotsman was converted to the A3 class that incorporated a larger boiler with a higher boiler pressure and, a year later, it was re-designated as the No 60103 under the ownership of British Rail. In 1963, it was sold off and went through several owners before being rescued by the National Railway Museum, York, in May 2004.

The locomotive shown here is in its later A3 configuration, 4-6-2.

GWR 4-6-0 'Caerphilly Castle' Castle Class

Hornby are renowned for the superbly detailed model locomotives they produce and none more so than the forthcoming 'Caerphilly Castle' a 4-6-0 that was used on the Great Western Railway (GWR).  This true replica is on my want list:

By 1922 the need for ever more powerful locomotives was apparent. Charles Collett, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Great Western Railway based his 'Castle' Class largely on the 'Star' Class which was designed by his predecessor G. J. Churchward.

Between 1923 and 1950 171 Castle Class locomotives were built at the Swindon Works, 16 of which were rebuilds of the Star Class. Hailed as the most powerful locomotive of their time, the Castle Class locomotives had the ability to sustain high speeds and remain economical and they soon earned a reputation for excellence and reliability. In 1932 'Tregenna Castle' set a record for the 77 mile journey between Swindon and Paddington for a passenger train attaining an average speed of 81.68mph. At the time, this represented the World Record for steam traction.

Withdrawal began in the early 1950s, ending in 1965 with eight being set aside for preservation.

The locomotive represented here, No. 4073 'Caerphilly Castle' was outshopped on the 31st August 1923. The locomotive was withdrawn from shed 86C, Cardiff Canton on the 31st May 1960. Now part of the National Railway Museum collection the locomotive is on static display at Steam, The Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon.

The National Railway Museum is the largest railway museum in the world with exhibitions and collections illustrating over 300 years of British railway history. Anyone interested in the history of steam locomotives should visit the NRM.

Meanwhile I wait with great anticipation for Hornby's release of this new model.

E2EG

A little late posting this but I have been occupied with preparations for the new garden shed... Yawn. Yeah, OK...

Anyway, on Wednesday I travelled into Brighton wearing an E2EG as I thought about the lunch I was about to enjoy with brother Dave and good friends Graeme and Leslie. The E2EG was somewhat stimulated by the 83-page glossary of internet terminology, which has been leaked online from a certain US government agency. Who? No, I'm NSAW, that's FMTKFYTFO ( can you believe folk actually use these acronyms?)

I met up with the others at http://www.bellotabrighton.co.uk/ our favourite Bar y Tapas place, which has a wonderful, bright decor and friendly atmosphere...

So, there we were, a BOGSAT.... OK, that's Bunch of guys sitting around talking. Sheesh! Mind you, we ALOTBSOL ... You can work that one out...

And here are Los tres réprobos as my brother puts it:

Another great lunch, San Miguel beer, Valdepeñas red and Torrès 10 Spanish brandy. A fun day.

E2EG - got it yet?  Ear-to-ear grin.  Sheesh......

The Beautiful 'Great Snipe'

I have just added this superb LNER 4-6-2 'Great Snipe' A4 Class locomotive to my OO/HO gauge collection. I have a mind to install a small layout in my new garden shed when it has been built.

1930s Britain was a place in which luxury, glamour and boundary pushing were all revered and admired, none more so than within the railway industry. There was strong competition between the London Midland & Scottish Railway and the London & North Eastern Railway, both operating main lines on different sides of the country and wanting to dominate the lucrative London to Scotland traffic.

In 1933 Nigel Gresley, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the LNER, visited Germany and saw the high-speed streamlined ‘Flying Hamburger’ which the LNER were considering buying but Gresley decided that these diesel locomotives would not be powerful enough for the anticipated passenger capacity. Following trials of his A3 Pacifics, when locomotive No. 2750 ‘Papyrus’ recorded a new maximum speed of 108 mph (173.8 km/h) and completed the London to Scotland journey in under four hours, the LNER authorised Gresley to begin development of a streamlined version of the A3 designed purely for high-speed passenger services.

The resulting 4-6-2 A4 Class three cylinder locomotive had a boiler pressure of 250 psi, vacuum brakes, a fuel capacity of 8 tons and a water capacity of 5,000 imperial gallons. The locomotive and tender had a combined weight of just over 167 tons and regularly achieved a speed of 90 mph in normal service. The innovative streamlined casing was both elegant and practical as it contributed to a more fuel and water efficient locomotive and incidentally created an updraught to lift smoke away from the driver’s vision, which had been a problem with the earlier A3 locomotives.

Following the commercial success of the Silver Jubilee train, other streamlined services were introduced: the Coronation (London-Edinburgh, July 1937) and the West Riding Limited (Bradford & Leeds-London & return, November 1937) for which more A4s were specially built.

My father served an apprenticeship in the Crewe engine works during the 1930s and helped to build some of these superb locomotives. I long for a return of the days of steam hauled trains, the nostalgia of a young trainspotter who spent hours watching these great locos haul passengers and freight through his home station of Rugby on their way from London to Glasgow and other stops in between.

All we have now are our 'Heritage' lines like the Bluebell and Lavender lines in Sussex where it is still possible to enjoy watching these superb feats of engineering in action. 

And I have a display case at home to house these detailed models to wonder over.....

The Shed - Phases 2 and 3

After the enjoyment of a holiday in Copenhagen I have now returned, with vigour, to the garden shed project. Having dismantled, broken up and dispatched the existing wreck, my builder friend has laid a solid concrete base over the slabs that I originally laid some 25 years ago.

Today I purchased seven 20 kilo bags of 10-20mm Aberdeen pebbles. This took two trips to the local garden centre, a great deal of heaving and loading into my city car and an equal amount of heaving and unloading when I arrived home. I have now packed the entire circumference of the concrete base with these pebbles to a width of around 16 inches (40 cms) and a depth of some 2 inches (5 cms). The result is very satisfying and looks fantastic.

Opening each bag resulted in a whiff of salt, this shingle was obviously harvested from a beach somewhere (Aberdeen I suppose!) and the pebbles were wet and covered in a considerable amount of sand. Anyway, the net result is exactly what I wanted to achieve.

I now have to complete an amount of pruning of the lilac tree that sits close by to ensure that there is no incumbrance for the tradesmen who will deliver and erect the shed on the 27th June.

The mundanity of this post does not escape me, but little else has happened over the last few days, save of course the FIFA 2014 World Cup occurring in Brazil.

Frankly, I find the preparations for my new shed rather more interesting......

Swale Villages Through Time - 2

Swale Through Time A nostalgic trip down Memory Lane for me, this book highlights many of the small villages, hamlets and settlements that are scattered throughout the Swale area of North Kent, including my birthplace, Teynham. An area once renowned for its diverse agricultural practices, the 'village life' lifestyle is fast disappearing. The author has found a fascinating selection of photographs that traces some of the many ways in which Swale villages have changed and developed over the last century. An essential book for Men of Kent and Kentish Men alike.

A Tricker Tale

I like good shoes. Shoes that are supremely comfortable and provide years of use. Particularly shoes for long walks. Shoes that fit any occasion. Shoes fit for a Prince. And that is what you get with a pair of Tricker shoes, by appointment to HRH The Prince of Wales. He wears them and so do I.

I walked around 5 kms a day in Copenhagen wearing my Tricker brogues. No foot fatigue at all. They are heavy and totally fit for purpose. This is the best pair of shoes that I have ever owned and I have worn this pair on and off for four years now. They will probably see me out!

Tricker Brogues on my feet!

At £400 (circa $675) they are not cheap although I know folk who pay more than that for bespoke shoes. This pair is rugged and can be worn over pretty much any terrain (well, within reason - you don't go rock climbing in these!) and look good with any attire from jeans to more formal wear. But the key consideration is the tireless comfort that these shoes provide for day-long wear. Take a look at http://www.trickers.com/ 

These shoes are made for walking.....

Copenhagen Collective

I managed to take 134 photographs on our enjoyable holiday to Copenhagen. We returned on Monday flying Norwegian Air from CPH to London Gatwick (an airline that I can thoroughly recommend for its modern fleet of Boeing 737-800s, leather seating throughout and delightful cabin crew).

We stayed at the Hotel Alexandra on H.C. Andersen's Boulevard, just two blocks from Rådhus-pladsen and Tivoli, Denmark's most-visited attraction.

Hotel Alexandra, a delightful boutique hotel in the best possible city centre location

The splendid archway entrance to Tivoli

Tivoli was opened in 1843, the creation of architect George Carstensen and commissioned by King Christian VIII. Apart from the beautiful gardens and numerous restaurants Tivoli contains thirty-odd rides, which include one of the world's oldest still-functioning wooden roller coasters and the hair-raising Spinning Top, which lifts up and twirls thrill-seekers around, some 80 metres above ground. No, I didn't!

The Spinning Top

 During our visit to Tivoli we enjoyed lunch at Groeften, a historic restaurant, popular with celebs of a certain vintage, so it suited me!

Restaurant Groeften

This magnificent Peacock put on a display for us.

Peacock in Tivoli Gardens

On Saturday we met up with friends Kaare and Charlotte for lunch at Restaurant Heering on picturesque Nyhavn, a very popular hangout for locals and tourists alike. The 'new harbour' was created in 1671 to link Kongens Nytorv to the sea. The earliest of the townhouses, No.9, dates from this period. Hans Christian Andersen lived for a while at No.67.

Nyhavn

On Sunday we took a canal trip from Nyhavn that enters Copenhagen harbour and then negotiates the numerous canals connected to it. The Danish 78 metre royal yacht HDMY Dannebrog was moored in the harbour, a vessel of beauty and elegance. The vessel was commissioned on 26th May 1932 and is the oldest royal yacht in service.

HDMY Dannebrog

Just a short walk from our hotel is located the Latin Quarter, one of the city's most historic areas. The buildings around Fiolstraede date back to the foundation of Scandinavia's earliest university in 1475.

The Rundetårn (Round Tower) in the Latin Quarter was built by Christian IV in the mid 17th Century and functioned both as church tower and observatory. The observatory is still operational.

For our last dinner in Copenhagen we splashed out at A Hereford Beefstouw located at Tivoli http://beefstouw.com/tivoli/ . The food was amazing - and so was the bill! But it is a fabulous location. I certainly enjoyed it...

and so did my wife Rosalind...

And all to soon our magical visit to wonderful Copenhagen was over. Until the next time.....

  

Shed Down

That's it then. Phase 1 completed. My good friend Graeme joined me today to dismantle my existing, ramshackle shed. We both wore wide-brimmed hats, just as well. As the roof came off we were showered with hundreds of woodlice! And as for the size of some of the spiders that were lurking amongst the woodwork. Oh boy! They were rather displeased at their home being demolished....

Tomorrow morning a local tradesman will bring his van to load up the shed wood and on Friday a builder friend of ours is coming to lay a solid concrete base over the slab base that I originally laid 25 years ago!

All that remains then is for Skinner's Sheds to deliver and erect the new shed on 27th June. Meanwhile all the contents of the original shed are stored under a tarpaulin on the patio.

The anticipation of having a new, bespoke built garden shed is rather exciting. It's a bloke thing....

Time to Catch Up

It has been a while since I last posted to my blog. Ros and I are now back home from our wonderful five day trip to wonderful Copenhagen. And it is wonderful. I will be posting photographs for those of you who are interested, but not until Wednesday...

Tomorrow, come rain or shine, I have to dismantle our existing garden shed to make place for the new shed to be delivered on the 27th. Before then, my builder has to set a new concrete base for the new, heavier built unit. So, it's back to the usual with a vengeance.

In the meantime, here is a pic of the Danes favourite transport...

Countdown to Copenhagen

It is now 11:17pm in the UK and my wife has been busy packing this evening for our holiday in Copenhagen. My last visit to this capital of Denmark was in 2012 on a business trip. I wonder how I might feel now as a 'tourist' travelling to this Scandinavian city....

Retirement has its rewards. The stress of the commercial aspects of travel is a distant memory as I have been retired for 16 months now but I do sometimes miss the buzz of visiting customers and meeting up with old business acquaintances. I still maintain a keen interest in the success of the company that I ran as MD before my retirement and am happy to report that it continues to prosper. But, there is no going back....

Travel now, for me and my wife, has to contain all the elements of history, culture, comfortable accommodation, good food and wine and of course - good weather. Here's hoping...

 

Swale Villages Through Time

In my quest for books about the county and area of my birth I came across this gem - Swale Villages Through Time by John Clancy.

Many parts of Britain are renowned for the 'chocolate box' quality of their pretty villages, but rarely do people include Swale in North Kent, a delightful rural area known as the "Garden of England". Swale extends from Rainham in the west to Faversham in the east, Maidstone in the south to the Isle of Sheppey in the north, covering an area of some 280 square miles. It takes its name from the waterway that separates the Isle of Sheppey from mainland Kent. The village where I was born, Teynham, is featured in this delightful book.

The fascinating selection of photographs traces some of the many ways in which Swale's villages have changed and developed over the last century. A taste of how country life used to be is captured in old postcards and pictures and provides me with a journey of pure nostalgia. It reminds me of carefree summer days when I worked on my uncle's farm during the school holidays in the 50s, picking apples, plums and cherries from trees that could reach 40 or 50 feet in those days, unlike the dwarf trees seen today. I remember my uncle effortlessly carrying and positioning 60 rung ladders up these trees, that we would climb up carrying baskets to place the harvested fruit in. We had not heard of Health and Safety in those days!

It was a simple life and very rewarding. To sit beneath a tree and open a flask of tea, unwrap some 'doorstop' sandwiches, enjoy lunch followed by a 'roll-up' cigarette was untold enjoyment. It was hard work for poor pecuniary reward but satisfying none-the-less.

This book about the Swale area of Kent provides me with a journey back in time when I was young, naive and above all content with my life. My youth is a distant memory but I am still content.....  

The Little Mermaid

My wife and I will be flying on Thursday to Copenhagen. Flying Norwegian Air to Denmark. Norwegian Air from London Gatwick airport. To Denmark. I rather like that. I have flown Norwegian Air before and find its service exemplary. They have one of the newest fleets of Boeing 737-800s in Europe and use LGW as their hub in the UK. Perfect for us as we live in Brighton, just 35 miles (56km) away.

We will be staying at The Hilton Hotel on Wednesday evening at LGW South Terminal. A good night's sleep before our flight at 8:45am on Thursday. The Hilton has a walk through from reception to the South Terminal concourse. Easy.

I have visited Copenhagen many times. It will be the first visit for my wife, Ros. More than anything she wants to see The Little Mermaid, based on the fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen.

A visit to Tivoli Gardens, the famous amusement park, will certainly be on the cards as well as a stroll along Strøget, the longest pedestrian shopping area in Europe. Just hope there aren't too many shoe shops!

And we will be having lunch on Saturday with old friends, probably at a restaurant in Nyhavn.

All we need to make our trip perfect is some good weather....