eddyramrod

Someone else who used to chase Jags...

After decades of driving vans and lorries, and doing whatever I could get in between, followed by nearly four years in Cyprus, I got in at a local bakery here - mixing up the fillings for the sandwich counters in the two shops. Six weeks later one of the drivers "had to leave" and my CV was still top of the pile, so I stepped into his van. Over the following five and a half years I also did bakery cleaning, decorating (one of the shops has a rental flat above) and counter work in both shops, among the Women Of A Certain Age who are not to be underestimated! Treat them with politeness and courtesy and you will never have better workmates. As illustrated above! Couldn't agree more. That's all I ever wanted when I was able to work. Don't expect that wage to be of the "Living" variety but you can usually find compensations, however small. If you don't find them, then you're in the wrong job, leave immediately.

That is glorious, and precisely opposite to my dad's Zephyr 4 that he bought new (DWM 95C): navy with pale blue interior. TBH I think these look beautiful in almost any colour scheme.

One for @Ianlea73...

Two of the many Qashqais that live on the next street! And on the next street along, two Renault Capturs from what could easily have been a selection. And my dog Memphis. She is the reason I walk these streets.

Just before I went away on Monday, a box arrived... Some ebay bargains; all from one seller and tbf, most of them were a job lot. Only the boxed Vanguards Rover was an individual sale, and after bidding on the job lot, I just added a couple of singles to make up the parcel. The Rover was the only one I won, of I think three or four. But then I don't bid very much! And then another box arrived! Now this one, wrapped in Happy Birthday paper, is bloody heavy, what can it be? A Birthday box from @FakeConcern, that's what it is! (And like the Danbox recently, I did actually send money for it.) I don't know what to do with the yellow Dinky caravan. I mean, I want the interior for another project, but apart from not having a door (normal) it seems too nice to break. The beige and blue caravan behind it, on the other hand, looks nice enough but the blacked-out windows mean no interior anyway, so I have no qualms at all about breaking that one up. In fact tonight I've been measuring it... The Express Services truck is something I already have, but now I have it on both types of wheel: the early spun hubs, and the later cast wheels. Happy bunny. Oh and two trips to the charity shops have brought in some more treasure too. Yes, a third yellow truck to go with the two I picked up recently. I'm guessing they were a set from new. Transporter (rigid chassis) with what looks like a Mercedes cab, but wait, is that a Corgi Toyota Supra in 1/36 scale? Why yes, so it is, and in very very nice condition too. The parcel shelf has got a bit displaced which is why the tailgate is up; but I've now fixed that with a pair of small pliers. I may have to start spreading my 1/36 fleet over more shelves! Oh and the pop-up headlights still work. Speaking of work... You don't need much in the way of words really, the pics tell you enough. Two batches through the stripping baths, and some shells in primer. Now here's something different... what would you think if you walked into a Carers' Support Cafe and saw this? I had arranged to run a quiz at today's meeting, just for fun, no prizes. Two lines of cars, ten from films and ten from TV. Each one identified on its tag, along with a star or two from the relevant production. All the carers had to do was identify the film or show in question. Actually there were 21 cars because for one film I used a matching pair, which was a clue in itself. From a possible 20 points the winner scored 10.5, which was pretty good considering my entire audience was Women Of A Certain Age, one of whom didn't even live in Britain when half these shows were on the air. It certainly got them thinking about something outside their usual "care" routine!

You think you have?????

MAXIMUM WANT!

No; that's when they were made a legal requirement for new cars. They'd been an option for about six years, and a very popular one too, used as an aftermarket upgrade on many older cars. Or in my dad's case, on his 1967 Cortina mere months after he bought it new. By the time J-suffix arrived in 1970 having black plates marked you as a Scrooge, fifth dan. Or a major corporate client such as Royal Mail.

We replaced the simulator with a visit to the Imperial War Museum which is near Old Trafford. That was really interesting, and free except for the parking. Also, later met up with a handful of current and ex Shiters, including @Ghosty and @Junkman so a rather jolly evening ensued.

Can I lay claim to the VW flatbed please? I have a use for one of those...

For anyone following this farce: my laptop went down (in a meeting) in Friday afternoon. Saturday I was able to get it into my local repairer. In the afternoon I got a phone call, come and get it... when I got there, I found they'd called the wrong customer. Oh great. So we went away as planned on Monday, having a couple of nights in Manchester for my birthday. This morning I had an experience day booked, with a flight simulator. But ten days ago I got an email: gone into liquidation, all bookings cancelled. And now we're home, and I've picked up my messages etc.

That's a beauty, even allowing for it being Facelift. I absolutely would. Except... I looked at the price. Oh well, back to dreaming...

350 SBC. You know it makes sense...

Yes I did, and thank you; but I chose not to explore them just yet. "Like" them is rather an understatement! I am positively delighted in every way. Oh and for clarity: of course it isn't an actual birthday present, although that day is looming. I did pay Dan for these!

Pic heavy post, just so you're aware... I've been doing a bit of outdoor model work today, starting with a blast of primer on these... And while I was outside drilling some more apart, a box arrived. Oooh, hello, what could this be? Return address tells me it's from @danthecapriman so the only thing it can possibly be is a birthday present. Which it clearly is! I had to unpack it in stages. That's most of it. It also included an ebay bargain that I had arranged to be posted to Dan, to defer the cold-shouldering I always get when a parcel arrives. Florida Highway Patrol Chevy Caprice in 1/18 scale. I have the same model in NYPD blue, and had a white Chicago one until I sold it a while back. Oh and those models I drilled apart earlier? They went through the Cosmic Soda bath and are now in an overnight rinse. That Jag will need a second bath, which is fine, I'll be doing some more soon.

Happy Birthday!

And another...

We've been out of the house mostly, for two days this week. Naturally on Monday Royal Mail tried to deliver me a parcel. They said they'd try again yesterday. Well you can guess how that worked. So today I went to the Collection Office and picked it up. Some ebay bargains, 99p each plus post. They're all in rather nice condition, I doubt I'll be repainting any of them. Then on the way back I stopped in at the Salvation Army and spent a whole £2.50. Most of these I just grabbed because they were reasonable-looking models, which is reason enough for me. I had no specific purpose in mind, although I did think the tanker might be transferable to a better chassis-cab. But look in the bag: there's a ladder truck that goes with the Fire Department box van, and I have a cabinet full of Fire trucks. The rest of the bag can go in my sale stock. I'm getting serious Cold Shoulder now...

Lightweight exhibition units, perhaps?

@MiniMinorMk3 Thank you; lovely-looking models but you said a magic word there: pricey. I can't and won't do pricey.

So do I! But how many plates would I need to make to get any value out of an A4 sheet!