On the correct choice of reading matter for train journeys

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zipdip said:
I hope you enjoy your new Alfa,that mark more than most has raised it's quality,gone are the days of owning a Alfa meant that you knew all the AA patrolmen on a first name basis.
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Thank you. By coincidence I had lunch yesterday with my friend Walter, who helped me sell my SM. His main passion in life is racing and trialling vintage and veteran cars, at present he maintains a Maserati 250F for its owner. He loves Austin 7s and is about to get one as a summer car to potter around with his family. As he said, running an old car of that era is about planning what tools to take, what parts to pack and what contingency plan is required to recover the car as it will inevitably break at some point on the journey, often more than once.

He was at the Goodwood Members meet earlier this month helping run a Mors aero engined veteran and a Bugatti Brescia. The latter had two big ends go, one on each days racing, so out came the winch, the tool box and the parts and it was got running again.

Total car reliability is really a very recent phenomenon. You had to travel hopefully, as the journey could be a long one!

Enjoy your steam train and your Hardy.
 
Charles Morgan said:
The book, which seemed rather definitive, recommended digging out clay soil to at least six inches, and adding back in the same amount each of sharp sand and humus. As I am trying to fill some 200 sq ft, in and around existing shrubs I will pass on that as the work involved far exceeds my threshold of idleness.
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I think trees of idleness are not only good for sitting under after a few years but they also like clay and are an excellent choice for gin drinkers Charles...
 
Grapes too Charles, just so long as the roots are reasonably well drained. We have had ours for 40 years in clay, they seem to do very well indeed. Might want to try Tangelos as well if you fancy them...?
 
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Modern car reliability...

Total car reliability is really a very recent phenomenon. You had to travel hopefully said:
It's remarkable how quickly we've taken these things for granted. Every three months or so I ask CostCentreOne how his ten year old Focus is running, as he uses it to drive all over the UK, and he gives me that same quizzical look.

"Obviously, it's completely reliable, Dad, and never breaks down. Why would it?"

Different times.
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brucemillar said:
Regular train commuters (I am one) have a unnervingly accurate mental map of every millimeter of the train platform.

This enables them to stand on "their" spot on the platform, so that when "their" train arrives at the "their" platform, "their" spot is perfectly aligned with the waiting carriage door. Thus requiring no adjustment from side to side to ones forward movement, as you step onto "your" carriage of choice, before heading to your seat.

All sorts of dodges and distractions are employed, should somebody unwittingly, stand in your spot. Normally a firm stare will signal the other traveler of their error. If the stare fails? Fellow travelers will often group around the stray, before, as one, moving almost imperceptibly a few inches along the platform, forcing the interloper to their 'novice' spot. As they mature, they start to learn their place, and these unfortunate scenes are committed to memory. Eventually, through age or redundancy, they become part of the accepted heard and are allowed their own, standing spot, on the platform. The cycle continues.
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That would explain the behaviour on my recent trip to Winchester. I can't say it was particularly successful, but then I was six sheets to the wind at the time, being on my way *from* the beer festival. :fail
 
Charles Morgan said:
So, off to Norwich to collect my Alfa. I found a first class ticket cost £6 more than cattle class and thought I'd catch up with my reading. My choice, a thick tome on heather, a plant type I hoped to plant in my garden as ground cover to replace the nettles. Lots of pics, plenty of info, ideal to fill the 100 minute journey and help me plan plantings. Except - page 4 - the little buggers hate clay so much they as much as die on sight. Shame my garden is entirely clay soil. Oh well, back to the small ads in Metro..,
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Don't you have your Bradshaw's Guide to pass the time ???
 
Steveml63 said:
Hi,
Many years ago I had a job interview in Newcastle and decided to travel from my home town of Guildford by train, 1st class.
Guildford and Woking are famous commuter towns with many residents working in London.
I waited patiently in Guildford station for the train to arrive - having asked where to stand for the 1st class carriages, when the train stopped.
The train arrived and I opened the door to enter the first class carriage. Being a few years ago, it was one of those trains with corridor on one side and small compartments with 6 or 8 seats.
The compartment I got into had one spare seat, the rest all occupied with city gents reading full sized serious newspapers. The look of horror on their faces when I sat down was a picture - they all were appalled to see me there and I did not understand why.
The train set off and 10-15 minutes later the train stopped at Woking station. The compartment door opened and a smartly dressed city gent got on and then looked horrified to see that I was obviously occupying "his usual seat".
I repeated the exact same thing a week later when I went for a 2nd interview!
Cheers
Steve
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I hope you got the job !
 
Pontoneer said:
I hope you got the job !
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Hi,
Luckily not - as the guy who got it was made redundant in less that a year - as the company went through a total reorganisation!
On the train for the second interview there were a load of drunk Newcastle football supporters walking up and down the train.
There were two Arab guys in suits sitting behind me and I said something to them in Arabic and they struck up a conversation.
One if them was high up in the Oman ministry of defence and asked how I knew Arabic - I had recently returned from working in Saudi Arabia as a water treatment engineer - designing water, sewage and effluent treatment plants.
He promptly offered me a job as a water treatment engineer in Oman!
That was in 1985.
Funnily enough I am driving to Oman on Sunday for a weeks holiday in an amazing mountain side hotel that overlooks a canyon (hotel called Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort) it's the highest located hotel in the Middle East.
Cheers
Steve
 
This morning's read for the train ride to Norwich to collect the Alfa from the repair work is The Little Book of Popular Perennials. Usefully it lists the height and spread as well as the desirable soil type.

Once I've completed the Round-Up blitz of the visible borders (note to self, never ever used horse manure which hasn't been heat-treated before - nettle beds embedded in rose roots are a double (literal) pain to remove), I plan to mulch and re-plant with plentiful ground cover.

First Class carriage again, this time with wi-fi. Saves my phone battery for the call to the breakdown services! Colchester the next station stop.
 
This morning, mirabile dictu, I arrived at the local station early enough to catch the heavily delayed earlier train. So I was in the odd position of not being close to a coronary catching up for a delayed transit across London. Having not allowed for that one in a million possibility I hadn't booked an open ticket that would have allowed me to have a coronary running for the earlier Norwich train, so was obliged to have an excellent flat white and buy some sushi for the journey. This was lucky as the complimentary free trolley service for First Class was off. I can't complain about Greater Anglia, reasonable price, totally punctual (so far) and the carriage is extremely comfortable. The only downside is one chap spouting on the mobile about work tedium behind me.
 
Glad you're managing to plan your border Mr. Morgan.

My most remarkable rain journey was the Manchester airport train from Preston. First of all, when I got to the station, the car park was inexplicably closed so I had to park a small distance away and give some money to a cab firm to feed the meter for me, bless them. Then got a cab to the station and made it just in time. As we travelled south, the train became more and more empty until I though I was alone in the carriage. A man got on and sat opposite me and tried to engage me in conversation. Apparently he was a doctor from Wisconsin. Since I am from the next state south, he tried to kiss me for some reason. Getting a bit frightened, I was glad to arrive at the airport. What I hadn't known was that there was a man sitting some distance behind me who swooped forward to get my "rolly case" down from the overhead compartment. I thanked him and fair flew into the terminal! I c an't remember the doctor's name now, but I googled him and discovered this sort of behaviour was not uncommon for him. By the way this was in the morning around 10am.
 
On another train, actually one of three, off on my latest collection caper. This time my reading matter is a history of an individual car by its former owner. A limited circulation book about one of the rarest and most important racing cars, the ERA R4D originally owned by Raymond Mays himself. Absolutely no clue in the title about the car I am about to collect.
 
Here's the one and only clue as to what I came back in.

Well there would be a photo but I have run out of space to allow me to upload it via manage attachments. Curse you photobucket again!

It's a silver Benz star on a steering wheel. Use your imagination while I sort out uploading it!

photo.php
 
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It's a silver star on an airbag.
 
Vito? :devil: :D
 
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