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GeoffandWendy

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Everything posted by GeoffandWendy

  1. A tunnel under the Forth would have to be started at least a couple of miles away from either shore line, in order to get deep enough under the river bed and the cost would be twice as much as a bridge, that's if like Iain said, it might not be geologically feasible.
  2. Glad to hear that Abigail was not as bad as was predicted Iain. The winds were not too bad here in the Midlands.
  3. Here is another now restored pleasure ship, the MV Balmoral, which is based at Bristol. Quite a long video but interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGfbf7W_DRA
  4. Whilst looking on Youtube for some cruise ship information, I came across a few videos of the restored Waverley Paddle Steamer and thought this one would interest some of you, especially Iain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhzSGJ-i43s
  5. Ah well, we can now all, Roll Out The Barrel and drink a toast to this magnificent aircraft that has given us all so much pleasure for the past twenty five years since its last action in the Falklands.
  6. I agree with you Grace. young people are not all bad, like you say, you turn out like the way your parents brought you up, with respect. I am happy to say, I played my part, by bringing my own two sons up, the way I was brought up and it continues with my four grandchildren. My eldest grandaughter is getting married to a nice lad in December, who she has known since shcooldays. They are both in their mid twenties now and have been saving up for a deposit for a house (with a little help from us and her boyfriends parents) they will have a good start in life. So it's good to see that if you have been brought up by good parents, the trend will carry on in your future generations.
  7. One of the best places to see these air shows is The Southport Air Show, held every August. Cars can park on the beach, so lots and lots of room for everyone to park, and a nice place to spend a holiday. I would say that wouldn't I, because I used to live in Southport. Watched this years show, with the last visit of the Vulcan.
  8. Hi and welcome Kris. Good luck with the improvements. Hope to visit next time we are on the broads.
  9. Happy Anniversary Charlie, have a nice 41st honeymoon.
  10. Yes John, Lewis used his skill by sheer determination to get back in pole before the end of the race. Did you notice the face on Rosberg, on the Podium, he wasn't very pleased that Lewis had won and tried to blame it on that pass during the first lap when Lewis took the lead. I don't think Lewis and Rosberg are the best of friends anyway. Rosberg doesn't like having Hamilton driving for Mercedes, as it is a German team after all. Reminds me a bit when Damon Hill & Shumaker were both racing, there was no love lost between those two. It all boils down to, that the German's just don't like being beaten by the British.
  11. It was a good race and really competitive with position changing for most of the race. Lewis was lucky that Niko Rosberg made that last mistake on the 54th lap enabling Lewis to take the lead again and the fact that Seb Vettel didn't manage to pass Rosberg, otherwise Lewis would have had to wait till Mexico.
  12. I have had many hobbies over the years from building radio controlled model ships, small scale live steam garden railway, all now sold for various reasons. I don't have the space for a lot of models these days, having downsized a few years ago, so I have resorted to collecting 1/16 model cars both ready built and some which are kits that need constructing. So far I have about a dozen ready built models and quite a few to construct, over the winter months. One model that I am building is one of the monthly parts by DeAgostini, that you see advertised on TV every once in a while. This happens to be a 1/4 scale model of a Honda CB70 Motorbike. It is quite a size being a quarter size of the real thing (as you can see from the photos) and will weigh 32 Kilogrammes when completed (that's the weight of 32 bags of sugar). The kit is delivered each month, consisting of four separate parts, over a period of 24 months. It isn't cheap, costing £32 per month paid by direct debit. That's £8 per week, not bad really, when you consider that I spent three times that amount on fags, when I used to smoke many years ago now. It works out at just over £900 (Ouch!) for the complete kit. Paid for monthly, you don't miss it, but its better than going up in smoke!. The kit is of all metal construction, except for parts such as the tyres, seat, cables and other small items. The whole kit bolts and screws together, using the small tool set that comes with the kit. All the metal parts are beautifully stove enamelled in the right colours, or chrome plated. It comes with a built in mini computer, which enables many working parts, such as lights, horn and even authentic engine sound, when the ignition is turned on. The model will stand on a base when completed, that contains the speakers and circuit boards for it to operate. There are no actual engine moving parts, but it has operating brakes and even the all metal mini chain rotates over the sprockets, allowing the rear wheel to turn at varying speed with a twist of the throttle. So far I have completed the front end assembly, which contains the handlebar and front lights, front forks and front disc brake and wheel assembly. If anyone is interested, (let me know) and I will post up a separate thread on each stage of the build as and when each set of parts arrive and have been assembled..
  13. You were almost right Iain, a sort of kit, but definitely not Airfix. If I remember right, the wings, bolt on to the fuselage, very much the same as the one in Hanley (Stoke-on-Trent) that stands permanently inside a glass building outside the Museum, as a tribute to Mitchell who was born in Stoke and was the designer the Spitfire. It is obviously a non flying version. like the one in Hanley and will have no engine installed, just dummy exhausts and propeller. There are several of these Spitfires about, that are moved around the country, just for display purposes.
  14. So sad Iain to read that your holiday had to be terminated after only a few days. We have only just got back from our holiday in Llandudno, so had a lot of catching up to do on the forum, so that is why we have only just read your blog. Wendy and I hope you do manage to get down to the Broads again next year, as like everyone else, you love this place for your holidays. Hope you are feeling much better than you were, so just take it easy and get as fit as you can again. It's something we all have to put up with as we get older (aches and pains) but you just have to battle on and there are times when some things become just too much of an effort.
  15. Nice write up and photos John. Pity the pub wasn't open.
  16. Thank you for sharing Jean, both the write up and videos were a joy to read and watch. Brought memories back, of our holiday last April.
  17. I agree, Craig is a good judge, but like all these types of show, they seem to have a judge who gets the audiences back up if they pass a negative comment, but that is part of the entertainment. Deborah from Dragons Den, would be a good alternative for Alan Sugar I suppose, it would make it different as the show is becoming to repetitive with the same tasks. BUT Alan Sugar is a good boss to have. The American version of the Apprentice with Donald Trump, is a joke. He is the most pompous ignorant individual I have ever come across and his billions have gone to his head. God help America (or us for that matter) if he ever became the next President!
  18. Come on Gracie, be honest. You just love to see the shoes the ladies are wearing as well. Wendy enjoys Strictly, so I don't get much choice but to watch it with her, but it is entertaining. I think Ainsley, Jeremey and Carol won't last much longer, but it depends on the public vote, who ends up in the dance off. I just like the judges, especially Len & Bruno, but Bruno seems to have upped his standards a little more in this years competition, maybe he was scoring a little too high in previous years, you could always guarantee that Len & Bruno gave the same score for most of the performances. As for Craig. Well, if he gives scores of five or over, they are doing good. Has anyone been watching The Apprentice? I have watched this since the first series and I just like the way Alan Sugar rips in to them in the boardroom. When it comes to the tasks, some of them, haven't got a clue, where to get things from, like in the last programme, where they had to buy the snails. Why they didn't try and find a wholesale trader is beyond me. Restaurants are not going to sell snails in large quantities, to someone off the street. The girls deserved to loose, but the team leader should have been the one to be fired.
  19. Well we will all have to wait to see how Evans presents it. Can't stand the guy really, but I shall watch the first few programmes, just to see what it's like and take it from there. I just hope it takes a different form from what it was, as it was getting a bit boring, especially the time trial at the end of each programme.
  20. Same here Alan, not keen on Chris Evans myself, but let's just see how the new Top Gear takes off. It needs revamping in my opinion, as it was getting a bit boring, seeing celebrities trying to outdo the times on the runway test track. I will miss May & Hammond, but not Clarkeson,
  21. Talking of technology, take a look at what is being built already and what will be in the next couple of decades.
  22. Everything you need to know about Morgan Cars including the official Morgan Website. http://www.morgan-motor.co.uk/morganlive/
  23. Yes James May does go on a bit, but he's a nice guy, as is Richard Hammond (who has just taken delivery of one of the limited edition of 250 Morgan Plus 8 Coupe models). As for fisty Jerremy Clarkeson, we lost Top Gear and he dragged the other two down with him to Amazon Prime.
  24. Just wondering how Chris Evans will fair in the new Top Gear when it comes on air and what format the programme will take.
  25. Wendy & I visited the Morgan Car Factory on Tues 13th October, this was a coach trip organised by a local garden centre for the Over Sixties Club (where you get discounted prices when visiting on Wednesdays). It was a full day trip, spending three hours in Worcester for lunch and a visit to the Cathedral, before going on to Malvern and the Morgan Car factory. This is the oldest car factory still in existence in the world, started in 1909 by H F S Morgan. and still making cars in the old traditional way, with wooden frames made from Ash. We were split into four groups of ten people and then after a short introduction, we were taken round the whole factory buildings, where the cars are built and assembled, from start to finish. The only building we were not allowed in was the paint shop (because of safety regulations) but the whole tour (which lasted two hours) was both informative and interesting, told by our tour guide. We were even given an off cut of Ash to take home as a momentum of our visit. They build several models, the ever popular Morgan 4 -4 The Morgan Plus 8 which is the latest four wheel Morgan, powered by a BMW V8 engine, specially designed for this car, as well as the reintroduced Morgan 3 Wheeler, using a V Twin 1100 cc SS engine made by Harley Davidson. Sales of these cars are growing rapidly, since they where introduced in 2012. The former three wheelers ceased production in 1956. Morgan is not standing still, they did a special run of the Morgan Plus 8 of 250 models in 2013 and these cars where built with an all enclosed coupe body ( similar to a Bugatii Atlantic of the 1930s era), but with all the latest technology of a modern sports car, with a top speed of 160 mph and 0 to 60 time of 4.4 seconds. It really is a fantastic experience to visit this factory, where most of the present day staff have worked there for most of their lives and their fathers and grandfathers before them. They have a five year apprentice scheme for youngsters lucky enough to be picked, so that they can learn many different skills in producing these magnificent cars. By the way, if you want want there is a two year waiting list for the Three Wheeler, which will set you back £29,000 and a six month waiting list for the Plus 8 at just a tad short of £72,000 Not sure about the traditional Morgan 4-4 but there is still a waiting list and a price tag of around £36,000. ( I ordered one! I wish.) Seventy % of all Morgan Cars are sold abroad in Europe, America, Asia & even Australia. Here is a selection of photos I took on our visit, showing some of the cars in production and various stages of build. A few cars from the museum and the latest concept car. Morgan also has it's own racing development team, producing cars that are competing in classic races such as the Le-Mans.
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