Well that’s it, we are waiting for our Uber to get back to the bus station…
I remembered to take a few photos of some of the games to prove I was there lol
Goodbye Claymore
Dundee…
Well we are stopping tonight in Dundee, simply because prices of hotels in Edinburgh are absolutely ridiculous due to the Fringe.
The above photo shows the rail bridge across the Tay. If you look closely you can see columns showing just above the waterline. These are the remains of the original bridge which sadly collapsed in December 1879.
On the 28th December a train began to cross the bridge in what some called a hurricane… It has been estimated that winds were gusting at 80mph.
At 19.13 a passenger train with approximately 79 passengers and crew made its way past the signal box after collecting its ‘baton’ to allow it to proceed.
A few minutes later a visitor in the signal box saw a lot of sparks from the wheels grinding against a running rail. Followed by a brief flash and then the sparks and rear lights of the train all disappeared in an instant. The signalman didn’t believe it, but was unable to contact Dundee on the northern bank.
The following photographs were taken after the disaster. The bottom one shows a carriage up against the roof of the span. The track is clearly visible to the left of the photo.
For a while workmen on the bridge had complained of lateral and vertical movement as trains crossed the central span. Evidently trains would pick up speed going North to pick up lost time. This would make the vibration worse.
In the end the bridge failed due to poor construction and poor maintenance. Repairs and systems to make it safer had been started but even these weren’t up to the job.
Of the 79 passengers and crew only 59 were ever recovered/identified.
So there you go… Out and about in Scotland…
Tomorrow the Show!
35 and Counting
The boat is heaving, with people not necessarily the sea… That will no doubt come when we hit the fair Isle Channel…
So we are trying out the lie flat pod things…an inch or two wider would have been nicer. But these are cheaper than a bed and more expensive than a recliner seat thing…. Oh and about £400 cheaper than the plane…so …
Mine is still in the upright position with the footstool thing awaiting the bed. Once flat they look like those opposite.
Shiny Hats, Shiny Hats of Metal
Yes I have had a little painting session this morning and got my armour all finished on this lot.
I would have got everyone’s boots and accoutrements done, but I really, really should sort out for going on the boat tonight.
Armour All Done
Apart from the cavalry commander and the helmets that is the last of the armour done this evening…
I actually tried the enchanted steel…
To be honest I am not seeing a huge difference…there is something there, but nothing stunning…Polished Silver might work better.
The command is going to be golden as befits his status.
On the boat tomorrow night so I might not get a huge amount done.
Song Lyrics…
What’s a song lyric that has stuck with you forever?
Well I used songs to give to my younger self I. An earlier prompt… At least it wasn’t an expressive dance!
So ever since I heard these they have stuck with me…
Those who feel the breath of sadness
Sit down next to me
Those who find they’re touched by madness
Sit down next to me
Those who find themselves ridiculous
Sit down next to me
And if we want to go back a bit to my younger days…
Streets of London
Have you seen the old man
Outside the seaman’s mission
Memory fading with
The medal ribbons that he wears?
In our winter city
The rain cries a little pity
For one more forgotten hero
And a world that doesn’t care
Funnily enough, it was originally going to be the Streets of Paris.
This verse is the one I can’t sing without having a little wobble in my voice.🥹
Armoured Bodies Begin
Well this evening I decided to get a wiggle on and start painting the armour.
I haven’t bothered with the helmets yet as part of me is thinking I will do them a different metallic colour. I am thinking of enchanted steel. It has more of a blue metallic sheen.
As the Venetian ambassador already has a couple of troops on his base then this will give me the opportunity to try something on a separate base… Clever or what!
So that is about half of them got the body armour done. More online training tomorrow so hopefully the rest will be finished to at least the same stage.
Rewrite the Ending
If you could rewrite any book’s ending, which one would you choose?
You know this is actually quite hard, there are a few books that bug me. Maybe not so much of the ending, but recurring, nemesis, characters in a series. I am thinking of Obadiah Hakeswill in the Sharp series here. I don’t know why but his reappearance bugs me.
But in reality what right do I have to change someone else’s story. I wouldn’t change things, but I might like to see another few chapters…
I have just finished Jurrassic Park… There could have been other survivors… What happened when the military arrived. Oh and why did the film kill off Muldoon? How long were Grant and Saddler kept against their will…etc, etc,etc.
Talking of Jurrassic Park, the one thing that really, really bugs me is Michael Criton’s overuse of the word ‘said’!
I was teaching six and seven year olds to use words instead of ‘said’…
I actually read a few other people’s ideas and I did like this rewrite…
https://greatthingstaketimebepateint.wordpress.com
So maybe write my own additional chapters, or possibly write my own book. Twenty or so years ago I started doing so accidentally. I set homework for my kids in my class to write the start of a story and said to make it fair I would do the same. The kids loved mine so much that it became my homework every weekend to carry it on.
I have a hard copy of about 20,000 of the 40 odd thousand words that I wrote. One day, ha ha, I will get it finished!
Pantaloons!
Everyone has now got their legs coloured as well as their coats done too *.
In a little while I shall get the flesh done… Or at least as much as I can get done before boredom, cramp or an Alien Invasion happens… More likely the dog will want attention than the latter but… You never know.
Addendum17:00 GMT…
That’s the skin all done, with the usual caveat of…I am bound to have missed something. I had in fact missed a coat sleeve and when I went to find it then I reckon he hid behind someone else to avoid getting coloured.
The one thing about online training is it allows one to do productive things with your hands.
A Bit More Painting
Well look at me go…
That is the hose and pantaloons on this lot done…
Leaving five bases of cavalry and three guns of different types. The super light crew were done this evening as I didn’t want to waste paint lol.
I go off on the boat on Thursday night. So I basically have three evenings to get as much of these done before I disappear for a few days and come back with loads more projects…
Speaking of projects…
I evidently got a parcel yesterday, just everyone forgot to tell me!
I totally forgot I backed this on Kickstarter… Well technically not true, they, like a lot of things were caught up in Humpty Trumpty’s trade war, as well as his actual war. Well at least I got it, so can’t complain.
