I will have all the Peterborough Showground trucks DVDs ready tonight which means that the decks are clear for our return. I managed to finish the Malta film which has taken ages to put together, I scanned another superb railway cine film which covers steam on BR in 1973. I went to Liverpool and picked up some film for scanning from Fave Forrest who has been gallantly  manning the VW Beetle powered  dotto train at Morecambe. I have filed away the Peterborough stills and really with the car already packed we are ready for this the longest trip of Corona and our only overseas foreign trip although of course it doesn't feel very foreign or hot! Fingers crossed and back 10th September when we will endeavour to return to normal service. We will not be at Brooklands as I have got to isolate for three days before my hernia operation which put paid to that weekend but I don't want to start messing with dates. Some more shots from the show and the new DVD covers conclude this blog.

Just typed out the blog when it vanished, far too tired after a long day at Truckfest in Peterborough to type it all out again so some photos must suffice for today. Tomorrow case packed and ready for an early start off to Ireland. Several orders were received for DVDs today, as they are singles we can pop them in the post box but please if you read the front page of the shop it states we are away but if you are ok waiting we'll clear them on our return, likewise with Ebay ( why is anyone still using this, Do my words blow away in the wind) it states when we are away but again if you are ok waiting thats fine with us. Please no messages that it hasn't arrived. I've taken the message facility off the phone and we reinstate when we are back. OK photos from Truckfest. Three volumes will ensue.

We had to get our neighbours in to help get our scanner things done for Ireland, Mandy didn't even know she could get emails on her phone, she has got mine as well, all we need is to remember how you get to them, we have paper copies as back up. It really does put older people off with all this mucking about to travel, it all seems to revolve around internet, computer phones and stuff. The world is now run by little kids who know nothing other than being a phone zombie.

I've got around 20 minutes of the latest Down Your Way edited its on Malta and I'm trying to get a bit more done asap as we are having Sunday dinner tonight and then I need to be up early tomorrow to get over to Peterborough, I'm not doing the departures this time as it is the day before our early sailing to Dublin. The answerphone is off and nobody is sending in orders, we've tried to let all our regulars know we are away. Fingers crossed for clement if not hot weather in Ireland.

We did get a sit in the sun in the garden this afternoon and have already made inroads into my next bedside book, I think that is the last to hand so had better get to Waterstones. I got the date for my hernia operation in October, shielding before I go in isolation means that we shall miss Brooklands event but we will be at Detling which has just been booked.

Photos of Malta to tie in with my latest film

Stena ferries are doing as much as they can to confuse information on travel to Ireland. They state that the receipt for the tracker should not be paper but what else would a receipt be, I phoned up and they said that it was fine as the print out has a Q code ( whatever that is) and it can be scanned like a supermarket bar code. Easy then, typical Irish effort which is as hard to follow as anything in Britain where we have at least 4 versions of everything for constituent nations doing there own thing. Our neighbours have offered to help us get it all sorted as we are not experts of mobile phone computers, I don't even know how to which the one Mandy got me on or off. Fingers crossed we'll get there but no means certain given the increase in infections and my hernia which is getting worse.

I've made a good start on the DVD of Malta buses 1970-90 with Roger De Boers collection scanned to HD digital. I'm also still working my way through scanning other collections and some very fine stuff there is among it. I've got the chip in my still camera emptied and filed then I really need to update the Smugmug still photo download site. Talking of downloads they haven;t really taken off that much but then again I haven't been that good getting them on the shop. Anyway before I forget about the Scottish trip a few more shots from that journey last weekend.

I've updated the PMP list which includes Scotland and Lancashire releases from this past few days. Tomorrow morning is the last chance to order before we leave early Tuesday  remembering Monday is a public holiday and no post.

We did the household shopping this morning and then cleared DVD orders and have started scanning cine film plus we managed a sit in the sun. I got all the outstanding DVD covers made and will now run off copies ready for incoming orders this evening. The weather outlook for Ireland while not hot or sunny is light cloud and little rain which for Ireland isn't bad going.

Here are some recent DVD covers

Some more trucks shots from the Dundee visit last week

A long time since I met so many people I knew while out filming today at Burnley and Blackburn. I'd already arranged to meet Jason who arrived with I think his gran and his little sister. Jason became waver in charge and got some animated response from the drivers who couldn't help but be charmed by the young enthusiast. I was glad that he enjoyed the visit and perhaps will get a camera and be off on his own one day, certainly a bright young man.

We met several other bus fans , some I already knew and another the first time we'd met. It was interesting to compare notes on the last eighteen months of Corona Pandemic experiences. The weather varied between sun and light cloud, much warmer than of late. We still have a lot of scenes to get through from the Scottish trip.

Remember next Tuesday we sail to Ireland and have nearly two weeks there, the PMP shop will be open but obviously the orders can't go out until we return. Ebay will have the out of office type announcement but you can still order if you really want to use another platform let us know why and see if we can change our own shop to accommodate you.

Lets bounce back now to the Lathalmond open weekend and have a few interesting views.

Every day seems so very extra busy, we can now look forward to our visit to Ireland travelling out on Tuesday 31st after I've covered the last day at Peterborough Truckfest.  Our shop will still be open and we shall catch up on our return.

Today we went to the Spire Murreyfield on the Wirral and I should be getting a date for the hernia operation after the 20th October as that will mean we are clear of most commitments. We also went to the Renault dealer to have a look in the flesh at the Berlingo, it would certainly meet our needs but to get one now means a quick purchase which I don't want, I want to consider it slowly over the coming months so it could then take 6 months to get built. We also went to the lighting shop nearby and ordered up replacements for the rubbish lights we got from John Lewis's last time.

The money came through from Buy Any Car, it was all in the account today. Tomorrow I'm filming at Blackburn and Burnley. Other than that I've already got three of the Scottish DVDs ready. Here are the truck films

I'm hoping to get some clips on Youtube this evening.

We are back from our trip to Scotland, we did really well at the two truck destinations Dunblane and Dundee, the weather was still and mostly bright. The next day was the start of the two day open weekend at Lathalmond Scottish bus museum, after dropping Mandy off at the museum I went to Dundee to film with particular interest in Mc Gills operation of Explore Dundee ex National Express. I then came back down to Dunfermline, the weather at the former was drizzle but by the time I was in Fife it was chucking it down, the old Chinese brolly earned its keep once again.

Sunday I was at the museum filming. much better weather. Scotland is still very much behind England opening up from Corona, little from South of the border just Stagecoach from Carlisle and North East and one from Merseyside. Generally a good turn out of vehicles but not up to the usual numbers of visiting buses but Lothian probably stole the show with their new buses. The hotel was fine, food a bit well 'Scottish' no other potato than chips and only one veg whatever you opted ford, frozen peas!

The first feed back on the Luck Dip boxes was superb, glad they are already keeping people entertained. The big news today after wading through acres of DVD orders was that we went ahead with the sale of the PMP van, the VW Caddy that we had so much trouble with, we got half of what we paid for it ten years ago, it was still sort of sad. We will just make do with the Honda Jazz which carried a fair load for Lathalmond for the rest of this year through to spring but we will look at alternatives.  We can always hire a van for the bigger events. I think the time will quickly arrive that as we go into our seventies the whole rally stall business is just too much for us.

Today I was on the verge of deleting the Ebay shop, I still am - please take note that it will be deleted at some stage just as I got rid of Amazon, both American gangsters who loot British trade and ruin shops here and pay little tax. Us the PMP web site with its shop and links and various facilities. It is the only place to have our downloads.

We are filming in Ireland a week tomorrow, after the bank holiday weekend. I'll be at Truckfest for the bank holiday Monday departures.

Anyway lets have some shots from  Dunblane trucks

On our way to Lathalmond in Mandy's car. Very much a pruned down selection so as to fit in Mandy's Honda Jazz. We won't be making a habit of this, hoping to get a new vehicle sorted if the sale of the VW Caddy goes ahead on Monday. We collected it from the garage this morning they did well to get everything done, with a cost of nearly a grand lets hope we are offered top price otherwise it will go elsewhere. The is no way we would venture out in it after all the breakdowns we have suffered. VW have proven to be makers of the most utter rubbish vehicles. It was a massive effort getting the shed/greenhouse cleared out so I could put the large trolley out of the way. At least it is tidy now.

We will head off north early and film trucks at Dunblane and near Dundee, it is years since we filmed lorries in Scotland. On Saturday I intend to film at Dundee first thing and then back to Dunfermline where there should also be the shuttle buses to the museum site. Both days could get wet and Sunday my day at Lathalmond filming could be enduring thunderstorms. Fingers crossed, at least I hope there is no wind, rain you can use a brolly but wind forces it onto the lens and wind noise is an utter pain to everyone.

Nothing much else as we had so little time left to start any editing. The archive Malta material will be first to get the treatment. So many things backing up now. We are getting our new carpets fitted in October between Detling and Brooklands. Both these venues will see the stands under cover, Brooklands will have a large marquee. By then we hope to have our new vehicle! We should be home Sunday night but would guess the next blog will be Monday. Lets look back at previous Lathalmond open weekends which used to feature a Sunday road run with lorries as well as buses.

A difficult day , started out late as we had to get the first luck dip box orders prepared for posting out. I reckon I can manage around 100 boxes for bus, tram and trolley film slightly less for the truck option. Then I went over to Halifax, it should have been cloudy with breeze. In the event it was part sunny and gale force winds, really got it wrong on the weather outlook once again, it did however suddenly vanish and I finished at the bus station in pleasant weather but when I got to Bradford it was blowing up a storm there and similar mix of clouds and sunshine. I tried the best I could be it was super frustrating outside the bus station back to the hotel so went round the other side and it was out of the wind but within 60 seconds of being there outside the bus station on the pavement I got security mob handed, 5 of the yellow vests eventually. They came the old 'you can't point the camera at our bus station' routine, really nasty rude young chap ( origins far from Clacton) and was very cocky and more more dense female who had evidently been fed on a dose of gossip law.

I ended up finding the police station and reporting them, the city centre inspector is going to go round and expand to them on their rights but also the lack of knowledge on basic British common law rights. I thought post pandemic everyone was supposed to be nice to each other, doesn't apply to Metro PTE. After this latest run in with Yorkshire PTEs I'm righting to my MP to ask her to take it up with the transport minister as I think several of the PTEs are unfit to staff and run bus stations. They hate anyone who has a passion for transport and are not just ignorant but in previous clashes couldn't care less what the law of police say they just use their own invented version of reality. There is a security question here as well, these jumped up chocolate soldiers who assume authority where they have none and who enjoy bullying pensioners fit many aspects of profiling for right wing extremists or terrorists. When I reported similar a few years back the security forces weren't on alert for the right wingers but events have proven I was right to be concerned. The drivers at Halifax are ace, never have any hassle outside Halifax bus station likewise drivers at Bradford. Beware giving people yellow jackets and radios next step black uniforms and jack boots.

A quick slide show from the Halifax visit, I'll combine the two locations and try to edit out the worst of the wind, come to think of it it was wind which caused all the problems today!

Don't forget the lucky dip boxes!