The post was non existent today which wasn't bad as we had another two bags to take to the post office this morning, so far the task seems easy for tomorrow but again this is good as I have to sort out some more films to send to my contacts in Netherlands for the Agostini Scandinavian tram releases, I'm mainly using the material I got on the Thomas Fischer tour of Scandinavia in 2000. I've had to order a new video camera up as the one I have got damaged in the rain at Wolverhampton and was already playing up with auto focus in London and exposures in Devon so I can't moan too much as they get a bit of a hammering and I'll have the same model which is the Panasonic flag leader for semi pro models and the price is about a third of the large Hi8 machines we once used. I've bids on a number of EBay cine films ongoing although I won't let the price get too high before I drop out, best are those listed and hard to find as there is little competition then. I'm nearly finished with the South West material just the film on Taunton to do. Waiting for quotes on the health insurance now I am retiring and need to pick up the tab myself. So much going on, phew glad i don't have to get up at 6.45 any more! Pics from Cornwall.
A slight difference in attitudes today at No17 as Mandy thought that although much better it was too much of a risk for me to go and get the trucks filmed at the spot I located near Walsall in the West Midlands, only an hour drive away. This was probably sound advice and the weather wasn't quite as good as forecast and now the rot sets in as cold, wind and rain come from the east. Then later Mandy decided we should give all the vehicles a clean inside and I was told to make sure i cleaned the sills ( around the doors). Well this was after we had been shopping around Marks & Spencer, Lydel and then Halfords. I got cracking with my overalls on then Mandy produces a bucket for the sills only now we find she is talking of all the downstairs window surrounds not the vehicles well both I suppose. Typical female though slides half way through a conversation from one topic to another seamlessly. So by the time I had insides, outsides and sills etc done I was really done for, I attempted just one window but I had enough. I don't know how much twisting, bending etc I did but it was certainly a lot more than filing lorries for a couple of hours. A job done though and the VW van goes in tomorrow for it's MOT cert, its first one, goodness knows what happens about the emission data as it is one caught up in the computer scandal. The post was non existent today which wasn't bad as we had another two bags to take to the post office this morning, so far the task seems easy for tomorrow but again this is good as I have to sort out some more films to send to my contacts in Netherlands for the Agostini Scandinavian tram releases, I'm mainly using the material I got on the Thomas Fischer tour of Scandinavia in 2000. I've had to order a new video camera up as the one I have got damaged in the rain at Wolverhampton and was already playing up with auto focus in London and exposures in Devon so I can't moan too much as they get a bit of a hammering and I'll have the same model which is the Panasonic flag leader for semi pro models and the price is about a third of the large Hi8 machines we once used. I've bids on a number of EBay cine films ongoing although I won't let the price get too high before I drop out, best are those listed and hard to find as there is little competition then. I'm nearly finished with the South West material just the film on Taunton to do. Waiting for quotes on the health insurance now I am retiring and need to pick up the tab myself. So much going on, phew glad i don't have to get up at 6.45 any more! Pics from Cornwall. foolish indeed to think that the new knee was going to bring about an end to episodes with my back and although after a couple of hours of suffering while the pain killers cut in first thing before i can really get anything done, this resulted in breakfast about 10am today. Anyway it does get better and fingers crossed that it will all be gone by the time we go to France at the weekend. The weather has been mild, sunny and still today - I topped up all the bird feeders and had a tidy in the garage stashing away the Scottish DVD stock until next August at Lathalmond. Constant refills of the cold cuff on my knee, I'm feeling the knee more than usual I guess its yet another phase on the way to fully functioning. There seemed to be a lot of interesting cine on EBay but most escapes me as I can't remember or be bothered to hang around until the bidding ends, I suppose I'm happy picking up the oddities left over . I seem to have several hundred reels of film which need attention over the winter for some I haven't even got a suitable projector. The mail bags were really top heavy this morning with everything received from last Wednesday to Saturday. The stuff which came through in the post or net today will go off in the morning, I think judging by some of the lengthy list we are getting that the Christmas period is starting. I'm planning on finishing this blog and then having a rest this evening. The new painting we got in Cornwall looks very nice in its new home in our lounge, it even matches the colours around it. I've ordered two 1/76 scale trolleybuses from China they are resin I think one a sightly more modern Shanghai vehicle the other an old articulated unit. I've still got the Atlas DVD bubbling around in the background just waiting to hear back from Jochem in Peru or wherever, its worth some messing for a couple of grand. We are going to list a whole bundle more collectibles on EBay especially items associated with the South East, we are going to put up one of our display tables in the garage to house the stock and stop the office getting cluttered with items being bid on. We have done well so far clearing out surplus items much of which would have no real value unless you know the collectors market for such items. Mandy took all the surplus cardboard to the tip and handled the post while I ploughed on getting the Devon and Cornwall DVDs edited. Exeter and Plymouth are available and I'm starting on Cornwall. Pictures from the a30 last week the only single carriagweway strip being doubled over the coming year or two. As the pain in my back and leg were so obviously going to be a nuisance getting sleep I decided to take a sleeping pill which took me round until 08.30 this morning. The back problem was pretty severe at first but I took just about everything I had by way of painkillers and i got better as the morning went on. Obviously I wasn't going to tackle anything too major early on but as the day has gone by although a bit floaty in the head I have got a lot done. There were quite a few magazines in the post so in addition to the newspaper I canned through these eyeing up the next filming locations. We are in France with Trish and Derek next weekend so I really need to get back on form. My knee is pretty good so its my back now to watch. I'm downloading the films from the South West film trip I think I've got 6 volumes including my first ever Cornish truck film take on the remaining A30 single carriageway section. I got all the DVD orders sorted today, there are four piles of orders waiting for Mandy to check and pack off on Monday morning. There are quite a lot of bids on EBay for cine film but no bargains on the model bus front. We've still got a lot of transport related items for sales in our EBay shop in auction format and when I'm up to it I'll start to add many more collectibles associated with Eastbourne and surrounding villages, I don't think I could get my heard around such matters this evening. Mandy went out to Waitrose, got more ice for me knee pack and we have a nice chicken roasting away. We will be waiting for the kitchen quote this week. I'm finding it hard to hot the correct keys so as soon as I get a chance I'll add on some more pictures this time taking us back to Exeter last Wednesday. Well at last I don't have to rely on the rubbish poor internet at the Travelodge who charge you for this then berate you throughout your stay to rate them 10/10 if you get a questionnaire which is a bit like the garage where I bought the Toyota who have similar while everytime you go in but couldn't even tune in the radio when I picked it up new. Well it's good to be home, my back has been playing up a bit which compounds the knee although having said that I still think the leg is making good progress its just hard to appreciate it with other pains going on. We've been through all the post and printed out all the internet orders. We are going to sit down nd relax in a minute having put most things away although the large painting we bought from the National Trust in Cornwall is still in the back of the car waiting enough pain killers or energy to shift it. Our trip today took us first to Barnstaple which was really like watching pain dry at the bus station so little had it changed and levels of activity seem to have tumbled, then via some diversions on yet more road works we got down to Taunton at lunch time on the day of their evening carnival procession. Here there was so much new with First branded in a green livery at Somerset buses or Taunton buses plus the local independent Webber and a couple of odd bods the whole effect though was quite startling and refreshingly different it was probably the first such treatment I'd seen given to a whole First fleet albeit Falkirk has in to a lesser degree. This certainly perked me up and kept me going through to time to hit the motorways home. We stopped at the new Gloucester motorway services which are supposed to be like Tebay in Cumbria but the portion were meagre and quality iffy. Here are some shots from today, I'll work back through the trip over coming days blogs as I get the DVDs edited, intending to have a bit of a rest tomorrow. sorry text of last day lost again through rubbish Travelodge internet connection
good evening friends, customers, whatever sell we are now down in Cornwall. sorry last night's blog went up the creek, the Travelodge wi fi wasn't that great and as we left we got this request that we needed to givecat least eight out of ten if we got a questionnaire to fill in. last night we went to moretonhsmpstead on Dartmoor, on the way a stag with onevantler jumped out and stood in front of us then an own dive bombed us as we arrived in the town we decided on the union inn and hsdva wonderful evening of good company, great food and drink all at rock bottom prices, gave it straight fives on ta the landlord was even into lorries plus a customer ran the local transport museum. today we sussed out a position on the a30 roadworks good for truck DVD near Bodmin may try if its sunny tomorrow but its a hard spot to access I will look up on Google earth map. I filmed at Truro and then after a lunch at marks we carried on down to Penzance and got another chunk of film before taking a lands end round trip to St Ives but the latter had no disabled parking and too hilly for Mandy to get anywhere. staying in small boutique hotel in Truro and had splendid meal at a pub a few miles out the royal oak.
sorry the narrative vanished using a dodgy Travelodge internet connection. did Plymouth and Exeter no problems clear blue sky. tomorrow heading to Cornwall off now to find a pub.
Iparticularly frenetic day with masses of DVD orders to shift plus a fair pile of auction items sold on our EBay shop. Amidst all this and looking after my recovering knee we managed to get all the house and vehicle windows cleaned inside and in addition all the DVD material filmed over last weekend has been finished and added to the PMP shop page. Clips are on Youtube. We had to get our accommodation for the South West England trip sorted, we leave early tomorrow with Exeter and Plymouth our intended destinations. We then carry on down into Cornwall before returning to North Devon and Barnstaple and then finally on Saturday morning we look at Taunton in Somerset returning home for the evening with a rest on Sunday and a chance to catch up on DVD orders as the run up to the Christmas rush starts to gather momentum. It's strange to think that on an average day like his we can achievement such good business whilst two days at a bus event over the weekend just scraped home at covering costs. We shall be blogging where possible over the next three nights on the road and let you follow our progress. We are intending to have a restful evening and relaxing for a change as we need to charge our batteries up ready for next weekend as we are off to our northern France hideaway hotel with Ian and Miguel in Corbie, Piccardy. We are traveling with Mandy's cousin Trish and Derek who proved kindred spirits with appreciation of the art deco style and depth of hospitality which will be in complete contrast to last weekend at Motherwell. Well I'll leave you with some more pictures of last weekend this time moving on to the buses in Falkirk and Stirling It may have been quiet at Bridgeton museum for us but the post bags were well filled today and I had to help Mandy carry it all to the post office around lunch time it had taken us most of the morning to catch up. I'd had pains in my calves in the night but I've avoided going back on the opiate side of pain killers. Regime of ice packs and stretching exercises has had a positive effect on the knee thank goodness. It was a very cold morning with lots of frost. The birds were scampering about desperate for food so I made that one of my first jobs, the woodpeckers approved and took to sharing with goldfinches on the larger hangers which was unusual. No sooner than we arrived back from Scotland than it is time to get packed ready for our weekend in the south west. We'll be heading down to Exeter then on to Plymouth but staying outside as prices seem very high this week. Then we'll travel on down to Cornwall taking in Truro, Penzance, Falmouth and Newquay. On the return leg we'll go up to north Devon and then finally head to Taunton, the latter part is still a little undecided at present. The weather looks a little more sunny than I would have liked but we'll manage, better than getting soaked. A possible deal going on in the background to provide video for latest Atlas tram subscription offer in Scandinavia. I've just burnt the first of the weekends DVDs, the Penrith truck film on the A66 taken in sunshine last Friday, I posted pictures yesterday. Tonight some shots from the next location which was again in Cumbria but nearly as far as you can go in England to north Carlisle turn off by Eddie Stobarts depots just off the M6 motorway. Lots of activity, I must return in sunny weather to explore better its possibilities in the future. The Glasgow event went from our best of the year a couple of years back, slipped a bit last year on one day and then with a two day event, doubled overheads and a rise in stall price dive bombed to only just cover costs. Of course this is not sustainable but we'll take it as a glitch and give it another shot in 2016 then ditch it if it doesn't turn around. We supported the event from its first open day and have attended every one, the road has been bumpy over the last year as I tried to express my justified concerns which have been validated. It is easy to turn up somewhere new and do well we've both experienced this ourselves and then find that it's short lived, Birkenhead was a prime example. The old faithfuls continue to perform with all the Manchester events stable, Lathalmond remained acceptable although Herne Bay nose dived after being washed out the previous year, we are hoping that East Kent 100 at Herne Bay will give it a boost again. The bus running seemed a bit weak today no particular theme and the destinations didn't seem to give a common cross over point, last year worked much better with everything passing by Buchanon St bus station which has room and not so much traffic as George Square. We did get some good film though with trucks at Penrith and Carlisle and buses at Stirling and Falkirk. I'll start editing tomorrow. A bumper post bag of cine films ordered up and PMP DVD orders and a large crop from the shops and auction items on the net - makes you wonder if the effort should go into the net which returned good business when we had a fruitless sales trip over three days to Scotland. I thought the impetus of the single day at Bridgeton created a lot of activity and good attendence very much watered down over two days giving the agony of the 'other' day just the same as Manchester and Lathalmond although their weak spot is the Sunday. Lets go back to Friday for some trucks shots tonight. |
PMP Sponsors the North West Vehicle Restoration Trust at Kirkby.
Categories |