Here we are the end of another year and a little more decrepit than last and probably not a lot wiser. Last night we had the mystery of the flashing duck in our bathroom, I can't remember where the odd rubber duck came from but has sat between it's yellow counterparts for some time then when Graham went to the bathroom he saw it flashing red in the dark. I'm sure it never flashed before and hasn't so tonight, it remains a delightful conundrum. The champagne bottle came from M&S and Mandy had forgotten where it was but all our wine is normally under the stairs, we searched all over the house but when I suggested it could be in one of the kitchen corner cupboards near the floor she twigged that it was in the mop bucket where of course you'd put your New Year plonk. So only one mystery now remains.

I've just been round to St Oswalds to lock up but the bell ringers are collecting the key just before midnight to ring in the New Year then dropping it back so no early nights even if we wanted. We did have an afternoon trip out to Derbyshire and we managed to find the cafe where we'd had our last snack stop on the pilgrimage this autumn and I got my Bakewell tart which had so appealed but I'd chosen bread pudding last time. It was a dull wet day and windy at times but brighter this morning, around 45 made it to church this morning a few more early and later services. I've loaded up some Maltese truck clips from 2013. I won't have the final monthly count for our channel until Wednesday but it looks very good and some lovely end of year messages coming through. Keeping to the Malta theme we travel there for our photo slide show and very Happy and Prosperous Year to you all for 2018 may it be a healthy and tranquil time for you and your families in the 200 plus nations and territories who regularly view our films plus of course all our friends and relations world wide.

Annoyed with my millionth Amazon Prime email I thought I'd search to find out what it is and discovered it was something I didn't want or need that I was paying for and results in endless emails about watching some sort of American film trash, I'm amazed they still turn out movies in that cultural desert, in France they have laws to ensure their culture survives and media is to a large extent home produced. I find this cultural imperialism distasteful and the frightening thought that little orange men with mobile phones could start a nuclear holocaust disturbing in the extreme.

We have had the pleasure of playing host to Yvonne and Graham and today I took part in a voyage of social investigation to the giant bizarre frequented by masses in the suburbs of Manchester known as Trafford Central. Not a habit I would wish to make a regular feature but we did have a few laughs and we actually picked up a few things we needed or in case of my luxury silk tie didn't need. I wanted to go down to the Park and check on my favourite film location ref the Metrolink extension but Mandy had turned into the car park before she remembered that she had forgotten so to speak.

We carried on our fun in the evening at a very quiet Golden Pheasant which belies the time it took to find if they could accommodate us when I phoned and we were among a very small clientele pre New Years eve celebrations tomorrow, we had a very good filling meal and a few good chuckles along the way. I'm up early tomorrow for the 8am service at St Oswalds but have already set up for the main morning service so plenty of time to get back home and have breakfast between. We all this socialising I didn't touch the editing suite and have added nothing to Youtube or my latest Bus Spot release on Liverpool although it will be ready early this coming week but I must get my course essay submitted somewhere along the line. I suppose I need to do an end of year review tomorrow, it's been pretty good on the whole and it's our thanks to you all for helping us achieve so many record breaking targets with the business at PMP and we look forward to carrying on the good work in 2018. My own overseas travels recommence shortly with Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia later this year first time trips to Reunion and Madagascar.

The weather and New Year are seeing Britain grind to a halt once again. Our friend Sue left this morning, we got a great deal for Mandy and Sue who will spend two weeks in Sri Lanka this coming February/March for just under £800 each, a great saving DIY rather than booking through an agent, having been there recently I could attest to the standards of food now enjoyed there plus an all round better road and transport systems which has seen the country leave India, Bangladesh, Pakistan way behind and if not first world certainly second but not third at all. We got a few mundane jobs done first thing, loads of DVD orders had piled in and it took most of the morning to get them all prepared and round to the post. A quick food shop afterwards at Knutsford and then I popped in to St Oswalds and put up the hymn numbers for Sunday and tidied up as everyone has so much going on. My sister Yvonne and brother in law Graham arrive this evening for three nights. I've already started the third of our bus spot ultra series of DVDs on Liverpool which should be finished early next week.

I did some of Sue's family history updates for her last night and have reached back into the 1500's and picked up very early settlers in the 1600's to what became the USA after their insurgency against Britain. I must make efforts to secure a new garden shed as proposed which will house my model collection, we've talked about it a lot but done nothing other than look on the net but a non wooden garden office is about £30k which you can be assured is out of our budget. It would be long but narrow and perfect for a model railway and layouts to display the collection. I don't want to spend hundreds of hours on it so am planning some museum like displays which give atmosphere but not mega detail everywhere. I've still got lots of bits from my old model layout in the attic but most of the stock was sold off.Now there are plenty of off the shelf EMU Southern sets I had to have kit builds. It would be almost scale if I could have N gauge at 30' long but most stuff I have to display is 1/76 or 1/72 and a few continentals at 1/87 scale. What on earth can I bring you, I thought perhaps covers for a series of DVDs on an area, as I'm working on Merseyside why not there as a theme. These and dozens more on Merseyside are all in our shop on this site post free world wide.

Next in the Bus Stop Ultra range will be one on Liverpool following our release of the Newcastle 120min epic which I finished editing this afternoon. We have our friend Sue staying tonight then she goes home ready to see the New Year in up in Scotland while we await the arrival of my sister Yvonne tomorrow evening, they return south in New Years day. This morning we had a sprinkling of snow which hardly covered the grass but was slow to thaw even in the sun. It will be a pleasure to get back to normal and resume filming next week. We have lots of important locations which will come on to our to do lists. We had spag bog for dinner then Mandy's brilliant rice pudding and some fudge later on. I've put more trailers for the Newcastle film on Youtube. Although it brings in a worthwhile income some of the people who are watching for free and never buy a DVD still make inane comments which get deleted. The Youtube viewing is starting to climb again after the Christmas dip but record breaking all the same.

It looks as if it will be another chilling night , this afternoon we booked a trip for Mandy and Sue to Sri Lanka for 13 nights at £800 a piece including flights which I thought was very reasonable. That will be after the half term holiday and after my trip to Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. I must get a spreadsheet done so I can keep track of the timings. I think we can put away the crackers now for another year, the electric blankets can have a few minutes before bedtime tonight. I would like to get some tidying done in the garden and even mow the front lawn but its so wet all the time. I'll probably start putting together the ingredients for the Liverpool DVD tomorrow, it takes a couple of days to get onme done, not too difficult as I've got a database of film locations and I can download from the DVDs for more recent digitally sourced films or of course go back to the masters all filed on external drives, I think I've now filled 5No  2 or 3 terra drives. Well goodnight for now, keep warm, stay safe on the roads and pavements. What can I bring you tonight, lets have some trucks eh, lucky dip.

I seem to have enough film to film two bus spots on Newcastle so I'm going to have to trim down the excess, I was in the fortunate position of having some early tram material and early post war shots which added to the 1950/60s trolleybus era plus formation of the PTE coverage and onward on cine to the 1980s and then my own video plus the material from Tim and Glen Bubb and onward towards the millennium and almost annual coverage so we'll have to cut down a lot even allowing for a 2 hours programme, nobody can say they aren't getting value for money but with such a huge archive as we have we can undertake this type of mammoth project. It certainly gave me something to do today, I went out briefly and surveyed the truck scene which was minimal and the M6 was the usual gridlock even without the trucks. With a freezing cold howling wind chill factor to add to the mix I retreated home. I started the project this morning and I'm up to the 1980s at the moment with the list of masters being worked on as I go adding each clip so I don't get confused which is easily done these days.

The DVD orders are starting to build up again and hopefully when the stats come through for Youtube it will be an upwards curve once Christmas day is out of the system, even with the quiet festive period we shall still be looking at a record breaking month and I can only hope that the exponential growth in 2017 continues and I still look forward to resuming film work once the weather settles again. Orders are being turned round be return of post at present, I'm looking ahead to early February when I start our 2018 overseas coverage with Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore for both trucks and buses at all locations. The tickets and hotels are booked, just one internal flight KL to Singapore to sort. Singapore is easy to get around with a 3 day pass which allows all modes of travel. Well I'd better get back to the editing suite, I'll try and load clips as trailers to whet your appetites as I progress through the Newcastle upon Tyne material. I'll give you some Singapore as a look ahead its all changed now though which is of course why I'm going.

My back in just about recovered which is good news as we come out of the first round of holidays and the weather looks like plunging back to freezing with snow on high ground but probably not enough to make a dramatic backdrop. I didn't get much work done today but had a good sleep and we didnt rush around but did have a drive along the coast to Llandudno, stopped for a walk and had coffee and cake in Forte then headed back. Caught up with some television and had a bit of a look at the work involved getting the Newcastle upon Tyne bus spot done, not as big a project as the Nottingham one but challenge enough, Liverpool with be the third in the new Bus Spot Ultra series. We have my sister and brother in law staying for the New Year which will be good, hoping to getting out a couple of times between now and the end of the week, I keep talking about tidying the garden and cleaning the vehicles but no action due to back probs and weather.  I'll keep with a North East theme which may encourage me to make a start in the Newcastle film.

Merry Christmas everyone, worldwide, friends,relations,customers-we send our greetings on the mild December day a little damp but dark now. Outside the tree twinkles and the candle holder flickers beside the front door. Last night we were back late after the midnight service there were a few there who already had a bit of Christmas spirit in them but all went fine but the pain from my back touched unbearable levels, I was in tears of pain sometimes but just about kept it together. Then when we got home about 1.30am Mandy decided that I'd never get to sleep without a pill so had that sand a couple of Tramadol and a Naproxin and thankfully I remembered to set the alarm which was a good thing as I slept straight through and only woke at the 9 am alarm call. I was at the 8am service but went casual, very few there a different story at the 11am service. I was now still drugged up from last night, topped it up well and I've felt no pain at all although to say that I'm floating and a little out of it would be understatement. I've tries doing editing and filing photos but the letters drift around and my eyes roll. The main service today saw the church almost full, the lights on the trees are still working it looked the business. We locked the building up afterwards. I had a dose when I got home, I'll sleep well without pills tonight, I wish this key board didn't bounce around and my fingers weren't in threes, I suppose I'd better get my head straight enough to eat dinner it will be ready soon, Mandy is having a G&T I'm on Pastis ( from Cornwall!).I've put some Cuba 2011 clips on our Youtube channel, here are some images to go with them

There haven't been that many Christmas Eves when we have been at home in Lower Peover, last year we were down at my sisters in Hampshire, this year they are coming up to see us at New Year. It is of course a busy time with my church engagements at St Oswalds although I'm really chuffed to have got my course essay ready for checking and then submission, that reminds me I must wish the rest of our course group a Happy Christmas and it goes without saying that my best wishes go out to all our readers around the world. The PMP Film Archive has flourished this year more than ever and that is of course thanks to you our viewers.

Although other distraction have seen a fall in Youtube viewers this week the revenue is really unaffected which shows we are left with a good quality audience and thats important. If the present trends continue through 2018 I'm not sure we'll have the capacity to reach all the destinations we'll be able to afford. Really the whole enterprise has now exceeded my expectations when I retired from the day job and is something of a reward for over forty years serving the transport enthusiast hobby with photos, models, videos and more recent years DVDs followed by online digiital media. I've posted a few scenes from, Merseyside 1989/90 for anyone who wants a change from cartoons on TV, it will never get back to the standards we enjoyed when Morecambe and Wise held sway at Christmas and comedy specials for the likes of Dads army were having their first outing. I've been busy filing away my photo files, still a lot more to catch up with, Mandy says its because I'm too prolific, not sure if that was a compliment or not. Who knows what 2018 will bring, certainly I'm hoping to knock a couple more destinations off my 2017 bus location to do list then I can roll out next years targets.

Thanks to everyone who sent us Christmas cards so kind of you all, I hope you liked the PMP one based on a painting by a friend of ours Paul Aitchison who we were often near at the likes of Showbus but he has given up on the rally scene. We have the new PMP branded tent to try out next year, I was going to get all the stock out of the van, clean the fleet and do some tidying in the garden but my back is still quite bad. I've already managed to get through two services at St Oswalds today, I'm also reading at the midnight service and then there for 8am Christmas and 11 am which will be the big one- a few more pain killers will be needed to get through all that. We are having Guinea fowl for dinner tomorrow evening, perhaps a few chocolates in the day, maybe the Christmas cake will get an airing it was made a bit last minute this year.  As I've put Merseyside on Youtube lets have some photos from that neck of the woods, enjoy your Christmas I'll try and blog on the big day.

I guess everyone is now busy getting into the spirit of Christmas as our Youtube viewing has plummeted in two days, if it carries on like that I'll be scrapping Christmas. Seriously though its been a tremendous year and its been wonderful creating such entertainment and nostalgia not just in the UK but really around the world with more countries and territories than there are members of the UN.  If you do get a second or two between turkey legs please remember tiny Tim and Mandy back in Lower Peover and give us a couple of clips on the adverts then we'll be sure to cover even more exotic and bizarre locations in 2018. Today I concentrated on getting my latest ministry course essay written this took a full 8 hours of concentration but aided by a nice selection of 'my music' on the computer which satisfied my need for stimulus and entertainment to sustain my inspiration.

I think I finally got to the end and just in time for aperitifs and dinner washed down by a very pleasant bottle of St Emilion. I had already abandoned any idea of gardening long ago and am happy to report that my back is much improved, lots of Voterol getting slapped on morning and night. Mandy's broken string of pearls was fixed and picked up yesterday which was much quicker than anticipated, she went shopping again today. Lawrence at our village shop reminded people for the umpteenth time that he is open Christmas day 10-2 with an emergency call out number for anyone needing urgent milk supplies, seems as if he has reinvented himself as the fourth or is it seventh emergency service.Tonight inspiration from photos the other day at Rotherham

We completed another bus location on our 2017 list, namely Peterborough. We had a good journey there although we were up at 5am, arrived about 8.30. It was light cloud most of the time which was ideal but as we left it cleared to sunshine almost everywhere except near home where it was foggy but even this cleared late afternoon to give a dramatic sunset. At least the days begin to lengthen again. The drivers this morning were great and we met a couple of enthusiasts  at the bus station and another PMP fan driving. As often is the case it's the one rotten apple which spoils the barrel in this case driving 37217 on route 5 this morning who amazingly on film pulled up and threatened me, I know Stagecoach take a dim view of this type of behaviour, in their branded bus, branded uniform and when many other drivers were in Santa outfits one just has to be an idiot.

In future I am considering taking civil action against them in addition to any disciplinary action or criminal prosecution which may follow. It was bad enough having the Scottish police taking mischievous action against me after I had suffered a racial assault by the police at the Commonwealth games  in Glasgow and said I would put a complaint in. In the process the Scottish legal system  ended up supporting right wing terrorists to get their own back on me. As they were officers of the court perhaps it was treason, it was often in my mind the thought of them on a gibbet but now studying for the ministry it is one thing I do find hard to forgive. Now we find that the government in the UK is mindful of the risks of right wing terrorists, I couldn't get any sort of support at the time but as it was just before the independence referendum when the hatred for English people was at it's height.

I see we've topped 25k subscribers and average daily viewership bubbles around 80-90k on our Youtube site. I've been adding new DVD releases and trailers and these are mostly on our shop plus our Amazon shop. There is a sale on Ebay at present. We will send any last minute DVD orders out Saturday morning the next posting day will be Wednesday as it is public holidays Mon and Tuesday. I'll try and make a start on the Newcastle archive Bus Spot soon, meanwhile my back is still playing me up and I'm probably doing my next course essay tomorrow rather than tidying up the garden and washing the fleet. Photos needless to say from Peterborough I'll bring you Rotherham tomorrow.