Brief double-take there. Cape Town Olympics?? Never throught before that Australia turned on its side has a vague resemblance to the African continent.
Well done, tris and contributors. Lots of evocative photos this week, with plenty of trains and buses.
Pic 12: I wouldn’t presume to tread on Roddy’s toes, but that is a charabanc.
Pic 14: Royal Mile, Edinburgh. Tron Kirk.
Pic 17: Sugar mice! I never liked their tails. They were gey teuch!
Pic5 – L to R – Benny Hill, Archie Andrews (dummy), Peter Brough (dummy’s operator). Probably from the popular radio series, “Educating Archie”, late 1950s? Pic7 – Glasgow, 1960-ish?. Hard to say where, all the major streets looked like soot-encrusted canyons: maybe London Road. the No9 tram usually ran from Dalmuir West to Auchenshuggle (and return). Pic14 – The Royal Mile, Embra. Pic24 – Gerry and the Pacemakers – a big part of the 60s Mersey Sound.
A ‘Coronation’ car, so named in honour of the coronation of King George VI in 1937.
150 were built at Coplawhill Works (fleet nos 1143-1292) between 1937 and 1941, to a (for then) luxurious specification.
Car 1173 is preserved at the Riverside Museum. Possibly this was taken near to the closure of the system, when maintenance standards slipped somewhat?
I was on the No 9 tram often, because they ran along Argyle St close to where I lived as a boy. I had thought initially that it was in the section of Argyle St between what used to be Anderston Cross and the Heilanman’s Umbrella, but I could not recognise any of the buildings, so, I think it is probably on London Road heading towards Auchenshuggle. The buildings on London Road and Gallowgate were almost completely eliminated during the 60s and 70s.
Incredinly popular. Looked it up because I couldn’t remember the name of Peter Brough’s daughter who was a famous actress. The name I was thinking of was Candice Bergen – daughter of Edgar Bergen, famous for his similar act in the US with Charlie McCarthy as Archie equivalent.
Ventriloquist on the wireless seems totally daft – how can anyone tell if your lips are moving? – but Brough and Archie attracted an average of 15 million listenvers every Sunday between 1950 and 1960. I think that would now be a top rating for a TV series. The original Archie doll sold for £34,000 at auction in 2005. More here if anyone is interested https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educating_Archie
No 2 also pulled me up. Don’t remember sebdibg that one. I know Cairnallochy is another ferrequinologist but he’s not listed in Tris’s credits, so thanks to the responsinle contrubutor. This is a Castle Class 4.6-0, designed by C. B. Collett and one of the most successful locomotives ever built for any railway. The passenger express ran on most GWR lines.
Caerphly Castle, the first of the class, appeared at the 1924 Empire Exhibition. In 1932, No 5006 made the 77.5 miles from Swindon to London in 56.5 minutes, covering 39 miles of the run – morethan half the distance – at an average of 90 mph. Whaur’s yer HS2 noo then?
Candice Bergen said that she spent her childhood competing with Charlie McCarthy (the dummy) who had a bigger bedroom in the Edgar Bergen home than she did. She had a cold relationship with her father, who left Charlie $10,000 in his will and left her nothing. (She was a major star of TV and cinema at the time, and was financially well off.)
Edgar Bergen didn’t have great ventriloquism skills, and Charlie ridiculing him about his lips moving was a mainstay of the act. On TV and personal appearances, Bergen would move his head around to make his moving lips less noticeable.
Had to throw in my bit of MNR always being a school day. Thought the derivation would be obvious – iron-horse-ologist. Ferrequinophile would do as well, for iron-horse lover or steam-engine enthusiast/train spotter. Are thee any train-spotters left these days (ie, younger generation not old farts who’ve never grown out of it)? Unlikely, I’d think.
Eric Morecambe spoofed this one by very exaggeratedly mouthing the words of the dummy on the TV programme.
When Ernie chided him that ventriloquists’ lips were not supposed to move, Eric responded with a disdainful, “How am I supposed to speak if I don’t move my lips?”
Max Bygraves also took part. Early 60″s at Glasgow Kings, he made the mistake of inviting requests from the audience. Someone in the gods asked for the Educating Archie song. Bygraves cdnt understand the request – understandably from a slurred voice in gods – so the rest of the audience helped out. But it became quite obvious that Max B did not want to be remimded of his days as a straight man to a ventriloquist’s dummy.😉
I so want one of them coat cut undershirts and a pair of the knee length drawers like on pic 2. I probably couldn’t beat Mrs greig12 off with a stick but hey, c’est la vie.
McKellar seems to have recorded every Scottish song there is.
For the midges let loose by King Robert the Bruce,
Straight into the English got tore,
So they ran off in tears and for 600 years they’ve been blocking the A74!
The midges seem to be particularly murder this year being bad enough to drive us indoors at Glencoe last week. They’re the worst I’ve experienced in my garden in West Fife also, although the relatively insipid but still extremely annoying Fife midge can’t compete with it’s brutal, knuckle dragging highland counterpart. Especially in numbers. Repellant is a waste of money and a head nets fine until you lift it up to take a swig of your beer and the swarm dives in the gap.
I’m off to Skye soon and it’s a terrifying prospect.
I was in Kintyre a few weeks ago. One damp humid afternoon I parked my motorhome and in the 2 minutes it takes to hook up to the electric and turn on the gas a million midges had got inside. After 40 minutes of hell, the clouds cleared and they escaped from the sunlight to the darkest corners. But I found them and adopted a mass extermination technique. Then I could sit outside enjoying the sunshine with not a midge in sight.
I visited Florida some years ago in the late summer. This is the so-called “off season” in the Florida tropics. Florida has some charm in the winter months when you escape the snow and ice and arctic cold of the northern states, but in the summer, the place is swarming with tourists, and every mosquito in the world is there. At least they were that year. There were great swarms of mosquitoes that descended on you whenever you ventured out. Outdoor tourist sites would hand out mosquito repellent to apply to your skin, but as far as I could see, the mosquitoes loved the stuff. Oddly, the one pleasant outdoor place we went that was free of mosquitoes was a cypress swamp wildlife sanctuary. Fearing the worst, we paid our money for a stroll on a wooden walkway a mile or more back into the swamp. Turns out it was a hugely enjoyable Florida experience. For whatever reason, the swamp was free of mosquitoes and we had a great time. Maybe mosquitoes are afraid of alligators and the other swamp creatures.
So are midges mostly a Highland thing? They don’t show up in Dundee, Glasgow, Edinburgh?
LOL… I’m inclined to agree with the mosquitos there, Danny. I’m not keen on being eaten by an alligator either.
Midges can be anywhere. Around this way they tend to be few in number and mainly in forested parts and/or by water. We occasionally get some in the Grounds of Munguin Towers, but it is quite rare. I think Munguin must have let the Head Midge know that they are not welcome…either that or charged them entry.
I remember being on the Isle of Skye a few years ago and we were actually praying for wind or rain or some sort of bad weather to get rid of them.
One year we were camping in the highlands and I went to a burn (stream) to bathe, get clean after an active day of hiking. I sat on a rock in the middle of the burn and soaped myself down, dried off and went back to the tent to eat.
In the middle of the night I was woken up …every bit of me was itching and great big spots had appeared. What utter misery…for days.
Tris……What terrible experiences! Sounds like midges are nasty little creatures indeed! Good that Munguin has an understanding with the head midge 😉
It really was quite amazing to find that swamp in Florida that had no mosquitoes. It was odd since mosquitoes seem to like areas with water all around. Maybe due to the alligators, although we avoided a gator confrontation. There are also arctic mosquitoes in places like Alaska and Greenland that apparently put the tropical mosquitoes of Florida to shame. The stories of swarms of Alaskan mosquitoes carrying away sled dogs may be exaggerations however. 😉
Pathfinder courses!…….LOL.
Yea, that stuff about head coverings and tucked clothing is bunk. They tell you to do that when you’re out in the country around here walking through wild bushes and weeds and such. At least you can see the ticks. But chiggers are almost microscopic, and they’re long gone by the time the bites swell up and get red, and then start itching. If you’ve tried to somehow tuck your pants legs inside socks or some such, the tucked places is where the chiggers congregate. 😉
On a trip to Scotland some years ago, I became aware of bottles of Avon cosmetics in village shops. Puzzling, as I’d always through Avon was door-to-door only and notover the counter. I then learned that one of the Avon varieties suposedly has/had excellent qualities as a midge repellent, quite apart from whatever it’s supposed to do. Shops stocked up on it – and marked up as well I suppose. Couldl have been on Skye that I heard that answer so if it’s still to be had, give it a go. The locals insisted that it worked, sceptical as I was.
Fortunately I have some kind genetic deterrent. The Resident Sassenach insists it’s just the alcohol always oozing frommy pores, and when midges and mosquitos get into the defence zone, they just keel over before they can do any damage. Maybe I should contact the Avon chemists and make a few pennies by selling Mac+ to add to their formula.
Alex, I’m glad you identified that – it was really irking me. I knew it was Glasgow and the large building seemed so familiar. I should have spotted the George Hotel across the street on the corner. I should have got it as my first job was in Townhead and I often was on Parly Road and around Killermont Street way. I even recall having an occasional drink in Matthew Reid’s pub in Killermont Street. It had a famous collection of walking sticks displayed behind the bar. All Our (my) Yesterdays right enough!
#5: Benny Hill looks uncharacteristically well groomed and nattily attired.
#2: The answer to the obvious questions: “The brand was founded in 1876 and named after the three founders of the New York City firm: (Joseph W.) Bradley, (Luther C.) Voorhees, and (Lyman H.) Day (thus “B.V.D.”).”
So why aren’t they brothers and why aren’t they named Erlanger?
Well, B.V.D. apparel was originally manufactured by “Erlanger Brothers.” Later, Erlanger Brothers purchased the trademark. Finally, the firm’s name was changed to the “BVD Corporation”.
Cairnallochy ……..The AEC was the “Atomic Energy Commission” and the nuclear bombs were tested in the desert at the AEC test site about 150 miles north of Las Vegas. You could see the flash from an early morning shot in downtown Vegas, and some high altitude mushroom clouds were visible in daylight.
No 13 is a BR Class 5 on a fast freight train passing Norton, near Warrington, in December 1966. Thought it was a great ‘mood shot’ that captured the appeal of steam. No 21 is in similar vein, but in Scotland. It shows part of what used to be the industrial railways scene, with two of the NCB’s Barclay 0-4-0 STs shunting spoil trains in an Ayrshire coalfield in March 1972.
Didn’t now that one but possibly the most common Gaelic/French connection is eaglais (church) and eglise. There are probably more but that’s the first that springs to mind on a 03:00 notcurnal prowl.
Brenda doesn’t have a registration. I once was a guest of a former chauffeur at the palace and he told the story of being stopped by the bobbies in a roller and questioned as to why there was no plate. They took some convincing.
Appreciate that buses getting appropriate priority by being in ‘no 1’ position this week. 😉
!
No 1 was in fact built by W L Thurgood of Ware (Herts), builders of bespoke coach bodies to various small operators. This looks like an early ‘30s example, probably (based on the radiator badge) built on an early Austin / Bedford lightweight chassis.. Their main claim to fame was the patenting of a folding all-weather coach roof designed for quick and easy operation.
!
Some might think that 12 and 22 are in fact the same image, but an eagle-eyed anorak spots that it is in fact a cunning spot-the-difference competition. Can I claim my prize? (😁)
!
No 16 is an ERF truck operated by Thomas Smith Junior of Newhaven, Edinburgh. ERF were a breakaway from Foden (the ‘F’ stands for Richard Foden), also based in Sandbach, Cheshire. This example, a 6-wheeled flatbed, features the revolutionary KV (Kleer-Vue) cab, considered the epitome of late ‘50s cab design..
!
No. 19 is an Albion Lowlander pictured in Parliamentary Road, Glasgow in 1978. It appears to be in Midland livery, but that destination display is non-standard SBG…
The Lowlander is not the prettiest of buses, it’s low-bridge design making it look very squashed and out-of-scale. It was designed specifically for Scottish Bus group (SBG) who were traditionally big Leyland customers but was/were against the concept of the of rear-engined bus, which they’d never used and was the main option in the new Atlantean.
So they asked Leyland to build a low-height double-decker with central gangways, front engine & an entrance just aft of the front wheel arch. Faced with the prospect of losing the SBG business Leyland commissioned Albion to develop the Lowlander model made largely from production Leyland parts (apart from the frame design and drop-centre rear axle) and assembled at Albion, Scotstoun.
The ugly Lowlander was the result. It never appeared much outside of Scotland and the SBG.
Knowing his sort he will be off to sell himself to the highest bidder. Some of these people he gave contracts to, maybe. Perhaps he’ll get a job pulling pints in his mates pub. Apparently you can’t get bar staff for love nor money because the foreigners have all gone home…which is kinda what tends to happen when you make them soooooo unwelcome.
MNR first with the news as well! Checked the Italy-Austria result and moved on to other sporting updates without looking at news headlines. See what’s new on AOY since last look yesterday evening… and wow! Goodbye and good riddance. See the news angle is that he quit because of breaking social distancing regs, with the colleague clinch and snogging played down.
At first, I thought he’d been caught simply giving a friendly peck – but still too close for the rules – but the pic suggests a lot more than that. He must have been wearing the BDV drawers that Greig mentioned earlier as potential
passion pullers. Gina definitely getting into knee-trembler mode. Why are reporters not besieging Mrs H for comment, and Mr C?
A friendly kiss that involved his hands all over her backside.
Apparently, when he knew the story was about to break, he told his wife he was leaving her. That’s their business of course, but Jeeeez, he’s even more disgusting that I thought he was.
I understand that his girlfriend has been asked to leave her paid employment with the DofH, which is only fair. It takes two to do what they were doing.
The thing that I found incredible was that after doing a tv interview where he expressed anger and disbelief that Professor Ferguson visited his girlfriend during lockdown, and going on to say it wasn’t up to him to say that he should face prosecution… he didn’t resign immediately when caught doing the same thing.
Quite convenient that there was a security camera in his office, the footage leaked, then he resigns. It saves Boris from sacking him.
Gaelic and Bretton for posssible cross over, although in the case of Auchenshuggle I think the link ,maybe from the Latin, rye’s latin name is Secale Cereale (and etc.) One of those feel good crops to grow, or its wheat/rye cross triticale, as soon as it breards it is hell bent on gettting at least 5ft high, outpacing any weeds.
Surely Hancock knew there was a security camera there?
Who leaked it? A friend of Dom?
Boris wasn’t going to sack him. He accepted his apology and then probably waited to see how angry his own supporters would be… then decided to suggest to Hancock that he go quietly, when he discovered that it was VERY.
Maybe he did know about the camera and fed up with politics this was to launch a new career move. Porn maybe? (sorry, that has planted thoughts best left buried.) He’s now waiting on the flood of film offers for the romantic leading male. And waiting.
I have heard about the Emails. I very much doubt anything will happen when you consider that nothing happened, when the Queen was lied to (I think she was complicit), illegal prorogation of parliment, minister has unofficial meeetings and no minutes taken with high ranking military and top level politicians of a foreign country, promising money from the foreign aid budget (4 billion) to Israeli military, billions of pounds in contracts handed out to cronies/party supporters etc., getting nothing in return accept a flow of donations and gifts to Con. party and Con. MPs.
All that and yet the latest Panelbase Poll for Scotland has placed the Cons up 2 points and 2 seats!
It would make you weep.
MUNGUIN'S NEW REPUBLIC 
The Official film of the 1956 Olympics.
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A good HD print.
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Brief double-take there. Cape Town Olympics?? Never throught before that Australia turned on its side has a vague resemblance to the African continent.
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Well done, tris and contributors. Lots of evocative photos this week, with plenty of trains and buses.
Pic 12: I wouldn’t presume to tread on Roddy’s toes, but that is a charabanc.
Pic 14: Royal Mile, Edinburgh. Tron Kirk.
Pic 17: Sugar mice! I never liked their tails. They were gey teuch!
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Sugar mice were far too sweet even for me.
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LOL ARGH… Hard to imagine, Marcia
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Never had a sugar mouse, DonDon, but they look as if they would be revoltingly sweet.
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Pic5 – L to R – Benny Hill, Archie Andrews (dummy), Peter Brough (dummy’s operator). Probably from the popular radio series, “Educating Archie”, late 1950s? Pic7 – Glasgow, 1960-ish?. Hard to say where, all the major streets looked like soot-encrusted canyons: maybe London Road. the No9 tram usually ran from Dalmuir West to Auchenshuggle (and return). Pic14 – The Royal Mile, Embra. Pic24 – Gerry and the Pacemakers – a big part of the 60s Mersey Sound.
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Pic 7 …and the tram looks in need of a good scrub as well as the buildings.
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It does a bit. Poor old thing.
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A ‘Coronation’ car, so named in honour of the coronation of King George VI in 1937.
150 were built at Coplawhill Works (fleet nos 1143-1292) between 1937 and 1941, to a (for then) luxurious specification.
Car 1173 is preserved at the Riverside Museum. Possibly this was taken near to the closure of the system, when maintenance standards slipped somewhat?
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The money spent on flattering these people. Seriously, it makes me sick.
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All good, Andi 🙂
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I was on the No 9 tram often, because they ran along Argyle St close to where I lived as a boy. I had thought initially that it was in the section of Argyle St between what used to be Anderston Cross and the Heilanman’s Umbrella, but I could not recognise any of the buildings, so, I think it is probably on London Road heading towards Auchenshuggle. The buildings on London Road and Gallowgate were almost completely eliminated during the 60s and 70s.
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Yes, Alasdair, that’s where it is.
It’s a shame so many buildings were knocked down in the 60s and 70s.
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5 -Peter Brough and the dummy Archie Andrews. They were popular on the radio.
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Incredinly popular. Looked it up because I couldn’t remember the name of Peter Brough’s daughter who was a famous actress. The name I was thinking of was Candice Bergen – daughter of Edgar Bergen, famous for his similar act in the US with Charlie McCarthy as Archie equivalent.
Ventriloquist on the wireless seems totally daft – how can anyone tell if your lips are moving? – but Brough and Archie attracted an average of 15 million listenvers every Sunday between 1950 and 1960. I think that would now be a top rating for a TV series. The original Archie doll sold for £34,000 at auction in 2005. More here if anyone is interested https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educating_Archie
No 2 also pulled me up. Don’t remember sebdibg that one. I know Cairnallochy is another ferrequinologist but he’s not listed in Tris’s credits, so thanks to the responsinle contrubutor. This is a Castle Class 4.6-0, designed by C. B. Collett and one of the most successful locomotives ever built for any railway. The passenger express ran on most GWR lines.
Caerphly Castle, the first of the class, appeared at the 1924 Empire Exhibition. In 1932, No 5006 made the 77.5 miles from Swindon to London in 56.5 minutes, covering 39 miles of the run – morethan half the distance – at an average of 90 mph. Whaur’s yer HS2 noo then?
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Candice Bergen said that she spent her childhood competing with Charlie McCarthy (the dummy) who had a bigger bedroom in the Edgar Bergen home than she did. She had a cold relationship with her father, who left Charlie $10,000 in his will and left her nothing. (She was a major star of TV and cinema at the time, and was financially well off.)
https://www.womansday.com/life/real-women/news/a50235/candice-bergen-reveals-twisted-details-about-relationship-with-her-father/
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How did the dummy spend the money, Danny?
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Tris…..Apparently Candice never found out how Charlie’s money was actually handled. 😉
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Well, yes. It’s very private!
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😉
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Edgar Bergen didn’t have great ventriloquism skills, and Charlie ridiculing him about his lips moving was a mainstay of the act. On TV and personal appearances, Bergen would move his head around to make his moving lips less noticeable.
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No 2, John?
I’m also very impressed with ferrequinologist. I had to look it up.
HS2… LOL …where indeed. Another laughing stock. In the amount of time it’s taken them to do nothing, the Chinese could have built a railway to Tibet.
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Had to throw in my bit of MNR always being a school day. Thought the derivation would be obvious – iron-horse-ologist. Ferrequinophile would do as well, for iron-horse lover or steam-engine enthusiast/train spotter. Are thee any train-spotters left these days (ie, younger generation not old farts who’ve never grown out of it)? Unlikely, I’d think.
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I could see it once I looked at the word, but I’d certainly never heard it before.
Not been in a railway station for a long time, but no, I don;t think you ever see people writing down the number of trains now.
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Pre-Covid, I often saw guys hanging about the old Hauptbahnhof taking photies of the trains.
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Anyone seen any anywhere else?
PS Don Don, there’s an 8 -legged beastie on tomorrow’s page… forewarned is forearmed… 🙂
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Thanks, tris. I’ll put my hands over my eyes before I look at the arachnid.
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He’s very small, DonDon.
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That always cracked me up – a RADIO ventriloquist!!
Was that the easiest job in the world?? How would we know his lips weren’t moving?
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The job I wanted was to have a non-speaking part on a radio drama.
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Perfect job… as log as the pay cheque was good.
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Or that these was even a dummy!!!
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Always thought Marcel Marceau would sound good on radio.
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The golden age of silent radio.🥴
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🙂 🙂
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Eric Morecambe spoofed this one by very exaggeratedly mouthing the words of the dummy on the TV programme.
When Ernie chided him that ventriloquists’ lips were not supposed to move, Eric responded with a disdainful, “How am I supposed to speak if I don’t move my lips?”
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Max Bygraves also took part. Early 60″s at Glasgow Kings, he made the mistake of inviting requests from the audience. Someone in the gods asked for the Educating Archie song. Bygraves cdnt understand the request – understandably from a slurred voice in gods – so the rest of the audience helped out. But it became quite obvious that Max B did not want to be remimded of his days as a straight man to a ventriloquist’s dummy.😉
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I so want one of them coat cut undershirts and a pair of the knee length drawers like on pic 2. I probably couldn’t beat Mrs greig12 off with a stick but hey, c’est la vie.
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No… I can see that.
You’d almost certainly be irresistible in that outfit.
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Pic 9: Oh no, not that theme again.
Loose lips sink ships.
The Germans had their version, too: Feind hört mit!
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The Royal Mile…..Kenneth McKellar:
McKellar seems to have recorded every Scottish song there is.
For the midges let loose by King Robert the Bruce,
Straight into the English got tore,
So they ran off in tears and for 600 years they’ve been blocking the A74!
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LOL Good lyric.
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The midges seem to be particularly murder this year being bad enough to drive us indoors at Glencoe last week. They’re the worst I’ve experienced in my garden in West Fife also, although the relatively insipid but still extremely annoying Fife midge can’t compete with it’s brutal, knuckle dragging highland counterpart. Especially in numbers. Repellant is a waste of money and a head nets fine until you lift it up to take a swig of your beer and the swarm dives in the gap.
I’m off to Skye soon and it’s a terrifying prospect.
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“Knuckle dragging highland” midges ……LOL!
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You should see the knuckles on them, Danny!
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How frightening! 😉
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I was in Kintyre a few weeks ago. One damp humid afternoon I parked my motorhome and in the 2 minutes it takes to hook up to the electric and turn on the gas a million midges had got inside. After 40 minutes of hell, the clouds cleared and they escaped from the sunlight to the darkest corners. But I found them and adopted a mass extermination technique. Then I could sit outside enjoying the sunshine with not a midge in sight.
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I visited Florida some years ago in the late summer. This is the so-called “off season” in the Florida tropics. Florida has some charm in the winter months when you escape the snow and ice and arctic cold of the northern states, but in the summer, the place is swarming with tourists, and every mosquito in the world is there. At least they were that year. There were great swarms of mosquitoes that descended on you whenever you ventured out. Outdoor tourist sites would hand out mosquito repellent to apply to your skin, but as far as I could see, the mosquitoes loved the stuff. Oddly, the one pleasant outdoor place we went that was free of mosquitoes was a cypress swamp wildlife sanctuary. Fearing the worst, we paid our money for a stroll on a wooden walkway a mile or more back into the swamp. Turns out it was a hugely enjoyable Florida experience. For whatever reason, the swamp was free of mosquitoes and we had a great time. Maybe mosquitoes are afraid of alligators and the other swamp creatures.
So are midges mostly a Highland thing? They don’t show up in Dundee, Glasgow, Edinburgh?
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LOL… I’m inclined to agree with the mosquitos there, Danny. I’m not keen on being eaten by an alligator either.
Midges can be anywhere. Around this way they tend to be few in number and mainly in forested parts and/or by water. We occasionally get some in the Grounds of Munguin Towers, but it is quite rare. I think Munguin must have let the Head Midge know that they are not welcome…either that or charged them entry.
I remember being on the Isle of Skye a few years ago and we were actually praying for wind or rain or some sort of bad weather to get rid of them.
One year we were camping in the highlands and I went to a burn (stream) to bathe, get clean after an active day of hiking. I sat on a rock in the middle of the burn and soaped myself down, dried off and went back to the tent to eat.
In the middle of the night I was woken up …every bit of me was itching and great big spots had appeared. What utter misery…for days.
Cigarette smoke puts them off, but I don’t smoke.
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Tris……What terrible experiences! Sounds like midges are nasty little creatures indeed! Good that Munguin has an understanding with the head midge 😉
It really was quite amazing to find that swamp in Florida that had no mosquitoes. It was odd since mosquitoes seem to like areas with water all around. Maybe due to the alligators, although we avoided a gator confrontation. There are also arctic mosquitoes in places like Alaska and Greenland that apparently put the tropical mosquitoes of Florida to shame. The stories of swarms of Alaskan mosquitoes carrying away sled dogs may be exaggerations however. 😉
https://www.athropolis.com/arctic-facts/fact-mosquito.htm
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LOL. Yes, I suspect that’s an exaggeration.
I’m not convinced by mesh head coverings of closely tucked clothing.
I’m convinced they all go on pathfinder courses at midge school!
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Pathfinder courses!…….LOL.
Yea, that stuff about head coverings and tucked clothing is bunk. They tell you to do that when you’re out in the country around here walking through wild bushes and weeds and such. At least you can see the ticks. But chiggers are almost microscopic, and they’re long gone by the time the bites swell up and get red, and then start itching. If you’ve tried to somehow tuck your pants legs inside socks or some such, the tucked places is where the chiggers congregate. 😉
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Exactly… You have them sussed!
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I wonder why they don’t come to Dundee?
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Too much nit shampoo in the atmosphere.
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Ha ha ha ha ha… rude!
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On a trip to Scotland some years ago, I became aware of bottles of Avon cosmetics in village shops. Puzzling, as I’d always through Avon was door-to-door only and notover the counter. I then learned that one of the Avon varieties suposedly has/had excellent qualities as a midge repellent, quite apart from whatever it’s supposed to do. Shops stocked up on it – and marked up as well I suppose. Couldl have been on Skye that I heard that answer so if it’s still to be had, give it a go. The locals insisted that it worked, sceptical as I was.
Fortunately I have some kind genetic deterrent. The Resident Sassenach insists it’s just the alcohol always oozing frommy pores, and when midges and mosquitos get into the defence zone, they just keel over before they can do any damage. Maybe I should contact the Avon chemists and make a few pennies by selling Mac+ to add to their formula.
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You should go into partnership with Avon… and Black Ram…
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I understand that Avon Skin So Soft
is also used / recommended by Royal Marine Commando.
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LOL. No wonder they all have lovely skin!!
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I wouldn’t dream of asking how you aquired that information!
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I wouldn’t dream of telling you!
But ask Prince Edward.
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Is No. 19 Parliamentary Road, Glasgow, just to the East of Killermont Street, with the old open-air bus station on the left?
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Indeed it is, Alex.
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Alex, I’m glad you identified that – it was really irking me. I knew it was Glasgow and the large building seemed so familiar. I should have spotted the George Hotel across the street on the corner. I should have got it as my first job was in Townhead and I often was on Parly Road and around Killermont Street way. I even recall having an occasional drink in Matthew Reid’s pub in Killermont Street. It had a famous collection of walking sticks displayed behind the bar. All Our (my) Yesterdays right enough!
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#5: Benny Hill looks uncharacteristically well groomed and nattily attired.
#2: The answer to the obvious questions: “The brand was founded in 1876 and named after the three founders of the New York City firm: (Joseph W.) Bradley, (Luther C.) Voorhees, and (Lyman H.) Day (thus “B.V.D.”).”
So why aren’t they brothers and why aren’t they named Erlanger?
Well, B.V.D. apparel was originally manufactured by “Erlanger Brothers.” Later, Erlanger Brothers purchased the trademark. Finally, the firm’s name was changed to the “BVD Corporation”.
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I now understand the Tom Lehrer line in his song about watching guided missiles while wearing his lead BVD’s.
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He he… another school day on Munguin’s Republic.
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Cairnallochy ……..The AEC was the “Atomic Energy Commission” and the nuclear bombs were tested in the desert at the AEC test site about 150 miles north of Las Vegas. You could see the flash from an early morning shot in downtown Vegas, and some high altitude mushroom clouds were visible in daylight.
I also like Lehrer’s World War III marching song.
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Thanks, i’d forgotten that though it puzzled me at the time when i heard it.
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Trying to work out in what way that would have improved sales…
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Yes, it’s a mystery! 😉
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4 – Avirmore station?
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Correct. You win a tin of elbow grease to clean up the engine.
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And a first generation LMS/Stanier pacific ? Forget what name was attached to this group of locos.
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No 13 is a BR Class 5 on a fast freight train passing Norton, near Warrington, in December 1966. Thought it was a great ‘mood shot’ that captured the appeal of steam. No 21 is in similar vein, but in Scotland. It shows part of what used to be the industrial railways scene, with two of the NCB’s Barclay 0-4-0 STs shunting spoil trains in an Ayrshire coalfield in March 1972.
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18. Royal Enfield police combinations circa 1930. And some car or other.
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LOL
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I think they’re Sunbeams; that’s what the tank badge on the left looks like to me. I think that the car’s an Armstrong-Siddeley.
Last caur tae Auchenshuggle!
And an ERF Chinese Six.
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Achadh an t-Seagail actually means, the Rye Field.
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Hadn’t worked that out though I know the French for rye is seigle
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I wonder if there is a connection. I didn’t think there was any between Gaelic and French.
Interesting.
John, John, Ed, anyone?
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Didn’t now that one but possibly the most common Gaelic/French connection is eaglais (church) and eglise. There are probably more but that’s the first that springs to mind on a 03:00 notcurnal prowl.
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That’s not bad for 3 am, John. 🙂
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But who could be the VIP with flash car and double escort? Embra registrations so maybe the governon-general of the time.
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Could be royal protection lot in Edinburgh?
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I think you’re right Derek, I just looked at the forks and jumped. I see the brake/clutch levers are plug ins now.
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The car in Pic 19 is an Armstrong Siddeley 15 from the mid 1930s. Note the consecutive registrations on the 3 vehicles.
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For royals maybe?
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Brenda doesn’t have a registration. I once was a guest of a former chauffeur at the palace and he told the story of being stopped by the bobbies in a roller and questioned as to why there was no plate. They took some convincing.
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I wonder why she has no registration.
I mean it can’t be for her security… I marks her out either as the queen or a tax dodger… and of course she is both.
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Appreciate that buses getting appropriate priority by being in ‘no 1’ position this week. 😉
!
No 1 was in fact built by W L Thurgood of Ware (Herts), builders of bespoke coach bodies to various small operators. This looks like an early ‘30s example, probably (based on the radiator badge) built on an early Austin / Bedford lightweight chassis.. Their main claim to fame was the patenting of a folding all-weather coach roof designed for quick and easy operation.
!
Some might think that 12 and 22 are in fact the same image, but an eagle-eyed anorak spots that it is in fact a cunning spot-the-difference competition. Can I claim my prize? (😁)
!
No 16 is an ERF truck operated by Thomas Smith Junior of Newhaven, Edinburgh. ERF were a breakaway from Foden (the ‘F’ stands for Richard Foden), also based in Sandbach, Cheshire. This example, a 6-wheeled flatbed, features the revolutionary KV (Kleer-Vue) cab, considered the epitome of late ‘50s cab design..
!
No. 19 is an Albion Lowlander pictured in Parliamentary Road, Glasgow in 1978. It appears to be in Midland livery, but that destination display is non-standard SBG…
The Lowlander is not the prettiest of buses, it’s low-bridge design making it look very squashed and out-of-scale. It was designed specifically for Scottish Bus group (SBG) who were traditionally big Leyland customers but was/were against the concept of the of rear-engined bus, which they’d never used and was the main option in the new Atlantean.
So they asked Leyland to build a low-height double-decker with central gangways, front engine & an entrance just aft of the front wheel arch. Faced with the prospect of losing the SBG business Leyland commissioned Albion to develop the Lowlander model made largely from production Leyland parts (apart from the frame design and drop-centre rear axle) and assembled at Albion, Scotstoun.
The ugly Lowlander was the result. It never appeared much outside of Scotland and the SBG.
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Munguin says that you can have a prize for noticing the similarities between 12 and 22.
The prize is Tris’s wages for the day.
So you have change of a ten pence piece?
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What is this thing called a ‘ten pence piece’?
Like Royals (😜) I never carry cash…..
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Hmmm… A florin to you!
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No One is a Bedford.
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https://www.voices.scot/
You might find this a useful source of who is writing what about what…
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Surprised Craig Murray is missing. He’s one of the most eloquent and well informed voices of Scotland (MNR apart, of course).
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LOL…
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Craig appears when he has a new post.
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Hancock has gone.
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Gone to GITMO, I hope.
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Knowing his sort he will be off to sell himself to the highest bidder. Some of these people he gave contracts to, maybe. Perhaps he’ll get a job pulling pints in his mates pub. Apparently you can’t get bar staff for love nor money because the foreigners have all gone home…which is kinda what tends to happen when you make them soooooo unwelcome.
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Love some of the comments…
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Anyway, it’s nearly 1 am…. Bonne nuit à toutes et à tous. A demain!
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MNR first with the news as well! Checked the Italy-Austria result and moved on to other sporting updates without looking at news headlines. See what’s new on AOY since last look yesterday evening… and wow! Goodbye and good riddance. See the news angle is that he quit because of breaking social distancing regs, with the colleague clinch and snogging played down.
At first, I thought he’d been caught simply giving a friendly peck – but still too close for the rules – but the pic suggests a lot more than that. He must have been wearing the BDV drawers that Greig mentioned earlier as potential
passion pullers. Gina definitely getting into knee-trembler mode. Why are reporters not besieging Mrs H for comment, and Mr C?
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A friendly kiss that involved his hands all over her backside.
Apparently, when he knew the story was about to break, he told his wife he was leaving her. That’s their business of course, but Jeeeez, he’s even more disgusting that I thought he was.
I understand that his girlfriend has been asked to leave her paid employment with the DofH, which is only fair. It takes two to do what they were doing.
The thing that I found incredible was that after doing a tv interview where he expressed anger and disbelief that Professor Ferguson visited his girlfriend during lockdown, and going on to say it wasn’t up to him to say that he should face prosecution… he didn’t resign immediately when caught doing the same thing.
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Quite convenient that there was a security camera in his office, the footage leaked, then he resigns. It saves Boris from sacking him.
Gaelic and Bretton for posssible cross over, although in the case of Auchenshuggle I think the link ,maybe from the Latin, rye’s latin name is Secale Cereale (and etc.) One of those feel good crops to grow, or its wheat/rye cross triticale, as soon as it breards it is hell bent on gettting at least 5ft high, outpacing any weeds.
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Surely Hancock knew there was a security camera there?
Who leaked it? A friend of Dom?
Boris wasn’t going to sack him. He accepted his apology and then probably waited to see how angry his own supporters would be… then decided to suggest to Hancock that he go quietly, when he discovered that it was VERY.
Never thought about Bretton, Alan, thanks.
Sounds like a tough wee cookie does Rye.
Pretty too:
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The flat line and fall of Matt Hancock, I fear we haven’t heard the last of this, has the ring of a serialisation about it.
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Y A W N…
What could be less interesting than Matt Hancock’s love life?
Tonight there seems to be a revelation that he was using his personal emails for work, a bit like they reckon Mrs Clinton did.
It’s against the law here…
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Maybe he did know about the camera and fed up with politics this was to launch a new career move. Porn maybe? (sorry, that has planted thoughts best left buried.) He’s now waiting on the flood of film offers for the romantic leading male. And waiting.
I have heard about the Emails. I very much doubt anything will happen when you consider that nothing happened, when the Queen was lied to (I think she was complicit), illegal prorogation of parliment, minister has unofficial meeetings and no minutes taken with high ranking military and top level politicians of a foreign country, promising money from the foreign aid budget (4 billion) to Israeli military, billions of pounds in contracts handed out to cronies/party supporters etc., getting nothing in return accept a flow of donations and gifts to Con. party and Con. MPs.
All that and yet the latest Panelbase Poll for Scotland has placed the Cons up 2 points and 2 seats!
It would make you weep.
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It would indeed make you weep.
I despair.
And, really, there is no escape from this place unless you are really rich and can afford to buy expensive citizenship… or an island somewhere.
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