A Tidy Office..

 ...is the sign of a broken computer.

At least that is what the sign Issy bought me many years ago says.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't the computer that broke. The pole supporting the telephone and power lines to the house had to be replaced yesterday.   The guys who did it were incredibly quick and also very helpful, ensuring we could still get the car in and out. 

Whilst we had no power, I made a start on reorganising my office studio again. For once, the dogs were a great help—they were locked in the kitchen to avoid me tripping over them.

As well as tidying a few things up, I've changed which side I sit at my main modelling desk, and moved my tool storage units onto it. Part of the reason is so my modelling isn't visible when I'm on video calls, but I also like having tools close to hand. It should also reduce how often I trip over the dogs, and give me room to display the latest idea for the East Coast-based 4mm micro.

I'm thinking of a track plan based on the late John Spencer's Ruyton Road, though it is one used by many other micros.  The video is of its original form, but it has been fully restored recently and still makes exhibition appearances. A bit of me still hankers after my ideas for a Kings Lynn/ Great Yarmouth setting, which explains the tugboat in the background. White Swan Yard might make a more suitable scenic break than an overbridge.

Anyway, here is the current state of play in the workshop, complete with a couple of old dogs.

One thing I'm not sure about is the lighting, but we will see.

On the bookshelf you can see the current home of both Flemish Quay and Cadeby.  I have a vague plan to revive both of them in sync with the new layouts. In the case of Cadeby, it might be an accountant's rebuild, on a bigger baseboard to make best use of where it currently sits. That would also make it more suitable for the slightly bigger locos I've acquired in recent years. 

This chassis was going to end up under "Pamela" but I've grown rather fond of it.

Also on the bookcase are my two 16mm Fowlers. 

I really want to get Peldon working again, with a LocoRemote . I suppose, if I thought about, it a LocoRemote would also be useful on the Essel one

Finally, on the model front, I've been trying to improve both the sea and the tree on one of my Kato modules.

Neither is finished nor close to what I want to achieve, but both are major improvements and taught me a lot. Something else they have in common is the use of Deluxe Materials Scenic Fibres. whilst intended for modelling water, I found them useful when I was experimenting with building a weeping willow for Flemish Quay. In 2mm I'm finding it useful for foliage in general. The sea needs a little more work before I share a photo. The lesson I'm learning with that is to model what I see, not what convention suggests.

Perhaps I could save myself a lot of effort by modelling a scene like this, on one of our regular dog walks. 

The truth, after all this, is that what is driving my activity isn't the broken computer. It is feeling miserable as hell with late-paying freelance clients, frustrating systems for freeing funds from my investments, and  being constantly turned down for full-time gigs whilst being in demand as an "Industry Expert"