I've no more ****s to give

Having held fire so our second prospective buyer could get a new mortgage after the redundancy, and having been assured they had the mortgage, they have pulled out because they can't afford it.

Words fail me. The implications for Issy and our extended family are considerable with old and sick parents at one end of the spectrum and new grandchildren.

Now we need to unpack, but our hearts aren't in it. Any motivation for modelling has flown out the window. I did spend Sunday continuing the process of uncovering the ELR, but I can't say I even see a point in that.

First, Find the Railway!

 

The delayed house move, still not sorted, has given the ELR an unexpected reprieve. Unfortunately, the early mowing of the goat-droppping enhanced grass this year led to considerable damage to the hidden track. It is still several years since any trains ran, given Teddy was away for rebuild and Tug had electrical problems.

A request for a demo run of Teddy for someone with a Scamp under build has forced me to try and get something running for later this week, and also, the need to start demolishing it.

Having tried to ignore the issue, during No Mow May, this is typical of what I had to contend with at the weekend.

I would love to report line clear, but after many hours with bushcutter and mower I really can't.


And update, the house sale has just fallen through yet again...

Tug's Travels

As part of the planned house move, Tug went to stay with Steve Purves of There & Back Light Railways. I  free up some space and get Tug working again, and he gets spare motive power. Otherwise, I doubt if Tug would see any use for a long time. 

An added bonus is following Steve's FB posts is like getting postcards from Tug

The driver looks oddly familiar...

All photos by Steve Purves

I can honestly say that in all the years I've known Leamington Spa I never expected to see my loco running down The Parade!  It is just a pity I can't see it for myself, or with my grandson. So Steve's photos will have to suffice.

Oh No, Not Again.

 This time our buyer has just been made redundant.

At times like this modelling could be a great way of dealing with the stress. But of course all my projects are now packed up.

Meanwhile, the twins are due to be born in the next couple of weeks, and Issy is still having a difficult recovery from the hip replacement.

Other than that, everything is just Dandy...

Guinness is Good For You

I don't know if I'll get to Ireland for pleasure this year. There is a good chance I'll be there for work with an old client. Perhaps I'll even get around to sorting out my Irish passport. Being an EU citizen does have advantages.

I was both surprised and pleased by the news that Regner are producing a Guinness loco. 

The video I've seen suggests it is capable of extremely slow running. So slow that its use indoors on a short layout could be possible. It wouldn't be an overtly Guiness-based layout, but something very industrial. perhaps featuring limekilns and a canal.

Talking of space

 This could well be my new modelling space. It is going to be fun fitting everything in...

Watch This Space

What a stressful couple of weeks.

Our cottage is once again SOLD STC. Not that I'm getting excited after the last time.

Which led to an emergency househunting trip back up in Shropshire.

On those annoying, endlessly repeated, TV property search shows they always seem to include a wildcard property that isn't what the "clients" have specified.  You can't help thinking a local estate agent pays for the promotion of a property that isn't an easy sell.

We went to see our wildcard.

Literally, until we parked outside, we were asking ourselves why we were bothering.

It is in a town, on the main road through it. Admittedly it is a very small town. It has a lot of rooms. More than the house we originally downsized from eight years ago. And the garden is just downright odd.



We haven't made a decision yet.  I suppose one thing it has highlighted is how our lives have changed over the last eight years. Back then Issy had empty nest syndrome, especially since I was always working abroad.  Since then the family has grown and continues to grow to the point where we can't find beds for everybody at family events. At some point, we might also need to care for the previous generation. We both now work from home most of the time, and in jobs where confidentiality is important. So we need two rooms we can both lock behind us.

As for modelling...

The ELR would still be restricted to a very short demo line with no practical purpose and only occasional operating days. I might be able to use my 5" portable track to build a circuit for the grandchildren.

Talking of grandchildren, I can certainly fit in a basic 16mm track in a raised bed, and if it has child-sized infrastructure it might pass as an 18" gauge 7/8ths line.

But Peter Jones and my James Hilton locos might have to stay as showcase locos unless they have a home on an indoor layout...

...So there is a large converted attic. A lot of restricted headroom, but even then it is pretty much as big as my current combined office/studio/workshop and I would have a separate office.

The house is somewhere in this photo. And yes, it did once back on to the goods yard

Bearing in mind all the ifs and buts my gut feel is I would have to re-evaluate what would make most sense. 7mm would definitely be back on the cards, even a 7mm version of TAoC. 

Update: Offer made and accepted. Next stop Wem...