I’m new!
Bluebell Railway has built a whole new steam train from scratch. It took volunteers 25 years to do it. The original train called the Beachy Head was broken up for scrap in the Sixties. They were able to find the original plans to work from and raised it from the dead. Or cloned it anyway.
Here’s some raw data about it. There’s an amazing story here that I can’t find online. Many of the things you need to build just don’t exist in modern Britain. Where did they go to cast the gigantic wheels? How many parts that were once mass produced had to be machined by hand?
Unfortunately, the kind of guys who build a steam locomotive from scratch are not the kind of guys who write blogs. I don’t think. I haven’t found one.
When we were in London, it was fairly easy to get to the Bluebell Railway. Of course it was. The country’s entire transportation system is historically built around getting things to and from London.
Incidentally – I’m sure I’ve mentioned this – it’s always “up” to London and “down” to wherever else. Very confusing to a furriner.
Moving between any two other points can be much harder. So when friends from London suggest meeting up in Brighton – because it’s just up the coast from you, innit? – they have no idea…
September 4, 2024 — 7:38 pm
Comments: 4
A man and his eagle
More from Sunday. We used to see this hawking group at most of the local shows, but they’ve been absent the last few years. Not sure why.
Used to be, for a pound you could have your picture taken with some big ol’ bird or other. I replaced my Facebook profile picture with one every year.
Dunno why he’s pointing to birdie’s head. Maybe because he’s a bald eagle that is too young to be bald yet. Anyway, he wasn’t putting on a show, he was wandering around carrying a bird.
As requested, here is the lace-making lady in color. I think that bright bobbly object at the bottom is her pincushion. She made the pattern by pinning threads to a board, but I don’t know what held them together.
September 3, 2024 — 6:05 pm
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fancy
In honor of Labor Day, a woman labors to make lace. I believe this is what you call bobbin lace, because of all those bobbins of thread she’s keeping track of. You can make white lace with multiple bobbins, but in this case the colors subtly shift as they move out from the center. Amazing work.
She had a variety of interesting samples on offer, but I didn’t buy anything as I’m not really a lace sort of woman.
This was at a ploughing match over the weekend. There are a few more events in the area in September, but this is probably the last we’ll go to this year. Sad.
I am not ready for the cold yet.
September 2, 2024 — 6:55 pm
Comments: 5