Quote from: Newportnobby on November 24, 2025, 01:19:19 PMAs I said 'ignorance is bliss'
I admire and respect your knowledge but am just happy to have one to run with my blue/grey rake

Agreed. The thing is I can remember the Gresley buffet in blue & grey on the Western region. It was quite distinctive and left an impression that I would like to include in my layout. I can remember the sides and the bogies but I can't remember anything about the roof other than it had one. I won't be spending ages checking the model against photos of the real thing. So long as it fits in with my memory I shall be happy.

A few years ago a power of attorney was drawn up by my parents solicitors for me to step in if required at a future date. That date has now unfortunately arrived.

My parents have never had a mobile and have no internet so I started popping round and doing their shopping online with my dad using his payment card. Week one it got declined but gave up trying to get through to Barclays customers services. Popped out as they needed cash for their hairdresser and cashpoint worked fine so who knows.
 
Week 2 his card declined again so another call to customer services. My god it's awful, so many options, my dad was very confused but I managed to guide him through until it asked for his mothers maiden name which uses voice recognition. My dads voice is very slurred now so it wouldn't recognise him. Eventually it gave up and put us in a queue for 25 minutes.

Success a human being! There's nothing wrong with the card, it must be a Waitrose problem. Thanks for nothing. A quick call to Waitrose customer services; straight through to a helpful human. The card is failing the security check. An answer at last and one I'm sure Barclays could have told me. Because of the lack of mobile or internet Barclays have no way of sending you a code to confirm the payment so it is automatically declined. Great.

Time for the POA so an appointment made with Barclays as I have a paper copy of the POA. A wasted appointment as I should have known they only do it online and I need a "V" code for them to act. Can we just sort my ID then (my passport has expired and I still have a perfectly legal paper driving license)? No we need to do the POA first.

I now have the "V" code so another appointment made. This time rather than a long trek into Eastbourne which is a real pain their website offered me the hub in Hailsham which they man on a Monday. Sorry, we need to take photos of your ID and we don't have the ability to do that at a hub. You knew why I was coming in! I now have to make the trek to Eastbourne again next week but no idea what ID I will bring as apparently utility bills are no good as they can be forged. Will the letter from the Office of the Public Guardian do as the government seem happy who I am and where I live? Bring it in and we'll see.

You never know, one day I may be able to register the POA with them but I'm not holding my breath!

Quote from: Newportnobby on November 24, 2025, 01:19:19 PMAs I said 'ignorance is bliss'
I admire and respect your knowledge but am just happy to have one to run with my blue/grey rake

That knowledge is limited to what I'm interested in!

I used to work to the consultant's rule book. Expert on Day 2. So long as you are a couple of pages ahead of your client, all is well 

Bob

He was a reggae stalwart, and I liked his early stuff that appeared on Island samplers but am not a huge fan of the genre. A sad loss to those who do like it

Interesting news, wonder if they welcome retired staff?

There used to be a model rail club for LU staff in the past, I know it had a permanent layout at Sloane Square station at one time and possibly Holborn in a disused part of the station.

Dave

As I said 'ignorance is bliss'
I admire and respect your knowledge but am just happy to have one to run with my blue/grey rake

That's a great initiative by TfL and it's important in several ways -
1. It combats loneliness
2. It encourages people to develop a hobby
3. It shows employees that the management have an interest in their wellbeing
4. It takes away some of the workplace stigma of liking trains (being ex-BR the culture of 'no spotters' was always prevalent - even though it was sometimes driven by people who had been enthusiasts themselves)

This forum is great for encouraging communication and camaraderie, to see employers embracing the hobby in order to improve the wellbeing of their staff, which in turn helps productivity, is a very positive step.

Quote from: Newportnobby on November 24, 2025, 12:40:28 PMExactly, Roy. If it offends so much just don't buy it

Sorry if my sarcasm offends.
I've been spending too long on RM Web.

Bob G (who made a more detailed roof on his own rebuilt Gresley buffet in 2011, when he was a proper modeller!)

Exactly, Roy. If it offends so much just don't buy it

Quote from: Newportnobby on November 24, 2025, 11:14:02 AMJeez, All I can say is 'ignorance is bliss'
Face? Bovvered? 

The roof looks very different on the refurbished buffets, and obviously in an ideal world it would be nice for a correct one to be tooled. However this very welcome project was always going to be a relatively marginal one from a viability perspective so I totally get why they haven't felt able to do so. For those who are unhappy it is a chance to break out the plastikard, scalpel and files and do some modelling, personally I am unlikely to bother!

Roy