Train Sets BBC4

I don't watch much TV,,, as compared with others,,, but I am glad I was informed by the management that there was a programme I might like to watch on Train Sets last night on BBC4,, as the gorilla in the shed and his teste's still haven't thawed out I thought I would keep warm and be "enlightened".

To be quite honest I was expecting the usual condescending tone's endorsing the average Jo's perception of railway modelling & in particular modellers, you know the sort of thing,,, never grew up, anorak's, school blazer's,, caps and short trousers,,, and I qualify on each account.

I WAS PLEASANTLY SUPRISED, most people interviewed & commenting on the hobby were either professor's,  informed journalists or Pete Waterman,,, and not forgetting our old friend's Iain Rice &
Bob Schultz-Symes, [apologies for spelling Robert but it would have been a lot easier if you had been called, Wolshea, Walshart, Walchear, Smythe].

In short it was a history of railway modelling from the early 1900's to date, sure I knew of Bassett Lowke but I never realised he was such a towering influence on the hobby,,, thank the lord he was,,,more than that he just about started the whole thing,,, Frank Hornby provided me with my first blistered fingers from winding up a very crude 0 gauge clockwork mechanism, and I never knew Iain got started by making steam engines out of old toilet roll core's at the age of three,,, shep, Valerie and a baby elephant urinating all over Johnny Morris's pit boots spring to mind,,, I never knew he was on Blue Peter,,, but should it surprise us,,, NO not really.

It was a fascinating insight into the best hobby in the world and hopefully BBC will put it on a video and sell it through the NRM.

For me the highlight was a comment made right at the end by some guy who is obviously a railway nut but seemed to suggest he didn't have either the time or patience to turn his passion into models,,, his view was something along the lines of  "thank the lord for railway modellers,,, it won't be long before all the people who worked on steam have shunted off to Valhalla Railways and without their efforts being regularly put on show at exhibitions the future generations will have no idea of what a steam railway even looked like".

Thank you sir whoever you were,,, another lady from Manchester University also commented that young boys in the early 50's trainspotted in daylight and modelled in the evenings, and every dad  [except the one above] used in Frank Hornby's advertising smoked a pipe,,, and guess what,, so did mine!!!

I will also view Thomas the Tank engine in a completely different light in future,,, and Lord I wish this snow would disappear as I now know what cold turkey is like,,,, I haven't been up't shed for over a week!!!

Don't know what I said but the stats on last weeks offering rocketed to 56 in 48 hours!!!!! and most of them emanated from the good old USofA perhaps that's where my pal has cleared off to with his NuCast kit,,, whoever you were your support is much appreciated,,, and I shall wear it at all times.
Thank'yall, enjoy the rest of your day, missing ye'ralready and,,,,, where did you get "gotten" from????