Bits and pieces, news, views, reviews and stuff
The BBC have released a trailer for their “proper” version of The War of the Worlds.
This is the original alien invasion story. Staring Eleanor Tomlinson, Rafe Spall and Robert Caryle, this tense and thrilling drama follows a young couple’s race for survival against escalating terror of an alien enemy beyond their comprehension.
I’ve always liked the look of the Bonapart’s Cafe at Bristol Temple Meads.
As I said at the time it reminded me of the magical Diagon Alley from the Harry Potter series of films.
I started to realise that this week that when I fly I usually post a photograph to instagram of the plane I flew on. But not any old photo, usually I have taken it from a process using the Snapseed app.
This was the photo I took this week in Edinburgh.
Looking from my archives I found these other photographs on my Instagram feed. Continue reading “Airport photographs”
I spent five days at Butlins in Minehead in 2016 I was curious then about the history of some of the rides and attractions. One of them was the electric railway in the kiddies fairground. Over the years my children had ridden on the ride, when they were younger even I was “forced” to ride it. It looked like it had been there a while and was consistently revamped as and when required. It had been a Noddy toytown train at one point and then part of Bob the Builder land. In 2016 it was just part of the fairground.
I knew that at one point there had been two full size steam engines at the resort, as Billy Butlin purchased redundant steam engines as a on static display at the camps to provide a novel and relatively cheap attraction.
Butlins in Minehead had the LMS Duchess of Hamilton arrived in 1964 and left in 1975. It is now on display at the National Railway Museum in York where the streamlining has been added back.
cooldudeandy01 [CC BY 2.0]
As well as the big steam engines, Butlins also had a Peter Pan Railway ride Peter Pan Railways were once a common sight at seaside resorts, travelling fairs, holiday camps and amusement parks around the UK. It was this ride that I was curious about. I was quite surprised to find that the electric train ride was over sixty years old.
They first appeared in the 1950s and were built by the Warwickshire company of Supercar Company Ltd and utilised regular railway technology with 2ft gauge track, 12lb rails and normal flanged wheels. The center rail was energised at 110 volts DC. The trains had a fixed back axle (chain driven) and a short-wheelbase bogie in front and could negotiate some pretty sharp and exciting curves. In later years some of the trains were fitted with new fibreglass bodywork of various different styles.
Though using a much smaller track (and some minor cosmetic changes) they are still running at Minhead Butlins in 2016 and is still there today.
It’s nice to see that though some things change, some things stay the same.
I really like this video clip from the BBC Archive on a 1963 view of what 1988 would look like.
#OnThisDay 1963: Time on Our Hands looked back on the events that had shaped idyllic 1988, like the Russian moon landing, the rise of the mega cities of Milford Haven and Holyhead, the great tea shortage and the coming of the machines. pic.twitter.com/fRWyxVWLWC
— BBC Archive (@BBCArchive) September 14, 2019
It really demonstrates how difficult it is to predict the future. Some stuff you get right, most things you get wrong, and timeframes are really hard to judge.
Finally got round to watching this.
I remember watching that first film in 1977… looking forward to seeing how the story ends.
Close to my house, on an old piece of land, a new petrol station, 24hour supermarket (and not quite yet) Starbucks has been built. No I am not blogging that there’s going to be a new coffee shop…
During clearance work, two Type 22 Pillbox bunkers were uncovered.
I know the area quite well, and have seen a few pillboxes in the area, but having passed this way many times I wasn’t aware that they were even there.
Looking at this old Google Street View image you can see why, this is how it looked before the construction started.
Here is how it looks now. Part of the planning permission was that these should be retained and protected.
So what we have is a World War Two pillbox defending a Shell petrol station!
The pillboxes were constructed to protect the airfield, RAF Weston-super-Mare, which was a Royal Air Force station on a civilian airfield in Weston-super-Mare. The civilian airfield was taken over by the RAF on the 1st May 1940 and would remain there until 1993.
After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe. “The Mandalorian” is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic.
I do quite like the look of this series, then again I enjoyed Rogue One.
The question I have is, how can I watch this in the UK? I know it will be on Disney+ streaming service in the US, will it be the same for the UK?
So you want a door?
What do you mean it needed to be at ground level… No problem, just use a ladder…
Seen at Mont St Michel in Normandy in France.
Update: Buy the LEGO Ideas Central Perk set from Amazon.
After the teaser yesterday, we have the details of the new set from Lego Ideas.
So as well as all the Friends, Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Monica, Joey, Phoebe, you also get Central Perk’s very own Gunther.
Could you BE anymore excited? Well if you are a fan of Lego and Friends then this set must be a must buy.
Celebrate the 25th anniversary of Friends, the legendary American TV sitcom, with this highly collectible LEGO® Ideas 21319 CENTRAL PERK set! This wonderful LEGO recreation of the café TV studio set is packed with authentic details, making it a must-have Friends memorabilia item for fans. The iconic seating area with a couch, armchair and 2 chairs for the friends is removable for easy play. And check out the stage where Phoebe performed her songs on guitar (and where Ross once played his keyboard and everyone except Phoebe thought he was terrible). The 7 new-for-September-2019 LEGO toy minifigures of Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Monica, Joey, Phoebe and CENTRAL PERK’s long-suffering manager Gunther each come with accessories to role-play famously hilarious scenes. An ideal Friends-themed gift for your own friends and family who love the TV show, this hot toy is great for play and will grab attention when displayed in any room.
The minifigures each have their own items inspired by the TV series, including Ross’s brick-built keyboard and the following accessory elements: Rachel’s tray and coffee cup, Monica’s muffin, Joey’s pizza box, pizza slice and ‘man bag’, Chandler’s laptop, Phoebe’s guitar and Gunther’s broom.
So will you be buying it?