Not long to wait now, 1st September sees the return of Doctor Who.
Asylum of the Daleks – Doctor Who, Complete Series 7
Nothe Fort, Weymouth Panorama
So, Mr Google Maps, what have you done with Plymouth?
So there I was using Google Maps for some driving directions when I noticed that Plymouth was missing…
Well not quite Plymouth itself, but the label was! Zoom in and out and it came back.
Steaming down the mainline
The main railway line to Plymouth and Penzance from Bristol passes relatively close to my house and as a result we often venture down to the line when interesting trains pass by. I think living by the trainline has cultured my boys’ interest in trains and as a result I often find myself dragged to Bristol Temple Meads for a “train ride” or to the STEAM Museum in Swindon.
Over the last few weeks the mainline has been awash with steam engines thundering down the railway track. It’s quite amazing and nostagic to see these beautiful pieces of engineering move along the railway track at speed. If you have ever been to a heritage railway the trains move relatively slowly (about 30mph) whereas the steam trains I have seen on the mainline are going significantly faster at about 70mph. They certainly make a difference to the regular HST and Voyager trains we usually see on that line.
At the end of July, there were trains on the Saturday and the Sunday, and this week there were two steam trains within 15 minutes on the Sunday.
The first train had two engines, the 71000 Duke of Gloucester and 60163 Tornado.
The Duke was built in 1954 and withdrawn just eight years later in 1962. Just over ten years later and with most of her important parts “missing” she was saved from scrapping and restored to become a regular on the mainline steaming tours. The second engine probably couldn’t be more different, similar in size, Tornado though is just a youngster completed in 2008. A completely new engine though built to a 1940s design (with many modern improvements). They were moving at some speed with steam and smoke billowing from their funnels and pistons.
On the Sunday, it was the turn of 70013 Oliver Cromwell to steam down the line.
This engine was completed in 1951 and retired in 1968.
There is something about these historical engineering marvels and watching them steam down the railway track. I am sure back in the 1950s and before when there was lots of them, they weren’t exactly seen in the same light. I am glad that not only are they still around, but that they still have the fires lit underneath their boilers and allowed to steam at speed through the countryside.
Cycle Polo
From the 1908 Olympics. One sport that deserves to be brought back into the current games.
Lego Stadium – timelapse
Building the Olympic stadium in Lego
Build your own WALL-E
Why not spend 3000 odd hours and two years and build your own WALL-E.
Update
Original video now deleted.
Here is another video of building a WALL-E.
Man too stupid to use hat
Helicopter Museum Panorama
One of the local attractions in Weston-super-Mare is the helicopter museum. One of the nice things about the museum is you pay once, and then you can revisit as often as you like for the next twelve months.
My only criticism is that there is very little interactive stuff to do and you can’t climb into or on the helicopters unless it is an “open cockpit” Sunday. On the open cockpit days you are allowed to sit in some of the helicopters and get an insight from the volunteers that are around – this is I guess why it doesn’t happen for the rest of the week as it is dependent on the goodwill of volunteers.
However if you like looking at helicopters and have an interest in the history of the evolution of the helicopter then I can recommend a visit.
The panorama was created using Dermandar Panorama on my iPhone. I reviewed the app on e-Learning Stuff and I thought the stitching was quite seamless and a lot better than other panorama apps I have used.
“the cafe on tv at weston super mare is it real”
Noticed in the blog stats one of the search terms used that resulted in someone finding my blog was
the cafe on tv at weston super mare is it real
I suspect my recent blog post on the filming of The Café was the reason Google directed them to my blog.
There is no real Cyril’s, it’s a fabrication, just a set, but they do film in Weston-super-Mare.
The café building itself is just a set, it’s not a real café dressed at Cyril’s but a set built for filming and when done, it’s broken down and taken away until the next season (if one is commissioned) is filmed.