Hi everyone. We seem to be cutting down to one post a month these days, don't we. I guess it's the lethargy of winter, plus the continuing threat of Coronavirus hanging over everything.

Its not stopping the Cardi-Bach Society from having a small get-together next week though. 

Just a pub meal at the Bont in Llanglydwen to mark the passing of the year. Hopefully fourteen of us will be there, duly masked-up and tested!

Thinking of Christmas takes me back to my days in far flung countries working in the oil and gas industry. One Christmas in particular, 1977, I was working in Borneo, or East Kalimantan, to be pedantic. On the edge of the tropical forest, 120 miles from the nearest town - but this was the Christmas Day menu:

The roast turkey was cold, because we had had it hot for the lunchtime meal...

Mince pies were highlighted as sweet, to educate the Americans we were working with. They initially thought mince meat was ground beef (what can one say...)

It was tough in the jungle.

Seven years later Christmas 1984 found me in Saudi Arabia, and this time we had to cater for ourselves. Two men to an apartment - and as Derrick and I both liked cooking, we invited the others to join us.

(That's me at the back with the beard)

Happy days! Thank the lord for air-conditioning - the outside temperature was hovering around the low forties (centigrade, not Fahrenheit ) (and the beer was non-alcoholic...)

 

Enough of the reminiscing, back to the here and now, and the world of Chufferduffering.

Colin has been beavering away at his fairground attractions and the Steam Yachts are gradually taking shape

 

 

  

The steam engine that powers the yachts can be seen in it's ultimate position, with the canvas canopy covering it. Above the engine in the second picture you can see the box where the lady or gentleman who was in control was seated.

Next we have the steps and platform that will be going either side of the yachts for the public to gain access.

Patrick hasn't rested on his laurels, either. The wagons that you saw in previous posts have now been suitable weathered and lettered. The last pictured van was lettered by hand - quite an achievement.

 

Not only that, Pat ferreted through his cornucopia of various railway modelling stock, and managed to put together this 3mm layout (which will no doubt please a certain hillside dwelling Chuffer...)

 

 

 

and it works!

We finished Tuesday night at Pats with Chicken drumsticks and savoury rice, washed down with a suitable tincture of Chilean Merlot. A great evening all round.

Just as we were leaving I glanced at Pat's model of the Heritage Railway and Classic car meeting, and couldn't help but notice this little cameo...

Cheerio!

Shaun.