It's All About The Money! (mini blog)

 Cheaper By Train?

(click on the map to enlarge)

The fbb's trip to the Isle of Wight all the way by public transport, and nearly all the way back, started in Seaton (above bottom left) by bus to Axminster. The First's South Western Railway took them to Salisbury (above top right).

A change to First's Great Western took them to Southampton and a bus to Town Quay for the ferry.

The Red Jet sped to Cowes whence Southern Vectis conveyed the weary souls to Newport.

All outward connections worked, but the return was less straightforward but complete without undue hassle anyway!

The OAP discounted fare was ...

... £54.60 each, a total of £109.20 for the two of them. The journeys between Seaton and Axminster, West Cowes and Newport  would normally cost extra but the fbbs  have OAP free travel.

And By Car?

According to the motoring organisations, it costs the fbbs 35p a mile in running costs, repairs, tax, insurance and depreciation.

That puts a figure of £70 as the motoring cost for a return drive from Seaton to Newport Isle of Wight.

Then there is the return fare on the Red Funnel car ferry. That varies according to season, say of week, time of day and whether the Captain has put on non-matching socks.

A long weekend return trip might be between £70 and £90. So we split the difference.

£70 plus £80 equals £150.

So a saving of £40 by using public transport. Non OAPs would find the price about equal.

When you add in compulsory waiting time at the terminal, the slow car ferry crossing time and an allowance for traffic hold-ups, the total journey time is similar.

It's Still About The Money

fbb is considering buying a JPA bogie cement wagon for his OO collection, but has reacted adversely to an advertised price of £85. A full train of them would ve a spectacular sight on a model railway if your layout was big enough.

A search on-line reveals a range of prices ...

 ... but fbb is not a member!

Even Rails is still expensive!

But the best appears to be £48.

Hold on - this one is even cheaper!

£32.99. But don't hold on! That's for an N gauge model; not collected by fbb. You can actually pay as much for the diminutive N gauge JPA cement wagon as the reduced price for the OO version.

Model railway prices are a minefield!

So £48 is the best offer!

To Buy Or Not To Buy. - Hamlet (again!)

It's all about the money.

"Perhaps a little Festive gift to self," thinks fbb.

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"NOT the Advent Calendar", but ...

     The      

  CHRIST -mas 

  Criss-muss  

   Confusion  

 Critique  10 

Not The Most Popular Bit Of The Bible

Don't feel you have to read it all!

6 Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;

7 And Solomon begat Rehoboam; and Rehoboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa;

8 And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias;

9 And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias;

10 And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;

11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:

12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;

13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;

14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;

15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;

16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

This is from Matthew Chapter 1, King James Version!

The Gospel writer Matthew, a Jew, sought to confirm that Jesus was, indeed, born in David's town of David's line. In fact, Matt traces the lineage all the way from Adam. This could not possibly be accurate in every detail - there would be gaps.

So was either a very good but partial guess or, as many Christians would aver, divinely inspired.

Joseph went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to the town of Bethlehem in Judea, the birthplace of King David. Joseph went there because he was a descendant of David. 

He went to register with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him. She was pregnant, and while they were in Bethlehem, the time came for her to have her baby. 

There is something very wrong here. "She was pregnant." "She was promised in marriage."

An unmarried teenager is at the centre of the first CHRISTmas? Really?

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 Next TC4 Underground blog : Weds 11th December