Sunday Variety

 The Blue Islands Blues

Although for all practical purposes the Blue Islands web site is closed, one or two hints of the company's  operating style remain.

Sample destinations still appear...

... as do sample fares.

It is not long ago that small regional airlines were being lauded as the future of air travel.

Have the environmentalists succeeded in scaring us away for polluting carbon dioxide creating planes?

Or are we spending less on leisure?

Pique At Pecorama?

News breaks that the Beer attraction will not open next year.

This is both sad and bad news. It is sad for those who enjoy Pecorama as customers and bad for the locals, many of whom had regular "Summer" employment at Beer.

The biggest loss will be the Beer Heights miniature railway ...

... with gorgeous views over the bay.

The gardens have always been immaculate ...

... if occasionally a bit weird.

The indoor play area closed some time ago and much of its equipment is relocated to Seaton Tramway's Jurassic Discovery exhibition.

Will the model railway exhibition also close?

And what about the shop?

Maybe fbb's  expenditure of between £10 and £15 every couple of months was insufficient to sustain the business. But without Pecorama's visitors it surely cannot survive.

fbb does wonder whether this shock closure in Peco's 80th year is symptomatic of a deeper malaise at the company.

We all hope not.

Is it time to start the Beer Heights Light Railway Preservation Society?

Personal note. In the late 1950s, fbb bought his first 'serious' model, a Peco Wonderful Wagon kit ...

... from the Peco shop on Harbour Road, Seaton.

Yesterday, the fbbs had coffee in the former (but much changed) premises. The callow youthful fbb assembled his wagon on the beach just across the road from the shop. This required him to melt pegs on the nylon wagon underframe with a soldering iron to fix the components to a cast metal body. The boy used his dad's cigarette lighter! The detailed body sides were printed embossed cardboard and glued on the metal body of thei wagon!

 

Told You So : Number 17B

Dinbych-y-Pysgod?

You maybe know the town as Tenby, for which nomenclature mangling we have the thank the Great Western Railway. The directors thought holidaymakers would not book if they had to pronounce or even spell the Welsh name, so they publicised an English version.

Other towns of the same name became a less corrupted Denbigh!

This headline has recently appeared locally.

fbb is not sure whether you should call a new footbridge a 'major redevelopment".

The old footbridge was spartan but elegant ...

... yet open to the rigours of West Wales weather.

The new bridge is spartan, inelegant and equally open to the elements. 

Progress? In part, yes. It has lifts.

Surely when spending all that money, Notwork Rail could have managed to add a roof to complement the lifts which are not open to the weather!

Star Trek Lego People

Guinan was the bar tender on the Enterprise.

Played by Whoopi Goldberg

She was an immensely old "mystic" blessed with huge wisdom and understanding. A much later character development revealed her to be an El-Aurian with wisdom akin to Yoda in Star Wars, but with a better command of English, she had.

Data : Lieutenant Commander

A highly sophisticated humanoid robot

Played by Brent Spiner

Data was switched off permanently at his own request in the 'Star Trek Picard' series.

You have a bit of a plot problem when a cyborg appears to get older rather than be repaired with a few transistors and a bit of polyfilla!

Wesley Crusher ; Ensign Cadet

Played by Will Wheaton

The character and the actor also re-appeared in the 'Star Trek Picard'  series.

And Data's cat ...

... was called Spot.

Clearly a relative of Mr Tubbles! And current employer of the ffbs.

Lima Italy versus Lima UK

Contrast and compare. Lima, an Italian model company entered the UK market with existing models if Italian prototypes. Later 'proper' UK lockos and rolling stock were produced.

The tank colour is darker on the Italian version, possibly because it is an older model.

The Italian chassis is more primitive ...

... than the version which was sold in the UK ...

... although both are marked 'Lima Italy'.

Ironically the couplings are both "hook and bar". The Triang type is huge and the hook moves whilst the bar is fixed.

Whereas in Italy the hook is fixed and a delicate wire bar lifts up to make the join. The tiny hook can be glimpsed on the picture below.

Sweet!

Coming tomorrow:-

But not quite.

 Next Business Development blog : Mon 17 Nov