Sunday Variety

It's Santa Time!

Santa Bus at Chesterfield which appeared yesterday ...

... complete with inappropriate passenger. Santa Claus, Sinter Klaas, Saint Nicholas, has no connection whatever with Christmas. It is very unlikely that the Saint, who has been commercially corrupted, ever took gifts to children. There is a dodgy report that he gave some cash to two child prostitutes but that is all. He is celebrated in western church culture on 5th/6th December.

So fun but fake!

Meanwhile, in Seaton, a saddo old man (with Christmas hat extended by daughter-in-law to fit huge head) ...

... is sharing festive nosh with a senior academic from the University of Arts, London.

Good company; good grub and the joy of family.

Guardian's Gorgeous Guide ...

... to readers' favourite bus rides.

Now operating open top in all weathers?

IF you can find the timetable. Nothing was appearing on the Arriva web site for fbb yesterday!

You would need a very tall bus to view Glastonbury Tor from the angle above!

A beacon of excellence!

fbb's fave.

Another view you won't get from a bus!

fbb's second favourite

If you are not familiar with Cremyll, here is a map ...

... and a timetable.

Take the bus from Plymouth to Cremyll and then back by ferry ...

... making it the best round trip of the lot. (Actually the only straightforward circular ride).

And Now : An £80 Wagon!

OUCH and yikes!

Important Life Lesson ...

... How to get off a bus ...

... sadly a skill that is redundant in today's public transport ambit.

Wiring The Model Railway

When DCC came in (Digital Command Control) its proponents told us that we would only need two wires to feed a whole layout. The idea of DCC is that you send a fixed voltage to all the track then fit a clever bit of electronics to each loco, point or signal.

Then the DCC bit is a digital signal, transmitted along those two wires and over the top of the power, which carries commands which int urn controls the stuff.

Unfortunately the idea of just two wires has proved impractical. Here is just a part of a wiring diagram ...

... and here is a chunk of physical wiring for the modeller to enjoy!

Of course, you also need to wire your points correctly.

But if you are fbb you don't do the clever stuff; but you connect two wires to various bits of track ...

... which will, eventually, need to switches on a simple control panel. But, as for wiring the points ...

... there is nothing to do - they, effectively, wire themselves!

DCC is great, but expensive and complex. Old fashioned two-rail wiring is relatively simple and very cheap by comparison.

Good enough for the old bloke!

Puzzle Picture

Here it is today.

It's the Montreux part of the new through gauge changing train as referred to in a recent blog. Depending on language used, the MOB can appear as MBO.

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 Advent Calendar Day 18 

Rejection and Resurrection

From a human point of view you would have to say that Jesus was a total failure. He wandered around performing a few miracles, teaching people a more hands-on understanding of God and promising n eternity of peace to all ho accepted his forgiveness. He gained a small collection of followers and, in so doing, upset all the top authorities of the day.

So he was nailed to a cross and died.

His followers mostly ran away; leaving his mother and one or to other women to got to his "borrowed tomb" and complete his burial. 

If that was all there was, it seems highly unlikely that Jesus would be remembered. There were loads of other charlatan preachers who have simply been forgotten by history. The Bible even tells us about a couple of unknown "messiahs".

You remember that Theudas appeared some time ago, claiming to be somebody great, and about four hundred men joined him. But he was killed, all his followers were scattered, and his movement died out. After that, Judas the Galilean appeared during the time of the census; he drew a crowd after him, but he also was killed, and all his followers were scattered.

At a trial of the disciples taking place after the resurrection, a respected Jewish Leader suggests they be set free because, ”if the Jesus thing were fake, the movement would fizzle out like Theudas and Judas".

But it didn't fizzle out because of the resurrection.

And, of course, the resurrection was impossible. But all things are possible for a God who is outside of our space and time and not limited by human science or technology. That, as they say, is what it says on the tin!

And the resurrection is why CHRISTmas happened.

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 Next Shorter blog : Monday 19h December