Delayed Variety 1

Hapless Hydrogen Hiatus

Answer from fbb! It isn't "green"; it isn't available; it doesn’t work so well and it IS very expensive!  Apart from that it is a spiffingly good idea!

And in the UK?

And in Liverpool?

Enthusiasm for the fuel of the future has failed!

Alstom About to Abandon?

So It's Electric, Then?

And Going Well in Scotland?

The "milestone" is that they have actually started building them!

In Scotland?

Of course NOT!

Erm, Fiona! Yes, you! 

How late is the new big Calmac Ferry, built in Scotland, now running?

Nnew CalMac ferries are delayed again, with the MV Glen Rosa (built in Scotland) facing up to a six-month further setback for corrosion fixes, potentially arriving April-June 2026, while the first Turkish-built ferry, MV Isle of Islay, has also faced repeated delays due to supply issues and labour shortages, with its delivery pushed back from late 2024 to possibly late 2025 (note "possibly"). These delays are impacting lifeline services, causing frustration for islanders and criticism of the Scottish government. 

But Not in Plymouth!

Yep! That's about right!

And, Talking Of Ferries!

Debts down?

Passengers down; turnover down; number of crossings down and, Tada!, debts down for £195 million to only £32.4 million!

And some company has just bought Red Funnel!

WHY?

Back to Sanity

fbb has a modelling project in progress, just started as a mini relaxation before Christmas and due to continue after the fbbs' Fellowship meetings this coming weekend.

One of them is using this:-

Metcalfe is the brand leader for card models and they are, frankly, exquisite and excellent value. But they do not sit well with fbb's all plastic buildings many of which have come on from the cold of the back yard railway to be toasty warm in the attic room. There us more texture (i.e. brick, stone, timber planking) on plastic. Metcalf walls, roof etc are just flat print.

Readers who remember (readers who probably don't care?) will recognise Peterville Castle.

It has been moved from its dominant position atop the Peterville Tunnel and is due to form a small cameo at the far end of the layout, beyond the recently installed9 loco shed and carriage works. But somehow whitewashed walls did not fit with the stonework of the castle.

So what should fbb do?

Jackpot idea!

One wall (the rear wall) of the minuscule cottage was all stone with no windows and doors. It was also grey stone.

Ergo - photocopy the plain stone wall and plonk it on the whitewashed bit, cutting holes for door and windows.

The doors and windows are another layer of card which fits exactly behind the walls.

More exciting news when it happens. There is also a free "lock up" chip shop to repurpose as a souvenir emporium for castle visitors.

Livery Delivery

Goodbye Motorway Maintenance

As part of a complex corporate juggling exercise, Stagecoach withdrew from its share of Scottish Citylink and, at the same time, handed over its prestigious express route from Plymouth to Bristol to the Scottish operator. This was when Stagecoach was bidding for National Express, a deal which never happened.

Under one of the daftest livery policies, The Falcom acquired the awful yellow ...

... replacing the distinguished and quality original.

Now we have an all-over mix of various blues and no mention of Stagecoach,

And they have kept the "Falcon" logo!

So What's This?

It looks like a good old faithful National Bus company DP motor in "local coach" floppy red and white, complete with "N" logos.

But surely the bus is much, much later than the NBC era?

More tomorrow?

Oh Yes It Is : Oh No It Isn't

West Yorkshire PTE (boss ex Corrie actress Tracy Brabin) ...

... has had several goes at rapid transit. First trams, then trolleybuses along the Leeds Road! And lately back to trams, this time to Bradford. Actually the first two were begat before she stepped easily from acting to acting as Mayor.

But HM Government does not like it!

Presumably H M Government needs to like it as Trace will be taking the collecting box to Downing Street for the pennies to build it!

Not so fast, Tracy; this is "politics" and it takes time, lots of tedious frustrating time. Get real!

More variety tomorrow!

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 W ords of  W isdom

Quirky Answer : According to the Bible, the Tongue.

Explanation, please!

Did you know that Divinely begatted Jesus had humanly begatted brothers and sisters. Mark and Matthew (Gospel writers) both refer to them. Jesus is back in Nazareth and the people are very uneasy about him. They do not understand how this country bumpkin can teach and preach. Additionally they don't think he has any right to do the job of the professional Rabbi.

Jesus left that place and went back to his hometown, followed by his disciples. On the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue. Many people were there; and when they heard him, they were all amazed. “Where did he get all this?” they asked. “What wisdom is this that has been given him? How does he perform miracles? 

Isn't he the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren't his sisters living here?”

And so they rejected him.

One of the brothers (James) became a leader of the early Christians; and he wrote one of the most practical letters of them all. One of the8 things he warned people about was the dangers of misuse of their tongues.

This is part of what he wrote.

Just think how large a forest can be set on fire by a tiny flame!  And the tongue is like a fire. It is a world of wrong, occupying its place in our bodies and spreading evil through our whole being.  We humans are able to tame and have tamed all other creatures but no one has ever been able to tame the tongue. We use it to give thanks to our Lord and Father and also to curse other people. Words of thanksgiving and cursing pour out from the same mouth. My friends, this should not happen!

He is right, you know! 

And he insists we need God's help to control the little beastie.

He is right, you know!

Just a small example of the Words of Wisdom available to us in God's Book. There are plenty more where that came from.

Quirky Question : In which book of the Bible will you find ALL these people? And what links them together (apart from being in that book)!

Abel 

Enoch 

Noah

Abraham 

Isaac

Jacob

Joseph

Moses

Joshua

Rahab 

Gideon

Barak

Samson

Jephthah

David

Samuel

Answer tomorrow!

A biblical clue : what does a male tea leaf do in the pot?

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  Next Variety blog : Weds 31st Dec