• gWr Class 230

    From Anna Noyd-Dryver@3:633/10 to All on Friday, January 30, 2026 00:05:01
    It would appear that gWr's Class 230 battery train is finally entering passenger service this Saturday 31st January, beginning with the 0530 West Ealing to Greenford.

    <https://x.com/philatrail/status/2016874613708402915>

    I'm tempted to go for a ride sometime on Saturday!

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.6
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Anna Noyd-Dryver@3:633/10 to All on Friday, January 30, 2026 03:51:20
    Anna Noyd-Dryver <anna@noyd-dryver.com> wrote:
    It would appear that gWr's Class 230 battery train is finally entering passenger service this Saturday 31st January, beginning with the 0530 West Ealing to Greenford.

    <https://x.com/philatrail/status/2016874613708402915>

    I'm tempted to go for a ride sometime on Saturday!


    Initially it?ll be running on Saturdays only?

    <https://news.gwr.com/news/great-western-railway-to-introduce-record-breaking-battery-train-into-passenger-service>


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.6
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Roland Perry@3:633/10 to All on Friday, January 30, 2026 04:33:09
    In message <10lh9ro$1qn1c$1@dont-email.me>, at 03:51:20 on Fri, 30 Jan
    2026, Anna Noyd-Dryver <anna@noyd-dryver.com> remarked:
    Anna Noyd-Dryver <anna@noyd-dryver.com> wrote:
    It would appear that gWr's Class 230 battery train is finally entering
    passenger service this Saturday 31st January, beginning with the 0530 West >> Ealing to Greenford.

    <https://x.com/philatrail/status/2016874613708402915>

    I'm tempted to go for a ride sometime on Saturday!


    Initially it?ll be running on Saturdays only

    <https://news.gwr.com/news/great-western-railway-to-introduce-record-bre >aking-battery-train-into-passenger-service>

    Oddly enough I was only telling my GF yesterday about a trip I did to
    ride the once-weekly Stockport-Denton Parly, Denton having yet again
    turned up in a clickbait story about little-used stations.

    As for records, I have a reasonable collection of 78's, and two wind-up gramophones to play them on. Last year, sadly one got broken.
    --
    Roland Perry

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.6
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Sam Wilson@3:633/10 to All on Friday, January 30, 2026 11:52:37
    Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
    In message <10lh9ro$1qn1c$1@dont-email.me>, at 03:51:20 on Fri, 30 Jan
    2026, Anna Noyd-Dryver <anna@noyd-dryver.com> remarked:
    Anna Noyd-Dryver <anna@noyd-dryver.com> wrote:
    It would appear that gWr's Class 230 battery train is finally entering
    passenger service this Saturday 31st January, beginning with the 0530 West >>> Ealing to Greenford.

    <https://x.com/philatrail/status/2016874613708402915>

    I'm tempted to go for a ride sometime on Saturday!


    Initially it?ll be running on Saturdays only

    <https://news.gwr.com/news/great-western-railway-to-introduce-record-bre
    aking-battery-train-into-passenger-service>

    Oddly enough I was only telling my GF yesterday about a trip I did to
    ride the once-weekly Stockport-Denton Parly, Denton having yet again
    turned up in a clickbait story about little-used stations.

    As for records, I have a reasonable collection of 78's, and two wind-up gramophones to play them on. Last year, sadly one got broken.

    Just can?t get the shellac since the war.

    Sam

    --
    The entity formerly known as Sam.Wilson@ed.ac.uk
    Spit the dummy to reply

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From boltar@3:633/10 to All on Friday, January 30, 2026 11:57:04
    On Fri, 30 Jan 2026 11:52:37 -0000 (UTC)
    Sam Wilson <ukr@dummy.wislons.fastmail.co.uk> gabbled:
    Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
    In message <10lh9ro$1qn1c$1@dont-email.me>, at 03:51:20 on Fri, 30 Jan
    2026, Anna Noyd-Dryver <anna@noyd-dryver.com> remarked:
    Anna Noyd-Dryver <anna@noyd-dryver.com> wrote:
    It would appear that gWr's Class 230 battery train is finally entering >>>> passenger service this Saturday 31st January, beginning with the 0530 West >>>> Ealing to Greenford.

    <https://x.com/philatrail/status/2016874613708402915>

    I'm tempted to go for a ride sometime on Saturday!


    Initially it?ll be running on Saturdays only

    <https://news.gwr.com/news/great-western-railway-to-introduce-record-bre >>> aking-battery-train-into-passenger-service>

    Oddly enough I was only telling my GF yesterday about a trip I did to
    ride the once-weekly Stockport-Denton Parly, Denton having yet again
    turned up in a clickbait story about little-used stations.

    As for records, I have a reasonable collection of 78's, and two wind-up
    gramophones to play them on. Last year, sadly one got broken.

    Just can?t get the shellac since the war.

    Fear not, Roland was probably a technical advisor with the Shellac manufacturers
    alliance back in the day and no doubt has contacts who can get him some.


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Recliner@3:633/10 to All on Friday, January 30, 2026 12:44:10
    Anna Noyd-Dryver <anna@noyd-dryver.com> wrote:
    Anna Noyd-Dryver <anna@noyd-dryver.com> wrote:
    It would appear that gWr's Class 230 battery train is finally entering
    passenger service this Saturday 31st January, beginning with the 0530 West >> Ealing to Greenford.

    <https://x.com/philatrail/status/2016874613708402915>

    I'm tempted to go for a ride sometime on Saturday!


    Initially it?ll be running on Saturdays only?

    Is that because of its dubious reliability?


    <https://news.gwr.com/news/great-western-railway-to-introduce-record-breaking-battery-train-into-passenger-service>






    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Coffee@3:633/10 to All on Friday, January 30, 2026 17:34:13
    On 30/01/2026 11:52, Sam Wilson wrote:
    Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
    In message <10lh9ro$1qn1c$1@dont-email.me>, at 03:51:20 on Fri, 30 Jan
    2026, Anna Noyd-Dryver <anna@noyd-dryver.com> remarked:
    Anna Noyd-Dryver <anna@noyd-dryver.com> wrote:
    It would appear that gWr's Class 230 battery train is finally entering >>>> passenger service this Saturday 31st January, beginning with the 0530 West >>>> Ealing to Greenford.

    <https://x.com/philatrail/status/2016874613708402915>

    I'm tempted to go for a ride sometime on Saturday!


    Initially it?ll be running on Saturdays only

    <https://news.gwr.com/news/great-western-railway-to-introduce-record-bre >>> aking-battery-train-into-passenger-service>

    Oddly enough I was only telling my GF yesterday about a trip I did to
    ride the once-weekly Stockport-Denton Parly, Denton having yet again
    turned up in a clickbait story about little-used stations.

    As for records, I have a reasonable collection of 78's, and two wind-up
    gramophones to play them on. Last year, sadly one got broken.

    Just can?t get the shellac since the war.


    I know of two radio stations which sometimes still play 78s. Only one
    of them because then can.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Mark Goodge@3:633/10 to All on Friday, January 30, 2026 20:32:27
    On Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:05:01 -0000 (UTC), Anna Noyd-Dryver <anna@noyd-dryver.com> wrote:

    It would appear that gWr's Class 230 battery train is finally entering >passenger service this Saturday 31st January, beginning with the 0530 West >Ealing to Greenford.

    <https://x.com/philatrail/status/2016874613708402915>

    Completely going off on a tangent here, but please, when sharing links to ex-Twitter, use a twitter.com URL, eg https://twitter.com/philatrail/status/2016874613708402915

    At the moment, a twitter.com URL will redirect to the equivalent x.com URL,
    so you'll still see the intended content. But one day, Twitter and Elon Musk will part company and he'll take the x.com domain with him (as he owns
    that). Which will mean that all links to a Twitter post using x.com will immediately fail.

    Mark

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Theo@3:633/10 to All on Friday, January 30, 2026 23:20:23
    Mark Goodge <usenet@listmail.good-stuff.co.uk> wrote:
    On Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:05:01 -0000 (UTC), Anna Noyd-Dryver <anna@noyd-dryver.com> wrote:

    It would appear that gWr's Class 230 battery train is finally entering >passenger service this Saturday 31st January, beginning with the 0530 West >Ealing to Greenford.

    <https://x.com/philatrail/status/2016874613708402915>

    Completely going off on a tangent here, but please, when sharing links to ex-Twitter, use a twitter.com URL, eg https://twitter.com/philatrail/status/2016874613708402915

    At the moment, a twitter.com URL will redirect to the equivalent x.com URL, so you'll still see the intended content. But one day, Twitter and Elon Musk will part company and he'll take the x.com domain with him (as he owns
    that). Which will mean that all links to a Twitter post using x.com will immediately fail.

    Even better is to turn x.com into xcancel.com, which has none of Elon's tracking scripts:

    https://xcancel.com/philatrail/status/2016874613708402915

    Theo

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Recliner@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, January 31, 2026 02:33:14
    Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
    In message <10lh9ro$1qn1c$1@dont-email.me>, at 03:51:20 on Fri, 30 Jan
    2026, Anna Noyd-Dryver <anna@noyd-dryver.com> remarked:
    Anna Noyd-Dryver <anna@noyd-dryver.com> wrote:
    It would appear that gWr's Class 230 battery train is finally entering
    passenger service this Saturday 31st January, beginning with the 0530 West >>> Ealing to Greenford.

    <https://x.com/philatrail/status/2016874613708402915>

    I'm tempted to go for a ride sometime on Saturday!


    Initially it?ll be running on Saturdays only

    <https://news.gwr.com/news/great-western-railway-to-introduce-record-bre
    aking-battery-train-into-passenger-service>

    Oddly enough I was only telling my GF yesterday about a trip I did to
    ride the once-weekly Stockport-Denton Parly, Denton having yet again
    turned up in a clickbait story about little-used stations.

    This isn?t a parly service, or anything like it.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Roland Perry@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, January 31, 2026 05:59:33
    In message <KRdfR.13506$_pb.12420@fx11.ams1>, at 02:33:14 on Sat, 31 Jan
    2026, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:

    Oddly enough I was only telling my GF yesterday about a trip I did to
    ride the once-weekly Stockport-Denton Parly, Denton having yet again
    turned up in a clickbait story about little-used stations.

    This isn?t a parly service, or anything like it.

    Most people do in fact refer to the Denton train (08:42 and 09:16 today)
    as a Parly. It's hardly changed in the 20yrs since I went on it.

    ps Apparently there's a by-election there soon, too. Today's odds:

    Green 6/5
    Reform 11/8
    Labour 11/2
    Workers Party 25/1
    Conservatives 250/1
    Lib Dem 250/1
    --
    Roland Perry

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Recliner@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, January 31, 2026 10:59:20
    Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
    In message <KRdfR.13506$_pb.12420@fx11.ams1>, at 02:33:14 on Sat, 31 Jan 2026, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:

    Oddly enough I was only telling my GF yesterday about a trip I did to
    ride the once-weekly Stockport-Denton Parly, Denton having yet again
    turned up in a clickbait story about little-used stations.

    This isn?t a parly service, or anything like it.

    Most people do in fact refer to the Denton train (08:42 and 09:16 today)
    as a Parly. It's hardly changed in the 20yrs since I went on it.

    Yes, of course the Denton service is indeed a parly, but what has that got
    to do with the subject of *this* thread?


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Roland Perry@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, January 31, 2026 11:35:10
    In message <cglfR.26064$BJ84.12353@fx17.ams1>, at 10:59:20 on Sat, 31
    Jan 2026, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:
    Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
    In message <KRdfR.13506$_pb.12420@fx11.ams1>, at 02:33:14 on Sat, 31 Jan
    2026, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:

    Oddly enough I was only telling my GF yesterday about a trip I did to
    ride the once-weekly Stockport-Denton Parly, Denton having yet again
    turned up in a clickbait story about little-used stations.

    This isn?t a parly service, or anything like it.

    Most people do in fact refer to the Denton train (08:42 and 09:16 today)
    as a Parly. It's hardly changed in the 20yrs since I went on it.

    Yes, of course the Denton service is indeed a parly, but what has that got
    to do with the subject of *this* thread?

    Threads drift. In this case only slightly, as both trains are
    Saturdays-only. And are also likely to be mainly patronised by bashers.
    --
    Roland Perry

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Recliner@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, January 31, 2026 11:57:17
    Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
    In message <cglfR.26064$BJ84.12353@fx17.ams1>, at 10:59:20 on Sat, 31
    Jan 2026, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:
    Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
    In message <KRdfR.13506$_pb.12420@fx11.ams1>, at 02:33:14 on Sat, 31 Jan >>> 2026, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:

    Oddly enough I was only telling my GF yesterday about a trip I did to >>>>> ride the once-weekly Stockport-Denton Parly, Denton having yet again >>>>> turned up in a clickbait story about little-used stations.

    This isn?t a parly service, or anything like it.

    Most people do in fact refer to the Denton train (08:42 and 09:16 today) >>> as a Parly. It's hardly changed in the 20yrs since I went on it.

    Yes, of course the Denton service is indeed a parly, but what has that got >> to do with the subject of *this* thread?

    Threads drift.

    In this case, immediately. You immediately used a thread on a completely different subject to inject yet another, irrelevant personal anecdote.

    In this case only slightly, as both trains are
    Saturdays-only. And are also likely to be mainly patronised by bashers.

    The Greenford branch train isn?t the single, weekly service that would make
    it into a parly. It?s an all-day service, six days a week. It just has a
    change of traction one day a week, preparatory to the ?new? (actually, much older, but hardly a vintage) train taking over every day. And that ?new?
    train is of a type similar to ones already running in two other locations,
    and which operated for decades all day, every day, from the next station
    along the line. So it?s neither a rare service nor a rare train type.

    It?s also not as if the ?new? train hasn?t been seen on the line before:
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/recliner/albums/72177720315304085/

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Clank@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, January 31, 2026 14:46:03
    On 31/01/2026 13:57, Recliner wrote:
    Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
    In message <cglfR.26064$BJ84.12353@fx17.ams1>, at 10:59:20 on Sat, 31
    Jan 2026, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:
    Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
    In message <KRdfR.13506$_pb.12420@fx11.ams1>, at 02:33:14 on Sat, 31 Jan >>>> 2026, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:

    Oddly enough I was only telling my GF yesterday about a trip I did to >>>>>> ride the once-weekly Stockport-Denton Parly, Denton having yet again >>>>>> turned up in a clickbait story about little-used stations.

    This isn?t a parly service, or anything like it.

    Most people do in fact refer to the Denton train (08:42 and 09:16 today) >>>> as a Parly. It's hardly changed in the 20yrs since I went on it.

    Yes, of course the Denton service is indeed a parly, but what has that got >>> to do with the subject of *this* thread?

    Threads drift.

    In this case, immediately. You immediately used a thread on a completely different subject to inject yet another, irrelevant personal anecdote.

    The last time I remember someone desperately trying to shoehorn "I've
    got a girlfriend!" into every conversation the way Roland does, we were
    in the back of the team minibus to the County Orienteering Championship
    and conversation topics included highlights such as "who has pubic hair
    yet" and "who snogged Nicola H*".




    * answer: everyone, but she was working through the school in
    alphabetical order, so some had to wait longer than others.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Roland Perry@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, January 31, 2026 13:17:20
    In message <x6mfR.12348$eEW.5461@fx16.ams1>, at 11:57:17 on Sat, 31 Jan
    2026, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:
    Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
    In message <cglfR.26064$BJ84.12353@fx17.ams1>, at 10:59:20 on Sat, 31
    Jan 2026, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:
    Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
    In message <KRdfR.13506$_pb.12420@fx11.ams1>, at 02:33:14 on Sat, 31 Jan >>>> 2026, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:

    Oddly enough I was only telling my GF yesterday about a trip I did to >>>>>> ride the once-weekly Stockport-Denton Parly, Denton having yet again >>>>>> turned up in a clickbait story about little-used stations.

    This isn?t a parly service, or anything like it.

    Most people do in fact refer to the Denton train (08:42 and 09:16 today) >>>> as a Parly. It's hardly changed in the 20yrs since I went on it.

    Yes, of course the Denton service is indeed a parly, but what has that got >>> to do with the subject of *this* thread?

    Threads drift.

    In this case, immediately. You immediately used a thread on a completely >different subject to inject yet another, irrelevant personal anecdote.

    So what? You've managed to extend the thread by another seven or eight,
    by the time it dies out. Whereas it would have been zero if you'd just
    put a sock in it.

    In this case only slightly, as both trains are
    Saturdays-only. And are also likely to be mainly patronised by bashers.

    The Greenford branch train isn?t the single, weekly service that would make >it into a parly.

    No-one said it was. So stop over-reading.

    It?s an all-day service, six days a week. It just has a
    change of traction one day a week, preparatory to the ?new? (actually, much >older, but hardly a vintage) train taking over every day. And that ?new? >train is of a type similar to ones already running in two other locations, >and which operated for decades all day, every day, from the next station >along the line. So it?s neither a rare service nor a rare train type.

    It?s also not as if the ?new? train hasn?t been seen on the
    line before:
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/recliner/albums/72177720315304085/

    --
    Roland Perry

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Roland Perry@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, January 31, 2026 13:19:18
    In message <10lktia$2te0s$1@dont-email.me>, at 14:46:03 on Sat, 31 Jan
    2026, Clank <clank75@googlemail.com> remarked:

    Threads drift.

    In this case, immediately. You immediately used a thread on a
    completely different subject to inject yet another, irrelevant
    personal anecdote.

    The last time I remember someone desperately trying to shoehorn "I've
    got a girlfriend!" into every conversation the way Roland does, we were
    in the back of the team minibus to the County Orienteering Championship
    and conversation topics included highlights such as "who has pubic hair
    yet" and "who snogged Nicola H*".

    I'm getting some popcorn to see if *you* get shouted at for *that*
    irrelevant anecdote. Sauce for the goose, and so on.
    --
    Roland Perry

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From ColinR@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, January 31, 2026 13:25:38
    On 31/01/2026 12:46, Clank wrote:
    On 31/01/2026 13:57, Recliner wrote:
    Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
    In message <cglfR.26064$BJ84.12353@fx17.ams1>, at 10:59:20 on Sat, 31
    Jan 2026, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:
    Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
    In message <KRdfR.13506$_pb.12420@fx11.ams1>, at 02:33:14 on Sat,
    31 Jan
    2026, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:

    Oddly enough I was only telling my GF yesterday about a trip I
    did to
    ride the once-weekly Stockport-Denton Parly, Denton having yet again >>>>>>> turned up in a clickbait story about little-used stations.

    This isn?t a parly service, or anything like it.

    Most people do in fact refer to the Denton train (08:42 and 09:16
    today)
    as a Parly. It's hardly changed in the 20yrs since I went on it.

    Yes, of course the Denton service is indeed a parly, but what has
    that got
    to do with the subject of *this* thread?

    Threads drift.

    In this case, immediately. You immediately used a thread on a completely
    different subject to inject yet another, irrelevant personal anecdote.

    The last time I remember someone desperately trying to shoehorn "I've
    got a girlfriend!" into every conversation the way Roland does, we were
    in the back of the team minibus to the County Orienteering Championship
    and conversation topics included highlights such as "who has pubic hair
    yet" and "who snogged Nicola H*".




    * answer: everyone, but she was working through the school in
    alphabetical order, so some had to wait longer than others.

    ;-)


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From boltar@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, January 31, 2026 15:06:07
    On Sat, 31 Jan 2026 14:46:03 +0200
    Clank <clank75@googlemail.com> gabbled:
    On 31/01/2026 13:57, Recliner wrote:
    Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
    In message <cglfR.26064$BJ84.12353@fx17.ams1>, at 10:59:20 on Sat, 31
    Jan 2026, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:
    Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
    In message <KRdfR.13506$_pb.12420@fx11.ams1>, at 02:33:14 on Sat, 31 Jan >>>>> 2026, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:

    Oddly enough I was only telling my GF yesterday about a trip I did to >>>>>>> ride the once-weekly Stockport-Denton Parly, Denton having yet again >>>>>>> turned up in a clickbait story about little-used stations.

    This isn?t a parly service, or anything like it.

    Most people do in fact refer to the Denton train (08:42 and 09:16 today) >>>>> as a Parly. It's hardly changed in the 20yrs since I went on it.

    Yes, of course the Denton service is indeed a parly, but what has that got >>>> to do with the subject of *this* thread?

    Threads drift.

    In this case, immediately. You immediately used a thread on a completely
    different subject to inject yet another, irrelevant personal anecdote.

    The last time I remember someone desperately trying to shoehorn "I've
    got a girlfriend!" into every conversation the way Roland does, we were
    in the back of the team minibus to the County Orienteering Championship
    and conversation topics included highlights such as "who has pubic hair
    yet" and "who snogged Nicola H*".




    * answer: everyone, but she was working through the school in
    alphabetical order, so some had to wait longer than others.

    Let me guess - she's now fat, covered in tats, married/seperated from some knuckle dragger and has multiple kids paid for by benefits.


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Recliner@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, January 31, 2026 18:43:27
    Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
    In message <x6mfR.12348$eEW.5461@fx16.ams1>, at 11:57:17 on Sat, 31 Jan 2026, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:
    Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
    In message <cglfR.26064$BJ84.12353@fx17.ams1>, at 10:59:20 on Sat, 31
    Jan 2026, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:
    Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
    In message <KRdfR.13506$_pb.12420@fx11.ams1>, at 02:33:14 on Sat, 31 Jan >>>>> 2026, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:

    Oddly enough I was only telling my GF yesterday about a trip I did to >>>>>>> ride the once-weekly Stockport-Denton Parly, Denton having yet again >>>>>>> turned up in a clickbait story about little-used stations.

    This isn?t a parly service, or anything like it.

    Most people do in fact refer to the Denton train (08:42 and 09:16 today) >>>>> as a Parly. It's hardly changed in the 20yrs since I went on it.

    Yes, of course the Denton service is indeed a parly, but what has that got >>>> to do with the subject of *this* thread?

    Threads drift.

    In this case, immediately. You immediately used a thread on a completely
    different subject to inject yet another, irrelevant personal anecdote.

    So what? You've managed to extend the thread by another seven or eight,
    by the time it dies out. Whereas it would have been zero if you'd just
    put a sock in it.

    In this case only slightly, as both trains are
    Saturdays-only. And are also likely to be mainly patronised by bashers.

    The Greenford branch train isn?t the single, weekly service that would make >> it into a parly.

    No-one said it was. So stop over-reading.

    So what was the relevance of your Denton parly mention in this thread?

    You obviously thought this was one, too.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Roland Perry@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, January 31, 2026 19:13:43
    In message <j3sfR.26071$BJ84.23164@fx17.ams1>, at 18:43:27 on Sat, 31
    Jan 2026, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:

    The Greenford branch train isn?t the single, weekly service that would make >>> it into a parly.

    No-one said it was. So stop over-reading.

    So what was the relevance of your Denton parly mention in this thread?

    The fact I was putting together the rather interesting Denton
    by-election, and my recollection of when I was last there (on a Parly
    train as it happens).

    You've complained in the past about not knowing what I've been doing the
    last 35years - and hence wrongly assumed I'd been doing nothing much.
    And then when I post an informative anecdote, complain about that too!

    You obviously thought this was one, too.

    Nonsense. You have a bad habit of over-reading things, then when found
    out digging your heals in. Instead of saying "Thanks for pointing out my mistake".
    --
    Roland Perry

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Recliner@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, January 31, 2026 22:40:24
    Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:

    The fact I was putting together the rather interesting Denton
    by-election, and my recollection of when I was last there (on a Parly
    train as it happens).

    You've complained in the past about not knowing what I've been doing the last 35years - and hence wrongly assumed I'd been doing nothing much.
    And then when I post an informative anecdote, complain about that too!

    You seem to have misunderstood. We want fewer ? a lot fewer ? of your
    personal anecdotes, from any era. We don?t care what you?ve been doing for
    the last 45 years, and would rather not hear. We most certainly don?t want
    this to become even more of your personal blog.

    You seem to think there?s an avid audience for your autobiography, and
    perhaps there is. But not here!

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Roland Perry@3:633/10 to All on Sunday, February 01, 2026 06:26:01
    In message <sxvfR.31055$s_zc.13303@fx15.ams1>, at 22:40:24 on Sat, 31
    Jan 2026, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:
    Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:

    The fact I was putting together the rather interesting Denton
    by-election, and my recollection of when I was last there (on a Parly
    train as it happens).

    You've complained in the past about not knowing what I've been doing the
    last 35years - and hence wrongly assumed I'd been doing nothing much.
    And then when I post an informative anecdote, complain about that too!

    You seem to have misunderstood. We want fewer ? a lot fewer ? of your >personal anecdotes, from any era. We don?t care what you?ve been doing for >the last 45 years, and would rather not hear. We most certainly don?t want >this to become even more of your personal blog.

    The Royal We, I presume. Which is odd given that you've justified many
    false statements about me being past-my-sell-by-date post 1990, on the
    grounds that you are unsighted as to what I was doing by then. Whereas
    my relatively short time [7yrs out of 55yr career] at Amstrad is fairly comprehensively documented.

    Partly that's deliberate (at the time) because flying under the radar
    was a vital technique to get things done.

    You seem to think there?s an avid audience for your autobiography, and >perhaps there is. But not here!

    I'm not sure there's an avid audience here for *your* personal blog
    about airline first class lounges, Caribbean cruises etc. Maybe for some
    of the rail-related expeditions, but bizarrely you are most recently
    heckling me for recounting a tale about the Denton [soon to have a Parly-a-mentary by-election] Flyer, which is most certainly a train.

    Later I'll dig out some of my photos of that trip, early digital ones,
    partly because you blog about your cameras quite a bit. Incidentally,
    who was told "Nobody wants a camera in their phone, but you can design a prototype if you like", and not by Bill Gates, who was always keen not
    to miss "the next big thing", and just look at the hash they made of
    Nokia. But did well out of the Smartphone patents they sold to Apple.
    --
    Roland Perry

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.10
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Sam Wilson@3:633/10 to All on Sunday, February 01, 2026 14:17:18
    Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> wrote:
    Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:

    The fact I was putting together the rather interesting Denton
    by-election, and my recollection of when I was last there (on a Parly
    train as it happens).

    You've complained in the past about not knowing what I've been doing the
    last 35years - and hence wrongly assumed I'd been doing nothing much.
    And then when I post an informative anecdote, complain about that too!

    You seem to have misunderstood. We want fewer ? a lot fewer ? of your personal anecdotes, from any era. We don?t care what you?ve been doing for the last 45 years, and would rather not hear. We most certainly don?t want this to become even more of your personal blog.

    You seem to think there?s an avid audience for your autobiography, and perhaps there is. But not here!

    FTAOD I?m very happy to have anecdotes thrown in to conversations here -
    it?s one of the things that makes this place interesting. What I would
    like to see less of is the endless bickering, nit-picking, point-scoring
    and insults that both of you seem to make a habit of. Just step back.

    Sam

    --
    The entity formerly known as Sam.Wilson@ed.ac.uk
    Spit the dummy to reply

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.10
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Roland Perry@3:633/10 to All on Sunday, February 01, 2026 20:13:05
    In message <10lnn9e$3q8kk$1@dont-email.me>, at 14:17:18 on Sun, 1 Feb
    2026, Sam Wilson <ukr@dummy.wislons.fastmail.co.uk> remarked:

    What I would like to see less of is the endless bickering, nit-picking, >point-scoring and insults that both of you seem to make a habit of.
    Just step back.

    I certainly have, only now challenging a few of the more egregious
    insults hurled in my direction.

    That doesn't mean I agree with the less serious insults, or false "corrections", but I'm aware of the collective annoyance of the
    bickering, of which I am never the instigator.

    It's also notable that I'm the only target of such things. Odd, that.
    --
    Roland Perry

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.10
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Roland Perry@3:633/10 to All on Monday, February 02, 2026 08:26:53
    In message <10lnn9e$3q8kk$1@dont-email.me>, at 14:17:18 on Sun, 1 Feb
    2026, Sam Wilson <ukr@dummy.wislons.fastmail.co.uk> remarked:

    FTAOD I?m very happy to have anecdotes thrown in to conversations here -
    it?s one of the things that makes this place interesting.

    Let's start a project. The more prolific contributors here to make a
    video describing at least one significant segment of their career.
    Could be self-published, or produced by a third party. Involvement
    of trains optional, but encouraged.

    Here's my contribution for today: youtube.com/watch?v=koSXzL_lRSQ

    [Note that an unscripted one-take "piece to camera" that long takes a
    bit of practice]

    Sat next to me, enigmatic retired professor of electronics, and inventor
    of iPhone tech, long ago the designer of CKX100 music synthesiser. She
    may look a bit 'Miss Marple' but similarly always delivers precisely the
    right solution to whatever puzzle needs solving. At which point some say "wasn't that a bit obvious", but if so, why couldn't *you* have done it instead? This November, I think we may get her speaking on video at an
    event.

    ObRail: Contrary to many reports I didn't take the train from Brentwood
    to Cambridge to scout for potential CPC designers. Not only would it
    have been far slower than driving, but needed to go via Liverpool St
    which only had 0.5tph to Cambridge. However, later we did take the
    morning Pullman from Euston to Stockport, to visit Ferranti at Gem Mill
    to see how they were getting on with the gate array [badly, as it turned
    out].

    OK, so who will be the first to post *their* video?
    --
    Roland Perry

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.11
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)