Anoraks on Sunday ..... Winterlude #5 Its another Sabbath in DGBiC Land and I must discipline myself by restricting my verbosing (sic) urges, because its boot sale day today and I need to get away in good time .. its the last one here before Crimbo! A few days ago on another thread, started by Pete Brown, I think, I was having a joyous rant about the 1963, Phil Spectors Christmas Album, released in these islands on ye olde London label (Philles in the USA) .. This season, various tracks from this 51 year old LP have been popping up all over the media in commercials and promos! .. Quite a testament to the work of a gifted young record producer all those years ago, eh? .. The reason this particular Christmas record wont go away is because it sounds like Christmas! .. A somewhat remixed version has been out on CD for a few years and despite my reservations, its still very much worth picking up at your local music shop, if you still have one, that is! Britain has been blessed with several great railway artists and today I have another fine reproduction for you! .. This picture is from the front of a Christmas greetings card sent to me in 2012 by my dear friend in Ipswich, Stevie King. . He normally used to send me the most outrageous cards in the worst taste you can imagine, but two years ago, he cleaned up his act for a little while!. . In 2014, its back to the shady stuff, however and not for the likes of the genteel folks wot is on ear! One Stevies seasonal cards Ive kept from the past, is a nativity scene in which one of the wise men has suddenly stood up (cramp?) and cracked his head on a rafter, Oh! Jesus Christ!, he shouts in anger, to which Mary raises her head from the infant in the manger and replies, Oh! What a good idea, we were going to call him, Gordon ....! Snow on the east coast mainline as depicted in this beautiful artists impression by Philip D Hawkins. . The painting is entitled, Winter At Hatfield and is published here by Rothbury Cards. . For arguments sake, Im going to say this wonderful image of steam in the dead of winter is set in the 1950s. .. Storming north from Londons Kings Cross Station and destined for some far away Scottish city, is a Gresley, A4 class, 4-6-2 Pacific, formerly of the great, London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) and still sporting its majestic blue livery. A member of this class passed through Cheltenham a couple of Saturdays ago and was filmed, photographed and kindly shared by contributors here on DGBiC...Luvly! My Uncle George who was the Vicar of Flamstead and had his own landscape gardening company in Harpenden, once took me to the railway station at Welwyn Garden City, so I could watch the expresses roar through on the former LNER mainline .. I was staggered to see these locomotives at the helm of top flight expresses travelling at such devastating high speeds through my young eyes.. an exciting image I shall never forget! Accelerating on the up line, is one of my all time favourite locomotive classes, a British Railways built 2-10-0, Class 9F, the final generation of engines ever built in Britain. . They were numbered 92000 to 92250. . The very last of this class, designed by BR for heavy freight work, rolled off the production line at Swindon in March 1960. . With the number #92220, she was painted in the beautiful former GWR Brunswick Green and named, Evening Star. I have a lovely painting of her by Terrence Cuneo on my sitting room wall, which originally belonged to my dad. . In Philip Hawkins painting, 9F #92141 is at the head of an express freight train bound for the London area with possibly a cargo of ballast or livestock! ... I hope you all enjoy your Sunday wherever you may be living in DGBiCs worldwide family! .. . Ive got a duck for my dinner ..... and NO, you bunch of bloody anoraks, its not a mallard!
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 08:00:02 +0000
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