UKIP/EU/Scottish Independence Free Zone

[gricerboy]

Ahhh smell the fresh air!

[mos]

Ahhh smell the fresh air!

Eastern Europeans welcome, I hope? (inevitably followed by Troll, SAS and DA )

[MicrosoftBob]

Independence for Tooting!

[gricerboy]

Eastern Europeans welcome, I hope? (inevitably followed by Troll, SAS and DA )

You missed out Scooterscot

[xoggoth]

That didn't last long, did it? Still, good try!

[gricerboy]

I once had a beautiful OO gauge rail layout as a boy. I had it on an 8x4 piece of chipboard with a hole cut out in the middle where I would stand and control my little miniature world by twiddling the knobs on a bank of H&M Duette transformers.

I made a landscape out of chicken wire and papier mâché, had little model houses, people and farm animals dotted all over. Then there were the trains themselves - classic steam locos like Oliver Cromwell made by Wren from the finest die cast metal and all the rolling stock sporting the livery of the Great Western Railway company.

A lot of my layout had been built up from gifts I'd received at Christmas and for my birthday.

One day, my East German aunt (ever a penny pincher) discovered a European brand called Lima (don't recall where they were from) who produced cut priced HO scale model railways based on the rail networks of various European countries. Now, HO scale rolling stock will run on OO scale track but the actual scaling of the models is different. Plus the fact that she would always buy me Yugoslavian locos and an incongruity began to develop which got bigger as each Christmas passed.

My noble, British steam engines were gradually being edged out by these out of proportion, cheap, plastic imposters with the result that my layout no longer looked like a cross section of the British Rail network but some ghastly pan European project that had gone wrong.

I sold it in the end and bought my first recumbent bike.

[mos]

Now, HO scale rolling stock will run on OO scale track but the actual scaling of the models is different. Plus the fact that she would always buy me Yugoslavian locos and an incongruity began to develop which got bigger as each Christmas passed.

My noble, British steam engines were gradually being edged out by these out of proportion, cheap, plastic imposters with the result that my layout no longer looked like a cross section of the British Rail network but some ghastly pan European project that had gone wrong.

Oh Dear ... Santa's workshop for you ...

[KentPhilip]

Does that mean I'm not allowed to post here unless I remove my logo?

[Troll]

Eastern Europeans welcome, I hope? (inevitably followed by Troll, SAS and DA )

30 something well shaggable Polish birds very welcome

[gricerboy]

And you had enough money left over to splurge on a nice suit

I've got a new one now - a real head turner: