Warehouse Wednesday: Gansey Mill

Each morning, before everyone else got up, I'd take a walk around the bay to enjoy the sounds and smells of the sea. This took me past a tall stone building. 

Back home, I've done a little research, using this excellent guide (PDF download).  In here, I find that "The present Mill was erected in 1844 by Holmes the Banker, and the building was used as a "Town Corn Mill." The building was originally used as a thrashing mill and later used as a Woollen Mill. It has now been converted into apartments."

If you fancy one of those apartments buy the way, it will cost you £167k for a two-bed with excellent views. 

At some point, the mill housed Gansey Pottery, with a wooden extension on the front. There was a waterwheel, but this disappeared in the 1930s. 

You can see this building on Google Streetview. 

Simple scenery modelling, cover it with cloud!

I said we were lucky with the weather, and this is true. Except for the day we ascended Snaefell. 

Knowing how fickle things can be 2037 feet up, we tried to pick a day when my sister might see the view. The trouble is, you don't really know. Although the webcam looked OK, by the time we made it up there, things were more reminiscent of my Dad and my first few visits, 33 years ago. 

Manannán's Cloak had descended, and there was no view. You can recreate this at home by glueing cotton wool on your glasses, and standing in front of the open 'fridge. 

Modellers could use this to their advantage by just sticking a big ball of cotton wool in a board, and playing some tram sounds. 

On the plus side, the cagoule I bought in 1993 is still working just as well as it ever did, even if it's not a bit snugger than it was back then.  

The souvenier I can't get home - yet.

Regular readers will know that some time ago, I bought a side tank, and cab back from Sea Lion. It's my favourite loco in the world, the price was right, and so I couldn't resist. For a few years, thanks to Mike Buttell, they lived in Port Erin Railway Museum, but when the curators decided they weren't wanted in there any more, I was faced with the problem of where they should live next. 

I managed to get the tank back a couple of years ago, but this left the cab back on the island.  

Since we were staying in a superb, and highly recommended, cottage in Port St Mary, a couple of minutes from the goods shed the back is living in, I had a plan to bring it back in the car. 

A set of roof bars was purchased, the idea being that I could strap it up there for the journey home. However, measuring Sea Lion, I worked out that we could actually get the thing in the back. OK, a bit of a squeeze, but the Berlingo is spacious if you shuffle the seats around. 

So, I arranged to collect the cab on the Tuesday morning. 

At this point, we hit a snag. In my mind, I'd bought the cab back. A flat sheet of steel. What I'd forgotten is that this came with the sides and bunker.  

The guys helping me gamely tried to squeeze the thing in the back of the car, but it wasn't going to work.It might have gone in at an angle, but not quite. We'd probably have had to leave my sister there, although she would have been happy to stop with the donkeys at the Rest Home for Old Horses!

As for the roof bars, well they are rated at 75kg, and this cab back is f*cking heavy. Even if we could have got it on top, there's no way I fancied a trip down the M6 with the thing up there!

So, back it went into the shed, and I need to formulate a new plan. A hired van would work; I just need to take a deep breath when booking on the Steam Packet website, where they seem to expect you to buy them a new ferry for transporting you over the water!

Sunday morning at Groudle Glen

A couple of weeks ago, my Mum, sister and myself, spent a week on the Isle of Man. 

We wanted to show my sister some of the places that meant a lot to my Dad, and obviously, one of those was Groudle Glen. 

We struck luck with the weather the whole week, especially for the glen, as the overnight rain saw everything looking very green in the daytime sunshine. 

Reaching Sea Lion rocks, I took the opportunity to stand on the same bank Dad and I stood on back in 1993. Then, there wasn't much to see, other than the track. When the train departed, we wondered quite why it seemed like a good idea to hang around in the drizzle, in the middle of nowhere. It did though, and we revisited the spot many times afterwards!

Fortunately, there is now an excellent cafe. Sister was delighted to find gluten-free cherry cake on sale, which both she and my Mum scoffed. In memory of Dad of course... 

I opted for a vanilla slice, but Dad hated custard, so Little Brian wouldn't look at it!

Saturday Film Club: Sand Drags - Dome Valley Raceway

You gotta love the internet for bringing sports you've never heard of, to your attention. Here we have, drag racing - on sand! Messy madness!