The usual suspects turned up with a few bit part players from time to time. Good to see Keith Wright return to the fold. Anyway, Saturday began with us topping up the anti-freeze that’d been delivered during the week, and then the water was topped up also.
We went for a start up around 1600/1630 hrs but as usual Oystermouth never fails to disappoint and would she start, would she heck.
The call went out ’send for Gareth/Garlic’ and no sooner had he and his trusty screwdriver arrived then he’d sussed and sorted the fault out, apparently it was the LPC (Lub Prim Contact D), which apparently wasn’t making the start up circuit complete.
Repairs were duly carried out with Gareth plying his trade in the electrical cabinet and myself holding the wiring diagram and torch for him, 56040 duly obliged and started up.
Oh, I must just mention the ‘unusual’ clock (I said clock!) that Mickey Doyle had, a most unusual ring tone as the boys found out when someone set the alarm to go off during the early hours of Sunday morning. I don’t know which was funnier the alarm going off or Chris threatening to do all manner of things to Josh, who he wrongly thought had set the alarm.
Anyway now to Saturday Night.
It was off to the King’s Head, North Elmham for the usual blow out with a little bit of p*ss taking thrown in for good measure.
Three car loads set off from Dereham around 1915/1930 hrs, and duly arrived at the said watering hole. A quick chat with the Landlord and we were shown to a table. Seated were the following, Gareth and his significant other Ada aka Laura (Happy Birthday Garlic), Mickey and Clare Doyle, Mark Hallet, Chris Chaney, Robin Fransham, Keith Wright (Or to use his proper name Keith the cab), myself the sheep (oh by the way lads thanks for the little pressie baa baa baa , the other half loved it), Josh the child and finally but not lastly Mr James Steward in person. Anyway the alcohol flowed and the grub arrived, oh how I wish I hadn’t had the mixed grill (if you’d had it you’d know what I mean). Cue the chaos and mayhem, we decided to tone it down a bit as Garlic’s other half obviously wouldn’t be used to it. When I asked Gareth what Laura had made of the night? He said she was slightly surprised how tame we all were, anyhow much to my surprise, Mick and the rest of the boys had ordered dessert. When his trifle arrived he offered me a ‘spoonful’, (no not a 47!) which I duly took and it was so nice that I ordered one myself. Half way through the dessert Mick decided to show us his ‘Spray the Trifle’ trick, which I copped most of (cheers mate!). After another round of drinks it was back to Dereham, well for most of us it was.
Now to the sad saga of the alarm clock! We sat about in the camping coach aka the Dereham Hilton chatting and the like, (why Gareth and Laura would want to stay in some overpriced swanky hotel instead of the camping coach is beyond me) still it take all sorts to make the world go round as they say. Just before we all turned in for the night, whilst no one was looking, I (Yes it was me!) turned Mickey Doyle’s weird alarm clock’s alarm on. Come the early hours of Sunday Morning we were awoken by some weird gibberish coming from the said alarm clock, and whilst the air literally
turned blue I had to stuff a pillow in my mouth to stop me from laughing out loudly (ouch – my aching ribs!).
Sunday 16th dawns.
We all arose, some quicker then other’s I might add, some were muttering about a feral alarm clock that mysteriously went off during the early hours and what they’d like to do to the person responsible if they ever found out who it was. A certain person was sure it was ‘The Child ‘. The day began with a topping up of water for 56040 then another start up was attempted and guess what – she refused to start yet again. So the call went out ‘send for Garlic’, who arrived and set about the fault finding process yet again.
Having found the fault, a different one this time, this time it was the TDR1 Relay not dropping quickly enough, a little squirt of WD40 and another press of the start up button and she fired up straight away.
Whilst all this was going on Keith Wright was busy in between the Class 31 locomotive and a set of blue/grey coaching stock, coupling up and playing shunter (well done Keith, for a first time you did really well mate, no doubt you’ll be a shunter in no time). I have also to report to you that there is a very nasty and indeed vicious rumour going round that I do indeed have the cleanest set of overalls of all the working members.
This is simply not true, I do indeed have oil and various other forms of dirt on my overalls.
Hope to see you all at Dereham for yet another crack at 56040 in a fortnight’s time.
