Photo credits

The Embalse de Riano in northern Spain. The picture was taken by .... me!

Monday, July 14

Playing with trains

When I turned 40 I started listening to Radio 4.*

When I turned 45 I started listening to Classic fm.**

Now that I am turning 50, I have a sudden urge to play with toy trains again.

I started dropping hints to the kids some time ago, and so they clubbed together and got me the Western Master Hornby set. And I am very pleased with it. Or at least I would be if it worked! My first train set as a child was clockwork, then I got an electric one, but now this is the computer controlled age. No longer do you just wind it up and let it go, no longer do you plug it in and turn the 'go-faster' dial. Now you have to upload the software, set the com port, connect to the internet to update the software, etc, etc. And of course it does not work. The computer will not talk to the DCC controller; it denies its existence. No matter whether I follow the instructions to the letter, or apply common sense, or get my Oxford Engineering student son to look at it, it doesn't go. The 14 year old boy did get it going while I wa sout, but then unplugged it, and it would not start again.

So I am currenlty a very disgruntled and dissasitisfied Horby customer

* A British radio station that focusses on mature discussion

** A British radio station that broadcasts well-known classical music

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