Project 040

I wonder if Project 040, a Spitfire Mark 1, might be the last kit i will build this year as the nights are drawing in and thus the workshop (which is unheated) is getting colder. This will be a nice kit to end the 2012 building season however, being the Spitfire in its original configuration and the 5th one i have built since i restarted making kits a few years ago. In previous years i have continued building up to November though so there may be space for 1 or 2 more...

Homing in on my dissertation choice

I spent the morning at the archives in Stratford-upon-Avon looking at a selection of papers relating to the Stratford & Moreton Tramway (of which i have written about before). For some idea i have had a vague idea that the tramway could be the basis of my dissertation or at least the EMA that will mark the end of my current course. However the deadline is now fast approaching and so i have been evaluating a few papers to see if studying the tramway is a viable option (as there is no point choosing something to research if there is little material surviving to actually research).

I also need to tie down exactly what i am going to research about the tramway, as i can't just say i am "researching the tramway" i have to tie it into the themes of my MA course somehow. Industrialisation is a key theme of course, maybe i can look to how the tramway affected businesses and trade in the South Warwickshire. As the tramway was a bit of a failure its likely i am going to have to try and find out why it didn't affect business that much! Of course this can mean i can compare the tramway to other contemporary transport systems which were more successful...

Two of the three sources i looked at (the third didn't really have anything for me) involved illegal carriage of passengers, in one case carrying passengers illegally on a coal wagon (which resulted in a fine) and another case where a man fell off a coal wagon (resulting in his death). Maybe this could be another aspect of study, more a social effect. Why did people travel illegally, was it expensive?

I probably need to do some more research before i commit to anything, though to be honest i do not have much alternative idea as to what to do... Anyway i took some photos in Stratford today too and you can see them here.

Old Asian Pics

Last night i had a hunt through my archives (or rather the motley collection of DVD-Rs and CD-Rs i have assembled over the years recorded whenever i've had a "OMG I haven't backed up for ages!" moment). I was looking for photos taken during my various holidays in Asia in the late 1990s and early to mid 2000s. I didn't find many to be honest, i think there may be more somewhere but all i could find digitally was a rather poor collection of photos taken by an old camera phone (Panasonic X200 to be exact) in the Philippines.

I did find some other photos from China, HK and Indonesia when i had a hunt through a box of photos. Not many though, of course back in the days before digital cameras we did not take as many photographs! When you were limited to a few rolls of 35mm film you had to pick and choose, whereas nowadays of course you can take 50 photos of your dinner with your phone. You can see my photos here.

Worcester & the Severn

I haven't been to Worcester for a few months so thought it was high time i paid the lovely place a visit. I wanted to explore more of the river banks so went upstream a bit and then down as far as Diglis Bridge. My visit coincided with a University boating regatta so i was able to take plenty of photos of boats being rowed up and down.

It was like being in the film "True Blue" with the coaches bellowing orders through megaphones and students yelling for their teams. You can see the photos i took here.

Vampire complete

Project 039 is a De Havilland Vampire and is the latest complete kit. Its also the first Revell kit i have done, quite a nice job too though i shall still remain loyal to Airfix. Time for a little break (of a few days anyway!) until the next project.