HO scale card model of town.

Some months ago, I purchased from Mirontaine in Bordeaux a beautiful fold-up card model of a French town square.

Close up

The problem was that it was a bit smaller than HO scale.

I was disappointed but had still considered using it by pretending it was in the distance so as to justify its smaller scale, a la that funny incident in the TV comedy series, "Father Ted".

Father Ted: Now concentrate this time, Dougal. These
[he points to some plastic cows on the table]
Father Ted: are very small; those
[pointing at some cows out of the window]
Father Ted: are far away...

In the end, I bit the bullet, and at some considerable expense, had the card components professionally enlarged by a factor of 1.7.

Collected the enlargements today.

The original card kit.

The enlargement still in its protective wrapping.

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Currently listening to:

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Last night's dinner:

Sardines, aubergines in tomato sauce, boiled rice

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Currently reading:

The author falls in with this bunch of Flamenco outlaws/Gypsies in Madrid. They (and he) live in squalor - blocked toilets/cockroaches/ducks and donkeys living in high rise apartments/cocaine sniffing/joy-riding in cars etc etc.

He does this because he believes that the only way to learn Flamenco guitar playing is to live with and be accepted by these vagabonds.

But, quite rightly, the Gypsies do not want to impart their knowledge to an outsider. Their knowledge is theirs and they distrust the establishment and consider themselves to be outsiders.

They demand that anyone who wants to learn the Flamenco style must totally buy into their lifestyle and have their values and attitudes to the rest of the world.

So, Jason Webster, the author, is forced into stealing a car and then driving like a maniac to escape from the police in a high speed chase.

At first, I thought that this was a bit tiresome and mean-minded of the Gypsies. But, on reflection, I can see exactly where they're coming from. This rites de passage was necessary to prove that Webster was truly one of them - taking the same risks as them and proving that he had rejected the establishment.

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Miscellany:



More backdrop thoughts:

This is the current state of affairs.

 

 

 

Not sure what the next step should be:

I think the best thing to do would be to place a sheet over the canvas and then re-visit it after a week, say.

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Currently listening to:

Apparently, 6 foot tall Chris Clark was, when she toured the UK in the 60s with other Tamla Motown artists, known as "the White Negress".

Still going strong.

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Last night's dinner:

Fried courgettes and boiled rice.

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Currently still reading and now besotted with:

This book is supposed to be based on the truth.

You wouldn't think it was possible to make a car chase gripping in prose but there is one such chase described in this book through the back streets of Madrid and I felt dizzy just reading it. At the end, with the stolen car safely ensconced in a garage and the garage doors slammed shut behind it, I felt myself being physically thrown forwards as the car came to a halt. Exhausting!

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Miscellany:

Backdrop update

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Currently listening to:

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Last night's dinner:

Rib-eye steak, potatoes, onions and spinach

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Currently reading:

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Miscellany:

Northern Soul

Painted a white line on the  backdrop.

The options are now these:

 

Or maybe some other, yet to be discovered, permutation.

 

The path of the white line needs some adjustment

 

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Currently listening to:

 

A helluva lot of Northern Soul.

 

 

Until I read Stuart Maconie's  memoirs, I was very suspicious of Northern Soul. It seemed slightly imbecilic in terms of its frankly terrifying mass dancing, funny fashion combination of Oxford Bags and vests and second-string Tamla-type music.

 

However, changed my mind completely, and when I finally decide to get my right knee replaced I intend becoming an adept.

 

Only the left knee requires bending.

 

Certainly, the genre is a collector's paradise with dozens of little known recording artists eg Chris Clark, Brenda Holloway, Sisters Love, The Charades, J J Barnes etc

 

But the music is fantastic; very, very uptastic.

 

And, it led to the fall of the Nazi regime.

 

 

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Last night's dinner:

 

Pakora then chicken curry at the Shenaz Restaurant, Glasgow.

 

 

 

This restaurant is an utter pleasure to visit. If you want a hyper-courteous, hyper-civilised, hyper-pleasing, hyper-restorative dining experience, then the Shenaz is the place to go.

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Currently reading:

And hugely enjoying:

Yet more backdrop experimentation.

The current state of affairs.

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I like both of these. The first picture has the advantage of utilising the existing blue paint. The second picture, I think, would be less likely to overwhelm the layout itself.

I think the white border around the black shape and around the rooftops on the RHS is visually critical - although I'm not sure why.

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Currently listening to:

A selection of Morrissey songs.

One has to admit that 20% of his songs are excellent and 80% are tedious.

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Last night's dinner:

Haddock, artichokes, black olives and anchovies.

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Currently reading:

Purchased this morning for £2.99 from Oxfam, it is the story of a young man's search for the spirit of Flamenco. That sounds a bit contrived - "Mmmh! Let's think up a topic for a confessional road book? I know, one man's search for the spirit of Flamenco!!"

But actually, I find it convincing and fascinating.