Sylvester

Reading, i wonder what's a Reading that could possibly be of interest?

As a person that as been unfortunately brought up with the railways, (my father worked for them), by best mates' uncle was a spotter, my science teacher at school was a spotter and showed us railway videos all the time (one on electric trains because he had been doing electricity), my other mate was a trainspotter, and i travel on the things every day (usually delayed). You kinda pick things up as you go along. And i'm sure that our friend Craig would disagree with you and say that not all trains look the same, and even if they do look the same they are not always the same, are they Craig? Perhaps he'd be interested in the 2004 £2 coin?

Employment in places like Barnsley and other nice areas like that in Yorkshire is quite high. It's very high in Retford and Worksop in North Nottinghamshire, that's because the industries and jobs these places thrived on, like Coal Mining in Barnsley, Steel production in Sheffield and Rotherham was destroyed by The Thatcher government. I know my father got made redundant at least three times throughout the Thatcher era, once from a Steelworks, and once from British Rail. (And once from somewhere else), all due to privatisation. But the numbers of unemployed have decreased more recently because of a labour shift, from heavy/productive industries to consumer industries, like working at Greggs, or at WHSmiths, more people have had to take jobs as sales people/shopworkers/cab drivers/civil servants etc. Which doesn't exactly help those that have spent 30 or so years down a coal mine and wouldn't know how to use a computer if it hit them on a head. Also there has been a much stronger emphasis placed on education, and thus now it isn't easy to leave school with no grades and get a job with very little problems. Pity really because not everyone is capable of going to college (or even want to), and for some jobs like working on the bins i can't really see how having an E in GCSE Science would hinder that particular job. Which leads onto another reason for a lower unemployment level, more people are being forced into going to college and University, thus lowering the numbers somewhat. Then again the government may not have represented the figures entirely accurately, are they for a particular age group? I know it's high cos i know far too many people that are on the dole and either have no intention of finding a job, or can't.

British unemployment has hit a 28-year low - 930,000 people, one of the lowest figures in Europe. And why do you think the unemployment situation is being steadly rectified? because the old witch ain't in power anymore. If she still was it definately wouldn't be getting better, i can tell you.

Exactly Geoff, although i was very young when Thatcher resigned, the legacy of her tyranny lingers still. I only have to see the level of unemployment and i know she's behind alot of it. And Blair if anything is continuing Thatcher's policies, but from a slightly different angle, he certainly didn't stop the privatisation movement did he!

i'm not disputing the fact that the US was needed I just think Churchill shouldn't have been as quick to roll over at every US command. By that i mean he commited usfinancially to the US, rather than standing equal with the US he made us in debt with them, and caused us to have to pay them alot back. Also it was the fall of Britain after WWII that gave way to the rise of the US. I think Churchill could have played it a bit more tactically.

Aye but Chris isn't here, or rather maybe he is here as in this country, isn't it about the right time for his radio interview?

Now if Winston Churchill hadn't kissed Roosie's backside so much and let him take Britain for a right fool, then we may well have been still a great power.

she couldn't crack an egg with a spoon.

Well coming from a working class family as i do that relied on heavy industry (and yes there is a steelworks across the road), she destroyed this country's industry, she sold out to abroad. (now we have to buy stuff in from abroad) The age old Conservative Motto - "if it ain't broke don't fix it", Thatcher didn't follow that she tinkered with everything and screwed the whole damn lot up. She was no conservative in the traditional sense, her and her stupid new right, i hate her more than i hate Blair. (As i am of the old right). And she ruined everything by Privatising (If you think that privatisation really improved the railways then you are living in cloud cuckoland), and she was trying her best to destroy the NHS. Higher unemployment, the rich got richer, the poorer got poorer... some improvement!

Hmm problem is like William stated. We're fed up with Blair now, but just remember how many people swore they'd never vote Conservative again after the anti-Chri, erm Thatcher.

amen to that!

Anyone else amused by the U-Turn on the EU constitution referendum? I see T Blair's Fourth Reich is crumbling slowly. And well done to Mr Howard for really showing BLiar up!

i've never heard of IDST before now either...

My feelings entirely i would love that. Nope it's been sold, and even if it hadn't at about £7,000 or whatever it would have been priced up at it's way out of my league, even £700 is out of my league. Most i've ever paid was £450, and i had to part exchange a £110 coin to be able to afford that one, i'm still scraping the rest together.

man ain't this gorgeous? from my fave Queen too. http://www.colincooke.com/graphic/images/g...88vfgvf7950.jpg

Well i very rarely use padding, only then for proofs... when i've been daring enought to scan them I dunno if you can, but i find for silver a setting of Brightness 18 and contrast 20 works best. Depending on your program that would work out as a middle range, with contrast just ever so slightly higher than the brightness. Copper and bronze you need the brightness bit higher than the contrast. Gold you want the contrast higher than the brightness. you'll have to experiment a bit though.

nope afraid not...

Pistrucci was very egocentrical, very talented no doubt about that, but very arrogant.

i know what you mean, i've got to finance my hammered coin addiction also, and that slight sixpence problem.

with hammered though it depends on the series what the grade is. (that Geo shilling... i'm always fascinated with how WW hid his initials to start with, very different to BP, who spelt his name out in full!)

A very nice coin too!

it's definately EF.

One sovereign jumps straight to mind (infact two do) 1841 and 1859 Ansell type. Although i'd urge you to be on the look out for a 1858 (i think it was 1858, might have been the normal 1859) The catalogue doesn't show a price difference but one of those years is very scarce. I'm damn sure it's 1858, high grade specimens are a good investment. It was always the one i couldn't get, never had enough cash. Did i mention i used to collect London mint Shield reverse sovereigns?

don't look at the Irish ones or the Netherlands, infact just don't look at any modern Netherlands coin, ever.