Celebrity interest?

jonte

Western Thunderer
Thought I might just share this light-hearted tale with you, fellow Westerners, as we approach the festive season, especially in light of recent public interest in our wonderful hobby.

Related to me by my son, who to my enduring disappointment is a close-follower of Liverpool F.C., the tale goes that one of the current crop of players has a reputation for being, well,.....boring.

To his credit, the player concerned( one James Milner) somewhat good-naturedly plays along with it all to the enjoyment of fans and fellow players alike who avidly follow him on his Twittery-thing account.

Prompted by a recent comment along the lines of, “I bet he’s got a model railway”, Mr. Milner, ever the willing target of this army of wags, did none other than go out and purchase a train-set (specific details of scale/manufacturer/modern or steam era were not related), all in the spirit of playing along.

What was unusual on this occasion, or so I’m led to believe, was that after playing with his latest acquisition, friend Milner was keen to report that surprisingly, he’d found it a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding experience - or words to that effect.

Perhaps we can expect a new member?
 

Tim Watson

Western Thunderer
My letter in response the the Spectator article has been published today!
Slow pleasures
Sir: Richard Bratby’s elegant article (‘Love train’, 14 December) reminds us
that model railways are increasingly socially credible. My own imagination took off 50-plus years ago with a Hornby Dublo set. Since then, the hobby’s predicted demise just hasn’t happened. Maybe our high-pressure, instant-gratification world needs the slow pleasures of researching, building and running model railways. Building one can be quick or can take a lifetime. At the Model Railway Club in London we have a layout based on our Kings Cross area that is already 36 years in the making. For sure, the demographic has a grey bias, but I’ll bet that many members of the Young MRC (our youth group) will be opening model railway presents on Christmas Day.
Professor Tim Watson
President, Model Railway Club, London N1
 
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