Dave Spencer PMP Blog moved to www.pmpfilms.com

http://www.pmpfilms.com/

see website www.pmpfilms.com

photo load broken on Google moved blog to http://www.pmpfilms.com/

BLOG NOW ON WEB SITE www.pmpfilms.com

The PMP Blog / Dave and Mandy at PMP is now a tab on our website, there is also the first album of photos via flckr
http://www.pmpfilms.com/

Back from Showbus Wet Wet Wet

Hi folks, still no photos, I think I'll change out my blog to another site as for second day running the Google Blog server states server error everytime i try to load photos, its getting a real pain.
It was seriously wet at Showbus, freezing , windy and wet filming the entrants coming in, worse still knowing it was fine at Blackpool. We had a 30% drop in takings on last year, it only just managed to beat Herne Bay rally, really isn't tenable at the rates they charge at Showbus now although obviously the weather had a huge impact as did Blackpool being the same day. The crowds just weren't there though and when I'd got home I had to dry off all the boxes and then clean out the car while Mandy was having a bath to try and get her circulation going again. I popped up for a shower and cleared all the weekends orders for DVDs. Nice to see old friends, regular customers etc but it really was a miserable day though, couldn't face many like that again, worst Showerbus for ages.Really wanted to share pictures of Blackpool yesterday, I'll try and suss out a new blog site perhaps through my Weebly website.

OFF TO BLACKPOOL THEN DUXFORD

sorry no photos yet again, the Google site keeps coming up server error when I try to upload. Anyway off to Blackpool shortly for the vintage service , we'll also attend the parade next Wednesday. Then when we get back a quick change of cars and drive down to Cambridge for Duxford Showbus tomorrow, hoping the weather isn't as bad as forecast

Oradour-sur-Glane 10th June 1944

 well just goes to show that my computer at home copes better thn that at work as is so often the case, loaded up some photos from the archive no problem at all. In this case our visit to Limoges in France and a side trip from the charming Gites to Oradour Sur Glane which seems a suitably reflective autumn thought. Notice the overhead and light rail tracks, most of the French interurban system was lost in the war years.

From February 1944, 2nd SS Panzer Division (Das Reich) was stationed in the southern French town of Montauban, north of Toulouse, waiting to be resupplied with new equipment and freshly-trained troops. After the D-Day invasion of Normandy, the division was ordered to make its way across the country to stop the Allied advance.

Early on the morning of 10 June 1944, Sturmbannführer Adolf Diekmann, commanding the first battalion of the 4th Waffen-SS Panzer-Grenadier Regiment, informed Sturmbannführer Otto Weidinger at regimental headquarters that he had been approached by two French civilians who claimed that a Waffen SS officer was being held by the Resistance in Oradour-sur-Vayres, a nearby village. The captured German was alleged to be Sturmbannführer Helmut Kämpfe, commander of the 2nd SS Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion, who may have been captured by the Maquis the day before.

Burned cars and buildings still litter the remains of the original village.On 10 June, Diekmann's battalion sealed off the town of Oradour-sur-Glane, having confused it with nearby Oradour-sur-Vayres and ordered all the townspeople – and anyone who happened to be in or near the town – to assemble in the village square, ostensibly, to have their identity papers examined. In addition to the residents of the village, the SS also apprehended six people who did not live there but had the misfortune of riding their bikes through the village when the Germans arrived.

All the women and children were locked in the church while the village was looted. Meanwhile, the men were led to six barns and sheds where machine-gun nests were already in place.

According to the account of a survivor, the soldiers began shooting at them, aiming for their legs so that they would die more slowly. Once the victims were no longer able to move, the soldiers covered their bodies with fuel and set the barns on fire. Only six men escaped; one of them was later seen walking down a road heading to the cemetery and was shot dead. In all, 190 men perished.

The soldiers proceeded to the church and placed an incendiary device there. After it was ignited, women and children tried to flee through the doors and windows of the church, but they were met with machine-gun fire. A total of 247 women and 205 children died in the carnage. Only two women and one child survived; one was 47-year-old Marguerite Rouffanche. She slid out a rear sacristy window, followed by a young woman and child [1]; the Germans' attention was aroused and the three were shot. Marguerite Rouffanche was wounded and her companions were killed. She crawled to some pea bushes behind the church, where she remained hidden overnight until she was rescued the following morning. Another group of about twenty villagers had fled Oradour-sur-Glane as soon as the soldiers had appeared. That night, the village was partially razed.

A few days later, survivors were allowed to bury the dead. No less than 642 inhabitants of Oradour-sur-Glane had been murdered in a matter of hours. Adolf Diekmann claimed that the episode was a just retaliation for partisan activity in nearby Tulle and the kidnapping of Helmut Kämpfe.

GOOGLE SCREW BLOGS UP AGAIN

sorry can't upload photos today as Google have had another brainstorm to ruin our routine, can't get a blessed thing on now, hoping they scrap it straight away. Anyway I got caught in a multi car pile up soon after leaving work last night, 40 cars involved in bad weather on the M56 near Stanlow.I was in the midst of cars spinning around me but thankfully emerged body and car unscathed. We went down the Three Greyhounds for our usual Thursday night drink , the place was dead, I really don't think it has a future. The temporary manager has yet to speak to us, we have only glimpsed him once. I've started editing the Italian material and all covers for DVDs are ready. Hope to see many of you at Showbus on Sunday, I'm packing the car ready tonight as well as hopefully mowing lawns!

IMAGES OF PADUA TRANSLOHR LAST WEEK

today's assortment of images in Italy were taken in the lovely town of Padua where the Translohr system runs on reserve power through the most sensitive parts of the city with pantographs down. Not everyones cup of tea, neither beast nor fowl as we say in English, I suppose its more a tram on the cheap. Not the smoothest of rides but I really recommend this as a location and free of tourists.
Last night we were at the Halle in Manchester for the first night of the new season with Marker elder at the baton as usual, it was a night also for children to come along who are taking part in workshops with the orchestra ( three schools from Rochdale) A top evening with a mix of Smetana, Brahms and Dvorak. The weather for Showbus on Sunday looks slightly damp which is a blow as originally it was forecast to be dry, Blackpool on Saturday for vintage car running still looks mix of sun and cloud.

NEW DVD TITLES NO

I was so busy at work today that i had no time for more Italian photos but here are some of the DVD covers that I managed to get done last night. A couple of new areas for advertising brings us into mainstream trucking with a 1/4 page in Trucking and again in Truck Model World, lets see if this gives the truck DVD sales an even bigger boost this Christmas while I'm away seeking some of the oldest working trucks left in the world in Myanmar ( Burma). Off to the halle tonight so its a quick tea and out, catch up with you all tomorrow. Gt success on Sue's family tree thanks to a kind gent, features Beech family from Biddulph, Staffs.

MORE ITALIAN ESCAPADES ON THE BUSES

two liveries and three types of vehicle and three routes, that's Bologna trolleybuses as far as I found them last week. The two circular routes like Milan are interescted by cross town route 13 which is quite lengthy and pretty frequent, even at weekends. Bologna repays some exploratiion, photography can be a bit of a pig with shadows on the narrower parts of ther old town on the 13 but you can usually get your spot if you await the movement of the sun through the day. The banana split Mandy is eating and looking into the sun hence the slight frown is worth a mint, that and two coffees came out at £20. I got a couple of shirts in a sale and Mandy some new shoes.  It was an easy placwe to get around once you'd got your bearings, all day tickets, timed tickets, machines on board all put it above simlar places in Italy.

PHOTOS FROM OUR ITALIAN TRIP

my first selection from our Italian transport trip starts as we did in Milan featuring the old Peter witt cars which have been the source of much trouble recently between public, management and unions over supposed dangerous speeds. The weather was pretty good at this juncture, we have over 2 hours of film from Milan. its been hectic back at work and I need to lose some weght, great food in Italy, Bologna in particular, posting hotel reviews on Trip Adviser as normal. Heard from Li in China, he is back at work after the holidays, also from John in Guaungzhou who has had a family full moon ceremony for his new daughter.

BACK HOME SAFELY IF A LITTLE LATE

no blog tonight, nearly bed time and Mandy has a hospital appointment early tomorrow, I'll start posting pictures from Italian trip tomorrow

ANOTHER BASH AT ITALIAN SLOW BOAT POSTINGS

at a snails pace with the screen on half  resolution, ie no graffics at all I will attempt this our last post until that happy flight home tomorrow evening. Its has been a cold, damp day in Bologna, my hoped for rest daty  by the pool was dashed by the weather. Instead we went into the city and had a mooch around, we were goinmg to get some cheese and sought out the market or food shops, after going around most of the city the narrow lane was discovered yards from our starting point. As usual most shops shut when shoppers arrive and unlike other days probably give up for the wekend instead of reopening at tea time. It was strange the atmosphere as buyers avoided the fdreaded Parma produce subjuect of the recent health scare and instead it was vegetables and cheese which were the big sellers. I doubt though that the scene had changfed in many centuries except of course the extortianate prices which upon reflection make the UK look like a bargain basement after  all ( until next new year) and price hikes with the conservatives vicious hike in VAT which will hit all but the rich- typical Tory move, who actually voted them in, remeber Thatcher- nobody admited casting one vote for that sadistic bitch, see she's still alive with the pope, ole fella over from the vatican, perhaps giving up religion and joining the c of e instead? Nice really having a church without all that religious stuff. Eh ho, a nice crusade against the lads with funny hats next, see we have Algerian street sweepers in London, now where did that one come from, not one EU , Romanian, Bulgarian, Lithuanian etc not wanting a job in UK, just see the post cards sits vac note in Algerian shop, wanted extremist street sweeper wanted for uk, must wear funny hat and like bombing andd killing people. Ah well enough of of that friendly banter, the rain still falling our last night in Italy, perhaps for ever, perhaps like Venice it will sink without trace with just Gucci hand bags left floppinmg about on the surfice and last gasps of Vespa scooters popping into eternity. We'll clear all orders by Tuesday, Monday if Mandy gets a chance but she has to go to Oswestry hospital for 'gait analysis' . THe hotel are hosting yet more conferences even over the wekend, lloks like a big do tonight. Mandy has started the packing, an extra case required for all the tickets we've got for Martin. Wonder how John Bishop is geting on in Australia on the T Fischer trip, hope the winter weather holding out down under, at least Perth and Brisbane will be good. Well thats it from Bologna, see you next from fair Cheshire.

GETTING TO FLORENCE ANOTHER ITALIAN NIGHTMARE

One thing you could say for Italy is that the public transport is always against persons with disabilities, M;andy noted that you hardly ever see a wheeelchair or mobility scooter , they just couldn't get away from home. There are no handrails for access to buildings, no slopes for wheelchairs, steps to every form of transport, big ones to boot. Getting tickets to Florence from  Bologna, sauce indeed, they wanted £100 for a day return for us, denied that you could do it on ordinary trains trying to flog eurostars etc. We eventually figured out the route which cost less than 25% of that, return. It was a dull damp day but the sun did make brief appearances, the tram terminates at the station so no problem finding them, very frequent and yes really low floor, it's a first. Ran smoothly, no landscaping or finishing, just rubble, mud etcd as when it was finished. Firsdt part of line so so then on to undeveloped area, terminates middle of nowhere like Sheffield Half way. When the sun appeared I dashed around tryinmg to get a few minuterw coverage of the city sights, mainly Americans getting ripped off with black umbrella sellers. Crowded in the extreme, not a pleasant experience but better than that grotty hole Parma. Lots of local and interurban buses near rail station, all easy to cover, 2 lotys of dd open top tourist buses. Scenic rides through alpine area, lots of tunnels, got back in good time, eating at hotel for the 5th time, too far out to get anything else, more tickets for Martin garnered and another thousand probably notched up, dreading the bill. Tomorrow forcast bad again, oh joy , my rest day by the pool has been destroyed. Roll on the plane home, wish we were leaving tomorrow morning.

PARMA HAM POISONED RUMOUR TAKES HAM OFF BREAKFAST

yes here we are surviving the great Parma Ham scare in Italy, rumour all over that Parma ham has been poisoned by people sick of Italians. Mind you tyhat could well be me. Anyway we were back too late to post last night, a very busy day, went to Padua for new Translohr line, this was good, no hassles and system rough ride but with Italian driving even worse, what an abortion the Translohr system is, neither trolley nor tram and no benefits except 'tram' on the cheap. Then to Metstre Venice, 4 'trolleys' whatever on driver training, light difficult but then on to Venice, a water bus down grand canal, St Marks square etc then back to Bologna. Today Mandy rested whilst I notched up yet motre tickets for Martin going to Modena, third time lucky, three trolley routes operating, bright yellow livery, new Neoplans, three types of trolley, friendly, good map, no day ticket only timed tickets. Then on to Parma, what a rough hole this has become, 2 trolley routes left in operation using same trolleys, very rough looking driven like mobile coffins , this place has hit the decks and plummeted, perhaps the recession but after Modena what a grotty place, not recommended at all. Got back to Bologna tea time, filmed trolleys in rush hour, filmed first de pole, driver gave up trying auto poler and went off on auxillery power.

another pot of gold spilled in Italy

well it was a fine hot sunny day for our exploration of Bologna. It hasn't become cheap overnight but our meal at the hotel was extermely good and lovely service, the desk staff aren't that brilliant though. Anyway we went outside and found the bus stop armed with our day tickets, actually you can purchase them on board, well a 1 hr ticket for a euro. The bus stop was being rebuilt so you had to walk on the dual carriageway against the traffic and stand in a ditch to catch the bus. Nothing here is accesable, no such thing as a low floor, mind you even the new trams in Milan weren't low floor so as to avoid steps at stops, typical half hearted Italian cock up. Frustrating place as usual, I picked up a ticket damp from last nights rain but otherwise neat example for Martin, Mandy said not to do it when she is with me! There were both circular routes in operation with artics on one and rigids 2 axles on the other plus artics in the cross city service 13 , two liveries, the old orange and new red although the change looks as if its taking several years. We had a tour on the single deck open topper which offered discounted reates for disabled, we had to argue for that rate with Mandy, woman siad Mandy wasn't disabled, I told her to use her eyes. We had two banana splits and a lousy coffe, £20 gone. Bologna is quite small in the centre, a few old churches, nothing particularly atractivee , in fact without trolleys wouldn't give a second glance eh. I did some truck filming from the over bridge on the motorway near the hotel, evening rush hour as sun was going down, almost constant truck traffic but had to poke camera through mesh on overbridge, worked fine. Looking at weather to decide tomorrow's destination.

ARRIVED IN BOLOGNA IN HEAVY RAIN

yes we had our last morning in Milan, I did some more film of the trolleys and trams, most services were resumed but with alterations due to long term track works. Then we caught the train, despite requesting assistance and disabled friendly seating they ignored this request and we ended up half way along train and in the middle of a carriage with high steps despite being a Eurostar. The weather got worse as we headed to Bolognas and we lost all our documents and maps including the name of the hotel, found it in the end though, took a taxi to what I thought was correct and it was, that.s a first eh. Saw one way working on the trolleys in Bologna, lots of buses. The hotel here is very good and if the weather bucks up as promised we'll enjoy the large pool area, at least Mandy will. Got 24 hour tickets for the bus ready for tomorrow exploring the town.

NOTES FROM MILAN

Hi everyone, well here we are in hot sunny Milan. We had a very early start on Saturday morning, the taxi whisked us off to Manchester airport at 5.45 am. The flight was delayed a few minutes as an aircraft had shed some tyre on the runway. We soon caught up and we at the Hotel Berna by lunchtime. It is just around the corner from the central station, sale old dossers and ethnics all over the place and old slags loitering near the hotel. But the Berna is No 4 on trip adviser out of about 10 million hotels in Milan, not for nothing then our choice, I was unaware that they were go kart racing at Monza this weekend, really sad sights why do people pick on bus spotters, car racing is urrghh sooo boring from what little I' ve seen, so few notches below football in my humble estimation. The weather has been very good, cloudless. Costs here are astronomical, a meal is at best about £70 for 2 course with wine, a bit of bread adds £5 to the bill, rip off Italy outdoes rip of England and Ireland. The hotel has free internet, free mini bar and free snack corner, mind you for a shoebox room at £150 a night its not all so free. The Peter Witt cars are still going strong, some yellow some still orange. The older cars are like some low floors also yellow , the rest except latest low floors are orange, the low floors green. There are lots of routes off for works, some get back to normal tomorrow ( i hope). Feet and legs a bit tired, we did the sightseeing buses to save Mandy some foot slogging. A lemon soda costs £7 a head at Duomo square, but its prime people watching spot, you pay more for best places at cafes. Tomorrow after filming at peak times including a lot more on trolleys we have already booked the high speed train for Bologna tomorrow afternoon. Temperature about 23 which is very nice  for walking and filming and hot enough to laze in. The breakfast here had huge lumps of toberlerone chocolate , white and crunchy etc at breakfast, not seen that before, did I go for it, you bet I did. Hotel full of Brits, Irish and Americans. Some really gobby yanks on the open top bus, one was listening to the ear plug commentary and telling the others in her group what it was saying, cept they to had earphones, anyway everyone had a free commentary from her, oh boy. Looking for ac cheap pizza tonight so we can afford to survive a week without bankruptcy. Stoke up at brekkie, come back at lunchtime is a good formula.The only bargain is the 48 hour ATM transport tickert at 5.50 euros. Picked up a couple of tickets on the metro for Martin, Mandy wasn't too impressed with that.

LAST OF MY BALKAN BLOGS

yes I'm now firmly focused on our Itlaian trip, we leave home at 5 am tomorerow initially bound for Milan. The last of the Balkans selections features the loco in Tiran, the capital's main rail station which really illustrates the poor level of erail services especuallu compared to Kosov it's new neighbour which has welcomed help from other sources including enthusuiasts. Durres the main Albanian port proved a fruitful source of tru movements, all available now on DVD and trailers on Youtube.

Durres is also a seaside destination although our 5minute amble didn't really make us want to stay longer.

our attempt at catching a local bus back to the station failed as we cruised past and ended in the far end of the town thereby missing the train, all worked out well though in the end. I've one volume left to burn on DVD tonight and a final Youtube clip. Then comes Liverpool buses and after that the rally at Heaton Park last Sunday. Italy must surely lead the jobs when I return but a few more archive volumes are assured over the autumn and winter.