Found these just sitting around. Do they belong to your folks, Don?

Vic,
I, too, have fond memories of the Flying Scotsman from an early age. I was one of the "anoraks" that spent most of their spare hours watching the trains go by. In my case, from the very start of WW2. Living from 1937 almost next door to Heaton Junction and engine repair sheds in Newcastle, I suppose it was a natural progression after breathing in all that smoke and dear knows what else. Many a happy day spent with our ABCs sitting by the main line from Edinburgh to London just collecting numbers. My grandchildren, and great grandchildren, think I had some strange habits.
Dave.

[quote:3496ace15f="davem"]Given up photographing birds since being pooped on by Gannets at Bempton. Thank goodness Pentax gear is washable!

Need more than a baseball cap in this situation.
Seen a few years ago in Rhodes. And I complain about the odd gull!

Thanks, Andy, certainly covered by household insurance but I've got a £95.00 excess so not worth making a claim and losing any discount in the future.
John (jeallen) maybe didn't use the correct termination in my first post. It is, in fact, a complete plastic ring with projections to clip into another plastic cover which only appears to be there as a dust cover. I'll be in Glasgow next week so I feel a trip to Johnstons is on the cards. In the meantime, as I said, the lens seems to be working correctly.

Thanks to you both.
As I said, the lens seems to be as good as ever it was but to be on the safe side I've taken the "clip" off again. Next step is to try Tamron but, as Mike says, the lens is a bit long in the tooth, like me, so it may be that spares are no longer available.

I dropped my camera with my Tamron 24 - 135 attached. When I checked it I found that the, for want of a better word, small black circlip surrounding the rear element had come off. The lens appeared to work correctly without it although I have managed to get it back in place. It only appears to be there to hide the retaining screws though I suspect it must have a purpose.Should it become detached again, is it OK to leave it off, rather than risk it falling inside the camera and damaging the shutter?

,

Agree with Duster about size. I've used a Wacom Bamboo for a number of years now without any problems.

Lovely images, Alan, and bringing back fond memories of shopping in the Arcade in the 50s
Haven't been back in the city since the planners ruined it.

I'm with Ken.
Remind me of that horrible stone cladding that was in vogue back in the sixties
Dave.

Thank you, both.
Nigel Mc, the colours are a fair way out. We had to submit prints for the competition and I know my printer is always a fair bit darker than my screen so I always overcompensate before printing and I forgot to go back to the original colours.
Dave.