I’ve had another day where I’ve spent most of my time glued to my desk working on various projects such as writing and judging whilst taking the odd break to get out and stretch my legs. The weather’s hardly been conducive to my perambulations as it’s been  cold, grey and wet. This evening was a re-run of yesterday where the clouds descended, leaving us on the edge of an ethereal world, almost as if we were perched on the edge of a cloud, peering down on the valley below. Funny how these things trigger memories isn’t it? It reminded me of some of the wonderful old books my parents has picked up in salerooms back in the 50s and had stacked away in the attic. I grew up in a big old house in Southport that my parents had bought cheaply after the war and stocked some of the spare rooms with all sorts of stuff they’d picked up in salerooms in an era when many families were downsizing just as fashions were changing. As a kid I’d go exploring and flick through some of these heavyweight tomes. They were the sort of books that would have full page illustrations and a thin paper flysheet that kept them protected and separate from the ordinary pages. They seemed massive to a child of my age. I’m sure there were some classics and I’d love to have them now – happy memories…

Talking of memories – I’ve finally got my eBay account up and running. At the moment there’s not much on it other than old railway slides from 30 years ago. Gradually, when time permits, I’ll be using it to offer for sale all sorts of railway memorabilia that I’ve collected over the years from events and here and there. It’s time to downsize and pass these things on to others rather than letting them sit in drawers or gather dust in the loft.

Here’s a sample. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/313140834834

OK, it’s a wet and miserable Wednesday night, so where and when shall I transport you to today? I know, how about Australia, in 1999?

This is the rocks known as The Balconies (for obvious reasons) in the Grampians, near Halls Gap, Victoria. This was part of my 1997-99 world tour. Lynn and I were staying with a woman called Alison, whom we’d met on our travels in India the previous year. When we arrived in Oz we went to stay with Alison and her kids (Matt and Kim) in Melbourne – a city I’ve always liked since. After Xmas the five of us piled into Alison’s van and spent a couple of weeks on a road trip exploring the Great Ocean Road. This was just one of the places we pitched up in. It’s a bit different from the rocks I regularly sit on just down from us here in West Yorkshire…

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