10:30.

Not quite the day I had planned…

Right now I’m departing a wet and dreary Calder Valley for London. I’m later thn expected for a number of reasons.

Last night my laptop threw a strop. The battery (despite being new last year) decided that it wasn’t playing anymore and gave up the ghost, leaving the machine without power as it refused to run off the mains charger without it. Bugger!

Playing around with the benighted thing ate into the time I’d planned to get ready for going away, hence today’s delay.

I’m travelling sans laptop as a new battery won’t arrive until tomorrow, leaving me to blog/run the mobile office off my smartphone – which will restrict the number of pictures I can add.

To add to the fun and games there’s overhead line problems on the London end of the West Coast Main Line (WCML) but that shouldn’t affect services from Manchester..

So, as I’m restricted in what I can do I might as well sit back, relax and enjoy the journey. Dawn was kind enough to drive me to Sowerby Bridge station so I avoided a soaking and Avanti have provided me with 1st Class travel to/from London to attend this afternoons photo competition awards. 

Let’s see how things go…

11:45.

London bound!

My trip across the Pennines was a grey and grim as ever, making me realise just how lucky I was to get out in the sunshine the other day. The stroll between Victoria abd Piccadilly in freezing temperatures was only enlivened by watching a pair of Manchester’s finest nicking and handcuffing two teenage lads!

Now I’m relaxing in coach J of an 11 car Pendolino heading for the capital. There’s only a handful of us in the coach so I have a table bay of to myself.