Today’s been another home based one here at Bigland Towers. I’d hoped the pair of us might have got out and about as Dee’s had the day off but it wasn’t to be as too many other things got in the way and time flew.
So I spent time on various household duties, work and watching the Tory party in London disintegrate on social media. The High Court threw out a challenge by five outer London boroughs (all Tory voting) to the Mayor of London’s extension to the ULEZ (Ultra Low Emissions Zone) from central London. Apparently, it’s OK to have a ULEZ in the central London boroughs where few people own a car, but woe betide a Labour Mayor who has the temerity to extend it to areas where the Tory voting middle classes who own multiple cars per family live. Don’t even ask how much this futile court challenge has cost taxpayers in the five Tory boroughs. Oh, and ignore the fact that ULEZ was originally planned by one Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson when he was London Mayor as that just doesn’t fit the narrative!
The Tories are desperate to make out that ULEZ disproportionately hits the poor (it doesn’t) which is quite a turn-up for the books as they’ve spent the past 13 years making the poor poorer. Still, there’s elections due in 2024 so they need every excuse they can grasp hold of. In London the Tories have selected an absolute no-hoper as their Mayoral candidate. Susan Hall was never anyone’s first choice but a succession of scandals meant it was Buggins turn. Said Buggins is a very right-wing, Brexit, Boris and Trump supporting individual who’s left a car crash all across social media – the ideal candidate for London Mayor (not). Nominating Hall as their London candidate is like nominating Enoch Powell as prospective MP for Golders Green. It just ain’t gonna happen! It’s no wonder the Tories are clinging on to ULEZ like shipwreck survivors to a lifebelt. There’s only one problem. ULEZ only affects 1 in 10 cars (and they have to be at least 17 years old) and that number’s dwindling all the time thanks to age and the Mayors scrappage scheme. By the time it comes to the Mayoral elections in May 2024 and the general election later that year this will be a non-issue.
Sad to say, but this whole episode brightened my day. Well, added to the fact the Ukrainians are making solid progress in ejecting the Russian invaders from their country, leading to even more internet tizzys by Russian trolls.
Now it’s time to wind down, ignore the world of geo and local politics and look forward to the weekend. So, I’ll leave you with a picture of the day which was inspired by a conversation I had earlier when I nipped up to our local pub to indulge in the Friday night quiz. Here are Dhows on the beach at Nungwi, Zanzibar on the 30th May 2001…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
It’s time for a day away form the office and out on the rails. But where to? I’ve several places on the list to tick off but – as often happens – I’m being governed by the weather forecast. East coast or West? The Midlands or London? The outlook’s promising on the East coast and I’ve unfinished business over in Lincolnshire, so Barton on Humber it is…
Feel free to keep popping in to see what I get up to today. Will I have the fun and games I had last time or will I actually make it onto the Barton branch this time?…
06:40.
Not a bad start. I’m on Northern’s 06:37 off Sowerby Bridge to Leeds via Bradford. I feel odd getting a Westbound train from here rather than Halifax but as its all downhill from home there are advantages! Around a dozen folk were waiting for the service which is worked by a 3-car class 195. There’s plenty of seats available so I’ve bagged a table. I’ll be curious to see how it fills up at Halifax.
06:45.
Between 35-40 people were waiting at Halifax, including one person requiring assistance to board so the guard’s deployed the collapsible ramp. As you’d expect this time of day most folk look like they’re on their way to work.
07:50.
Having reversed at Bradford Interchange my train to Leeds ended up comfortably full but not overcrowded. It certainly paid its way. Leeds station was starting to get busy but was easily navigable. The new barrier arrangements have created a lot more circulation space opposite the main stairs from the island platforms which has really eased the logjam that used to form. I was waiting there for my next train which was due in at platform 8.
No longer a logjam…
I was pleased to see this arrive, working the 06:56 from Skipton to London Kings Cross…
91106 looking very smart in its revised Intercity livery.
What I like about these old Mk4 sets is the still have a quiet coach behind the locomotive which is where I am now. The coach is rarely husy even when the rest of the train is – as is the case today. There’s only a dozen of us in here whilst the next car’s almost full.
I’m not going to count my chickens just yet, but today’s looking good. The weather’s certainly better than forecast with high hazy cloud and lots of sunshine. I only hope this holds up as I travel further East…
09:30.
Yet again, my time at Doncaster was extended by late running trains. Trans-Pennine maintained their reputation by being over 12 mins behind time at Doncaster. The reason given was a late-running freight train. I wouldn’t have minded if it wasn’t for the fact ‘Donny’ was quiet with little of interest to photograph. Even the railway works yard was bereft of stock apart from a few old coal hoppers.
I’m now chugging along through the flatlands of Lincolnshire East of Scunthorpe. The town’s steelworks seemed oddly quiet too with little trace of the smoke or steam that you’d expect from such a huge industrial location.
09:45.
I’ve just been for a wander through the train. Well, the rear 3-car set anyway. There’s only three of us in it!
Pick a seat, any seat…
Admittedly, I saw quite a few folk detrain at Donny but I’d have thought it would be busier than this. Have the bright lights and fleshpots of Cleethorpes lost their lustre I wonder? I’ll find out later. I’m off at the next stop – Grimsby…
11:00.
Nothing much has changed in Grimsby since I was here last. Platform 1’s still out of use (points failure) forcing folk to use the footbridge or queue for the lift from platform 2 which all services to/from Cleethorpes are using. TPE are still late. The service behind mine was still using the ‘stuck behind a late running freight train’ excuse. I wonder how long they’ll keep that up? I’ll look the services up later. Still, the sun’s shining and East Midlands Railway’s 11:08 to Barton on Humber is running, so that’s a plus. There’s new ticket machines on platform one and I stopped to admire the extra decorations…
13:45.
Made it – and the weather’s played ball too! My trip up the Barton branch took me as far as Barrow Haven where I left the train at a single platform station that’s bern totally rebuilt in the past year as the old one was subsiding. I’d chosen this location for two reasons. There’s a nice shot of the train crossing a bridge over an inlet and it’s also the start of a lovely walk that takes you along the edge of the Humber to Barton. The footpath’s sandwiched between the river and old, flooded claypits so the area’s a haven for wildlife as its covered in reeds. You also get a grandstand view of the Humber bridge as you walk up to it…
I’m now in Barton waiting for the train back to Cleethorpes after a really enjoyable walk and quick wander around the town. Judging by the amount of old or vacant shops it was obviously a prosperous place at one time but I expect the opening of the Humber bridge killed a lot of that. Even so, there’s still a lot of buildings of interest.
The station mirrors the town as its reduced in importance too. It’s a single platform station at the end of a long siding from New Holland. Only now it’s graced by East Midlands Railway 2 car, air conditioned Class 170s rather than the Northern (then EMR) single car Class 153s which were the lines staple stock for so many years.
Compare and contrast today’s view with this one, which was taken on my first visit to Barton in March 1990!
Despite the sparse service and unexceptional traction the line has appeal to railway enthusiasts who’re interested in history and signalling. New Holland was the site of a pier station for ferries across the Humber to Hull. Nowadays it’s a bulk port but two old signalboxes at Barrow Rd Crossing and Oxmarsh survive along with an array of semaphore signals (some new). At Oxmarsh Crossing you can even observe the single line token exchange between the signaller and driver – a rare sight nowadays.
The station at Goxhill’s also worth a visit. There’s a lovely old station building. Wooden level crossing gates and a well maintained signalbox.
17:25.
I retraced my steps as far As Grimsby where I paused to grab a last few pictures before catching a Trans-Pennine service Westwards. The good weather was turning as grey skies moved in so there was no point in hanging around. Well, until we got to Scunthorpe where I took a break in between trains to for a couple of lineside shots and a nearby Road Traffic Accident (RTA) where a car was on its roof in the middle of a main road. Welcome to Scunthorpe!
Now I’m aboard a Northern stopper from Scunny to Donny. The weather’s getting duller and looking like rain so I might just head home. I have the shots I need so there’s no point in hanging around.
20:44.
Home and dry – literally! By the time I arrived in Doncaster the rain was setting in and stayed with me all the way home. The light was so bad I put the camera away and relaxed and enjoyed the journey instead. There were quite a few cancellations of Calder valley services shown at Leeds so I took the ‘scenic’ route via Shipley to Forster Square then walked across town to Interchange. The homeless ‘tent city’ under the arches at Forster Square had disappeared but what was there was worse in many respects. Dozens of people were queuing for soup kitchens that had been set up just before I arrived. It’s a tragic sight that also makes me very angry. We’ve had 13 years of Tory Government. Instead of tackling this problem they’ve made it worse. But at least their donors are well fed, having trousered billions in dodgy PPE contracts during Covid, or enjoying their expense accounts as members of the House of Lords…
A story you won’t see in the media as so many of them are obsessed with the much more important story about Nigel Farage’s bank account…
I managed to find a train from Interchange that wasn’t cancelled and Dawn saved me a soaking by picking me up from the station. Now I’m fed and in the warm, relaxing and sorting out a few of today’s pictures for your delectation whilst watching the rain bouncing off the cottage windows. Here’s a taster of what I’ve been taking…
170514 crosses the Beck at Barrow Haven with a service to Cleethorpes. It’s a squeeze to fit a 2-car into the shot compared to the single car 153s that used to operate the line. The Humber bridge seen from the coastal path near Barton on Humber.A variety of work and leisure craft moored in Barton Haven with the Humber bridge beyond. Old shopfronts in Barton on Humber.
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There’s been much of a muchness here at Bigland Towers today. I’ve made progress with the various weeks projects that are keeping me tied to the office with the intention of escaping as soon as the weather permits – which may be tomorrow if I’m lucky and the rain avoids areas I need to visit. At least a number of jobs have been crossed off my list which is always a positive feeling at the end of the day. I’ve also lined up a couple of trips for the beginning of next month which will add a varied start to August. Hang on – August? Yep, the year’s that far advanced, which seems strange as I feel like I’m still waiting for summer to arrive. July’s been such a wet month here in the Pennines I feel that I don’t really have a tan, it’s rust! Hopefully the proverbial ‘Indian summer’ will save us. If not – I’m buggering off abroad just as soon as I can – which may be difficult as the diary’s already full of events.
Still, I can’t complain too much about today. It’s been productive and I’ve hit all my exercise targets. Now I’ll I’ve got to do is hit the financial ones, which isn’t quite as easy, although the decluttering and sticking stuff on eBay’s adding the occasional bonus. The last sale’s ended but a new one has started, so feel free to check out what old railway slides and hardware (or clothing) is up in the final July sale by following this link. Oh, there’s also the opportunity to buy prints of some of the 83,800 rail and travel picture I have on my Zenfolio website should you be so inclined.
OK, enough of the salesmanship. The next picture’s for free. Dawn’s out with friends this evening so I decided that my daily constitutional could be postponed until then. This coincided with the best weather we’ve had all day, so here’s a shot from Wakefield Gate, the cobbled road above our cottage but below the Wainhouse Tower. There’s a great little place to stop and admire the view and this is how that view looked an hour ago.
Happy valley…
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The beginning of another busy week here at Bigland Towers – and for once – it’s not rained! Not that we’ve had Mediterranean temperatures, in fact the Mercury struggled to get into double figures until late morning. It was all the same to me as I spent much of the day chained to my desk, sorting out pictures and paperwork as well as continuing the decluttering of the place which is freeing up shelf space and providing more items for eBay. You can find the latest additions here. They include more old rail slides as well as items of clothing. More memorabilia will follow in the next few days as I’ve still got a some of my 1,000 free items a month quota to use up before the end of July.
Whilst working I did have time to check some news on Twitter. Wait, what? Musk has renamed it? It’s no longer Twitter, it’s now ‘X’. ‘Space Karen’ has ditched a unique brand name that was recognised the world over where the adjective to ‘tweet’ has made it into Dictionaries. Instead, we have a meaningless letter that conveys – nothing at all. You really do have to wonder what this ‘genius’ is thinking – other than ‘how can I trash my $44bn investment’? It’s about as stupid a rebranding as the time in 2001 that the Royal Mail decided to change its name to ‘Consignia’ in a multi-million pound flop that was rapidly reversed. Even that was better than ‘X’ as there was a a slight chance of guessing it was something to do with consigning things (Yes, money. Down the drain: Ed). I mean, if you’re an advertiser or PR person, who the hell’s going to say ‘I know, we’ll spend millions advertising on X, it’s such a recognisable platform!’ Linda Yaccarino, Musk’s cover for Twitter Chief Exec has been busy tweeting (no, we’re not going to call it X’ing) the sort of meaningless management-speak bollocks that we in the UK have loved to take the pee out of for years (remember Gus Hedges in ‘drop the dead donkey’?)
I wonder how long ‘X’ will last?
Meanwhile, in the real world, away from the whims of idiot billionaires I took advantage of the good weather to get my full five mile constitutional, which is the first time I’ve been able to do this on a Monday in weeks. I’m determined to up the exercise ante this week come hell or high water. Let’s see if the weather Gods smile on my efforts. At least I don’t have to spend too much time cooking this week as I’ve already made a batch of carrot and coriander soup whilst this afternoon’s little job was to make a vat of Urad Dahl which is now cooling on the cooker before being consigned to the freezer. Tonight we ate just as healthily, but not veggie. As whilst I was getting my final mile walk in Dee (who’d been working in Huddersfield today) fancied fish and salad and cooked up this little storm in the Air Fryer, adding salad to complete what was a delicious dish.
Salmon, sauteed potatoes with mixed leaf salad, cherry tomatoes and a dash of Mayonnaise.
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Talk about a washout! Today’s been one of almost solid rain. Nothing that’s going to lead to floods (well, not yet anyway) but the depressingly persistent stuff that varies in intensity from mizzle and drizzle to full-blown showers. It’s been incessant.
So, we’ve had a domestic day other than dodging showers in order to get a walk in and pick up a bit of shopping in order to carry on with our culinary creations. Dawn’s spent the afternoon in the kitchen cooking up industrial quantities of Lasagne (having made the Ragu sauce yesterday)- including a 12 portion Gluten free version for her parents, plus the same quantity (not gluten-free) for us. Me? I prepped veg in order to make a Carrot and Coriander soup then got out from underneath Dee’s feet in order to have a couple of games of pool with friends in one of our local pubs. On the bright side? My new glasses make it easier to see the far end of a pool table. But they don’t improve my game and today it was shocking!
Now the pair of us are having a quiet evening at home. The soup’s made, the Lasange’s cooked and al that’s left is to relax before another busy week. I’ll leave you with a couple of pictures from the day…
Sowerby Bridge is down there, somewhere…The view from the promenade earlier.Jamie takes the shot whilst Stuart hopes he’ll miss!Dawn’s fabulous Lasagne.
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Can we have some of that baking hot weather that Europe’s been suffering from here in the Pennines, please? This time last year we hit the highest temperatures we’d ever seen in this neck of the woods. Today we’ve seen low temperatures and enough rain to float an Ark! Most of the day’s been spent peering through rain and drizzle. OK. I joke. The last think I want is to experience the effects of Global Warming that Europe’s suffering from – but a bit of sunshine would be nice…
Because of the weather we’ve been busy with the mundanities of life – like shopping and cooking. This included a trip to the excellent Bolster Moor farm shop near Slaithwaite (more of which later) so we could pick up some of the ingredients for Dee’s fabulous gluten-free lasagna. We also nabbed some of their premium flour mixes for our neighbour, Susan. Susan’s hobby is baking bread. She makes the most fabulous loaves and we’re some of the lucky recipients. So, it seems only reasonable that we do our bit by providing some of the raw materials now and again.
Back at home Dee’s been busy cooking up a storm in the kitchen whilst I’ve been busy in the office continuing my clear-out. The amount of stuff one accumulates in a lifetime can be significant. Especially in this day and age. I’m trying to be mindful and start jettisoning stuff – hence some of the bits that are appearing on eBay nowadays. Other stuff is only fit for recycling. I have the memories which will never leave me – I no longer need the ephemera – although going through some of it certainly triggered a few of those memories…
So, here we are, living the ‘rock and roll’ lifestyle on a Saturday night (not). But neither of us care. We’re happy and that’s all that matters. There’s so many pictures of the day that I could leave you with – especially after all the stuff I’ve been rooting through and Dawn cooking, but I thought I’d leave you with this, which is something I spotted at Bolster Moor earlier. A Yorkshire wedding cake…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Went the day well? It certainly started that way. Waking up to hear that the Tories had been hammered in two ‘safe’ seats is always a good start. Then I started to look at the result in Uxbridge, which led to this blog. The more I look at the Green party of England and Wales the more convinced I am they’re simply not fit for purpose and are part of the climate change problem, not the solution.
Numbers crunched and other work done Dawn and I nipped out for a coffee at the Piece Hall in Halifax with a friend from TfGM (Transport for Greater Manchester). Mark hadn’t been over to the hall for several years so was blown away by its present incarnation as a music arena that hosts world famous names. In recent weeks we’ve had Madness and Sting. Last year Dawn and I went to see Nile Rodgers and Chic as well as Paloma Faith. The Piece Hall’s rapidly gaining a name for itself as a place musicians want to appear at.
Coffee over the pair of us returned to home and the grindstone until this evening when I escaped to our local (the ‘Big 6’) to enjoy a couple of beers and the quiz. There’s been no ‘Pub Paper’ this week so Mel, our resident quizmaster dug out an old book which was a Yorkshire based quiz. Not being from these parts this left me with somewhat of a handicap. Ask me questions about far-flung parts of the globe and I’m your man. Ask me to name all nine towns in Calderdale and I haven’t got a ‘Scooby Do’. Apparently, one of them’s called Shelf. Seriously? As for old Yorkshire dialect – please…!
Still, it was fun. Hearing Mel (who’s from Rochdale and has a broad Lancashire accent) trying to pronounce some of these local phrases made me feel better. I love regional accents. Dee was remarking about how I slipped from the ‘Queens English’ back into Scouse earlier today, so I’m not immune. But, having spent so much time travelling around the UK and non-English speaking nations my accent and intonation changes to suit my surroundings.
Fun in the pub time over I’m now back at home as we’ve got a lot going on over the next few days which means it’s time to draw this blog to a close. I’ll leave you with a picture of the Piece Hall for taken from the hills above Halifax. It’s a unique building, so if you ever pass this way…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
This morning I woke up to some good news. The Tories had been routed in 2 of the three seats that were up for election yesterday. In the third (Uxbridge and South Ruislip) they had their majority slashed from 7,210 to just 495 votes. In Selby and Ainsty, where Labour won convincingly, they overturned a Tory majority of 21,357, the largest majority ever overturned by the Labour party in a by-election. In Somerton and Frome the winning Lib-Dem candidate overturned a Tory majority of 19,213 to win by 11,008 votes.
In both Selby and Frome the Green party (who came 3rd) did well. Especially in Somerton and Frome where the Greens Martin Dimery managed 3,944 votes or 10.2%, an increase of 5.1% on a reduced turnout out of 44.23% (down on the general election by 31.4%). This is double what the Greens poll nationally in opinion polls.
In Selby and Ansty the Greens Arnold Warneken received 1,838 votes, an increase of 1.9% to take them to 5.1% of the vote – consistent with the national average on a turnout that was down by 27.2% on the 2019 election.
In both elections the Greens held on to their deposits, another unusual outcome for the party.
Meanwhile, what happened to the Greens in Uxbridge, where their candidate (Sarah Green) stood on an anti HS2 ticket which was almost the sole focus of the Greens campaign? Here’s a look at the full Uxbridge results, taken from Wikipedia.
Interesting. There are several things worthy of note here. Firstly, the number of candidates. As this was a celebrity seat – being the one hastily abandoned by former PM Boris Johnson when he ran away before being censure by Parliament it was always going to attract the mad, bad and sad, from the Raving Looney’s, the failed actor and odious right-winger Laurence Fox, to Piers Corbyn and a rag bag of other no-hope independents, all of whom would attract a few votes. However, the turnout (whilst down) was nowhere near as low as in the other two byelections – only 17.3% compared to 27.2% and 31.4%.
As in the other byelections, the Greens came 3rd, but with a very different look – just 2.9%, well below the national polling average and and with a tiny increase of just 0.7% Yet Sarah Green was standing on what is meant to be a sure-fire ticket – an anti HS2 platform in a Nimby constituency that supposedly is in wholesale opposition to HS2. Unless, of course – it isn’t – and people have other fish to fry?
Green attracted 893 votes (and lost her deposit). The Lib-Dems vote dropped by 4.6% from 3026 in 2019 to 526 – solid evidence of tactical voting to oust the Tories as Labour’s vote increased by 6%. Labour ascribe their failure to capture the seat to London’s ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone) which is hitting motorists pockets. In a breathtaking example of their hypocrisy, the Tories are saying their win is a referendum on ULEZ, neatly forgetting that it was brought in by a previous Mayor of London and former Uxbridge MP – one Boris Johnson! It’s also Tory party policy. In fact, in 2020 then Transport Secretary Grant Shapps wanted London’s Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan to extend the capital’s congestion charge zone as far as the ULEZ boundary (link). Still, what does the truth matter when there’s a crucial byelection to win? T’was ever thus with the Tories.
Another thing to to note is that there were two candidates standing on an anti ULEZ ticket. Between them they garnered 394 votes. It’s reasonable to assume most of these would have been Tory votes in the past.
Meanwhile, back at the Green party…
It’s clear Sarah Green didn’t stand a chance but then Hillingdon green party has a history of fielding no-hope candidates on anti HS2 tickets who do nothing to enhance the party’s reputation (see Mark Keir). But, just imagine what would have happened if the Greens had decided not to run a candidate this time? How many of those 894 votes would have gone to Labour and potentially swung the election? This would have fulfilled the wider green party agenda as it’s clear the Tories are anything but climate-friendly!
Here’s why the GPEW aren’t fit for purpose. They’re not a coherent political party but a rag-bag of local groups with no party discipline and no strategy. They’re little more than incoherent protest groups, campaigning on whatever bee’s in their bonnets, or blowing in the wind to local Nimby issues like opposing wind-farms. Actually tackling climate change takes a backseat.
It’s clear from recent local election results that Greens standing on an anti HS2 ticket isn’t doing the party any good (see this blog). Let’s face it – a ‘green’ party actively opposing us building low-carbon public transport whilst saying they support building a new high-speed N-S railway ‘in principle’ just makes them look like a bunch of hypocrites – and voters see that. But the party’s structured in such a way it’s impossible for the ‘leaders’ to lead, so the party’s stuck – and some of the grassroots like it that way. In the meantime, we’ve just seen Hillingdon ‘green’ party enable a Tory victory in Uxbridge and embolden the right-wing opposition to clean air in London. Oh, the irony! I’m not the only one who’s noticed that either. Joss Garman, Executive Director of the European Climate Foundation tweeted this earlier…
The really dumb thing? The ‘greens’ never stood any chance of winning nor of stopping HS2. This was yet another wasted opportunity to actually do something positive to help change politics in the UK that would further their supposed real aim of tackling climate change. But as I’ve been saying for a long time, they literally can’t see the woods for the trees…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Today’s the day voters go to the polls in three by-elections in different parts of England. Selby and Ansty, Uxbridge and South Ruislip and Somerton & Frome, all very different constituencies – apart from the fact they’d elected Tory MPs. Now it’s looking extremely likely that’ despite the fact two of them were Tory ‘safe seats’ held with huge majorities, all three will change hands. The first two are expected to fall to Labour whilst the Lib-Dems will gain the third.
Most eyes will be focused on Uxbridge, the former seat of Boris Johnson until he ran away after being censured by Parliament for telling porkies. Johnson? Lying? Colour me shocked. The man’s made a career out of lying, but for once they’ve caught up with him and hopefully ended his time in politics.
There’s a diverse range of candidates standing in Uxbridge one of whom I’ve mentioned before. Anti HS2 obsessive Sarah Green has managed to secure the Green Party nomination. Despite her failing to get elected to roles as a local Councillor in the past the local Green party are daft enough to put her forward in an important by-election. She doesn’t stand a chance of course (I’ll be reporting back on the actual results tomorrow) but her nomination made me look at how some other Greens who’ve stood on anti HS2 tickets have fared in the May 2023 local elections. I hadn’t realised until now but former StopHs2 ‘Campaign Manager’ Joe Rukin has joined the GPEW. Well, he does have a lot of free time on his hands nowadays! He was one of 11 Green party candidates in the Kenilworth Town council elections, and guess what? He was the only one who wasn’t elected! You can find the results here.
Meanwhile, over on Erewash Borough Council, another area which HS2 will run through, serial ‘wannabee’ and regular moaner about HS2, Brent Poland, stood in Breaston ward where 2 seats were up for grabs. The party put up 6 candidates across Erewash with Poland the ‘spokesperson’ for the group.
Of the two Breaston seats the Tories won one and the Greens the other, but not Poland, another Green candidate – Ann Marie Mills – was the one elected. As for poor Poland – he even less votes than the 2nd Tory candidate! You can find the full EBC results here.
There’s a message here that the Green party would do well to listen to. Opposition to HS2 – no matter how strident – is not a vote winner, even in constituencies HS2 affects where you hope to pick up the Nimby vote. In fact, the previous high-profile antics and car-crash history of candidates like Rukin and Poland might have proved to work against them, hence the results.
We’ve seen this in election after election. The most recent being another high-profile by-election in Chesham and Amersham where GPEW candidate Carolyne Culver ran an appalling anti Hs2 campaign – to the exclusion of almost all else – including Climate Change!
Sadly, this is a message much of the Green party ignores. Despite the fact the core part of HS2 is almost halfway to completion they still pretend they can somehow stop it and that doing so is somehow ‘green’. It’s baffling, but then so much about GPEW politics is. You do have to wonder if they’re really serious about politics or getting into Government and holding real power and influence. The evidence suggests not…
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It’s than two years ago that I was last exploring the coastline around Cleethorpes and the mouth of the Humber but changes to the railways have come (and gone) since. Trans-Pennine Express introduced their loco-hauled Mk5 sets to the route for a brief period, then just as quickly withdrew them. Meanwhile East Midlands Railway dispensed with their single-car Class 153s and replaced them on the Barton on Humber branch with something far more grand – Class 170 ‘Turbostars’. So, it’s time to head over that way and update my library and hopefully get some pictures for a client – subject to the weather behaving.
For the second day running, Dawn’s working from the Community Rail Network office in Nuddersfield, so I’m hitching a lift in with her to start my journey there. Feel free to keep popping back to see how the day unfolds…
0955.
Deciding to come to Huddersfield wasn’t my cleverest idea. I’d forgotten just how unreliable TPE services are nowadays. I’d have been quicker going from Halifax!
Arriving at the station I watched two Eastbound services come and go before I made it througb the barriers to the platform. A Newcastle bound train was timetabled to arrive a few minutes later but (TPE being TPE) the delays soon became to accrue. 5, then 10 then 15 mins. Finally, 19 mins late, 802201 arrived..
What kept you?
10:25.
I’m now heading for Doncaster after a fraught few minutes getting through Leeds. I’d planned to catch LNER’s 10:16 but congestion meant my TPE service was held outside the station for several minutes until a platform became vacant. I could see the 10:16 in the western bay (6) but my train sailed right through the station to the East end, making it impossible to reach 6 in time. Or so I thought. Fortunately, congestion delayed LNER too, so I made the train with a minute to spare!
10:40.
It’s going to be one of those days, isn’t it? I’ve just noticed that the train I’d hoped to catch from Donny to Cleethorpes was cancelled due to lineside cable theft – a problem once endemic but now (thankfully) rare. It’s affecting services to/from Sheffield which could put a damper on my day. Still, I’m going to have nearly an hour to watch what happens at Doncaster, and plan accordingly. There’s never a dull day on the railway…
12:45.
I should gave kept my mouth shut! We arrived at Doncaster 15 down due to more congestion. Then I found out the East Coast Main Line was seriously disrupted due to a train hitting a cow up in Northumberland. This is how the PIS looked.
Nice…
Trains were out of sync all over the place leading to lots of last-minute platform changes as signallers tried to deal with the congestion and confusion.
“The train now blocking platform 3 is going nowhere”…
Still, my enforced stay did offer some decent photographic opportunities. Such as of this beast heading to York.
Right now I’m on a TPE service crawling its way to Grimsby. I always forget just how slow the speeds are on this line. Needless to say – we’re running late and have just come to a halt at Harbrough during heavy rain. Yep, the forecast has let me down too. There was meant to be sunny spells this afternoon! Ho hum…
15:30.
What a classic day – for all the wrong reasons – but it’s a great example of the frustrations of this job. I arrived late at Grimsby Town to find that one of the two platforms was out of use due to a points failure. This was delaying trains to/from Cleethorpes as it’s a single line between the two. So I decided to stay on the train to Clee and see what the weather was like. It was crap. The heavy rain had passed over but the skies looked like they could deliver a deluge any minute. After grabbing a few shots I caught the same TPE service back to Grimsby as there were extra services to photograph and interesting features of the station to document, plus a footbridge which offered a decent view of the station and nearby level crossing. Having rushed to the footbridge to get shots of my train departing I noticed the barriers on the crossing remained closed. Yep, they’d failed too – cutting off a main road in the town centre!
There was nothing for me to do for half an hour other than take pictures but as Grimsby Town’s a station with some interesting architectural features that was no problem. My plan was to catch the late-running Barton branch train back to Cleethorpes, then do the full run. That plan soon collapsed at Cleethorpes when the train Conductor announced the return trip was only going as far as Ulceby (the Barton branch junction) due to yet another points failure!
It was at this point I decided a pint was in order. I’ve popped into a place I’ve never visited before. The ‘No1’ bar on Cleethorpes station.
It’s quite a blast fom the past to walk into a pub where the Frank Zappa track ‘Bobby Brown’ from his album ‘Sheik Yerbuoti’ is ringing out from the jukebox. And in Cleethorpes of all places!
So here I am kicking my heels in Cleethorpes. The Barton branch is out of the question. There’s train delays left, right and centre – yet the one bright spot (literally) is the weather as blue skies are rolling in from the East – only there’s nothing to photograph!
Here’s what I could have won. An EMR ‘Turbostar’ working the Barton branch.Class 185s aplenty at Cleethorpes earlier.
19:00.
I’m now back in Leeds and heading home to Halifax after admitting defeat. The weather and railway physics conspired against me so the only sensible thing to do was head home – especially as trains aren’t exactly of a metro frequency in that neck of the woods. I caught the first available TPE service West to Doncaster where I picked up a little bonus in the shape of one of LNER’s old loco-hauled sets to transport me to Leeds.
Just to rub my nose in it, the further West I travelled, the more the weather improved! Like everywhere else cancellations were dogging services through Leeds so I didn’t hang around. Now I’m on a Leeds-Chester service which will carry me back to Halifax.
Today’s a good lesson in how poor regional services are in the North. By rail it’s just as quick for me to get from Halifax to London (170 miles) as it is to Cleethorpes (76 miles) – despite the disparity in distance. Plus, I don’t really have to think about planning a London trip because of the frequency of services, but when trains are only hourly and two hourly it becomes a very different proposition, especially when services go tits up!
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Paul Bigland 