Category Archives: Manchester

24th May picture(s) of the day…

24 Wednesday May 2023

Posted by in Calder Valley, Community rail, Community Rail Network, Manchester, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways

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Yet another day when (thanks to the glorious sunshine) it’s been anything but grim up North! T’was even cracking the flags in Manchester!

My day started pottering around at Bigland Towers before catching the train from Sowerby Bridge to nearby Mytholmroyd station to join in the Community Rail week fun with our old friends Geoff and Sue Mitchell, some of the other members of the station group plus visitors from the Calder valley Community Rail Partnership, Transport for Greater Manchester, Network Rail and others who came along to enjoy a guided walk from Mytholmroyd to nearby Hebden Bridge.

The event was meant to kick off with tours of the restored station building, but that nearly didn’t happen due to one of those black comedy moments that we can laugh about now, but at the time could have been far less funny. Since the building’s been restored it’s always been assumed there was no water supply. Today that turned out to be untrue, as when some protective coverings were being moved a pipe was exposed which then blew its plastic coupling to release a high pressure jet of water across the ground floor. Poor Geoff and Sue and another of their colleagues got absolutely drenched trying to reattach the pipe to stem the deluge, but if you’ve ever tried such a maneuver you’ll know it’s next to impossible. In the end, all we could do was open a drain in the floor, dam and divert the flow into it and wait for the water company to come and access the stopcock buried in the pavement outside. Thank God it was a bright sunny day and not January!

The irony? The door in the picture is equipped with flood protection – but only from the river outside…

Still, it provided some amusement for the visitors, who were still able to have a look around the upstairs of the old building. Tours over, everyone assembled for short welcome speech from Geoff before Sue (who’d dried out somewhat) led the walkers off on their exploration of the valley. Poor Geoff was left behind to dry off in the sun and wait for the water company!

“Can anyone hear running water”? The gang gathered outside the station building in Mytholmroyd before setting off for Hebden Bridge.

Having done all I could to help, and taken pictures of the event I headed off into Manchester for the rest of the afternoon to do some shopping and grab a few pictures. In many ways I’m still a city boy at heart, so it was lovely to be able to spend an afternoon exploring and people-watching, as well as stocking up on bits I needed that are hard to get elsewhere. I wasn’t the only one enjoying the weather, the city was very busy with many people taking advantages of the centre’s open spaces to relax or work outside.

Manchester’s old Midland Hotel basks in the sunshine.

Now I’m back at home ready for a day with a very different focus tomorrow. It’s someone’s birthday…

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

Rolling blog. Awayday…

15 Monday May 2023

Posted by in Manchester, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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13:15.

Well, more like ‘half-day away’ really but that doesn’t have the same ring to it!

Monday’s dawned bright and sunny here in the Pennines. I apent the morning working from home but at lunchtime I had an appointment at our Doctors in Sowerby Bridge to have blood taken as part of a regular personal MOT. Being thorough, my GP had arranged for a panoply of tests so when I saw the nurse she wanted four different vials. Not quite Tony Hancock’s famous armful, but still…

I was in and out in no-time so decided to make the most of the weather by heading over to Manchester to get some pictures, including Transport for Wales new Class 197s which are starting to appear on a regular basis. You may have read the recent train test that my old friend Pip Dunn and I did in RAIL magazine. Our opinion? They’re good units and certainly an improvement on some of TfWs ex-BR fleets.

Right now I’m on one of those old BR sets which is still working for Northern. 3-car 158757 is on the 13:02 Sowerby Bridge to Wigan Wallgate.

Pre Covid you’d have been more likely to find a 2-car ‘Pacer’ railbus on this diagram. Now we have the luxury of a 90mph air-conditioned train with tables and USB chargers! OK, call me weird but I admit – I do miss the railbuses!

14:25.

Having taken the ‘scenic’ route via Salford Crescent to change trains I’ve wended my way via acres of new multi-story developments to arrive at Manchester Oxford Rd where this beast was sitting in the bay in-between working services to Southport. The ex-Thameslink Class 319s (and those converted to bi-mode Class 769s) have worked Northern services for nany years now but I still can’t quite get used to the fact after spending over two decades travelling on them around London.

16:45. I’ll catch-up with blogging shortly but I’ve been on the move quite a bit so writing’s been rather difficult. Right now I’m taking a quick break in the city centre to upload a couple of camera pictures before returning to Piccadilly. I realised I’d not really spent much time at the station in recent years as I’m normally just passing through. Today’s chance to make amends. The variety of units has certainly changed as Northern’s new CAF built trains have taken over many services, plus, there’s these new arrivals for Transport for Wales…

197002 works a Manchester Airport to Llandudno service at Manchester Piccadilly
TfW’s 197009 heads in the opposite direction shortly afterwards.

22:00.

I’m now relaxing at home after a few hours in Manchester watching the new trains go by. As I mentioned earlier, the rail scene at Piccadilly has changed due to so many of Northern’s CAF built diesel and electric fleets usurping older traction. You can still find the older BR built Class 150 and 156 diesels, and the electric Class 323s, but the 319s were noticeable by their absence – as were the Transport for Wales Class 175s but that’s mainly because so many of them are out of service now. Instead, TfW are sending older Class 150s on epic journeys from as far away as Milford Haven! The new Class 197s seem to be confined to Manchester Airport – North Wales coast services – for now, anyway.

Here’s another couple of shots to reflect the contrasts.

From left to right. One of the old stalwarts in the shape of Hunslet built Class 323 number 323233 heading for Glossop passes a CAF built DMU (195113) whilst an identical (bar the fact it’s electric, not diesel) CAF built 331023 heads for Manchester Airport.
Here’s another CAF product, this time it’s one of Trans-Pennine Express’ Class 397 ‘Civity’ fleet in the shape of 397008 heading for Manchester Airport with a service from Glasgow Central. First Group will lose TPE from May 28th when the operation will be taken back ‘in-house’ by the Dept of Transport, who will run it via their ‘operator of last resort’ – Directly Operated Railways (DOR).

I’m hoping to get out and about again tomorrow, only this time head further East. Watch this space…

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

4th April video of the day…

04 Tuesday Apr 2023

Posted by in Manchester, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, Travel, West Yorkshire

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Only a short blog from me today, but I hope you enjoy it. Today was another one of those that didn’t quite go to plan as I was busy slaving away in the office this morning then thought ‘bugger it, this weather is too good to waste’ so I packed my kit and headed over to Manchester via the Calder Valley to catch some of the last Stalybridge blockade diverts and also visit Stalybridge itself – which was a bit of a time-consuming faff on rail replacement buses. On the bright side I got to see parts of Manchester I’ve never seen before – and some that I never want to see again!

I’ll write more about this at a later date. But the most surreal part of the trip was when I stopped off at Todmorden on the return. As I wandered along the Leeds bound platform I heard a quacking noise from the other side of the platform fence. When I looked I realised I was being accosted by two ducks. Said ducks then stuck to me like glue all the way along to the end of the platform. They wouldn’t leave me alone and even started pecking at my boots through the fence. I get the impression that some kind soul has been feeding them and now any passenger is seen as a meal ticket! In all my time travelling the railways I’ve never seen anything like it! So, here’s a short video of my two feathered assailants…

If you ever go to Tod’ – take food!

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

Rolling blog. An impromptu day out…

18 Friday Nov 2022

Posted by in Manchester, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel, West Yorkshire

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10:37.

My original plan to work at home today has been altered by a change in the weather. The forecast for the next few days is lousy but today (so far) has bucked the trend – and the forecast – so I’m heading over to Manchester for a couple of hours in the hope of checking on progress on Trans-Pennine electrification and return clothes I bought from Uniqlo the other day. I’m flattered to say that ‘medium’ size is just too big!

Right now I’m on the train from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester Victoria. It’s a Chester bound service operated by a pair of 2-car Class 195s which is pretty busy for the time of day although I had no problem bagging a table seat to set up the mobile office. This is a lovely time of year to be traversing the Calder valley as the colours in the remaining leaves on the trees are glorious and the low winter light shows them at their most intense. I only hope the sunshine I’m seeing now stays with me. Let’s see. Expect some pictures soon…

11:15.

Neither my luck nor the weather’s held, so it’s time for a different mode of transport to Shank’s pony…

13:50.

That was an interestinginterlude! I caught a couple of trams out to Ashton-Under-Lyme which turned out to be a good idea as the rain persisted until a few minutes after I arrived. The plan was to have a look at progress electrifying the line from Manchester Victoria to Stalybridge. This should have been completed years ago but it was one of the schemes delayed by political dithering. Now it’s well underway. Now, most of the masts and stanchions are in place.

802206 speeds through Ashton-under-Lyme en-route from Liverpool Lime St to Newcastle whilst the masts march towards Stalybridge.

16:00.

I chose to walk between Ashton and Stalybridge in order to check out the views from various bridges on the way. It was an interesting trip as it took me down all sorts of streets I’d never explore otherwise. The area’s a maze of brick-built, late Victorian terrace houses with patches of much wealthier properties. But not all’s well. In the space of a couple of hundred meters I passed three closed pubs. One was derelict, one was ‘closed until further notice’ and the other was up for sale.

I find derelict pubs terribly sad buildings as I can imagine all the happy times people must have had there in the past. They were community centres, but now they’re dying.

I arrived at ‘Stalyvegas’ station just as the rain did, so ended up with a soaking, but I dried out on the train back into central Manchester, where I am now, indulging in my least favourite activity. Shopping!

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

Rolling blog. Memorials and meandering…

16 Wednesday Nov 2022

Posted by in Manchester, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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07:37.

We’ve another misty morning here in West Yorkshire, where little cotton wool clouds cling to the sides of the valley. Not that t matters to me as I’m escaping for the day. Right now, I’m preparing to head down to Sowerby Bridge to catch a train across the Pennines. Let’s see how it goes…

08:18.

Another fun day on the railways. I walked down to Sowerby Bridge in plenty of time to catch the 08:23 to Chester. The service is having a torrid time. The station PIS shows the 07:23 was cancelled and the 09:23 is “delayed”. In contrast, the 08:23 turned up 7 minutes early and is now sat waiting time. Looking on Real Time Trains I see it left Leeds 6 minutes late and looks to have been diverted to run non-stop via Brighouse.

195119 approaches Sowerby Bridge on the Chester service, passing a Leeds bound set.

09:55

After arriving at Victoria I ambled theough central Manchester to Piccadilly. As I passed the gardens I heard a car making an awful racket. Then I saw a young guy driving (as fast as he could) a red hatchback with a smashed and flat front tyre and all the passenger side of the vehicle caved in. A few minutes later I passed this scene…

13:12.

We’ve unveiled the plaque to Paul Abell at Ashburys station in the area of Manchester Paul grew up in. Present were his Widow, Shirley, his sons Brian and Malcom and his daughter Anne. I’ll add more pictures later.

Paul composed this local history board which has been on the station since 2019.
The Abell family with Paul’s plaque. (L-R) Anne, Shirley (Paul’s widow) Brian and Malcolm. The plaque (chosen by the family) depicts one of the engines that used to operate station pilot duties at Manchester Piccadilly and original Manchester tram No 756, which was restored in 1985 and now resides on the Heaton Park tramway.

15:30.

Following the event, we headed off to Guide Bridge station for coffee and sandwiches kindly supplied by TfGM and hosted by Northern in the station offices. On leaving I headed off into the city as an old Network Rail friend was up from London for the day, liaising with stakeholders on forthcoming blockades, so I arranged to catch up with him for an hour before he headed back to London.

Earlier, I had managed to make the most of the sunshine by bimbling along to get a few shots along the notorious railway bottleneck of the Oxford St corridor. Here’s one of them.

7th October picture of the day…

07 Friday Oct 2022

Posted by in Architecture, History, Manchester, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways

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Time to wind down! Yesterday’s community rail awards was a brilliant event but it certainly kept me busy! I was editing pictures of the award winners until late into the evening back at the hotel, but the company was good as the CRN staff and helpers (along with some of the attendees) were winding down over a few drinks. This morning Dee and were part of a group who visited one of the post-awards events laid on by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). In our case it was a visit to the old Castlefield viaduct which has been turned into a mini version of New York’s ‘high’ line.

The Castlefield Viaduct has only been open for a matter of months (it opened on the 30th July) but it’s well worth a visit. It’s managed by the National Trust and plans for the future are very much out for consultation at the moment.

Sadly, it was the only event we could attend as we had to head back across the Pennines to prepare for another event. Tomorrow the pair of us disappear off on holiday to the island of Rhodes. We’ve certainly picked the right time as today the rain’s been bucketing down, both in Manchester and here in the Pennines as I write this. In contrast, Rhodes should be a balmy 27 degrees – as well as sunny and dry! Whilst I’ve had several work trips abroad recently (and we had a mini-break in Berlin with friends) this will be Dawn and mine’s first proper holiday abroad since Covid struck. To say we’re both looking forward to it would be an understatement.

I won’t be going ‘off-grid’ completely as us freelances rarely have that luxury, but I will be letting social media take a backseat. Expect some pictures but not a huge amount else – unless we get rained in (which is unlikely).

In the meantime, here’s today’s picture which is from our visit to the Castlefield Viaduct. The NT have done an awful lot in a short time, but they welcome feedback from people on the direction of the project.

When I get time (on holiday) I’ll upload the rest of the pictures to my Zenfolio picture website – along with hundreds of pictures from Holland, Germany and the UK I have in the queue.

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

Rolling blog. Community rail awards 2022…

06 Thursday Oct 2022

Posted by in Community rail, Community Rail Network, Manchester, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs

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08:30.

Today’s the day of the awards in Manchester so Dawn and I have been up early to head off to the event to help in the preparation, not that there should be too much to do as it’s always a well-organised event with a good team behind it. Even so, we’ll be on-hand if needed and to go through the rehearsal later in the day. There’ll be a fair bit of time-killing too, so expect a few pictures of Manchester to appear at some point. The beauty of the event being in Manchester this year is that it’s on our doorstep. The awards visits different towns and cities every year. For example, last year we were in Southampton and we’ve been everywhere from Plymouth to Glasgow and all points in-between.

Right now, the pair of us are on the 08:05 train from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester Victoria, having driven down to the station ‘cos we’ve got so much kit. This brings me to my first picture. Sowerby Bridge has a fairly big station var-park. It was almost full by the time we arrived. Cars were already lining the street outside. But, hang on. I though those opposed to us building new railways like High Speed 2 swore blind it wasn’t needed because everyone’s working from home nowadays. Clearly, a lot of citizens of the Calder Valley didn’t get the memo!

Getting through the ticket barriers at Manchester Victoria was a bit of a scrum too…

10:50.

We’re here at Manchester Central where the awards will be held tonight. In another few hours this auditorium will be full of people…

17:20.

And we’re off…

15th August picture of the day…

15 Monday Aug 2022

Posted by in Architecture, Manchester, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

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Another week and another day spent chained to a desk, but hardly in a bad way. The weather forecast was threatening rain and even the possibility of thunderstorms so it seemed like a good day to be at home. Neither rain nor thunder materialised, all we had was a few desultory spits of rain which didn’t even wet the pavement.

Away from the weather my time was spent productively. I’ve a lot more of next weeks around Britain trip and now have an idea of where I’ll be ending the week as I’m not going to try and return home on the day, it would cramp my style too much and mean too much retracing of steps. I’ve not finalised everything as I’m waiting for a few temporary timetables to either be confirmed or cancellations be announced. I may have to be flexible on the Saturday as a result. Even so, it’s going to be quite a trip!

Another project that’s taken up a lot of my day has been preparing another batch of old railway slides and sundry memorabilia for sale on eBay. I’m hoping to have many of the articles added tomorrow and released for sale in the evening. There’s a mixture of UK pictures going back to the mid 1990s plus a selection of Sri Lankan railway images dating from 2003 which feature some old British built locomotives.

One unexpected diversion today was the return of an unexpected visitor. On Friday a racing/homing pigeon put in an unexpected appearance. The poor thing was suffering from exhaustion due to the heat and crash-landed at the back of the house where I found it voraciously chugging water out of an old flowerpot. I managed to save it from the local cats and put it in our outhouse with a supply of food and fresh water for the night then released it successfully the next day and watched it fly away. Well, it seems it enjoyed its holiday a little too much. This afternoon I was looking out of the office window and noticed it perched on the wall opposite, almost as if it was watching me! This time it was a much closer call with the cats who were already stalking it – but now it’s back in the outhouse. This time we checked the rings on its legs and found a phone number – which is local! I’ve rung the chap and he’s going to collect our feathered friend tomorrow. Let’s hope this time it decides it’s given me enough stress! Besides, I don’t want to fall out with the cats…

OK, time for today’s picture. This one’s from my recent jaunt to Manchester and features the Edwardian baroque magnificence of the Midland Hotel. The hotel was designed by Charles Trubshaw and constructed between 1898 and 1903 for the Midland Railway Company at a cost of more than £1 million. It’s coated in a variety of terracotta and granite and it looks stunning!

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

Rolling blog. Tales of the unexpected…

09 Tuesday Aug 2022

Posted by in Community rail, Community Rail Network, Manchester, Photography, Rolling blogs, Travel, West Yorkshire

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09:55.

I’m on my way to Manchester as expected, but under very different circumstances due to a sudden family tragedy that’s happened to a friend and colleague from Community Rail Network. Dawn and I were planning to go into Huddersfield where I’d catch the train and Dee would spend a day at the office. Now we’re both going into Manchester from home because Dawn’s providing cover as she was involved in running the awards for many years. I’ve gone on ahead to do some bits first, with Dawn following on behind.

It’s a beautiful day for travelling anyway. There’s clear blue skies across the valley and the mercury’s rising. I’m on the 09:44 from Halifax which is busy but with seats available which has allowed me to set up the laptop and begin blogging. Feel free to pop back and see what I get up to as the day goes…

Manchester bound…

10:30.

Rather than hang around in the Stygian gloom of Victoria I decided to change trains at Rochdale to grab pictures in the sun. My time was brief and services piled up on me, but I managed a couple before joining a pair of class 150s sat in the ‘new’ bay waiting to leave with a service to Clitheroe. It’s an all-stations stopper which has filled up rapidly.

On arrival at Victoria I noticed this bell symbol which I’ve never seen on a Northern unit before.

13:45.

We’re at Manchester Central, food-tasting. It’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it…

18:10.

Our meetings over the awards ended up taking most of the day, but that was no bad thing as we were really thorough and went through all the event with the ‘tech’ team and I got to see the awards hall and plan the photography.

My plans for getting some pictures went out of the window but that was fine. Instead we headed to Victoria to get a train home. That’s when the farce began. The 17:22 was running late due to a fault on the train but was due to arrive on the same platform (6) as the 17:37 so we joined the crowds packing the area.

At the last minute it was announced the 17:22 would leave from platform 5, so we took the chance and trotted over the footbridge to wait. The pair of 2-car 195s arrived and we joined the rear unit. Bad move No2. As we sat we saw the 17:37 pull in next to us. The conductor then announced we’d be running fast to Hebden Bridge due to our lateness. Result! We thought…A minute later he annouced the rear set was being split off so we’d have to join the front train. Deep joy! Whilst this farce played out the 17:37 left ahead of us, meaning we’d be stuck running at reduced speed behind it despite running ‘fast’. So, now we’re stood on a packed 2-car with many people who’re missing their stations as they were unaware of the change.

21:30.

Well, we made it home, albeit later than anticipated. To be honest it’s been a good day, despite the unfortunate circumstances. We’re all really happy the the awards venue, the logistics of the event and the food. Oh, and the wine – which we forced ourselves to sample – purely to ensure we wouldn’t expect guests to drink something that wasn’t up to scratch! Roll on the awards on the 4th October….

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

@hs2Rebellion – Oops, they did it again!…

19 Saturday Mar 2022

Posted by in Hs2, HS2Rebellion, Manchester, Photography, Politics

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It’s a bright sunny day here in the North-West and West Yorkshire so I thought I’d nip into Manchester to visit a supermarket in Chinatown to pick up some supplies for a Thai Red curry from my favourite shop Hang Won Hong in George St. They also have an online shop if you’re interested.

I’d also heard that HS2Rebellion were advertising a march from a park in Longsight to Piccadilly Gardens where they were going to hold a rally. As Chinatown’s just around the corner I thought I’d have a look on my way home.

Oh, dear! What a farce. To say the reality didn’t match the billing would be an understatement! It was even more of a joke than their last debacle in January. Here’s how the farce was sold on Facebook and other social media.

There was no ‘march’ and the promised white elephants were more like pink elephants – as they didn’t exist. What there was consisted of a trestle table, about 10 people and a few banners. Oh, and a few of the usual Nimby suspects from the Warrington area trying to persuade passers-by to accept out leaflets and some bored teenagers with Extinction Rebellion banners who looked like they’d expected to be part of a million-man march only to be horribly disappointed. This time the group couldn’t even muster music, kids – or a dog! In fact, there was far more entertainment available at the other end of the gardens where the Christian ‘happy clappy’ brigade were (at least they had music). What the HS2 antis did offer was so tone-deaf when it came to ‘green massaging’ I couldn’t help but snort in laughter!

They had a bloke with a tiny megaphone. Reading out a list of road names. Roads that would be closed during the construction of a new green railway that will be the backbone of our new green rail network. Extinction Rebellion complaining about road closures! The irony was weapons grade but it went over their heads at such a height it left a vapour trail. Of course. this wasn’t an original idea. They’d lifted it from former Stophs2 ‘campaign manager’ Joe Rukin who came up with it and posted this mad video to Youtube. They’re unthinkingly parroting his words.

What was unclear was how many of their tiny band were actually from Manchester. I’d guess no more than a couple. Needless to say the reaction from Mancunians walking by was ‘meh’. They’ll have got rid of a few leaflets and that’s that.

How this is meant to stop HS2 is one of life’s mysteries. The Hybrid Bill for the line from Crewe to Manchester is going through Parliament now. It’s unstoppable. Still, it keeps them out of trouble on a sunny day…

A bloke with XR stickers on his megaphone reeling off a list of roads to be closed to build a railway (thus green public transport). The cognitive dissonance of these faux ‘environmentalists’ is beyond parody. Remind me, what have XR spent much of their time doing these past few years, oh yes – closing roads!

Just to put this protest in context. The HS2 phase 2b route from Crewe to Manchester passes through 14 Parliamentary constituencies Here’s the list with the number of constituents in each.

Yep, that’s a grand total of 1.43 million people. 12 turned up to protest in Manchester. It’s a drop in the ocean.

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, 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/

Thank you!