19th July picture of the day…

19 Tuesday Jul 2022

Posted by in Climate Change, Musings, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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The Noel Coward song ‘mad dogs and Englishmen’ has been playing in my head for much of the day. Not that I was mad enough to go out in the midday sun – I’d plenty of work to do so stayed indoors until after 14:00, by which time the temperature here in the Calder Valley had hit an amazing 37 degrees. When I did venture out for a walk it was like stepping into an oven after sheltering indoors. Dawn had kept the house cool by keeping the windows closed and the curtains drawn – which made a huge difference. I’d foolishly opened my office window but soon learned the error of my ways! The woods around the house provided shade and a break from the heat but walking along the roads to get to them was hot, hot, hot! Thankfully, a breeze sprang up in the afternoon which began to take the edge of the heat. Then, by late afternoon cloud cover rolled in and noticeably reduced the temperature. Even so, some of our neighbour’s front gardens had turned ‘crispy’ and desiccated in the heat. I’d managed to save most of ours due to persistent watering but it was a close-run thing.

Now the heat’s subsided and we’re looking forward to more normal temperatures returning. But the picture is grim. Wildfores happened around Doncaster which is not what you expect in Yorkshire. East of London’s suffered badly too. Despite what the muppets on social media are saying, this is no ‘ordinary’ summer and to try and pass it off as another 1976 is just an excuse to ignore the science. Climate Change is real – and it’s happening. Now.

Looking at the nonsense posted by the deniers I’m struck by how many tick nearly every right-wing box. If you drew a Venn diagram of climate-change deniers, brexiters and anti-vaxxers you wouldn’t be far off a perfect circle. I sometimes wonder if the human race is just too stupid to survive. Some people’s ability to ignore or dismiss empirical evidence and science is breathtaking, but then if you’ve ever watched the film ‘don’t look up’ you’ll understand the problem. No doubt many will keep fiddling whilst the planet burns, but I hope enough folks wake up before it’s too late. I won’t be around to see the worst that human stupidity may bring, but it doesn’t stop me caring.

On that pessimistic note I’ll go straight to the picture of the day which is another old slide showing the beauty of the world we seem so determined to screw up. I took this picture at Lake Maninjau, Sumatra in 1992. One day I’ll get back here – before we screw it all 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/

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

Thank you!

Rolling blog. The heat is on…

18 Monday Jul 2022

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08:40.

Today’s the first of two where much of England is expected to suffer from unprecedented heatwaves. Schools and businesses are shutting up shop and people are being advised not to travel. Many railway companies are running emergency timetables and reduced services. So, what’s it going to be like?

I’m abandoning the relative cool of the Calder Valley to find out by heading into Manchester for a few hours, documenting what I find and explore one outpost of that cities railways which will have a very visible change because of the heat – but more of that later…

Right now I’m on a busy 3-car Class 195 working the 08:23 Sowerby Bridge to Chester service. Northern have knocked out the Wigan North Western trains which has left us with just this hourly service to Manchester.

Despite the fact the temperature was still in the 20s the unit’s air-conditioning was struggling already – even though this is a modern train. I hate to think how the old BR built class 158s are coping. Their a/c has always had a reputation for unreliability.

Even though the journey was a tad warm we got to Manchester without issue. Victoria station was quieter than usual but that was hardly surprising as so many services had been cancelled due to the weather.

I didn’t hang around as I’d other plans. Instead I enjoyed a leisurely stroll across to Piccadilly, arriving just in time to connect with one of the trains that were the reason for my visit.

Due to the expected high temperatures electric trains on the Manchester, Glossop and Hadfield triangle had been replaced by two pairs of Class 150 DMUs. The reason for that is the overhead equipment on these lines is ancient! The route was originally to be electrified by the London and North Eastern Railway but the advent of World War Two stopped the project. It was completed by British Railways in the mid 1950s using 1,500 volts DC. This lasted until after closure of the Woodhead line and the demise of the old Class 506 units that plied the route. The line was then converted to the standard 25kv AC but most of the original kit was kept. This included the triple wire system where the contact wire is slung from a secondary support wire. Also, unlike modern systems, there’s no mechanism (such a weights or torsion springs) to keep the wires at the correct height in the heat. This used to be a problem on the Great Eastern Main Line where it wasn’t unknown for the wires to drop so much they almost touch the rails!

The solution here has been to turn the overhead lines off and run diesel instead – a rare sight.

13:20.

Having got the pictures around Glossop and Dinting I wanted I decided to quit whilst I was ahead as temperatures were rising. I made one last stop at Broadbottom then caught a train to Piccadilly. Talk about serendipity! A few minutes after arriving it was announced all services to/from Piccadilly were suspended due to overhead line damage! The only exception being Buxton line trains. I’m now making my way back to Victoria to head home before any more disasters befall the network…

14:00.

I never thought I’d appreciate the stygian gloom of Manchester Victoria’s through platforms, entombed underneath the arena, but on a sweltering day like this they’re just the ticket! I’m waiting for the 14:04 to Blackburn as it’ll get me the right side of the Pennines as far as Todmorden, so if anything else breaks I have other options for getting home. Hopefully, I’ll be able to start editing pictures en-route.

14:50.

Getting the train to Todmorden was a good choice. The pair of 150s were quiet so I had time and space to get some editing done in order to upload pictures later. Now I’m basking whilst waiting for my late running connection – but at least it’s running! The heat’s certainly building and I’m looking forward to getting home and having a shower. Carrying my camera bag in this weather certainly gives you a workout!

17:00.

Despite delays to my train due to the heat I made it home without further incident, although the walk back home made me appreciate the sun’s intensity – it was hot! I was so grateful for the breeze that struck me as crested the hill to begin dropping down to home and the Calder valley. Now I’ve had chance to have a shower and cool down here’s some pictures from today.

150110 brings up the rear of 2G49, the 1014 Hadfield to Manchester Piccadilly as it crosses the Dinting viaduct. The age of much of the overhead wires on these lines is evident in the picture.
150143 and 150146 cross the Dinting viaduct whilst working 2G50, the 1044 Hadfield to Manchester Piccadilly.
Seen from below 150110 and 150123 approach Dinting station whilst working 2G11, the 1103 Manchester Piccadilly to Hadfield.
150110 and 150123 call at Dinting station with 2G52, the 1144 Hadfield to Manchester Piccadilly.
A Network Rail engineer checks the temperature of rails at Manchester Piccadilly this afternoon. Before he could slap any speed restrictions on all services were brought to a halt for another reason – the overhead wires!

UPDATE (17:45).

From the cool of my office I’ve just been checking real time train info and whilst it seems that Manchester Piccadilly did reopen all Hadfield services have been cancelled since 1330. I had a lucky escape! The wires sagged too far at Gorton, meaning all Northern and TPE services via Guide Bridge were either cancelled or diverted to other routes. You’ll be able to find a larger selection of pictures in this gallery from tomorrow (Tuesday) as I’m not tempting fate two days in a row – tomorrow I’m staying at home…

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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/

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Thank you!

16th July picture of the day…

16 Saturday Jul 2022

Posted by in Calder Valley, Climate Change, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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As the country gears up (or not) for the predicted heatwave over the past few days we’ve had a ‘phoney war’ sort of day here in the Pennines. Temperatures have risen but we’ve had a reassuring breeze and thin cloud that’s kept the thermometers in check. Oh, the sun’s still been strong when it’s been out but few people have been reduced to staying out of the sun altogether.

The pair of us went walking down in to Sowerby Bridge earlier to pick up some shopping, get a few steps in and also enjoy the time out. The place was hardly packed but you could seen that pubs with beer gardens were certainly doing a steady trade as people made the most of the conditions. We didn’t linger long, just enough time for a swift drink before a walk along the canal and a climb through the woods to get home.

The forecast is that the heat will start hitting us tomorrow, but as we’re over 140 metres above sea level on the side of a Pennine valley we’re not going to cop for crazy temperatures the way folks to the East and West are predicted to – but we’ll see. I suspect much of tomorrow will be spent sat up on our terrace baking – or hiding indoors and getting some work done! I have to admit, I’m a sun worshipper. Having spent so much time in the tropics I’m more used to extremes than some. My concern is more what these extreme temperatures mean for the planet rather then my melanin. The next few days will tell. They’ll certainly cause some fun for out transport network including the railways as we’re not set up for this. Railway track is stressed to expand/contract within certain parameters. This weather will surpass those, which is why people are warned not to travel – although I suspect I will be doing so as part of my job – to record the effects.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with today’s picture, which is the view across the Calder Valley from above our house taken earlier today.

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15th July picture of the day…

15 Friday Jul 2022

Posted by in Climate Change, Photography, Picture of the day, Politics

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Apologies for the fact my blogging has become a bit scrappy of late. There’s been a number of reasons for that which include a lack of time and also inclination. Part of me wants to sit down and do some serious spleen-venting at the state of British politics and the whole shit-show that is the Tory party leadership contest where people are falling over themselves to appeal to the narrowest section of the British electorate – Tory party members, who’re mostly pale, male and stale – not to mention completely out of touch with the real world. Let’s face it, the days of a ‘one-nation’ Tory party are long gone. Johnson saw to that. Now they’ve morphed into UKIP. The contestants lining up for a shot at the job of PM have nothing to offer the country. They’re not interested in the troubles of the country, they’re only interested in what they have to say to get the votes of party members to get the top job and satisfy their own personal ambitions. Whoever wins, it will end badly, because none of them have any sense of the mess they’ve made of running the country these past 12 years – or how to dig us out of the mire they’ve sunk us in. Laughably, some of them talk of a ‘new start’, completely forgetting any new start isn’t them, it’s just swapping one liar for another. At some point my spleen will have to be vented before it does me damage, but right now I have other things to think about closer to home, which includes navigating my way through the economic shit-show these jokers have helped get us into.

Oh, and there’s still trying to enjoy life whilst I can. No, really!

Meanwhile, here in the Calder Valley the idea that we’re about to see record temperatures in the next few days seems rather far-fetched. The past few days have been noticeably cooler and windier than late, but I’m not letting that lull me into a false sense of security. We may escape the worst of the heatwave that’s coming up here in the Pennines but there’s no doubt that the climate’s changing – for the worse. Sadly, far too many people don’t seem to understand what this means for the future, it’s all seen as a bit of a joke, just another laugh about the weather. I suspect some people won’t be laughing come Wednesday…

We really do need to start waking up to the realities of climate change, but then I look at the way sections of the media downplay it – and then there’s one of the main contenders for the Tory leadership (Mordant) receiving funding from climate-change deniers and I start to wonder if the human race hasn’t had its day. We have the largest brain of any primate – yet so many of us refuse to use them! All I can say is that I’m glad I’m the age that I am and that I got to see so many beautiful places on planet Earth as I doubt my youngest nephews and nieces will have that privilege as those places will be unrecognisable.

Yep, you’ve guessed it – I’m in a pensive mood. I’ll not detain you any longer – it is Friday night after all. Instead, I’ll leave you with the picture of the day, which is of another far gentler primate to us – but one that’s increasingly under threat from its ‘brainer’ cousin. I took this picture of a mother Orang Utan with her baby in Sumatra in August 1998. Since then we’ve buggered up even more of the jungles they live in…

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/

Rolling blog. Valley escape…

13 Wednesday Jul 2022

Posted by in Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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07:45.

After a week where I’ve never left the Calder Valley I’ve broken free again to have an awayday taking pictures. A client has requested a bunch of pictures. Most (but not all) I can supply from my archives, but there’s one gap and another section where the pictures are too dated – so here I am – off to get what’s required and hopefully get a few other shots for another client in the can. Thankfully, Dawn’s made enough of a recovery from Covid that I don’t feel guilty for leaving her for the day. Thankfully, I remain free of that capricious little bug this time.

Right now I’m on the first leg of my journey aboard Northern’s 07:19 from Halifax to Leeds which is worked by a 3-car Class 195 – which is just as well as it’s a very busy train.

Today’s adventure begins…

We lost many passengers at Bradford Interchange as they headed into work but we gained even more for the next leg into Leeds.

I must admit I’m looking forward to my awayday. It’s been lovely having the time at home with the weather having been so glorious. I’m glad I wasn’t stuck trackside somewhere in full PPE but after a few days I do get itchy feet and a camera trigger-finger!

My first stop on this trip will be Derby in a few hours time. Feel free to pop back later to see what I get up to and how the day progresses…

08:35.

So far so good. At Leeds I had 10 minute connection time to catch Cross-Country’s 08:11 service down to Derby. This train’s worked by a pair of 4-car Class 220s and it’s also busy. There’s lots of laptops open in my coach – including mine. On the opposite table to me are three Geordie women bashing away on their keyboards or making business calls. I’m guessing they’re on their way to a business event or training course.

The 220s were busy when they arrived in Leeds and they filled up even more at Westgate despite some seats being vacated by Leeds -Wakefield travellers (an unlikely commuter flow I must admit).

17:00

Umm, where was I? Right now I’m heading back to Derby from Nottinghan to reprise my shots now the sun’s moved around. Arriving at Derby and making a recce of the site I realised that – whilst the archive shots I have are out of date they’re great to have as you can’t replicate them in 2022. Oh, and someone took years to build a walking great bridge on London Rd which is the reason my archive pictures are now precious.

18:45.

Where was I part 2! After stopping off at Derby to get the pictures I needed now the sun’s moved round I’m heading home. Right now I’m on an EMR service as far as Sheffield. I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to get out and about again, but what a contrast to last week in Germany. I’ll not ‘go-there’ right now as I’ll upset some people. Anyway. Today’s been a good day. I’ve fulfilled my missions and even had chance for a quick visit to a pub that has a gate straight onto the platform. 5 points if you know where this is?

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!

11th July picture of the day..

11 Monday Jul 2022

Posted by in Halifax, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire

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Apologies for absence these past several days but I’ve been playing catch-up after returning from Germany. That return’s coincided with Dawn falling ill with Covid. Thankfully she’s now starting to pull through although poor Dee has had it far worse than I did as she’s suffered from banging headaches and a loss of some tastebuds as well as the standard aches and pains. In a reversal of what happened last time I’m the one who’s avoided catching Covid. It really is the most capricious of diseases. The worrying thing is the amount of friends who’ve also contracted it recently. Anyone who thinks Covid’s gone away is living in a fool’s paradise.

Of course, this would co-incide with the the need to get on with my role as Judge for the annual Community Rail Awards as well as other work and a backlog of picture editing. After all, there’s only so much I can do whilst wearing a nurse’s uniform (stop sniggering at the back!).

My enforced sojourn at home has come at a great time as the weather here in the Calder Valley has been stunning. We’ve had a run of gorgeous hot sunny days that have meant working on our outdoor terrace has become de rigeour. Admittedly, the intensity of the sun’s meant I’ve had to head indoors to use the laptop, but then I’ve had a patient to cook for and keep an eye on…

Because of the weather I’ve been getting up early (Asia style) to get a lot of stuff done before the Mercury climbs. After that it’s a case of “mad dogs and Englishmen” as I’ve headed out in the midday sun to get some exercise. Part of me would like to have got out with the camera but to be honest, the intensity of the sun this time of year doesn’t make for the best pictures as the colour of the light is too blue and the light too harsh. Far better to head out in the morning or evening.

Hopefully, now that Dee’s on the mend and I’m catching up with stuff I’ll be able to get out and about again to tick off some projects from my ever lengthening list – but maybe not this week. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with today’s picture which gives you an idea of how conditions have been here in the Calder Valley. We live below this rather magnificent folly, which dominates the valley. Here’s the view from my walk back from Sowerby Bridge…

The Wainhouse Tower.

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!

7th July picture of the day…

07 Thursday Jul 2022

Posted by in Germany, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Politics, Railways, Travel

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I’ll bet that surprised a few of you! After today’s political events in the UK you’d expect me to be in full splenetic flow, eviscerating the shit-show that passes for Government and the lying bag of custard that’s meant to be our Prime Minister.

Don’t worry – it’s coming. I have the same view as many commentators about Johnson, the resignation and the Tories who’ve suddenly found a sense of morality and ethics (from God knows where) in order to turn on him in the hope they’ll save their seats or satisfy their own personal ambitions. But as the old saying goes – revenge is a dish best eaten cold. I’m saving that particular pleasure for tomorrow.

Instead, you’re going to be treated to another picture from my German trip. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to spend a few hours watching the world go by in Braunschweig and also to gather pictures of their rather unique tramway. Braunschweig trams use a unique 1,100mm gauge, whilst most networks use the standard 1,435mm (standard) gauge used on railways around the world. A few stations do have isolated pockets of dual-gauge track as at one time back in the late 2000s a tram-train network was proposed for Lower Saxony.

Braunschweig possesses some beautiful buildings that make a great backdrop in pictures – such as this one.

Here’s tram 1955 in front of the Residenzschloss which was the grand residence of local Dukes in the 18th – 20th centuries. Nowadays it’s a museum. Tram 1955 is one of the later Tramino vehicles ordered for the network which runs AEG/LHB GT6Strams from 1995, Alstom NGT8D’s from 2007, Solaris Tramino GT8S from 2014 and Stadler Tramino IIs from 2019. Braunschweiger Verkehrs-GmbH ordered seven Tramino II trams from a joint venture of Stadler Pankow and Solaris to complement the 18 Traminos they bought in 2014.

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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. From South to North…

06 Wednesday Jul 2022

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06:30.

Having had a few hours kip bedded down at Heathrow terminal 5 I’m now heading back North on public transport. I caused a bit of a stir on Twitter yesterday by criticising an internal flight from Heathrow to Newcastle. Some people who seem more concerned by ‘convenience’ rather than having climate change and having a liveable planet to inhabit got rather upset with me. Here’s the tweet that caused all the fun…

Me? I’ll be using rail all the way, despite the ‘inconvenience of carrying a weighty camera bag and towing a suitcase. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a ‘green’ luddite who wants to see us scrap all flying, but I do recognise that we need to take climate change seriously and not leave tackling it up to others.

Here’s my first train of the day…

Tubes from terminal 5 are a bit quiet this time of morning, but they sure fill uo en-route to central London!

07:40.

Having travelled into central London I’ve resisted the temptation to talk the camera for a walk. I’m operating on a sleep deficit with extra bags in tow so starting the trip North makes more sense. Right now I’m on an LNER service out of Kings Cross – first stop Peterborough.

10:30.

During my sojourn at Peterborough I saw this curious creature. It’s a Class 156 that was formerly with Greater Anglia, operating services out of Norwich. It’s currently working for East Midlands Railway (hence the branding) but it’s been repainted in the livery of the company it will end up with at the end of the cascade chain – Northern.

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. Germany, the main event…

05 Tuesday Jul 2022

Posted by in Air Travel, Germany, Railways, Rolling blogs, Siemens, Travel

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07:00.

In starting what’s going to be a busy day here in Germany. Right now I’m preparing to head down for breakfast and a caffeine booste before we all meet up for a trip to the Siemens signalling factory here in Braunschweig. The company have got a full programme planned for our visit, but I should still have time to blog about what we’ll be seeing and learning. The world of railway signalling is constantly developing in the digital world. As one colleague described it – signals were all about keeping trains apart. Now they’re about getting them to run as close to each other as is possible. Here’s today’s agenda.

Then later this afternoon we head back to Hannover for our return flight to the UK. I won’t be back in England until late so I won’t be home until tomorrow, but hey ho…

Keep popping back to see what we get up to. But right now – it’s coffee time…

08:41.

The day begins…

10:30.

We’re just about to come back after having a coffee break. It’s been a really interesting morning so far which kicked off with a wide-ranging presentation on the company’s plans and aspirations from Siemens Mobility CEO, Michael Peter.

There’s far too much to describe here but some of the points touched on included how intelligent software and monitoring systems can lead to 100% fleet reliability and save time and money on traditional cyclic maintenance – both on trains and assets themselves. Cloud based interlocking was also discussed with some fascinating examples given about Norway, where the entire rail system is controlled from Oslo – including diagnostics.

Next up was a presentation on Digital solutions from Johannes Emmelheinz, CEO of Customer Services. One point raised was how trains and infrastructure need to work hand in hand and how digitalisation can enable this.

The third presentation was from Bart van Munster, CEO of Squills, a company that’s become part of Siemens. Squills provide ticketing services across the UK and Europe.

13:20.

After another really interesting series of presentations (I’ll tell you the story about passenger journey tracking and the Berlin Depech Mode concert later) we broke for lunch with some fabulous food prepared by the staff of the Siemens canteen.

18:00.

The afternoon was a very enjoyable as we enjoyed a rare tour of thee world’s biggest signalling factory. The site is involved in some cutting edge projects which I’ll be talking about in another blog. Here’s one, the complete resignalling of the Norwegian rail network which will be controlled from Oslo.

Our day came to an end after the tour and a final presentation on cloud based interlocking. Then it was back to the real world. Our small UK contingent (all three of us) decided to catch the 16:54 back to Hannover, only it was cancelled due to an incident on the line. The station was packed and we were looking at all sorts of possible plan B’s when the stock for the 17:20 rolled in, so we jumped on that. It was soon packed as other trains had been cancelled or were running late.

It got us as far as a place called Peine, where we’ve been sitting for the past 15 mins with no information on what’s happening. Ho hum…

18:15.

We’ve now sat at Peine for 30 mins – with absolutely zero information about what’s going on. Not a single announcement has been made.

19:00.

We were on the move shortly after after my last update – some 40 plus mins late. The service to the airport is hardly clockface and it’s only hourly so we abandoned plans to eat at Hannover Hbf and caught the next service to the airport – the 18:57, where we’re enjoying a mostly empty train with good a/c. Upstairs on a packed double- deck coach (our last train) is not the place to be on a sunny day like this.

21:40.

My final German update. A few of us are now relaxing at Hannover airport before our flight arrives. I can’t say it’s my favourite airport. Much of it is closed or deserted and what isn’t closes early! There’s one food outlet in our terminal and the sole duty free shut at 21:30. Still, the glider’s a nice touch…

23:17. (UK time).

I’m back in the Sceptic Isle having bid goodbye to my colleagues on the plane. The flight was quick and passing through Heathrow terminal 5 was quite painless. Everything worked perfectly.

Shame I can’t say the same for the rest of the UK as it seems I’ve returned to a political shit-show. The Chancellor and Health Minister have both resigned, along with a bunch of lesser political functionaries. It wouldn’t surprise me if more go as despite this, Johnson will do everything he can to cling to power. New lackeys will be appointed in their place and the whole rotten edifice will continue in the same lying, delusional vein whilst the country’s economy continues to fall apart. I see the FTSE 100 lost 2.86% today, continuing its awful spiral, having lost 6.74% in the past month, leaving a lot of people poorer and pension funds looking rocky. If only I could have stayed in Germany…

Is this country ever going to wake up and shake off the delusion that the Tories can be trusted with the economy? They’ve done little but wreck it ever since the Brexit referendum.

After such a positive couple of days It’s deeply frustrating (and embarasding) to return to the kakistocracy that the UK has become under Johnson and his Cabinet of the incompetents. It’s painfully obvious that the only reason Sunak and Javid have resigned is political survival and a crack at Johnson’s job as PM. They’ve no more commitment to the country or public service than the man they hope to replace. But how many Tory voters will fall for it I wonder?

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. Outward bound…

04 Monday Jul 2022

Posted by in Air Travel, Germany, Rolling blogs, Travel

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05:30.

It’s an ungodly hour here at Heathrow but I have coffee, so things aren’t too bad. I arrived late last night and bedded down at the airport for a few hours. As I’m flying from the modern Terminal 5 that wasn’t too bad. There’s plenty of space, I had a bottle of beer which helped make the floor softer and I’d also packed a small cushion in my suitcase to use as a pillow which made all the difference as I got a decent night’s sleep – saving myself silly money on booking an airport hotel room which I’d only have occupied for a few hours anyway.

06:30.

I’m now airside. Checking in and the baggage drop was pretty painless, as was security which was busy but the staff were both polite and efficient. One thing I did notice was the number of people who’re wearing masks again. Not only has Covid not gone away but cases are rising – something our Government and the media seen strangely quiet about. Despite this, it’s good to see how busy Heathrow is now that life is returning to some sort of normality – although with everything that’s going on in the world right now I’m not entirely sure what ‘normal’ is anymore.

Heathrow terminal 5 at 06:30 is not what you’d call quiet…

I’ve an hour to kill before my flight to Hannover boards so I’ll spend the time people-watching, catching up on some work – and blogging. I’m not a great fan of airports. I’d rather have caught the train to Germany but as I’m someone’s guest I have to go with the flow. Even so it’s interesting as I love travelling and the Pandemic years severely clipped my wings. This is only the second time I’ve left the septic isle since 2019 – and both trips have been to Germany. I’d love to get back on the road again but with everything that’s going on I can’t see that happening for a while yet. Still, I can’t complain. I’ve a busy schedule these next few months with lots of interesting things to keep me occupied – like this trip. Funnily enough, whilst writing this I wondered when it was that I was last in Hannover. A quick look at my Zenfolio website brought the memories flooding back. I was there 10 years ago for the recreation of the British Military train. This was the service that ran to Berlin during the cold war and an old friend – the late Major John Poyntz – was OC at one time. You can find the pictures from that event here.

17:00. (German time).

And relax! The flight wasn’t bad – only 90 mins and I managed to get some shut-eye which was useful. As I disembarked I bumped into another colleague. Chris Jackson from the Railway Gazette was on the same flight. The two of us hooked up for the onward journey to Hannover by rail, then on to Braunsweig. Siemens had sent me a rail ticket confirmation which no-one (including a couple of very helpful locals) could get to work in the ticket machines! Instead, I bought one of the month-long 9 euro rail passes that Germany is offering people to encourage people to get back on trains. It makes the UK’s ‘great rail sale’ look positively limp in comparison.

Having checked into our (very nice) hotel I had to do a quick bit of writing for a living, then headed out to explore the town which has a great little tram system and still has the odd vintage vehicle out in service. Here’s one passing the Rathaus earlier.

Right now I’m relaxing in the square outside the Rathaus and enjoying Konig Ludwig weissbier whilst I watch the world go by. We all meet up for a meal at 20:00 but I’ll probably try and get an hours kip in beforehand.

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!