Wet, wet, wet…

22 Wednesday May 2024

Tags

keir-starmer, labour-party, Politics, Rishi Sunak, uk-politics

That’s not just a comment on the weather but also the announcement by Rishi Sunak that he’s called a general election for the 4th July. We’ve had a thoroughly miserable day here in the Pennines. The rain has been unceasing. There’s been a real deluge here that makes summer feel even further away. I’ve spent most of my time glued to a computer screen as I’ve been busy editing all the pictures I’ve taken the past few days in order to clear the decks and get them out to clients and/or on my Zenfolio website as I’ve a packed calendar over the next few weeks.

Whilst doing so I’ve kept one eye on the rain outside and the other on political news and the speculation that Sunak was going to announce an election. We’ve been here before as this isn’t the first time we’ve heard Sunak was going to make an announcement only for it to prove to be a damp squib. This time it was true. Finally! In typical Sunak fashion it was all rather farcical. Not only was it wet here, it was chucking it down in London too! So, what did Sunak do? Plonked his podium outside number 10 and make his announcement in the pouring rain, which led to him looking an even bigger drip than usual. To add to the farce, Steve Bray, the indefatigable pro EU campaigner had got wind of what was happening and played D-ream’s ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ at such a volume he competed with the weather as to who could drown Sunak out more! Those with long memories will remember this tune as Tony Blair’s Labour anthem in the run up to their 1997 election landslide victory! You can view his speech here on the BBC website. Here’s a screenshot.

Wet, wet, wet. And it’s not just the rain I’m talking about…

It really was classic ‘head boy’ Sunak. He knows best, everything’s going to plan and we just have to forget the past 14 years of the Tories running the UK into the ground and trust him. Only no-one in their right mind does. No-one with any critical faculties falls for it, including many of his MPs, who’re jumping ship to find other jobs before all’s lost. It was blather. Here was the one announcement people actually wanted to hear him make and it turned it into a metaphor for his whole time in office and provided social media with a rich seam of memes. Hardly the kick-off to an election campaign you’d plan, but someone did. Someone thought him going out without an umbrella to stand in the pouring rain in front of an equally wet and miserable press pack was a good idea, which tells you everything you need to know about who Sunak’s surrounded himself with. Can you imagine what he’s going to be like at the hustings? How many more disasters there’ll be? Sunak is incapable of relating to ordinary people in any meaningful way, but then – he’s never mixed with ordinary people. His whole life’s been one of privilege and entitlement. He makes Teresa May (famously nicknamed ‘The Maybot’) seem almost personable.

We now have 43 days of electioneering before we see the light at the end of the Tory tunnel. The Tories are so far behind in the polls they’ll need a miracle to save them. But don’t think that doesn’t mean they won’t put up a fight. I fully expect them to run a very dirty campaign. I’m also slightly concerned that people will think the result is such a foregone conclusion that they don’t bother voting. Please, don’t make that mistake. We’ve been here before and apathy helped foist Brexit on us.

Let’s not waste this opportunity to get rid of the Tories kakistocracy – and not just for one term either. With tactical voting they could be reduced to less than 100 in number. Such a crushing defeat is likely to lead to the party splitting, with the real swivel-eyed loons taking them even further to the right (and the wilderness) but with the possibility of a new centre-right part emerging from the ashes, which would be a good thing for democracy. I’ll be watching how things unfold with interest…

UPDATE.

I was right about the farce continuing. This evening Sky News was thrown out of the PMs election announcement to the party faithful! Oops! And it’s only day one…

Social media has been quick to rip the pee out of Sunak. Here’s two of my favourites from Twitter.

Meanwhile, ‘Cold War Steve’ came up with this gem…

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/

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Community rail week. Day 2…

21 Tuesday May 2024

Posted by Paul Bigland in Community rail, Community Rail Network, London, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs

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Community rail, Community Rail Network, London, Photography, Rolling blogs, Travel

07:30.

The team are preparing for today’s event in London. I can’t say anything about it until afterwards but we had a great planning session with some of the local station friends yesterday evening, so we’re looking forward to what’s going to happen. Why not pop back later to see what it is we’ve been up to?

13:05.

Phew, sorry for the gap but it’s been a busy morning. I can now reveal that we’ve been kept busy at Alexandra Palace station with an event that included a long visit by Shadow Rail Minister Stephen Morgan MP, who spent time with local MP Catherine West, Community Rail Networks Chief Exec Jools Townsend and many of the local station friends and visitors from as far afield as Gipsy Hill. Here’s a few pictures.

I’ll add more details later. Right now my main task is to get the pictures edited – and begin my journey back North…

13:45.

Having got the pictures out to where they need to go I’m footloose and fancy free again, soI’m beginning my journey back North. I’ve really enjoyed being back in my old stamping ground – even if the weather’s been iffy (at least it didn’t rain in any meaningful way) but now it’s time to hunt for some sun and the chance to get a few more libray shots in the can. Right now, the next stop’s Stevenage…

16:50.

Stevenage proved to be quite literally a washout, thanks to the weather so I boarded the next available train to Peterborough – and old haunt from the 1990s. I did manage a few more library shots but whilst the weather stayed dry the skies were dull in the extreme. Now I’m on my way to Doncaster, although I don’t know if I’ll stop off as despite my moving North sunshine’s proving to be elusive.

17:00.

Doncaster was a bust, although clouds are lifting and every so often there’s a tantalizing glimpse of blue sky. Unfortunately, the works yard is empty and the station’s just as quiet, so I’ll stay on board until York where there just *might* be a couple of worthwhile shots to be had under the station’s magnificent roof. Plus, I can get a direct train to Halifax from there, which makes life easier.

19:30.

Like most plans, mine didn’t survive long. Whilst the weather had picked up many services were running from platforms oufside the trainshed, so less photogenic. Then my direct train to Halifax was cancelled, so I had to get a TPE to Leeds and pick up a late running Halifax service

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Rolling blog. Community rail week – day 1…

20 Monday May 2024

Posted by Paul Bigland in Community rail, Community Rail Network, London, Manchester, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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Community rail, Community Rail Network, London, Manchester, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

10:45.

Community rail week has begun, and I’m off on my travels again as part of it. Right now, I’m on Northern’s 10:23 from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester in order to pop in on an event being held at Piccadilly station before making my way down to London this evening. After yesterday’s wall to wall sunshine the weather’s a bit of a disappointment as the Calder valley’s full of low cloud but I’m hoping things will improve as I drift South stopping off on the way. Feel free to pop back later to see what I get up to…

No 1 on day 1 to carry me to Manchester…

11:05.

Before I get to Manchester I’ve stopped off at Rochdale where the Calder Valley CRP are having an event in the station garden. There’s music – and cupcakes, so if you’re in the area feel free to pop in…

12:30.

My tour continues. On reaching Manchester I hot-foot it over to Piccadilly station where several CRPs (Community Rail Partnerships) and their friends have stalls today. There’s a lot of interest in the line and walking guides, along with the other goodies on offer. Both the Bentham and Glossop lines had sent delegations..

Now I’m on the move again, slowly heading South. Today I have a treat as far as Crewe in the shape of one of Transport for Wales locomotive hauled (or in this case, pushed) Mk 4 sets.

13:55.

I’m currently taking the scenic route as plans went slightly awry on arrival at Crewe. There was plenty of variety of traction on view – from old TfW single-car ‘Scuds’ working the Shrewsbury shuttle to brand new Hitachi built Class 805s on test before taking over from Avanti Voyagers later this year. Oh, and the nostalgia-fest that is LSL’s loco depot, which is a real 1980s throwback. Unfortunately a number of services were late or delayed, so I’m now heading for Stoke on a sideways shuffle aboard one of LNWs Class 350s. This one’s a former Trans-Pennine Express unit that used to work between Manchester Airport – Glasgow/Edinburgh before being displaced by more modern (and longer) trains.

14:50.

And relax! On arrival at Stoke I had 10 minutes to wait for a Pendolino to arrive which would whisk me to Euston via one stop at Nuneaton. There’s no more community rail events within my reach now so the rest of the day is purely a positional move. As I head South the weather’s improving. There’s clear blue skies and fluffy cumulous clouds instead of the grey I’d been used to, so now all I have to do is decide where I’m going to visit to get some library shots after hitting London.

15:33

Bugger! Just when I thought I was back on track! We’re currently running 26 minutes late (and being diverted via Northampton) due to – as the onboard screens inform us – a ‘safety inspection of the track’. Ho hum. Now I won’t reach Euston until 16:07 – and counting. We’re not the only service affected either. I’ve just had a quick look at ‘real time trains’ to check out Euston departures/arrivals. It’s not good. I expect it’ll be carnage on the concourse when I arrive.

16:40.

Carnage has been averted at Euston due to many departures leaving on time, which will keep passengers happy and the concourse uncrowded. But it’ll come at a price. Many trains will have been ‘stepped up’ (turned around quickly and reallocated to different services). Train crews bear the brunt when this happens as their dockets aren’t worth the paper they’re written on so hours get extended. Juggling the trains has issues too as some will have been heading to certain depots for maintenence to take place. They’ll end the day somewhere very different unless train controllers can get them back to where they need to be.

17:45.

Wandering down the Euston Rd from Euston to Kings Cross I bumped into Ndy Savage, an old friend and fellow Community Rail Awards judge. It’s what I love about London. You’re never far away from someone you know. Now I’m back in old haunts in Harringay, heading to tonight’s hotel…

23:30.

Time to bring this blog to a close. I’m kicking back at my hotel in Wood Green after meeting up with the rest of the CRN team ready for tomorrow’s big event. I’ll leave you with a few more pictures from today, with many more to follow tomorrow.

Manchester Piccadilly earlier, with people interested in details of some of the walking guides on offer.

Stoke station dominated by LNW Class 350s, including the former TPE unit I arrived on.

It could have been an awful lot worse. Despite the WCML disruption Euston station passenger flow remained in tolerable levels.

Buddleia’s not part of the station friends plan, but like many locations it’s encroaching on the lineside here at Alexandra Palace in North London.

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19th May picture(s) of the day…

19 Sunday May 2024

Posted by Paul Bigland in Food and drink, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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Food and drink, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

Today’s been a very domestic sort of day here at Bigland Towers but it’s also one that’s allowed me (if not Dawn) to enjoy the stunning weather. Finally, it feels like summer is on the way. We’ve had wall to wall sunshine and temperatures in the low 20s – which is a bloody miracle around here so far this year! Whilst Dee was cooking up a storm with a production line of batch cooking for us and her parents I was busy on the cottage roof, giving it an annual clean and sorting out some minor repairs after the battering it’s received over the winter. My job was complicated by our new lodgers. Several years ago I put up a number of nesting boxes under the sheltered eaves at the back of the cottage. Until now they’ve always remained vacant, despite the fact the adjacent bird-feeders resemble Piccadilly Circus. This year a pair of Blue Tits have taken up residence in one of them. Only it’s the one where I normally put up the ladder to allow me to clamber onto the roof. Bugger! Their residence has meant I’ve had to access the roof from our neighbour’s backyard, which is rather more challenging. That’ll teach me! Mind you, once I scrambled up I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The views are stunning!

Having removed bags of crap from over and between the stone flags I felt I deserved a beer and adjourned to our local pub for a while. The Big 6 beer garden was doing a roaring trade and having chance to wash the dust from my mouth whilst soaking up yet more sun was much appreciated.

I did feel slightly guilty as Dawn was still busy in the kitchen. I made amends on my return by disposing of the mound of washing up Dee had generated with her Lasagne production line. Some were for us whilst a different (gluten-free) line were for her parents. That’s the freezer restocked then!

Now it’s time to relax before another busy few days. Community Rail Week begins tomorrow, which means I’m going to be out and about a lot. I’ll be heading down to London on Monday morning ready for a special event at on Tuesday at one of my old local stations in North London.

I’ll be blogging about all my travels and the various events I’ll be attending which means there’ll be plenty to see and read about this next week. In the meantime here’s a couple of pictures from our activities today.

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Rolling blog. Mixing business with pleasure…

17 Friday May 2024

Posted by Paul Bigland in Barrow Hill, Food and drink, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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Barrow Hill, Food and drink, Photography, Rolling blogs, Travel

10:30.

We’ve another dull day in the Calder Valley but my Friday’s being brightened up by the opportunity to mix business with pleasure. I’m currently aboard a Northern service from Halifax to Hull which I’m using to get to Leeds before making my way (via a few changes en-route) to Chersterfield, then on to Barrow Hill roundhouse to attend the annual ‘Rail Ale’ beer festival for a few hours. Railways and beer? What’s not to like?

I’ll be blogging throughout the day, so feel free to pop back and see how things unfold….

11:15.

After a short sojourn in Leeds I’m now aboard a Cross-Country service heading for Plymouth. Well, the train is, I’m only going as far as Sheffield! Made up of two 4-car Voyagers it’s a busy train although I’ve managed to find a free airline seat in the front car of the leading seat. There’s an elderly couple who got on with me at Leeds who’re travelling all the way as they’re heading to Cornwall. They’ll be on here for the next five and a half hours! They hadn’t reserved seats and were going to sit separately but one kind business chap offered to move and also helped them store their luggage.

13:15.

I changed trains at Sheffield, which led to one of those silly, petty ‘elf and safety’ events which – whilst rare, do seem to be coming more common again.

I was leaning on the fence at the North end of platform 5-6 waiting to take a shot when I heard urgent whistling going on behind me, turning around I noticed two platform dispatch staff bearing down on me from ine and the adjacent platform. Odd, as I was well within the public area of the station. One of the women shouted at me to ‘get behind the sign’ on a lampost set well back from the fence. The sign didn’t say ‘do not pass this point’, merely no unauthorised access – meaning don’t wander off the platform – hard to do now there’s a fence and cattle grid stopping you! I asked the second woman what I’d done wrong. I’d wandered up to the fence (surely, what it’s there for?). I pointed out the arbitary silliness of this, only to be told other had walked past the grid to go into the tunnels – something I was clearly not doing! I couldn’t be bothered to argue as I was due to catch a train. But the upshot was two dispatch staff had their time wasted enforcing an arbitary non-rule rather than using common-sense, and I was left feeling that some rail staff really have lost the plot. Later I heard the same dispatcher hanguing passengers for not standing back from a train in the platform despite the fact it was minutes from departure, giving the feeling passengers are treated like nuisance sheep at Sheffield – not farepaying customers.

17:30.

Apologies for the gap in blogging but I’ve had a busy time at Barrow Hill meeting up with old friends, sampling beers and taking lots of picture (you’ll see some later). Sadly, due to other commitments I’ve had to leave this excellent event early. Right now I’m heading back to Chesterfield on an open top bus!

19:00.

I’m currently sat on another Cross-Country Voyager, this time heading from Sheffield to Leeds. You can tell it’s Friday as many younger passengers are travelling from town to cities en-route to a night out. Let’s face it, most can’t afford a mortgage anymore, so there’s little point saving so they’re the people disposing of their income in a fashion that’s keeping many bars and clubs alive.

21:30.

Home again. Despite it being a Friday and train services being extremely busy my journey back was rather pleasant. Now I’m busy editing pictures from Barrow Hill. Here’s a selection.

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14th May picture of the day…

14 Tuesday May 2024

Posted by Paul Bigland in Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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lifestyle, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, railway, Railways, Travel, West Yorkshire, writing

Apologies for the lack of blogging but I’ve been kept busy at home playing nurse as well as wading through hundreds of pictures from my recent travels that require editing and captioning. Thankfully, Dawn, my patient – is on the mend, so I can put away the nurses uniform again. Besides, it clashed with the chef’s hat I’ve been wearing, which has been another of my duties. It’s not been too onerous as Dee’s been a good patient but I’ll be glad to see her up and about again. On the bright side, the jumper she’s been knitting has really come on!

Today I managed to finish the majority of the editing and get the pictures onto my Zenfolio website. There’s several hundred, which you can find in the following galleries.

GBRf (freight company)

London Underground

and finally, HS2.

Tomorrow, with Dawn on the mend and picture editing almost finished I can concentrate on other things which includes organising my next tranche of travels as well as some scribbling for a living. Sadly, the weather’s reverted to type here. We had a couple of days of sunshine but now the rain’s returned. We’ve had some very heavy showers today with more predicted, so I can’t see me getting out with the camera just yet. Never mind, some of the travel I have to arrange involves places with plenty of sun!

In the meantime I’ll leave you with a picture from Germany taken last week which shows it’s not just the UK that’s been wet! This was the view from the 17th floor of our hotel as a rainstorm crossed Dusseldorf.

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The Rover’s return…

12 Sunday May 2024

Posted by Paul Bigland in Musings, Politics, Railways, West Yorkshire

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Musings, Politics, Railways, West Yorkshire

I’m having a quiet weekend here at Bigland Towers. Following all my travels earlier this week its lovely to be able to have the odd lie-in and not have to be constantly on the move. Plus, poor Dawn was struck down by the Lurgi whilst I was away so I’ve had to don my nurses uniform once more.

I’ve plenty to keep me occupied. I’ve 1000s of pictures to sift through and edit which is going to keep me busy for several days. Then there’s cooking, washing and all the other stuff needed to keep the place running whilst Dee recuperates. Oh, then there’s still keeping up walking over 12.5k steps a day.

Another thing that’s filled time is watching the latest political psychodrama involving Natalie Elphick, the Tory MP who’s defected to Labour. Many on the left and centre left are unhappy about this due to her history. But this is politics, and my view is that it’s been a clever move on Labour’s party due to the damage it’s doing to Sunak and the Tories. For every vote Labour *may* lose because of it, they’re likely to gain far more in swing seats which are the ones they need to win to form a Government. Mind you, watching the Tories losing it because of her defection is really rather delicious. By trying to smear her they’re proving how inept they are as these revelations and cover-ups happened when she was still a Tory MP!

This evening’s been spent cooking and listening to the thunderstorms that have arrived to put an end to the day after some glorious sunshine. Now it’s time to relax before another busy week. In the meantime, here’s a couple of pictures from the editing queue.

Siemens built RRX trains in the depot at Dortmund, seen during my press trip on Tuesday.

Not your usual view of the London Underground. Here’s Oxford Circus on the Northbound Victoria line.

Looking through the bridge beams at HS2’s Thame valley viaduct. Not a view many people will ever get to see…

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Rolling blog. Homeward bound…

10 Friday May 2024

Posted by Paul Bigland in London, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel, West Yorkshire

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London, Photography, Rolling blogs, West Yorkshire

07:00.

My time away has come to an end. Today I head home for a while until the next adventure. But first I’ve got to get there. Thankfully, the main rail strikes are in abeyance today, but last minutes changes are still possible. Let’s see hoe things go. First off it to get across London to begin the journey North. Today I’m taking that trip via the Midland Main Line…

08:15.

The pair of us are now speeding up the Midland Main Line on a very empty (and very dirty) Meridian, the first of the class in fact. Talk about tired – the train that is – not me! This one has the new seat mocquette but the quality of the fitting leaves a lot to be desired. The carpets are still threadbare and the paintwork inside and out is in a terrible state.

Not exactly London’s busiest rail service…

11:45

I said goodbye to Hassard at Derby. He went off to his meeting whilst I stayed to make the most of the good weather to get some library shots before catching an onward service to Sheffield. Here’s a couple of camera pictures.

The Meridian I’m on now (set 13) is lucky for me as at least you can see out of the windows in this train. We weren’t so lucky in the last one…

Still, it’s swings and roundabouts. The wifi doesn’t work on this set – unlike the last one!

13:15.

Well, that was fun. I joined a 4-car Cross-Country Voyager bound for Edinburgh for the leg between Sheffield and Leeds. It was rammed! I was ‘lucky’ enough to find a space to stand opposite the disabled toilet in the rear car. It was taking a hammering due to the amount of drunks sat in the same vehicle (and others elsewhere). I have to give full credit to the Train Manager, despite the obstacle course he needed to navigate he still managed to make a full ticket check!

Rolling blog. Building bridges on HS2…

09 Thursday May 2024

Posted by Paul Bigland in Hs2, London, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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Hs2, London, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs

07:00.

In contrast to the past couple of days which has been mostly about new trains, today’s visit is going to be about building bridges – HS2 style. I won’t say just where yet, but all will be revealed soon. But first I’ve got to to to where I’m going, which means a cross-London journey from here in Clapham then a trip along the Chiltern line…

07:42.

The weather’s so good this morning I was up and out early in order to bank some time (and pictures en-route). Here’s how the changing skyline of Clapham Junction looks.

08:40.

Having arrived at Victoria I took a trip on the tube line of the same name as far as Oxford Circus where I changed to the antique line – sorry – the Bakerloo line, which operates the oldest and most decrepit trains on the network.

Now I’m at Marylebone, waiting for my next train. The station’s celebrating its 125th birthday this year so is decked out with bunting as a consequence. Not that many in the constant ebb and flow of passengers seem to notice!

At least the trains aren’t 125 years old…

14:30.

Mind the gap! Sorry about that. I’ve only just left the HS2 Thame valley viaduct site. My tour of the structure was extensive so and I was so engrossed in taking pictures and writing notes there was no time to blog.

This particular viaduct is 880 meters long. It’s a low lying structure that will carry HS2 over a flood-plain. I was here ladt year to see some of the first prefabricated concrete beams being installed. There’s been a lot of progress since.

One of two central piers in the viaduct. the poles and pile cap are far bigger as it from here the viaduct is tensioned and dynamic forces transferred. The 880m long viaduct can expand up to 450mm in each direction from these points.

Now, large sections of the viaduct are in place and progress is being made with installing the prefabricated concrete plants which form the bed of the deck. I’ll describe it in far more detail later.

15:15.

On my way back to London I couldn’t resist making a quick stop at Wendover, where the station is very close to some of the HS2 trace. Despite the claims of some residents HS2 construction doesn’t dominate the village as it’s on the opposite side of the noisy and busy A413. Since my last visit there’s been a number of changes. One road which is at the Northern portal of the ‘green’ tunnel’s been diverted over a new bridge spanning the trace. This bridge privides an excellent vantage point to follow construction of the route Northwards.

A short walk away is a footpath and the infamous memorial woods that anti HS2 protesters like Mark Keir lied about, claiming it was dedicated to dead children (it wasn’t) and it was being torn-up up by HS2 and ‘desecrated’ (it wasn’t). I covered their disgraceful, lying campaign in this blog at the time. In fact, the wood’s in rude health. I popped in and took this shot.

Meanwhile, the footpath to the South just past the memorial wood affords this view which is looking down the valley to the viaducts that cross the A413 and also Wendover Dean. Notice how the scenic nature of the valley has been ‘destroyed’ by HS2. Oh, hang on – what are those metal pylons – and how long have they been there?

23:00.

Time to bring today’s blog to a close. The weather here in London’s been lovely. Eating alfresco has returned to the streets of Clapham and the place has been buzzing. It seemed a shame to waste the eveing so the pair of us nipped out for a couple of beers to enjoy the atmosphere, but now it’s time to prepare for tomorrow which includes another early start with the pair of us travelling North together as far as Derby. Watch this space…

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Rolling blog. Düsseldorf day 2 and back to the UK…

08 Wednesday May 2024

Posted by Paul Bigland in Germany, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Siemens, Travel

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Germany, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Siemens

08:00.

Another dull day in Düsseldorf – well, as far as the weather’s concerned, anyway! For me, it’s time for breakfast and a short stroll before we catch the coach to the Siemens test track at the former RAF base at Wildenrath, where we’re going to be treated ro a preview of the new Desiro for Egypt. After that, it’s time to head back to the UK, so I’ll be blogging as and when I can throughout the day…

12:15.

Having left the hotel at 0900 we arrived at Wildenrath just over an hour later. This was a flying visit, we didn’t enter the main site. Instead we went to the small station on the larger test track where the Desiro Egypt was waiting for us. This train is essentially a four-car Desiro HC (High Capacity) with double-deck centre cars. When you board you feel like you’ve stepped onto a normal DB train as the interior (including the seat mocquette) is identical. The only give-away are the multi-lingual signs in English and Arabic.

Here’s a couple of phone pics. I’ll add camera ones later.

94 Desiros are being built for Egypt, along with 41 high speed Velaros and 41 Vectron freight locomotives. The country is in the middle of a railway renaissance on both sids of the Nile (more about that later).

Right now we’re back on the coach, which is dropping people off at Düsseldorf station and airport.

15:30.

Having kicked my heels at yet another shopping centre with an airport attached – and with a confusing, labyrinthine layout due to new bits added – I’m about to board my flight back to Brexit Britain.

17:15 (UK time).

I’m back in Brexit Britain. Did I miss anything? My Eurowings flight was fine – apart from the obligatory screaming baby. I’d booked a window seat and was looking forward to admiring the scenery but the whole of Europe was covered in clouds. It was only when we crossed the channel that skies cleared. Flying in from Europe meant we followed the Thames estuary and crossed my old home in Crouch End, North London before doubling back across Berkshire to approach Heathrow from the West.

Passport control.and baggage reclaim were a doddle. I was through in no time. Now, havng negotiated the subterranean arteries of the airport I’m on a Lizzie line service into the city.

22:50.

Time to bring this blog to a close. I’m staying with an old friend in Clapham yet again. In fact, I’ve not been able to avoid people. As I passed through Waterloo earlier I paused to get a couple of shots like this.

As I turned around to look elsewhere the driver of 5913 leaned out of his cab and said ‘alright you miserable bugger, not going to say hello then?’ Said driver proved to be the inimitable ‘Driver Potter’ of VEP preservation fame. I’ve known Steve for more years then either of us care to remember so it was a pleasant surprise to be greeted by familiar abuse! I used Steve’s train to get to Clapham. As he neither broke it nor derailed on the way I count that as a win!

The lesser spotted Potter in its natural environment…

Hassard and I have had a quiet night here in Clapham as both of us have been returning from different destinations, he from Glasgow and me from Germany. Plus, tomorrow’s another busy day. I’m up early again as I’ll be looking at more High-Speed 2 construction work tomorrow, so expect another rolling blog. Until then – goodnight!

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

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