09:00.

Time to tear myself away from the comfort of home and head off to the final event of the week and a meeting in Derby with friends and colleagues before enjoying a relaxing weekend at home (although our definition of relaxing may not be everyone’s cup of tea!). Hopefully, the railways will play ball today – and I don’t have to have anything to do with TPE, which is always a good start!

Let’s see how I get on…

10:45.

So far so good! Despite an earlier cancellation my Northern service from Sowerby Bridge to Leeds arrived on time. This 3-car service via Bradford’s certainly busy – I’d reckon about 75% full but I’ve managed to find a window seat from which I can admire the rain.

11:55.

Things are looking up! I had a 20 minuter interlude at Leeds which gave me time to take a few pictures before joining Cross-Country’s 11:12 service heading for Plymouth which is made up of two 4-car Class 220s, both of which are busy. I know because I swapped between sets at Wakefield to distance myself from the hen-party who were already breaking open the Prosseco! I’ve managed to find an airline seat in the rear set which is much more civilised. We’ve just pulled out of Sheffield where the weather’s brightening up. There’s still masses of heavy cloud but there’s multicoloured layers and individual formations rather than the uniform dullness West Yorkshire was suffering from.

17:30.

After an excellent meeting and chance to reminisce with old friends it’s time to head home. The railways are still SNAFU which has meant the train I was hoping to catch to Leeds has been cancelled. Instead I’m on plan B which is an East Midlands Railway service to Sheffield where I’ll select plan B. The weather’s changed completely. There’s mow this weird blueish tinge to the sky in which a weird yellow orb hangs…

18:55.

I’m late, but I’m finally heading North from Sheffield to Leeds. The irony? I’m aboard the same Cross-Country train (220031) that carried me South. Whilst I was meeting with friends it’s traversed most of the country. Now it heading back from Plymouth to where it started its day. Scotland.

Trains aside, my meeting turned into a trip down memory lane as other friends turned up. As a group we go back 15-20 years although none of us can work out where the years hsve gone.

Our group of friends is from right and left on the political spectrum. Politics aside the ome thing we care about and agree upon is the railways – and the univeral view is that the current government are awful. Then, when you have a multi-millionaire PM who flies everywhere by helicopter and has no idea of the importance of public transport is it any wonder we’re cynical?

19:50.

My Cross-Country train’s managed to deposit me at Leeds – along with all those who thought they were going all the way to Edinburgh or points in-between. The train’s been terminated due to overhead line damage on the East Coast Main Line which is really going to bugger up some people’s weekend. Still, Rishi’s got a helicopter to gad about in whilst the rest of us bare the brunt of the amount of money his friends have sucked out of the public purse, so that’s alright then.

20:00.

I’m now on the last leg home aboard yet another Northern Class 195.I’m not complaining, I have a table seat, power points and air-conditioned, but more importantly – we’re on time.

22:00.

Home again – and I didn’t get rained on once – which is a bloody miracle this summer! I’ve had a great day catching up with friends and talking over old times, some of which I’d forgotten about. When we think back to some of the things we and other friends used to get up to in days that were more laissez-faire it makes for some great memories and stories that will be best told when some of the main participants are pushing up daisies!

Now it’s time for me to switch off and enjoy the weekend at home. That said, expect a few blogs and lots of pictures to appear here – and there.

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