News from Anne and Alan Christmas 2014
A warm welcome to all our regular readers, and hopefully some new ones! 2014 - what a year! It has passed swiftly and lots have happened to us. In a change from the usual format, Alan’s transport news, much anticipated by some of you (but probably not read by most!), has been grouped towards the end. The eagle eyed reader will probably notice that the fonts and font sizes sometimes change. This is as much a mystery to me as it is to you and it could take until next Christmas to put it right. So, we've decided to publish the blog now, warts and all!
Anne’s eyes
Top of the list is to report that Anne, whose
eyesight has never been good since the age of seven and who has used contact
lenses for around 50 years, has now got perfect vision, other than for reading.
This is a result of a conversation with her optician, who informed her that
they had reached the limit of sight correction with contact lenses and
recommended an operation on both eyes to replace her natural lenses. Unfortunately,
this service is not available on the National Health but the excellent service,
spread over two weeks with one eye first, followed by the other later, was well
worth the fee as she can now see better than she has ever done and probably
better than all the rest of us, as clarity can decline with ageing. She is
amazed by all the detail that she can see, even individual branches on trees
half a mile away across the valley, and is now hoping to drive again (if
confidence is regained), something she has been wary of for the last few years.
The operation was similar to that for cataracts and the deed only took 20
minutes, although overall it took most of a morning as safety and health
procedures were rigorously observed.
Well done to Anne – it was a nervous time, but in the end was so easy.
If you feel the need, call us for details.
Anne with new friend on her birthday. Her new favourite song is 'I can see clearly now'!
Holidays
United States of America
Having planned the trip for three years, the long
awaited visit to America’s deep south happened in March. The holiday to the USA
went well, with most things turning out to be better than expected, although
scenically it was no big deal as most of the landscape down through Mississippi
and Louisiana is pretty flat. Driving on elevated highways over the vast
swamplands was interesting but at 70mph there was little chance of spotting
anything lurking in them.
We went on a two week ‘Sights and Sounds’ tour of the Deep
South, the emphasis being more on the sounds – in particular the sounds of our
youth. We started in Atlanta which included a city tour, following in the
footsteps of Martin Luther King and a visit to the CNN television news centre,
then moved into the state of Tennessee to stop at Chatanooga, famous for its
‘Choo Choo’ and the Glenn Miller song. Apart from the preserved station which
is a train and hotel complex, there was no working Choo Choo. However, the
preserved restaurant not only provided excellent food but also singing waiters,
who entertained us between courses. Fabulous views from the top of Lookout
Mountain, accessed by a funicular railway, which is claimed to be the steepest
in the world, were enjoyed in zero temperatures the following day. Is hard to
believe that a Civil War battle had been waged in so high and inaccessible a
spot.
We journeyed via the Jack Daniels bourbon
distillery in Lynchburg, a pretty small town that has county laws that prohibit
the sale of Jack Daniels within 12 miles of the distillery so, sadly, no
samples - but we were allowed to sniff the brew in one of the vats! Nashville
was the next major stop, a famous music centre where the likes of Elvis, Roy
Orbison and Jim Reeves first rose to fame, and we visited the studio where
their early hits had been recorded. The city tour revealed a copy of the
Acropolis in Athens and there was time to visit the Music Hall of Fame and a
Plantation House on the outskirts of town. We were to see many more fine houses
during the trip.
Nashville, not Athens.
We stayed at the complex next to the famous Grand
‘Ole Oprey and went to an evening show in its vast auditorium, where more than
3,000 fans filled the audience for the 40th anniversary show of
country and western music. Next stop was Elvis Presley’s birth place, then onto
Memphis to visit Graceland and enjoy the musical delights of Beale Street. We
went to another famous studio where Elvis, Johnny Cash and their contemporaries
made recordings, and saw the infamous motel where Martin Luther King was
assassinated.
Graceland - Elvis's home.
Lively Beale Street in Memphis.
'Well, it's one for the money ...' Alan sings at the very spot where Elvis did.
We gradually headed south and took in two famous
battle sites of the American Civil War – a subject about which we were
generally ignorant but came away much better informed.
New Orleans was a highlight, helped along by
streetcars, musical Bourbon Street, the French Quarter and a Mississippi
steamboat evening cruise. A completely different style of city to the American
norm and considerably warmer than the previous places on the trip.
Mississippi steamboat 'Natchez'.
Typical wrought iron balcony in the French Quarter.
We travelled home via Houston, stopping on the way
at a reconstructed Arcadian village, where we had a totally unexpected meeting
with a seven foot long alligator, only six feet away from us but a bit close
for comfort as there was no-one else there keeping an eye on him. Rather than
attempt to eat us, he kindly posed for photographs, then slipped off the
riverbank and swam away.
Ah, humans. Yum, yum!
We spent a fascinating day at the Houston Space Centre, where we watched the progress of the International Space Centre in orbit in the new mission control and astronauts training for their next flight. Other highlights included sitting at the controls in the Space Shuttle simulator and visiting the old mission control, from which the moon landings and space shuttle flights were controlled. All in all, a great holiday.
This large electronic wall map in the Houston Space Centre watches the progress of the International Space Station. When we arrived it was at the centre of the large circle on the left panel, approaching South America from Asia. Travelling at 17,000 miles per hour, twenty minutes later it was over north-west Africa.
Alan at the Flight Director's desk, from which the moon landings were controlled.
Dublin
For the ‘couple who have everything’ (and no space
for any more!), Christmas and birthday presents can be a bit of a challenge.
So, presents are a bit of a movable feast and tend to be more experiences these
days than something to wear or a hobby item.
Anne’s 2013 birthday present, long overdue,
arrived at the end of April 2014: dinner and Irish traditional music in a
well-known Irish pub – in Dublin. We set off at three o’ clock from Gatwick
airport and were in our Dublin hotel by five, and in the Ulysses Bar by six, recovering
from the rigours of the journey with a drop of the ‘hard stuff’: gin for Anne
and Irish Whisky for Alan. At 7.30 we arrived at the Oliver St John Gogarty in
the Temple Bar district of the city – just a 20 minute stroll from the hotel
via O’Connell Street (the main thoroughfare) and across the River Liffey, on a
sunny spring evening.
An impressive meal was followed by two groups of
musicians with the music coming fast and furious with traditional Irish songs,
violin fiddling, banjo and guitars and accordions plus an excellent display of
Riverdance-style dancing, all helped along with Irish coffee (with whisky in it
and topped with cream) and some Guinness. A great evening.
The Oliver St John Gogarty.
Next day, it was back home again, but not before
another stroll in glorious weather with time to explore Dublin cathedral and
the famous and very grand post office in O’Connell street.
Scotland
In July, Alan took his sister to Scotland for a
week’s holiday. Sheila had not been to Scotland before so we compiled an
itinerary to show her some of the best parts. All but one of the journeys was
by train (and some ships).
Our first base was in Glasgow, staying in a hotel,
just a few yards from Central station. Next day we took the train to Wemyss Bay
and caught the ferry to Rothesay on the nearby island of Bute – one of several
islands that sit in the Firth (estuary) of Clyde. We enjoyed exploring the town
and its waterfront gardens, then had a bus tour around the island, with views
of the majestic mountainous island of Aran nearby, before returning to the quay
in time to see the preserved paddle steamer ‘Waverley’ make a short stop on one
of its regular summer jaunts around the islands.
Paddle Steamer 'Waverley' on a scenic trip in the First of Clyde.
On Sunday we were whisked by train across to Edinburgh, where we visited the Royal Yacht ‘Britannia’ in the nearby port of Leith, before returning to the city for an open top bus tour. The castle, situated on a ridge and above Princes Gardens and the monument to Sir Walters Scott, dominates the town below in all directions and we passed the cafĂ© where the Harry Potter books were written as well as the historic Old Town and Royal Mile leading down to the Palace of Holyrood House. We can highly recommend the ‘Britannia’, which has been beautifully renovated. We had lunch on board, which was fit for a King (and at a princely price!!!)
The following day saw us catching the lunchtime
train from Queen Street station to Fort William, the train weaving its way
along the West Highland line past lochs (lakes), mountains and moors - a
breathtaking journey. We stayed the night in Fort William, near the highest UK
mountain of Ben Nevis and located on the side of Loch Linnhe before setting off
the next morning to the beautiful location of Glenfinnan and its monument to
Bonnie Prince Charlie. That afternoon we caught the express bus past Loch Ness
to our next base, Inverness. Here, we encountered a snag. Our city centre hotel
had been overbooked so we were transferred to a lovely four-star hotel on the
edge of town. Whilst a little inconvenient, we enjoyed the luxury hotel and its
superb food.
Glenfinnan.
Our final day in Scotland was spent visiting
famous Loch Lomond, just an hour away from Glasgow, whose banks were indeed
bonny in the sunshine. We had a two-hour loch cruise, visited a birds of prey
centre, complete with a Golden Eagle, and a tour of the ‘Maid of the Loch’ -
another paddle steamer in the course of preservation.
We were lucky that, in the whole week, we
experienced only one rain shower. We certainly saw Scotland at its best in
lovely sunshine.
Lake District
Our week in the Lake District was preceded by an
evening cruise on the River Thames on the Paddle Steamer ‘Waverley’, which was
on its annual round of excursions from different UK ports. We departed from
Tower Pier in daylight, through majestic Tower Bridge, which had to be opened
to let us through and before long it was dark. We had a good meal on board then
went to the bar to enjoy a band playing traditional jazz music as the lights of
London’s riverside slipped by, including the Canary Wharf business district,
Millennium Dome (the O2 theatre), the Thames Barrier and finally back through
Tower Bridge, now bathed in floodlighting.
Tower Bridge opens to allow 'Waverley' access to the Pool of London.
Next day was spent driving to our Lake District
base, seven miles west of Penrith in the northern lakes and we had a good week
of weather, save for one wet and windy day. So we had a good time exploring the
outstanding mountainous scenery, small villages and, beautiful lakes, plus a
couple of train rides, which are well known as some of the most spectacular in
England.
Beautiful Derwentwater, near Keswick.
Car capers
Alan’s car, affectionally named Boris, has had a
chequered history of reliability in the five years he has been with us but his
fate was sealed in September when he slipped out of gear at 70mph on the
motorway and then needed six re-starts on the way home. To cut a long story
short, he was diagnosed as needing a new gearbox and radiator to the tune of
around £5,000 (his current value was £800!) so sadly he had to go – a pity, as
he was the most luxurious and best car (when he worked!) Alan had owned.
Boris has been replaced by a Skoda Octavia estate,
which we have named Siegfried. He is a beautiful metallic dark blue colour but
not quite as large as Boris, so a bit easier to park.
Farewell to Boris ...
... and greetings to Siegfried.
BBC visit
Alan’s birthday treat this year was a visit to
BBC’s Broadcasting House in London, which is responsible for 24-hour news
services worldwide, the weather forecasts and comedy and other radio shows.
We were given a guided tour around the old
original building, finished in Art Deco style, before moving to the state of the
art news centre where we could see the news gathering teams at work and a live
weather forecast. We were also able to have a ‘hands on’ experience and, thanks
to the reticence of most of the group, Alan tried his hand at making the sound
effects for a play and then being a newsreader.
Shows and entertainment
‘Morecambe’ – this one-man show was memorable, as
was ‘Relative Values’ – the best Noel
Coward play we have seen. Our friend Pauline is a member of a local Rock Choir
and we had a fabulous evening when several of the choirs joined together to
sing in a nearby theatre.
In a local club called ‘The Venue’ we saw some
excellent tribute bands including Abba, The Bee Gees, the Rolling Stones and
Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash look and sound a -likes.
In the last three months, there has been a lot
happening, with theatre visits and music. Highlights have been Agatha
Christie’s ‘The Mousetrap’, Dionne Warwick, ‘The Lion King’, ‘Dance ‘Til Dawn’
(with Strictly Come Dancing’s Flavia and Vincent – needless to say, a superb
Argentine Tango among many other super dancing routines) and the great comedian
Jasper Carrott in a fabulous evening of music and comedy.
We went to the Drapers Hall in the City of London
on one of the rare occasions that it is open to the public and admired the
stunning rooms and main hall. This was followed by a walking tour of the city,
highlight of which was the Royal Exchange, now a venue for expensive shops and
places to eat just opposite the Bank of England.
Anne entered the Race for Life this year and
joined more than a thousand women on the walk/run around Croydon’s Lloyd Park
to raise money for the Breast Cancer charity.
Anne, sadly not the first home, but not the last either!
And no report would be complete without reference
to the Strictly Come Dancing evening, hosted by Jacky and Peter, when our ‘old
dancing crowd’ get together to watch the semi-finals and add our views and
criticisms to those of the TV judges!
Anne, Peter, Pauline, Geoff and Jacky.
Line Dancing extravaganza
Anne, a keen Liner Dancer, went with her dancing
group for a long weekend to a Warner’s holiday complex on the Isle of Wight.
She had a super time, not only dancing, as there was a full programme of other
activities and trips around the island. She highly recommends Warners for the
excellent facilities and food.
Wimbledon
Anne was taken by her friend Cathy to see the tennis championships at Wimbledon during the summer. They had great seats and enjoyed watching some of the famous players, including Andy Murray against Kevin Anderson, Alize Cornet versus Eugenie Bouchard and Novak Djokovic playing Jo-Wilfred Tsonga.
Edinburgh Tattoo
Anne’s 70th birthday present was
actually enjoyed during 2014, the birthday year. She had long held an ambition
to see the Royal Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle so we set off by train on
Thursday 7th August and had a sunny welcome in Edinburgh where we
arrived at 4pm. It was the Edinburgh Festival – an annual event of music and
comedy so we were lucky to have overnight accommodation just 10 minutes away
from the railway station. We headed off for a stroll to dinner in Princes
Street, where we had the meal accompanied by a view of the castle, perched high
on the mound as the sun started to set. It’s quite a climb up to the castle as
we and 8,999 other members of the audience, many from far flung parts of the
world, made our way to the castle esplanade, where the show takes place.
On the stoke of 9pm an RAF jet made a noisy and
fast flight low over the castle and the music and dancing began with the bands
of bagpipes and drums contrasting with that of the Royal Marines and all done
in spectacular marching formations of many different patterns. The non-stop
show lasted for nearly two hours, with visiting national musical and dancing
troupes in colourful costumes contrasting with the changing colours and
patterns that were being projected onto the castle walls. Special mention must
be made of the Police Band of Singapore who performed an intricate and
entertaining musical formation march. All was finally rounded off by the
traditional lone piper atop the castle playing a lament and the audience
singing Auld Lang Syne. A fantastic show and far better than we had expected.
The spectacular Tattoo, with the castle in the background.
We spent the next morning exploring parts of
Edinburgh that we had missed on previous visits, including the West End - and
the Old Town, with its steep winding roads and impressive buildings, the Royal
Mile and St Giles cathedral, followed by a ride on one of the brand new trams –
Edinburgh being the most recent British city to build a new tram system. Thus
well exercised, we returned to retrieve our bags and back we went to the
station, arriving home at 9pm. Edinburgh is so different from any other British
town and a great place to visit.
Spectra
During one of Alan’s keep fit night-time walks in
August, he saw a strange large light high in the sky, looking like a huge
comet. Had a spaceship of aliens arrived? Surely their craft could not be that
large and, just visible below it and reaching to Earth, was a thin shaft of
light. The Internet was consulted and the apparition was revealed to be
‘Spectra’ - a fascinating event in London to commemorate the start of World War
One, one hundred years ago.
The beam of light could be seen from the far edge of London.
Spectra was indeed a shaft of intense light
(actually 49 shafts created by searchlights) generated in a small park area
beside the Houses of Parliament in London. The forty nine lights came together 10 miles
above London and the head of light could be seen for miles around – we live 15
miles away from which I had first seen it.
We went to London to see this ‘for one week only’ attraction, which had
been installed in secrecy and was switched on as most of the country switched
out their lights and illuminated candles to commemorate the start of the Great
War. It was possible to stroll through the huge lights and there was strange
‘out of this world’ music and sounds being played.
Spectra's 49-light base.
London Loo tour
Here’s a rather novel way to spend an afternoon. A
charming young American lady called Rachel from San Francisco has come up with
the idea of a Loo Tour around central London. In fact there are two separate
circuits and the one we chose to join started, very appropriately outside the
ladies and gents in Waterloo station! The other covers, again appropriately,
the postal districts of WC1 and WC2!
We joined Rachel for the tour – she was easy to
spot as she brandished a large sink plunger instead of the usual tour leader
umbrella and wore a bright blue T-shirt with suitably toilet-humoured quotes.
There were eleven of us in this group with men considerably outnumbered by
women and we were the subject of much attention as Rachel led the way with
plunger on high. In common with many men of my age, the need for a toilet is
more frequent than in days of yore, so I make it my business (ha, ha) to know
where facilities are located.
The history of the need for public toilets was
explained and there were amusing and sometimes lengthy quotes from Shakespeare
and others which were spoken with aplomb. We heard about the highest loo in
London (and in Europe), at the top of the Shard. This costs around £25 to £30
to use but you do get fabulous views of London thrown in! We then learned about
the council funded official free Pee in a Pub scheme (as opposed to sneaking in
and out and hoping not to be spotted).
After a short walk we inspected the Jub-a-loo
(erected in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Year), on the South Bank near the
London Eye which charges a handsome 50p for one pee, but which is emblazoned
with Union Jack toilet fittings and pictures of The Queen on the walls, keeping
a wary eye on proceedings. Then, over the River to see a variety of handy, and
sometimes unusual, installations as well as being given tips about pubs and
hotels where access to the loos was easy and free. The most unusual example,
yet one of the newest, is a male urinal close to Embankment underground station
which spends the daytime hours retracted beneath the pavement and then surfaces
to provide relief in the ‘wee small hours’, saving the adjacent Embankment
Gardens of much nocturnal trade. Not far from there was a modern equivalent of
a French male Pissoir, sadly lacking the wrought iron construction for which
they were famous and offering, like the retracting type, little modesty for the
user or discreetness for the female passer by.
It was explained that the River Thames used to be
wider until the need to reclaim the north and south banks for the sewers became
apparent when the smell over London finally got ‘beyond the pail’! Many street
lamps used the methane gas generated in the sewers to provide gas lighting and
one such example still exists.
Our tour ended in a below-ground cocktail bar
outside the Lyceum Theatre, which had once been a gents’ loo and had enjoyed a
certain amount of infamy in the days of Oscar Wilde, when the loo was used for
a wider range of pursuits! I had used this establishment on more than one occasion
and consider myself lucky to have escaped unharmed!
Celebrations
Tony Cousins celebrated his 70th
birthday in style near Bournemouth, Rosemary Waxman celebrated her 60th
birthday in equal style in London and Roy Linsell hit 85 and Shirley Linsell 80
in Seaford. Not to be outdone, Mike Quinsey reached 80, too. However, Win Coldham was 90 so she wins the prize! Steve Fosh retired in
October. Glenn celebrated his 65th birthday six months after the
actual day on the Bluebell Railway. Congratulations and best wishes to them
all. We took the opportunity while in London for Rosemary’s event, to see the
display of poppies in the moat of the Tower of London, which was just about
full. We got there after dark, hoping they would be floodlit but they weren’t
so we were thankful that we had had a daylight visit a couple of months
earlier.
Tony and Sue
Rosemary
Roy and Shirley, with Nick and Margaret
Mike with his chocolate birthday cake. Delicious!
Win. Hope we are as bright and agile when we reach 90!
Steve, with Victoria (left), Carole and Gemma.
Glenn enjoying Pullman service.
Tower of London poppies and ...
... even more on the other side.
And our annual celebration of friendship with Pat
and Tony took us to darkest Kent for a trip on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch
miniature railway. These small trains seem to hurtle across the Romney Marshes,
although they actually travel at little more than 20mph. The landscape around
Dungeness, where the land protrudes into the English Channel, is rather unusual
as it is formed of stones. Another annual gathering took place in July with
Alan and some of his colleagues from the Travel Training Company on a day out
of exploration, lunch and gossip in Salisbury, followed by the Christmas event
in London, which included a visit to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery,
lunch in an Arabian Souk restaurant, complete with belly dancer, and some
stunning views of London by night.
Tony, Pat and Anne at Dungeness. Locomotive Black Prince simmers behind them.
Paula, Sue and Debbie outside Salisbury cathedral.
Anna, Katie and Alan join the other three on the River Thames Jubilee Bridge. What? - No Fiona?
Alan belly dancing at the Souk Medina.
Lavender Fields
Just two miles and
over the hill from Coulsdon are the famous Lavender Fields in Banstead, so we
went to see this spectacular sight in the middle of Summer.
Visitors, knee high in Lavender.
Our ‘family’
This report would be incomplete without mention of
our furry family, so here they are. Dexter, the larger white cat managed to find a baby squirrel laying
on the ground in the wooded area opposite the house and rescued it by bringing
it home and placing it carefully in the garden, where he kept watch over it
until we came to investigate. Alan picked up the little creature, which had its
eyes closed and appeared to be dead. However, the squirrel was breathing and
unharmed so off we went to the Wildlife Centre near Croydon, where it was taken
into its new home, fed and put with a little female squirrel which had suffered
to same fate – falling out of a tree.
It seems that squirrel mums can be quite careless. It was explained that baby
squirrels don’t open their eyes until about two weeks old. So, three cheers for
Dexter, the hero cat of the year!
Senior cat Rascal plans his next meal.
Dexter, left with sister Coco. Spot the difference!
And now for the transport stuff
If you are leaving us at this point, thank you for
reading and we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New year.
With love from Anne and Alan
If you are interested in transport, this section is especially for you, but all are welcome to read it and drool over the lovely machines featured.
Alan returns to Germany
The trip to Germany was a great success, apart from the
escalator incident in Mannheim station on day one when the fellow in front of
me lost his balance and fell backwards onto me. His weight knocked me backwards
and over I went too. Luckily the chap behind me managed to stay upright and
eased my fall as the escalator continued upwards. With the two ‘dominoes’ with
their feet a metre in front of them and pointing upwards, we couldn’t move but,
luckily, someone managed to stop the escalator and not too much harm was done –
some bruises, pulled muscles, a painful wrist and a bleeding finger. I dread to
think how much worse it could have been! Anyway, we continued to our hotel and
I was able to enjoy the trip.
The visit was for a steam spectacle based on a
town called Neustadt, not far from the Black Forest in south-eastern Germany
and not far from France. The event was called a Plandampf and, for six days,
steam trains replaced a number of diesel and electric local services radiating
from Neustadt, with eight steam locomotives based in Neustadt engine shed. They
were larger types: three pacifics, two 2-8-2s and several different types of
2-10-0s, all hauling ‘heritage’ carriages, plus an ancient 0-6-0 tender loco on
shed duties. Some engines fell by the wayside during the event but the whole
plan of trains did operate. It was exciting to see up to six locos in Neustadt
station at one time, outnumbering the modern trains, and there was plenty of
smoke and hooting of whistles, with some of the branch line services being
topped and tailed by different locomotives.
All the days were great and there was time to fit
in a preserved railway with a charter train just for our group where we were able
to jump off the train and see some run pasts. We also visited one of the
Barry-style scrap yards, which was home to around 50 large locos, many from
East Germany and all owned by one man – who has a second large collection at
another location. He had restored
several for his adjacent museum and we were treated to a guided tour.
On one evening we were able to visit Neustadt
engine shed and watch all the locos returning from their day’s work. However, a
real highlight of the trip was a longer distance run to Heidelberg and
Heilbronn, along the scenic Neckar River with deep, winding valleys, passing
pretty villages and towns, with a Deutsche Bundesbahn re-built class 41 2-8-2
working hard on the gradient up front. Coming home we were hauled by a beautiful
DB class 01 pacific. This was
a journey to remember, indeed, and so were the locomotives - the big 2-8-2 with
its wide diameter chimney and loud, black oil fired exhaust and the elegant
4-6-2, which had been superbly preserved. The week was rounded off with a
private train for our group being hauled over a scenic route by an ageing and
smallish class 58 2-10-0, a Prussian design. After six days of steam, I was
griced out!
A Deutsche Bundesbahn Class 41, rebuilt from the Reichsbahn original.
The modified Deutsche Bundesbahn Class 01.
The ageing Prussian locomotive, now known as a Class 58.
Farnborough
Had a treat in July, courtesy of Steve Fosh’s daughter
Victoria, who works at Farnborough for an aircraft charter company. She got us
into the air show free (now an eye-watering £45 per person) and we had a great
time, which included climbing aboard the first A380 built (still in its test
configuration), a BA A318 which does the London City to New York run in seven
hours with room for just 32 passengers in beds, and a preserved Lockheed Super
Constellation – which used to do London to New York in 14 hours! Victoria
managed to get us into two brand-new executive jets – something that neither
Steve nor I had done before – and an experience definitely not open to the
general public. We are thinking of chartering one – they cost a mere 20,000
Euros per hour. A day trip to Nice for lunch sounds appealing, when we win the
lottery!
The Falcon executive jet.
The flying display was impressive, with the almost
silent take offs of the A380 and the new stretched version of the Dreamliner
787-9 contrasting with the noisy preserved Vulcan bomber and the equally noisy
Eurofighter. The new Airbus military A400 did an excellent display and there
were many other types that contributed to the ‘100 years of Flight’ theme. The
Red Arrows gave their usual superb performance.
The huge A380 Super Jumbo gives a stunning aerobatic display.
The famous preserved Vulcan bomber ready for its noisy display.
The new A400 military cargo aircraft.
Shieldhall
The good ship ‘Shieldhall’ was built in a River
Clyde shipyard, near Glasgow in 1955 and spent its life conveying treated
sewage sludge from Glasgow for disposal at sea. After 21 years, she was moved
to Southampton and continued in her role until 1985. An oil-fired steam ship
and now the oldest working steamship in Northern Europe, it has been preserved
and now spends its life at Southampton, providing pleasure cruises on
Southampton Water, along the coast and around the Isle of Wight. My five-hour
cruise took us up past the cruise liner terminals, where three ships were being
prepared for evening departures, then turned back towards the Solent as far as
Ryde, before returning home.
Now strictly speaking a ‘pleasure cruiser’, the
ship is well preserved but, as built for cargo, there is limited protection
from the elements in poor weather. I was lucky as it was a very warm day and
spent most of the trip on the open decks, inspecting the engine room, enjoying
refreshment and having an hour on the bridge in company with the Captain, crew
and the Southampton pilot, who was in command of manoeuvres in that stretch of
water. Southampton Water was busy that day with a number of large cargo ships
arriving and departing and the usual action from Isle of Wight car ferries and
passenger catamarans. On top of that, the fine weather had tempted many sailors
with yachts and cruisers to take to the water and the Shieldhall was expertly
steered around and between them. This proved to be a very interesting day –
next time I will be tempted by a three-course lunch in the Saloon!
A painting of the good ship 'Shieldhall'.
Porthmadog
I was invited by the Welsh Highland Heritage
Railway, which runs another Welsh Highland preservation centre in Porthmadog,
to see the latest addition to their steam engine fleet. The invitation was
because I had contributed financially to the restoration of Russell, one of the
original WHR locomotives built in 1906 by Hunslet of Leeds, a 2-6-2 tank. Subsequently cut about to fit into the
Ffestiniog Railway loading gauge in the ‘nineteen thirties’, it then sported a
new low cab roof and cut down chimney, which transformed a good-looking machine
into a real horror! Gladly it is now back in its original, handsome state.
So, off to Porthmadog for a weekend and provided
with a cab ride on the ‘brand new’ engine. And there was lovely for you – not a
spot of dirt on it and a very smooth ride. Sadly, the track is only three
quarters of a mile long but it was fun, they have an excellent museum and they
are a friendly bunch of people. Hopes are high for a return of Russell to the
full length of the main Welsh Highland Railway, once a few technical niggles
have been sorted out.
This is 'Russell'.
Whilst there I fitted in a short ride on the
Cambrian line up to Pwllheli – only 20 minutes each way but never done by train
before, then went down to Harbour station to have a good look at the new track
and platform layout on the Ffestiniog/Welsh Highland Railways. The work is
impressive. Sunday was a glorious day for a trip on the WHR to Caernarfon, hauled by the
green Garrett.
The new platform 'at work'.
Spent an evening in Spooners restaurant with Roy
Wood’s wife Jan plus two other guests, one of whom was the resident engineer at
the time I was track laying the final mile of the WHR, so it was an interesting
and lively evening.
Roy (he sadly died a year ago) is commemorated at
Blaenau Ffestiniog station, as he was frequently in charge of the booking
office there. A station lacking in seats for waiting passengers, three have
been provided made of timbers, separated by slate (for which the town is
famous) and mounted on slate bases, with a plaque on one of them. A fine
tribute to Roy, who did so much for both railways in Porthmadog.
Roy's three seats.
Roy Woods, former editor of The Snowdon Ranger magazine.
Jan had found a collection of black and white
prints amongst Roy’s memorabilia and has presented them to me to provide them
with a good home. It records a gricing trip to East Germany in 1977 (I didn’t
go on that one) and there are many steam gems therein. Just up my Strasse – to
coin a phrase!
The imposing Deutsche Reichsbahn 01.5 pacific - Great shot, Roy!
A handsome British steam locomotive
As this year comes to an end, another ambition was
at last achieved. A steam excursion was run in November from London St Pancras
station to Lincoln, returning to Kings Cross and, at the head of the train was
the preserved London Midland and Scottish Railway Royal Scot class locomotive
number 46115 ‘Scots Guardsman’. This was only the second time I had seen one of
these engines – the first was in 1965, when one of its stable mates hauled a
freight train from the sidings in Carlisle on a drab morning, belching steam
and plenty of smoke. A wonderful sight, etched in the memory, as I couldn’t get
the camera out of the bag quickly enough.
The Royal Scots were regular performers on the
main line from St Pancras for a number of years and it’s said that this is the
first steam train on this route since the station was re-built in 2007. And
what a treat the trip turned out to be, with plenty of 75 mph running and
several water stops, during which it was possible to admire and photograph this
handsome machine. There are many things in life worth waiting for, and this was
one of them!
46115 draws breath at Lincoln, before being turned and replenished.
London Transport celebrations
I went to see two of this year’s underground
events: The 150th anniversary of the opening of the Hammersmith and
City line and the 125th anniversary of the opening of the Chesham
branch. In both cases, several steam trains we operated, with preserved
carriages and steam locomotives at either end of the train.
Metropolitain number 1 stands with its vintage train at Hammersmith.
LT150 and electric locomotive 'Sarah Siddons' head a Chesham special.
A bus rally was staged in Regent Street during the
summer to celebrate London and its buses, and exhibits ranged from a horse
drawn bus, complete with horse, to the latest ‘Borisbus’ (without Mayor Boris)
and electric/eco vehicles.
The RF type for British European Airways services between central London and Heathrow airport.
One of the best known of London bus icons - the RT type.
Extraordinary aircraft flights
2014 marked the end of an era for four outstanding
passenger aircraft designs. These were the first generation wide bodied
passenger aircraft that came into service around 1971 and were designed for
long distance travel.
McDonnell Douglas DC10
First to go was the McDonnell Douglas DC10.
Carrying around 345 passengers, this three-engine aircraft came after the
original 747 jumbo jet but was not so large. They came to fame in the UK with
Laker Airways and were the most numerous of the mid-size types. It was the
first time such a design had been seen, distinguished by an engine on each
wing, plus a third engine mounted in the tail. Many moons ago I had travelled
on DC10s, first to Canada, then later to America.
At the end of 2013 Bangladesh Airlines, the last
operator of the passenger DC10, took their four aircraft out of use but decided
to celebrate the type by bringing one to Birmingham airport in the UK during
February for three days of enthusiast flights, flying three times each day on
one-hour scenic flights.
The events were well organised and Birmingham
airport is one that is good for viewing. So I arrived there in time to see the
midday flight taxiing close by, and then taking off – quite noisy by today’s
standards. I then went to the terminal to check in and was able to watch the
aircraft return. Rather than come close to the terminal where it would have
been hard to see and photograph it, the aircraft was parked away from the
terminal and passengers ferried out to it by bus. We were then given half an
hour to view and photograph the DC10 before boarding for our three o’clock
flight.
On entering the plane, as expected for a machine
that had mainly been ferrying Bangladeshi workers across Asia, there was an
instantly recognisable pong of curry! Not that we were going to be treated to
any food, but the smell seemed to have become part of the aircraft’s fabric.
Anyway, after a few deep breaths, I got used to it and made my way down through
the cabin in what could be described as a 1970s time warp, as the seats were
covered in patterns of large colourful flowers in greens, purples, oranges and
reds. The aircraft walls had a similar flower pattern in what must once have
been a tasteful beige but, like many of the other plastic fittings in the cabin
and toilets, had aged. A step back in time and a joy to see!. Clearly geared up
for a race of travellers smaller than us Europeans, the seats, nine abreast,
were tightly spaced making it difficult for me to sit in, as my knees were
jammed against the seat in front. No such luxury as first class in this
aircraft - cheap seats only. Luckily,
this was a one-hour flight; a seven-hour flight to Bangladesh would have been
most uncomfortable. The Bangladeshi crew added to the colourful interior with
their bright flower pattered saris.
After a short delay, we were pushed back out of
the parking space, the tug detached and the engines started, and then we taxied
off to the runway. With only 150 passengers on board and no luggage or cargo,
the pilot opened the throttles and we all sat back to savour our last ever
flight in a DC10 as it rapidly accelerated with engines at full power. It
wasn’t long before we lost sight of the ground, into cloud and out of the top
of it to be greeted by sunshine and lovely cloud formations below. Sadly, the scenic flight element of the trip
was a great disappointment, as there was low cloud, which obscured the
northwest of England and the highlight, the Lake District.
After 30 minutes, we turned left in a wide arc and
were soon heading back. Arriving at the same time as some other aircraft, we
were directed by Air Traffic Control to pass the airport, turn around over
Coventry and come back again so we ended up with a 10 minute flying bonus. A
smooth landing rounded off this never to be repeated experience and we headed
back and disembarked for a last close-up look at the end of a flying era!
Incidentally, the MD11 passenger jet (a stretched
and updated version of the DC10) also made it last flight - in November,
operated by the Dutch airline KLM. The three last celebration flights,
providing about 1,000 seats, apparently sold out in just six minutes so I was
unlucky with that one.
Named 'New Era' but now the end of an era, the DC10 arrives in Birmingham.
Airbus A300
Sunday 13th April was the end of
another aviation era – the last flight of a passenger Airbus A300 in Europe.
When the Airbus Company first started making aeroplanes at the end of the
sixties, they identified the need for a short to medium distance aircraft of
high capacity and built a twin-engine wide body aeroplane, which could carry
around 300 passengers; it came into service in 1974. This design became very
popular with European airlines, which bought a lot of the type. The Americans
were very sniffy about them and refused to purchase for some years but
eventually a couple of airlines caved in and soon realised just how good this
European-built product was. The success of the A300 eventually led to Airbus
(in April 2014) being the largest aircraft producer in the world and the proud
builder of the smaller families of A320, A330 and A340 airbuses and the huge,
double-deck A380.
Monarch Airlines had the honour of being the last
passenger A300 operator in Europe and decided that it was time for their fleet
of four aircraft, now getting on in years, to go. The aircraft were the final
variant to be built – the slightly longer A300-600, which were constructed from
1984 onwards. With just a few seats empty, more than 300 enthusiasts gathered
at Gatwick airport to bid the type farewell with a final one-hour flight to
Birmingham. This, hot on the heels of the last passenger DC10 flight in
February, was to be a special event and I was there to join in the celebration.
The last regular Monarch fight duly landed from a
return trip to southern Germany, to a great cheer from many well-wishers and
taxied to the stand in the south terminal. On the beautiful sunny afternoon,
passengers for the final flight were allowed to walk on to the tarmac and take
photographs before climbing on board via a traditional staircase and settling
down in the modern and up to date cabin, uncluttered by divisions, with a clear
view of the interior from one end to the other - a very spacious aircraft. The
captain made a special announcement of welcome for the last time on the A300;
we were pushed back from the stand and the two engines started.
This was indeed to be a special flight as the
airport fire brigade put a fire tender on each side of the taxiway and fired a
special salute over the aircraft, forming a great water arch for the plane to
pass under. Before long we moved onto runway 26, paused and then we were off,
westbound – making a spirited take off run without the weight of any luggage in
the hold. At about three thousand feet we make a complete right turn to head
east and continued climbing, before turning northwards with Heathrow airport
below on the left and London on the right.
As the aircraft levelled out at its cruising
height, the celebrations began as the stewards and stewardesses dispensed
champagne to all the passengers and, shortly afterwards, came around again!
Spirits were indeed high as it was a clear day and much of the country could be
seen below. Hot on the heels of the drinks came the souvenirs, handed out by
another captain (there were several on board for this last trip). First were
the emergency instruction cards, then souvenir certificates. There was even
time for a competition and the first person who could quote the registration
letters of the four A300 aircraft won a trip for two, to anywhere on the
Monarch route network.
As it would normally take just 20 minutes to get
to Birmingham, we flew past the city and continued northwest to the Peak
District and picked up the in-bound route to Manchester. The A300s were
frequent visitors to this airport during their career with Monarch so we
reduced height and made a farewell flypast along the runway at just 2,000 feet
before the engines roared again and up we soared. Not many of us passengers had
ever done that before.
And so we turned south for Birmingham, headed past
the airport then turned back for a superb landing, about an hour after leaving
Gatwick. But it was not all over. The aircraft was parked at a stand away for
the terminal and everyone given the opportunity to visit the flight deck and to
congratulate the pilots and all the crew who had provided a fitting end for
this fine aircraft. The captain and chief stewardess made emotional speeches –
these aircraft, which had been a second home to them for many years, were going
to be missed. But, what a great send-off! Ample time was provided to view and
photograph the aircraft before being bussed back to the terminal.
We’ll still be able to see the A300 in the skies
of Europe for a few years yet, but they will be carrying freight and parcels,
not passengers.
The last flight is over and the star poses at Birmingham.
So, I hear you ask, what was the fourth
type to retire this year? Well, it was the Lockheed TriStar, an aircraft that
was a completive design to the DC 10. The last operator was the British Royal
Air Force, which celebrated its departure with a four-hour trip around the UK,
flying over a number of airfields with which the type had been associated.
Sadly, I didn’t get on that either!
Mallard’s record run
As part of the 75th anniversary
celebrations of the World steam speed record by locomotive ‘Mallard’, there was
a second display when all six surviving Class A4 engines came together. This
was held at the Shildon museum.
The six A4s, line abreast at Shildon.
World record breaker 'Mallard'. 126 miles per hour in July 1938.
The
End – At Last!
