Anne and Alan's Christmas newsletter 2015
Welcome again to Anne and Alan’s Christmas
newsletter. 2015 has been a year of highs and lows.
A sad start to the year.
Three years ago our family expanded with the
addition of three lovely cats: Coco and Dexter (twins) aged around three years
old and Rascal, a sprightly 13 years or so. All had arrived from the local Cats
Protection branch and within the year these three very user-friendly creatures
had settled down to the good life, their constant appetites being satisfied in
exchange for lots of purrs and fuss.
Sadly, it was soon discovered that Dexter had a
heart condition, probably since birth, and that his life was not to be a long
one. But the end came much sooner than expected – in March - when a blood clot
struck and, despite a dash to the vet, there was nothing that could be done for
him. It came as a shock as, only that morning, he had been racing around the
garden, full of energy. Dexter was
cremated and his ashes have joined those of the other cats we have previously
owned in the slate garden, in his own imposing memorial, which was specially
made for him in Wales. We miss him very much; he had been a challenge when he
first arrived here and we had succeeded in bringing him up to be a loving, well
behaved cat. It has taken his sister a long time to accept that he has gone and
we have had to give her and Rascal lots of extra attention. Dexter was a very
handsome cat and was much loved.
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| Anne's Little Prince, Dexter |
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| Shock, horror in Coulsdon! Rascal is in bed with Dexter's sister Coco. |
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| Dexter's memorial in the slate garden |
Cardiff rugby
It has long been an ambition of ours to watch our
favourite national rugby teams of Wales and Ireland play in a Six Nations
match at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. This we did in March and we enjoyed
the atmosphere in this impressive venue. Sadly, most of the action happened at
the other end of the pitch and, although there were large television screens to
bring the activity to the audience, it was actually better to watch it again on
the TV at home the following day to see all the action close up and have a
commentary. A lot of alcohol is consumed at these matches, not that there was
any rowdy-ism, but there was a constant movement of men and women going to and
from the loo, just as something exciting was happening in the game. Wales won
and Ireland, usually a fabulous team, was not quite up to scratch that day. It
was a good experience but, at £140 each, we will stick to watching matches on
television in the future!
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| Military band and male voice choir entertain before the start of the match. |
Richard III
As Anne is a member of the Richard III Society and
keenly interested in the events and his story 500 years ago, we were not going
to miss out on his funeral week in Leicester. We went on Sunday to see the
procession accompanying his formal return to Leicester and saw the coffin pass
close by us as it was carried on the gun carriage to the cathedral, accompanied
by two knights in armour on horse back. The city was packed with onlookers and
we couldn’t reach another viewpoint, so watched the rest on large TV screens in
the city.
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| King Richard III passes through the streets of Leicester on a horse-drawn gun carriage. |
It was a very emotional event. Anne had been
unlucky in the ballots to get a place in either of the cathedral services so we
decided to return to Leicester on Tuesday, along with around nine thousand other people that day, to see the king lying in state in the
cathedral. Because of
another commitment, we couldn't go together so Anne set off early and spent
three hours queuing on a cold and damp afternoon. I arrived in Leicester at
seven in the evening and queued for nearly two hours and was lucky to be one of
the last fifty to be allowed in that night. It was well worth the wait and we
were pleased that we had made the effort. We were rewarded in capturing some
poignant photos of the coffin, draped in an embroidered cloth recording
important characters in Richard’s life, topped by a crown and medieval bible,
and guarded by a soldier on each corner.
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| The King resides in Leicester cathedral with his guard of honour. |
Finally, we watched the funeral service at the Institute of Historical Research, where a large screen was provided for the excellent TV coverage, in the company of other members of the society. This was certainly a week to remember. In July, we returned to see the tomb in its final resting place and apart from one of the church staff, had the king to ourselves for about 15 minutes. The tomb is simple and stylish and the good folk of Leicester and its cathedral had done much to make the whole year ‘fit for a king’!
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| King Richard III's final resting place in the cathedral. |
Cricket at Beckenham
Anne’s wish to donate some of her cricket
memorabilia to the Kent County Cricket Club (of which she was a keen supporter
for many years), led to an interesting afternoon when, in return for her
donation of signed cricket bats to the club’s museum, we were invited, along
with our friend Doreen, to the first game of the season at Kent’s refurbished
and impressive Beckenham ground. In a superb marquee we were entertained with
non-stop food and drink and the chance to see the Kent team beat Surrey on a rather
blustery evening.
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| Anne presents her cricket bat to Graham Johnson (on her left), a former Kent batsman, whose signature is on the back of the the bat. |
Anne was also fortunate enough to attend two Test Matches – one against New Zealand at Lords Cricket Ground as a guest of Doreen and the other at The Oval against Australia, thanks to a kind invitation from Martin Roebuck.
Magna Carta
We joined a Richard the Third enthusiast group for
a visit to the British Library in London to see the Magna Cater exhibition,
commemorating 800 years since King John sealed the document. There was a
fascinating display of many documents from the period and how the laws decreed
have affected our country and many others since.
Who said it wouldn’t last?
Against all the odds we celebrated our 40th
wedding anniversary this year on 9th August, the actual anniversary
of the day we were married in Selhurst, near Croydon. The day was as hot as it
was in 1975 but the surroundings were more attractive as the event was held at
the Coulsdon Golf Club, with views across the fairways. A cross section of
friends and relatives joined us for lunch.
We were lucky that so many of the original wedding
guests could be there to share the day and enjoy a three-course meal, as
opposed to the rather warm curled up sandwiches and collapsing wedding cake
that had greeted them forty years earlier! We are rich in many good friends and
it was good to see them all gathered together. Lunchtime music was provided by
friends Roger and Mark who perform as ‘Jazz in the Bar’ at local venues.
If you were not invited, it was not because we had
forgotten you! The size of the restaurant restricted our numbers and the venue
itself was somewhat remote so only those with cars or easy access to the
nearest railway station (served by a much reduced Sunday timetable), then a
taxi could really get there. Nevertheless, you were in our thoughts.
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| Forty years on. At least the cake didn't melt this time! |
A Birthday treat
Back in April, on Alan’s birthday (yes, he was forty
yet again!) a day out was planned to The Shard in London. The Shard,
overlooking the River Thames and the City of London, is currently the highest
building in Europe and has viewing terraces on floors 68 and 70. As my sister
Sheila has her birthday in April too, we decided to make it a joint celebration
but, in the event, the treat did not take place until October due to other
commitments and rather poor summer weather.
Anyway, we set off to London and headed first for the River Thames Embankment Pier, passing a fascinating memorial to the Battle of Britain on the way. We boarded one of the many Thames cruising ships – the Thames Clipper, a fast catamaran which stops at most of the central London piers, giving passengers plenty of time to see all the riverside sights, in particular the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, St Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and the imposing Shard, a tall and slim glass pyramid of offices, hotel, restaurants and viewing areas and now one of the main visitor attractions in London. The journey continued past the Cutty Sark sailing ship and majestic waterfront in Greenwich to the Millennium Dome, now better known as the O2 entertainment venue.
A short walk away is another recent tourist
attraction called the Emirates Air Line, a cable car ride which soars high over
the Thames to the north bank and provides excellent views over the Canary Wharf
financial centre and the Millennium Dome, some 280 feet below, whilst in the
other direction can be seen the unusual Thames Barrier, part of the London
river defence system. By this time it was a perfect day with clear, blue skies
and superb views.
Our round trip took us back to the Emirates Centre
and Emirates, the middle eastern airline that sponsors this attraction, has an
exhibition featuring its ever-growing airline operation where you could watch a
speeded up video of one of their giant A380 aircraft arriving in Dubai, being
serviced and then departing, a process that in real time would take an hour and
a half, lasting about three minutes. You take a bumpy video ‘ride’ as a piece
of baggage from check in to the aircraft hold and back again at the arrival
airport then visit a replica flight deck and finally stand beside, and be
dwarfed by, one of the aircraft’s huge engines. There is a refreshment area
attached, ideal for our lunch stop.
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| Alan with sister Sheila give some idea of the size of the jet engine. There are four of these on an A380. |
Then it was on the underground back to the Shard
for our visit and from the viewing platforms we could see for a distance of
thirty miles, way beyond London’s outer limits. However, just below our feet
was the City of London, the river and excellent views of many famous buildings
including the Tower of London and the growing array of high and stylish office buildings
- the ‘Gherkin’, if not the tallest, still the most eye catching. We can
heartily recommend this fascinating day in one of the finest cities in the
world.
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| The View from The Shard with the round City Hall and Tower Bridge beside the River Thames. Canary Wharf financial district is in the distance. |
Holidays
Holidays have been difficult this year. Alan had a
week in Germany pursuing his interest in German steam trains (which included a
visit and overnight stay in famous Colditz Castle), then a week in Wales
(plenty of attractive steam trains there) with his good friend John from Sydney
who was in the UK for a holiday.
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| Colditz castle |
Following the demise of Dexter the cat, his sister
had become increasing difficult in eating and, as this would make putting her
into the cattery with Rascal difficult, we have had to abandon the idea of a
joint holiday this year. So Anne was able to take a break with her friend (also
named Ann, but spelt differently) whilst Alan took his turn in looking after
the furry family. The two Annes went for a Warners Holidays short break to
Littlecote Manor hotel in Wiltshire and lived the highlife for four days.
Although a vast array of activities and entertainment are provided by Warners,
it was also possible to take coach tours of the area to the city of Bath,
Blenheim Palace, the ancestral home of Winston Churchill, and a day’s excursion
through the delightful countryside, towns and villages of the Cotswold Hills.
They had a good time.
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| Blenheim Palace |
Summer days out
Our summer day out with friends Pat and Tony saw us
taking a Thames Cruiser to Greenwich, with lunch at a famous riverside pub, and
a fascinating visit to the tea clipper sailing ship ‘Cutty Sark’.
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| Three new figureheads for the Cutty Sark collection! |
Alan joined his training company colleagues for a
day trip to Corfe Castle in Dorset, which included a super pub lunch with
wonderful views over the Purbeck Hills, a visit to the castle ruins, then
afternoon tea. Anne went on a tour of Buckingham Palace as well as one to the
Royal Mews, where the royal and state carriages are kept.
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| TTC friends Fiona, Debbie, Sue and Dot near Corfe Castle. |
Theatre, entertainment and culture
We went to see The Imitation Game - an excellent film.
Three theatre shows this year: ‘Riverdance’,
‘Gypsy’ and a hilarious comedy called ‘The Play that goes wrong’.
Music: The Kinks, sixties pop group featuring three
of the original band members, and a Johnny Cash tribute duo. As usual, our
local band ‘Route 66’ with Roger and Mark in the lineup, has kept us
entertained on several evenings with music from the sixties to the nineties.
It is rare for members of the public to have access to the Livery Companies of the City of London but we were privileged to visit Goldsmiths Hall this year. Nearby Guildhall is open to anyone most days and free to visit. Both buildings have magnificent interiors.
The Guild of Aviation Artists put on an excellent
exhibition this year and we were also privileged to attend a very interesting
talk about the fire that destroyed London’s Crystal Palace in 1936.
Work
As Anne decided to finally retire this year there
has been little ‘official’ work but she has succumbed to invitations on a few
occasions and one of these took us for an overnight visit to the beautiful
Victorian town of Llandrindod Wells in Wales. We were there to write an article
about a new park home development, which had the previous year won the
television competition, ‘Four in a Bed’, for the excellence of its bed and
breakfast accommodation. We were made very welcome by hosts Ian and Joan, who
also shared their passion for showing their Shetland ponies at horse shows and
had won first prize with their favourite pony Arthur. Their hobby opened a new
world to us and was most interesting. However, we will not be buying a pony and
will continue mowing our grass with a conventional lawn mover!
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| Joan and Ian with their prize-winning Shetland pony, Arthur. |
Weddings, etc.
Two great weddings this year: Our Godson Richard
married Jenna at a venue called the Old Barn in darkest Kent. It was a super
day, marred only by the worst weather any marriage ceremony could ask for,
which made photographs in the beautiful gardens almost impossible.
Our industry friend Frances married John in Weybridge and they were blessed with fantastic summer weather, both in the Register Office gardens and at their outdoor reception.
The Bax family had two events this year. Anne's cousins Lesley and Tony celebrated their 50th anniversary, whilst son Andy and his wife Emma clocked up 25 years.
We sadly said goodbye to Alan’s Aunt Iris, also our good friend Roy Linsell, a leading light in the local group of the Richard III Society, who had given much pleasure to the group’s members over many years. John Weir and Phil Bobbins will be sadly missed, too.
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| Those blue hair streaks knock years off them! |
We sadly said goodbye to Alan’s Aunt Iris, also our good friend Roy Linsell, a leading light in the local group of the Richard III Society, who had given much pleasure to the group’s members over many years. John Weir and Phil Bobbins will be sadly missed, too.
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| Roy will be especially remembered for the historical tours that he organised. |
So that’s our year in brief. As last year, Alan’s
transport interests have been gathered together at the end of this newsletter
for the benefit of his transport-interested friends, but everyone is welcome
to read it.
It’s goodbye from us, with best wishes for
Christmas and 2016.
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| Peace in the forest. May 2016 be peaceful for you. |
Rail Galas
I've been lucky to get to six notable preserved
railway galas this year, each impressive and providing excellent entertainment:
The Great Central Railway put on a superb programme on a very cold weekend in January with nearly a dozen steam
locomotives in service hauling passenger, freight and mail trains – a highlight
being a demonstration of the travelling post office, which picked up and
deposited bags of mail as the train steamed past at speed. This railway has
several miles of double track, so the service was intensive. Cosy coal fired
waiting rooms at all the stations helped to keep the cold at bay, as did the
hot all-day breakfast served in one of the dining car trains. Guest locomotives
were the Hawksworth Pannier 1501 and ‘Dinmore Manor’, resplendent in its new
black livery.
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| Dinmore Manor |
Next was the Severn Valley Spring Gala, which excels in running a mix of main line, branch line and goods trains along its scenic route. Particularly memorable was Hawksworth Pannier 1501 working an un-fitted brake train accompanied by the clanking of wagon buffers as it shunted around. Guest engines: the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway coal tank and a Great Western pannier tank on London Transport red livery.
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| Hawksworth 1501 shunts the goods train at Highley. |
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| The Webb coal tank. |
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| London Transport liveried pannier tank at Arley. |
The Mid-Hants Railway had two galas this year. The Spring event was action-packed, with the blue record-breaking A4, which achieved 90 mph on the main line on three occasions, putting a dash of colour into an otherwise dull February day. At least six steam locomotives were at work that weekend. The autumn gala had an LMS theme with the only operational ‘Crab’ locomotive joining forces with an Ivatt 2-6-0 tender locomotive and supported by resident ‘Black Five’. Other resident locos including A4 ‘Bittern’, ‘Lord Nelson’ and a 9F large freight locomotive joined the fray. A Drummond ‘Greyhound’ added a Southern Railway contrast.
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| The 'Crab' - an unusual design of locomotive. |
Didcot Railway Centre, a preserved Great Western Railway locomotive shed, produced yet another impressive open day and succeeded in portraying a typical busy depot with several steam engines bustling up and down the track, shunting and re-fuelling. The two passenger lines provided rides in vintage steam and diesel railcars and locomotive- hauled trains.
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| Action-packed Didcot. |
Finally, the Bluebell Railway brought back its
‘Giants of Steam’ weekend after an absence of five years and its efforts were
rewarded by vast crowds on both days, eager to witness the first ever
appearance of an A4 locomotive (‘Bittern’) on the line, accompanied by Schools
class ‘Cheltenham’ and the entry into service of its own standard class five
‘Camelot’.
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| A4 'Bittern' pulls away from Horsted Keynes station. |
Not a gala, but mention must be made of York museum’s commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Sir Winston Churchill’s funeral train, which featured the locomotive plus a Pullman carriage and the funeral van. An excellent display - the paintwork on these restored items was outstanding.
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| Locomotive 'Winston Churchill' pulled the funeral train. |
Dresden
Yet again, the Dresden steam festival beckoned and
I joined the tour with fingers crossed that I might enjoy a ride behind my
favourite East German locomotive – the 01.5 rebuilt Pacific. After an overnight
stop at Erfurt, travelling via Brussels and Frankfurt, we moved on through
Leipzig to the Dollnitztalbahn railway, home to the Saxon-Meyer narrow gauge
tank locos, and had a private train for our group, making a number of photo
stops in both directions. These smoky 0-4-4-0 engines are very attractive but
look rather odd as the four cylinders are grouped in the middle, between the
two sets of driving wheels. Not far from the railway is Colditz Castle and we
stayed there for the night. The castle, more of a fortress town really, is
located on top of a hill overlooking the town of Colditz. We were treated to a
superb guided tour and regaled with stories of the attempts by officer
prisoners of war to escape.
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| The Saxon-Meyer - a powerful narrow gauge locomotive. |
Travelling via Leipzig, we arrived in Dresden in time for an afternoon steam tour to Zittau, hauled by two Pacifics, including my favourite loco on the front. On the return journey I visited the footplate during an intermediate station stop whilst the second locomotive was attached to the front of the train engine and was invited to stay there for the remaining part of the journey to Dresden, travelling at up to 70mph with both engines sounding their hooter-style whistles as we passed through stations – an exhilarating experience!
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| East German Pacific - the one I was lucky to ride on. |
Other highlights of the trip included a ride over the Tharandt Incline (a 1 in 37 gradient for 11 kilometres) on a full length train hauled by two 2-6-2 tender locos; parallel running with two steam trains running beside and overtaking each other, and visits to the three narrow gauge railways in the Dresden region. Finally, the steam festival itself, the theme for which was the Pacific locomotive - and there were eight examples in attendance.
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| Storming up the Tharandt incline. |
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| The Weisseritztalbahn clings to the river bank for most of the route. |
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| The night-time display with a re-built West German Pacific on the turntable, ready for a twirl. |
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| I flew home directly from Dresden to London City airport in just two hours instead of twelve hours by train, and £100 cheaper! |
Wales
This year’s pilgrimage to Wales included several
favourite lines, plus one new one – the Llanberis Lake Railway, a charming ride
along the lakeshore and an interesting visit to an old slate quarry centre. We
also went to Aberystwyth to see how the Vale of Rheidol line had progressed
over the years and were very impressed with what has been achieved. The line
itself runs through delightful countryside as it climbs up through the valley.
The journey to Wales was punctuated by a stop at the Severn Valley Railway on
the way there, conveniently a special weekend with two Deltic diesels, plus Taw
Valley on its first day in service after a long overhaul. The homeward journey
coincided with the Gloucester Warwickshire Railway’s summer gala.
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| The mighty Deltic on the Orient Express Pullman train. |
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| Devil's Bridge on the Vale of Rheidol line. |
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| West Country class locos 'Wells' and 'Wadebridge' double-headed several trains on the GW Railway. |
Amsterdam grice
My belated birthday present - a return flight from Gatwick to
Amsterdam on a Garuda Indonesia 777-300, was my first experience of the
stretched version of the 777 and impressive, as the layout in the cheap seats
was 3-3-3 with good legroom. An excellent snack was provided on the 41-minute
flight (which was full, with a high percentage of passengers going only as far
as Amsterdam). I stayed for two nights in a Schipol Airport hotel with a view
across the airport and enjoyed the sight of taxiing big jets arriving from all
over the world whilst I was shaving.
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| A smooth flight - only 41 minutes from Gatwick to Amsterdam. |
I spent Day Two visiting, for the first
time, the preserved Hoorn-Medemblik steam tramway, which was just a 50-minute
direct train ride from Schipol. I was made very welcome there and, having
stated that I was a member of the Bluebell Railway, was given a free ticket!
There were about 10 locomotives, three of them steam tram types and an
interesting collection of rolling stock, all out on display for a special
event.
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| A Henschel-built tram locomotive was in service that day, hauling Austrian carriages. |
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| The railway obtained this loco for just one Guilder. It cost 60 million Guilders to restore it! |
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| A fully enclosed tram engine and vintage carriages were on display. |
Farewell to the Vulcan
In its last flying year we were able to
watch a spectacular display at Eastbourne from the end of the pier as the
Vulcan jet bomber performed low flypasts and steep turning climbs. It was so
good that I decided to watch it again the following week at the Shoreham Air
Show. Sadly, because of the crash by the preceding aircraft, the Vulcan display
had to be abandoned.
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| A low-level flypast, seen from the end of Eastbourne pier. |
Manchester trams
On a recent visit, I was amazed to see how the tram network has grown – and is still growing, with a second route across the city in the course of construction. To accommodate this addition, the tram area in Victoria station has been remodelled and a new, stylish glass and steel curved roof added.
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| Manchester Victoria station is the hub of the tram system. |
Brooklands
Always a fascinating day out, the Brooklands motor, aviation and bus museum hosted the bus Transportfest and I had my first ride on a horse drawn bus. Providing a total contrast, this five miles per hour vehicle was boarded beside the nose of Brookland’s 1350 miles per hour Concorde! Riding the bus’s top deck was a challenge as there was little legroom for the travellers of today and the stairs were only wide enough to accept the heel of the foot as one disembarked. However, the ride was delightful with the sound of hooves clip-clopping along, although the vehicle’s springs and hard wooden seats left a lot to be desired.
Next time I'll travel downstairs on the cushioned seats!
Hovering to the Island
The only public carrying hovercraft service still survives between Southsea and Ryde, Isle of Wight and I still get a thrill as the machine lifts off on dry land then swoops onto the sea for the ten-minute crossing. The two current hovercraft are due to be replaced in 2016 by a new type, but it is great to see that a British invention is still alive and kicking on the Solent.
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| At low tide, the hovercraft approaches Ryde on the Isle of Wight, skimming over sand and water. The sea here is too shallow for ships, which have to dock at the end of the pier for the train connection to the island. |
