Back by popular
demand (at least six people responded to the 2017 edition) here is a selection
of happenings from Anne and Alan in 2018.
We lived in hope
that 2018 was going to be another good year and, to be fair, there have been
some highlights, but a few events have been prevented by circumstances beyond
our control. We promise not to mention the ‘B’ word as you are probably fed up
with hearing about it, as are we.
Last year ended
with Alan having his second cataract operation and in early February, I was
given the all clear to order my new specs. Whilst the operation is intended to
give you perfect vision it is not always the case and, in any event, only
corrects the main distant vision but not the close up vision for which glasses
are still needed. My replacement ’eyes’ were never going to be perfect anyway,
as my natural eyesight is pretty poor, but I was always going to have to wear
glasses and this was no problem. The new specs arrived and were a great disappointment
and it transpired that I had developed fluid on the back of the retina which
caused a general blurring of the vision – a situation which has continued for
all of 2018. Furthermore, in April, I had an operation for glaucoma in one eye,
which has generally been successful. Only, as a write in mid-December, has
there been a step forward on the vision front with the help of laser treatment,
which has restored some of the sharpness to the vision, to the extent that I
can now read without the aid of a magnifying glass and see things a lot more
clearly. Hopefully in the next two months the fluid will finally disappear and
life might get back to normal and I can perhaps drive again, and cross roads
with a little more confidence, now that I can see the traffic better!
The medical
attention then turned to my ‘other end’ – yes, you’ve guessed it – the big
toes! I had suffered from in-growing toenails for some time – a problem that is
easily rectified, but the process takes six weeks. During that time the big
toes are protected by a lot of dressings, which prevent the use of normal shoes
and slippers as there is not enough room inside them. Furthermore, you must not
get the toes wet, so the sight of me in sandals covered with plastic bags when
rain threatened was one to behold! Every other day for six weeks the toes had
to be bathed and the dressings changed and Nurse Anne did a wonderful job – but
I was disappointed when she refused to wear a skimpy nurse’s outfit, as used to
be seen worn by Barbara Windsor in the old ‘Carry On’ films!
In the mid-February
cold weather Alan stepped onto the pavement and slipped on a patch of ice,
landing on his bum with his right leg at a peculiar angle. There was no initial
pain until he stood up, then off he went to hospital. Nothing broken but lots
of muscles and tendons in the leg and ankle were pulled and he was unable to
walk properly for about six months until he was able to join the NHS physio
programme.
Anne had a mishap
recently whilst playing badminton. Stepping backwards, she overbalanced and
landed heavily on her bottom and this upset a number of muscles in her legs and
back causing so much pain that visits to the hospital were needed and lots of
pain killers and muscle relaxants supplied. Our local osteopaths stepped in
and, after several sessions, she is almost back to normal. At this stage an
unpleasant cough has developed, just in the build up to Christmas!
Any plans for
holidays were knocked on the head as driving by either of us was not an option
and we having been making great use of our local bus and train services, which
are brilliant in our area.
Rascal and Coco,
our two adorable cats, are still fine although Rascal, now 20 plus years old is
slowing up a bit. We recently had a scare with him when we found him on the
carpet with his left front leg at a very odd angle, seemingly giving a Nazi
salute, and the nearby net curtain and its pole in a heap on the floor. He
attempted to walk but could not as with only three legs to support him he kept
falling over. Fearing the worst, the vet was summoned and Rascal was carted
off, only to be returned two hours later with leg restored to the correct
position and demanding to be fed. It seemed that he had got his claws caught in
the curtain and in his effort to break free had dislocated his shoulder. What a
relief!
Alan was able to
take two breaks this year. In April, and against his better judgement due to
the eyesight problems, he went to Trier in Germany on a steam enthusiast week
and was grateful for the help of several other group members, who looked out
for his safety and helped with menu selections. He also travelled to Wales in
September for the annual steam superpower event on the Welsh Highland Railway
and enjoyed travelling on the line he had helped to build a few years ago.
Anne managed to fit
in two short breaks: a line dancing weekend to Eastbourne and a Richard the
Third event in Leicester.
Recently, Anne
discovered a Paddington musical afternoon was being performed at a venue in the
Barbican in London. They didn’t specifically say it was for children but
everyone was encouraged to take along a Paddington bear, so we took one and we
seemed to be one of the few members of the audience that didn’t have a child!
This was a BBC Radio Three recording about Paddington’s arrival in the UK and
some of his adventures. There was a narrator and the bits that he read out were
then followed by appropriate musical pieces from the orchestra, supported by
illustrations on a big screen. Interestingly, the theatre looked from the
outside just like an office block, near to Moorgate station. Anyway, it was a
bit of fun, even though it lasted just one hour.
In November Alan
went to a Sealink reunion in Birmingham to see twenty or so people that he had
worked with at Victoria, in the late 1960s. This gathering happens once every
three or four years but the organiser was not aware that there was a big
Midlands event that day, so the chosen pub venue was packed for the first
couple of hours. Then, just as we got comfortable, the whole place was plunged
into darkness and, with no sign of the problem being resolved, we all had to
leave, going out onto a cold and wet miserable street. This was my cue to start
the homeward journey!
And finally,
another railway treat! In 1967 Alan invested two pounds and twelve shillings in
saving the Merchant Navy ‘Clan Line’ steam locomotive from the scrap yard. In
September this year he got his money’s worth – he drove it! This took place in
the engine’s home base at Stewarts Lane depot in London during an open day for
supporters. He was told to expect a ride in the driving cab, but not to then be
put into the driver’s seat and asked to reverse 148 tons of locomotive, capable
of 100 miles per hour, out of the shed, then bring it back in again To be fair,
the journey was only about 200 yards in each direction and didn’t exceed 5 mph
but it really was exciting to be at the controls of this famous engine!
Our friend Amanda,
a City of London official guide, has been adding some more walking tours of the
City and has created some themed walks. These are most interesting and the
group gets to see many places that would otherwise not be noticed. A visit to
London’s magnificent Guildhall was one of the highlights, and another was her
guided tour around the City with stops associated with the ‘votes for women’
movement, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.
Our annual summer
day out with Pat and Tony had to be modified this year because it was just too
hot! It was replaced with a leisurely lunch at a country pub.
The Royal Air Force
celebrated its 100th birthday this year by producing a magnificent
flypast over London in July. Alan went to Waterloo Bridge to watch the
spectacle as 100 aircraft in a variety of formations flew beside the River Thames
on the way to Buckingham Palace, one formation formed of 22 Typhoon fighter
jets spelling the number 100 in the sky.
John and Diane were
here on their annual visit from Australia. A leisurely trip from Hampton Court
to London on the River Thames and a visit to the trolleybus museum were
highlights for the boys.
Pauline’s Rock
Choir was again in action at the theatre in Redhill and produced a sparkling
performance.
Anne has been to
several theatre shows, one of her favourites being to a Motown music production.
She also went to see ’Witness for the Prosecution’ which was staged in the very
atmospheric setting of County Hall in London. Another very enjoyable visit was
to Eastwell Manor in Kent where she enjoyed afternoon tea with Cathy (who was
celebrating a ‘significant birthday’) and some other friends. Anne also loves
the cinema and has seen a variety of films. One in particular was a black and
white wartime RAF film called ‘Angels at Five’, which was screened in support
of a proposed memorial museum at Kenley aerodrome. Just a couple of miles from
us, Kenley was one of London’s key fighter bases during the Second World War.
We also went to a Johnny Cash tribute event at Wimbledon theatre.
We spent a day in
Frinton in Essex with Diana and Colin. On a beautiful sunny day with had picnic
lunch and picnic dinner on the cliff tops, overlooking the North Sea and,
between these feasts, went to the quaint theatre to see ‘Blythe Spirit’ – an
excellent Noel Coward play.
If you are in
London, we can heartily recommend a visit to the new Post Office museum – full
of interesting exhibits and covering the history of the postal service. You can
even take a ride on the underground postal railway, which used to cross London
from east to west.
We have been
catching up with friends who we have not seen for a while including Gill and
Gerald from Devon, Roy from Norfolk and John from Cheltenham. Sadly, Anthony,
who used to work alongside Anne as photographer and had been poorly for a
while, died in May and a lot of friends and work mates attended the funeral.
So,
it’s goodbye from us
At this point we say ‘Farewell and Happy
Christmas/New Year’ to those readers who haven’t the faintest interest in
trains, planes and other male pursuits. You need read no further BUT, if you do
like this sort of thing or are just curious, you are welcome to continue.
With best wishes from Anne and Alan
Enthusiast
Ramblings
As mentioned
earlier, I did risk a visit to the Welsh Highland Railway in September for
their Super Power three-day gala event – my long awaited first visit to this
event. Whilst on paper there was a lot happening, it wasn’t so apparent at the
Porthmadog end where I was staying. Famous for its freight trains, there was
only one of them over the three days and the slow journey time to the northern
end of the line soon eroded the amount that you could see and do in one day.
However, highlights included seeing a lot of Ffestiniog Railway stock and locos
bolstering the services up the WHR, with the knock-on result of some double-heading
with smaller engines on the Ffestiniog. A special highlight was that the Lynton
and Barnstaple’s new Baldwin loco was making its first excursion away from
home, topping and tailing shuttle trains with the Single Fairlie at Dinas. I
purchased a ticket for the whole three-day event on the WHR but, because of the
long journey times to the northern end of the line where most of the action was
taking place (nearly two hours each way), I rather lost the will to live and
spent day three on the Ffestiniog, where the damp and misty conditions provided
a good steam spectacle.
The German grice
provided four days of steam specials over the lines radiating from Trier, a
large city in the extreme west of the country, close to Luxembourg and beside
the Moselle River. Eight steam preserved locomotives, two preserved diesels and
an historic express electric loco were provided, hauling a variety of passenger
trains. Two of the routes were exceptionally scenic – one through the Eiffel
mountains and the other along the banks of the River Saar, both routes winding
through the countryside. In Germany, looking through open windows is still
permitted so we were able to see the engines working hard. A preserved railway,
a loco scrap yard with around 50 large engines, and a steeply-graded metre
gauge line (the Brohtalbahn) complete with a hefty Mallet locomotive were
included.
Having spent
several days over the summer chasing after A4 Union of South Africa on its
trips around the south, the undoubted best event was its three-day Giants of
Steam appearance at the Bluebell Railway. It operated three daily non-stop runs
over the line with each train bearing a headboard of famous East Coast
expresses. I enjoyed seeing the loco pulling green rolling stock and visited
over the whole three days, thanks to the rail connection at East Grinstead. I
should explain the non-stop trains had to pass the intermediate stations very
slowly for the tokens to be exchanged.
Earlier in the
year, the Bluebell Railway Branch Line weekend featured the Port Talbot/Great
Western Railway saddle tank number 813.
The Bluebell event
was followed by the Mid-Hants autumn gala, but sadly this top-notch show went a
bit pear shaped when the timetable went haywire and, as most of the services
pass other at each station on the single line, there was a fair amount of head
scratching among the staff. There was a Great Western theme and guest engines
were a Manor and a large 2-6-2 tank, both of which worked hard on the gradients
with loud exhausts from the chimney. At the previous Spring Gala, Hawksworth
pannier loco number 1501 was present.
At the Severn
Valley Railway Spring Gala, Bellerophon was a guest locomotive.
On Easter Friday I
travelled with the Clan Line team in the support carriage (with windows open,
next to the loco) hauling a full-length Pullman train on a six-hour circuit
around Kent via Ramsgate. Despite the foul wet weather, the footplate crew gave
us an excellent demonstration of what a Class 8 pacific is still capable of
with a heavy load in difficult conditions over the hilly route home via Ashford
and Maidstone.
I spent a day at
the Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft in Lincolnshire, which was great. There were
many preserved trolleybuses from all over the country and on this gala day,
examples from Bournemouth, London, Reading, South Shields, Manchester and
Middlesbrough were in operation for the visiting enthusiasts. The compact but
ingenious circuit allowed two rides in one direction, followed by a turn
around, then two rides around the circuit in the other direction with an
unlimited number of rides throughout the day, changing from one vehicle to the
next. Reconstructed period buildings from the 1950s provided a realistic
background and a ‘step back in time’ experience.
Bournemouth above and London below
Early in the year, Britannia class ‘Oliver Cromwell’ took a special train to Norwich – a good chance to experience the performance on the route with which these locomotives were associated. Well, the performance was very restricted on this busy line but the climb up the long Brentwood Bank was very noisy. Finally, after Ipswich, speed picked up but just as we reached 70mph the engine broke down; we braked to a halt and tottered the last five miles pushed by the diesel on the back! The afternoon was spent on the Bure Valley Railway.
The North Weald bus
rally produced a good collection of preserved buses. The theme of the event was
‘50 years of the Red Arrow’ and it was possible to ride on them and the other
vehicles over a selection of bus routes.
That’s all folks!
