Christmas Newsletter 2019

Christmas newsletter 2019 from Anne and Alan

Already? It’s Christmas again? It seems only yesterday that we were putting the decorations away from last year! Anyway, greetings from Anne and Alan as we say farewell to 2019 but reflect that we have not wasted the last 12 months!

Rascal and Coco

We are sad to report that Rascal, having reached the ripe old age of 20, has moved on to the great cats’ home in the sky. He is very happy there meeting his old friends, and the humans who live nearby continue to feed him his favourite meals. We do miss him – he was a real character cat with a passion for food and attention, always up first in the morning to greet us. Rascal was a big boy and here he is seven years ago in the snow, when he first came to live with us.

Coco (a sweet girl) is now the last cat standing, so she is being spoilt rotten with 100% of the fuss that she had previously had to share. She’s not complaining, but does seem to miss the company of Rascal. However, while she has a loving nature with us, she is not keen on sharing the house with a strange cat and enjoys a good ‘punch-up’ with any other cat that dares to enter her territory! Two recent encounters have seen her coming off worse, and us being worse off with the vet’s bills!

Health and wealth

Alan’s recent eye operation (yes, he has now scored a hat trick) has seen his misbehaving left eyelid being instructed to get back where it belongs, as it has been causing further blurring to his vision. The eye performance is now in its third year and we are both rather fed up with it. Apparently, eyelid muscles seem to stretch as one gets older and the eye cannot contain the tears as well as it should, hence the blurring. We are lucky to have a Moorfields eye unit in Croydon’s hospital and they do work wonders.

On the wealth side Anne did recently get a letter to advise her of a substantial lottery win of £340,000 but before we mentally started to spend it, we smelt a rat because we had not joined in the lottery in the first place! So she phoned the alleged lottery company and yes, you’ve guessed it – it was a scam! Quite a relief really – all that money and nothing to spend it on!

Birthday treats

Alan’s treat was two guided tours (punctuated by a good lunch in a nearby French restaurant) of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London. What an amazing place, especially when we were shown behind the scenes and learning all about its history!

Anne’s treat, at the beginning of July, was somewhat delayed by an afternoon meeting in the Houses of Parliament on the actual day, then by an urgent need for Alan to go to hospital that afternoon with yet another eye problem. The upshot was that her July birthday lunch was cancelled – twice! It took until October to find a suitable date and we headed to Ely to visit the impressive cathedral.

Marooned in Richmond

In October, we went to meet up with friends in Richmond for lunch and I suggested the only eating place that I know there – the White Cross beside the river Thames. We met at 14.00 and had a good window table with a fine view over the river to Richmond Bridge.

Occasionally boats were moving up and down the river and we did notice that the tide was coming in at a fair rate of knots. At around 16.00 I looked outside to see that the pub was surrounded by water and the road outside had completely disappeared from view. Worst still, the tide was still coming up river with the flow rapidly proceeding up the aptly–named Water Lane, which leads up to the town centre. The riverside entrance to the Slug and Lettuce pub next door was only just above the water level and we were totally marooned with about one foot of river depth below us, and staff frantically bailing out the downstairs basement. Around 15 souls were with us and were wondering what would rescue us – boat of helicopter? Luckily, there was at least one more floor above, plenty of food, drink and loos, so no need for panic just yet.

Anyway, right on cue, and just as a local resident had predicted, the tide suddenly turned and the water started to recede rapidly and, even more rapidly, made its way back down to London. Within 30 minutes we were able to walk back to Richmond station, picking our way through the considerable debris that the river had left behind in Water Lane. Our innocent lunch had turned into quite an adventure – one of the highlights of our year!

Travels and visits

Plymouth

The news that the Great Western Railway company was finally withdrawing the diesel High Speed Trains and replacing them with a new design of train in front line service, was the prompt for Alan to take a final long distance ride in the last weeks of operation from Paddington to Plymouth. These HSTs first came into service in 1976 and were famous (and still are) as the fastest diesel trains in the world, capable of 125 miles per hour. The route to Plymouth passes through some glorious countryside, particularly in the county of Devon where the railway runs along the famous stretch beside the sea from Dawlish to Teignmouth, then skirts around the south side of Dartmoor. A sunny afternoon in the maritime city of Plymouth was enjoyed, especially on the cliff-top Hoe, where Sir Francis Drake was said to have completed his game of bowls before sailing off to sort out the approaching Spanish Armada.

With a free morning the next day, I took the opportunity to travel on the very scenic branch line along the River Tamar and over the hills, again in glorious spring weather, to Gunnislake before returning via Plymouth for my final long distance HST ride, dashing through Wiltshire and the Thames Valley effortlessly at a breathtaking 125 mph.

Portugal

Not wishing to be outdone, Anne first went to Hailsham, near Eastbourne for a line dancing weekend. In April she set off with her Richard the Third chums on a trip to northern Portugal and adjacent Spain to sample the delights of the grand city of Porto, buildings adorned with colourful tiles, lovely countryside and the River Duoro, pausing to sample the fortified drink of port, perhaps more than once, on the way. The final highlight of this six-day trip was to join the many pilgrims who make their way to the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela and its fabulous ancient cathedral. This is Porto and the bridge was designed by Monsieur Eiffel, who is better known for his tower in Paris.

Hayling Island

Alan spent several holidays as a child with his parents on Hayling Island, a small island just off the Hampshire/Sussex coast near to Havant and Portsmouth. I remember it as a rather sleepy place with a sandy beach and not a lot else in the mid 1950s so I was surprised to hear that Anne was taking her friend, another Ann, on a short end of season break to a Warners hotel complex. They had a relaxing time exploring and feeding wildlife, plus an excursion to see the wonders of Portsmouth including the new up-beat shopping complex and the famous naval dockyard – home to the restored HMS Victory of Nelson’s fame and (what is left of it) HMS Mary Rose, which came to grief and sank in the entrance to the harbour.

Wales

Alan, meantime, enjoyed a week with his friend John, in Wales looking at the latest tourist railway developments and the fine scenery of Snowdonia. He came home with the latest addition to the cats’ memorial slate garden – an impressive piece of slate bearing Rascal’s name.

During John’s visit to the UK, we went to Southampton for an afternoon cruise out to The Solent on board the preserved steam cargo ship ‘Shieldhall’. The trip was timed to coincide with the departure of four cruise ships later in the afternoon which we passed at close quarters, exchanging ship’s sirens and whistle greetings with each in turn.

Edinburgh

The Richard the Third Society held its AGM in Edinburgh this year and Anne was on duty doing her usual meet and greet job on the reception desk, along with other members of her Croydon group.

Our annual Summer day out with friends Pat and Tony saw us visit the City of St Albans on a lovely day. St Albans has some fine and interesting features including an extensive park and lake, an interesting town centre, some Roman remains and the second longest cathedral in the UK. A notable feature of the building is that parts of it were made from re-cycled Roman bricks from the much earlier cathedral that once stood on this site.

We managed to catch up with other friends who have been overlooked for some time, including a great day out with Pauline and Derek on a river trip to Greenwich plus dinner in a grand old-style French restaurant in London, and Alan meeting up with colleagues Lorena and Sandra with whom he used to work in 1975.

Cathy and Julia took us to the London Palladium theatre to see two of the Strictly Come Dancing stars, Jeanette and Alijaz, do their spin off performance from the main show. It was a very entertaining evening with a lot of fun as well as fantastic dancing from this very likeable couple and their supporting dancers.

 It’s been a good year for cathedrals. Another two have been added to the list; Worcester, an all-time favourite, witnessed Anne there again recently during one of her voluntary work jobs. We also managed to squeeze in Winchester (the longest in the UK by around five feet) during a visit to celebrate John Roffey’s ‘significant birthday’.

A major highlight of the year was attending Diana Songer’s ‘significant birthday’ celebration at a charming country hotel in Essex with several of her other close friends, some of whom we had not met before but who were delightful company. Riverside walks and afternoon tea preceded an excellent dinner later in the day.

Celebrity

We are both fans of Radio 4’s ‘Today’ morning news programme and were sorry to hear recently that our favourite presenter, John Humphrys, (he also presents the TV show ‘Mastermind’) was to retire.

A month later he appeared at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon for a lunchtime programme ‘An Audience with John Humphrys’ which was staged in the foyer and free of charge to anyone who wanted to come along. Eventually the foyer was packed and we very much enjoyed an hour and a half in his lively company. As he was selling and signing his latest book, Anne had brought along her recently purchased copy so was able to meet and exchange a few words with her hero as the book was signed. She is still on ‘Cloud Nine’!

Alan gets all steamed up!

Alan had his long-awaited steam engine driving experience at the end of November. This was on a Great Western Railway  ‘Welsh Valley’ 68-ton tank locomotive that is currently based on the preserved railway line – the Swindon and Cricklade Railway, near Swindon in Wiltshire. I shared this event with two other enthusiasts and we took it in turns, under instruction of the driver, to drive the engine and its three carriages along the line and back. The fireman did the hard work, keeping a wary eye on the water level in the boiler and feeding the fire with shovels of coal.

I soon came to realise that the men who drive these locomotives must be tough. I started with the shovel, which needed accuracy to throw the coal into the large firebox, through the fire doors that were not much wider than the shovel itself. Then, with sight of the guard’s waving green flag, I sounded a loud toot on the engine’s whistle and attempted to move the gear lever (called a ‘Reverser’, even though it also made us go forwards as well as in reverse) into forward gear. There was a great reluctance for this lever to move and all my strength was needed to shift it, as it was connected to all the necessary rods and gears made of heavy steel. Releasing the brakes and with a jerk on the accelerator, known as the ‘Regulator’, a satisfying cloud of steam was produced and a loud chuffing bark sounded from the chimney and we were off, out of the platform, over the points and then up and down the gradients as we accelerated to a heady 15 mph, the current maximum line speed. With the terminus station approaching, the vacuum brake was gently applied, then eased off as the braking continued, this being a test of skill to stop the train in exactly the right spot.

Safely at rest, after the Reverser had been moved into neutral and with the handbrake (a large wheel that screws down the brake gear onto the wheels) safely applied, the Fireman got off the train to uncouple the locomotive from the carriages. The engine was then driven forwards, stopped, another great heave on the Reverser, this time into (yes, you’ve guessed it – reverse!), points were changed, another whistle, then the loco moved backwards to the other end of the train, reversed again, more points changed and the loco driven forward to the other end of the carriages and coupled up.

After three turns by each of the participants, the daylight was fading and it was difficult to see the controls as there are no lights in the driving cab and the skill of drivers (who still drive such metal monsters on the mainline at up to 75 mph) was well appreciated. Covered in sweat and coal dust they are truly the heroes of the railway tracks.

For me, the experience was most enjoyable and I would like to do it again, next time on a locomotive twice as big as this one!

Anne’s close encounter with King Richard III

Anne visited the Public Records office at Kew near London with other members of the RIII Society, where many important papers relating to the history of Great Britain are kept. The group had expressed an interest in seeing documents relating to the king of more than 500 years ago and the good folk of the Records Office were happy to extract some examples, not only to be looked at but held. Anne could not believe that in her hands (written on animal skin) was a document expressing the King’s displeasure with the Duke of Buckingham. Richard had added comments in his own hand and ink blots added to the impression that he was “exceedingly angry”. It’s not often that you can see such historic documents, let alone hold them, and Anne was thrilled to bits!

This was, later in the year, followed by the group visiting Windsor Castle.

A good laugh

In London, in a side street close to Leicester Square, is a small entrance which could easily be missed. Venture within, those who dare, and follow the stairs down below street level to a darkened theatre. This is home to the Comedy Store where each night comedians gather to entertain those who are badly in need of a laugh! On our two visits this year, we have been to impromptu nights where a group of men and women comics do their best to make you die of mirth, ad-libbing furiously to suggestions and funny or odd situations extracted from the willing audience. Some well-known comedians joined with other regulars, such as Paul Merton and Josie Lawrence, and they are all brilliant with quick-fire wit and excellent acting skills. Furthermore, considering the location in the middle of London theatre land, the tickets are inexpensive and so is the food and drink.

Greetings and fond farewells

We were sad to say goodbye to several friends in 2019. Our neighbour since 1982, Geoff Leaker, was taken ill suddenly and died. He had a great send off in Littlehampton where he had retired to about three years ago. His wake was beside the River Arun in a delightful setting – one of his favourite spots. Roy Gallagher, a friend from the park home industry, had two funeral services to meet the needs of friends in Norfolk, then those industry friends in Northamptonshire. Sadly, we could not attend John Cowderoy’s funeral in Yeovil due to an untimely heavy snowfall at the beginning of the year. A long time travel industry friend Bob Heybourn from Windsor died in October, the funeral service taking place in the church where he and Christine had been married, next to the castle, The magnificent castle, situated on the hill in the distance, overlooked his wake. Finally, Rosemary Tomlin, who Anne knew at school, succumbed.

On the plus side God son Richard and Jenna and their son Alexander welcomed Ophelia into the world.

Anne steps back in time

In early December Anne visited the Tutankhamun exhibition, which was in London on its ‘tour’ before its final resting place in the special museum currently being built in Cairo. She had seen a similar exhibition in London in the 1970s and that one had included the ‘death mask’. That was missing from the current exhibition because it was considered too fragile to ‘travel’.

She found it fascinating and was amazed at the advances that the ancient Egyptians had made in all sorts of areas, but particularly in the fine craftsmanship and decoration of jewellery, statues, household items, etc. There were more than 5,000 precious objects found in the tomb, which it was believed the boy king would need in the afterlife.

This has been a very popular exhibition and although Anne enjoyed it, she found it difficult to see everything because of the crowds. Nevertheless, a very well worthwhile visit.

The end is nigh

As is now traditional, we have grouped all of the transport events at the end so that those normal readers with no such interest can now safely abandon this missive, with our best wishes for a great Christmas and a Happy New Year from Anne and Alan.

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However, for those with a keen interest in Transport, you have now come to the best bit – Alan’s transport delights of 2019!

Went to the Sandtoft Trolleybus museum for the Bournemouth celebrations. Three ‘buses in line, but only one workable at present.

A4 60009 went on a trip to Swanage and is seen at the engine shed tender to tender with another famous streamlined locomotive type, a ‘Battle of Britain’.

'Britannia' at the Bluebell Railway Giants of Steam gala.

Visited York Railway Museum to see a new exhibit (SE&CR D class) and an old favourite ('Mallard', A4 class). 

Went by HST to York and here is the train under the famous curved station roof.

'Britannia', disguised as 'Iron Duke' with Golden Arrow trimmings heads for Canterbury.

Mid-Hants Gala with newly-restored S15 and newly-painted Schools.

The 9F was also in action before its imminent overhaul.

Severn Valley Railway spring gala featured GWR Welsh Valleys tank 5619.

Great Eastern Railway J15 at work on the Spa Valley Railway.

Didcot - where the new 'Saint' is yet to receive full livery. The signalling exhibit is well worth a visit.

Last steam on London Transport’s District Line.

London Transport’s Acton depot had a ‘visit the underground driving cabs’ event. There were also trams and buses on display. 

The complex Underground junction track layout at Acton Town, where the Piccadilly and District lines divide.

Went for a ride on Hovertravel’s new Hovercraft to the Isle of Wight.

In July, had a surprise trip on the LNER’s brand new Azuma train. Quite a few of these are now in service.

Discovered two wartime narrow gauge locomotives at Leighton Buzzard.

Rode around Surrey on RF bus day.

Saw this Black Five at Lewes in early December, on its way to Eastbourne.

Captured the Welsh Highland Railways’ green Garrett refuelling at Caernarfon and ....

 ... the blue King Edward II at Toddington on the way home.

A surprise visitor to Clapham Junction was Duchess of Sutherland, deputising for Mayflower on a trip to Devon in December.

Had a farewell ride from Kings Cross to Leeds on an LNER HST during the last week before withdrawal then...

... Saw the final service, for which a complete HST had been repainted in 1976 Inter City 125 livery. It is seen here calling at Grantham, then on arrival at Kings Cross. A very large number of enthusiasts turned out to say goodbye.

That’s all folks!