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’.
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.
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!
