Blackburn To Manchester Every Thirty Minutes
That’s what it says on this poster, I photographeds at Blackburn station on Saturday.
Full words on the poster are.
Blackburn To Manchester
Every 30 minutes
Starts December 10
Mon-Sat 9.30am – 17.30pm
Both Directions
Certainly one young guy I spoke to, said it would change his travelling for the better.
Looking at the online timetable gives a few clues.
- The current Manchester Victoria to Clitheroe service continues.
- The current Manchester Victoria to Blackburn service via Todmorden continues.
- The second service in each hour uses the Bay Platform 3 at Blackburn.
- Some services seem to be Stalybridge to Blackburn via Manchester Victoria.
As Stalybridge to Preston and Blackpool via Bolton will be electrified soon, could it be that Northern are gearing up to have an electrified core route with diesel branches, that would be ideal for Class 769 trains.
Consider.
- Four-car Class 769 trains could replace pairs of Class 150 and Class 156 trains.
- The trains have a respectable top speed in both electric and diesel mode.
- The pantograph can be raised and lowered as appropriate.
- The trains have a Universal Access Toilet and meet all the Persons of Restricted Mobility Access rules.
- If more electrification is added, the trains will take advantage.
Could we see the upgrade between Manchester and Blackburn on December 10th, implemented using Class 769 trains?
News on the Class 769 trains has been very sparse lately.
According to a technical specification that I’ve seen, four of the Class 769 trains are planned to be in service by December 2017.
So is everything going to plan or has it all gone pear-shaped?
What trains turn up on December the 10th will be useful information!
The Finest Low-Alcohol Gluten-Free Beer In The World
In some ways this is an open letter to Archie Norman and Jonathan Adnams, who are respectively chairman of Marks and Spencer and Adnams Brewery.
Adnams brew Southwold Pale Ale 0.5% for Marks and Spencer.
I have three medical conditions.
- I am coeliac, which means I must avoid gluten.
- I’ve had a stroke and am on Warfarin, which means I can’t drink too much alcohol.
- I have a need to drink lots of fluids and I find beer is best.
So I need a low-alcohol and gluten-free beer, that has all the thirst-quenching properties of beer.
I should say that my grandfather had the same need to drink a lot and he eventually turned into a serious alcoholic and died at the age of just forty.
I am now seventy and started drinking halves of Adnams at fourteen in Felixstowe Conservative Club, whilst playing snooker with my father. Since a stroke seven years ago, I’ve probably never drunk more than ten units of alcohol in a week.
The Southwold Pale Ale 0.5% satisfies my need for a low-alcohol beer and it has a quality taste, that I very much like.
When I was diagnosed as a coeliac twenty years ago, one of the problems was finding a decent gluten-free beer. So I had a discussion with a brewer at Adnams and he said that their beers could be gluten-free.
But I never tried one!
However, after testing a few bottles of Southwold Pale Ale 0.5% , I was convinced that the beer was low enough in gluten not to have any ill-effects on my body.
But then surely, a low-alcohol beer must be made with less barley to create the low-alcohol level!
I think Southwold Pale Ale 0.5% is a superb beer.
Don’t just take my word for it!
In the reviews on the Marks and Spencer web site, these are some of the titles.
- Favourite Low Alcohol Option
- Best Low Alc Beer I’ve Tried Yet
- Excellent Low Alcohol Pale Ale
Two other reviewers complain about the availability of the product.
Research shows that as many as one-in-fifty of the population of the UK could be coeliac.
Conclusion
Improving the availability of this product could be good for all concerned.
Then
The Anonymous Widower 