Tales From Artemis Times
When I was writing Artemis, I got to meet some very interesting people.
I remember being in Denver at an Artemis Users Conference at the time of the Falklands War. I was talking over drinks with three Americans; a New York banker, the project manager on the US Harrier and the another from Long Beach Naval Shipyard.
The banker with all the naivete of no experience, said that all the Navy needed in the South Atlantic was a big flat-top and some F14s and they’d be able to blow the Argies away.
Then the Harrier guy said that they were getting the weather reports and it was so bad down there, that the only aircraft you could recover to the carrier was a Harrier. The guy from Long Beach compared everything to the Arctic convoys and said it was doubtful which was worst.
The banker didn’t say anything more on the subject.
Another incident was meeting a recently retired US Army or Marine officer. I’m not sure where this was, but it was somewhere in the States. It might even have been at the same conference. On finding I was English, he said that he’d got a lot of respect for the British Army and told this tale.
The Pentagon had wanted to find out how we handled the situation in Northern Ireland from a soldier’s point-of-view and he had been asked to go to the province to observe the British Army at work. So he turned up in Belfast, as a guest of the British Army and was given a briefing by senior officers and a couple of tours around the city in a Land-Rover.
They then asked him, if he’d like to go out on a patrol.
He said he would like to go, so early the next morning he was taken to a barracks and introduced to his patrol. He said that as a white US officer, he was surprised that the patrol would be led by a black corporal. At the time in the US Army, such a patrol would always be led by an officer or at least a sergeant.
They kitted him up, so he looked like the average squaddie and off they went. He didn’t really describe the patrol, except to say that he was impressed by the professionalism and that nothing untoward or unexpected happened.
On returning to barracks and after a good lunch with his patrol, he was taken to a debriefing. There he was shown a film taken by the SAS, who had had a sniper on the roof-tops with a film camera.
He realised that the US forces had a long way to go, if they were to handle urban situations like Northern Ireland.
Is Crossrail Going To Be The Shopping Line?
Crossrail seems to be a rail line that connects most of London’s Main shopping centres together. Starting from the East at Shenfield and going West, you get Romford, Ilford, Stratford/Eastfield, Moorgate, Oxford Street, Bond Street, Ealing, Slough and Reading.
You probably have to include Woolwich and Canary Wharf on the Abbey Wood branch, although Canary Wharf could be described as an important station in the basement of a shopping centre.
Even Westfield at Shepherds Bush is just a detour away from Crossrail on the Central line.
So will one of the slogans for the new line be something like.
Going shopping? Then go Crossrail!
I searched for “Shopping Crossrail and found this article in Retail Week. This is an extract.
As John Platt, managing consultant at location analyst CACI explains: “Currently no major high speed rail routes offer direct access to the heart of central London’s retail offer from the suburbs. All the major stations are on the edge of central London’s retail, meaning shoppers travelling from outside central London have to make a second trip on some form of transport.
“With stations at Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street this will not be the case with Crossrail.
So the article is optimistic that Crossrail will increase business in the retail sector.
Before Crossrail – Issues On The Reading Branch
The issues on the Western branch to Reading are broadly similar to those on the Shenfield Metro.
1. Disabled And Step Free Access
There are some good stations like Reading and Slough and some terrible ones like Hanwell.
One advantage in the West is that a lot of stations have plenty of space and are not cramped like say Manor Park.
2. Train Access
The platforms in the West are probably worse matches to the trains than those in the East.
But like the East, they seem to fairly straight.
3. Long Distance Trains
The Western branch has the same problem as the Shenfield Metro in that how does it interface in the best manner with the long distance trains.
But it does have the opportunity of connecting Heathrow to Wales and the West through Reading.
4. Buses And Onward Travel
These are probably worse than the East and might be more difficult to saolve as you’re often not talking to London or its boroughs.
I have a feeling that Transport for London may get all of the stations to use London’s very much proven system.
5. Freight
As in the East, there appeared to be a lot of freight on the line.
Before Crossrail – Langley
Not Much To Do Here! – Rating 6/10
Langley station is almost Crossrail-ready now and probably just needs lifts on the bridge and the usual cosmetics.
The bridge obviously needs reconstructing, but there is also a lot of potential in doing something positive with the station building and perhaps the small cafe.
The Footbridge At Westbourne Park
I mentioned in this post, that I’d seen a footbridge, that spanned the lines as you approached Paddington.
This is referred to locally as the Hampden Street bridge or as the Westbourne Park footbridge. Take your pick!
So this morning, I went to have a look.
The bridge does mean you can see the workings well, but photographing them is difficult, as you have to look through a wire mesh.
It will be fascinating to go back here, to see the area, as the railway and its infrastructure progresses.
If you want to see it, just go to Royal Oak station, walk along Westbourne Park Villas and the footbridge is on the railway side of this road on the right.
After crossing the bridge, you can either complete the circle back to Royal Oak or take a bus.
Match Twelve – Ipswich 1 – Blackburn 1
This was very much two points lost, rather than a point won.
I think it illustrates how important Daryl Murphy is to the team, as he was injured today.
But it has been a lot worse in recent seasons at this time of the year!
St. Erth Station And The St. Ives Branch
St. Erth station is the station, where you change for the St. Ives branch.
I think this station is a good example of how we should treat our rural stations.
It was scrupulously clean and has an excellent shop and cafe. I think too, that the bridge is going to be given lifts to improve changes at the station.
The branch itself is one of the most spectacular in the UK, and my train was an immaculate Class 150. I hope that unit is in the queue for the upgrade some of its sisters have received in East Anglia.
The Cornish will certainly look after it.
Around St. Ives
I took these pictures as I walked around St. Ives.
It wasn’t my first visit and C and I had had a brief visit about twenty years ago.
The Tate At St. Ives
The Tate St. Ives is one of those buildings, like the Guggenheim in Bilbao, that make me want to get my camera out.
At the Guggenheim, I photographed the building as the light played with the building in the evening sun.
As these pictures show, the Tate all about the sea.
The Tate is a building totally suited to its surroundings.
Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden
I like sculpture and I spent a pleasant half-an-hour in the garden of the Babara Hepworth Musem in the rain.
We need to get more of our great sculptures out of the sterile museums and into the open air.
I know there’s a security problem with bronzes, but if we choose the locations carefully, we should be able to minimise the theft.
The Anonymous Widower 