Good For Maria
Maria Miller won’t be going to the Open Golf next week, due to the fact it’s being held at a men-only venue. The report is in The Times.
Hugh Robertson and Alex Salmond won’t be going either.
Good for them all!
The Death Of A Brave Man
This story from the BBC, tells the story of Masao Yoshida and his fight to get the nuclear reactors at Fukushima under control after the tsunami and his recent death from an unrelated cancer.
It is worth reading, as it shows how people will make a sacrifice for the greater good.
And Ulster Makes It Three!
After the two posts on racism and sexism, there was a story with a pictures in The Times yesterday about the celebration of the Battle of the Boyne in Northern Ireland.
Surely, it’s about time, we were celebrating the passing of this bigoted yearly remembrance of something that most of the residents of the United Kingdom don’t know about and care about even less.
I Thought We Were Past This Too!
This story about a woman, who wants to be a mechanic, shows that sexism is alive and well in some parts of the motor trade.
I always remember a story from myt father, who did some sort of job, that meant he drove all round East Anglia during the Second World War. He was having problems with the old Ford he was driving and pulled into a garage in a small village near Sudbury in Suffolk. Nobody was about, but he did see a pair of legs sticking out from under a car. So he called out and in a few moments, as he would say, a gorgeous tall blonde extracted herself from under the car and stood over him. She asked what the problem was and he told her. She said he’d better sort it out with the boss in the office. He found the boss and the problem was sorted, whilst he had lunch in the cafe next door. On returning he asked the owner, who was the mechanic, as even in wartime, you didn’t come across female ones very often. He was told she was Lady something and she was the best mechanic he’d ever had.
I Thought We Were Past This
You don’t here of too many racist stories these days, but this one from Wakefield in the Independent seems to be a throwback to forty or fifty years ago.
The only things you judge a cafe or restaurant on, are the quality of the premises, the food and the customer service. In fact, in my case, several of the cooks and chefs I’ve met with black African or West Indian origins, have understood my need for gluten-free food better than a lot of others I could name.
It’s just a pity, I have no reason to go to Wakefield, otherwise, I’d pop in fior at least a cup of tea.
Grand Central Up And East Coast Down
I went up to York on Grand Central in First and came back down in Second on East Coast.
As you can see, both trains were forty-year-old InterCity 125s.
First Class on Grand Central might have been affordable at £49.50 and it was a convenient train in that it got there just before the museum opened, but it was a very poor offering. I got an uncomfortable seat with a narrow table in a group of four and the only refreshment I had was two cups of tea.
Coming back I’d booked an open Off Peak ticket at £32.00, so I could come back at a convenient time.
I managed to get a more comfortable window seat in a group of four, with a bigger table than I had on the way up. The train seemed to be fairly newly refurbished and was probably in better condition, than it had been in all of its long life. The trolley came through twice and I bought just a bottle of water.
Both trains were on time.
It is interesting to compare these two journeys with the Copenhagen to Hamburg trip I did recently in a diesel German ICE TD.
I was in First on the German train and the seat was marginally more comfortable, than that of the seat in Second on my journey home yesterday. I also had a bigger table. But the ride was no better on the newer German train, which incidentally tilts, and there was nothing to choose between the views through the wide windows on both trains.
But the real problem on the German train, was the total lack of a decent drinks service. The trolley on East Coast was much better. But I have feeling that the layout of German ICE trains effectively rules out a trolley. food on all three journeys didn’t include anything that was gluten-free, but that is coming if my taste of Virgin is anything to go by.
I doubt I’ll be travelling on Grand Central again, and certainly never in First. Unless I have no choice!
Multi-Lingual Signs At The NRM
The Keep Off signs were in three languages.
Multi-Lingual Signs At The NRM
But then there seemed to be a lot of foreign visitors. I was talking to a couple of Germans by the two paintings in this post.
A guide told me, that some visitors had come all the way from New Zealand
Going North And Going South
These two paintings were on display in the Nation Railway Museum at York.
The artist was George Earl and the paintings are mentioned in his Wikipedia entry.
I found the paintings notable, as there were certainly Red Irish, English and Gordon Setters in the paintings. There could also have been Red and White Irish Setters too!
Green Arrow At York
I didn’t know any of the Class V2 were still in existence.
Green Arrow At York
But Green Arrow seemed to be in pretty good condition. I can remember them working out of Kings Cross in the early 1950s to places like Hull and Lincoln.
According to Wikipedia it might be scheduled to be returned to working condition. Although not as glamorous as the A4 Pacifics, it is the sole survivor of a class of locomotive, that proved influential in keeping the railways running during the Second World War.
The Anonymous Widower 