The First Metric Railway In The UK
I just found this small piece of trivia on the Wikipedia entry for the Tyne and Wear Metro.
The Tyne and Wear Metro was the first railway in the UK to operate using the metric system; all its speeds and distances are stated in metric units only.
Do you think I should tell UKIP?
European Capitals Alphabetically
I’m just playing for another trip. These are the capitals of the countries either in or contained within the EU
1. Amsterdam – The Netherlands
2. Andorra la Vella – Andorra
3. Athens – Greece
4. Berlin – Germany
5. Bern – Switzerland
6. Bratislava – Slovakia
7. Brussels – Belgium
8. Bucharest – Romania
9. Budapest – Hungary
10. Copenhagen – Denmark
11. Dublin – Ireland
12. Helsinki – Finland
13. Lisbon – Portugal
14. Ljubljana – Slovenia
15. London – UK
16. Luxembourg – Luxembourg
17. Madrid – Spain
18. Monaco – Monaco
19. Nicosia – Cyprus
20. Oslo – Norway
21. Paris – France
22. Prague – Czech Republic
23. Riga – Latvia
24. Rome – Italy
25. San Marino – San Marino
26. Sofia – Bulgaria
27. Stockholm – Sweden
28. Tallinn – Estonia
29. Vaduz – Liechtenstein
30. Valletta – Malta
31. Vatican City – Vatican City
32. Vienna – Austria
33. Vilnius – Lithuania
34. Warsaw – Poland
It doesn’t look like it is a trip that can be done within a month, as few journeys are short.
Questions.
1. Should I go to all the little countries like Andorra?
2. Should Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh be included? If we add Edinburgh do we have to add Barcelona.
3. Should the former Yugoslavian states and Albania be included? I think some are difficult by train.
4. Do I fly?
Meeting A Friend At Kings Cross
On Monday, I met a friend, who was travelling from Edinburgh to her daughter’s in Buckinghamshire. A few years ago, this would have been difficult, but now we met and walked into St. Pancras for supper before taking a taxi to Marylebone.
The pictures show the new ticket hall.
We could have ate in any number of places in King’s Cross, including the excellent Leon, whereas a few years ago, it would have just been sandwiches.
The one problem with meeting someone is that as the arrivals area is not finished yet, there is no obvious place to wait. But that will hopefully be sorted when the 1960s extension has been consigned to the dustbin.
London has two of the finest stations in the world sitting side-by-side on Euston Road. It all makes Euston, which is just up the road even more of a dump.
One of the ironies of all of this rebuilding, is that in ten years time, I suspect I’ll think that King’s Cross will be the better station, as it is growing into a superb fusion of the old and the modern. But then I always have a soft spot for Kings Cross as I can remember the A4 Gresley Pacifics in the station. These must be the most iconic steam engines ever produced in the UK.
Told Off For Not Buying A Cheap Ticket
I came back from Liverpool to Birmingham by London Midland. I didn’t have much time to get a ticket at Lime Street, especially as the one machine near my platform was broken. I was told that I could get a ticket on the train, which in fact I did.
The inspector said, I should have bought it on-line before I left, as that way I’d have got it for a fiver. I can’t remember what I paid, but I did get a normal Off Peak.
My trouble though had been that I might have stayed later in Liverpool and gone straight back to London missing the football in Birmingham.
I suspect that London Midland have been getting complaints about overpriced tickets and they’re trying to do something.
Wouldn’t it be much simpler, if we had some sort of electronic system, that worked out your cheapest ticket.
A few more ticket machines at Lime Street would have helped too!
Is This One Of The Worst Stations In The UK?
There are two things that really despress me in stations; steep staircases and poor lighting. Bordesley station had both.
I actually tripped and fell into the train taking me back to the centre of Birmingham.
Is This The Cheapest Rail Ticket In The UK?
Look at the price on this ticket.
Is This The Cheapest Rail Ticket In The UK?
The train wasn’t bad either, even if it was an immaculate nearly-new Class 172.
So £1.25 return was definitely good value.
Walking Down To Lime Street
This picture brings back two memories.
Walking Down To Lime Street
In 1965, when I arrived in Liverpool for the first time to start my studies, I remember lugging my cardboard suitcase up this same hill to get a Crosville H13 bus or something like it, to my digs in Huyton. Students don’t arrive like that in universities today. They’re probably taken in style by car for a start. I think C too, had to find her own way to her place in Dale Hall.
Also shown in this picture is the old Trust House Forte, St. George’s Hotel, where we spent the weekend of April 6th, 1974. How can I be so sure of the date? It was the day that Abba won the European song contest with Waterloo. I can’t remember much else about that weekend. I don’t even know, whether the children came with us or how we travelled to the city. I can remember being served some of the worst scrambled eggs of my life and the look of disgust on what his staff had produced on the restaurant manager’s face, as he wrung the whey out of them with his hand.
I have discussed this story of the scrambled egg with my son and he said he was there. We did go to the Grand National in either 1978 or 1979, but then we went afterwards to the Lake District. It couldn’t have been 1974 as Red Rum won that year on the 30th March. So as the memory of Abba is I believe right, that puts us there a week later.
The streets of Liverpool are paved with memories. Sadly, all the pictures from the time have been lost.
A Ginger Damsel In Distress
On the way home tonight, I went via Kings Cross to pick up a train ticket.
it was one of those times, when I wished I’d had my camera with me, as in front of the ticket machine was a ginger damsel in distress. She had an enormous ruck-sack on her back and was trying to bend over to pick-up the Oystercard she had dropped. Suffice to say she wasn’t managing to pick the card up.
So I did the gentlemanly thing and retrieved her card.
When I heard she was on her way to Norwich, I did wonder if I’d done the right thing!
Bad Karma
My financial advisor has just left on his bicycle to go home to South West London. I did suggest as it was raining that he cycle to Canonbury station and get the North London line most of the way.
He didn’t as he said that was Bad Karma.
The Anonymous Widower 