The Final 'Glowex' - For the Time Being

Thursday was our day, special to us but not for sharing on the blog. Among other things we went out for a meal, enjoyed more of the Northamptonshire countryside and visited the garden centre. So I will move on to Friday.


I really must love Robbie because I got up in the middle of the night to take him to the station for his 'away day'. This is Robbie's day in his own words and pictures.



London Midland 06.16 Northampton - Birmingham (blue train), 


Cross Country 07.30 Birmingham - York 

Grand Central HST at York Station 

Trans Pennine Express 09.57 York - Leeds, 

TPE York - Leeds

Northern 10.49 Leeds - Carlisle, 

Settle

From the window

Wow!

Northern 14.20 Carlisle - Sellafield, 

Saw 86101 Sir William A Stanier FRS @ Carlisle   

87002 Royal Sovereign @ Carlisle

Northern 16.48 Sellafield - Carlisle,  

37423 + KM01 ticking over in Sellafield Sidings

Virgin Trains 18.54 Carlisle - Birmingham, 


London Midland 22.53 Birmingham - Northampton


Mrs J 23.54 Northampton - Home

Insanity!

Photographer: Ian Britton - FreeFoto.com

On Saturday morning we were still snowed in, but Robbie went to extraordinary lengths (and expense) to get himself to Birmingham International in time to join the charter trip Carlisle (via Settle and Carlisle). At one stage it looked as if he wouldn't get there, but in the end he made it in time. He was surprised to find that as he went north there was less snow, then no snow until they got past Crewe, then there was beautiful white scenery to enjoy from the comfort of the train. It was well past midnight when he got home, he was cold and exhausted but he'd enjoyed the day.

'Me Time' 08.03.08

Robbie is out playing trains again today, he has gone to Carlisle on a charter, he mentioned something about tractors but I am not sure of the details because I tend to 'tune him out' when he goes on and on about trains (or anything else for that matter). He had to leave soon after 5am and he assured me that he wouldn't wake me up, as always that proved a forlorn hope, the sound of Robbie galloping around the house was enough to wake the dead, but just in case anyone in the street was still managing to slumber he shut the door with such force that we thought there had been another earthquake!

I had expected him to encounter some sort of hold up, he always seems to attract trouble when he travels north. Today he had hardly left the county before he encountered problems, a cable fire between Birmingham International and New Street had caused chaos. He rang me to tell me about it, but I begged him to just give me the abridged version, so I am a bit sketchy on the detail, but I know that they got away safely in the end.

I decided that I was going to have some 'me' time too, so after providing Laura with a chauffeur service to and from the hairdressers I settled down to some family history research, but it was one of those frustrating days when I just kept hitting brick walls. Laura had gone to town to buy yet more shoes (something else for me to trip over in the hall) and Sam had scurried off to his room allegedly he was going to rediscover the carpet and have a general tidy up, but judging by his lack of progress I suspect he was watching a DVD. At least I had a couple of hours of peace, I gave up on the family history because it was making me frustrated, but I managed a few more chapters of A Presumption of Death by Jill Paton Walsh and Dorothy L Sayers, I have read it at least twice before but it is just as good the third time.

Robbie will not be home until after midnight and I don't suppose his arrival will be any quieter than his departure, but if the wakes me up to tell me about his day I may not be responsible for my actions. Tomorrow I intend to listen to the Archers omnibus before I even think about the routine of the day, and Robbie can make me lots of cups of tea to make up for abandoning me today!

Pendolino to Carlisle

We went on a Pendolino to Carlisle today - just there and back to make sure that it is still in the same place! We went to Milton Keynes to catch the Carlisle service, we go there for the comedy value, they have the campest station announcer ever. He is so entertaining, the children find him absolutely hilarious.

I quite like train travel because it gives me a chance to indulge in one of my favourite pastimes - people watching. While Robbie bought the hot drinks at Northampton the men at the ticket barrier caught my eye. The Silverlink uniform is uninspiring and with their long dark coats and the white bands around their caps, they looked rather like St Johns Ambulance personnel, but the lugubrious faces that this 'cheerful' pair possessed had a hint of the Gestapo about them.

At Milton Keynes the Virgin staff had their long winter coats on as they stood next to the departing trains. They looked very smart and just a little sinister - like German border guards. Virgin obviously try hard to ensure that their staff look smart, but from my observations shoe cleaning is a lost art in urgent need of revival! The employee on our platform was frighteningly young (another sign of my advancing age), in his somewhat large overcoat he reminded me of Paddington Bear, he looked so cute and vulnerable.

Our journey was interesting, I think I prefer Voyagers because they have nicer toilets, but pendolinos are quite nice. Our train manager's announcements were incredible, I didn't understand a word he said, but I have never met anyone who could manage as many words per minute before. May be someone had accidentally set him on fast forward. It is good to see that Virgin are doing their bit for diversity, our train crew was like the league of nations. The chap who served our breakfast was rather cute and he had a gorgeous South African accent. I lost Robbie on the train, he claimed it was an urgent trip to the toilet, but I wasn't born yesterday, we were near Crewe and he was in the vestibule doing a bit of cranking!

The train manager had a sex change at Preston and acquired an impenetrable Scottish accent. After a lot of beautiful countryside and regular time checks from Robbie as he traced the route on his Quail map, we arrived at Carlisle. It is an interesting little place, we had a look around for an hour or two. Unfortunately it seemed to be geriatric day, there were millions of them with their shopping trolleys, plodding around the shops with no sense of urgency whatsoever. We spotted one man wearing a kilt and a deerstalker hat, very scary! I was struck by the diversity of accents and the complete absence of manners - it was almost like being in France! I managed to keep Robbie out of Marks and Spencer's and as a reward I bought him a really nice book about GWR.

We had a pleasant journey back, Robbie started doing the speaking clock thing again, but I managed to distract him by explaining the reproductive arrangements for sheep. We saw a lot of sheep. Considering Robbie grew up in a rural area he doesn't know much. We enjoyed the day and I saw lots of interesting railway stuff, my favourite was a Class 37 DRS Tractor, it has a cute little face. I also saw some freight as it thundered through Milton Keynes, I am quite interested in freight trains.