If you like horror stories read on!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/01/13/ccrail113.xml
Showing posts with label Virgin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Virgin. Show all posts
Thursday, 13 March 2008
Wednesday, 12 March 2008
All Change 22.11.07
One of my jobs today involved sorting out Robbie's piles. Don't panic, I'm not talking about haemorrhoids! He deposits piles of magazines and assorted clutter all over the place. I found myself leafing though his railway magazines looking at the articles marking the end of Virgin Cross Country. The thing I am going to miss most is the uniform, I particularly liked the long coats the men wore in the winter, they looked really good. Robbie showed me some pictures of the interim Cross Country uniform, there is nothing especially wrong with it but it is so uninspiring. I hope they will eventually come up with something with a bit more personality. Silverlink also bit the dust a couple of weeks ago, those of you with long memories will remember that I once described their uniform reminiscent of the austerity and menace of the old Soviet Union. Our local station was run by Silverlink and it is now the responsibility of London Midland. As far as I can tell the only thing to have changed so far is the name badge, but we live in hope! I feel a bit sorry for London Midland because some of their employees have frighteningly lugubrious faces and however splendid their uniform they will still look like boarder guards!
Anyway on the subject of coats, Robbie has been on a shopping spree. He has almost as many coats as he has shoes, but he didn't have one that offered sufficient protection from the arctic winds at Northampton station. That was his excuse anyway. He arrived home proudly wearing his new wool coat and I must admit that he looked very smart. We had to pop to the supermarket when he got home, and as I watched him walking across the car park in his new coat I realised that he bore a striking resemblance Paddington Bear. All that was missing was the hat!
Anyway on the subject of coats, Robbie has been on a shopping spree. He has almost as many coats as he has shoes, but he didn't have one that offered sufficient protection from the arctic winds at Northampton station. That was his excuse anyway. He arrived home proudly wearing his new wool coat and I must admit that he looked very smart. We had to pop to the supermarket when he got home, and as I watched him walking across the car park in his new coat I realised that he bore a striking resemblance Paddington Bear. All that was missing was the hat!
Sleeping Beauty 11.11.07
When Robbie told me he wanted to go out 'playing trains' yesterday he assured me that I would have his undivided attention today. By the time I went to bed last night it was almost 3am and Robbie stayed up until 4am. I know it sounds mad, but somehow it was important for him to be awake to mark the end of the Virgin Cross Country franchise and the transfer to Arriva. I awoke fairly early this morning but despite my best efforts Robbie was doing a very convincing Sleeping Beauty impression and it seemed that the only response I was likely to get from him was the occasional grunt! Eventually nature achieved what I could not and after a trip to the bathroom Robbie made a detour to the kitchen and returned with a most welcome cup of tea.
He settled back into bed and reached for his book about Virgin Trains, and with a big sigh he began to thumb through the pages crammed with so many memories. It seemed that Robbie must have been kidnapped by aliens who had left me with Victor Meldrew's younger brother instead. We had all the ingredients for a very challenging day! By late afternoon I had to beg Robbie to give me half an hour or so without mentioning the word train!
He settled back into bed and reached for his book about Virgin Trains, and with a big sigh he began to thumb through the pages crammed with so many memories. It seemed that Robbie must have been kidnapped by aliens who had left me with Victor Meldrew's younger brother instead. We had all the ingredients for a very challenging day! By late afternoon I had to beg Robbie to give me half an hour or so without mentioning the word train!
The End - 2am 11.11.2007
If you chopped Robbie in half (and believe me there have been times when I've been tempted!) I think you would find the words Cross Country running through him like a stick of rock. He has loved working for Virgin and he was proud of all the achievements of Cross Country, so the end of the franchise is a big deal to him. He has spoken of little else for weeks - and if you know Robbie you will know that he can fit far more words into a minute than most people!
On Friday he went to a retirement event at Kidderminster where he met lots of old friends from the railways. He was late home - again, but when he got back he went on and on and on about the end of an era and all the people who were moving on. Finally he fell asleep, but as soon as he woke up he was droning on about it all over again. Distraction techniques worked for a while, but you can never stop Robbie talking for very long and in the end I gave up. He was still going full steam ahead on the demise of Virgin Cross Country and I was contemplating the bedroom ceiling thinking that a coat of paint was long overdue, not to mention a new lampshade and curtains. My silence must have lulled him into a false sense of security because I was dragged back to the subject of railways when he asked if I would drive to Coventry station to pick him up in the middle of the night. He must be mad, I wouldn't drive to Coventry station in broad daylight, it's the pits, and nothing on earth would induce me to drive there in the middle of the night! He wanted to travel on the very last Central train, but he couldn't get home from Coventry.
On Friday he went to a retirement event at Kidderminster where he met lots of old friends from the railways. He was late home - again, but when he got back he went on and on and on about the end of an era and all the people who were moving on. Finally he fell asleep, but as soon as he woke up he was droning on about it all over again. Distraction techniques worked for a while, but you can never stop Robbie talking for very long and in the end I gave up. He was still going full steam ahead on the demise of Virgin Cross Country and I was contemplating the bedroom ceiling thinking that a coat of paint was long overdue, not to mention a new lampshade and curtains. My silence must have lulled him into a false sense of security because I was dragged back to the subject of railways when he asked if I would drive to Coventry station to pick him up in the middle of the night. He must be mad, I wouldn't drive to Coventry station in broad daylight, it's the pits, and nothing on earth would induce me to drive there in the middle of the night! He wanted to travel on the very last Central train, but he couldn't get home from Coventry.
He got more twitchy as the day went on and in the end I had to let him out because he was driving me mad. I left him and his camera at Northampton Station where he intended to have a good look at two engines on a special charter. After that he headed to Birmingham to watch the last Virgin Cross Country services depart - sad crank! Of course he couldn't resist having one last ride so by the time he arrived home it was Sunday and I was struggling to stay awake! I stayed up because I knew he would be feeling sad when he got home. I listened to all his talk about the evening and I admired his photos, but in the end he made me sad - by announcing that he had to be at the station by 6am on Monday to see a special train. I will leave you to imagine my response, but I think I conveyed my feelings adequately!!
Tuesday, 4 March 2008
Big Ideas, Little Substance. 20.07.07
Robbie was in the dog house this morning, I was so cross with him. I was too tired to finish reading Rail last night so I hid it so that I could finish reading it this morning. I thought he had forgotten about it, but when I went to get it this morning he had already taken it!!
It is no surprise that the Arriva take-over of CrossCountry made the front cover of Rail this week. The news article inside makes grim reading. How can Arriva possibly have won the franchise when they are unable to explain how they are going to do many of the thinks that they promise. They are unable to explain how they will provide hot food to all passengers from a trolley. They say they are going to remove one disabled toilet from each set, leaving two toilets. As far as I know all toilets on Voyagers are classed as disabled toilets and they are all used by everyone. This will provide more seating and luggage space, fine but do the maths! These are not huge spaces so it will not create a huge amount of extra seating or luggage space. I have travelled on voyagers enough to know that the toilets are well used and removing a third of them will create a number of problems. When considering this we need to accept that it is fairly common for one or more toilets on a train to be out of order and this will put further pressure on an already reduced number of toilets. Even if the disabled seating is within easy reach of the remaining toilets, many people with disabilities are not in wheelchairs and may have to walk further to reach the toilet. Many people who are non disabled need to use the toilet more often than average including some elderly people, pregnant women, young children and a number of other groups. If they have to walk further to reach the toilet there is more potential to trip over luggage or stumble due to train movement. They may have to queue and will therefore be at risk of stumbling if they have to stand while the train is moving, there is also a risk of a different type of accident if insufficient toilets are available.
There are so many other issues where their promises lack substance, it gives me a distinct feeling of Alice in Wonderland when Iread about it, or maybe it is more like the Emperor's New Clothes, because it is all about impossible promises. It is all smoke and mirrors. Rail Magazine included a picture of Andy Cooper of Arriva and confidently announced that he is to be the Managing Director of Cross Country, but it seems that they were incorrect about that, it appears he is dealing with the transition. If that picture of Andy Cooper was of an aspiring politician seeking election, he would have lost my vote instantly. There was something of Tony Blair about him, all artificial earnestness and spin, and why ever did he allow himself to be photographed in that hand wringing pose - it is the CrossCountry employees who have every right to ring their hands in despair. Andy Cooper was at a CrossCountry meeting today and the word is that he didn't make much of an impression, apparently he has all the Charisma of a wet fish!
It is no surprise that the Arriva take-over of CrossCountry made the front cover of Rail this week. The news article inside makes grim reading. How can Arriva possibly have won the franchise when they are unable to explain how they are going to do many of the thinks that they promise. They are unable to explain how they will provide hot food to all passengers from a trolley. They say they are going to remove one disabled toilet from each set, leaving two toilets. As far as I know all toilets on Voyagers are classed as disabled toilets and they are all used by everyone. This will provide more seating and luggage space, fine but do the maths! These are not huge spaces so it will not create a huge amount of extra seating or luggage space. I have travelled on voyagers enough to know that the toilets are well used and removing a third of them will create a number of problems. When considering this we need to accept that it is fairly common for one or more toilets on a train to be out of order and this will put further pressure on an already reduced number of toilets. Even if the disabled seating is within easy reach of the remaining toilets, many people with disabilities are not in wheelchairs and may have to walk further to reach the toilet. Many people who are non disabled need to use the toilet more often than average including some elderly people, pregnant women, young children and a number of other groups. If they have to walk further to reach the toilet there is more potential to trip over luggage or stumble due to train movement. They may have to queue and will therefore be at risk of stumbling if they have to stand while the train is moving, there is also a risk of a different type of accident if insufficient toilets are available.
There are so many other issues where their promises lack substance, it gives me a distinct feeling of Alice in Wonderland when Iread about it, or maybe it is more like the Emperor's New Clothes, because it is all about impossible promises. It is all smoke and mirrors. Rail Magazine included a picture of Andy Cooper of Arriva and confidently announced that he is to be the Managing Director of Cross Country, but it seems that they were incorrect about that, it appears he is dealing with the transition. If that picture of Andy Cooper was of an aspiring politician seeking election, he would have lost my vote instantly. There was something of Tony Blair about him, all artificial earnestness and spin, and why ever did he allow himself to be photographed in that hand wringing pose - it is the CrossCountry employees who have every right to ring their hands in despair. Andy Cooper was at a CrossCountry meeting today and the word is that he didn't make much of an impression, apparently he has all the Charisma of a wet fish!
Waste Not Want Not 13.07.07
I glanced at the bedside clock, it was 02.24 and I still had not gone to sleep. I had been tired when I went to bed but my brain wouldn't switch off and as I had settled down to sleep a new thought had crossed my mind and now I was too angry to sleep. The thought was what happens to all the wasted uniform when a rail franchise is lost? I started to do the maths and even with fairly low estimates it was clear that we are talking about a huge waste of money. When you then factor in all the other costs associated with rebranding from new train livery to stationary the amount must be unthinkable. No wonder they want to massively increase rail fares. The more I thought about it the angrier I became, an obscene amount of money is wasted each time a franchise changes hands, how can we possibly justify that when there are other fare more important needs that cannot be met due to lack of resources. I must have fallen asleep at some point, but I awoke when the alarm clock burst in on my dreams an I felt as if I had hardly slept. I learned most about economics from my grandmother who like most of her generation had known true poverty as a child and had endured the hardships of two world wars as an adult. She understood cost and value far better than anyone who claims to be an economist, she thought it was wicked to waste resources (as I found to my cost when I didn't want to eat my dinner). In the present when we are so conscious of our global footprint waste on the scale described above is unforgivable.
Beyond Reason 12.07.07
I am rarely speechless and to be lost for words twice in the same week is something I have never experienced before. The news about the Cross Country franchise just won't sink in because it is so perverse. I have tried so hard to make sense of it, I have looked at the DFT website and various other sites and I have made some interesting observations but there is nothing to make sense of this decision. I looked hard at the photo of Rail Minister Tom Harris hoping that I could communicate my thoughts to him telepathically (because they are not printable!). Suddenly I realised that he bears a stunning resemblance to Jeffrey Archer - so that adds to his credibility big style!! Actually his own track record would lead you to much the same conclusion, I wonder if he has ever seen a train.
Thinking about credibility led my thoughts to Chris Gibb MD of Cross Country Trains, and what will happen to him. I don't suppose Arriva got him when they got the franchise and he will be a big loss. It is rare in the rail industry to find someone articulate enough to present rail information clearly in the media is rare, it is even more rare to find someone articulate who's looks do not make the viewing public flee for cover. He has quite an interesting face. Most important of all he has done a good job and he has the respect and loyalty of employees.
It seems to me that the government have got this whole rail franchise thing wrong. I know people say to re-nationalise the railways, but I remember travelling to and from London in the days of BR when I was a student, it was grim to say the least. I think more of a true privatisation is the answer. With the present set up there is so much uncertainty and franchises are relatively short in the region of 9-10 years. When you account for the time to put the bids together - many months, the uncertainty and waiting time - more months, the limbo time leading up to the transfer and the induction period for the new company. That represents huge costs and something close to two years of wasted unproductive time and it can't possibly represent good customer service or good value (not to mention good sense). If you compare that with the way the government manages PFI contracts for schools, hospitals etc. the inconsistencies are obvious. They award contracts for 20 or even 30 years, to allow the provider to recoup investment via charges, lettings and provision of ancillary services. Admittedly their track record with PFI is not great, but the principle is the same. Imagine what could be achieved if much longer franchises were awarded with clear targets and a defined minimum standard. Hitting targets would trigger a financial gain for the company, but the company would only loose the franchise the minimum standards were not met. It would make so much more sense.
Anyway I have been trawling the web for reactions to the franchise announcement and I have been amazed by the support for Virgin while nobody has a good word for Arriva. Here is a selection of the comments I found and also a couple of links to other sites
perfectly sensible decision. brilliant thinking to stop virgins contract - who have invested in new stock, new facilities and have made train travel enjoyable, to replace them with manky rolling stock from the late 70's - reduce the bogs on board, take the shops off the trains, cram more people in the trains and charge more. what a brilliant move to increase the number of people choosing public transport.
i've had the arriva experience out of manchester. the decor would instil a migraine in a dead donkey. the trolley service was awful and the train was packed solid after 2 stops.
looks like i'll keep driving my land rover - it might be old and a bit frayed, but it's more reliable and cheaper than the trains
If Arriva run trains like they run buses in Bristol and other close locations then, Virgin will be back next time.
Arriva should never have been let near another railway company after the mess they made of running services in the North of England a few years back.
Living in exeter i have used this route frequently for years and virgin have put on one of the best train services in the country, and one of the best i have lived under... This entire decision seems completely and utterly idiotic.. Virgin have had clean trains, great staff, tolerable buffet and pretty good ticket prices if you can find the deals..
Arriva on the other hand I had the joy of living in wales and suffering there intolerable service for a while and never again... Guess flybe have just picked up a new air traveller...
That Arriva probably the worst of existing rail franchise operators wins the Cross Country franchise is yet another farcicle decision from the most farcical of governmental organisation the D(a)fT who come out of the swamp every so often to destroy yet another aspect of a steadily deteriorating rail service. They took over from the SRA and make a declaration ask for comments, ignore the customer comments and sink back into the swamp. only to rise again and tell everyone that their original proposal is the one they will go forward with. They then ask for bids, but D(a)fT do not tell us what the rival bids were so how are we to know we are getting good (best) value, D(a)fT are judge and jury in their own case. They have defined the franchise and ignore public concerns about it. Then when it goes bottom up they hide back in the civil service anonymity swamp.
http://forums.atomic-systems.com/viewtopic.php?p=848254&CUTHERE=6c95174ecf3fd7ba881463c7cacabdd2
http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1078142007
Thinking about credibility led my thoughts to Chris Gibb MD of Cross Country Trains, and what will happen to him. I don't suppose Arriva got him when they got the franchise and he will be a big loss. It is rare in the rail industry to find someone articulate enough to present rail information clearly in the media is rare, it is even more rare to find someone articulate who's looks do not make the viewing public flee for cover. He has quite an interesting face. Most important of all he has done a good job and he has the respect and loyalty of employees.
It seems to me that the government have got this whole rail franchise thing wrong. I know people say to re-nationalise the railways, but I remember travelling to and from London in the days of BR when I was a student, it was grim to say the least. I think more of a true privatisation is the answer. With the present set up there is so much uncertainty and franchises are relatively short in the region of 9-10 years. When you account for the time to put the bids together - many months, the uncertainty and waiting time - more months, the limbo time leading up to the transfer and the induction period for the new company. That represents huge costs and something close to two years of wasted unproductive time and it can't possibly represent good customer service or good value (not to mention good sense). If you compare that with the way the government manages PFI contracts for schools, hospitals etc. the inconsistencies are obvious. They award contracts for 20 or even 30 years, to allow the provider to recoup investment via charges, lettings and provision of ancillary services. Admittedly their track record with PFI is not great, but the principle is the same. Imagine what could be achieved if much longer franchises were awarded with clear targets and a defined minimum standard. Hitting targets would trigger a financial gain for the company, but the company would only loose the franchise the minimum standards were not met. It would make so much more sense.
Anyway I have been trawling the web for reactions to the franchise announcement and I have been amazed by the support for Virgin while nobody has a good word for Arriva. Here is a selection of the comments I found and also a couple of links to other sites
perfectly sensible decision. brilliant thinking to stop virgins contract - who have invested in new stock, new facilities and have made train travel enjoyable, to replace them with manky rolling stock from the late 70's - reduce the bogs on board, take the shops off the trains, cram more people in the trains and charge more. what a brilliant move to increase the number of people choosing public transport.
i've had the arriva experience out of manchester. the decor would instil a migraine in a dead donkey. the trolley service was awful and the train was packed solid after 2 stops.
looks like i'll keep driving my land rover - it might be old and a bit frayed, but it's more reliable and cheaper than the trains
If Arriva run trains like they run buses in Bristol and other close locations then, Virgin will be back next time.
Arriva should never have been let near another railway company after the mess they made of running services in the North of England a few years back.
Living in exeter i have used this route frequently for years and virgin have put on one of the best train services in the country, and one of the best i have lived under... This entire decision seems completely and utterly idiotic.. Virgin have had clean trains, great staff, tolerable buffet and pretty good ticket prices if you can find the deals..
Arriva on the other hand I had the joy of living in wales and suffering there intolerable service for a while and never again... Guess flybe have just picked up a new air traveller...
That Arriva probably the worst of existing rail franchise operators wins the Cross Country franchise is yet another farcicle decision from the most farcical of governmental organisation the D(a)fT who come out of the swamp every so often to destroy yet another aspect of a steadily deteriorating rail service. They took over from the SRA and make a declaration ask for comments, ignore the customer comments and sink back into the swamp. only to rise again and tell everyone that their original proposal is the one they will go forward with. They then ask for bids, but D(a)fT do not tell us what the rival bids were so how are we to know we are getting good (best) value, D(a)fT are judge and jury in their own case. They have defined the franchise and ignore public concerns about it. Then when it goes bottom up they hide back in the civil service anonymity swamp.
http://forums.atomic-systems.com/viewtopic.php?p=848254&CUTHERE=6c95174ecf3fd7ba881463c7cacabdd2
http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1078142007
A Bad Decision 10.07.07
There are some days when it is very hard to face the day with a smile and today was just such a day. It was about 7.14am and we were embarking on another morning in the mad house, and with less than half an hour before Sam and I needed to leave the house the stress levels were already sky high. The phone rang and as soon as I heard Robbie's voice I knew he was going to tell me that Virgin had lost the Cross Country franchise. He was gutted and I was gutted for him. You could not find anybody who loves their job more than Robbie does and he takes a real pride in the service the company provides. To him it feels so unfair, and even now having had all day to make sense of it, I feel as if there will to be another announcement to say it was all a big mistake, but of course it's not going to happen.
I'm just an ordinary person, what do I know about trains - not a lot (but probably more than the DFT). However I am a woman and a wife so I know when the wool is being pulled over my eyes and I know a lie when I come across it. I also know that value and service is about far more than price. Another thing about being a wife, I can read between the lines, in fact looking at today's press release, I think my dog could read between the lines! To borrow a phrase from Jim Royal - customer service my ****!! Those chinless wonders at the DFT will have plenty of time to observe the consequences of their decision, but of course by then they will be meddling with something else that works to see if they can come up with another 'success' on the scale of Worst Late Western! If I could get my hands on those lame brains I would explain economics so simply that even they would understand. If you buy something from the pound shop you should expect to end up with tat!
I'm just an ordinary person, what do I know about trains - not a lot (but probably more than the DFT). However I am a woman and a wife so I know when the wool is being pulled over my eyes and I know a lie when I come across it. I also know that value and service is about far more than price. Another thing about being a wife, I can read between the lines, in fact looking at today's press release, I think my dog could read between the lines! To borrow a phrase from Jim Royal - customer service my ****!! Those chinless wonders at the DFT will have plenty of time to observe the consequences of their decision, but of course by then they will be meddling with something else that works to see if they can come up with another 'success' on the scale of Worst Late Western! If I could get my hands on those lame brains I would explain economics so simply that even they would understand. If you buy something from the pound shop you should expect to end up with tat!
Monday, 3 December 2007
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.
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.
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