The sublime Gadget Hackwrench aside, I've stuck to the Brits.
America opens up the likes of Melissa Joan Hart and, well...
The sublime Gadget Hackwrench aside, I've stuck to the Brits.
America opens up the likes of Melissa Joan Hart and, well...
Drop a crush from your youth.
(Have four, I wasn't fussy. Can't you tell I grew up in the 'nineties?)
...and, of course, trains.
Nice.
Berlin.
Hamburg.
Minatur Wunderland, of course, a joy.
A little bit of Germany serves you well. ๐ฉ๐ช
Iโm always saying this
It would be rude, of course, not to patronise the incredible TfW dining service tonight round off the week... ๐
Marvellous.
Today, day four: Edinburgh to London to Salisbury to Newport and back to Crewe.
Edinburgh, naturally, as moody as ever. โค๏ธ
Day three: Aberdeen and back down to Edinburgh.
Kyle was OK, too. ๐
...seriously stunning...
The scenery was stunning....
Day two: Out to Kyle of Lochalsh (with a cheeky walk over to Skye).
I've been on my travels.
1719 rail miles, lots of lovely scenery and some jolly good food. Yeah, it's been grand. ๐
Day one: To Inverness:
The idea of, at some point in the future, being a set of bones that sets gas board workers and police officers into such a state of befuddlement as only the intrepid local clergy can solve is a distinctly appealing one.
"Come an' have a go if yer think yer..."
They're usually a help. ๐
Decided to bag my first EMR 'Aurora'.
Pleasant enough. Little different to your typical IET, though admittedly the seats are a bit better.
First Class catering offer still a post-COVID embarrassment, unless you have a thing for New York Deli or egg mayo (I don't).
Yeah. So so. ๐
Been a right old grump today. So, shift over, there's only one thing for it...
Trains.
This is likely to be my last trip aboard one of Chiltern's Mk3 sets and is, therefore, my last trip aboard a scheduled Mk3-operated service in England.
Managed one at Truro once!
Fun fact:
Once you hear the theme to Catchphrase in Thin Lizzy's 'The Boys Are Back In Town' or the Blankety Blank theme in Wham's 'Club Tropicana', finding music from British TV quiz shows in popular songs is quite the wormhole to fall into...
Have a train.
The struggle is real...
I hope he sticks it out. Buddy Holly and his gang grew tired of touring randomly around Minnesota and North Dakota with no logical pattern and we know how that ended up...
...with a *really* long song.
Seeing out the last vestiges of 2025 daylight in my beloved York.
Happy New Year, folks.
Suppose it's better than having a goose smashing through her back door, amirite?!
Fnarr.
It says something about the state of the world that I can brutally assault my ears with these 1998 episodes of #TOTP and still float into a dreamy nostalgic utopia of terracotta wallpaper and Ellesse sweaters...
...as so capably modelled by your humble scribe in, by remarkable coincidence, 1998.
Anyway, I'm sure everybody has strong opinions on what constitutes a good railway station tree, so feel free to argue amongst yourselves about the accuracy of my scoring. ๐
It beats all the usual topics, anyway...
Until next year (maybe), goodnight London, and Happy Christmas.