Public Holiday – It’s Raining but does not matter

Today was the last proper public holiday of the year; I am not counting Christmas and Boxing Day, as they are festivities rather than public holiday. When I awoke this morning looking forward to a day relaxing I could already her the rain beating on the window. This was to prove the pattern for the day until mid-afternoon when the rain abated.

Now it is often said that this is typical public holiday weather, but I think that this is a typical case of perception over reality. We tend to think and hence remember extremes of weather rather than the norm. From my memory the public holiday weekends this year have been rather good, and by and large we have been able to get out and about. However we over emphasise those days when we stare out of a rain streaked window wishing we could be some where else, just as we remember the sun dominated holidays of our youth. The reality was I think somewhat different.

Actually this is not the last public holiday for us as we are travelling to the United States at the end of the week and so will benefit from Labor Day next Monday. Hopefully it will be a sun soaked day on Shelter Island.

While on the subject of public holidays now that I am retired they no longer have the same significance. Really a public holiday Monday is just like any other day, and crucially it does not matter so much if the weather is bad, we can always reschedule what we are doing to another day. Another benefit of retirement.

Walk the Line – Folsom Prison Blues No

Today I walked the line; it was beautiful, inspiring and useful to my hobby. No I was not emulating Johnny Cash, rather I was walking the railway line between Levisham and Goathland through the beautiful Newtondale. Why was I walking this, well as part of my training to be a signalman on the NYMR it is great to know the features of the track through which the trains that you are controlling pass, where are the bridges, crossings etc…. The line between the Levisham and Goathland Signal Boxes is approximately eight miles long passing through stunning countryside.

It was a privilege to walk this line as today the scenery was absolutely stunning, the heather on the moors was in full bloom, and apart from seeing two track workers I was absolutely alone apart of course from the passing steam trains. The blackberries were just showing red, another two weeks and I would have been able to pick an absolute feast. There was a plethora of mushrooms, traditional looking and some that looked decidedly dodgy. I gave those a wide berth. During much of the walk I was accompanied by the sound of running water as there is a small river following the course of the railway.

Today was warm and dry, but was I walked through the loneliness of the valley I speculated on the rail workers of a bygone era who would have had to inspect the line in the depths of winter, often in several feet of snow. I also thought about how I was treading the path of history. This railway line had opened in the 1830s and developed by Robert Stephenson one of the towering figures of pioneer railway development. It was used to transport goods to and from the port of Whitby, and prior to the development of the road network was a lifeline for the small communities of this part of North Yorkshire. And often in the countryside there would have been no changes from that era.

Interestingly the line has never carried more passengers than it does now. People flock to use it, to view the great scenery; to travel back in time hauled by vintage steam locomotives travelling between lovingly preserved stations. It represents a bygone age that people love to explore. It also provides a great deal of pleasure amongst those who are operating it, amongst whom I count myself one. I would have not had the privilege of this great walk other wise. So today I walked the line, from Levisham to Goathland.

Only in England

Superficially this blog is for you transport nerds, Laura you know who I am talking about. But together they illustrate the mess that the UK’s transport policy is in.

Firstly I read an encouraging announcement, in the West Midlands a train station has been built to serve Coventry City football club’s and Wasp Rugby Club’s Rioch Stadium. This seems great news until you read further on in the announcement; the station will be closed on match days. Why, because the trains on the line only have a 75-seat capacity, and that there will be no longer trains in the foreseeable future. So we have wasted money on new transport infrastructure, there is obviously no joined up approach.

Next on our local TV news they announced the building of a new station at Low Moor in Bradford, with the objective of getting commuters out of their cars and onto the train, thus relieving congestion. A laudable effort, then as almost an aside the reporter said that one train an hour will stop there. Let me be clear that sort of frequency is not going to attract the majority of car owners. They will require a comparable flexibility that they enjoy in their car. Again not a joined up approach in transport planning and provision.

The BBC is broadcasting a series about railways in Mumbai, and tonight one of the presenters visited the carriage maintenance workshops. He commented on the numbering system that clearly showed how old the carriages are. With a shocked voice he said that some could be 25 years old. Well I have news for him, some of the high speed trains on the East Coast Mainline between York and London were built in the mid-seventies so are 40 years old.

I conclude that there is very little realistic infrastructure planning, and that in some ways are railways are behind those in India. It could only be in England.

A Wonderful Park

At the weekend we went to see my son and family in West Yorkshire. It turned out to be a really warm weekend, ideal for a picnic and time outside. So we spent Sunday at one of the gems of West Yorkshire, the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. This is a huge park south of Wakefield in the grounds of Bretton Hall. I think that it came about because of the area’s links with probably the two most famous Twentieth Century British sculptors Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth.

The park contains tens of sculptures set seemingly at random around the parkland. They range from massive constructions to some quite delicate works. It is great because the works are so accessible, although there are notices to keep off the sculptures the many children in the park including my grandchildren widely ignore this. But hey they will remember the works far more by actively exploring the textures and structures of the sculptures. Unwittingly they also form great play structures, one sculpture had loads of nooks and crannies in which the little ones could hide and surprise each other.

All of the sculptures were produced in the last one hundred years, so there was no evidence of any plinths, rather structures placed direct in the parkland. Most were of some sort of metal, some in metals that were coarse and unfinished. Some were recognisable as figures or animals. Others seemed to me were just randomly distributed and welded together. One particularly interesting sculpture was the roots of a tree recreated in weathered bronze; another was a number of steps set in coal.

This provokes interesting thoughts, the classic question being, “Is this art”. Well it is not classic art the sort that would be in a white walled museum. But it does provoke a great deal of thought, it is interesting and stimulating, and it provides pleasure to young and old alike. It is as art should be, very accessible, and hugely stimulating. So importantly it works.

We had a great day helped by beautiful warm weather.

9 Myths of Retirement

Yesterday I read a blog that wrote about the nine myths of being self-employed. This got me thinking so here I present almost a year on the 9 myths of retirement.

Myth #1 You will have more time

If you were a busy person when you worked you will be busy person in retirement. My diary has never been more full, the difference now is that rather than interminable meetings it is now full of the things that I want to do.

Myth #2 You will miss work

This is true but to a different extent, I miss the people who I worked with, I do not miss the work itself. Even with friendship I keep in touch with people, I just have to be more organised about it.

Myth #3 Only paid work is rewarding

On the contrary the voluntary activities that Marion and I undertake are much more rewarding. When we return from them we have an inner glow. This is not because we are philanthropic because some of the activities are for our own pleasure.

Myth #4 Retirement is expensive

Firstly all those sandwiches and coffees bought at work are removed from expenditure. You no longer commute, and for us there is much less food waste. I also walk more rather than using the car.

Myth #5 Your mind will atrophy

Quite the reverse whereas at work you concentrate on one activity, now I am free to investigate all types of things. Working on the NYMR brings new challenges of learning rules and regulations. Writing my blog has increased my breadth of thought if not the quality of the output.

Myth #6 You will spend more time in bed

No you spend a different time in bed, we tend to go to bed later and get up later.

Myth #7 You will catch-up on those boxed sets

I thought this. But in fact our backlog is greater than ever. This I cannot explain except to say that our viewing habits have not changed.

Myth #8 You will get to the end of your “to do” list

Absolutely not the list of things that Marion wants me to do grows exponentially with the number of things that I complete.

Myth #9 You will have more holidays

This in our case is not a myth but is absolutely true! In retirement I need more holidays.