Workshop

 On Friday I gave my inaugural academic paper to a Freight Transport History workshop at Reading University. As I have previously written prior to the event I was nervous, as I have never presented to such a gathering before. I should not have been worried; it was a very friendly event. It was a great opportunity to meet with other transport historians from the amateur and professional orbit. In some cases I can now put faces to authors that I had only previously read.

 There were also an interesting variety of papers presented. The opening paper concerning the history of containers was surprising as it emphasised how key cranes were to the development of containerisation. Even in the first part of the 20^th Century mobile cranes could not cope with the weight of a container. I also enjoyed the presentation concerning canal history a subject about which I know little and the way that Sheffield’s steel works had developed in relation to transport links. Of course a paper on beer and how it was transported prior to World War 1 is always going to be popular.

It was great to have the support of Laura at the workshop; she certainly lowered the average age of the attendance and the amount of hair that everybody possessed. I was pleased with my paper. It was one of those cases where the amount of practice that I had done was invaluable. Years ago I attended a course on effective presentations where the virtues of practice were emphasised, familiarity with the content just means more confidence in delivery. The paper was well received, and I have been invited to speak at another meeting as well as being encouraged to pursue my research further.

Remote academia can be quite lonely so it was great to be able to network with my peers, discuss ideas and receive encouragement. There was only one downside; I had to face the M1 on a Friday night.

Railway, of the small variety treat

Today I was up well before dawn to drive to Reading. The more observant of my readers may wonder why I arose so early as I only had to be at my Premier Inn in time for bed. That was because I had a treat waiting. One of my fellow students on the post-graduate course I have just completed invited me to see his model railway, and what a model. He lived in the Chiltern Hills in a large house that had a purpose converted annex to house the model railway that was his retirement present to himself.

It faithfully reproduced the area around Dundee in the early 1960’s, including the Tay Bridge, and off to the side a branch line to North Berwick. Everything was faithfully modelled although of course some liberties had to be taken with geography because of space. It is a good era to model as there was an eclectic mix of steam and diesel traction around at the time. With digital control of locomotives it is of course possible to operate multiple locomotives on the same track and perform complex operations. Indeed the layout can be used to simulate a summer Saturday in Dundee in real time!

Having observed for a time I was able to undertake some operations. Starting with goods train shunting in North Berwick yard, and graduating to passenger trains on the mainline. It was interesting how the model realistically conveyed the run-down nature of the railway of that era. It was possible to identify actual locations on the model from period photos.

So I had a really pleasurable reminisce over lunch and an opportunity to observe and operate a fine model.

One question I have for the Wrights, we were perusing the timetable for 1963 and there was a through train from Glasgow to Colchester. Our only thought was that it could be for the army. Any other thoughts?

Paddington

One of the pleasures of having grand children is that you can do things that might be a little awkward for a retired couple. So today we were able with an easy conscience to visit the cinema with said grand children to see Paddington 2. It is a lovely story about the eponymous bear and his adventures after being framed for a burglary by the delightfully dastardly Hugh Grant.

The film achieved that difficult balance of being entertaining for young and old alike. Millie who sat next to me certainly had to be consoled as she was in floods of tears at one particularly dramatic point. For us oldies it was an opportunity to spot all the leading British actors who had cameo roles. I was surprised to see that Judy Dench was not amongst the cast!

I was also a lovely cinema experience at the Everyman in the centre of Leeds. As it was an early showing the cinema was not very busy and the settee like seats were very comfortable. It was also be great to be accompanied by Paddington who was brought along by Martha. He must have been the one who ate all the popcorn.

Although it was only five shopping weekend before Christmas we had a smooth journey into Leeds thanks to the new park and ride scheme on the Eastern outskirts of the city. It saved a lot of hassle and a considerable amount on parking fees. A model of how driving into cities should be discouraged.

Multiple Rainbows

A very simple, but amazing blog today. I was undertaking a routine walk to the supermarket to buy some cottage cheese; yes this blog hits the highlights!! The sky to the north was very black and that to the south comprised a wintery sunshine. Something made me look round, and I saw these fantastic rainbows. Sometimes nature just surprises.

Antarctic Survival

I had a bright idea today; the forecast was horrendous for low temperatures, heavy rain showers, and strong winds. Ahh I thought the ideal day for a walk along the old railway track the ten miles to Ravenscar. Particularly as much of the walk is very exposed to the elements. By now you are starting to think that I may have lost some of my marbles.

No I have perfect reasoning, over the last few months we have bought all the outdoor gear for our trip to the Antarctic, this includes multiple layers of clothing some of which provides wicking. No, I don’t know what that means either. There are waterproof trousers, neck gaiters, two hats, and gloves that can be submerged and still stay warm and waterproof. The problem is that I have tested none of this gear. So today was the ideal opportunity as well as enabling me to get some fresh air.

It was great; at times it blew hail straight into my face. The kit absolutely did its job; I stayed warm and dry on the interior. It did also exposed some problems. Firstly I am not sure that I was wearing the neck gaiter the right way up, also it is not waterproof so you have to keep it buttoned under my outer layer. Secondly the exposed part of the face around the mouth and chin need greater protection, and lastly my nose kept running. Apart from the last these are all solvable.

So a successful first test, also I reasoned that conditions in the Antarctic would not be as extreme. I think it unlikely that we will be led onto the ice with such wind and precipitation. So in this instance Ravenscar on a November day was far more extreme than the Antarctic.

Mind you I was very glad to see Marion at the end of the walk with a warm car.