An account of my involvement in an ‘Unhappy birthday, Elon’ event yesterday, complete with photos.
Yesterday was Elon Musk’s birthday, and activities had been organized in various places to make it an unhappy one for him. I took part in the event in London, outside the Tesla dealership in Park Royal.
THERE AND BACK
I caught the 7:42 train from King’s Lynn to London King’s Cross. I had been speculating over the possibility of travelling on the Metropolitan line to Rayner’s Lane and then going back down the Piccadilly line to Park Royal, but an announcement to the effect that the Metropolitan was experiencing delays saw me change plans and go the direct route along the Piccadilly. I arrived early, and did my best to assist with the setup. I did not stay hugely long, and was back home in time to catch most of the T20I between the England and India women’s teams. Most of the time I was there was spent with a sign urging passing motorists to “HONK IF YOU HATE ELON” – and quite a few did so.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Here are my photographs starting at King’s Lynn Station and ending with a distant view of Ely Cathedral on the return train journey…
This arch is part of the remnants of a viaduct that carried what is now the Hammersmith and City line by way of a station named Hammersmith Grove Road to Ravenscourt Park for the run to Richmond. Part of the displayA giant ‘unhappy birthday card’The Tesla sign and a protest sign in the same shot.I was delighted to get this picture of the name ‘Covent Garden’ picked out in tiling.
An account of a problematic start to this year’s Scottish holdiay, courtesy of LNER. Also a photo gallery of pictures all taken at various stages of the journey.
I am now ensconced in a tiny hamlet named Achosnich in the far west of the Ardnamurchan Peninsula, which is itself the westernmost past of mainland Britain, where I and my parents are having a holiday around my 50th birthday. The day itself is Saturday, for which I have already scheduled a small post which will come out as near as can be scheduled precisely 50 years after my birth. This post would normally have been entitled ‘Getting There’, but as will become clear this process has been somewhat less straightforward than it should have been.
THE BEST LAID PLANS OF MICE AND MEN…
Up until about 11:30AM yesterday, for all that the day of my birthday had meant a Sunday to Sunday holiday booking and thus travel and the most unreliable day for using public transport, I was feeling pleased with how things were progressing. I had booked from Peterborough to Crianlarich, the closest place to our final destination that I could sensibly book to, and to guard against choppy waters in respect of the opening leg of the journey had opted for the safe option of the 9:25 bus from Lynn to Peterborough, rather than the 10:25 which would have had to run very late to get me in trouble, or to not run altogether. A clear run on the bus saw at Peterborough Station with comfortably over an hour until the train on which I was booked was due, so I purchased some light refreshments and killed time in the station cafeteria, before checking the departure information screen, still with masses of time to spare…
…GANG AFT AGLEY
…it was that look at the departure information screen that blew my travel plans sky high. There in big red lettering against the 12:18 to Edinburgh Waverley was the dread word “CANCELLED”, along with a perfunctory line about a faulty train. Fortunately my parents were not by the point irretrievably committed, and we were able to arrange for me to get the 13:18 to Edinburgh, on which I had established that my ticket would still be valid, since the cancellation was entirely the fault of LNER, and they would pick me up there and we would go together in their car to be a place they had booked that was between Edinburgh and our final destination. There were a few problems around Edinburgh, but we got to where we were staying overnight in time for latish supper. The journey to Edinburgh, save for it being a crowded train (Sunday is a light travelling day, but a combination of a cancelled train and the fact that Sunderland had won a play off final and with it promotion to the Premiership on the Saturday meant that space was at a premium) to the extent that I did not get a seat until Newark Northgate. However, by the time of the stretch between York and Edinburgh, which is where all the scenic stuff is I was not merely seated, I was in a window seat, albeit facing against the direction of travel.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Here is my photo gallery…
One of the reasons I quite like starting journeys to a holiday destination with the bus trip to Peterborough is that the crossing of the Great Ouse feels like the beginning of the holiday, since save for WNAG committee meetings pretty much all my daily life happens east of that river.After that the only place on the way to Peterborough that really offers photo ops is Wisbech, self styled “Capital of the Fenlands”.PeterboroughYork stationThis page and others like it come from a book that was one of the purchases I made with my birthday present from my friends at WNAGDarlington, the joint oldest passenger station in the world (the Stockton and Darlington route carried its first passengers in 1825, before when railways had been freight only).Durham is dominated by two massive buildings, this one……and this one.Newcastle is a city of bridges.A distant shot of a tram near Newcastle.A close crop showing only the tram and immediate surround.This is the town served by Alnmouth station, though the station itself is a tiny bit inland from the town.This long viaduct is in Berwick Upon Tweed, and it links England and Scotland.The Tweed will never rival the Tyne for bridges, but these are quite impressive.Is it possible to shoot a moving target when you yourself are in motion (and at some speed)? Yes, and this is defintive proof (but successes like this are rare).This is the clock at Edinburgh Waverley station.This establishment (see also previous picture) is directly opposite the Market Street exit from Waverley Station.From here on in the pictures were all taken from the back seat (non-drivers side) of my parents car.
An account of my involvement in the first Tesla Takedown event, outside the dealership at Park Royal, London. Features a special section on the magnificent Park Royal station.
Yesterday saw the first Tesla Takedown event take place outside the Tesla dealership at Park Royal in west London. I was one of the participants, and this post describes my day.
PREPARATION AND TRAVEL
The event was scheduled to start at 11AM, which necessitated catching the 7:42 ntrain from King’s Lynn and then changing to the Piccadilly line at King’s Cross. I had agreed to meet my sister at King’s Lynn station for the oublic transport element of the journey. Given the importance of making that train I planned to leave my house in North Lynn at 7AM to be absolutely sure that there was no possibility of missing it. The journey to King’s Cross was smooth, and the weather was so benign that had I been religiousI might have reckoned thAt someone up there was on our side and ipso facto opposed to Elon the Execrable. It prpved to be just as well that we had lots of time for the cross London journey on the Piccadilly lin, as this part of the journey saw us delayed. Ironically the problem area was what is usually the quickest portion of a journey onn the Piccadilly line, the non-stop run from Hammersmith to Acton Town (the District line has intermediate stops at Ravenscourt Park, Stamford Brook, Turnham Green and Chiswick Park, in a reversal of the situation between Baker Street and Wembley Park, where save for a stop at Finchley Road the Metroplitan line runs fast, while the Jubilee line stops everywhere). We had just past Turnham Green when the train stopped, and we were then told after a substantial pause that it would move forward before stopping suddenly and then rpoceeding slowly. There was then another unscheduled stoo before Acton Town, followed by precisely the same rigmarole, which was then followed by an announcement that the train would now terminate at South Harrow rather than going on to Rayners Lane. The last few stops of our journey passed without further incident. Park Royal is such a fine station that I am giving it a sectionof its own later in the post. Before moving on, here are the pictures taken between King’s Lynn and just before arrival at Park Roya…
I haven’t seen many churches with solar panels on the roof.
TAKING DOWN TESLA
The Tesla dealership is actually visible as you step out of Park Royal station, and it is located just off the A40 (the main road between London and Oxford – the Oxford Tube bus service was in evidence – four Oxford bound buses passed on our side, and although I did not observe them all probably as many coming into London came the other way. We garnered plenty of support from passing motorists. The principal organizer was asked to take down his handmade banner because it featured a swastika (no one actually seeing it could have interpreted it as supporting that ideology, and it features in the photo gallery at the end of this section, but apparently some drivers had seen the symbol and looked no further before contacting the police. The police were very friendly about it, and the banner was taken down. I spoke to a couple of media people who were covering the event for their publications. I left a little early, feeling the need to get home…
A version of the official publicity shot using the Tesla sign as background taken with my camera. I am in the red top, holding a placard made by my sister.
PARK ROYAL STATION
I noticed a number of very distinctive elements about Park Royal Station, including an ornamental tower that sits on top of a circular ticket hall, and a covered walkway which links Platform two (eastbound, towards central London) to the rest of the station. At the top of the tower are roundels on three sides with a concrete ‘shadow roundel’ on the fourth side. I have included on ‘rogue’ picture in this section, a picture of a ‘Middlesex shield’ which is not actually anything to do with the station but cannot be put anywhere else in this post. Enjoy this splendid example of station architecture…
A view of the platforms from the street.A close up of the tower roundel.A map showing times to each station on the Piccadilly line.
HOMEWARD BOUND
As suggested by the last pictures in the Park Royal gallery the Piccadilly line was srill not back on peak form by the time I was heading back. I did consider heading for Hanger Lane on the Central line, but although it is marked as walkable signage outside Park Royal station is non-existent, and so in the end I settled for Park Royal. By the time an eastbound train arrived it was jam packed, and I alighted at Ealing Common, where there was the possibility of a District line train (and change to the Hammersmith & City at Hammersmith), but in the event the next eastbound train was another Piccadilly line service, and had lots of space on it. I got to King’s Cross with a fair wait until the next train to King’s Lynn, and ate the sandwiches I had prepared in the morning while waiting for the train. The journey back to King’s Lynn was uneventful. Here are my remaining photos from the public transport part of the journey…
Another variation on the roundel theme – here there is a roundel shape in the glass, but it has not been coloured.A bronze statue of one of the greats of locomotive engineering, Nigel Gresley.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Of course I have been taking my usual kind of photographs as well…
A look at developments in the Boxing Day test match so far and large photo gallery.
At 11:30PM on Christmas Day UK time the Boxing Day test match at the MCG (between India and Australia – the fourth match of a five match series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy – on this occasion) got underway.
DAY ONE
Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. This meant that debutant Sam Konstas, at the age of 19, would not have long to wait for his first bat at the highest level, since he would be opening the innings alongside Usman Khawaja, precisely twice his age, and the biggest age gap between Australian openers since Syd Gregory, induced out of retirement at the age of 42 by a dispute that left Australia without six of its leading players, and Charlie Kellaway padded up together way back in 1912. Konstas selection also meant two other things: he was only the third ever test player known to be of Greek heritage after Xenophon Constantine Balaskas (South Africa) and Athanasios John Traicos (South Africa, and, after a record mid-career hiatus at that level of 22 years, Zimbabwe). Marcus Stoinis, also of Greek ancestry, has played limited overs cricket for Australia, but not test cricket, and Ari Karvelas has played for the land of his ancestors but not as yet for that of his birth, South Africa; and Australia had a top three all born abroad – Konstas (Greece), Khawaja (Pakistan) and Labuschagne (South Africa).
Konstas played a magnificent innings, showing no sign of any nerves. His use of ramp and scoop shots forced India to deploy run-saving fielders directly behind the wicket, which also meant reducing the slip cordon so as not to leave gaps in front of the wicket. Left arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja got him, with, as is so often the case with this bowler, a ball that didn’t actually do anything – it just went straight through and hit a pad in line with the stumps, for a 65 ball 60, which came out of an opening stand of 89. Khawaja completed a much more pedestrian 50, as did Labuschagne, and by the close of day one Steve Smith had also exceeded 50, and it was still there. Bumrah claimed three wickets in the course of the day, and without him Australia would have been well and truly out of sight by the end of this day. A score of 311-6 was still a good effort. Khawaja did not make my all time Ks XI, but his stocks have risen since August 2022, and he would merit consideration now, although I might still stick with Karunaratne. If Konstas’ debut knock was any sort of clue to his future career then he will displace Majid Khan as the right handed opener in that XI before he is done.
DAY TWO
I missed a fair amount of this day’s action due to the inconvenient time of its happening, but I did get to see both India’s best and worst moments of a day that ended with Australia in total control. Australia reached 474, Steve Smith reaching 140, and Pat Cummins boosting the score with a late 49. India lost two wickets fairly early, but then a fine third wicket stand developed between Yashavsi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli. Half an hour before the end of the day it looked fairly evenly poised, and Jaiswal looked set for a century. Then Jaiswal played one towards Cummins, not a fielder whose arm should be challenged, set off for the single, only for Kohli, ball watching, to ignore his partner’s call, which resulted in the end of Jaiswal for 82. Kohli himself then edged Boland to Carey, and nightwatch Akash Deep also failed to survive until the close. Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja were thus together at the end of the day, with India 167-5, still over 100 runs short of avoiding the follow-on. India will have their work cut out to emerge from this with anything other than a defeat, which will mean that only a win in Sydney will see them retain the BGT.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
There are a lot more pictures from Fakenham than usual in this gallery – I had misread a notice about library opening hours and had a lot of time to kill after work on Tuesday and did so doing a lot of walking.For all that it has Fakenham in its name this defunct train station is actually just into the adjoining village of Hempton.The last picture from Fakenham.This picture and the next were taken on Christmas Day morning – the rest of that gallery will appear in my next post.
An account of my return journey from my Cornish excursion, including a very large photo gallery.
In this post I bring the account of my Cornish sojourn to a close with an account of the return journey.
TIMING PROBLEMS
I was booked on the train leaving Plymouth at 3:15PM and had to be out of my hotel room by 10:30AM at the latest. My hope was that I could find somewhere to leave my bigger bag and spend much of the intervening time exploring Plymouth, but my hotel was not an option, being a place that did not offer full service, and Plymouth station proved not to offer that option either. Therefore I spent a long time in the vicinity of Plymouth station until I could board the train.
THE JOURNEY ITSELF
The train set off on time. My booked seat was on the wrong side of the train for the very scenic Newton Abbot – Exeter section, but the train was virtually empty, so I moved across temporarily, moving back as we arrived into Exeter St Davids (I don’t think the reservations were actually being enforced, but one can never be sure). The train arrived into Paddington as per schedule, and aside from the inevitable overcrowding my journey on the Hammersmith and City line to King’s Cross was also uneventful. The last potential problem area was Kings Cross train station where platform details are sometimes confirmed at the last minute. Fortunately on this occasion that did not happen, and I was settled in a seat near the front of the train in very good time. I was due to arrive at King’s Lynn at 9:00PM, and the train stuck to schedule. I made it back to my flat in decent time as well.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Here are my photographs from this day…
The dragonfly sculpture in San Sebastian Square.The expanse of Armada Way.It is not quite to my taste, but I can see the architectural merits of this building.The beginning of the seaside section of the route.
An account of my return journey from Penzance to Liskeard to bring the Penzance ‘series within a series’ to a conclusion.
I am writing this post from a hotel room in Plymouth where I am spending the last night of my excursion, due to a mix up over holiday dates (I booked my train tickets based on my parents flying out to Crete tomorrow, whereas they are actually doing so today). I will cover the events of today in considerable detail in a later post. Suffice it to say for the moment that I am happy with my room. For today I complete my coverage of my excursion to Penzance with an account of the return journey.
PENZANCE TO LISKEARD
While I was heading east from Penzance to Liskeard my sisters was heading westwards towards Plymouth, from where she would be picked up. In the event although my train reached Liskeard some while after hers reached Plymouth I was back at Fort Picklecombe first due to the shorter journey from Liskeard as compared to Plymouth. There were two short stoppages on my journey from Penzance to Liskeard, but overall it was a smooth run. I got some good pictures along the way.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Here are the photographs from the return journey…
The photos from the return journey start here.Truro Cathedral in as much of its glory as can be captured through a train window.
Starting a series-within-a-series about my trip to Penzance yesterday. This post deals with the train journey there.
The weather here in Cornwall is much improved from Sunday, an improvement which started yesterday afternoon, while I was visiting Penzance. This post is the first of three I shall be producing, covering Liskeard to the just before arrival in Penzance (Penzance station will feature as the starting point of the third post, about the journey back).
A COUPLE OF MINOR IRRITATIONS
My original plan had to been to catch the 10:33 out of St Germans, but unfortunately that had to be readjusted to catching the 11:12 out of Liskeard as we did not have time to get to St Germans for the earlier train. At Liskeard I joined a small queue for the ticket office (I was third in line at that stage, with two more people having joined the queue by the time the first customer had been dealt with, a mere trifle of 17 minutes later). I still had ample time after completing my purchase of a return to Penzance (fortunately the second customer in the queue was quick, as I was) to get down to the platform and take some pictures at platform level before the train came in (Liskeard has a slightly curious layout, with platforms 1 and 2 both being approached by way of a footbridge, while platform 3 which is the terminus of a minor branch line to Looe is approached by a separate footpath and is at 90 degree angle to the other two platforms).
A SMOOTH JOURNEY
The journey from Liskeard to Penzance passed smoothly, though with the usual frustrations for a photographer in motion of failed shots due to misjudging the precise moment at which to click the shutter to capture the target. I arrived into Penzance at about 12:50 and was ready for the next stage of the day, which will covered in my next post.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Here is the picture gallery for this post…
The final approach to Penzance (station building at front of shot).
An account of a trip on the Tamar Valley line, complete with large photo gallery.
Yesterday was the first full of my stay in Cornwall, and this post describes my main activity for that day. Today the weather is truly vile – high winds, lashings of rain and more recently to add to the mix fog as well so that the lighthouse that is usually clearly visible from my parents apartment is currently entirely shrouded from view.
A PLAN MISFIRES
I was dropped in Plymouth yesterday with a view to purchasing a Devon and Cornwall railcard (cost £12) to gain a 1/3 discount on all train fares in the region for a year. Unfortunately such a card can only be obtained if documentation relating to an address in the area can be produced and I had no such documentation. However I bought a return ticket to Gunnislake, northern terminus of the Tamar Valley Line, cost £7.90. I had over an hour before the next train to Gunnislake was departing, so filled some of the time by gaining greater familiarity with the environs of Plymouth station. Pedestrian access from the station to other areas of town comes by a way of path that leads under a roundabout. The central area of the under-roundabout path is dedicated to wild flowers and is pleasant walking. The hour of my journey arrived…
A SCENIC JOURNEY
The journey to Gunnislake could be described as a journey of two parts in two different ways:
For the first small portion of line (Plymouth – St Budeaux Victoria Road)the stops are frequent and the surroundings urban, specifically a commercial port area whose best days were long in the past, before the line then becomes very rural in character and the stops become much more widely spaced.
The route has a hairpin at Bere Ferrers, so that the train reverses its direction fo travel for the last three stops on the route (Bere Alston, Calstock and Gunnislake).
Also, as I failed to realize for the outbound journey the windows on the side of the train from which you board at Plymouth and at Gunnislake for the return journey offer much finer views than the other, which is why the majority of my best photos from the two train journeys were taken on the return one where I positioned myself correctly.
GUNNISLAKE
Gunnislake village is down a significant hill from Gunnislake station, and Tamar Valley is still further down (I did not venture right down into the valley). The Cornish Inn offered an acceptable pint, and also a view of what I suspect to be Gunnislake’s most intriguing resident, an African Grey Parrot named Ozzy, complete with warning notice written from his perspective.
THE RETURN JOURNEY
It was sufficiently warm that I removed my jumper while in Gunnislake. The train (a two coach crawler, and fairly basic, though less spartan than the laughably misnamed ‘sprinters’ that used to do the Sheffield to Barnsley run when I lived in that part of the world) was due to depart at 15:14, and it actually did precisely that. The return run went well, and I made up for not having had many successful pictures on the outward run as you will see. I think that if I make a second excursion on this line at some point I will book to Bere Alston, walk from there to Bere Ferrers and pick up the return train at Bere Ferrers.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Here are the pictures I took yesterday…
This one was taken through the window of my parentt’s apartment.A few pictures from Plymouth Station and its immediate environs.The Tamar Valley section of the gallery begins here.The view from Maker Heights on the way from Plymouth to Fort Picklecombe.The lighthouse mentioned in the introduction, taken from outside the fort yesterday.
An account of my journey from King’s Lynn to Plymouth yesterday, with a fine photo gallery.
I am in Cornwall, staying with my parents for a few days. I travelled down yesterday, and that journey will be the subject of this post.
KING’S LYNN TO LONDON
I was booked on later trains than I would have liked – leaving Lynn on the 1:42Pm and arriving into Plymouth where my parents would be meeting me at 8:13PM. I set off from my home in North Lynn an hour before the train was due to depart from King’s Lynn, and was on the platform with huge amounts of time to spare. The train suffered a couple of minor delays en route to London but I still had over 50 minutes to get from King’s Cross to Paddington. I arrived at Paddington half an hour before the train to Plymouth was due to depart, but it took a long time for the platform information to be confirmed, and I had only a few minutes to make my way to my seat by the time that happened.
PADDINGTON TO PLYMOUTH
I was on a train that was stopping at more places than usual for a journey to Plymouth – Newbury, Hungerford, Pewsey, Westbury and Castle Cary between Reading and Taunton. I got some good pictures between London and Exeter, but it was dark by the time I got to the seaside section of route between Exeter and Newton Abbot, and that meant it was hardly possible to take pictures due to the interference of reflections owing to the extreme contrast between the brightly lit train interior and the near darkness outside. The train arrived into Plymouth almost exactly as per schedule, which I understand is not a frequent occurrence with GWR long distance services. Apart from the overcrowding on the Hammersmith & City line between King’s Cross and Paddington the journey went well overall.
Concluding my account of my Scottish holiday with the return journey.
This will be the final post in my series about my Scottish holiday (28-31 May inclusive. I will briefly mention the birthday festivities which took place a day early – the day itself (May 31) was to be a day of travelling home, before covering the return journey.
THE BIRTHDAY MEAL
One of the shops Comrie possesses is a butcher, and the centrepiece of the meal was three large rib eye steaks purchased from that establishment. We also had Jersey Royals and locally grown asparagus, while there were locally grown raspberries for pudding. There was sparkling wine before the meal, and still wine with it.
THE RETURN JOURNEY
I was due to leave Perth at 11:15AM on May 31st, a time which was tailored to the fact that we had to be out of the building in Comrie by 10 at the latest – it was late enough not hurry our departure and early enough that the wait at Perth station would not be too long. This train was running a Perth to Edinburgh route and stopped at a number of places. There were some fine views, although I had put myself on the less good side of the train. I was worrying at one point as it ran late, and indeed I had only eight minutes to make the connection at Edinburgh, but I was never actually in any danger of missing that connection. The train from Edinburgh to Peterborough ran smoothly, though my reserved seat was on the less good side of the train for photography. At Peterborough I had a wait of about 20 minutes for the bus to King’s Lynn. This part of the journey also ran smoothly, and I arrived at the bus station a little before 6:40PM, and was home just before 7PM.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Here are my photographs from the return journey..,
The train for the Perth-Edinburgh leg of the journey.
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