Why? Becasue today the Orange lodges parade in Southport instead of the traditional 12th of July as the 12th is a Sunday and they’re not allowed to march.
What’s this all about I hear you ask? well, Southport is one of the last towns that allow the Protestant Orange order to hold marches. The history is complicated, but here’s an explanation.
Now, ignoring politics and religion, I remember watching these parades since I was a kid. They were always a feature of summer in Southport. That said, I haven’t seen one since the early 1980s before I moved to London. I always meant to come back and photograph one, but stuff always got in the way. Today, I got that chance.
They’re a lot smaller than I remember. Back in the 1970s special trains would arrive from Glasgow, carrying pipe band and all manner of supporters. The rail network would be packed with supporters arriving from Manchester and especially Liverpool.
Now it all seems a bit more sedate and a lot smaller. My local pub (the Old Ship Inn) would host one of those Scottish pipe bands, who would turn up and pipe outside before requesting admittance from Monica, the landlady. after which they’d be hosted in a room upstairs whilst the pub would be swamped with their supporters. I’d volunteer as a glass collector, and a jolly (and pissed) time was had by all.
Today’s procession mostly arrived by coach, and there’s no pipe bands, sadly. But I’ll hang around in town until they leave later in order to get picture. Here’s the first few,
It’s 11:00…I always remember the leader of these bands performing amazing stunts with their staffs as they were thrown high in the air and caught – sometimes behind their backs.
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Today my time here has taken a slightly different turn as my Sister and her partner have booked a week away in Croatia, which means cat-sitting is required. Not at my sisters (there’s cover here) but at Steve’s as he has three moggies which he brought back with him from Saudi Arabia. So, I’m moving into Marshside for a week.
It’s a very different part of Southport to where my sister lives. This part of town was a late Victorian/early Edwardian extension. Marshside and it’s neighbour Churchtown are much much older, going back to before Southport itself was established. They’re old fishing villages that go back hundreds of years. A tell-tale is the original tiny cottages (some still thatched) that nestle in between much later buildings. Marshsiders are still seen as a different type of people to ordinary Sandgrounders (the nickname for people from Southport).
Having a place to myself (well, if you don’t count the cats) will allow me to finish a load of work I need to do, including a couple of articles for RAIL magazine. As Marshside is pretty isolated, I’ll still have the opportunity to get plenty of steps in too.
Here’s a few pictures that illustrate the area. I walked there from the centre of town, which was interesting as I discovered things I never knew, like the fact Southport once boasted an aerodrome!
The Southport aerodrome existed from 1910-1966, closing when I was a child, but I’d never heard of it. It was only when I was walking to Steve’s that I passed this history board that I discovered its existence. Here’s more about the history of the site. The Marshside fog bell. In 1869 seven men out shrimping got lost in fog and drowned. The community raised fund to build this fog bell so that the tragedy would never repeat itself. You can read more about it here. An old fishermen’s cottage in Churchtown. Tiny, aren’t they?
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So, Nigel Farage, the thinin-skinned and tetchy leader of Reform (don’t you mean owner of Reform PLC? Ed) has thrown his toys out of the pram again after being subject to scrutiny from the normally supine media over his million pound bungs and association with criminals.
His ‘big idea’ to divert attention? Resign from Parliament and call a by-election. Citing ‘harassment’ of your family by visiting your daughter’s ‘home”.’ (which is owned by him). The same home Farage was happy to pose outside for PR pictures and put into the public domain several times – and one he was registered to vote at in the last election. Plus, there’s the fact that Farage posed with his daughter, Isabelle on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in 2023.Oops!
Only it’s not that simple. That’s not going to stop the media looking into his affairs (financial or otherwise) and the Parliamentary Standard Committee looking into his financial declarations will only pause, not cancel, their investigations. If Farage is re-elected, the investigations will continue.
It’s classic Farage, using tactics he’s learned from the American MAGA movement and the likes of Steve Bannon. But they’re not as easy to get away with in the UK as they are in the US.
The other major parties have already called his bluff and said they won’t put up candidates. The only person who has said they’ll stand is parody candidate and comedian ‘Count Binface‘ Needless to say, a lot of people are making jokes about this at Farage’s expense.
It’s a typical Farage farce, and one that will run and run…
Oh, there’s one other thing. This tactic was tried before. People with an interest in politics may remember when David Davis, the Tory MP for Haltemprice and Howden staged a similar stunt in 2008. Then, as now – all the major parties refused to take part. One other party refused too. UKIP, who were led by…..Nigel Farage.
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Sunday’s not been as lazy as the old song by the New Faces remembers (although more of that in the next blog). Instead, I’ve had a busy day here in Southport, catching up on exercise routines now that I have access to the park equipment that I’ve found so useful whilst I’ve been here. Admittedly, my muscles have felt the strain after a week-long gap, but it’s all good.
Apart from the physical endeavours much of my day was taken up with editing pictures from the first of my HS2 visits earlier in the week, in order to get them out to the writer and editor who need them first thing Monday morning. Then there’s all the other stuff I took on my second visit, along with a horde of other general railway pictures I took the opportunity to take whilst in the capital. They’re going to be keeping me busy for a while. On top of that I have other work and stuff to sort out, which is going to keep me occupied for the rest of the week. Hang on, I’m meant to be semi-retired, although it certainly doesn’t feel that way right now!
No rest for the wicked, eh? I’m not complaining, I’d rather be active than bored. One thing I notice about Southport after being back in London for a while is how the town resembles ‘God’s waiting room’. There’s an awful lot of retired people who seem to have little purpose other than to aimlessly wander the town centre, drifting from one coffee or charity shop to the other, or taking refuge on the benches that bedeck Lord St, like they’re living sculptures. At my most cynical, it reminds me of the old Colin Crompton joke about Morecambe, where he said ‘they don’t bury the dead in Morecambe, they just stand ’em up in the bus shelters’. I shouldn’t mock, as I’m now part of that demographic – although my bus pass sees bugger-all use!
Anyway, tomorrow’s another week and I’ve a lot to do. I won’t be travelling much, but expect a flood of pictures to appear on my Zenfolio website as and when. In the meantime, here’s a taster from my visit to the HS2 construction site at Old Oak Common in London. Regular readers will know of my interest in architecture. It’s why this shot inside the new HS2 station appealed to me despite their not being a train in sight…
If only someone in orange PPE had been stood in the background…
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After all the travelling I’ve been doing recently, it’s time for a break. I’m currently catching my breath here in Southport. Well, sort of – I’ve a long list of things I need to do, but most of my current travels involve walking as I try and catch up on my fitness programme and the outdoor gym exercises that I’ve missed whilst I’ve been away. It’s strange to think, but slogging around HS2 sites in full PPE with a camera pack on my back isn’t as physically hard as the stuff I’ve been doing here on the coast.
Arriving back in the North after a few days in London is a bit of a shock in some ways. There really is a North-South divide, which is best illustrated in human demographics. London’s full of younger, fitter people. The North, not so much. Southport especially so due to the ageing population up here. There’s a social and economic time-bomb ticking and it’s something a lot of people don’t want to talk about. Especially the far-right who think sending ‘forrins’ back (to God knows where) will suddenly make the UK better off. Until the day they realise there’s no foreign nurses left to wipe their arses in their retirement home – if they’re lucky to find one that’s still open…
Now I’ve a busy week ahead as I juggle work with exercise and administration for the future. However, today was a case of having a much needed lie-in before pounding the pavements in order to get some distance under my belt. I’ve still managed to get some work done despite my wanderings. I’ve started editing this weeks pictures in order to get some out for a potential magazine cover. Admittedly, there’s a shedload of others to sort out, but that’s a job for tomorrow.
Now, having surpassed my 25,000 steps I’m relaxing at my sister’s whilst going through more pictures and a list of jobs for the next few days. In the meantime, here’s a few pictures from my travels – and today.
A taste of a blog to come. Here’s one of the HS2 construction sites I visited this week. The Turweston viaduct over the floodplain surrounding the Great Ouse river. Electrostars at Clapham Junction with the new London city skyline behind.Southport history and architecture.
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My time here in London’s come to an end. It’s been a lovely break. Staying with a dear friend whilst having the opportunity to visit HS2 construction sites and just enjoy being back in a city that I loved living in. The trip’s not entirely over yet. I’m booked on a train out of Euston later this afternoon so I’ve still some time to explore, but right now I’m helping out by waiting in for a parcel whilst Hassard’s off at an event. As soon as said parcel arrives I’ll be off on my travels again.
I did manage to nip out earlier to grab some shots at Clapham Junction. It feels very strange nowadays, the old Class 455s which dominated suburban services when I first moved here (they were new then!) have all disappeared. Now the South-West Railways ‘Arterio’ Class 701s have taken their place whilst Southern services have gained a variety of ‘Electrostar’ type units transferred in from GWR and GTR, which adds some livery variation at least.
A Waterloo bound Arterio wends its way through the maze of tracks outside Clapham Junction station.An Alstom built ‘Juniper’, Class 458/4 calls at Clapham Junction. The skyline is constantly changing here. You can see a crane building the lift tower of yet another high-rise block in the background.
14:00.
Hassard’s son Dante has arrived to take up parcel duties, so I’m off to meander across the city. In some ways the timing couldn’t have been better as a magazine’s contacted me about a cover picture – of London’s railways! Right, back to Clapham Junction is is then. The sun’s shining and conditions are ideal for what they want…
17:09.
For the second time in a week services out of Euston are stuffed! I made sure I arrived early, only to find the concourse crammed with people. Apparently, two seperate incidents have caused chaos. Avanti have cancelled several services and my 16:46 to Crewe didn’t leave until 17:09, which completely screws my connection to Liverpool Lime St. This might turn out to be a long day!
Euston how you don’t want to see it…
18:45.
We’ve just left Lichfield 30 mins late. To add to the fun the young lady Conductor has announced that the delay means we’ll be terminating at Stafford, not Crewe. Hopefully, I’ll be able to pick up a Liverpool bound service from there. It’s a shame, as the jourbey fom Euston’s been pretty good. I managed to secure one side of a table bay on this new Class 730. The train wasn’t too packed either. The only negative was that 2 out of the 3 toilets were out of order.
19:20.
The trip doesn’t get any better! Like far too many stations nowadays, lifts at Stafford were out of order. That wouldn’t normally inconvenience me but I’m dragging a suitcase today. Everyone scrambled over the footbridge from platform 1 to 5 only to find the next Liverpool bound service was actually an hour late and terminating at Crewe! Apparently, there’s another just a few minutes behind this 4-car Class 350, but I decided to catch it to Crewe – just in case!
I’m starting to look forward to a weekend without travel…
It’s a shame. The evening’s lovely and the countryside sublime as so many crops look to be on the cusp of being harvested. It’s just the journey that’s been fragmented and not as relaxing as I’d wanted. Plus, I’ve not been able to grab any pictures because of the melee.
19:55.
Said melee continued at Crewe when a trainload of people headed off in different directions in order to find out where to go next. Myself and several others ended up on a late-running Avanti Class 807 heading for Liverpool. Dispatch staff had checked that ticket acceptance was in place – so pile on! As this one only stops at Runcorn and Liverpool South Parkway I’m making up a little bit of time.
Despite the problems I’ve really enjoyed my trip over the West Coast Main Line. It’s part of my blood. I’ve travelled on it since I was a teenager. I’ve worked on it and it’s kept me linked with family and friends through good times and bad. I’ve never had the same relationship with its East Coast rival.
21:10.
Having arrived in Liverpool courtesy of Avanti instead of West Midlands trains I took a quick break (time for a pint) before catching a train to Southport. The contrast between London and the North is quite stark in my mind. London’s so much younger than the North, and I mean the people, not the history. It’s horrendously expensive compared to when I lived there but there’s still a real buzz and youthful feeling – a million miles away from Halifax – or Southport.
One thing that amused me is the way the political right-wing try to paint London as a hellhole led by a Muslim Mayor. It’s world’s apart from the truth, as is some Northerner’s ideas that Londoners are stand-offish. Both are so far from the truth they’re laughable to anyone who’s ever lived or spent much time in London.
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I’m here in South London, preparing to start the day. First up (after coffee, of course) is a trip across the capital to Willesden Junction where I’ll be meeting up with an old friend and colleague, Andy Roden of Modern Railways. We’re off for a visit to the HS2 station construction site at Old Oak Common. I’ll blog more about that later, but you’ll be able to read the full details of the visit in a forthcoming edition of Modern Railways.
But first, I have to get there…
09:18
And getting there has proved to be fun! Having arrived at Clapham Junction I’d intended to get the Overground direct to Willesden Jn, only to be greeted by PA announcements telling me the service has been suspended for some unknown reason.
So, plan B it is. I’ve caught a train to Waterloo where I’ll jump on the Bakerloo line. I was hoping to avoid the tube on a warm day like this but hey ho…
On the bright side, my train to Warerloo is a Class 458, which are in their final weeks of service.
09:40.
At Waterloo I had a surreal experience. A young nember of security staff spotted me taking a picture of the 458 and accosted me from the opposite platform, telling me my mirrorless camera was ‘too big’ and that I needed permission to take pictures so needed to sign in. I explained I was only there for a minute as I was catching another train, her her next line was that I could only take a picture with my phone! I politely but firmly declined, took my pictures and walked away…
Well, that’s a new one!
I’m now rattling and screeching my way to Willesden. Well, not me personally, but the ancient underground train I’m on is! We discussed these trains at the Siemens lunch yesterday. Soares are impossible to come by, so a machining shop has been established at Stonebridge Park depot to make any metal parts needed. If the part takes weeks to make, the train remains out of service until it has been.
15:15.
I’m back! Our visit to the HS2 site at Old Oak Common was a really full tour. Not only dis we descend into the HS2 station box to see how progress on constructing the 6 platform station is progressing, we also visited the Western approaches to the new station on the Great Western Main Line (GWML) where tracklaying has already taken place. Here’s a couple of shots.
Myself and Andy Roden pose for a picture on platforms 5-6 of the new HS2 station. We worked out that the last time we worked together on a similar project was HS1 at St Pancras way back in 2004!Looking towards Paddington from the new tracks being laid for the GWML station. The tower cranes in the background will be involved in constructing the roof for the interchange station. The new track on the Right will be part of the slewing of the existing GWML in order to create room for platforms 1-2 of the new station.
18:00.
Watching England play in the world cup in a pub in London with two Scousers and an Irishman…
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I’m off on a journey I’ve not done for ages but once did almost weekly, taking Grand Central’s service from Halifax to London. GC started running this route in the same year that I moved from London to Halifax – 2010. It was a godsend in those days as it allowed me to commute to the capital for work.
A lot’s changed in 17 years. Nowadays I’m semi-retired so the pressures aren’t the same. The railways have changed too. I’ve just traversed the section of line from Mirfield to Wakefied which is being rebuilt as part of the Trans-Pennine route upgrade. The recent blockade’s seen a lot of progress with civils work and the appearence of overhead electric masts.
Now we’ve swung off onto the route to Doncaster via ‘Pontycarlo’ (as Pontefract is often known). A line once thriving with coal traffic that’s a shadow of its former self. Knottingly depot’s a great example of this. Once it was an important base for freight locos that boasted a modern 2-storey office building and shed that housed a fleet of locos. The office building’s been demolished, many staff ‘let go’ and the tracks see more weeds than locos.
Unfortunately, the wifi on this GC Class 221 isn’t working, so I’m reduced to blogging via my Smartphone which is a bit of a bugger. Never mind…
09:20.
I’m speeding through the Cambridgeshire countryside on a train that’s been packed since Doncaster. A bright side is that the passenger who booked the airline seat next to mine from Mirfield to Lobdon was a ‘no show’.
The fields North of Peterborough are full of cereal crops that like ripe for harvesting. The golden glow of wheat spreads for miles around. Very different to the grasslands of the Pennines.
17:00.
Well, that was fun! This year’s Siemens press lunch was held in Wood Lane in West London at a venue called the Broadcaster, which is right outside the old BBC television centre where many programmes from my childhood were made (including ‘Blue Peter’). These events are an informal chance to chat with Senior leaders of Siemens over lunch. We always cover a wide range of subjects. Today, that was widened to include the performance of the German football team in the World Cup match last night!
Heading back in to Central London I stopped off at Euston station which is not having a happy time due to cattle on the West Coast Main Line near Lichfield earlier. You couldn’t moo-ve on the concourse!
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Having recovered from the exertions of ‘3 peaks by rail’ and caught up on my sleep, I’ve been spending the past couple of days editing the 1000s of pictures from the three days to get them out to the Railway Children asap so that they’re available for publicity purposes. Some have already bee used in a short video on Facebook. With that job done I’ve been concentrating on what happens next. In my case, that’s heading down to London tomorrow as I’ll be based in the capital for the next few days for a series of events.
Tomorrow I’m attending the Siemens press lunch before heading off to update library shots of the capital’s railways. On Wednesday I’ll be visiting one of the main HS2 railways construction sites in West London, whilst Thursday will see me visiting several other HS2 sites, this time in Northants. They’re of special interest as this will be the first time a press trip has visited them. After that I’ll be heading back to Southport for a while as I have a couple of articles to write as well as attend to family matters.
So, with all this going on, expect several rolling blogs to appear, starting tomorrow.
In the meantime, here’s a few pictures from the madness of the 3 peaks…
It’s 04:00 on Friday morning and 57311 waits to pick up walkers returning from their climb up Snowdon at Bangor. Our special train was double-headed on ‘lil Ratty’ Our lead loco, ‘Whillan Beck’ on the turntable at Dalegarth. Climbing Scafell on the Friday when the conditions were brutal. Our fabulous on-board team pose for a picture on the return from Scotland. They’re a mix of new and long-standing volunteers. Journey’s end for me this year. 45118 stands at Preston.
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A factor in Scotland is that our extra Peak (45118) has weight restrictions over certain bridges on the line to Fort William.
512Meanwhile, there’s nothing to do but sip coffee and enjoy the rugged scenery as it rolls by whilst trying to pick out deer in the gloom.
Right now the operations and safety teams are discussions on options…
We’ve woken up in Scotland to very different weather we gad on Scafell. There’s low grey cloud snd half-light as we head along the West Higland line some 90 minutes late. A delay that was mainly caused by signalling issues at Sellafield which caused our late departure from Ravenglass.
10:25.
Sorry for the gap but we’ve been busy getting walkers up Ben – and now down again! The first five have crossed the finish line, an incredible effort.
The medals…
13:29.
We’ve done it! By delaying the train leaving Fort William and with Global Challenge being super efficient at logging people onto the mountain many people made it to the summit, which really lifted spirits. Not only that but we had no-one turning back with injuries, and no-one missed the train back. In the past, late teams have had to be taken to Crianlarich by road to catch up with the train.
Now the walkers can relax. The onboard cre have been busy. The train’s been cleaned, food’s being prepared and the bar will soon be open. My job’s not over yet. Having taken photos of teams at the finish line I still have pictures to get onboard before we get to Glasgow where I can start to relax.
20:10.
And relax! We’re now South of Carlisle and my job’s done. Well, until it’s time to start editing the pictures! But for now I’m enjoying the view from my seat after saying goodbye to friends who’ve already left en-route. Next stop is Preston, where I bail out.
The weather South of the border is a real contrast to Scotland. I’m told it’s chucking it down in Inverness right now. Here in Cumbria/Lancashire the weather’s both sunny and humid. The atmosphere in the train’s wound down as crowds thin out and tiredness and/or imbibement catch up with the remaining travellers.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Paul Bigland 