Before the beginning: Round The World One

Perhaps I ought to recap on some of my earlier trips. After my partner Daemon died in 1999, I decided that I ought to go round the world at least once. This was to be no backpacking Sabbatical Year. I decided to travel in style but I only allowed two weeks for the task!

On this trip, I set off Eastwards, just before Christmas, 2001, calling first in Thailand. I was in Bangkok over Christmas and spent some time with my friend Dheb Dhebpunya who I'd met during earlier business trips.

Sydney was the next stop. I loved the city and managed to try out most of the ferry routes and undertook the Sydney Bridge climb - a wonderful experience and nowhere near as demanding as I feared. Having never flown in a seaplane, I couldn't resist a sightseeing trip from Rose Bay.

All too soon, I moved on to Auckland. The weather here was mixed but this did not stop me trying out the ferry routes, climbing to the top of the extinct volcano on the island of Rangitoto and visiting the island of Waiheke. I visited the Glenbrook preserved railway (did I mention my interest in railways?), managed to get a footplate ride on the massive 'Ja' class and fire the locomotive for a few kilometres. I made a flying visit to Great Barrier Island (literally - in an 'Islander' aircraft along with a few passengers, the newspapers, the milk and other cargo) and was charmed by the island and the kindness of the residents. Finally, I got a bird's eye view of Auckland from the Sky Tower before flying East to Fiji.

In Fiji, as well as spending time on the superb beaches around Nadi, I had a thrilling ride in a Jet Boat, took a helicopter trip over the jungle and outlying islands and spent a day cruising on a clipper. Taking the helm for a while was a new experience!

Then, East again to the United States, transiting through Los Angeles to San Francisco, which fully lived up to my expectations. I tried out the MUNI and BART (rapid transit systems), ferry, bus, streetcar, cable car and Amtrak. I had a spectacular helicopter trip, the highlight of which was flying UNDER the Golden Gate Bridge!

Then I flew home, totally exhilarated by the whole experience.

The photographs on this trip were taken by my trusty Canon EOS film camera. Once I get 'em scanned I'll post them.

Meanwhile, if you'd like to see something similar, go to Round the World Two

In the beginning ...

Just what I need now, another complication, learning how to post a Blog (inelegant term!). But, Luddite that I am, I celebrate the power which the Internet brings right into my home and e-mail has become part of my daily business and personal life. So I suppose posting an occasional Blog is just "more of the same", although at present it seems a conceit that anyone other than myself would wish to read these musings.

However, when I started to travel, just a little, a few years ago (before age and infirmity precludes such adventures) I began to e-mail a small group of friends with my observations and the feedback was very positive. This has encouraged me to start this present venture but I'm unsure whether I'll have the energy to sustain it. I've another holiday planned for February 2007 so this seemed a good time to start experimenting to see if this medium would be a suitable means of disseminating the material. One thing appeals to me - nobody is forced to read a Blog so, if it doesn't catch the imagination of its audience, it will just fester in cyberspace unread. This seems a suitable antidote to the possible hubris associated with any publication. Wish me luck, gentle reader, as we set off who knows where.

Lionsmeet 2003

Each year, the Old Locomotive Committee arrange a competition for live-steam models of 'Lion', known as 'Lionsmeet'. For more information about the Old Locomotive Committee, click here. Once again, ‘Lionsmeet’ enjoyed fine weather for the visit to the Erewash Valley Model Engineering Society on Saturday, 16th August 2003. As always, we were made most welcome by our hosts. The location is discreetly hidden between an embankment carrying the by-pass and the back gardens of houses in a quiet estate. The elevated multi-gauge track is in the form of a single oval, with anti-clockwise running. A large moveable bridge in the curve at the lower end of the running track allows cars to be parked inside the oval where the clubhouse is located. As you enter the oval, the station is on the left and the clubhouse and steaming bays on the right. Outside the elevated track, a splendid figure-of-eight ground level track, featuring a bridge and tunnel is under construction, but not yet in use.

The features of the track used for Lionsmeet are most easily described by taking an imaginary journey, starting at the station. The station has an all-over roof, complete with clock tower surmounted by a weather vane. To the delight of OLCO members, the weather vane features ‘Lion’! The station is furnished with a number of hand-painted reproductions of period posters which add considerably to the atmosphere. Leaving the station, a splendid somersault signal protects the moveable bridge then you pass a signal box and under a footbridge which gives pedestrian access to the inside of the oval when trains are running. The sharp left-hand curve behind the clubhouse presents some difficulties to trains starting away and then, entering the back straight, there is a continuous adverse gradient. The extensive covered steaming bays and carriage shed lie on the left, then there is an upper-quadrant signal protecting the traverser which gives access to the steaming bays and carriage shed. At the far end of the site there is then a semicircle to bring you to the fast downhill straight approaching the station.

As usual in the morning, there was informal practice running, plenty of tea and good conversation between visitors and hosts.

After lunch, provided by the stalwart ladies of the host society, there was the serious business of competing. Once again, the competition track presented some problems for ‘Lions’ and tactics proved very significant. As always, the competing driver sits on the dynamometer car, made available through the good offices of Guilford M.E.S. and David Neish. The observer, once again Jan Ford, was perched on a spare driving trolley behind the dynamometer car. After some experimentation with the rather heavy passenger vehicles, a bogie open wagon was chosen as the load. Each driver then arranged suitable ballast in the open wagon.

The competition is to produce maximum work done in 10 minutes. This can be done by hauling a very heavy load for a short distance or a light load for a long distance. The best result is usually obtained by hauling an intermediate load over an intermediate distance, but deciding on the balance between load and speed (and thus distance) is a matter for judgement by each competitor.

This year, Jon Swindlehurst was a very popular winner. Everybody agreed that a good time was had by all.

A more detailed report of this event was carried in the Old Locomotive Committee Newsletter, which goes under the name of 'Lionsheart'.