Thursday is my shopping day so I generally race around a smaller Aldi store (where I know where everything is) and hope to have the whole trip completed in just over an hour whilst a care worker sits with Meg. Yesterday, we were blessed with some good weather in the morning but then the weather got progressively gloomier during the afternoon. Nonetheless, I managed to get some bedding washed and dried on the outside line I have just rigged up without it all being rained on.
I know the modern term is 'rail enthusiast' but I was introduced to trainspotting as it then was by the older brother of a lad of my own age who lived just around the corner from us in Harrogate. It was 'de rigeur' to have one's precious Ian Allan little book of train numbers. Trainspotting began in 1942 when Mr Allan was a 19-year-old trainee in the public-relations office of the Southern Railway at Waterloo. Tired of replying to letters from railway enthusiasts demanding details of locomotives, he suggested that the office produce a simple booklet listing their vital statistics. His boss was not interested, so Mr Allan decided to do it himself. The heydey of train spotting was in the 1950's when crowds of schoolboys could be seen crowded at the end of railway platforms. Later they were to be joined by older, retired men who had taken up the hobby. The crowds of trainspotters were tolerated by the railway and station authorities and apart from the occasional little trespass, mainly the fraternity kept out of trouble. Being brought up in Yorkshire, the principal railways serving the region was LNER (London and North Eastern Railway) and our local venue of choice was York railway station. Occasionally, we might be content with the Leeds LNER station (there was an adjacent LMS station in the 1950's but then they got redeveloped into one larger station) but the real 'Mecca' was to pay a visit to Doncaster. Here there were works for the maintenance of the steam locomotives and the opportunity to glimpse some of the rare Scottish engines that came down for repair and/or overhaul. During what was termed 'the dead hour' (between about 1.00pm and 2.00pm when hardly any trains seemed to arrive) you could actually walk to some of the maintenance sheds where one's eyes were well and truly opened to see locos in various stages of repair. Provided you kept to the extreme perimeter of the workshop and made sure that you did not impede any of the work being carried on in the workshops, our presence was tolerated and although we might get the occasional friendly warning, it was amazing to be able to get access to such buildings. Of course in our current Health and Safety culture none of this would be remotely allowed nowadays but in my trainspotting days (from about 1959-1961) I am quite surprised with what we got away with. In our Ian Allan record books, we would underline the number of the locos that we had actually seen and very occasionally, we were allowed to 'cab' a loco i.e. be allowed to climb into the cabin to witness the internal controls. Any engine thus 'cabbed' would be noted in our books as well as also noting those locos by which we had actually been pulled. To be allowed onto a platform one only had to purchase a 'platform ticket' which cost a derisory 2d (less than a penny of current coinage) and of course this lasted all day. In the 1950's, many of the principally schoolboys who were the trainspotters could be distinguished by their school caps but this gradually gave way to an anorak and a woolly hat as standing at the end of a platform for hours on a end could be a cold business. There was invariably a ripple of excitement and excited chants of 'Streak!' when one heard the distinctive very low whistle of the streamlined Class A4 locomotives which never failed to attract admiration and attention. In those days, we were not particularly into photography but in general one had a good day out in which one had 'bagged' a goodly number of locos that were new to one. I suppose that later on, I must have thrown away my trainspotting books but it would have been nice to have rationed just one of my own as a form of memorabilia. As a hobby, apart from one's train fare of getting to the destination, it was generally a cheap day's leisure pursuit and I suspect that you always retain some of the enthusiasm for locos even as the years roll by. I think that in the late 50's, trainspotting was a phase through every lad went but as one got older, things like GCSE examinations rather took over and then one developed new interests in later adolescence.
Two recent aspects of the UK political scene are causing me some disappointment. The first of these is that the Labour Party seems to be exhibiting some of the cronyism to which we have grown accustomed in the last few years of Tory government. Some of this night just be the right wing press seeking every opportunity to criticise the incoming Labour government. Nonetheless, one reads with some dismay that wealthy donors had been given a pass to the heart of government in Downing Street and there are quite a lot of reports of 'advisers' being brought in and fulfilling roles that should be undertaken by impartial and properly funded civil servants. Another source of concern are our relationships with the EU in general and Germany in particular. Keir Starmer has held meetings with his German opposite number and there seems to be a rebuilding of relationships after the Brexit experience. But relatively innocuous policies such as allowing German students to visit the UK for study and perhaps some vacation work seems to have been ruled out of court. Sir Keir is in Germany to discuss a new bilateral treaty covering a range of issues including market access, clean energy, trade, and tackling illegal migration. But the UK government is stating that 'But it does mean a closer relationship on a number of fronts, including the economy, including defence, including exchanges, but we do not have plans for a youth mobility scheme.' One would have thought that this is an ideal opportunity for the UK to exhibit 'soft power' but a little Englander approach where we deny German students jut a short exposure to live and work for limited periods in the UK seems to be so short-sighted.
© Mike Hart [2024]