Surrender at Stewartby

Yesterday I visited Stewartby which was a model village built for workers of the London Brick Company in Bedfordshire. My visit didn't last very long though as a torrential rainstorm unfortunately was striking Stewartby at the same time I was there. So with wet feet I took a few photos and then surrendered and headed back home. You can see the photos here, I'll have to return one day when there is dry weather forecast!

BGLR : Tram extension running

As can be seen from the photo below the tram extension now has track laid (though not fixed down) and the tram has been tested on it. One thing i didn't consider was the tram pantograph and the support for the shelf above the extension, the pantograph just fits though less than a millimetre clearance! Next step will be to add a tunnel section under the tram extension board for the main layout.

SVR Diesel Gala 2019

The Severn Valley Railway Diesel Gala is one of the biggest preserved railway events of the year (at least for me) and this year's one did not disappoint with a great selection of guest locomotives including the prototype HST power car. It was not running due to technical issues so was only on static display but it was still the gala's rock star. I travelled up from Kidderminster to Bewdley and then up to Hampton Loade before returning to Kidderminster. You can see my photos here.

Lapworth & Kingswood

Today I returned to Lapworth station, which is probably my favourite of all. Now Lapworth station is actually in Kingswood and I haven't really been to Lapworth itself before, so I had a walk between the two villages as well as walking some of the Stratford Canal through Lapworth/Kingswood. I did not manage to find Lapworth's church but I did see some interesting things in this glorious part of Warwickshire. You can see my photos of Lapworth & Kingswood here and my photos of the Stratford Canal here.

Golden Age (15) : Murder in the Bookshop

Carolyn Wells' "Murder in the Bookshop" is about the solving of two crimes: the murder of a book collector and the theft of a valuable book. It is also a fascinating insight into the world of wealthy bibliophiles in 1930s New York, with their private libraries and insatiable needs for rare classics.

As this is a fairly typical Golden Age story the crimes committed are quite unfathomable and the police are clueless, thus private detective Fleming Stone is bought in to solve the intricate crimes.

Overall the story is a bit mundane and drags at the start however it does finally get going and even includes some kidnappings, fake deaths and mysterious goings on by a man in a cape. Though remains pretty implausible. No one committed simple crimes in the Golden Age!

The characters such as Fleming Stone are not fleshed out in any way, which is a shame and does make the story hard to love.

Decent but not great.