Review of 2022 : December

So, December ended with a flourish. It started with a train then bus trip to Offchurch, followed by another such trip to Southam. Then there was another trip to Wolverhampton, this time by tram and exploring the fine city more.

After Christmas came a couple of trips around the city centre including lots of street signs (a new obsession this year). Then today, the last day of the year, there was some train travel around the West Midlands (there will be a full blog post about this in a day or so).

That was 2022 then. Song of the month was "frozen falls" by Yatte, artist of the year was Trevor Something and tomorrow we start everything again from scratch. Happy new year!

Offchurch

St Gregory's, Offchurch

St James, Southam

Wolverhampton

Review of 2022 : November

Winter approached, the weather deteriorated as did the railway service. I was able to see the new Class 196 though and visited Wolverhampton. Next came my final trip to London this year, taking in one of the ends of the Elizabeth Line, as well as a trip into Kent to visit Headcorn and Harden.

I returned to Berkhamsted after a number of years since my first visit, having another canal walk. Finally, there was a trip to Dudley. I haven't been since i was a small child!

Song of the month was "true love" by Corp 86 featuring Oceanside 85.

Class 196 at Birmingham New Street

Berkhamsted

Dudley Priory

Headcorn

Typing on an Erika

Time for another typing video, this time on an Erika 105 from the German Democratic Republic.

Review of 2022 : October

Autumn is here, and the rail system also becomes more difficult to use due to industrial action, unfortunately not something that is going to get better any time soon. I headed to West Bromwich on the tram instead, then the week after did a canal walk into central Birmingham. Later on in the month i headed to Loughborough and also did another canal walk. I also drove to Kenilworth to see the ruins of the abbey and the parish church.

I went to London to do my second Hidden London tour of the year, this time to Shepherd's Bush. Later in the month was a trip to Nottingham, including another canal walk. Finally there was a trip to Matlock.

Song of the month was "in the music" by Holoflash featuring Chelcie Gette.

Birmingham canal

Loughborough

Nottingham

Shepherd's Bush

A Birmingham miscellany

On Christmas Eve i headed into Birmingham not to shop but to take some photos. I wanted to get the tram stops along Broad Street, i also took some photos of street signs and some canal photos (Birmingham has more canals than Venice et cetera). You can see my photos here. 

Model week : The "big" move

There hasn't been a modelling update for some time basically because very little has happened! However, today i finally got around to moving the layout. It hasn't moved far, indeed it's only moved ninty degrees so the station side is against the wall. This was still a big endeavour though which i had been putting off due to all the things that had to be moved out of the way first!

Anyway it is now done. The layout needs some back scenes now for sure. In other news the HOm gauge van i bought in error in the summer (to be fair - to myself - the model shop mislabelled it) has been regauged to HOe. The Falcon has also returned taking Stripey's place in the active fleet.

Review of 2022 : September

The summer ends but the travels do not. The adventures began with Merseyside and then a long-awaited trip to the Barrow Hill Roundhouse railway museum in Chesterfield, this was well worth the wait. To get to Barrow Hill i had to go train then bus, this method would be used again later in the year and will help greatly extend the range of places i can go to. It's not as easy as using the train though as you need to plan in advance so you know when to get off!

Next came a canal walk along the Stratford Canal to Preston Bagot from Wootton Wawen. Finally, i did the train then bus thing again and visited the village of Clifford Chambers.

Song of the month was "things will never be the same again" by TLF featuring Jaki Nelson.

Barrow Hill

Clifford Chambers

All Saints, Preston Bagot

Stratford Canal, Wootton Wawen

Merry christmas nadolig llawen

Merry christmas nadolig llawen to you all. I went for my traditional Christmas morning walk around the adjacent business park and canal. It would be nice to have somewhere more scenic to walk one day, maybe next year!

Review of 2022 : August

The month's trips began with a return trip to Atherstone. Then came a return to Wales, to Machynlleth to be exact, the furthest west i've been for some years! The Commonwealth Games was in Birmingham in August, i had a trip on the metro extension to Edgbaston and also checked out the iconic Bull which featured in the opening ceremony!

I returned to Stafford for a rail orientated visit and finally back to Little Kimble in Buckinghamshire.

In other August news i finally received my new car. Although Lapis the new car is truly wonderful, it was sad to see the old car go after 14 years (plus two years when my Dad owned it) but happily the car appears to have been sold on to enjoy new adventures.

Song of the month was "Make me scream (nostalgia remix)" by Roxi Drive.

Commonwealth Games bull

Atherstone

Little Kimble

Machynllech

Arriving at Marden

A Southeastern service arrives London bound.

Review of 2022 : July

We are into the second half of the year already, where did all the time go? The trips in July began with a return to Lower Heyford, this time also walking to the adjacent village of Steeple Aston and also doing a walk along the Oxford Canal. Then came a trip to the south east, visiting Tonbridge and Leigh in Kent.

Later in the month i returned to Claverdon, my previous trip had been in winter so it was nice to see it in warmer weather. With the rail strikes beginning i ended the month with a trip to Marston Green and some plane spotting at Birmingham Airport!

Song of the month was "in the night" by Daniel Hugh featuring Emily Zuzik.

Claverdon

Birmingham Airport

Steeple Aston

Tonbridge

First of the four

It's going to be a big week for my typewriter collection. First this KOFA 300 arrives and three more come on Christmas day. This machine, by KOFA, may have been fairly recently built compared to some of the others in the collection. You can even see the machine listed on the company's website! Mind you the website was looks like it was last updated in the late 1990s.

Review of 2022 : June

We reach the mid-point of the year. The adventures in June began with a trip to Fiskerton and Morton in Nottinghamshire. This was followed by an open day at the Statfold Barn Railway near Tamworth. This was the second time i had been to this wonderful little railway.

I headed back to Princes Risborough next, this time to also visit Horsenden, in fact a key feature of this year's adventures has been to go a little further away from the railway to some interesting places. Finally, i had a bus trip down to Halesowen and Quinton.

Song of the month was "make me scream" by Roxi Drive.

Statfold Barn Railway

Fiskerton signal box

Horsenden

St John the Baptist, Halesowen

Wolverhampton by tram

I've wanted to give Wolverhampton a proper visit for some time, in fact it will probably need a number of them to cover everything including the canals. Yesterday i travelled there by the tram, which also means i have now travelled on the entire Midlands Metro network, at least until they open the various extensions they are working on! Its been cold this week and there was still a lot of ice on some surfaces, however it does give a Christmassy feel to the photos which you can see here!

Review of 2022 : May

Another busy month. May started with a rail orientated trip to Stafford. Next i went to Lapworth and walked the Stratford canal to Lowsonford. I visited Wales again, this time going to Abergavenny.

Next up was the SVR Diesel Gala, always a highlight of the year. I headed up to Cheshire next and visited Nantwich and also did a canal walk. Finally, i went on a bus trip instead of a rail trip for a change and visited Yardley.

Song of the month was "I'm already gone" by Trevor Something.

SVR Diesel Gala

Abergavenny castle

Stratford Canal

Nantwich

Prop arrival

A Loganair ATR-72 arrives at Birmingham Airport.

Review of 2022 : April

It starts to warm up, and April was very busy indeed. It started with a trip to Kettering, followed by Gobowen. Then came my first trip to Guildford for a couple of years (due to Covid), i visited a lot of new stations in Surrey and along the North Downs.

I headed up to Wythall and visited the transport museum there for the first time, i've wanted to visit it for some time and it lived up to my expectations, very good indeed. Finally, there was a trip to Kemble.

A notable event in April was ordering a new car to replace my trusty but now ageing Fiesta which i had had for fourteen years. However, i would have to wait until August to get the new car!

Song of the month was "crystal ships" by Michael Oakley.

All Saints, Kemble

Chilworth signal box

Preeshenlle United Reformed Church, Gobowen

Wythall Transport Museum

Southam

Undaunted by last week's bus fiasco i repeated myself this week with a train trip to Leamington Spa then taking a bus deeper into Warwickshire. This time however, i went to the market town of Southam which has a much more regular service so if i missed the bus i wouldn't have a two hour wait! In the event, the buses were fine though i had train trouble a couple of times! Southam is somewhere i have wanted to go to for some time, i think its the largest settlement in the county i had yet to visit. You can see my photos here.