I probably made a poor choice to make a bumper post covering the entirety of my time off work. I’ll publish the first two weeks now and update the post when I have finally pulled out my finger and finished writing it!
I landed an early summer holiday in the leave rota at work, which also fell between two long weekends. The net result was pretty much a month off work. Armed with a fortnight of unlimited rail usage, some adventures were had.
Spent a few days visiting the parents. I shall spare the main complaints.
First main trip was a run up to Newcastle to catch up with some of the chaps from training school who are based up there. Unfortunately, this visit coincided with Newcastle United winning some football game and having a parade through town. Many busy pubs and pints in plastic cups were enjoyed. The Wetherspoon I was staying at ran out of chips. I also had a ride out on the Metro, before the old trains become baked bean cans.
Next was a bit of a tour of the South East. First stop was Oxford, where I had booked in to see David Starkey talk at the Literary Festival. Very conveniently, a recording of the talk was uploaded whilst I was writing this for posterity. Then onto Reading where I had booked the country’s shitiest Travelodge for digs. I suspect it used to be a 1970s office building that had been converted to a hotel, except no effort was made to modernise any of the original bits. I also paid a visit to the Nags Head, a quality pub that I had last attended over a decade before for a beer launch. Original football stadium signage was, happily, still in situ.
The following day took me to West London, where I took part in a loaded test run of a battery powered train. I was interested in the tech side mainly, considering that most of the rolling stock I work on is currently of the diesel variety, so I’m likely going to be using trains with a similar powertrain in the future. There was also an informative presentation from the engineering team afterwards, along with some freebies that are a part of these corporate events. I am now rocking a fetching lanyard at work. The return to Reading was supplemented by some more Wether-spotting in such exciting locations as Slough and Windsor.
The tour of Berkshire continued into the final day, where I dropped into the delightful concrete jungle of Bracknell. Most of this has been pulled down now, or been hidden behind cladding, so its starting to look a bit more 21st Century now. It’s still ongoing though, with a couple of massive car parks and office buildings all boarded up awaiting demolition. The big hotel in the centre has also shut down.
Next up was a visit to North Wales, primarily for Wether-spotting in Wrexham, Mold, Ruthin and Shotton. I managed to additionally drop into a former Spoons in Holywell, which is now independently operated. Although you’d never notice looking at the menu which provides a like-for-like selection of items to choose from. There was also time for some cultural nonsense, as I had time to pop into St Winefride’s Well. There was also the opportunity to do a devotional dunking but, as this was a spur of the moment visit, I hadn’t come prepared with suitable towels and shorts.
