Trains
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South London by Thameslink
In Croydon there are towers high, lean, and empty. At the station, an older woman with a natty blue rinse limps for the front carriage, and passes a human-shaped package in a pushchair. This is topped with a hat with bear ears, poking out from the swaddled layers below. High visibility clothing must be worn Read more
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Amersham (4am Eternal)
I’m currently cat-sitting at the end of the Metropolitan Line, deep in John Betjamin’s Metro-land. O Metro-land! Is all still pleasant in this Tory suburban eternal? All early data points to no. Amersham-on-the-Hill is where the old Metropolitan Railway now ends, an almost-place with a little mock-Tudor high street, two vainglorious kebab shops, and a Read more
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The Portsmouth to Gosport Ferry
My mum moves out of Southsea tomorrow. She has been busy with the emotional task of chucking out what needs to be chucked out, and putting into storage what needs to be put into storage, as she continues to look for somewhere new to live in the old, familial lands of Nottingham. Last week I Read more
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London to Berlin, via Harwich Ferry and European Sleeper
Last time, I came to Berlin via the night ferry and then a day train from Amsterdam. It’s now possible to flip reverse it: the day sailing from Harwich, and then a sleeper from Holland. [1] My journey started at 5:25am in Furzedown, near Tooting Common, with Murphy the dog forlornly watching me get underway. Read more
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Railway Architecture in the video game Fortnite
After many years of cars, motorbikes, biplanes, speedboats, helicopters, and hoverboards, Fortnite has finally incorporated a railway line. As a “Battle Royal” online fighting game, with an ever-shrinking playing arena and 99 other players trying to kill you, Fortnite doesn’t really lend itself to public transport. [1] The automobile and the gun reign supreme here. Read more
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Brighton Toy and Model Museum
Underneath Brighton station is a treasure trove of forgotten dreams. Brighton Toy and Model Museum, once the Sussex Toy and Model Museum, specialises in “the golden age of British and European toymaking”, and there isn’t much in here beyond the 1970s. Each of these four Victorian cellars is intensely packed with dolls, boats, trains, and Read more
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Eigg to Oban: a tale of three ferries
I was up on Eigg for Lost Map’s Howlin’ Fling festival – you can read my review of it up on the Morning Star website [1]. This blog post is about what happened after I left, covered in midge bites and having enjoyed all the island’s many tourist activities (amazing music festival, rocky outcrop walk, Read more
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Tudor Wassail at Michelham Priory
On a freezing, sunny afternoon, I arrived at Berwick railway station. No tweed to be seen: this was Berwick in Sussex, and I was on my way to a moat-ed, medieval priory, to take part in a Tudor Wassail with the Brighton Folk Choir. Usually a one-Wassail-a-year kind of lad, this was me branching out, Read more
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Brighton to Paris by rail and sail
I had forgotten Europe exists. Not because of some “Fog in Channel – Continent cut off” insularity, or because I am a mud-encrusted 13th century peasant who has never been further than Bessie’s hillock. Let me explain. During the pandemic my world, as for many, because a lot smaller. My brain adapts easily – too Read more
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