Organising Wednesday. Railway problems. A bit of nostalgia at Delph Station.

Another Wednesday rolls around. This one is a sunny and breezy one, a nice change after yesterday’s rain. It’s hard to keep up with this see-sawing weather. 

I cycled to the market this morning as usual. Things appear to be returning to normal. At any rate, Jenny, the cheese and biscuit lady has returned. In fact, the fishman was back too and whatever prevented the fruit and veg man from appearing last week has clearly stopped being a problem. The people who run the deli, however, have gone off to Birmingham to watch the Commonwealth Games.

We seem to be celebrating quite a lot of success at those games. I suppose that in a time of dire prognostications we need something to celebrate!

My daughter and I have been trying to organise a gentle walk in the sunshine with Granddaughter Number One. Granddaughter Number One has time off work but has been feeling ill. She has tested negative for Covid though so maybe she just has a bad cold! This is one of the problems of the age we live in: every sniffle has us wondering if this time it is Covid. As regards getting her out for a walk, we are making slow progress. She is reluctant to get moving! We shall see! 

Trains are being cancelled for strikes all over the place but there was a nicely amusing story of trains being stopped on the Norwich to Stansted line because there was a large tortoise on the line on Monday. By all accounts it had escaped from a wildlife centre. Too big to be lifted to one side, it needed to stay there until someone with the right equipment came along. It seemed to have some kind of gash in its shell - a confrontation with a train perhaps! - but rescue people said it will make a full recovery. Maybe that bit of track should be renamed the Tortoise Line. 

Which reminds me! At our end of the Donkey Line, well, beyond the end of the bridle path, adjacent to where a housing estate was built some years ago, stands the old Delph Station House. It still looks like an old-fashioned railway station, in the style of The Railway Children. The old platform is still there and there are old advertising posters on the wall of what is now a private house. Last week the owner had clearly taken delivery of a railway truck of some kind which was now parked in front of the old platform. This week it is clear that renovation work is going on. The rather rough protective panels have been removed to reveal an old passenger carriage with all its windows and doors. It’s in a bit of a poor state at present but I shall watch its progress with interest. Some people have extensions built onto their houses; if you live in an old station house, then a railway carriage is a logical thing to add to your property! Photos will be taken and displayed when possible. 

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!