The Northern Weekly Salvo 235

From Th’Edge O’Leet and Tref-y-Clawdd

Incorporating  Slaithwaite Review of Books, BikkiRail, Weekly Notices, Tunnel Gazers’ Gazette. Descendant of Teddy Ashton’s Northern Weekly. Contains no Isinglass

No. 235 February 20th 2017    

Salveson’s digest of railwayness, tripe and secessionist nonsense from Up North. Sometimes weekly, often not; but definitely Northern and maybe a bit Welsh too. Read by normal Hawaiians, the highest officers of state, Whitmanites, steam punks, yes women, no men, gay Swedenborgians, cat-spotters, discerning sybarites, pie-eaters, tripe dressers, self-managing VIMTO drinkers, truculent Northerners, grumpy Norwegians, absurd Marxists, members of the clergy and the toiling masses. All views expressed are my own and nobody else’s. Official journal of the Station Cat Improvement Network and Station Buffet Society.

“we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.” – Jo Cox, maiden speech in House of Commons, June 3rd 2015

General Gossips

It has been a long time since the last Salvo appeared. A combination of general busy-ness and a sore foot that has had a rather debilitating effect on me has resulted in the Salvo ‘week’ becoming rather an extended period. But we should see ‘time’ as something that isn’t a fixed entity and if a week sometimes becomes six weeks, well that’s just how it is. Ouch, my foot. I’ve tried to make this a varied and entertaining issue to compensate for the very long week between the last Salvo, number 234, and this one, number 235, being boringly linear. I’m going to resist talking about Trump and Brexit. You can guess my views on both and I don’t think anyone reads ‘The Salvo’ for its scintillating political analysis. Thought what people do read it for is an open question. In this issue I ponder on ‘The North’, its powerhouse, and the travails of Labour. There’s always interesting stuff happening, though perhaps the present time is all a bit too scary. I expect quite a few readers will have snorted at Blair’s speech on Europe. Personally, despite all the wrong-headed things he did – above all Iraq – the man was actually talking some sense this time. Oops, there you go, talking about Brexit after all.

Jo Barnes and the Jo Fund

The Jo Barnes Fund was set up in 2009 using some of the proceeds from Jo’s estate. She died from breast cancer on February 6th 2009. The fund was set up in her memory, focusing on issues she felt passionately about – the environment, community action and her beloved Colne Valley. Since then the fund has been used to help dozens of community projects in the Colne Valley (and a few in Staffordshire). Most recently it has supported Golcar and Slaithwaite Walkers are Welcome and the campaign to develop Slaithwaite Civic Hall as a community asset. The fund has now run out of money – as we always thought it would, eventually. Over the years it has been topped up by events, donations and the generous support of Lockwood Sing. It has lasted much longer than we originally thought and has made a real difference to so many activities and projects. The account, with Ecology Building Society, will be kept going with a minimal amount of money in it, and could possibly be reactivated in the future if we wanted to. But for now, the fund is ‘not dead, but sleeping’.

Has Labour had it?

In a few days we’ll know the result of the by-elections in Stoke and Copeland. On the basis that my predictions on the great events of the day (EU Referendum, US presidential elections) have been proved totally wrong I will say that the Tories will gain Copeland and UKIP will win Stoke Central. That should guarantee the opposite, which will be good. But Labour wins in both seats won’t solve the party’s problems, though a loss of either will add further fuel to the internal fire in Labour. In all the debate around Labour’s future I haven’t seen anyone standing back and asking what should a modern centre-left party be? That’s Labour’s ground but it seems to be on the one hand voluntarily relinquishing it and on the other being a victim of long-term social trends which render the ‘traditional’ Labour Party obsolete. By that I mean the decline of the mass working class base that underpinned Labour across the UK, organised through the ‘big battalions’ of the trades unions in coal, steel, railways, textile and engineering. At one time these organisations didn’t just provide the votes but also to a degree the intellectual ‘powerhouse’ within Labour, through an alliance with progressively-inclined middle class intellectuals. On a smaller scale the Communist Party of Great Britain did that too. Whilst the CP is obviously finished, apart from a tiny rump which does a good job in keeping the quirky Morning Star afloat, Labour is heading the same way.

On the really big issues of the day – Europe in particular but also nuclear power, Trident and let me add democratic devolution, Labour has either nothing to say or is on the wrong side. When threatened it retreats into sectarian name-calling. Hence the SNP once again get tagged as ‘Tartan Tories’, despite being to the left of Labour on most issues. The Greens are ‘tree huggers’ and the Lib Dems are flayed for their (admittedly mistaken) alliance with the Tories. For the Labour leadership, and most of its activists, the idea of a ‘progressive alliance’ is anathema. They can’t even achieve a progressive alliance within their own Party, let alone with anyone outside. Yet for all that, Labour remains the main force for political progress in England and Wales, for now. But it’s going to carry on declining, with a few blips where it wins the odd seat here and there. The trajectory is for further decline (just look at Labour’s share of the vote since 2005) until some point where there is a re-alignment. It has to come, the left is inhabiting a world that has become a museum where we live out the great struggles of the past but haven’t a clue what to do about the world we’re in. Even the party’s name reeks of obsolescence (as Blair recognised though ‘New Labour’ never really cracked it). What’s wrong with ‘Social Democratic’?

Quite a few friends of mine are saying the Lib Dems are offer a more attractive centre left agenda than Labour, particularly on Europe. The Greens, after losing some support to Labour in the early months of Corbyn’s leadership, are bouncing back and winning local council by-elections. There is a radical energy out there – witness the remarkable success of the women’s marches recently. It isn’t, and won’t be, captured by Labour whoever was in charge of it. Or at least, on its own. I hope the voices of people like Lisa Nandy who is calling for an alliance of the centre left will start to gain traction - but you can probably tell from the tone of this that I doubt it. We need a new politics, particularly for England. It can’t afford to be a London-centric ‘project’ led by a handful of Guardian columnists, but something that is based on the distinctive regional patchwork of our nation. But that’s for another rant, in the next issue.

Signalling contemporary art

I had a very enjoyable cultural tour of north London the other week. It included the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow, which is a short bus ride from Walthamstow Central station. It’s a great place, and very much on the map of cultural venues to visit in London. Less well known but equally interesting is the wonderfully-named ‘Banner Repeater’ art space on Platform 1 at Hackney Downs station. I had a special visit hosted by Ami Clarke. She told me: “We’ve a small bookshop that supports artists who publish, creating a busy hub of activity with talks and launches of artists’ books. An online shop also helps distribute these alongside a portfolio of commissioned fundraiser prints. A reading group meets regularly to discuss new texts, with an open invitation for all to join us. There is a Friends of Banner Repeater scheme which meets regularly for special screenings, talks and visits to exhibitions of interest. As a community-run arts organisation, we are committed to broadening access to the arts, exemplified by our commitment to opening at 8am in the morning, 4 days a week, to catch the attention of a packed platform of people at that time in the morning”.  Well worth hopping on a train from Liverpool Street and having a look round!

More art on stations

What a railway culture vulture I’m becoming…..Sunday saw me attending the opening event of Fetch Theatre’s new space on Leominster station. The event was packed! The Fetch Theatre is a touring theatre company producing a highly visual style of theatre incorporating puppetry and mask work. They’re strongly committed to promoting theatre as an activity for everyone, bringing theatre of the highest quality to audiences that may not have easy access to the arts. The station provides an ideal base for the theatre company and it as good to meet the people involved. They’ve got a slightly complicated lease: Leominster Town Council has leased the space from Network Rail and in turn sub-lets to the theatre company. There’s a growing number of arts organisations taking space on stations, as Salvo readers will be well aware. Look out for more artistic updates in the next Salvo, including news of a new initiative along the Heart of Wales Line – Art of Wales Line 2018, celebrating the line’s 150th anniversary.

Heart of Wales Trails In Front

Readers will be familiar with the progress of The Heart of Wales Line Trail, now the subject of an attractively-designed leaflet, in both English and Welsh. It’s called ‘a trail in the making’ and that’s very much what it is. The trail, promoted by the Heart of Wales Line Development Co., uses existing rights of way along its route from Craven Arms to Llanelli, but needs a boot of oomph with waymarking, website and printed information. Arriva Trains Wales has been very generous in its support, both financially and in kind. The Heart of Wales Line Travellers Association has been brilliant, urging its hundreds of members to give financial contributions. The crowd-funding appeal (see link below) has been very effective but we need more contributions. Please help! If you want copies of the leaflet to distribute to your friends or leave in local shops, contact Rachel at the email address below.

• Heart of Wales Line Trail: contact: [email protected] 07805 864823
• Crowd Funding at https://localgiving.org/heartofwaleslinetrail
• Twitter @walesrailtrail   Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HeartofWalesLineTrail

Messroom Gossip

Back in 1994 I was tutor for an oral history course organised by the University of Leeds Department of Adult Education, which is sadly no longer with us. And for that matter, most of the course participants are now signing on at the great depot in the sky. They were a mixture of former drivers, guards, signalmen – and one female clerk, Eunice. Over a period of ten weeks, in the lounge of the Leeds Railway Club at City station, we exchanged stories of railway life. The tales were amazing. Some of their recollections stretched back to wartime; many of the stories were about railway life in West Yorkshire in the 50s and 60s, leading up to the end of steam. They were human, and often very, very funny. I wrote up the results and shared them with the group. The reaction was interesting. Some of them thought the stories were nothing special – ‘messroom gossip’ as one ex-driver said. That struck me as a good title for a publication, though I’ve never quite got round to doing anything about it. Looking through some old files I came across the text, some of which had already been transcribed into ‘word’ document. To give you a flavour, here’s an excerpt from one of the participants. It’s by Ralph Burnell. He started at Stourton depot in 1942 at the age of 14. He retired as a driver in 1987.

Ernie Rainford was called “The Vicar”. He lived in Hunslet near to the vicarage. On one occasion a knocker-up arrived at what he thought was Ernie’s door, very early in the morning. A bad-tempered man eventually came to the door and was told it was time to get up. He answered “Don’t you know who I am? I’m the Vicar of Hunslet!” To which the knocker-up replied “I don’t care who you are, but you’re on at 2 a.m.!” Ernie had the distinction of being fond of animals, and on one occasion brought a donkey into the mess room. It left its calling card. The shed foreman was called ‘Barber’ and everyone knew him as ‘Ali’ – but not to his face. He had a big car, and one day Ernie and his mate ‘stowed away’ in the back seat when he was going home. When they wanted to get out, Ernie tapped him on the shoulder, and said to the surprised foreman – “Let us out here Ali.” They got a bigger surprise when he took them a further five miles out of their way! There was one driver known to one and all as “Deep Depression”. If you said ‘Good Morning’ to him, he’d say “It’ll rain before dinner time.” Another was called ‘Fish Billy’. He always had a cold fish from the fish shop, which he would warm up on the shovel. One day his mate was driving : he opened the regulator and the fish was sucked into the firebox – well and truly cooked!

Pilling Pig snorts again?

A small band of railway enthusiasts are aiming to re-open a section of the former Garstang and Knott End Railway. It was one of those delightful oddities of rural branch-line Britain, meandering through farmland before reaching the ferry at Knott End. Underlining its rural nature, one of the locos was called ‘Farmer’s Friend’ though locally it was always ‘The Pilling Pig’. Allen Clarke in his More Windmill Land recalls a cycle ride with his Whitmanite friend (and cotton waste dealer) Fred Wild, when they end up, exhausted, at Pilling and catch “the little corridor train” to Knott End. The line closed in sections, with a short stub from the West Coast Main Line at Garstang and Catterall surviving until 1965. The passenger service succumbed as a early as 1930. There’s a plinthed Hudswell Clarke saddletank outside a caravan park in Pilling, with the ‘Pilling Pig’ name attached, alongside a smaller equivalent called (what else?) ‘Pilling Piglet’. However, the Hudswell beast never actually ran on the line, spending most of its life moving coal at Mountain Ash, South Wales. Like so many similar lines (Southwold, Bishop’s Castle) the spectacularly un-economic railway lives on in people’s imagination and local culture. The cafe at Knott End, on the site of the original station, is full of photos and memorabilia from the railway. And they do a lovely pie and chips. The Garstang and Knott End Railway was built to standard gauge. The newly-formed society has more modest ambitions, and is looking at a 2’ gauge project, which makes lots of sense. It’s cheaper, more flexible in terms of route, and there’s plenty of 2’ gauge track and equipment out there. If you want to know more, or get involved, drop me an email and I’ll pass it on.

Northern Powerhouse: women need not apply? (from Chartist magazine, March 2017)

The ‘Northern Powerhouse’ continues to...what? Steam ahead? Despite the distinct lack of enthusiasm from Theresa May, George Osborne is carving out his own niche in the Northern firmament. An ‘international’  conference is being organised (tickets price ￡450 plus VAT ) in Manchester this week.  I think I’ll give it a miss. A feature of the line-up of main speakers, highlighted in the press release, is the complete absence of women. Of the total line-up of nearly a hundred speakers just 13 are female. This was commented on by Wigan Council’s chief executive Donna Hall who last year was named the North of England’s most transformational leader at the inaugural Northern Power Women awards, set up to celebrate the region’s talented women. She wasn’t invited to speak.

Donna Hall told the Guardian it was “unbelievable” that she had not been invited to take part. It wasn’t an individual gripe.“Really disappointing that the organisers have scrubbed women off the agenda. In Greater Manchester we are focussing on health and social care, skills, early years and issues of massive importance to women. Holding back women holds back everyone and the whole of the North. Wake up and get with it guys!” she said. One of the few female speakers at the conference, Kirsty Styles of Tech North, said: “The ‘northern powerhouse’ is still being shaped — but what we do know is that it seeks to rebalance the UK economy by ensuring the north works together and speaks with one voice — which cannot be done if local women and other groups are excluded from high-level conversations.“If we keep sourcing our speakers and our local leaders from the same places, we’ll keep hearing the same old ideas and coming up with the same solutions.”

Couldn’t agree more. It’s about much more than a line-up of conference speakers. It’s how the North (upper-case, please note...) gets its act together and plays a full part on the UK stage along with London, Scotland, Wales and the English regions. It won’t happen if it confines itself to over-priced conferences aimed at the usual suspects, hoping the Westminster government will be nice to us and give us a high-speed railway. And this is the problem with the Osborne Powerhouse. It’s male, stale, very, very white and completely lacking in imagination. There is a vibrant, creative North out there, but it will not be represented by The Osborne Powerhouse.

Creating an alternative will take time and patience. But an alternative ‘Northern Powerhouse’ that celebrates the North’s diversity, needs to be built. A Northern Umbrella. It isn’t about running over-priced conferences mainly populated by suits, but bringing together a huge cross-section of talent, in industry, local government, arts, education, community and unions. We need to be shouting for the North, demanding the same sort of democratic devolution that Scotland and Wales already have, and tapping into the huge reservoir of talent and imagination that’s out there. A start could be a weekend event that brings the makings of that alternative powerhouse together.

The Great Big Northern Umbrella is at an early planning stage. There is interest from several Northern institutions, including the highly-respected Big Issue North. It will be a not-for-profit event with free admission. The event needs a mixture of sponsorship, grants, support in kind (e.g. Big Issue North promotion), crowd funding – and more. Will it work? We’ve a few weeks to get enough momentum to make it work. Where? That depends on interest shown; certainly somewhere accessible by public transport. Wigan is favourite. When? Probably early Autumn. Want to get involved? Go to www.northern-umbrella.org.uk 

But on the other hand...

Great to see that Women in Community Rail is moving forward. There’s a full-day event hosted by Merseytravel in Liverpool next Monday. It includes a session on ‘unconscious bias’. Maybe the organisers of the Northern Powerhouse conference should sign up?

Justina’s observations

I haven’t got much time to contribute this week, I have a mouth to feed. However, it was pleasing that several readers of this ‘Salvo’ asked what had happened to me. Simple enough, I have had a holiday. Where it was is of no concern to you, but I was very well fed, which is more than I can say of my current hosts. There is some good news on the railway cat scene. John, the Craven Arms station cat, was spotted early one morning whilst Salveson was fooling around trying to park his car before catching the 06.57 train. It is pleasing to say my predecessors being honoured. None more worthy, I must say, than the GWR’s Goodwick Station Cat. A memorial sculpture to “the legendary Goodwick Station cat” (I quote, from The County Echo) was unveiled at Fishguard and Goodwick station last month. My fellow feline, described as an excellent mouse and rat-catcher, lived at the station in the years following the First World War. Her usual residence was in the signalbox though her special human friend was guard Peter Williams. She once did ‘relief duty’ at Mathry Road station and was said to have cleared the place of rats within six days. She raised at least one litter of kittens at Goodwick Station and saw off any dog that strayed onto the platform. Despite having her tail severed by a passing train, she enjoyed a long and happy life and was buried under the railway bridge following her death in August 1931. The sculpture owes much to the untiring efforts of cat and railway lover Hattie Woakes of the North Pembrokeshire Transport Forum. Hatti said of my late sister: "She may not know it, but she will serve not only as a poignant reminder of the past when this station and railway line bustled with activity; but joyfully now as a witness to the superb restoration of the old station and the provision of additional train services that have been so enthusiastically welcomed by both locals and visitors."  

Readers’ Rants

Stuart Warr writes: “I enjoyed reading your piece about the Heart of Wales line in the current Salvo; last Thursday with 12 other members of the South Wales Branch of the Railway Correspondence & Travel Society I purchased an Arriva Trains Wales' Heart of Wales Circular Day Ranger (￡39 each, but for holders of 'old gits' railcards a mere ￡25.75). We joined at various stations between Newport and Swansea and caught the 09.33 departure north over the Central Wales line (to give it its original name) and had the pleasure (?) of a 4-hour journey on a Class 153. A catering trolley was advertised, but it was not available, fortunately we all prepared for this eventuality by packing a light repast to stave off starvation. What a great day we all had (despite the lack of catering); the winter is probably the best time to travel on this route, it has so many fabulous views that are hidden from spring to autumn by foliage. I know that HoWLTA keep pressing Network Rail to cut back the trees on the lineside, but of course, such activities do not present an immediate profit and sadly, that seems to be the highest priority for all railway based companies. I wish the new long-distance rail-trail every success, let us all hope that it will bring greater usage to this line, a little gem in Arriva's geographical area.”

Stuart Parkes sheds some interesting light on a wandering Jinty: As ever, I'll make a reference to something abroad. Reflecting the city's film festival, Cannes station has a mural in the form of cinema stills depicting a vintage train drawing up into a station. Hope that counts. If I may, I should also like to expand on a previous answer to a crank quiz, the one about British locomotives abroad. I now have access to my book on Berlin, which shows the Jinty at (Berlin) Tempelhof works in October 1953 in a forlorn and probably pre-scrapping state. It had been part of the army's stock but had had some attention at the Reichsbahn Cottbus works in 1944. No more information is given. If one assumes that it was 'captured' in France in 1940, it must have then been moved east at some point. It would be interesting to know how far it got and also what its LMS number was!

And here’s a rant to The Observer (not published...)

Julian Coman ('A Party in Crisis' Observer February 12) offers a thoughtful analysis of Labour's problems in the North of England. The left does need to re-connect with community and strong sense of place but that need not involve becoming a pinker shade of UKIP. Look further north, where the SNP has succeeded in mobilising exactly the same people who feel so alienated from mainstream politics - white working class former Labour voters. For many, the only alternative south of the border appears to be UKIP. It need not be so. Contrary to the sectarian jibes of some Labour supporters, the SNP has achieved its commanding position in Scotland on the basis of socially progressive, pro-European policies. The solution should be fairly obvious - the North (upper case, please) needs its regionalist equivalent of the SNP: building a new sense of pride in region and community based on a modern centre-left agenda that is pro-European and stands for social justice, democratic devolution and a resurgent economy offering real jobs. Wigan MP Lisa Nandy would make an excellent leader of a new Northern party.

Marching about Radnorshire and Montgomeryshire

Saturday was a particularly pleasant day, feeling almost Spring-like. As ‘serious’ walking is currently prohibited I decided to go for a drive round a few Powys towns, some of which I’m not all that familiar with. I headed first for Newtown, birthplace of Robert Owen and a lively market town. The road from Knighton through Knucklas and Beguildy is delightful, heading along the Teme valley and then over the hills before dropping into Newton itself. The main objective was to visit the Davies Art Gallery, one of the best in Wales I’d say. It isn’t big, but it’s the quality that counts. I wasn’t disappointed. There was a very good show on called ‘Imaginary Worlds’ - an exhibition of artworks by 52 illustration and book artists from Wales, other parts of the UK, Europe and Australia. The gallery website tells the story: “it includes illustration for children’s and adult’s books, artists’ books and graphic novels, video animations, large and small-scale drawings, print and painting. It included fables and folk law; tall tales of all kinds, including the unexpected; the light-hearted and playful: the dark and mysterious. These artists open doors to other worlds and other lives. They present people, places and creatures; invented and real; from the future and the past, and the here and now. Together, they offer a great celebration of the extraordinary power of the imagination. The exhibition results from Oriel Davies’ Open Call to artists to enter illustration-related work based around the theme of ‘Imaginary Worlds’. The call had a great response, with 130 artists entering”. Well worth seeing but be sharp, it finishes on February 25th.

In the gallery bookshop I picked up a copy of Brian Poole’s excellent book on Caersws – a The Railway Village. It’s a fine piece of social history and Caersws is still very much a railway place, with a station largely intact (the house is for sale!) and a working signalbox. Not far away is Mid-Wales Arts, which I popped in to see, though it isn’t open to the public until Easter. Cathy was a very welcoming host all the same and told me about plans for an event in April which will include art work on the station. More in subsequent Salvoes. I’m looking forward to going back when the gallery – and cafe – is open. I’m told the food is excellent (as well as the art, obviously). There is a close connection hereabouts between railways and culture. John Ceiriog Hughes, often described as the Welsh Burns, was manager of the Van Railway which ran from Caersws up the lead mines around Van (or Y Fan). ‘Ceiriog’ is one of the figures to be celebrated in the art work on the station.

I headed towards Llanidloes via Y Fan – will return to do a proper walk round there, it looks amazing. Llanidloes (or ‘Llani’ it seems) is a pleasant little town with some great little shops, including Great Oak Bookshop. I can recommend the fish and chips too. The original station building, former HQ of the Mid-Wales Railway, is in use as offices but I didn’t get chance to visit. Llanidloes was quite a radical centre in its day, with a very active Chartist presence during the late 1830s and 1840s. From here I took the ‘back road’ over the hills to Rhayader, which offers stunning views of the hills. You get glimpses of the old railway including the most spectacular part of the line at where it cut through the rocks at Tylwch. What a tragedy this line closed. It could never justify its existence on its own but in terms of vital infrastructure for Mid-Wales it could have offered so much. Llanidloes was also the junction of the projected ‘Manchester and Milford Railway’ which never managed to get beyond Llangurig. The earthworks as far as Llangurig were built and a spur south of Llanidloes was put in, but it sort of petered out a few hundred yards after leaving the Rhayader line. I deeply regret never having travelled on the line. A summer afternoon with a ‘Manor’ at the head of a short train would have been any railway crank’s idyll.

Rhayader was another new discovery. One of those places I’d driven through but never had time to stop off and explore. It’s worth it. There is a good chip shop here too but one lot of fish and chips in a day is quite enough. I opted for a very nice coffee and bread pudding in the local deli/cafe (Wild Swan Wholefoods). There’s a very good local art shop nearby, Oriel Fach (Little Gallery) selling some good quality work by local artists. And just down from there is an antique shop which was displaying a very large model locomotive, apparently made by a local retired railwayman. I was tempted, and may go back....

Time to head for home but I wasn’t quite finished. I’d been told that Abbey-cwm-hir, up in the hills near Rhayader, was a lovely spot so I decided to make it my last stopping off point. The Cistercian abbey ruins are in a beautiful setting and the entire area is quite stunning. I was listening to Janacek’s ‘Moravian Folk Songs’ on Radio 3 whilst driving along and the scenery did feel slightly of that part of central/eastern Europe.

Crank Quiz

Last issue’s crank quiz invited readers to nominate art galleries at stations. Here’s a selection and very soon there will be a fairly comprehensive review of them, but wait and see!

Rae Street chides: Art Galleries on Stations? How could you overlook Incredible Edible Todmorden? (as if I would – ed.). John Yellowlees highlights some splendid Scottish examples: “Kinghorn has its Station Gallery and Studios, at Ladybank there's an artist Kirsty Lorenz and The Off The Rails Arthouse, artist Leo du Feu is soon to move into Burntisland Station, the signalbox at Aberdour is being turned into a pottery studio and Inverkeithing houses a permanent art exhibition the Fife Circle ConverStations. No wonder then that the main line through Fife is being promoted by Kinghorn's Lynette Gray as the Artline, with an open weekend at these and other venues at the end of April”. I fully intend to visit!

While Peter Hayward of Friends of Dronfield Station reminds us of a great project at a smaller station: “Many smaller stations do not have the infrastructure to create a 'gallery', but local input is still possible at a smaller scale. The Schools Artwork Project organised by the Friends of Dronfield Station has, for the last 4 years, enabled all 13 schools (primary, infant, junior and comprehensive) in the town to display the students' artwork in poster-cases in our waiting shelters. Schools contribute in rotation, with displays changed 3 or 4 times a year so that every school 'gets a turn' every 3 years or so. Displays are unveiled at a special ceremony by the Town Mayor”.

And Simon Clarke flags up the cultural delights of Blackburn station: “Paul, Not sure if this counts but the waiting room on platforms 1/2 at Blackburn has a permanent art installation including Brian the Bull that was created by Daisyfield Primary School”. Yes, it does count Simon.

This week’s crank question: How many different non-railway uses for items of railway signalling equipment can you suggest? This is a bit of a poser but could include different uses for names of types of signal (e.g. ‘banner repeater’). Home sweet home? Maybe not...

The Bretherton Bibliophile and Marches Review of Books

I’ve been reading quite a few novels recently, mostly charity-shop buys and none the worse for that. Top of the list would be When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro. What an amazing writer he is. The novel is largely set in Shanghai during the war with Japan. What a mess China was then. It’s about a young English boy losing his parents and his search in adulthood to be re-united with them. Another challenging (emotionally speaking) read is Edna O’Brien Little Red Chairs. It’s about the Bosnian war but is mainly set in Ireland. It includes one of the most horrible descriptions of human cruelty anyone could imagine. It’s a very fine novel about a recent and very shameful period of our history which could have been avoided if our supposedly civilised nations had got their acts together sooner. For something more relaxing, I’m enjoying reading Caersws – The Railway Village by Brian Poole. Yes, I’ve already mentioned it elsewhere but it’s a rare example of good railway social history. It’s published by Oakwood.

One of the unjustly forgotten socialist heroines of the late 19th century is Enid Stacy, who spent part of her life in Littleborough. Angela Tuckett’s recently-published biography – Our Enid – The Life and Work of Enid Stacy 1869-1903 – gives her the recognition she deserves. Enid was a founder of the Independent Labour Party and one of those fearless orators – mostly female – who travelled round the country in the ‘Clarion Van’. She was a founder member of the Independent Labour Party, a champion of full equality for women, a campaigner for all children to have the same educational and developmental opportunities, and a brave critic of the Boer War when ‘war fever’ was at its height. She shared platforms with her now more famous contemporaries Keir Hardie, Eleanor Marx and Tom Mann. Enid toured the country speaking in halls large and small, as well as on platforms outdoors or from a Clarion Van - an inspiring orator, who according to Mann, ‘could speak to thousands in the open air as though she was talking to each in their own home’.

She was an amazing woman and it’s highly appropriate that the Working Class Movement Library has published her biography. The late Angela Tuckett was also a remarkable woman – author, historian, diarist, song writer, theatrical producer (with sister Joan), solicitor, political activist, lecturer, feminist, qualified pilot and international hockey player. After her husband’s death in 1979, Angela started seriously to research the life of her aunt with the encouragement of Eddie and Ruth Frow, founders of the Working Class Movement Library. However, after rejections by publishers of her early draft, she put it on one side and never returned to it. She died in 1994. It was the wish of Ruth and Eddie that one day the biography of Enid Stacy would see the light of day. And now it has. It can be bought from the WCML or at George Kelsalls’s splendid bookshop in Littleborough, ring 01706 370244 for details.

Special Traffic Notices

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Knighton Needs You now has a website and held a well attended public meeting recently. Get involved: https://www.knightonneedsyou.uk/

CrostonFest is this Saturday! The local folk of Croston are planning to make the biggest Lancashire hotpot in the world.

The same evening, February 25th, is Slaithwaite Moonraking. I’m going to dig out my passport nd get over there to enjoy the proceedings with my mates.

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