Cycling
West Country Rides, One
It takes a week to cycle from Penzance to Berwick. It took me 40 years. Because on the way, I wanted to include every town in England, in what amounted to some two years of [more…]
Travelogue
21st Century
Always Worth Saying’s Railway Review
Boy, how I miss Question Time. The witty repartee, the razor-sharp cut and thrust of debate. George the Poet. The £22 billion black hole. Foodbanks, the statutory tranny, and the obese woman with the purple [more…]
20th Century
Return To The Jernbanemysterium, Part Three
Let’s cut to the quick and get down to brass tacks. Or rather cut to a railway line on the icy wastes of central Norway and investigate a strange trackside anomaly only visible to sharp-eyed [more…]
20th Century
Return To The Jernbanemysterium, Part Two
Did we ever get to Lille? Those who know, know. Yes, we did, at about episode 70 of this humble racenteur’s hitty-missy Postcard of the same name that was once a staple of Saturday evening [more…]
Culture
A Potteries Idyll
This will be quite brief for a Sharpie article (I can almost hear the collective sighs of relief) but it acts as a bit of a paean to The Potteries, and one not only from [more…]
20th Century
Return To The Jernbanemysterium
A phrase lingers in the mind. In passing, Mr. DH — my colleague, a fellow Puffin to us all, and master of that mysterious gift known as the turn of phrase — once summed up [more…]
Hobbies
Northumberland, Part Two
It takes a week to cycle from Penzance to Berwick. It took me 40 years. Because on the way, I wanted to include every town in England, in what amounted to some two years of [more…]
Literature
A Train Journey
We woke up at 6 o’clock, packed our packs and clutching our 2nd class, reserved berth tickets caught our favourite rickshaw for the 10 minute journey to Margao station where our train to Bangalore was [more…]
Holiday
Yet Another Caribbean Christmas And New Year, Part Four
Wednesday 1st January 2025 – At Sea As usual, I was awake just after six, as seems to be the habit this cruise. I lay in bed for a bit and messaged “Happy New Year” [more…]