Easter Monday

Photographs by Kizz using Nikon D70s

Original Copies of the pictures are available for a simple fee.

Easter Monday, traditionally a day for the DIY enthusiast, wallpapering the back bedroom, visiting the nearby garden centre hoping the kids don't wreck the displays, visiting the relatives hoping the kids don't throw up in the back of the car as you crawl down congested motorways. Sigh... I recall when I was part of the same world. Now, I am older, some might suggest wiser, some might suggest that I am capable of doing whatever I want to do, after all, I have changed Gender, am now about to be married, again, and I have the ability to make up my own mind about how to spend a glorious bank holiday weekend.

Well, DIY is something that I do get into from time to time, but just now, well, lets just say that I can drive past Home Depot or B&Q without getting all bent out of shape in case I miss out on the latest laser guided spirit level with dual burning ash-trims, Battery operated of course. I am not about to paper the back bedroom, or the front one, or any one for that matter. basically, because I have too much to do and too little time left to go squandering on wallpapering sessions.

As for visiting relatives, well, we live alongside the M6, three lanes each way to god knows where and standing traffic most of the time. Such is the price of progress, the more you need to get somewhere, the slower you have to go because ten million others all want to go at the same time, in the same direction. Ah, Progress.

"Ah", I hear you say, "the transport system is one of our own choosing"!

Indeed it is, we copied Germany after the War, well, not quite. We looked at what they had done and decided we could do better, but to save money, we would build fewer lanes and elect to incur the greatest financial expenditure in British motoring history. We took decades to implement the concept, and then decade to build them. Then, suddenly realised we were twenty years behind the times and the needs had created more demand than the new infrastructure could accommodate. Sadly, we are again talking, yes, talking about building relief motorways, in another decade, when they are finally ready for the long suffering motorist, the roads are going to be beyond bursting point and the new roads will fill overnight! We will be left wondering, why they don't build more roads... Aaargh! Such Frustration.

After our economy flourished using Canals, and again flourished using railways, we elected to create motorways while Dr. Beeching swung his Axe upon the great British Railway System.

Quote: "Dr. Richard Beeching was appointed as Chairman of the newly formed British Railways Board in June 1961 by the Minister of Transport. His brief was to basically make the railways pay. His report "The Reshaping of British Railways" was published in 1963. The report revealed that only half the routes covered the cost of operating them, and that half the stations produced about 95% of all the revenue. When the "Beeching Plan" was finalised in 1965, it recommended that only about half of the 17,000 miles of track be retained.

True to form the politicians were quick to act on the cost reduction part of the plan and a lot of rail mileage disappeared and more than 2,000 railway stations were closed.

Dr. Beeching was the "Head" of BR and did what he was briefed to do by the British Government."

Taken from an extract of  http://www.rodge.force9.co.uk/faq/beeching.html

The net result was to deposit tens of thousands of tonnes of freight onto the already crowded roadways. Like the canals, the few railways that remained were under-maintained, over-crowded, expensive to use, and sadly, did not go from A to B as they had originally.

Femina and I elected to go out today, rather than repaper the back bedroom, or visit relatives, or go to a garden centre, we elected to take up cameras and see what we could find to snap away at.

I love discovering islands, those places that everyone passes by and nobody gets to see. Today, we found one. Straddling a single track line, where once had been at least two tracks, a level crossing and crossing keepers cottage.
 

The small train emerged from the middle distance, a single railway maintenance vehicle. Its headlights on, horn sounding as it approached the crossing, than as quickly, it passed and vanished around another curve. The air fell silent and as quickly as it had arrived, it was gone.

We only had one go to get the thing onto digital film. One chance to strike a balanced picture, one attack at the prize. Then it was over, it was done, the deal was finished. We laughed and reviewed our work as  the quietness settled un-noticed. Suddenly it was all worth it. A tiny crossing, not even on the map had given us a fantastic burst of interest and excitement as we had driven around long forgotten country lanes. Rather than take on the guided tour, the same as every other tourist, we had explored our local spaces and found an island, one that will stay with us forever, and now, one that you have become party too by reading this.

The weather, typically English. We want the promised sunshine as per the mornings television. We got overcast skies, scudding clouds and passing showers of rain and or sleet. Instant demoralization.

Then, as we dandied along the A34, or was it the A50, Femina spotted the blacked and white timberframe of Little Moreton Hall. We just had to stop and take a look.

Little Moreton Hall

This pile has been around for a few centuries, growing a little here and there as wings and stages were added. Mostly, Sandstone blocks have been inserted under the structure to try and stop the place from falling down. Sadly, as each higher stage was installed, the weight on the timber supports increased until the oak beams supporting the building started to crumble. You might say it is sagging a little.

People were starting to gather to take the morning tour as Femina and I elected to just take a few snaps and be on our way. We did not feel like exploring the inside of the hall, maybe we would leave that opportunity until Pammie arrives from the USA in a few weeks time.

At the rear of the hall is a barn, reminds me of the barns I had seen in some parts of the US so maybe there is a European heritage at play here. The grey timbered mirrored the grey dull skies that haunted us this day, and the barn was only worth a passing snap of attention.

Such is a typical Bank Holiday Monday. Decide to do one thing, and the weather decided we would do something else. Since we have been home, and I have written this, the sun has come out and danced a while, Femina has decided to buy a better backpack for her camera equipment and we have had a fried egg sandwich. The day has not been lost after all.

Kaela Street
17th April 2006
Easter Monday