Worcester Shrub Hill

Another day another photo shoot, but in a change from the usual script a photoshoot at a railway station not along a canal. Worcester Shrub Hill is the city's largest station (though not the one i use). Its a bit of a walk from work but i had time to take these photographs in my lunchbreak, including a lovely HST. A train i hated in my youth but now i love utterly.

The reason for both is interesting. In the past it was probably because the HST was always the train that got on TV in adverts and i wanted to see class 25s instead. Nowadays with a traction scene increasingly dominated by ugly multiple units the HST remains the ultimate DMU, its a link to my past and is a design classic!

POTD : London Horse

A horse tucks into the grass in Beckton, East London.

POTD : A pagoda in Victoria Park

A pagoda in Victoria Park, East London.

All official... and i miss...

I received the certificate for my MA at the weekend, its all official now then! Just the graduation ceremony to go in a couple of months then thats me finished with the Open University for the time being at least...

Its a shame really. Although i probably couldn't manage study at the moment due to time pressures with my current job i do miss the routine of study every night (i found it best to do daily small chunks than one longer stint - i have a short attention span see?)

Still i guess unless i do a PhD i've outgrown the need for formal education and should be able to develop my skills and knowledge myself. Actually i am planning on heading up to the National Archives at some stage to research an abandoned canal project for an article i am planning to write for my waterways blog. As with anything though time pressures are keeping me away from Kew...

POTD : Warwick Avenue

A Bakerloo Line train pulls into Warwick Avenue tube station.

Canal Tube Map 3.1

A few years ago i created a Birmingham canals map in the style of the iconic London tube map. Over the years the map has expanded in scope a bit and the map style has slowly evolved. Version 3.1 of the map has just been published which includes some stylistic improvements as well as some refinements how a number of canals are shown. Click here to check it out!

POTD : Alleyway

Perhaps a rather forbidding looking alleyway in this shot but it lies on the other side of the fence that enclosed the playing grounds of the primary school i attended. I remember looking out of the class room sometimes in the direction of the alleyway, also sometimes played on the other side of the fence. It probably hasn't changed a great deal since the early 1980s!

POTD : Maintaining the waterways

A fleet of boats is employed to help maintain Britain's inland waterways including this one seen on the Limehouse Cut in East London.

N. 28

Project 055 has now been completed, the fourth kit of the year and the second plane. And the first biplane. Most of the backlog are biplanes in fact but they don't hold the same terrors for me as they once did. Of course you just know the next one is going to be a nightmare, but anyway here is the latest completed plane, a Nieuport N. 28 C-1.

POTD : Snowdon Aviary

Part of London Zoo is the Snowdon Aviary. Built in 1964 it houses a number of bird species.

POTD : A fallen tree

Perhaps a victim of the inclement weather at the start of the year this tree lies (or lay anyway) on the banks of the Severn in Worcester.

Completing the Regent's Canal

It was way back on the last day of 2011 that i began my London canal odyssey and began to walk the Regent's Canal which crosses North London from near to Paddington station all the way across to the Thames in East London's docklands. I didn't actually walk much of the Regent's that first time but last year walked all of the canal eastwards from Kings Cross. There was still the western bit to complete though which i did at the weekend. You can see my photographs here.

Other Regent's Canal photos can be seen here, here, here and here where it all began, and aptly ends too!

POTD : Hereford Cathedral

In the second of our new series Photo Of The Day we feature the beautiful Hereford cathedral. Dating from the 11th century itself the cathedral also houses the Mappa Mundi, a 13th century map of the world.

Photo Of The Day

Introducing a new daily (or close enough) feature to this blog, the Photo Of The Day which will include photos i have taken around the UK. Now i have two photo blogs already dedicated to inland waterways and railways but this will be a series of photographs covering any subject. There will be still be photos of trains and canal boats sometimes but also photos like... well a cow on a London balcony.

A new loco for Eskalon

Full coverage can be seen on the Project Eskalon blog but my model railway has had a new arrival in the form of this lovely diesel locomotive.

Biplane of 2014 #1

Project 055 is the latest model project and is a Nieuport N. 28 C-1 World War 1 fighter. Its the first of a number of biplanes i have in my backlog. Years ago biplanes used to give me a lot of trouble, now i am a lot better with them. They look vaguely flyable anyway! Still twice as much wing to paint of course!