I'd had a three day trip back home to visit my mum over Christmas, and I was on the final leg. First Capital Connect, London Underground, Virgin Trains, and now a Merseyrail train was bringing me back from Lime Street. The train burst out of the tunnel at Birkenhead Park, and my phone purred into life with a text from the Bf:"GET AN ECHO!"
A large picture taking up the whole of Page 3, fulfilling my lifelong ambition to be Samantha Fox, accompanied by a rather nice article by Kevin Core about me and my obsession. I feel simultaneously slightly proud and slightly embarrassed.
I am duty bound to mention the Amazoness website. George from that site left the link to the Merseyrail anagram website mentioned in the article, but sadly, when Kevin the reporter phoned me on my mobile at work, I was too flustered and incoherent to remember exactly where the anagrams came from: I've tracked back through the archives and found the link, but sadly it's not working now - not down to me I hope. Sorry I couldn't plug you directly, George, and also sorry to Sue The Lovely Tubewhore, who despite being mentioned as the inspiration never actually got a plug in the Echo.
The article's not dreadful, I suppose; he's tidied up my rambles and made it look like I know what I'm talking about, rather than just reprinting my burbles. Not sure I like being called a "buff". I'd prefer to be referred to as buff (hey, I can dream). It made me laugh that even when a professional photographer is involved, you still end up with an up-the-nostril shot. Rudi from Merseyrail was politely bemused in his quote. And I guess this means I can actually cross Liverpool Lime Street off the list as a properly tarted station: the evidence is there for thousands to see!
(Hello to any newbies by the way...)
4 comments:
Hello from a newbie!
I heard about your blog from the fine pages of the Echo and finally found it. I've been sat here all night with a bottle of wine thoroughly enjoying reading through it. Absolutely brilliant stuff, and that's not me "bigging you up" - it's the truth!
I'm a daily City Line user myself - I work in Manchester and hump my weary bones top and fro daily, surviving only thanks to my mobile phone and my Zune mp3 player. What more could a man want...
Anyway, brilliant, brilliant site. Thank you!
Thanks for being the one newbie who visited, and thanks for being polite!
The City Line is still pretty much unconquered, so you'll have to advise me if there's anything worth seeing out there...
Well as far as the City Line goes, I'm between Whiston, which you've already has the misfortune of visiting (not the best station in the world but what it lacks in charm it makes up for in empty lager cans and a bus stop) and the, as yet untarted Prescot.
Prescot has a really old and quaint station building, all boarded up now and sealed off, on one side, and a horrific modern brick shelter on the other side. That's it. It's only a 10 minute walk from Whiston, so the area is much the same, bar some luxury flats that are sprouting up in the locality for some unknown reason - and the all conquering Tesco store.
One saving grace for Prescot though - old semaphore signalling. One of the last places in the whole country to still have it apparently. Although I hear it's due to be renewed any day soon, if it hasn't been already....Oh and it has, or had, a lovely old signal box. Not sure if it's still there....
Prescot town centre is nice though. Check out the Church and the spooky graveyard. Very historic. And Prescot has a Shaksepearian link - the man himself had his plays performed there as he watched on, as he fled the plagues of London towards the end of the 16th century.
Eccleston Park is in a quiet area, next to a golf course and just down the road from a decent pub with decent grub - The Grapes.
Not too sure about Thatto Heath. It's in a rather undesirable area of St Helens though I think, or I'm told. Apologies if that offends any Thatto Heathians out there, if there are such a body of people....
Whiston has indeed been done, though I have to admit it was at a breakneck pace as I was running for the train. However it didn't look too inspiring from where I stood.
I have a friend who lives in Prescot so I was planning on combining the tart there with a visit to him - with Thatto Heath and Ecclestone Park on the same leg. I'll certainly keep an eye out for the signals and the box though; I love it when there are archaisms still hanging around here and there on the network. Thatto Heath sounds so nice - it can't be all bad!
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