Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71

....10 - 15 miles to Stoke along the A53 Jock but if we travel further along that route than Milton once per year then that is all. We relate much more to the high level routes to Buxton (only 15mins away)/Ashbourne and Ellastone (routes to the East). Dave

....don't look down the barmaid's top whilst waiting for your pint then! Dave

....give it your best shot Simon. Rgds Dave

Aft'noon all, All the best to anyone ailing. Despite living in a remote corner of Staffordshire it can be difficult to escape the realities of the last week. The scenery is as wild and untamed as ever but ones take on the views can be affected by such troubled times.... ....it isn't always necessary to feel the prevailing wind to know the way which it blows.... ....not always what it seems....erosion in miniature. This rock salt heap is new and will look the same in a couple of months time if not disturbed....but by then the rain will have soaked through the pile many times, dissolving the core progressively and carrying it down the hill as a heavily saline solution, hopefully mostly along the road surface....the needy motorist on the slippery road will then insert his spade into a collapsing wind dried hollow crust.... ....the Union flag against a troubled sky.... ....squally showers and bright spells march 50/50 across the landscape.... .....there are times when the drama of the sky above equals that of the terrain below.... ....creatures in the depths of the legendary bottomless pool are probably unaware that the surface is being ripped off by 50mph gusts....this is the safe limit for cycling along here, leaning over at 30 degrees to keep the bike balanced is ok if the gust is constant but this is not the case today and much stronger blasts in the wind intersperse, which can blow one across the road....or else the wind drops completely and one risks falling into the side of the road.... ....the path is always there but sometimes it is easier to see... ....dappled Moorland.... ....a sense of movement in a still picture...strong winds direct and flatten the upland grasses.... ....contrast... ....until recently the area on the left might have been viewed as the high ground....the recent rains are turning it into an island. The best marker indicating that the reservoir is brim full is when the surface just hides it from view and renders it invisible... Is has arrived back in good heart having had the PIC line removed....she asked/paid a friend to arrange a large basket of fruit to take to the cancer centre as a thank you. She wished them all well but told them that she hopes to only see them socially from now. She has a craving for fish & chips so despite the darkness and the best local chippy, at Longnor, being closed we shall head for the next best, Ashbourne....or rather we would if I hadn't nearly forgotten the Full Governors Mtg at school. Fish & chips tomorrow night. Enjoy what you do Dave

....one careful lady owner...never raced or rallied Jim, so be gentle with them. Dave

Mornin' all, Damp, drear, & dismal in The Moorlands at the kick off....head down calorie burn around the short anticlockwise. Is has her Demosamab injection for her bones today, then the PIC line removed tomorrow....she regards that as a real milestone. Her consultant is thinking of reconstruction once all has healed following the mastectomy....it won't happen....Is is disturbing nothing if all heals well. Arrangements under way for next year's fundraising coach trips....a trip on a horse drawn narrowboat and a visit to a working windmill feature Now music by Frankie goes to Hollywood....Welcome to the Pleasuredome Feathered ones provided for Enjoy what you do Dave

....'TGV derails' is still there Mike....it was the duplicate TGV thread which was locked. Dave

Only the mad & the soon to be wet saw a lull in the howling as an opportunity for a yachting style passage along the byways of The Moorlands at dawn. Tacking through the blustery, the stinging, the feet on handlebars watersplashes whilst leaning into the wind at around 30 degrees took a special kind of insanity.... Now music by The Adventures....Broken land Church duties beckon Feathered ones provided for Enjoy what you do Dave

The issue has obviously been on our minds throughout chemo BoD but reaching the end of that stage forced us to focus on what comes next and consider whether the treatment had been successful. Is couldn't eat anything at all yesterday with the nerves of waiting to see the consultant, it was therefore with great relief that 3 of us went to the pub last night and enjoyed a slap up meal. Yes, we only have 'responding to treatment' to hang on to at the moment but then that is the best that we could have hoped for. Dave

Good news folks....the cancerous areas on Is have shrunk with the chemo....we have a date for the mastectomy in mid December, then radiotherapy in January. Bone spots stable or being reduced by Demosamab. Off to the pub Cheers Dave

Mornin' all, First real Autumn start of the season so far in The Moorlands....temps near average for time of year, clear blue sky and remnants of fall colours still on show.... Weekly shop first then cancer centre later Feathered ones provided for Enjoy what you do Dave

Mornin' all, I ask you.....a lit Christmas tree on remembrance day. Seen on a calorie burn around the short anticlockwise and in commercial premises. Is is booked in for an MRI scan this morning and I take her to the consultant tomorrow for the results of the chemo Feathered ones provided for...another feeder stripped down for cleaning and disinfecting. Enjoy what you do Dave

Mornin' all, Getting into soggy season in The Moorlands with damp, cool, overcast cycling over beds of wet leaves.... The usual watersplash under the Caldon Low line at Leekbrook jnc Something of an ordeal at the X ray dept. yesterday with a 5min scan taking around 3 hrs to achieve. Now music by F. R. David....Words Church duties beckon today...poppy on Feathered ones provided for Enjoy what you do Dave

Great pictures Andy....impressive stuff Dave

Mornin' all, A damp overcast half light in The Moorlands for the short anticlockwise....with Is in post chemo slumber at least we're not wasting sunny days. A little modelling on the cards and a few errands to run today then back to hospital with Is for a CT scan tomorrow.....she is likely to still be suffering but not a good idea to knock back appointments. Now music by The Cardigans....Erase and rewind Feathered ones provided for Enjoy what you do Dave

....will do thanks Jock. We'll know more once the discussions with the surgeons have happened but they're not planning to mess around. Christmas may see it all over and done with...fingers crossed. Rgds Dave

....it is a while since I heard anything as stupid/short sighted as this. Isn't the idea to encourage the use of trains through e.g. flexibility, convenience etc? I don't use the network trains regularly and any chance of it happening is sliding ever further away. Dave

Hi Dom, Speaking as someone from a rural area without trams, living in a country which only really has them in large cities, is the use of trams in Germany a cultural consideration e.g. to avoid congestion in built up areas, or are they simply an alternative to buses/trains. Is your tram network expanding or contracting and do local authorities subsidise them/organise integrated transportation to encourage people away from car use? Apologies if your thread already contains the answers Dave

Aft'noon all, Is has returned from what should be the last chemo session and has now donned the tracksuit for the expected ordeal of the next few days. She is currently in good spirits chatting with friends on the phone. I rose early afternoon and headed out to burn some calories..... ....an indicator on the Ford village circuit is the River Hamps. Resting a moment to listen to the flow, assess the water clarity/sediment load, level and colour gives a good current status picture.... ....the sun broke through on the descent from Morridge towards Bradnop.... All the best to any with ailments Feathered ones provided for Enjoy what you do Dave

Aft'noon all, Fifty shades of grey sums up this afternoon's long anticlockwise ride of two halves.... ....75 miles or 75 yards....that is the difference in aspect from this viewpoint on misty days as against crystal clear days.... ....you may choose to live here in the Summer months but you may have to endure the Winter months.... .....the mist/low cloud was flowing down the folds in the Moorland landscape.... ....best visibility was from Roach End out over Shuttlinsloe.... All the best to anyone ailing.....Is has the green light for what should be the last chemo session tomorrow....appointments with surgeons for 2 operations to follow. Enjoy what you do Dave

....a Swiss mix for the interested... ....green and red inc. the SBB. Dave

....just for you Ed. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Millau+Viaduct&view=detailv2&&id=531F05C7C3BC3C0A532983A2C7A26D2F4E26A746&selectedIndex=4&ccid=gc8Zh8MC&simid=608020898604908561&thid=OIP.M81cf1987c302db16e1529ceef79bf7b3H0&ajaxhist=0 ....straight, level & high didn't phase me....it was heavily cambered/changing cambers & S shaped, leaning into the void which brought on the eebie jeebies....think I'm better now. Dave

Hi Jamie, I once took a coach along the M26 from Calais towards Paris and encountered similar on that very high 'S' shaped and banked viaduct (with the hydraulic sides which come up in windy weather) part way along....didn't bother to tell the passengers that I had my eyes closed too. I thought that Sherry married Ian.....does he know....and only days after the wedding!!! Dave

Sorry to read your news Simon. Dave

Aft'noon all, Transitory beauty in The Moorlands today. Rising early in the afternoon I was given an errand into town by SWMBO. Ever dutiful...no laughing....I fetched the trusty steed from the shed and considered the swirling, heavy mist blanketing the town below.....camera around my neck and already working out how much of a detour my return from town needed to take. The fall sea rarely embraces all altitudes around The Moorlands and some spectacular effects can be found around its margins. Today it proved to be deep and only the higher spots on the landscape were bathed in sunshine.... ....breaking through the surface below Thorncliffe one could feel the strengthening breeze with altitude, blowing the mist away.... ....the temperature/humidity gradient when immersing back into the depths always feels more dramatic.....maybe it is to do with the relative speed downhill/lack of warming energy expenditure, compared with the opposite effects & low speed when climbing out. Lights on.... Now music by Frankie goes to Hollywood....Welcome to the Pleasuredome Enjoy what you do Dave