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There has been sunshine, some very warm days but very little rain. Any rain has been completely ineffective!

April brings the change from the bulbs that welcome spring to the flowering shrubs that mark the next phase in the garden. There are wonderful late tulips in the border, flowering very well this year. Last year nothing!

Many of the daffodils quickly fade, particularly in warm, dry weather, and I’m kept busy deadheading them to stop them wasting their energy producing seeds. Hopefully they’ll put on a show next year.

The Narcissi in pots go on a little longer, the varieties Thalia and Sunlight Sensation seem to be the latest flowering.

The water buttercup in the pond is wonderful at this time of year, and the flowering Cherry is at it’s peak for it’s all too short flowering. Azaleas and Rhododendrons are in bud, readying themselves for a wonderful show over the next month.

A third sowing of lettuce, maybe these will succeed; the last two have been eaten by the slugs and snails. The rocket is doing well. These are last year’s plants. Its a particularly peppery variety.

The spinach (leaf beet) is growing well. I’ll need to keep it harvested to stop it bolting. Hopefully we’ll keep it going for another month.

The Beech hedge is coming into leaf. The leaves are so lovely as they break open – soft, light green and the folds are clear..

Listen to the podcast to hear all about my gardening month.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Podchaser, Spotify, YouTube and others.

AKM Music licenses Horticulture for use in this podcast.

 Born in 1809, in Liverpool, to a pretty well off family. His father owns 2,509 slaves working in plantations. It’s fair to suggest he’s brought up in a fairly capitalist conservative way.

Entering Eton in 1821 when he’s 12 years old and shows no interest in sports or games, something that lasts all through his life. The young Gladstone feels that the chapel services are very poor. 

A devout Anglican, he spends a lot of time inspecting his own motives and plans to check that they are ethically correct, that they favour people in general and not his personal wishes. So maybe he’s a bit over serious.

He starts a diary, which he keeps all his life. It reads as if he is determined to show that he spends his life usefully. A diary of self-congratulation, in a modest sort of way, giving the impression that he feels accountable to God directly. He really took Anglicanism very seriously.

 He reads the Bible every day. And is pretty sure he’s a significant sinner. 

University:

At the end of his studies at Christ Church College he graduates with a double first in classics and maths in 1828.

 President of the Oxford Union and is regarded as a great orator with flashing eyes, a thunderous voice and torrents of logical language. 

A career which sees his views change radically. First elected as Tory MP for Newark in 1832 he becomes Liberal Prime Minister for the first time in 1868 – a massive change!

Listen to Jo tell the story.

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern  Group.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Podchaser, Spotify, YouTube and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use with this talk.

© The MrT Podcast Studio and Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern Group 2018 – 2026

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We pass through Kilmaurs, Stewarton and Dunlop stations before passing Loch Libo.

Loch Libo is a freshwater loch, the name is very old and may be pre-Gaelic in origin. The loch holds tench, eel, perch, carp and roach with fishing limited to members of the Scottish Carp Group.

In 1885 curling matches start at Loch Libo. In 1919 the curling club moves to Kirton Dam. The loch and its backdrop, the Nielston Pad, form the badge on the curling club’s sports wear.

The Crofthead Mill in Nielston marks the start of the built up approaches to Glasgow. Up to 1,000 were employed at the six storey mill which closed in 1992 after 200 years.

After passing through Barrhead and Nitshill we reach the 146-hectare Pollock Country Park where bowling, golf and other sports take place.

In 2007 Pollok Country Park was named Britain’s Best Park, and in 2008  the Best Park in Europe.

In October 2012 a Highland cow escapes from the park and walks to Crossmyloof Station.

We pass through Crossmyloof Station, under the M74, and the old Queen’s Park Works of the North British Locomotive Company are to our east. The company entered voluntary liquidation in April 1962.

Listen to the podcast to hear more about the journey into Glasgow Central, my visit to St. Enoch Square and the history of St. Enoch Station and it’s hotel.

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To be honest we could do with some rain. Lots of dry, grey days! There has been sunshine, there has been some rain but not enough of it!

March sees the garden at its best. There are the flowering bulbs following on from the snowdrops and crocus. Magnificent yellows, whites and creams from the daffodils, vivid colours from the hyacinths and the blue and mauve of the grape hyacinths and anemone blanda.

The bulbs in pots have been really magnificent and the daffodils in grassy areas have put on a much better show than in the past few years.

The primroses are at their peak. All self seeded and spreading beautifully. Meanwhile the Bachelors Button is a glorious mass of yellow.

We’re still eating last year’s carrots. We need to get them finished so that I can clean out and disinfect the raised boxes that I grow them in to minimise the damage caused by carrot fly. Once that is done I can fill them with new compost and sow this year’s seeds.

The rhubarb is growing well in it’s pot. Mrs T may well have a serving of rhubarb in the near future. Personally I can’t stand rhubarb!

The sweet peas are hardening off in the cold frame and the tulips in our main border are promising a good show this year.

Listen to the podcast to hear all about my gardening month.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Podchaser, Spotify, YouTube and others.

AKM Music licenses Horticulture for use in this podcast.

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The red sandstone station is in an Italianate style. Opening in 1848 it it has a category B listing from Historic Scotland. In 2022 / 23 the station hosts 291,000 passengers.

In 1935 Carnation opened an evaporated milk factory. Three units produced  tin cans, evaporated milk, and, more recently, Coffee mate. A private siding for arriving milk trains and departing products.

Coffee Mate production ceased in 2000.

Across from the station there is the equally magnificent Station Hotel in Lovers Walk. It is in the Gothic style, with a central wooden tower providing the ventilation for the hotel’s mechanical heating system. It dates from 1897.

On opening there were twenty-nine bedrooms and a billiard room. The hotel’s laundry went by train to the Glasgow St Enoch Hotel for washing. The hotel also has a category B listing.

We’re in Burns Country and Robbie Burns dominates Dumfries. A walk into the town centre takes one to Burns Statue Square with the white Carrara marble statue of the poet. Then there is the modest Burns House and the Burns Mausoleum.

J.M. Barrie, writer of Peter Pan, went to Dumfries Academy. He and his friends played in ‘Neverland’ around the Georgian house at Moat Brae.

Meanwhile Dumfries station features in John Buchan’s ‘The Thirty-Nine Steps‘. Richard Hannay flees from London and buys a ticket from St Pancras to Newton Stewart. He changes at Dumfries to catch a slow train to ‘Galloway’.

We follow the winding River Nith for around thirty-seven miles. Around six miles north of Dumfries we encounter Portrack Viaduct, a notable river crossing. Today’s red viaduct, a replacement, dates from December 2013.

We pass a short section of the original track with a former National Coal Board diesel shunting engine on it. It is part of the late Charles Jencks ‘Garden of Cosmic Speculation‘. The gardens are only open to the public on one day each year.

We wind along the path of the River Nith through wooded gorges and red sandstone hamlets. It is no wonder the Thames Clyde route was renowned for its scenery.

We pass through Sanquhar, Kirkconnel, New Cumnock and Auchinlek on our way to Kilmarnock.

Listen to the podcast to hear more about the journey through the Scottish lowlands.

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The talk covers the period in France’s history between 1814 and the final collapse of the monarchy in 1848, and the formation of the Second Republic.

The time between the Bourbon restoration and the July Monarchy is a period that is often ignored when students rush from studying the French Revolution and Napoleon and then on to the Second Republic and Louis Napoleon. They often pay little attention to the intervening years.

Peter tells us that this is a foundational period in the French story. A time when France colonises itself, extending the control of Paris over the rest of the country. They achieve this by extending the roads and introducing rail.

The most important factor is the development of a school network. A national education system with a national language. Before this, France had many regional dialects.

Social relations and divisions form; these are still active in France today. Recent elections illustrate this. Splits are the heart of political and social France, with roots from this period.

Victor Hugo and Alexander Dumas:

Both in their different ways are forceful commentators on the ills that they see in the France of this period. It is this period that gives their stories structure and meaning.

Understanding this period in France helps us understand attitudes in France today.

Listen to Peter tell the story.

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern  Group.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Podchaser, Spotify, YouTube and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use with this talk.

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I leave Carlisle on the lines built by the Glasgow and South-Western Railway, formed in 1850. A locomotive workshop at Kilmarnock in 1856 had Patrick Sterling as the locomotive superintendent for 10 years.

A magnificent terminus at Glasgow St Enoch Station. It opens in 1876 to coincide with the opening the Settle and Carlisle line. The Midland Railway agrees to run their Scotch expresses from St Pancras into St Enoch.

Sadly the station is no longer.

We pass the extensive Kingmoor marshalling yards which date from 1963. A part of the the 1955 Modernisation Plan for Britain’s Railways with the expectation of the withdrawal of steam, large goods yards and the closure of many lines.

Edward I, the Hammer of the Scots, en route to confront Robert the Bruce, died of dysentery near here in 1307.

We pass the fenced sidings of Eastriggs MoD site, part of the H.M. Factory Gretna. Dating from in 1916, it was built as a response to a shortage of shells on the Western Front.

16,000 workers produced 800 tons of cordite each week. The vast works stretched over nine miles and straddled the English-Scottish border.

A 125-mile railway system, with six passenger stations, and up to sixty-two trains a day took the workforce to their factories. In addition, 1,700 goods wagons left the site every day.

There were fourteen ‘fireless’ locomotives, built by Andrew Barclay of Kilmarnock, on the site. Fireless locomotives have a large, highly insulated, reservoir charged with steam.

Winding down after the Great War, a part survived for over 90 more years until 2010.

Listen to the podcast to hear more about my journey North from Carlisle.

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Apparently this is the wettest month on record in some parts of the country. Those records go back to 1836! In southern England, where my garden is, it hasn’t rained as much for over a decade. The only plus is that it has been a mild month.

February sees the garden spring into life with blossoming bulbs. First we see the Snowdrops come to their peak, most of mine are in the grass so hide until they are about to flower.

Then come the Crocus in their gorgeous colours. On a warm day they are a destination for the bumble bees. Sadly this year the flowers have suffered from the rain.

The yellows and whites of the Daffodils and Narcissi are next. I must remember to dead head them when the flowers are over to stop them setting seed. If they set seed the bulbs will waste energy on seed pod production rather than direct the energy back into the bulb for a good show next year.

The Hellebores are at their peak. I’ll let the flowers fade and set their seed. Hopefully some will grow and increase my collection. Purists say that these will not be ‘true to type’ but I really don’t care!

At the bottom of the garden the Bluebells are growing under the oak tree. Another month and it will be a haze of blue. The problem with Bluebells is that they spread everywhere and I’m going to have dig quite a few out of the herbaceous border.

The Carrots are back outside, in their raised position, and we still have quite a few more to eat. The Perpetual Spinach is recovering from it’s freezing and we’ll soon be cutting it again.

I’ve planted new Autumn Bliss Raspberry canes in the fruit cage and hopefully they’ll give us a good crop.

Listen to the podcast to hear all about my gardening month.

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AKM Music licenses Horticulture for use in this podcast.

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I’m staying at the Travelodge in the centre of Carlisle, it’s a short walk from the station, good value and a brand that I know well.

The building dates from 1955. It was built as the telephone exchange. The ceiling in my room is very high, no doubt needed in order to house the exchange equipment.

As I walk along Cecil Street I pass various ages of buildings. At the end of the street I spot a really nice house and shop. This is opposite an Italian restaurant called Gianni’s.

I stop at Gianni’s and book a table for later. As I walk towards the old Citadel gates, the way into the historic city area, I pass a very smart hotel and restaurant in the old Post Office building.

Across the road from the Citadel gates people are partying outside one of the local pubs. They look as though they’ve been there some time!

The first street I pass through is depressing. Typical of so many retail streets across the country. The once proud Woolworth Buildings are particularly sad.

As I walk further towards the centre it gets better. I pass a statue of James Steel, a Victorian Mayor of Carlisle, outside Marks and Spencer and then reach the very pleasant Market Cross area.

After a night in the Travelodge I head back to the station to wait for my train to Glasgow. Carlisle Citadel station is a romantic, fortified style of building. The impressive foot bridge gives access to the platforms on the far side of the station.

Listen to the podcast to hear all about my time in Carlisle.

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Some cold weather in the first couple of weeks of the month. The fountain in the pond stops it from freezing over which is good for the fish.

The fountain not only oxygenates the water but, by stopping the pond freezing over, stops a build up of any harmful gases coming off the decaying vegetation.

This part of west Surrey is lucky to escape three storms during the month – Goretti, Ingrid and Chandra.

A few sunny days but mostly rain. The South-east is washed with 192% of the Long term Average rainfall during the month.

The pale blue, white and yellow flowers of the Iris unguicularis brighten the bed by the pond. Then there are the pale blue flowers on the Rosemary and the pink flowers of our large camellia. The hellebores are in bud and will be in full flower in a few weeks.

Carrots go mushy if they freeze through so they went into the greenhouse during the cold weather. The perpetual spinach/leaf beet froze and will take a few weeks to recover before we can crop it again. The garlic, planted in November, is making good progress. A cold spell always persuades the garlic cloves to start growing.

Listen to the podcast to hear all about my gardening month.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Podchaser, Spotify, YouTube and others.

AKM Music licenses Horticulture for use in this podcast.

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We are now in the Eden Valley in Cumbria. The station is 1 ½ miles south-west of Kirkby Stephen and also serves other nearby villages.  We are now 41 miles 35 chains south of Carlisle.

The station is leased by the Settle and Carlisle Railway Trust. They restored it in 2009. The main buildings now incorporate a caretaker’s flat, offices, holiday accommodation and the Midland Room. In 2022/23 the station hosts 29,888 passengers.

There are no more rugged mountains as we are in the Eden Valley. Its an area of gentle green hills and red sandstone farmhouses.

There is the occasional Peel Tower, a fortified farmstead, reminding us of the Border Reivers. This is the once lawless borderland between England and Scotland. Find out the whole story by listening to David Simpson’s talk.

Appleby station is 30 miles 60 chains south-east of Carlisle. Along with Settle, one of only two stations on the Settle-Carlisle line to remain open after the withdrawal of local stopping trains in May 1970.

There is a pre-nationalisation milepost on the southbound platform. 2771⁄4 miles from St Pancras on the Midland Railway route via Leicester, Sheffield and Leeds.

The Grade II listed, brick-built station building, dates from 1876. The platforms are linked by a Grade II listed wrought iron lattice footbridge. The working signal box was repaired and refurbished in the autumn of 2019.

Bishop Eric Treacy, a well-known railway photographer and enthusiast, died at Appleby on 13 May 1978 from a heart attack whilst waiting to photograph Evening Star. There is a plaque on the down platform.

There is a working, traditional water tank and water crane on the southbound platform for use by steam charter trains.

These are the last three small stations on our way into Carlisle where I get off the train and go to my hotel for the night.

Listen to the podcast to hear all about my journey through the Eden Valley and on into Carlisle.

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AKM Music licenses Steam Railway and Fun in the Kitchen for use in this podcast.

One family dominates Russian life for three centuries,  the Romanoffs.

In Alan’s view possibly the most successful Imperial Royal Family in Europe, and yet people don’t usually give them much credence. A dynasty with a very inauspicious start, with Michael in 1613 and an inauspicious end with the assassination, or execution, of Nicholas II.

Alan tells us about the 17 rulers who span the three centuries. At least two would earn the title of ‘the Great’.

Then there are others that were incompetent, many self-serving and some just downright nasty.

Geography and a fear of invasion:

For a sense of scale the distance from Moscow to Kyiv is about a thousand kilometers. The only mountains are in the Caucasus and in the far west on the borders of Romania and Western Ukraine. In the East the Ural mountains are really just big hills, not like the Alps or the Pyrenees. Beyond the Urals is Asia and Russian Siberia.

In the more southern latitudes the lands are part of the Eurasian steppe. The steppe nomads, like the Mongols, have renown for conquering their sedentary neighbours.

Just west of Moscow are the Central Russian Uplands. They’re only about 250 meters tall, which is about the size of Box Hill. Whilst not sufficient to be much of a barrier, they are sufficient to be the source of a number of  rivers that flow both north and south.

The geography of Russia has few natural boundaries, this makes it very easy for Russia to expand. Its also very easy for enemies to attack and conquer these lands which has always created a sense of paranoid insecurity in the rulers of Russia.

The Mongols, the Ottomans, the Swedes, the Poles, the French and the Germans have swept in over these lands during this period.

This all has an impact on both the history and attitudes today.

Listen to Alan tell us the story of this dynasty.

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern  Group.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Podchaser, Spotify, YouTube and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use with this talk.

© The MrT Podcast Studio and Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern Group 2018 – 2026

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The Grade II listed station is at the southern end of the Settle and Carlisle Line. Just over 41 miles north of Leeds, its close to the town centre and has part-time staff. There is a waiting room, toilets and a souvenir shop in the main buildings on the southbound platform.

There is a stone waiting room on the northbound platform. An ex-North British Railway footbridge links the platforms.

The station was used by 131,000 passengers in 2022 / 23.

This section of the line is known as ‘The Long Drag’. The line climbs at 1 in 100 for the next 10 miles until we reach the summit at Blea Moor. Hard work for the firemen in the days of steam.

This can be a wild and windy place. Its high up on the Pennine plateau, The summits of Ingleborough and Whernside are in view and the rainfall is four times that of London.

In 2022 / 23, 23,426 passengers, mainly walkers and tourists, use the station.

The legendary, 24 arch, 440 yard long viaduct is immediately after the station. It stands 104 feet above Batty Moss. The big question is whether it is better to be on a train crossing the viaduct or to watch the train cross it from below. You choose!

This is the highest station in England. It is 1,150 feet above sea level. The local village is nearly 5 miles away. In 2022 / 23 over 9,200 passengers use the station.

Few people live in this wild countryside. Garsdale, used by 14,494 passengers in 2022 / 23 was once the junction with the Wensleydale line.

There are sixteen Railway Cottages next to the station. These were built by the Midland Railway for railway workers.

Listen to the podcast to hear all about my journey from Settle to Garsdale and the incidents at Hawes Junction.

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Imagine another England long ago, but one that you recognise. A time with many parallels to the present day. The Welsh and the Scots are revolting. The government is desperately short of money and is looking at new ways to raise even more taxes.

There’s an institution supposedly dedicated to wellbeing. In this case, it’s the church, not the NHS, that sucks in more and more resources.

Society, and the political world are deeply divided. Government is weak and feeble with poor leadership. There are problems with Europe and serious threats in the Middle East.

But at the moment of England’s desperation, when all is dark and appears lost, salvation appears. Edward I, commonly known as Edward Long Shanks because his considerable height, the Hammer of the Scots and the Welsh.

He reorganises the state machinery and constitution, making it more effective and representative.

Edward limits the church’s ambitions and is a strong, magnetic leader. He’s a diplomat, a peacemaker in Europe, but defender of England’s interests against the French. A crusader against the Muslim invasion of the Holy Land.

What’s not to like?

A weak father and grandfather:

Edward, born in 1239, is the son of Henry III and the grandson of King John. Henry is a pious, but ineffective, ruler with a reverence for Edward the Confessor. He rebuilds Westminster Abbey, starting in 1245, on the site of the church built by Edward the Confessor.

The young Edward is knighted and marries at the age of 15 to Eleanor of Castile. King John and Henry III have, by this time, lost virtually all the lands held in France by Henry II.

Edward’s marriage is to pre-empt the loss of further land. It becomes a marriage of mutual affection. In 1270 she accompanies Edward on a Crusade, a highly risky venture. When she dies Edward builds memorials at the 12 places where her body rests each night as it travels to London.

Today only three remain. The final one was at Charing Cross. Today it is marked by a replacement memorial.

Listen to Peter tell us the full story of this king.

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern  Group.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Podchaser, Spotify, YouTube and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use with this talk.

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Just before Apperley Bridge station we pass Woodhouse Grove School which has around 1,000 pupils. It was founded by Methodist theologian Adam Clarke and the Wesleyan Conference.

2015 sees Apperley Bridge station open on a different site from the old one. The old station closed in 1965 as part of the Beeching Axe.

363,000 passengers use Apperley Bridge station in 2022 / 23.

Almost immediately we pass the large Esholt Sewage Works. In 1906 Bradford Corporation buys the site and builds the works. It deals with  the growing population’s sewage and waste chemicals and grease from the textile trade.

Shipley station is on a triangle, actually a Wye. It can be used to turn loco hauled trains. The triangle has confused passengers over the years. Trains to Leeds, Bradford and Skipton can leave from two different platforms. In addition more than one train to a destination can be in the station at the same time. Apparently there is only one other triangular station in Britain.

It is a commuter station. In 2022 / 23, 1,107,000 passengers use it.

Grade II listed Bingley station hosts 920,000 passengers in 2022 / 23.

It is near the Three Rise Locks on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and dates from July 1892. Sadly, the Five Rise Locks, the steepest flight of locks in the United Kingdom, is behind trees.

We pass through Keighley, Skipton and Gargrave before we reach Hellifield.

Like Trent and Normanton, Hellifield was at a railway crossroads. In the early 20th Century around sixty per cent of the village work on the railway. A busy time with ninety passenger trains each day and, each year, nearly 200,000 goods wagons passing through the sidings.

My recent visits to Hellifield are with the Railway Touring Company’s Cumbrian Mountain Expresses which take on water in a siding at Hellifield. We then take the Lancashire line through Blackburn and on to Preston.

Listen to the podcast to hear about my journey from towards Hellifield.

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We take electricity for granted. You can’t see it, you can’t smell it and you can’t hear it, but you’d be most unwise to touch it, let alone taste it. Electricity is essential for much that we do in our modern daily lives.

Cragside, in Northumberland, is the first house in the world to have electric lighting. William Armstrong, the industrialist, installs it after a lecture by Joseph Swan of light bulb fame. Initially there are 45 lamps; however a maximum of 37 can be on at the same time. More lights cause the generator, fed by hydropower, to cut out.

At this time electricity competes with gas and candles for lighting. There is no source of public electricity so it is the preserve of the wealthy, with a light bulb costing the same as the average weekly wage.

Following Cragside’s lead, electricity comes to the London law courts, the Savoy Theatre and the ballroom at Buckingham Palace.

Queen Victoria is impressed. She orders that the whole palace is to have electric light.

The birth of public electricity:

Godalming may have few claims to fame, but this is one of them. As towns and cities start to introduce electric street lighting, Godalming council decides to allow lighting for both the street and private houses from a single generator. The switch on, in September 1881, is heralded in the press.

Electricity has to compete with coal and gas to gain acceptance in the home. Andrew tells of the long campaign by using various household items as examples.

Listen to Andrew tell us the full story of the growth of electricity over the past 170 years.

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern  Group.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Podchaser, Spotify, YouTube and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use with this talk.

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The Queens Hotel dominates one side of City Square. The front of the hotel is in Portland stone. The Art Deco style building has a Grade II listing.

I have happy memories of my time working in the hotel kitchen stores and wine cellar as a student.

I enter the station from Aire Street on the west side of the station into the North Concourse. This entrance, behind the Queens Hotel, is much easier to use than the main entrance because of major construction work.

The station is one of the 20 managed by Network Rail and serves around 25 million passengers a year. There are 18 platforms and many food and beverage outlets.

My train leaves at 12.32 pm from platform 3B which is on the site of the old Wellington Street station. Carlisle is the 18th stop on the 2 hour and 45 minute journey from Leeds. We are travelling over the famed Settle and Carlisle route.

As we approach Armley we pass the ‘Railway Roundhouse‘ built for the Leeds and Thirsk railway in 1847. In use until 1904, there is no comparable group of railway buildings still standing in the country.

Kirkstall is famous for it’s Abbey, a ruined Cistercian Monastery, and also the once mighty Kirkstall Forge. It operated from the 12th century until closing in 2003. The longest continually used industrial site in the UK manufactured motor vehicle axels and steel bars.

Listen to the podcast to hear about the start of my journey from Leeds to Carlisle.

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On 27 September 1825, 12 waggons of coal travel across the two Brusselton incline planes. They are hauled by stationary engines to Mason’s Arms Crossing at Shildon.

Locomotion No. 1 then takes over. The load is 12 wagons of coal, another wagon with sacks of flour and 21 wagons with seats for passengers. Around 600 passengers board with some on seats, others on top of the coal and in amongst the flour sacks and some clinging on to the sides of the wagons.

The train sets off along the 21 miles of track, following a man on a horse with a flag. It stops when the waggon carrying the company surveyors and engineers loses a wheel; it then stops again for 35 minutes for minor repairs.

It reaches 15 mph. When it reaches Darlington there is an estimated audience of 10,000 people.

The journey continues until the train reaches Stockton where it is greeted by a crowd of around 40,000 people and a 21-gun salute. 102 people then attend a banquet to greet the world’s first steam-hauled passenger train!

Our train starts its journey in Carnforth, well before a civilised breakfast time. There are further stops to pick at Skipton, Keighley and Woodlesford before we reach York where our final passengers board.

At York our Class 57 diesel locomotive leaves the train and the ex LMS Black 5, number 44871, takes over the rest of our journey north.

We pass through Darlington on our way to our stop at Shildon, crossing over the Skerne Bridge which is the world’s oldest railway bridge.

After passing through Bishop Auckland we join the Weardale Railway where we stop at Stanhope to service the Black 5. After this we travel to Newcastle and then return to York where the Black 5 leaves us and we continue homeward with the Class 57.

Listen to the podcast to hear all about my journey on this historic day for our railways.

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It is a beautiful spring evening and I set off from my hotel to find two historic railway buildings. I stop to look at City Square. Relatively quiet this evening unlike when I was a student in Leeds. Then it was full of traffic.

As I walk down Wellington Street I find the Great Northern Railway Station Hotel building. This dates from 1869. Today it is a shadow of its former self, converted into flats with a fish and chip shop on the ground floor.

The bars in this modern square are busy with lots of people taking the opportunity to sit outside.

I’ve come to see the Central Station Wagon Hoist which remains although the rest of the station is long gone. Sadly I’m a couple of days too early as it is opening as a museum the next week.

The stub end of this 1846 viaduct has been converted into a lovely urban park. It will be magnificent once everything matures.

Saturday trains on the Settle Carlisle lines are only every few hours. I arrive early and spend some time looking at the visitor centre and having a light lunch in the cafe.

The scenery is lovely and enhanced by the Cumbrian Mountain Express crossing the viaduct. A really worthwhile visit!

Listen to the podcast to hear all about my evening in Leeds and my trip out to Ribblehead.

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AKM Music licenses Steam Railway and Joseph McDade licenses Backplate for use in this podcast.

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Her career was with BBC Sport as a producer and an editor. She’s worked on  seven summer Olympics and has written a book about the history of the games. It is really more about the people and the events rather than statistics.

The obvious starting point is Olympia around 180 miles from Athens.

The first recorded games are in 776 BC as part of a festival dedicated to Zeus.  The inaugural champion is a local cook who wins the only event, a sprint of around 200 yards. Gradually the games expand and other cities take part.

The first champions receive an olive or a laurel crown, and perhaps an amphora of high quality olive oil.

Victorian re-birth:

The idea of reviving the Olympic Games has its origins in Much Wenlock.  William Penny Brooks,  a local doctor and social activist, and his Olympian society organise a number of events in 1850.

He then organises the more orthodox National Olympian games at Crystal Palace. W G Grace takes time off from a cricket match to compete and win the hurdles.

Onto the scene comes Baron Pierre de Coubertin, a French aristocrat, who takes the games forward.

In 1894 he brings together representatives to form the International Olympic Committee. Two years later, the first modern games are held in Athens. Sadly, Brooks has died, so doesn’t see his dream come to fruition.

Listen to Jo tell us the story of some of the stars, gamesmanship and unbelievable events from the games.

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern  Group.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Podchaser, Spotify, YouTube and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use with this talk.

© The MrT Podcast Studio and Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern Group 2018 – 2025

Once a hive of industry with mile after mile of collieries, coke ovens, marshalling yards and sidings, coal mining subsidence causes speed restrictions in the 1960s. In 1968 trains move to other routes and in 1985 part of the line closes.

Today one section, from Oakenshaw South Junction near Wakefield to Redfearn’s Glassworks, a part of the Ardagh Group, at Monk Bretton remains. A weekly sand train goes to the glassworks and sometimes Northern Rail use the section for training.

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Since the 1980s a number of stations have reopened on this route. We pass through Bolton on Dearne, Goldthorpe, Thurnscoe and Moorthorpe on our way to Fitzwilliam. Here the Friends of Fitzwilliam station provide local art work including a mural about the area.

Next comes Sandal and Agbrigg railway station serving the southern Wakefield suburbs. Originally dating from 1866 it is on the route of the Leeds branch of the East Coast Main Line.

The station closes in November 1957, remains closed for the next 30 years, and reopens on 30 November 1987.

Although I don’t pass through Normanton I have to tell you about the station. Over the years the once semi-rural station hosts Queen Victoria, US President Ulysses S. Grant, the Emperor of Brazil and Prime Ministers Gladstone and Disraeli.

Why? They all stop for lunch at the Midland Railway’s Normanton station because, in the days before dining cars, express trains stop here for lunch. The menu offers a  six-course meal for 2/6 (half a crown = 12.5 pence); a world away from the Travellers Fare of my youth.

The journey continues across the 99 arch viaduct into Wakefield Westgate station. We then travel on to Leeds and the end of today’s journey.

Listen to the podcast to hear about my journey and the magnificent lunches in Normanton.

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The talk focuses on India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Alan uses the word India when referring to the three countries that are referred to as South Asia. Roughly speaking, if you take Russia out of Europe, then Europe and South Asia are about the same physical size, but the population is three times that of Europe.

It’s the size of India’s population that has always been its greatest strength and asset.

Although Buddhism starts in India, it is no longer dominant, apart from in Sri Lanka. It is one of India’s cultural exports to those countries who today have a significant Buddhist population.

The section on the origins of the Indian culture looks at the Indus Valley civilisation and the Vedic period. This is a time critical in forming the Indian culture and philosophy. The philosophy lives on today.

For a millennium and a half, from about 250 BCE to 1280, India confidently exports its diverse civilisation. It creates a vast body of ideas where its influence is predominant. The rest of Asia willingly receives this mass transfer of Indian soft power, art, religions, technology, astronomy, music, dance, literature, mathematics and mythology.

The first manuscripts, recording personal history, date from the arrival of the Muslims.  Prior to this historians mostly have to rely on inscriptions, on temples, for example.

Indian history can be characterised by a multitude of independent kingdoms and empires with occasionally interruptions by short-lived large empires. The exact opposite of China.

Listen to Alan tell us the full story of religions, castes, empires, the coming of the Europeans and intrigue.

Unfortunately many of the images used in the original presentation are subject to copyright and therefore cannot be published alongside this podcast.

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern  Group.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher , Vurbl , You Tube and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use with this talk.

© The MrT Podcast Studio and the Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern Group 2018 – 2025

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The ‘railway mania’ sees the Manchester Sheffield and Lincoln Railway, the London and Northwestern Railway and the Midland Railway building lines across the steep hills and valleys into the city..

Sheffield (Midland) station opens in 1870 as Pond Street. There are extensions in 1905 and a major redevelopment completes in 2006.

I want to see the Sheffield Tap which runs a brewery on the station. It is in the former First Class Edwardian refreshment and dining rooms. Restoration means that the rooms are now in their original condition.

In the 1970s British Rail converts the refreshment room into a waiting room and pushes the damaged front bar to the rear of the room. They remove the ornate fireplace and other features. Vandals soon get to work!

In 1976 it is and left to decay. In 2008, the restoration began. Private investment and grants lead to repairs and replication where required. The barrel plaster ceiling is a replica of the old one. Handmade, the work  of a local contractor.

The operators of the Sheffield Tap say that they’re only the caretakers of the publicly owned Grade II listed building.

I take the train for the short journey to Meadowhall station which serves the Meadowhall Shopping Centre. The Centre is built on land that used to be part of the Sheffield steel industry.

I then take the train for Leeds passing through the rather depressing Rotherham Central station. By the end of the episode I have reached Swinton station.

It is not possible to follow the route of the Thames Clyde because of mining subsidence in the area which has resulted in the removal of parts of the track.

Listen to the podcast to hear about Sheffield Station and the journey to Swinton.

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AKM Music licenses Steam Railway and Lovin’ It for use in this podcast and The Tavern is licensed from Joseph McDade.

The first significant reform of the parliamentary system results in the Bill of 1832. Robert spends some time on the system before the Bill. He explains  why it needs change. We hear of  the growth of the reform movement and the people who want to change the way Parliament is set up.

This talk is mostly about England. Before 1832 each county has two Members of Parliament irrespective of the size of the population. That’s rather like the US Senate. This means that Yorkshire with 20,000 voters has the same number of members as Rutland with less than a thousand voters. Although this isn’t an ideal situation it gives representation to different parts of the country.

There are also 203 boroughs. These are are determined by different approaches, many historical, across the country.

Whilst, in the Middle Ages a number of boroughs have quite a large number of voters, by the 1830s many have changed.

In these every male head of household with a hearth large enough to boil a pot has the vote. An example is Preston in Lancashire.

There is corruption to get the votes. The Times tells of two candidates. One extols the virtue of the system saying ‘How wonderful it is that all people can have the vote in this way, that you can act independently’.

The other says ‘Never mind him, I’ll give you something to put in your pot.’ An open bribe for his vote.

There is no secret ballot and voting is visible to everyone.

There are many so-called rotten boroughs. These date from the middle ages and have changed significantly.

Dunwich in Suffolk becomes parliamentary constituency in 1296 when it has a thriving port rivalling London. It then falls into the sea as erosion takes place. In 1831 there are only 44 houses there. It still elects two Members of Parliament.

One is the Downing family who chose an MP from their relations and the other is in the gift of the Duke of Newcastle. He sells the  right to be an MP for a thousand pounds.

A system in need of change:

There is much political wrangling. Those who appear to favour change may be holding it back whilst others who are against change risk revolution and a run on the banks.

Listen to Robert tell us the full story which is full of intrigue and possible double dealing.

Unfortunately the images used in the original presentation are subject to copyright and therefore cannot be published alongside this podcast.

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern  Group.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher , Vurbl , You Tube and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use with this talk.

© The MrT Podcast Studio and the Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern Group 2018 – 2025

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In 2013 Ilkeston was the largest town in Britain with an operational passenger railway line running through it, but no station. The government’s New Stations Fund, managed by Network Rail provides funds for such developments.

The building work is repeatedly delayed; there are a number of issues at the site. There is the potential for flooding, ground instability from historic mining activity, and its home to some endangered species.

Work finally commences in April 2016. It includes several bespoke designs for the site conditions and is completed in ten months. The new station opens in  April 2017.

This is one of only two remaining wrought iron railway viaducts in the UK. This magnificent viaduct is the result of the rivalry between the railways in the nineteenth century.

At the time the Midland Railway has a great deal of control over the movement of coal by rail. Although the Midland is based in Derby, local businesses and city councillors feel that it’s monopoly is holding back the development of Derby.

They lobby Parliament to allow for another railway company and let the Great Northern Railway build a line through the heart of the city. To reach Derby the Great Northern builds a line from Nottingham to Derby and the on to Eggington Junction. They also build branch lines running into the Erewash Coalfield.

The biggest obstacle is crossing the Erewash Valley, an area honeycombed with mine workings. This leads to the design of the Bennerley Viaduct. It is built in 18 months during 1877 and 1878.

We pass through the depressing 1970s station in Alfreton and then on to Chesterfield.

There is a statue to George Stephenson outside Chesterfield station. He settles in this town with the famous crooked Church spire towards the end of his life. His grave is in the church, next to that of his wife.

I leave the train in Sheffield where I am staying the night. Sheffield station used to be called Sheffield Midland, when there were multiple stations in the city, is the northernmost point of the Midland Mainline.

My train is going on to Manchester and then Liverpool Lime Street.

The stone built Sheffield station looks well restored. It receives 3 stars in the Simon Jenkins book Britain’s 100 Best Railway Stations.

I’m going to walk from the station to my hotel, the comfortable and friendly Premier Inn at St. Mary’s Gate, and then go and find something to eat, probably at El Paso which has a mix of Mexican and Italian food.

Listen to the podcast to hear about the journey from Trowell to Sheffield.

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It is clear what a dissenter is. In the 17th century, it is to do with religion. Baptists, Quakers and others offering new religious solutions. Others ask sceptical questions about the institution and beliefs of society, such as the Seekers, the Ranters, the Diggers and more.

Some of the groups, such as the Baptists and Quakers, survive today. Most of the others have disappeared.

In the 17th Century, particularly during the Civil War, there was a great questioning and revaluing of everything in England. Old institutions, old beliefs, old values all coming into question.

At this time religious dissent rules, with different views on religion being the driving force. Today other factors are in play with the climate activists, anti-vaxxers and others.

This is nothing new, some of our parents may have despaired at our ‘make love not war’ views 60 years ago.

Where do we fit in today:

We all have beliefs and comfort zones. Do we like the status quo or we want change and revolution? Do we keep the old traditions, or seek something new? Are our ideas conventional or radical? Do we seek a quiet life or one on the edge?

It might be worth reflecting on yourself and where you honestly see yourself

Listen to Judith tell us the full story.

Unfortunately the images used in the original presentation are subject to copyright and therefore cannot be published alongside this podcast.

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern  Group.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher , Vurbl , You Tube and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use with this talk.

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My train passes through Loughborough with the BRUSH Falcon works next door. BRUSH is famed as a major supplier of diesel locomotives. In 1957 Hawker Siddeley buys the BRUSH group of companies. This includes BRUSH Traction.

During the 1960s they build 310 Class 47 locomotives, out of the total of 512 in the class, at the Falcon works.

A relatively new station that has many green credentials. However, there is no bus service to East Midlands Airport which is only 4 miles away.

The station is next to the recently closed Ratcliffe on Soar coal fired power station; the last operating coal fired power station in Britain.

Trent station closed on 1 January 1968, a victim of Dr. Beeching.

Situated near Long Eaton at the junction of the Midland Railway line from London to Derby and Nottingham, it didn’t serve any community, being simply an interchange.

For many years trains would stop here for people to dine and change train.  Those who didn’t want a full meal could get a lunch basket, these could be handed back at a station later in the journey.

Today the track layout is simpler than in the station’s heyday. There are still junctions allowing trains to go to Derby, London, Nottingham and Sheffield but no station.

Our final stop on the journey to Nottingham is Beeston station just over 3 miles from Nottingham.  Over half a million passengers use the station in 2023 / 2024.

I leave the train in Nottingham so that I can catch a train to Sheffield. This brings me on to the Erewash Valley Line, the original route of the Thames Clyde Express.

Nottingham station is a magnificent terracotta building; the quality of the brickwork is stunning.

The architecture at Nottingham receives 4 stars in the Simon Jenkins book Britain’s 100 Best Railway Stations.

Listen to the podcast to hear about the journey from Leicester to Trowell and the story of Nottingham’s magnificent railway station.

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Mike Hawthorn is born in Mexborough to Leslie and Winifred Hawthorn in 1929. His father moves to Farnham and buys the Tourist Trophy Garage.

Mike goes to prep school in Farnham and then to Ardingly College .

The Tourist Trophy Garage is franchised to supply and service several high performance brands, including Jaguar and Ferrari. His father races motorcycles and supports his son’s racing career until his death in a road accident in 1954.

Mike Hawthorn first races on 2 September 1950 in his 1934 Riley Ulster Imp, and wins the 1,100 cc sports car class at the Brighton Speed Trials.

In 1952 he switches to single-seaters and wins his first race in a Formula Two Cooper-Bristol T20 at Goodwood. Further successes follow which bring him to the attention of Enzo Ferrari, who offers him a works drive.

He makes his Formula One debut at the 1952 Grote Prijs van Belgie at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, and finishes in fourth place. That year he has his first podium, with a third place at the RAC British Grand Prix .

In January 1955 he joins the Jaguar racing team, replacing Stirling Moss, who had left for Mercedes. He wins the 1955 les 24 Heures du Mans following an inspired drive. He sets a lap record of 4 minutes and 6.6 seconds during a three-hour duel with Fangio in the early stages.

Sadly the race is marred by the worst disaster in motor racing history. A crash kills 83 spectators and Mercedes driver Pierre Levegh.

The official inquiry into the accident rules that it is a racing incident. The death of so many spectators is blamed on inadequate safety standards.

Hawthorn rejoins Ferrari in 1957, and soon becomes friends with Peter Collins, a fellow Englishman and Ferrari team driver.

Hawthorn wins the 1958 Formula One Championship despite achieving only one win. The win is the 1958 French Grand Prix at Reims.

Retirement:

After winning the title he retires from Formula One.

He begins a series of books for children featuring not only the wholly fictional Carlotti but also himself and other drivers of the day.

A few months later he dies in a road accident.

Listen to Simon tell us the full story.

Unfortunately the images used in the original presentation are subject to copyright and therefore cannot be published alongside this podcast.

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern  Group.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher , Vurbl , You Tube and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use with this talk.

© The MrT Podcast Studio and the Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern Group 2018 – 2025

Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with the podcast:

We pass the remains of the old Handley Page aircraft works at Radlett. In 1937 the pilot of a Harrow bomber misjudges his approach to the airfield. His undercarriage rips off part of the roof of the kitchen car of a London to Manchester express.

The kitchen car continues to Leicester where it is replaced with another. The delay? Only one hour.

We pass the remains of huge gashes in the landscape. These are the result of extracting clay for brick making. At the peak of brick making in 1936, the Stewartby Brickworks, the world’s largest, makes 500 million a year.

Today a thousand homes and a business park are being built as part of the redevelopment of the site.

We cross the river Ouse seven times in the Bedford area, and pass a stretch of the A6 called the Paula Radcliffe Way. The train is passing through beautiful countryside as we travel north.

At the stop at Kettering I marvel at the ironwork in the canopies over the platforms. In the 1970s British Rail submits plans to cut the supports off part way up and put on a plastic roof. The local Civic Society protests and saves the day!

I leave the train at our stop in Leicester. This is the first stop on the traditional route of the Thames Clyde Express.

The modernisers have ruined much of Leicester station. However, the baroque façade remains and it is stunning. The domed clock tower is vaguely Indian in style. The clock is the only hand wound station clock on the railway network.

There is a porte cochere behind the façade. Today you can get a taxi there and go through the entrance to buy a ticket.

The architecture at Leicester has 3 stars in the Simon Jenkins book Britain’s 100 Best Railway Stations.

Listen to the podcast to hear about the journey to Leicester and the story of this magnificent railway station.

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I am following, as far as is possible today, the route of the Thames Clyde Express. The London, Midland & Scottish railway introduces the express on 26th September 1927.

The Thames Clyde took the longer, and slower, Midland Railway route from London St. Pancras to Glasgow St. Enoch. A route running via Sheffield, Leeds, the Settle to Carlisle line and the Glasgow South Western route north of Carlisle.

As we leave St. Pancras we pass, on our left, St. Pancras Old Church, with its clocktower, and, on our right, the fully refurbished gasometers, or more correctly gasholders, that are part of the Kings Cross revival.

We soon pass through Kentish Town station and the site of the old engine sheds. These sheds, opening in 1875, provided the locomotives for the Thames Clyde Express on its London to Leeds leg.

With 3 brick-built roundhouses and workshops the locomotive allocation in March 1959 was 100 locomotives, all of them steam.

The last locomotives are maintained there in 1963 when the site closes. The civil engineers Murphy use some of the surviving buildings today.

We pass through West Hampstead, Cricklewood, Hendon on my journey from the suburban sprawl of outer London towards the north.

Listen to the podcast to hear about the journey through north London and into the countryside.

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Pam’s interest began in the 1970s with an evening class at Farnborough Tech. She then moves on  to the Royal Aircraft Establishment Archaeological Society, active in digging at local sites.

She admits that there is a lot of grubbing around in the dirt, but says that she doesn’t do it. Her interest is in looking at the results of grubbing around in the dirt.

Archaeology has developed over the last few centuries, going from antiquarian interest to involving many scientific techniques today.

In the 1970s the use of science was limited to Carbon 14 dating; at the time very expensive for a local society. This gives a date for organic material such as plants, trees, people and animals.

X ray techniques were sometimes used, for example, on Egyptian mummies.

Prior to this, dating used stratification. The depth of an object and the  sequence leading to it. This means finding undisturbed layers in the soil and is not always accurate.

As time passes other techniques, such as MRI and CT scanning come into use along with DNA analysis.

Tracing peoples’ movements:

These scientific techniques all lead to a greater understanding of how the distribution and mixing of different genetic traits took place across the world.

Listen to Pam tell us the full story.

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern  Group.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher , Vurbl , You Tube and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use with this talk.

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Midland Road runs up the western side of St. Pancras station splitting the station from the old goods yard. Today the British Library stands on part of the site at the junction of the Euston and Midland roads.

The move to the current building, Grade 1 listed since 2015, started in 1997. Currently the library has facilities here and at Boston Spa in Yorkshire.

The next building I come across is the Francis Crick Institute, a biomedical research centre. It is a partnership between Cancer Research UK, Imperial College, King’s College, the Medical Research Council, University College and the Wellcome Trust.

Opposite is the modern extension to the hotel and the new platforms for the semi-banished East Midlands Railway.

As I walk up the road I pass a row of shops in arches. These are the last visible remains of the buildings from the old goods depot.

St. Pancras Old Church is an ancient seat of Christian worship. Although the building underwent a major restoration in the middle of the 19th Century, it still incorporates material, believed to be, from Roman times.

The building of St. Pancras station resulted in many exhumations from the Churchyard. It is estimated that 10,000 of the 100,000 graves were dug up.

I pass under the tracks and reach the Camley Street Natural Park which has the Regent’s Canal on one side and the railway tracks on the other. I recommend this tranquil park to anyone visiting the area.

Listen to the podcast to hear more about ‘Around St. Pancras’.

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The Midland Railway was a proud organisation. From their base in Derby their powerbase is between Birmingham and York; however their services stretch as far as Carlisle and Bournemouth.

Their ambition is to reach London. For many years they have to share tracks with other companies. At one stage they are paying the Great Northern £20,000 a year to use Kings Cross.

The involvement of George Hudson, known as the Railway King, means that they can’t get approval for a London terminus. However, once the disgraced Hudson is out of the way, they win Parliamentary approval for a terminus.

The Midland purchase land from the estate of Lord Somers on the north side of the New Road. Like Kings Cross, Euston and the much later Marylebone, the station is between the New Road and the Regent’s Canal.

The chosen area houses many people, has a gasworks, is on the course of the buried River Fleet and has the ancient church of St. Pancras, with a burial ground. A site with a great number of difficulties!

William Barlow, the Midland’s engineer, is told to build something dramatic. His roof is a single span, 243 feet across which, until 1888, is the largest in the world.

The station is built of the finest materials, all transported from the Midland’s heartland. The building work leads to many evictions, with little notice, from slum homes and the exhumation of 8,000 bodies from the churchyard.

On the 1st October 1868 the first trains arrive.

George Gilbert Scott wins the competition to design the grand hotel to stand in front of the train shed. The budget is £316,000.

When the hotel opens it is the most expensive railway hotel in London. For a charge of 14 shillings you get dinner, bed and breakfast; however there is only one bathroom on each floor!

In the 1960s and 1970s see plans to demolish the station and hotel buildings. This leads to uproar and a Grade 1 listing. The introduction of Eurostar services  leads to a £800 million renovation.

Listen to the podcast to hear more about ‘St. Pancras’.

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I leave my hotel to walk through the city and find myself back at Boston South station.

Whilst I’m at the station I see the construction team erecting a tower crane. This is something that I’ve never see before and it is fascinating to watch.

I now reach the water. This is the area of town that celebrates the Boston Tea Party. It is such a pity that the ‘museum’ here is so tacky. I do find a plaque on a wall that commemorates the event.

At least the fishermen seem to be happy as they prepare for their expedition.

As I walk further I see a fake Mississippi stern wheel paddle steamer and then reach the Aquarium. What an amazingly ugly late 1960’s building. It is completely devoid of any merit!

It is a summer Sunday and I’d expected to see lots of harbour tours. Not one until I find a company offering trips in their amphibious DUCKs. As I continue my walk through the city I keep coming across the DUCK tours.

I didn’t know that this station existed. Apparently it is the start of a train called the Downeaster. I’ll have to come back and travel on it another time.

My journey through Boston takes me past increasingly ugly buildings before I reach the historic heart of Boston. It is such a pity that the buildings from the 1960s and 1970s are so ugly.

Listen to the podcast to hear about my day in ‘Boston’.

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This is the third in a series of short talks given to the members of the Farnham u3a World History group.

There are a number of famous people from history staying in the ‘burning house’. Each speaker pleads for their subject to be saved.

I was born Agnes Gonj Bojadjou on 26th of August 1910 the youngest of three children. By blood I’m Albanian, by citizenship an Indian, by faith a Catholic nun. My name translates to Mary Teresa.

My mother raises us after my father dies when I am 8. It is a devoutly Catholic family and my mother is always very kind to those less fortunate than us.

One of its priests at our church introduces me to the missionary work being undertaken in the wider world, particularly in India.

By the age of 12 I want to dedicate my life to God. I leave our family home at 18 to join the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known as the Sisters of Loreto. They are an Irish community of nuns who send missionaries to India.

First steps in Kolkata:

My first missionary post is at St Mary’s High School in Calcutta. I teach young children history and geography. We have no supplies or equipment, so I teach by writing in the mud with wooden sticks and making use of what little other resources I can find. During this early period as a missionary, I have no income and little access to food.

Listen to Graham tell us how from these early beginnings the ministry grows.

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern  Group.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher , Vurbl , You Tube and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use with this talk.

© The MrT Podcast Studio and Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern Group 2018 – 2025

Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with this podcast:

New Haven Union Station is the main passenger station in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the third station in the city of New Haven. Opening in 1920, it is in the beaux-arts  style.

The 1961 bankruptcy of the New Haven Railroad led to a transfer to the Penn Central Transportation Company on January 1, 1969. The next year Penn Central undergoes bankruptcy, and the station building closes in 1973 to cut costs.

Reopening after extensive renovation in early 1985, it is now the most important transport hub in New Haven. Today it is the busiest railway station in Connecticut.

It is a beautiful afternoon as our route travels along the coast. I can see many people on the beaches enjoying the seaside. There are many boats in the marinas as well as on the water.

Providence station serves Amtrak and MBTA Commuter Rail. It is the 11th busiest Amtrak station in the country, and the second-busiest on the MBTA Commuter Rail system outside Boston.

The station dates from 1986 and is in the brutalist style, with a large square clocktower. It has been positively received by critics, receiving a citation in the 1983 Progressive Architecture Awards.

We then travel through the curiously named Route 128 station. Even more strangely, the conductor announces it as Route and not Rout. We then stop at Boston’s Back Bay station before our arrival into Boston South station.

Listen to the podcast to hear about my journey north from ‘New Haven to Boston South’.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Vurbl , You Tube and others.

AKM Music licenses Steam Railway for use in this podcast.

Click a thumbnail below to view the image gallery that accompanies the talk.

This is the second in a series of short talks given to the members of the Farnham u3a World History group.

There are a number of famous people from history staying in the ‘burning house’. Each speaker pleads for their subject to be saved.

Mr. Punch has his origins in Italy. We can trace the harlequin or pantaloon back to the burlesque mime characters of ancient Rome. Herculaneum has a statue with features of Mr. Punch. The showman’s sounds come from the whistles the Romans used.

Early days in Britain:

Religious dramas, political satire and opera are a feature of Middle Ages England. Over the years the clergy find that the puppets, with their humorous dialogues and popular songs, are not suitable for illustrating Bible stories .

In 1677 Edward Ravenscroft, at the Theatre Royal, has Punch on stage in a Restoration comedy.

In 1660, Samuel Pepys observes a marionette show featuring an early version of Mr. Punch in Covent Garden. Pepys describes the event in his diary as an Italian puppet play.

Listen to Diana tell us the story of this puppet whose history goes back many centuries.

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern  Group.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher , Vurbl , You Tube and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use with this talk.

© The MrT Podcast Studio and Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern Group 2018 – 2025

Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with this podcast:

Acela is Amtrak‘s flagship passenger service on the Northeast Corridor running between Washington, D.C. and Boston. They are the fastest in the Americas, reaching 150 miles per hour. Sadly the trains only reach 150 mph for 49.9 miles of the 457-mile route.

Acela is busy with over 2.9 million passengers in 2023. It is only beaten by the slower and less expensive Northeast Regional service with over 9 million passengers. It accounts for around 25% of Amtrak’s total revenue.

The fastest speed is on tracks between Mansfield, Massachusetts, and Richmond, Rhode Island, and South Brunswick and Trenton, New Jersey.

Acela uses active tilting technology, allowing the train to travel at higher speeds on the sharply curved North East Corridor.

Most of the high-speed operation is on the 226-mile route from in New York to Union Station in Washington with a fastest scheduled time of 2 hours and 45 minutes and an average speed of 82 miles per hour including stops.

I leave from Penn Station for the last time in this series of journeys on the 2.10 pm Acela service to Boston South Station.

It is the main intercity station in New York and claimed to be the busiest transport facility in the Western Hemisphere, with, in 2019, more than 600,000 passengers each weekday.

There are 21 tracks fed by seven tunnels. Amtrak owns the station and commuter rail services are operated by the Long Island Rail Road and NJ Transit.

Stamford station, officially known as the Stewart B. McKinney Transportation Center, serves passengers traveling on Metro-North Railroad‘s New Haven Line, Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, and CTrail‘s Shore Line East. It also hosts Greyhound, Peter Pan, and CTtransit buses.

United Airlines codeshares with Amtrak to provide a service from Stamford station to the station at Newark Liberty International Airport – United’s Northeast hub.

Union Station, also known as New Haven Railroad Station, also has, like Stamford, an IATA code.

Today’s station is the third one in New Haven.

Listen to the podcast to hear about the rest of my journey north from ‘New York to New Haven’.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Vurbl , You Tube and others.

AKM Music licenses Steam Railway and In Lightening for use in this podcast.

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