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  • Reading – Reading Central Library

    Reading – Reading Central Library

    I like to pop in the library in any town or city that I visit, so that I can comment on whether or not I’m happy with their selection of books. Another one of my little services to the local community…..

    What a lovely welcome. There seems to be a substantial proportion of books in foreign languages, more than I’ve seen even in libraries such as Stratford in Newham when I lived there (in Newham I mean, I didn’t live in the library). I did like though that the library offers free online courses to learn foreign languages for those who are library members, which I think is a nice mixture of things.

    I’d say that these opening hours are somewhat inadequate, for anyone who works nine until five on weekdays then they’re going to struggle to ever get here. Closing at 15.00 on a Saturday and being closed on Wednesdays and Sundays really isn’t ideal. There’s a comparison possible here between Reading in the United States (which is named after this town) and Reading in the United Kingdom, with the latter having the twice the population. Despite that, the central library in Reading in Pennsylvania is open from 09.00 until 21.00 on Mondays to Wednesdays, from 13.00 until 19.00 on Thursdays, from 09.00 until 17.00 on Fridays and Saturdays and from 13.00 until 17.00 on Sundays.

    The library goes over the Holy Brook river channel.

    I went to the second floor and noted that the local history library opened at 11.00, and since it was 10.55 I meandered back to the first floor selection of books. It seemed adequate and there was plenty of seating available.

    On getting to the local history library, I think it’s actually open earlier and it’s just the specialist collections at the family history section that open at 11.00. Either way, this is a very decent collection of books, plenty of local history reference books and also some to be taken out of the library as well. Nearly no-one came up to the floor during my time in the library, so it doesn’t seem to be the busiest section in the building, but at least that will stop bits of the collection from being stolen.

    My first impressions might not have been the best, but I was pleased in the end that it was a peaceful library which seemed organised and well stocked. Oh, and most importantly, they had a Pevsner.

  • Reading – Allied Arms

    Reading – Allied Arms

    There are more Good Beer Guide listed pubs in Reading than I had expected, over ten in the centre (or within easy walking distance of it) and I’ll try to get to as many as possible. This is the Allied Arms, one of the few pubs that doesn’t serve food (other than bar snacks) and it has some history to it, which I might as well quote from their web-site:

    “The Allied Arms has been a pub since 1828 but the building dates back to the 16th Century. Over the years it has been used as a butchers and brewery as well as a pub. The inside decor is warm and cosy and includes old beams which likely came from the ruins of Reading Abbey after the dissolution by Henry VIII.”

    I liked a building with some heritage to it and it’d be good to think that the old beams theory is true.

    Unfortunately, the stout I ordered ran out as it was being poured, so I switched to the Loddon Hullabaloo which was adequate and at the appropriate temperature. I had hoped for something darker and the pub will usually have that offer available, I was just slightly unfortunate today that the barrel ran out. Nonetheless, there were a range of beer styles, and although nothing exceptional, it was entirely adequate. Pricing here, which I knew about in advance from reviews, is a little expensive and I suspect that might cost them some custom, although it’s not unreasonable.

    The interior of the pub, all bright and feeling historic. There’s a front and back room, both served by the same bar, as well as a large outdoors garden. I can imagine that on most weekends the seating gets taken quickly, so the extensive external area must be quite handy.

    The Loddon Hullabaloo, which is the pub’s house ale, produced by the Loddon Brewery who are based on Dunsden in Oxfordshire (I thought that sounded quite a long way away, but I’ve realised how near Reading us to the border of Berkshire and Oxfordshire).

    It’s a nice enough little pub, with the staff member being friendly and welcoming, so there was an inviting and quite cosy atmosphere. They’re still requiring masks to be worn, which I’m happy with that their being choice and I had one ready, so all was well. Given the building’s heritage and the range of real ales, I can see why it’s in the Good Beer Guide.

  • Reading – Museum of English Rural Life (Upstairs Stores)

    Reading – Museum of English Rural Life (Upstairs Stores)

    I like it when museums do this, which is placing items from their stores on public display rather than keeping them hidden and inaccessible. The National Railway Museum do this particularly well with the Warehouse, now called the North Shed (but I prefer Warehouse so I’m going to persist in calling it that). The Museum of English Rural Life have clearly spent some money on their set-up, but it’s visitor friendly and it keeps everything safe, but still visible.

    Some of the clothing, including smocks and the like.

    Bits from coffins, which to be fair are probably a little harder to incorporate into the main displays.

    There’s no end of material on these shelves, and there’s also an area at the back which can’t be accessed without a prior appointment, but this has even more items visible.

    The problem with running a museum on English rural life is that quite a lot of the exhibits are really quite bulky.

    Anyway, I liked this upstairs section to the museum, there’s an exploration element to the whole arrangement. The museum has a total of 25,000 items and only a limited amount of space to display them, but they’re used what they have really well. They’ve also carefully, and no doubt laboriously, listed everything in their collections and this is available at https://merl.reading.ac.uk/merl-collections/search-and-browse/databases/.

  • Reading – Museum of English Rural Life (Ladybird Books Collection)

    Reading – Museum of English Rural Life (Ladybird Books Collection)

    More on this museum in other posts, but I was told by a friendly member of staff at the entrance when she was giving me directions that there was a Ladybird display. As the museum is about English rural life I thought it would be something about ladybirds in terms of beetles (expecting something similar to what Stuart wrote in the LDWA’s Strider magazine about bumble bees), but I was surprised and delighted to see that it was all about Ladybird books.

    The cover of Bunnikin’s Picnic Party, the first Ladybird Book which was produced in 1940.

    The pages of a Ladybird Book before cutting.

    The original artwork from one of the Ladybird books.

    One of the challenges for adapting books for the Arabic market, not least the days of the week all needed amending.

    The dog was seen as unclean and was replaced by a goat.

    Head coverings were added for this book.

    And a switch from a pig to a sheep in this illustration.

    An internal memorandum from Ladybird Books, indicating that the Saudi Government didn’t like a girl being used in one of the images, it needed to be a boy. it was duly changed.

    And there’s the change that the Saudi Government requested.

    Some of the foreign language editions.

    And some of the collection of books that the museum has, which is a fairly comprehensive set. I remember having some of these, indeed quite a lot of them, and they remain a design classic.

    This is the only permanent display of Ladybird Books anywhere in the world and I think that they’ve done a nice job here in presenting some of the titles and giving a background to their history. They change the main feature every few months to keep the displays seem fresh and I’d pop in and see what they’ve done if in the area again. This collection could perhaps do with a little more space to allow the museum to do everything they want, but this was a nice surprise to end my visit with.

  • Greater Anglia : Norwich to London Liverpool Street

    Greater Anglia : Norwich to London Liverpool Street

    As this is a journey that I often take, I wasn’t going to write about it, but Greater Anglia’s choice of train annoyed me. So, I have.

    Norwich railway station on a Wednesday lunch-time in February, it’s getting busier, but I’m sure that passenger numbers aren’t there yet. Shame that West Cornwall Pasty, which was to the left of Starbucks, has closed, but that unit could perhaps be turned into a Greggs…. The M&S at the railway station is still closed, it’s been like that for two years now.

    Here’s the train, all shiny on Platform 2.

    And then I realised this. It’s the bloody Stansted Express train they’re using again. I thought to myself just how not ideal this was.

    I have no idea why Greater Anglia keep using these Stansted Express trains, they were never designed for this route. They don’t have tables, they don’t have first class (not that that much matters to me) and they don’t have a buffet car (actually, that doesn’t much matter to me either). Other customers have asked Greater Anglia why they use these trains on social media, but it’s seemingly a mystery to customers and Greater Anglia alike. Two groups came walking by me on the train on a hunt for tables, but their search would have been forlorn. The conductor, who was friendly and helpful, made an announcement saying that a last minute train change was required, but this train continually goes up and down the Norwich to London mainline so it’s not a rare occurence.

    A lack of table is annoying when using a laptop, although the power points worked. It’s quite hard to sit at these seats without wanting to put your feet on the chairs opposite, because that would make using a laptop much easier. However, I consider that to be a crime against humanity, although it’s possible to put one foot on the heating panel below the window. Greater Anglia have also decided they’d like their trains to be like rolling furnaces along the track in some sort of commemoration of the heat of steam engines, and there’s no way for a customer to cool the carriage themselves.

    We arrived into London Liverpool Street at the unusual platform 4 (unusual as in this train doesn’t usually stop there, it’s otherwise a normal platform) which I guess is because they’ve decided that the Stansted Express train was going to be used to go to Stansted.

    London Liverpool Street is definitely looking busier. All of the e-tickets were failing (again) so the gate guard was busy checking tickets manually, which I’m not sure is how the system is meant to work.

    As an aside, I went to the rear of the station and this is all looking much tidier.

    I don’t know when this was landscaped, but the whole area around London Liverpool Street appears to be being modernised, it’s all a clear improvement.

    I suppose it’s hard to complain with a fare that’s only £10 from Norwich to London (although, as is evident here, I’ve had a good go), but this would be a nicer journey if the train was more comfortable. But, the staff on board were friendly and conversational, although the train was rather hot, but everything ran to time and was efficient.

  • Crossrail : London Paddington to Reading

    Crossrail : London Paddington to Reading

    One thing that I have realised is just how confusing the rail pricing is from London to Reading, with the rail fare being at least £20 if looking to use rail booking web-sites. I discovered, to my surprise and delight, that it’s a little over £11 if travelling off-peak on the new Crossrail service, which is much more realistic. It’s not ideal though that this train journey pricing isn’t on the rail matrix for those trying to book tickets, another failing of the whole Crossrail set-up. Anyway, complaining aside, the signage at London Paddington is clear and I caught the train with just a minute to spare.

    Inside the Crossrail train carriages, this really could do with power points, but they decided early on that they weren’t going to bother with that burden. Nor does the train have toilets, despite the length of the journey and they had to bend the rules as a train service of this length would usually require toilets on board. I suspect they’ll retrofit power points at some random time in the future, it’s rare for services not to have them now. But, to be fair, these decisions were made by Boris Johnson when he was London Mayor, so it’d be unkind to expect them to be any good. Anyway, enough politics.

    At the moment the train is departing from London Paddington to get to Reading, they still haven’t quite finished the testing of the middle section between London Liverpool Street and London Paddington. This whole line was meant to open in 2018, just as an indication of how messed up the entire project has become, billions over budget. However, it is a very useful line to cut across London and it increases capacity as well as speeding up many journeys. Unfortunately, the Crossrail 2 project which would have been equally useful was scrapped by Boris Johnson in his Prime Ministerial role in 2020. It will probably be reinstated in the future, although the earliest opening date would now be in the late 2040s at very best according to TFL.

    It wasn’t a particularly packed service, but it was clean throughout.

    There’s the journey section between London Paddington and Reading. Hopefully this signage will all be removed this year as the entire line should be formally opening in late 2022.

    And getting off at Reading, on time and as expected.

    I didn’t linger at Reading station as the weather was quite stormy, but the railway station feels quite modern with a new section added onto the older building.

    This proved to be an easy way into Reading from London, with the journey taking under an hour. The facilities have actually been downgraded since GWR ran this line, as they offered more comfortable seating, power points and toilets. But, there has been an increase in capacity and for any passenger wanting to go through to east London, this is a much more efficient service than changing at Paddington and then switching to the underground and then another train.

  • London – Tower of London (Wild Flowers)

    London – Tower of London (Wild Flowers)

    Last year I went to look at the poppies that they put in the moat of the Tower of London, this year they’ve dug the moat up to grow wildflowers. As an aside, I still think it’d look better with water in it, but it’s been a dry moat since it was drained during the nineteenth century.

    The Tower authorities are making some big holes around the place as they’re planting 20 million seeds this spring so that they flower from June to September, to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. There will be chance to walk amongst the wildflowers, but I imagine that’ll be expensive, so I’ll just return in a few months to take photos from the same elevated position. I’m sure it’ll look impressive when the flowers grow (and probably play havoc with my hayfever), it certainly looks like they’re going to a lot of trouble to get it right.

    And as an aside, here are a few more photos of the exterior of the Tower of London at night whilst I was meandering around it.

  • Malbork – Malbork Castle (Other Photos)

    Malbork – Malbork Castle (Other Photos)

    And just photos from my visit to Malbork Castle a few weeks ago. I’m not sure that I’ll ever get around to creating individual posts relating to these photos, so here they are in their entirety. There’s a potential game playable here of “spot the other visitors to the castle”…..

  • Malbork – Malbork Castle (Frederick the Great Statue)

    Malbork – Malbork Castle (Frederick the Great Statue)

    Back to another post about Malbork Castle….

    The Germans had a marvellous idea in the 1870s that they would create a large and impressive statue of Frederick the Great (1718-1786) which would stand two metres high. Frederick was the King of Prussia between 1740 and 1786 and responsible for the First Partition of Poland, which was to ultimately destroy the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The aim of their great statue was to have four figures underneath it, each of whom was an important Teutonic Grand Master.

    They picked:

    Hermann von Salza, Grand Master from 1209 until 1239, who secured the status of the Teutonic Order.

    Siegfried von Feuchtwangen, Grand Master from 1303 until 1311, who moved the Teutonic Order base to Prussia.

    Winrich von Kniprode, Grand Master from 1351 until 1382, the longest serving holder of the office.

    Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach, Grand Master from 1510 until 1525, who turned the Order into a Protestant one following the Reformation (it’s been Catholic again since the 1920s).

    The aim of this little arrangement was to show the continuity between the Teutonic Order and the Prussian Kings, with the statues placed in the central courtyard of Malbork Castle which would make them hard for visitors to miss. The statues were all designed by Rudolf Simering and they were unveiled on 9 October 1877.

    Unfortunately, like a lot of things at the castle, they were badly damaged during the Second World War. The statue of Frederick the Great has been entirely lost, although the four Grand Masters are still here and have since been repaired and restored. Their arrangement today looks a bit random, but they once stood in each corner of the grand monument that had Frederick the Great on top of them. I’m not sure what Frederick the Great would have thought about all this…..

  • LDWA – Winter Poppyline 2022

    LDWA – Winter Poppyline 2022

    This weekend was the Winter Poppyline, the 50-mile challenge event offered by Norfolk & Suffolk LDWA. It usually takes place every other year, and took place this year following the postponement in 2021 due to the pandemic.

    This post is primarily photos that have been sent to be used on social media, so expect to see them soon on various LDWA social media sites. As ever, it was a wonderful event and it’s always a delight to hear all of the positive feedback that’s being received. The event was actually just over 51 miles and congratulations to everyone who finished and to those who didn’t quite make it, but they had a good go and that’s the main thing.

    Jayne was a marvellous organiser as ever and the marshals worked hard to ensure that everyone had a positive experience in the checkpoints and HQ. We also trust that entrants enjoyed the variety of terrain that North Norfolk has to offer, including the fine coastal views. The weather wasn’t too bad, but the wind did pick up and that was mentioned by a fair few entrants.

    Always happy to marshal these events because of the friendliness of the entrants and other marshals (and it saves me walking the event, as that can tire me out) and I’m proud that Richard’s training is coming on well at the registration desk. He’s able to cope on his own now, which makes it much easier for me to go and interfere with the arrangements in the kitchen on a much more regular basis. And it took me thirty minutes and the help of four marshals to work out to turn the lights off in the gym for those sleeping in there, before I gave up and someone else fixed the problem.

    I loved the choice of drink that our medic picked…. Both our medics were professional and helpful, although the one on the early shift had a quieter time it’s fair to say. Raynet and 4*4 also offered marvellous support to the marshals and to entrants, it was good to have them there.

    This was left to annoy me….. A complaint will be going to Stuart Bain nationally about Hilary for doing this……   🙂

    More to come about this event across our social media, but thanks to others who have posted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram about their experiences.

    There it is, the terrifying Beeston Bump….. This caught our many walkers, it’s a reminder never to under-estimate the Norfolk Himalayas.

    Here is the head of risk assessment for the event, Simon, with his friendly and welcoming face at Cromer cliffs to greet the walkers and remind them to be careful of the cliffs (or not to fall off them to be more precise). This selfie he took doesn’t really reflect just how much of a welcome he really offers though   🙂

    Anyway, I digress, onto the other photos…..