The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway opened.
"The official opening took place on 16th July 1927, with Hercules hauling that inaugural train from Hythe to New Romney. When first opened to the public the line only covered, in double track, the eight miles between Hythe and New Romney. Owner Captain Jack Howey soon had his eye on extending the line and in 1928 double tracks carried the trains to Dungeness via Greatstone...."
Wednesday, 16 July 2025
Ninety-Eight Years Ago...
Monday, 7 July 2025
Twenty Years Ago
Twenty years ago today, I was in my office at the British Museum, which looked out over Russell Square. I have a vague memory of a large bang being heard – but if anything, I assumed it was just one of the many noises you get around central London.
I want to say one thing specifically to the world today. This was not a terrorist attack against the mighty and the powerful. It was not aimed at Presidents or Prime Ministers. It was aimed at ordinary, working-class Londoners, black and white, Muslim and Christian, Hindu and Jew, young and old. It was an indiscriminate attempt to slaughter, irrespective of any considerations for age, for class, for religion, or whatever...Londoners will not be divided by this cowardly attack. They will stand together in solidarity alongside those who have been injured and those who have been bereaved and that is why I'm proud to be the mayor of that city.
Monday, 30 June 2025
Thursday, 12 June 2025
Beginning
Roughly fifty years ago, give or take, I solved my first ever Guardian cryptic crossword clue. It was an Araucaria, of course. We were in the library at school.
The clue was "Begin description of dining room (8)".
This week's Prize crossword by Matilda included "Start talking about the restaurant I went to last night? (8)".
They do, of course, have the same answer.
Wednesday, 4 June 2025
Thursday, 29 May 2025
Another Show
Following on from an earlier post, another event we went to was a talk by Randall Munroe, called What If? A decade of Imagining the Impossible, at the Barbican.
If you know XKCD, you'll understand the attraction. Although he came across as a little meandering, and there was less of a focus to his ideas.
Still worth going to, though.
Monday, 26 May 2025
Another Anniversary This Year
In addition to the anniversaries mentioned earlier, it is perhaps worth mentioning that it is 80 years since the first of the Reverend Awdry's Railway Series.