Great British Railway Journeys BBC 2 18:30hrs Mon-Fri.......

[Tonysmedley]

I have no objections to the general idea of a programme based on the effect of railways on Britain as described by Bradshaw, but there has been over-emphasis on aspects which have little to do with this topic.
The railway's ability to bring fresh fish to inland towns and thus enable the proliferation of fish and chip shops is relevant but the time spent on Eccles cakes was far too long.
Similarly the growing of local produce in Todmorden is a reversal of what the railway brought in but why spend all that time on promoting "green" ideas of reducing the amount of energy used in transporting food stuffs.

[jbilton]

Hi

Agreed Tony.... tonights programme also contained references to global warming and similar issues.
Its an interesting format.
I just can't help feeling the political undertones of a derelict north.... don't know where he goes in later weeks.
Maybe the affluent south.

Cheers
Jon

[tripman]

The series continues. Well worth a look. The Ribble program was good, last week. But tonights was the best, so far, for me. Gods Wonderful Railway Etc.
Wish I could turn the clock back.
CU Eric

[Tonysmedley]

Well, Michael Portillo finally got to my home town of Burton upon Trent, calling in at the oldest working factory in the world. John Smedley of Cromford. Although the connection is tenuous, John Smedley’s family came from the same place as my ancestors, but there is not enough connection for me to claim my inheritance.
It is good to know that Smedley’s are one of the few firms in the clothing industry to remain firmly based in Britain, and have not moved production to cheap labour third world countries. As a result, their goods remain out of reach of all except the comparatively well off.
When Portillo got to Burton, as has been not uncommon in these programmes, there was evidence of poor research Much was made of the importance of water to Burton’s main industry the brewing of beer, illustrated by several shots of the river Trent. But no river water is used in brewing beer; for a start it wouldhave been for many years far too polluted. .
It was the monks of Burton Abbey who centuries ago found that beer made with water drawn from the abbey wells had superior keeping qualities and flavour. Below the town are strata of calcium sulphate, otherwise known as gypsum, and it is the presence of this in the water which makes it ideal for brewing. Gypsum was also used in its hardest form, as the stone called Alabaster, for making monuments, a thriving industry centuries ago.
It was (and still is) also mined in the area for making Plaster, widely used in building**
The biggest explosion ever in Britain occurred in 1944 in disused mines at Fauld, a few miles outside the town. It was hushed up at the time, occurring during the 1939-1945 war
(see http://www.carolyn.topmum.net/tutbury/f ... crater.htm)

So vital was the gypsum rich Burton water for brewing the best beer that a Bolton company of brewers, Magee. Marshall, also started brewing Burton Ale, not in Burton but in Bolton. They had a small railway siding in Burton alongside a well and pump house and each week a short train of tank wagons would come down from Bolton to be filled up with Burton water, which was then taken back to Bolton to brew ”genuine” Burton Ale.

** Calcium sulphate is now a by-product of the flue gas cleaning equipment at certain big coal fired power stations such as Drax. Nearly a million and a half tons a year are produced from power station gas cleaning and thousands of tons of this are transported by rail to plaster works such as that at Kirkby Thore, which uses the Settle and Carlisle route to deliver sulphate to the site.

[scorpion71]

Well I have to admit I enjoyed the programme, it's given me a few ideas of where to go on my travels later on this year, though I can't afford to stay in some of the hotels Portillo did!

I look forward to the new series next year

[tripman]

Me to. I've booked a week in St Ives. Never been down there. The views in this program of the beach and that railway sold it to me.
No Mollorca this year what with the euro problem.
Just hope for a bit of English summer like what we used to have.
CU Eric

[theokus]

Let's hope it's shown on public TV here, and not gobbled up by SKY's UKTV. Thanks to them we haven't seen LOTSW for years and a lot of other decent Brit comedy series, either.

Cheers Bazza

I love the program
It's a shame I cann't use that iPlayer here.
I hope we can buy the dvd's if any.

[oldrocker]

I've just watched the first two off my Virgin box and I must say I quite enjoyed them.

He's an easy going presenter and I find that I can overlook his politics and take him for what I've always thought him to be, a nice chap.



(Bold and large because I'm fed up with people equating non terrestrial with the Arch Fiend from The Antipodes! )

[Crimpsal]

St Ives gets very, very crowded & when it's during school holidays you can't move.
We stayed less than 2 hours in St Ives (we rented a base then toured around Cornwall),
we moved up the coast to Hayle so that we could find somewhere we could get lunch without
being treated like cattle.

[45002]

I've just watched the first two off myVirgin box and I must say I quite enjoyed them.

He's an easy going presenter and I find that I can overlook his politics and take him for what I've always thought him to be, a nice chap.



(Bold and large because I'm fed up with people equating non terrestrial with the Arch Fiend from The Antipodes! )

Show off

your enjoy the episode filmed in Walsall and Birmingham

MARTIN

[Tonysmedley]

Portillo the politician did not impress me. This programme was different.
He was not served too well in these programmes by the researchers, but he came over as a pleasant fellow (and the son of iimmigrants!)

[theokus]

Portillo the politician did not impress me. This programme was different.
He was not served too well in these programmes by the researchers, but he came over as a pleasant fellow (and the son of iimmigrants!)

Portillo is a nice man

But imho, this program was more a job for Michael Palin.

[jbilton]

Hi

If his latest views are true , then it must have been difficult for him to have served in the Government that he did.

Cheers
Jon

[jbilton]

Hi

New series starts tonight.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00xgqw ... s/upcoming

Fridays looks very promising.

Dereham to Cromer
"Michael gets the rare chance to drive a heritage diesel train, finds out why Norfolk black turkeys appeared on the Christmas menu in Bradshaw's day, and samples some classic Cromer crab."

Cheers
Jon

[ianmacmillan]

Interesting documentary on the places the railway served but not much about the railways themself.