Great Western Coffee Shop

Rob Bell (not Julia Bradbury, sorry) - ITV, 8 p.m. tonight --- just watching on +1 at the moment.

Tonight - Midland Main Line through the Peak District

https://tv24.co.uk/b/q5gd00-1nzp :

Just caught it on replay. Interesting seeing the bits I visited a couple of years ago.

After just 2 episodes the series has been "paused" by Channel 5.

That's commercial TV speak for, "We weren't getting enough viewers and the advertisers aren't happy."

So it's been replaced by Nightmare Hotels of the Third Reich in Colour. Or something.

Presenter Rob Bell had quite a few tweets on Sunday and yesterday asking why the series was pulled.

https://twitter.com/MrRobBell/status/1231969108113215488?s=20

Definitely a bovine wiff here abouts..

Indeed.

"... hoping for a better slot..."

It's your channel for flips sake. You should know what slots are and aren't available. No need for hope.

The reality though is that they're trying to 'sell' the programme to advertisers.

A couple of months ago, I binged on Whitewick's Abandoned Railways  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48voPBQWdPc&list=PLBZfNv8Qgz9EzLr9m_zKFpRILimNEbDPV)on YouTube.

Mrs & Mrs Whitewick, sometimes accompanied by their children, make a charismatic couple, though his resemblance to Sir Bradley Wiggins is a little distracting! They are "exploring" and cannot be expected to have intimate local knowledge, but now and then I have remarked to myself that they've overlooked some particular feature.

They seem to have covered many of the lost railway lines  with which I'm familiar.

Commercial reality. Minority interest. Much cheaper and easier to buy something in/show a repeat which will attract far more viewers and advertisers.

Food for thought for all those screaming and shouting about funding the BBC on a commercial basis rather than via the Licence Fee.

I found myself watching a number of their videos the other day, and considering the format of couples travelling together, with one (in theory) explaining it to the other, whilst in practise explaining to the viewer.  Geoff Marshall and Vicki Pipe also sprung to my mind.   How hard it must be to avoid the stereotypical "man explains to woman" appearance, and how hard to look cheerful / happy / for one of the people not to appear unhappy to have been dragged along, but really enthusiastic about yet another interesting station clock, this time at Hainault, or yet another boggy old tunnel.

Our discussions then went on to Love is Blind (https://www.theguardian.com/global/commentisfree/2020/feb/26/netflix-love-is-blind-experiment-straight-heterosexual-marriage) and First Dates (https://www.channel4.com/programmes/first-dates/on-demand/55507-001) - but I'm going off topic as I see few couples in either show taking in the joys of the abandoned site of Killin Junction, or London Overground at Battersea Park.

Indeed. Looking at who signed the response, maybe even a porcine whiff...?  ;D

My recorder has picked up what seems to be the return of this series. On Ch5 at 20.00 on Friday 3/4.

Just caught this evening's episode on the Waverley Line. A lot of it was very interesting.  Top marks to the architect who renovated a station for his home yet was happy for any future possible reopening to run through what is now his garden, especially as the buildings on both platforms are owned and renovated by him. One would hope that the original wooden footbridge he restored between the two would be allowed to stay.

A very nice light programme, but he identifed the emptiness of the area before supporting a re-opening.

He also talked about the 30 miles that had been opened as the longest piece of new railway for a century.  He has not heard of HS1.

That bit struck me as odd too. HS2 is about double the length..... or was a substantial amount of it upgraded existing line?  In that case the Waverley Line might be the longest continuous line built in a century?