"Network Rail Wessex route director Mark Killick said: “We’re pleased to finally start work on Ryde Pier, which after 142 years of service needs a lot of maintenance to support SWR^» (South Western Railway - about)’s Island Line services going forward."...........

................but not going backwards

Again !

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-63426714

I hope "net zero" doesn't apply to the legroom again !

If I could make a little plug here ? Just over Waterloo Road is the Union Jack Club: Cheap beer (£2.90), excellent food, superb value accommodation and first class general surroundings. If you are an ex member of the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) armed forces (non-commissioned) it is well worth its annual membership fee, just for a couple of visits a year to break even.

https://ujc.org.uk/

Mark, I use this:  https://postimages.org/  to put photos on the forum.  It is simple to use, especially if you need to alter the size of the photo. Upload your photo and copy/paste the data in the "Hotlink for Forums" line into your post. Preview it and check the size, on the forum, is OK - if not go back and change the size and reinsert the new link - when you are happy, just post it on the forum as normal.

'fraid they have.....  The 0748 through service to WAT via WSB^» (Westbury - next trains) & WMN^» (Warminster - next trains) has vanished and the SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) website shows that a change is now required on the 1148, which I don't think is correct. The National Rail website still shows this as a through service, which the timings appear to confirm.  BUT ..........  the really useful through service from WAT to WMN & WSB at 0750 remains 

 6.  Santorini.

The coffee shop on Warminster Station is called Caspers.  This is/was Casper...........always had a friendly purr for station users.

HST^▸ (High Speed Train) ??

.........wanting to abolish the Monarchy, remain in the EU^» (European Union - about)..............etc, etc 

I do not wish to go into the rights/wrongs of the current rail disputes - that will just generate a pointless, endless argument.     But............I have to ask, are the strikes having much, if any, effect ? I have never worked on the railways and do (used to !) actually like travelling by train. Apart from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page), no one appears to be getting very worked up about the odd train free day.

In the past few months there have been 3 times when I would have definitely gone by train. The first time I already had bought tickets, a strike was called, I got a refund from GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway). The second two times I just didn't even consider the trains, I don't know if they did or didn't run those days - I just took my car. I possibly would have considered a few additional "days out" by train over the summer............not even considered ! If I need to go to Glasgow, I'll fly, if I need to go to Birmingham, I'll drive. I was considering getting a new car - I am not "considering" it any more, I AM getting a new car. If the Rail Companies/rail Unions don't don't want me to spend my money on the trains then I am quite happy to oblige both of them. I am not being self-centered - I am being realistic.

There seems to be little effect elsewhere - the supermarket shelves are full, industry generally appears to be getting along reasonably well. After the Covid lockdowns the odd rail strike, now and again, can almost be ignored by those who still have to use the trains - WFH^▸ (Working From Home), change dates or send it by road.

We seem to be approaching a state rather like the miner's strike, two sides that are too stupid/stubborn to see that they are cutting each others' throats. My "trade" was in the defence industry - we had an acronym for it: MAD .. "Mutually Assured Destruction" !     We won't need another Dr Beeching - drastic financial cuts are going to have to be made in many areas before long anyway - drag out and dust off his map.   The railways are an obvious target, HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) has already risen to the top of the candidate pile again. The Government (of any colour) will be more than happy to cut the subsidies to the railways in the coming years. 

The first thing that struck me about this closure was the huge reported number of job losses - 800. It's difficult to compare airports because of Covid, post Covid shambles and airline failures - but I would put Southampton on a par with Doncaster over the past few years. Southampton's workforce is about a quarter of that at Doncaster.
It has always struck me as a bit of a "vanity" project..............and far too late to gather much trade. It has a staggeringly long runway, but not much else to offer. The airlines had already made their investments in some of the (many !) other airports in the general area

Thought I'd have a count of the 5 cars trains at Warminster again today - just in case they have found some more ..................FOUR !  Pathetic.............