Well spotted, BNM. From the episode "Dishonoured", IIRC^▸ (if I recall/remember/read correctly). Contains the immortal lines:
Peter Sellers "Ten miles he swam, the last three were agony"
Neddy Seagoon "Yes, they were overland!"

The frequency is 50.03 Hz, suggesting that all is well at the moment. Coal (1.5%) continues to fall in popularity, although some of the plants are kept on standby. Gas (44%) and nuclear (22%) provide the lion's share, with significant imports via the interconnectors with other countries. Wind, statistically the most dangerous source of power with two workers killed in separate accidents in as many months in Scotland, chips in less than 4%. Biomass and solar barely trouble the scorers.

Electricity accounts for under 40% of energy use in this country, with gas, petrol and diesel accounting for much of the rest. That means that some 80% of our energy comes from fossil fuels, which shows just how far we are from cleaning up our act, despite all the hot air from government and pressure groups. I am not sure what sort of difference the electrified GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) and other lines will make to the overall consumption in the country as a whole, but I hope someone has done the maths and made provision.

Grey peas! Black peas in my old hometown, and a gourmet treat I have not had in a long time!

In re Wetherspoons, I had a very acceptable steak and chips in the Albert and the Lion recently, washed down with Lytham Blonde before catching the tram back to mum's.

But who will want to use them when they can get the same for less money?

I've said too much - sorry Mum! Back to the Dance of the Seven Army Blankets.

I think I saw the green one on Friday at Temple Meads, around 6pm, possibly on P8 or so. This was from the vantage point of a number 1 bus going over the bridge near the Three Lamps Junction.

So if my Mum wanted to go to work at Ma Kelly's in Talbot Road leaving Cleveleys before 9.30, she would still have to pay! Even though much of her council tax goes to Lancashire County Council who put a lot of money into the tramway. It seems somehow unfair.

(OK, she's 86, currently in a nursing home, and unlikely to work again, but it's the principle. Not just that I am using her pass and the high heels kill.)

Let's hope that we lose nothing.

Don't forget the Gimli Glider. A Boeing 767 had a dicky fuel measuring system, so the pilot asked the engineers to dip the tanks. That gave a result in litres, which they converted to kilograms - but using the multiplier for pounds rather than kilograms. This was the first aircraft they had used that measured things in metric. It ended reasonably happily.


Physics was my best O-Level result, which doesn't make me a scientist! While I appreciate that some of the discussion means nothing to you, and very little to me, I tend to feel that this is the right place for it in the context of the whole electrification project. I have only just got to grips (possibly!) with the Autotransformer concept thanks to patient explanation from our in-house experts and a lot of off-site research.

This forum, IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion), benefits greatly from the contributions by some of the more learned members, be they couched in technical language or layman's terms. I don't think we will ever get to the point of page after page of swapped equations. Perhaps we could ask for a simple explanation as to what is being explained?

I can still recall the main equations for electricity, which is enough to figure out what fuse an appliance needs, and some of the general principles - an experiment in the laboratory at school using the 12V supply and some basic stuff was enough to convince me that the resistance of a length of wire varied with the cross-sectional area, and how crucial is that on a railway at 25KV?

On metric measurements generally, I was part of the first year at my school to regard the acceleration due to gravity as 9.81 ms^-2 rather than 32 feet per second per second. When you add motion to mass, it is so much easier when everything is based on units that divide by 10, rather than 12, 14, 28, 3, 20, 1760, or whatever. I am occasionally weighed by nurses in hospital. They do it in kilograms, then ask if I want to know the depressing answer in stones and ponds. They are somewhat flummoxed when a man of my age says it would mean absolutely nothing, but they trot it out anyway. How do you work out body mass index in Imperial? Or did we not do that before metrification?

Please bear with the occasional foray into academe, but stick with us chuffed. Your contributions are highly valued too!

I have re-read the newspaper article, and realise my mistake. Thanks for clarifying the issue, RW. I have amended the heading and text of my original post.

Merseyrail has indeed got new kit on order, prompting calls of outrage from the unions. As for DfT, it's about time there was a plan. This story illustrates the wastefulness of the current system.

The Bristol Post reports that a person has died on the railway track close to Highridge and Burnham station.


My first thoughts are with the person concerned and family, and with those who have to respond to such incidents.

Any delays have now passed, and services are running to normal.

As does Blackpool, to the chagrin of the residents of Wyre Borough (Thornton Gate to Fleetwood).

Theale is not in a unique position. Mr Maynard has disappointed many people.

That's a long closure! Nice update, Red Squirrel.