Feast of the M60: Pie Review

New from East of the M60 – Food Reviews

• Pie: Chicken Curry pie

• Maker: Peters, Bedwas, Caerphilly

• Location: Blakeway’s Chippy, Brighouse, West Yorkshire

I was in search of something suitable to me on till teatime at around 1650 hours.  We thought that a carton of chips or a chip butty would have been too much between our last meal at 1050 hours and our Sunday dinner.

Along with my old man I was watching the 10th Brighouse Brass Band Contest and having a most enjoyable time.  We chose to go to the chippy whilst there was a 4th section band on as we most wanted to see Marsden Silver who were on afterwards.

At Blakeway’s Chippy I stumbled upon the ultimate compromise between chips with curry or a chip muffin.  A Chicken Curry pie.

I have experienced the delights of the Balti Pie from my local Morrisons store and the pie hut at Redditch United’s ground.  Those two specimens were gorgeous so I expected the same high standards of this one.

It didn’t disappoint!  The pastry, though flaky wasn’t the sort of flaky pastry seen in a Greggs sausage roll or some frozen pies.  Whereas my previous two pies had Indian style curry, Peters went for the Chinese style chip shop curry.  It worked like a dream!

The pie had generous chunks of chicken and good pieces at that.  It was well worth the £1.50 price tag and a very moreish pie to boot.  For the health police, there is no MSG, artificial colours, flavours, preservatives and hydrogenated fat.  According to Peters’ website, you can also buy these at Tesco and Sainsburys stores.

FotM60 Rating: 8.5/10

S.V., 07 July 2009.

Give This Man A Job

East of the M60 says ‘no’ to the extradition of Gary McKinnon

A young man highlights the insecurities of US Federal computer system by sending a message about its lack of security.  One would expect the message to be returned more favourably and thank you for exposing this situation.

Now imagine if the message was sent soon after 9/11.  Instead of the kind thanks for acknowledging this error, they go down on this person like a ton of bricks.  They threaten him with 60 years behind bars, some informally wish to ‘let him fry’ by putting him on death row.  Being as this fellow is a British citizen, he is being threatened with extradition.

The subject in question, Gary McKinnon, has an autism spectrum disorder like myself which has led me to follow this case.  This has meant the grotesque shambles of a socialist reading the Daily Mail which has picked up on the campaign this Friday.  I abhor the aforementioned paper’s politics and Conservative leanings but they have succeeded in making this a more mainstream issue beyond the broadsheets and the internet.

Worse (and this is explained most explicitly in the Daily Mail given its Tory stance, as you would expect), it is claimed that the UK Government are in some way favouring the extradition plans.

A trial in the UK is overloading enough for a person with Asperger’s syndrome – let alone extradition and the possibility of a 60 year sentence – or Guantanamo Bay – if taken to America.

Instead of sentencing him for any amount we should give this fellow a job!  He might even make Windows 7 more secure than that present and without any yawning gaps.  Instead we could be sleepwalking towards sending a fellow Aspie to jail in America or worse, Guantanamo Bay.  Oi!! Labour!!! Deal with this at once, on behalf of your fellow brothers and sisters on the autism spectrum.  Like the author of this post.

To sign the petition sponsored by the Daily Mail, click here.

S.V, 06 July 2009.

Tameside Service Changes: Staley Road loses link to outside world

Except on Saturdays

Recent service changes have seen Micklehurst Road and Staley Road disappear from the Greater Manchester bus network, with the exception of a Saturday only service.

Monday to Friday daytime journeys on the 343 (Oldham – Mossley – Hyde) route will follow the evening and Sunday route.  Speedwell Bus, operator of the weekday daytime service has since lost the subsidy from GMITA resulting in this change.  Passengers using the bus from Staley Road or Micklehurst Road will need to walk to Egmont Street or Winterford Road.  Also scrapped is the Buckton Vale Road link which would mean Carrbrook passengers will have to change at The Carrbrook (late Buckton Castle) for the 348 to South View.

Passengers of the 343 from Dukinfield will however see a reduction in journey times to Mossley, equalling First Manchester’s evening route.  The Saturday service operated by JP Travel (which along with the First Manchester service is subsidised) remains unaffected.  The revised timetable also offers better connections for Dukinfield passengers with Flowery Field railway station.

Other changes:

• Passengers of the 219, 330, 347 and 201 routes will benefit from shorter journey times from the 19th July to the end of August.  Stagecoach Manchester will be introducing a summer timetable for these routes;
• The 330 will also have an additional evening journey from Stockport on the Monday – Saturday timetable.  The last bus will leave Stockport at 2345 hours;
• Elsewhere, Speedwell Bus will launch a new service from Mossley Hey Farm to Manchester.  Entitled the S50, it will follow First Manchester’s 350 route to Ashton and the 216 route from there to Manchester.  Its aim is to provide a quicker bus based alternative to the longer 217/218 routes;
• The end of July will see changes to the Haughton Green – Denton – Stockport route 324.  Operated by Stagecoach Manchester in the daytime, there will be a change of operator for its evening journeys.  Monday – Saturday evening services will be operated by JP Travel with the Sunday evening service operated by Travelmaster.

East of the M60 Comment:

To compensate for the lost journeys on the 343, I would like to see Staley Road return to the bus network full time.  This could be achieved by rerouting the 217/218 service via Staley Road.  Another idea could be the rerouting of the 217 via Micklehurst Road with the 218 serving Staley Road.  However the former could be problematic due to the gradient and the width of Micklehurst Road.

S.V., 02 July 2009

The Eaziest Way from A to B

Remembering the Bee Line Buzz Company

Readers of a certain age living in Greater Manchester may remember the early days of bus deregulation for clapped out double deckers, competition and ticket validity issues. There was one company which was an exception to this.

The 26th of January 1987 saw the launch of the Bee Line Buzz Company. Eschewing double deckers, its remit was to deliver high frequency bus services using minibuses. Instead of having a service with a half hourly frequency using double decker buses, the same route would be served with 20 seater minibuses operating every 7/8 minutes. Unlike conventional bus services, they could be hailed anywhere on the route like a black/yellow taxi cab (apart from some sections where conventional bus stops were used).

The idea of replacing conventional bus operations with frequent minibuses was not without precedent. Harry Blundred dabbled with this before deregulation in Exeter within the National Bus Company. This was later copied in the Hereford and Worcester city centre areas.

Up to its launch, the streets of Greater Manchester saw the PTE owned GM Buses competing against a wave of independent operators. Some were long established companies like A. Mayne and Son and Finglands. Others were more recently formed companies like Citibus and Stuarts. The launch of the Bee Line Buzz Company however did more to ruffle the feathers at GMPTE on Portland Street.

Unlike the older independents, the Bee Line Buzz Company was part of a national company, United Transport, who also had transport interests in South Africa. Its frequent services and modern fleet prompted GM Buses to launch its Little Gem services. This name superseded locally branded minibuses such as Ashton Minilyne for minibus services from Tameside depot.

Personal recollections:
I had my first experience of Bee Line Buzz Company’s services in February 1987, within its first week of operation. Mine was with 18 others as part of a school trip to Hatchett’s Wood in Wythenshawe. We caught the number 5 route from there to Palatine Road, West Didsbury for my then school at the time, which was Ewing School.

Also in the same year, I could recall boarding the number 14 route from Hyde Park to The Forester pub in Dukinfield. It was Guy Fawkes’ Night and along with my Dad, I went to a Tameside MBC organised display on the spare ground opposite Hyde Park. It seemed amazing to me seeing a computerised ticket machine, compared with the Almex ones used on GM Buses. The journey experience to me was almost like boarding a taxi given its intimate atmosphere compared with the usual double decker on the 343 route.

The routes:
As a proud owner of a Bee Line Buzz Company timetable with maps, the routes (as noted on the 14th of September 1987) were:

• 1: Altrincham – Wythenshawe – Stockport;
• 2: Altrincham – Manchester;
• 3: Manchester Airport – Stockport;
• 4: Altrincham – Sale – Wythenshawe;
• 5: Wythenshawe – Manchester;
• 6: Heald Green – Manchester;
• 7: Ashton-under-Lyne – Droylsden – Reddish – Stockport;
• 8: Stockport – Marple;
• 9: Stretford – Stockport;
• 11: Stockport – Reddish – Gorton – Manchester;
• 12: Manchester – Urmston;
• 14: Ashton-under-Lyne – Stalybridge – Dukinfield – Hyde – Stockport;
• 15: Stockport – Davenport – Hazel Grove;
• 16: Stockport – Bramhall – Hazel Grove;
• 20: Flixton – Stretford – Stockport.

Only two of the routes remain in more or less of the same form as their 1987 route. These are the number 7 and the number 1 routes. The latter was renumbered 11, whereas the former’s route is virtually unchanged apart from the fact it also serves the retail park and multiplex cinema at Ashton Moss. Both are operated by Stagecoach Manchester and run to frequent intervals.

At this time of writing, the 7 has a 20 minute frequency operated with single decker buses, though no service after 2030 hours, Sundays and Bank Holidays. This is operated from Stagecoach Manchester’s new depot at Ashton-under-Lyne, just off Clarence Street. Marshall bodied Dennis Darts and Optare Solos are frequently used, with the former vehicles inherited from the acquisition of A. Mayne and Son’s bus operations in January 2008.

The 11 has a 10 minute frequency, also operated with single decker buses, though no service after 2030 hours, and on Sundays and Bank Holidays. This at present is operated from Daw Bank depot in Stockport. With the possibility of Charles Street depot closing this summer, could the 11 transfer to Stagecoach Manchester’s proposed new depot in Northenden?

What happened next?
Sadly, the party was over for the Bee Line Buzz Company’s bold aims by the end of the 1980s. Firstly, the company was acquired by Ribble Motor Services at the end of 1987. Stagecoach Holdings took over Ribble in March 1989 and sold the Bee Line operation to Drawlane. By 1989, its minibuses disappeared from the streets of Greater Manchester, replaced by worn out double deckers from privatised NBC owned companies such as London Country.

Drawlane later became known as British Bus. In 1993 – 1994, they tried to bid for GM Buses North, but were beaten by an employee and management buyout. By 1996, British Bus were sold to Cowie Holdings, before becoming Arriva two years later. In 1998, Bee Line was no more. Along with its stablemate North Western (not to be confused with the North Western of NWRCC fame), they became part of Arriva North West. Its operations were ran from Merseyside. Manchester area operations were known as Arriva Manchester.

Today, Arriva Manchester has two depots. One of them is the Manchester depot just off Fairfield Street, inherited from the original North Western, formerly owned by Tilling and BET. Its second depot is in Wythenshawe.

Though not part of Arriva Manchester (in this case Arriva North West), the former Blue Bus depot is Arriva’s third depot in Greater Manchester. This being the result of its acquisition of Horwich independent Blue Bus on the 31st July 2005.

Recommended reading and source materials:
‘Greater Manchester Buses’, Stewart J. Brown (Capital Transport, 1995);
Bee Line Buzz Company timetables (1987);
GMPTE Bus Times: 7 and 11 bus routes (2009);
7: Ashton – Reddish – Stockport (Stagecoach Manchester);
11: Altrincham – Wythenshawe – Stockport (Stagecoach Manchester).

Before I go…
I would be most grateful if anyone could fill me in with extra information on the 1987 Bee Line Buzz Company routes (in a sort of ‘Where Are They Now?’ type of thing). A special mention also to Martin Bryant of the Manchester Buses blog, who commented a few months back asking me about the Bee Line routes. I hope this article fits the bill in some way.

S.V., 08 May 2009.

Blogged with Flock

Architectural Disaster of the Month: St. Peter’s Precinct, Oldham

A new series from East of the M60

Any readers of this blog who lived or shopped in Oldham, nearing, or have passed their 30s may remember St. Peter’s Shopping Precinct.  Opened in 1967, it was to become Oldham’s (as we call it in 21st century parlance) retail destination, attracting the major names.  Influenced by the popular Merseyway centre in Stockport, it was hoped that the winning formula would work in Oldham.

The precinct was a mixed-use development before the term was invented.  It was flanked by offices (most of which let by the North West Health Authority) and offered subway access to Henshaw Street, Cheapside and Manchester Street.  The subways linked the centre with the market hall and the C&A department store, enabling shoppers to avoid the Market Place roundabout.

Given the cold Oldham weather, Its windswept location won few friends with shoppers and retailers.  The subway link from the precinct to C&A acted as a wind tunnel, which was exacerbated by the precinct being fairly open.  The layout didn’t seem to have helped either, which must have made it seem like a muggers’ paradise.

For most of its time, empty units plagued the precinct.  The precinct’s anchor store was a TESCO, opened by Ken Dodd in 1968.  The Post Office was moved to the precinct from Union Street, to a unit overlooking George Street near the TESCO store.  A NORWEB showrooms took up a unit under the office block.  The rest of the precinct included a handful of chain store retailers and independently owned shops, and a café.  This was on the side of a stepped ramp ideal for skateboarding fanatics.  At the most easterly part of the precinct on the ground floor was the Job Centre.

I would say that St Peter’s Precinct failed in Oldham due to: 1) the layout; 2) the town’s cold weather; and 3) its windswept location.  The design may have worked better in a location with a warmer climate than Oldham.  I can recall the precinct in its twilight years and loved how the whole thing was like a giant climbing frame.  It could have made a good open air laser shooting venue on Sundays and Bank Holidays – though even in the summertime, I would have needed that Fair Isle sweater!

I also remember in recent times reading a historical feature on the precinct in the Oldham Chronicle, and it showed a picture of how Phase 2 would have looked.  St. Peter’s Precinct was originally going to be done in two phases, albeit with windy open air shops continuing on what is now the Town Square Shopping Centre.

Instead, a private company took on Phase 2, and learning the lessons of its predecessor, made the precinct fully enclosed.  This was opened in 1981.  12 years later, St Peter’s Precinct was replaced by Spindles Shopping Centre.  It was a breath of fresh air from the windswept subways of its predecessor.  C&A also moved into the new shopping centre, dispelling the risk of hypothermia.  Both centres are linked internally, and the transition from the older Town Square centre to the Spindles is seamless.

S.V., 29 April 2009

Transport Related Literary Classics: The Not So Perfect 10

Had it not been for the actions of the AQA to include the Metrolink timetable as part of an ‘A’ Level literary syllabus, this post would not have been possible.  Thanks to reports in the local and national press around November 2008, it had got me thinking ‘Yes! The 1972 SELNEC Southern timetable will be rated alongside the Bronte Sisters, Charles Dickens and Homer’  If my school’s English Literature syllabus included the Teen Travel Club leaflet from 1984 rather than The Merchant of Venice, that B would have been upgraded to a juicy A*.

My transport related literary classics are:

1. Metro Maps Of The World: Mark Ovenden (2004);
2. The Picc-Vic Project: GMC/Greater Manchester Transport (1974);
3. North Western Road Car Company Timetable: BET (1968);
4. There’s A Fare Deal For You: Greater Manchester Transport (1983);
5. Greater Manchester Buses: Stewart J Brown (1995);
6. To Market To Market By Bus: Greater Manchester Transport (1982);
7. 10 Years of Progress (1974 – 1984): West Yorkshire PTE (1985);
8. Bradford Interchange: West Yorkshire PTE (1978);
9. Merseyside PTE railway timetables (1990 – 2006);
10. New York Metro Map (1972).

How can a book about transit maps be fascinating?  Mark Ovenden proves that it can be possible.  Metro Maps Of The World categories every metro map from the most elaborate (London Underground for instance) to more modest systems and projected ones too.  Within this book is a history of how some maps evolved over the years, with some more concise references to the Melbourne system, Dublin DART rail and our very own Metrolink.

Also consider reading: Henry Beck: a similar book by the same author on the creator of the London Underground map.

Had it not been for Westminster pushing us from pillar to post, we would have had something more substantial than the Metrolink, a north-south heavy rail link with services from Bolton, Bury and Oldham to all points south.  The fact it took over a century for Manchester to have a north-south based rail connection is scandalous (though that’s best left for another post), but this could have been possible – by 1980 – if The Picc-Vic Project was fully implemented.  The reader is greeted with a cover of a possible subterranean Royal Exchange station and a train similar to BR’s Class 508 EMUs.  The book details possible bus/rail interchanges, service frequencies and has its roots in SELNEC’s Lifeline 2000 book.

Also consider reading: Lifeline 2000: SELNEC’s precursor to The Picc-Vic Project route.

Till 1972, Stockport, parts of south Manchester, Trafford, Glossop and Tameside were served by the North Western Road Car Company as well as SELNEC and municipal operators before then.  North Western’s bus services within Greater Manchester were absorbed by SELNEC and were briefly part of the National Bus Company.  Their 1968 timetable was their last pre-NBC era one.  As well as all its bus routes, reference is made to its summer holiday services, some from other operators and British Rail services.  Also listed is information of market days, half-day closing and bus/rail through-ticketing.  A fantastic publication.  If only today’s bus timetables were that informative. 

Also worth reading: any of Derbyshire County Council’s trio of timetables – a must for exploring the Peak District, Bolsover Castle or Uttoxeter for JCB’s Diggerland.

With Britain in the cut and thrust of recession, and a Tory Government inflicted fares increase in 1981, Labour took over GMC’s County Hall with a promise to freeze bus fares.  Another strategy was the expansion of off-bus ticket sales, started by its predecessor.  This included the new Teen Travel Club and Wayfarer tickets.  The most thorough leaflet on this was A Fare Deal For You.  The leaflet is also a good source book for 1980s fashions as well as Saver Sales points.  Also included are the ticketing boundaries, details of mobile Saver Sales outlets and (in the 1983 leaflet) news of fare reductions!

Also worth reading: Teen Travel Club leaflets, 1984 – 1986.  It is worth a peek for the fashions alone.

No enthusiast of Greater Manchester Transport should have a bookshelf without this tome.  Greater Manchester Buses by Stewart J Brown is probably the definitive reference on all things in the Greater Manchester bus world from SELNEC to the government enforced split of GM Buses.  Almost everything from Clippercards to Citibus is mentioned.  My copy has taken pride of place for nearly 10 years and is one of my most read books besides the Argos and IKEA catalogues.  The only downside is due to the book being 13 years old at this time of writing, Greater Manchester now needs a definitive reference of the bus scene since deregulation.  2013 could be the best year to start writing this section (covering the last 25 years of deregulation), as by then we may or may not see the congestion charge imposed and the changes to our transport network.

Also worth reading: 75 Years of Mayne’s Coaches, Mark Hughes (1995): this as well as covering the famed coach operator, offers excellent background reading on operations in the deregulation era.

In the First Dole Age of the last generation (1982 to be precise), Greater Manchester Transport set about promoting recreational usage of their buses to arrest falling patronage caused by high unemployment.  Among its leaflets was the excellent To Market To Market By Bus.  This provided the would-be traveller with information on markets in the Greater Manchester area from Bury market to Partington’s outdoor market.  As one would expect, the centre pages included a map of its frequent bus routes and the market locations. 

Also worth reading: To Market By Bus (National Bus Company, 1983), or The Big Shopping Book (GM Buses, 1989).

I only ever remember seeing this book once at a transport fair and didn’t buy it till recently (my purchase coming from an Uppermill bookshop).  I should have done though, but 10 Years of Progress (1974 – 1984) by West Yorkshire PTE is a curio itself.  The book is an affectionate history of West Yorkshire PTE’s achievements.  These include the Saverstrip – their equivalent of the Clippercard, cheap off-peak travel and its terminal like bus stations.  Even now, its bus stations are streets ahead of their neighbours in Greater Manchester.  Sadly since then the Metro-National company was disbanded and is like Greater Manchester in being the domain of FirstGroup, Stagecoach and Arriva.

Also worth reading: any annual report of the PTE operators, which come close to this work.

Among West Yorkshire PTE’s crowning glories was Bradford Interchange.  So much so that in 1978, West Yorkshire PTE published a glossy softback brochure.  The brochure details how the depot is placed below the bus station level, its separate coach station, railway station and wealth of car parks.  This was anchored by the proposed central offices for West Yorkshire PTE (though used for the Bradford District only).  Bradford Interchange has since changed radically with bus and coach facilities on a single terminal and half the site taken up by offices.  The railway station has changed little apart from the buffet bar which is a crew change room for First West Yorkshire.  The depot has since closed and is now a bingo hall.

Also worth reading: GMPTE’s brochure on Hyde bus station (2005) or Bury Interchange (Greater Manchester Transport, 1980).

The typical bus, rail or tram timetable details its times by means of the 24 hour clock with the times being read from top to bottom.  Exceptions to this rule included Trent Barton and Merseytravel PTE who chose the 12 hour clock.  The latter decided to display their times from left to right.  A Southport to Liverpool service would see Bootle Oriel Street at the centre right of the timetable rather than near the bottom.  Another detail was that am and pm times were shaded in different colours.  In recent years, Merseytravel have opted for standard top to bottom timetables with the 24 hour clock.  Their previous layout, though unusual in the UK is common practice in the USA.

Also worth reading: any USA based transit authority’s timetable/schedule.

For my final transport literary classic, I recommend the New York Metro’s transit map.  Designed in 1972, it has formed the template for most modern day transport maps, though its roots lie in the older London Underground map.  The difference is that the diagonal lines are presented in a 45° angle and without the softer curves.  Even in 2008, the design remains timeless.  The New York Metro has (sadly) disposed of the 1972 design, with its Helvetica typeface – which no doubt inspired Greater Manchester Transport in 1974.

Also worth reading: any British Rail/National Rail map since the early 1980s.  I especially recommend the 1989 Network Northwest map due to its closeness to the New York Metro – before they thought of copying Henry Beck’s London Underground map.

S.V., 29 April 2009

Save Our ‘Spotters

So, almost four years since 7/7, almost eight years since 9/11, and a host of anti-terrorism laws during then. Have these laws stopped any terrorists? Are we a more illiberal country than we were in 2001?

I would yes to the latter, though I would say the UK ceased to be a free country since the Miners’ Strike. This point refers to the activities of the government in relation to the castration of trade union power and an organised working class.

Now, it seems that anti-terror laws are used more popularly for targeting trainspotters and photographers. How far do we need to go before we target anyone with a camera? Will Flickr, Photobucket and company be closed down? Would all Ian Allan Bookshops in future be treated the same as adult shops with opaque window displays?

Trainspotting is a harmless hobby, as is collecting numbers of other forms of public transport. It is the thrill of the chase, though this chase is less pleasurable as most passenger trains are electric or diesel multiple units of some description. In these cash strapped times, trainspotting can be a cheap hobby, if you live close to a main line. Plus you don’t always need a camera, as a discrete notebook and pen could suffice.

Most trainspotters seem to mind their own business and not bother any one, but they seem to be a threat to the rail franchises. Other than the anti-terror angle, I reckon it is more to do with money and them (to the companies) taking up precious space on the platform.

They may claim that trainspotters standing on the platform edge do not generate enough profits.  Au contraire.  How else would we have saved the Settle and Carlisle line or our steam trains without the derring do of the rail enthusiast?  In fact, rail enthusiasts and spotters probably do more for the railways.  Without them we wouldn’t have had steam trains doing Summer Sundays on the Settle and Carlisle, numerous other railtours, or restored stations.

Note to jobsworths harassing our spotters: leave them alone if they’re not bothering the travelling public.  They too may be one of them waiting for trains.

S.V., 05 April 2009.

Now Reopen the Woodhead Line!

A57/A628 Mottram-Tintwistle Bypass funding rejected

Courtesy of an email from one of my fellow comrades, I am proud to announce one ‘No’ vote which will have greater benefits than that of The Car Lobby v. The New Trams.  It is of great pleasure for me to announce that the North West Regional Development Agency and 4NW has rejected funding for the Mottram – Tintwistle bypass.

The bypass would cut through the heart of Swallows Wood and Arnfield Reservoir, which would lead to degradation of the environment, increased noise pollution and traffic fumes.  Among the successful lobbiests against the bypass were Save Swallows Wood and the Tameside Nine Towns Green Party.

Estimated costs for the bypass increased from £184 million in July 2007, reaching £223 to £315 million by June 2008.  Emma Lawrence from Save Swallow’s Wood stated “Of all the schemes being proposed Mottram Tintwistle was the most expensive and the most environmentally damaging. This is the first time a sensible decision has been made relating to the bypass and is a real cause for optimism amongst campaigners”.

The Tameside Nine Towns Green Party also support proposals to extend the proposed Piccadilly – Droylsden Metrolink line to Glossop, with extensions to Denton and new rolling stock.

A good move I say, but I reckon we should seriously think of reopening the Woodhead line.

Closed under the Thatcher led Conservative government in August 1981, the Woodhead line was considered as a trunk route for bulk freight in Dr Beeching’s ‘The Reshaping of the Railways’.  Reopening the Woodhead line would potentially bring improved links with Sheffield and Barnsley from the Tameside area, assuming Guide Bridge becomes an intermediate station for Sheffield bound trains.  The current journey from Manchester to Barnsley by rail involves changing at Huddersfield for the Penistone line (which is no bad thing if you love scenic routes but not speedy travel) – at least 90 – 120 minutes – compared with up to 90 minutes by road.

The Woodhead line could also be a suitable diversionary route for East Midlands Trains services to Norwich, whilst the Hope Valley line is closed for engineering works.  This could avoid the need for reversal at Sheffield before continuing to Chesterfield or Manchester.  Reopening the Woodhead line could increase journey opportunities for Glossopians whose only way of travel to Sheffield is likely to be the Woodhead Pass (A628) or Snake Pass (A57).  Rail using Glossop folk are forced to change at Piccadilly.  A Sheffield service over the Woodhead line could call at Dinting, providing connections with the stopping service.  This could only work if the Hadfield – Glossop section is doubled.

Now the funding has gone for the bypass, let’s campaign for improved public transport based solutions for Tameside and Glossop.

Hopefully, those bypass signs near The Gun Inn will be demolished.

S.V, 18 March 2009.

Sunday Night Terrors: The Not So Perfect Ten

“…Heartbeat, why do you miss when my baby kisses me…” – Buddy Holly

The strains of ITV’s much loved period drama may no longer haunt the screens in a few years time due to falling ad revenues, which may well be a blow for the North Yorkshire village of Goathland. Viewing figures have halved since the programme made its debut in 1992. I reckon it could down to the fact the programme may have ran its course, but that’s another story best left to another topic.

On the whole, has anybody else realised how Sunday night programmes tend to be more sombre? I don’t think it leaves any of us in a sunny disposition for Monday mornings. It is this concept which has led me to a new Not So Perfect Ten. Today’s subject, ‘Sunday Night Terrors’ is a rundown of the most sombre programmes ever to have graced the Sunday night schedules. They merit inclusion on the grounds of its mawkish nature, sheer crapness, apocalyptic doom and an unedifying blandness which screams ‘Monday is on the way’.

1. Little House on the Prairie (ITV/Channel 4, 1979 – 1994);
2. The Love Boat (ITV, 1978 – 1987);
3. Antiques Roadshow (BBC, 1979 – to date);
4. Duck Patrol (ITV 1996);
5. Surprise Surprise (LWT/ITV, 1983 – 1996);
6. Beat The Star (ITV, 2007);
7. Dancing on Ice (ITV, 2007 – to date);
8. Where the Heart Is (Anglia/ITV, 1998 – 2004);
9. Threads (BBC 2, 23/09/1984);
10. Hart to Hart (ITV, 1981 – 1986);

There are probably several more to list which may form a follow-up to this subject. Please note that the transmission dates within this list above refer to the UK transmission dates.

Before I discovered the joys of real ale, Sky Sports, and Sunday bus services, Monday was almost on its way when Channel 4 reverberated to the strains of Little House on the Prairie. Though the sets were lavish, I couldn’t get into the programme, unlike my mother.

There must be an unwritten rule that Sundays had to be a schmaltz-fest. There was the awful ‘Small Wonder’ which included the non-adventures of a girl and her robot. Then ‘Highway to Heaven’ would come on after ‘Weekend World’ or ‘Aap Kaa Ark’. Coinciding neatly with Sunday pub closing times (before 1994, you couldn’t get a pint between 1500 and 2000 hours) was The Love Boat. The premise was that romantic and funny adventures took place on cruise ships around the world. Interesting. Could we have some football on instead? Thankfully, Bullseye used to start shortly after, which neatly finished for the UK Top 40 Countdown.

For me, the weekend finished as soon as the UK No. 1 chart single was announced. Now that I no longer listen to the music charts, Antiques Roadshow will suffice instead. Though I find this programme mildly interesting, it doesn’t quite stir my senses the same way as a rare home win for Stalybridge Celtic. Now that Fiona Bruce presents this programme, I have started watching it more, so I’ll leave this to your imagination…

Sometime in 1996, Richard Wilson returned to ITV for the sitcom Duck Patrol. After doing the successful One Foot in the Grave on ‘the other side’, ITV thought this would be their equivalent to ‘Last of the Summer Wine’. My family and several other viewers thought otherwise as we tried to force a titter.

Around about the same timeslot as Antiques Roadshow was Surprise Surprise, a televisual equivalent of the ‘missing persons’ column with ‘our Cilla’ at the helm. I found it rather schmaltzy, making at the Anne Nightingale’s request show on Radio 1 a more inviting proposition. When I was young, I hated the programme and thought ‘Ho hum, school is on the way’. Now if there was a quiz show element to it…

In a bid to make Sunday night the new Saturday, ITV decided to give its Sunday night schedule an overhaul. Spurred on the success of Dancing on Ice, ITV thought Beat The Star would become another. Alas it wasn’t. The Vernon Kay fronted programme [Beat The Star] encouraged the general public to take on celebrities at challenges akin to ‘You Bet’. The biggest challenge was sitting through 90 minutes of this programme, despite not fulfilling the ‘depressing’ nature of Sunday programme.

If trying to impress us with ice dancers weren’t enough, trying to create a similar programme to an already successful one was bad enough. Enter Where The Heart Is, produced by Anglia Television, yet set in West Yorkshire. I found the storylines maudlin and unadventurous. Where was the suspense laden plots, or the fear factor?

The fear factor was something Threads did have - in buckets – one Sunday night in 1984. Ticking all boxes for a Sunday night doomfest, the docudrama was set in Sheffield before, during and after a nuclear attack. It is also something of a cult classic (and rightly so), not least for a social history of 1980s Sheffield, its shoestring budget, and ability to scare anyone into joining CND. Even on repeated viewing, I cannot fail to be stirred by the anti nuclear weapons demo scenes, and the first nuclear strike which occurs 55 minutes into the programme (nicely timed before Spitting Image when shown on the 23rd September 1984).

For the terrified feared of the nuclear reality approaching them at the time, they could have chickened out and watched something more asinine, like Tales of the Unexpected or Hart to Hart.  Featuring Stefanie Powers and Robert Wagner, the titles were, in my opinion were as good as the programme got.  Then again, I was sent to bed well before that programme started, and it is only through anecdotal evidence I was told that Freeway was the best actor (and he was their dog).

Now I know why we get this ‘OMG, I’ve got to go to work/school/college feeling’.  It is almost as if the programmes are selected to numb us into work.  Unless of course it happens to be a decent horror film or the excellent Threads.

Bring on the trumpets!

S.V. 05 March 2009.

I’m In the Metro!

OK, not quite.

A nice surprise came to me this morning in one of the free papers on the 220 service towards Stalybridge railway station. I was reading the Metro when turning towards ‘The Ridiculant’ page I found that one of my side projects was listed.

As advertised elsewhere within East of the M60, I created a Google map on the places namechecked by Half Man Half Biscuit entitled (ahem) ‘Half Map Half Biscuit’ (don’t you just love the wordplay).

Top of the list under a section entitled ‘Check These Ones Out’ was… Half Map Half Biscuit!

Fame at last I thought. Quoting from the Metro, The Ridiculant stated:

“At long last someone has created a Google map of every place ever mentioned in a Half Man Half Biscuit song. You young ‘uns probably don’t even know who the band HMHB are, do you? Shame on you.”

Click on the link to The Ridiculant to see the map itself, some comments and other goodies.

At this time of writing, some 6,927 people have seen the map – not bad for a Google map anyway, but one that has only been up for one day more than a month!  Feel free to contribute the map itself.  Please note that entries may be edited for spelling and grammatical errors.

S.V., 18 February 2009