The weather forecast I checked before bed last night it stated dry, light cloud well it turned out to be rain then sun, hmm not much improvement on the BBC weather reliability. I did ok in the end and got Newcastle, Gateshead on one DVD and then South Shields and Sunderland on the next. I was off at 4am and got home at 7pm but then had a meeting about the Christmas festival at St Oswalds which is now branded as a Christmas Showstopper which has elements of several things from Christmas trees, crafts, 12 days of Christmas theme, a concert, teas in church etc, I need to do a flyer, actually I need to get another one round to the shop for the village notice board., there is one inside the door but not that obvious. Well as you will gather I'm quite done in and ready for bed, here are some shots from Newcastle upon Tyne this morning I have just composed aa letter to Bert Massie's widow on behalf of our branch of the British Polio Fellowship, he was our branch president. Tributes have been paid to Sir Berte, the former Commissioner for the Compact and disability campaigner, who died yesterday aged 68 after an illness he was Commissioner for the Compact from 2008 until the role was abolished with the closure of the Commission for the Compact by the coalition government in 2011, also spent seven years as chair of the former Disability Rights Commission. Bert, who was a wheelchair user because he contracted polio as a baby, was a governor of the charity Motability, which helps people with disabilities to lease cars, scooters or powered wheelchairs. He was chief executive of the disability charity Radar in the 1990s and was appointed OBE in 1984 and CBE in 2000, then knighted in 2007 for services to disabled people. Bert was a strong campaigner for disabled people but also a vocal supporter of the Compact, the agreement set up by the Labour government in 1998 that sets out how the voluntary sector and central and local government should behave towards each other. He was also a member of the former Panel on the Independence of the Voluntary Sector, which produced four annual reports between 2012 and 2015 on the independence of charities. Richard Corden, who was chief executive of the Commission for the Compact while Bert was the commissioner, said it was an "unalloyed pleasure" to work with him. "He was a very generous and warm-hearted man, and of course a shrewd and effective campaigner who used a mixture of humour and steel to get what he wanted," said Corden, who is now director of the Southampton Hospital Charity. "He believed passionately in the power of voluntary action to change people’s lives for the better. He was a force for good in national life." Declan O’Mahony, director of Motability, said today: "It was with deep sadness that we learned of the death of Sir Bert Massie yesterday morning after his recent illness. "Bert had been a powerful campaigner for the rights of disabled people for more than four decades and a governor of Motability since 2002. "We will miss his contribution and expertise in disability matters, as well as his warm manner and distinctive sense of humour." Tom Levitt, the former Labour MP and chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Community and Voluntary Sector, said on Twitter that Bert was a "breath of fresh air, crap-cutter extraordinaire and a great champion of the possible". Richard Hawkes, chief executive of the British Asian Trust and former chief executive of the disability charity Scope, said on Twitter that Bert was a "lovely man who made an enormous difference for the rights of disabled people". Today I filmed at Stobarts Widnes inland port and did well, my first ( and last?) experience of the new bridge over the Mersey, no toll booths you have to go online and struggle to pay£2, was it worth it. There is very poor signage to the Stobart port and chaos as trucks are wandering in circles. I then went to film at Seaforth docks but they had roadworks on my favourite spot from exit to the roundabout, I hope they don't destroy everything it was good to have a few blades of grass among all the commerce. Tomorrow I'm up early and off to the North East. Photos Merseyside today
I'm not 100% sure if iot was a red sun or red moon late this morning but it was very red whatever and a strange almost orange light hung over the area until the sky turned blue, almost 20 degrees in the afternoon. Still a very stiff breeze blowing but nothing damaging in our part of the world as yet. All in a rush, must phone Mandy in Ireland then its time to eat and head off to my course at Chester. I'm still a bit up in the air about tomorrow many places are too windy and some not sunny enough for truck film. At present it looks like Crick in Northants although i did it briefly a short while back the weather there should be perfect and there is always a lot happening and a chance for a few locations for shots if I linger for most of the day. Then it should be Newcastle either Wed or Thurs not decided re weather as yet but will certainly get there before the end of the week. Nothing much in the post today but a lot went off from the weekend. I've been editing some material for possible future use, Ireland and old lorries. Still rattling around with the lych gate claim, hopefully it will all be fixed double quick. I did another archive bus rally DVD or was it two so much I have done. I've also completed the task of replacing rain damaged DVD covers on rally stock and got all the replacement and new stock ready for Boyle St in December. Our new stand should be with us on Friday, I've unloaded the old one into the garage, perhsps the last time I will move it until it's weighed in. These shots are from the Cobham rally in April 2002 and will go on the cover, all taken directly off the film. red sky this morning I'm pretty well shattered, I'm having an early night that's for sure so many balls in the air at the same time. I was up early to attend the 8am service and support Vicar Jane then as I was having to pick someone up at Knutsford railway station at 10.15 I did a few of my churchwarden jobs before I left then home and some toast and a brew and back again at 9.45 then to Knutsford. The weather has been very spring like today so after I got back from the 11am I decided to tackle the problem we've had with recorded programmes on the television, the BT recorder wouldn't play them in arrears but I got it sorted out but not via BT who are a useless bunch of whazzacs to say the least. The architect came back to me on the type of roof tiles required to fix the broken lych gate at St Oswald's, we have a wedding Friday but unless the weather is awful the builders say they will have it done. I made a start on all the DVDs we need to get back to our full rally stock plus started the enormous task of replacing covers on the DVDs which were ruined when we were flooded out at Showbus. I have quite a pile of DVD orders to get moved before morning, I haven't even checked the weather again yet. If I get to Stobarts in the morning it will be interesting to see what changes are to the routes with the old bridge closure and the new bridge opening. Here are the stills from the latest DVDsfor the covers. Amberley AEC running day and Heart of the Pennines Nocturnal Went to St Mary's in Ashton on Mersey today for session on Messy church which we start at St Oswald's in Lower Peover next month, it got a bit repetitive in the afternoon so we sneaked out, don't tell anyone though. Mandy was up at 5am and off to Ireland I'll be phoning her later. There is already quite a pile of DVD orders, the weather is cursed yet again next week, the weekend looks like being the best. At present I've sketched out the Runcorn roads to new bridge the old bridge is now closed for a year, there must be a spot somewhere which yields good results, I wonder if the fields of yellow cones have gone. Then Tuesday nothing certain but I've penciled in Nuneaton for buses. The biggie is on Wednesday with the North East my usual round of Newcastle, South Shields and Sunderland. Nothing Thursday a catch up with editing then maybe Bradford and Halifax on Friday. Mandy comes home next Saturday. I really will get stuck into trucks but the weather never suits at present but there are masses of clips gone on Youtube although they deleted two recent ones of trucks on the M6 as unsuitable for any audience, well i know the M6 is bad but is it that bad! These shots were taken in Runcorn in 2014 so something for you to be getting on with, I've also edited archives of rallies at Halifax, POPS and Amberley for 2001. Time went far too quickly yesterday and before I knew it I was in bed with blog not done so no excuses other than the catalogue of tasks which regularly fall on my plate. The accident with the Lych gate seems to have grown arms and legs, the builder attended and declared it unsafe so I've had to go down and put rope around and hang signs to warn people to not enter through it, there is a kissing gate to once side but it mean that wheel chair access in nigh on impossible until repaired. It is Grade II listed built in 1885, the builder may have some problem sourcing the precise roof tiles so have involved the architect. The total cost to repair stands at around £500. I tackled my course essay yesterday as the weather wasn't that conducive towards filming, in fact the weather whilst mild today and tomorrow is set to go wild on Monday/Tuesday as remnants of a hurricane come through the British Isles. South looks a safer bet but I have a course meeting in Chester Monday night so I must be back then. Mandy has set off early this morning for the ferry to Ireland and returns from Hils & Sean next Saturday. I've just filed away the reference material which I've used for my course essay, it's 50% of a larger work to be submitted at the end of November but gets marked on it's own merit to give feedback on how we are progressing and referencing etc. It took quite a while to complete but at least it leaves me free Sunday afternoon after my churchwarden duties. I've not been dead on the transport front as all recent DVDs are complete with their covers, clips on Youtube and all are in our three shops, this site, EBay and Amazon. I've started on the next round which takes us back to the 2001 archive starting with the POPs rally we sponsored at Crewe Hall in May 2001. My how time has flown by, nice to see Paul Pearson in action back then, the Hall was never that impressed by our buses and it wasn't going to last, the next time we would be at the Wedgwood centre near Barlaston which proved a long term location and was just right for our rally lasting until redevelopment of the site and a temporary relocation to Stoke football ground. The stats for Youtube were on the up yesterday, thanks for hitting those adverts on the clips, keep it up. I've done the DVD for the POPS rally and need to take clips before I go out today. I'm taking vicar Jane with me to Sale in Manchester, we are at a celebration of messy church, we'll know a lot more about comer this evening. Photos from Staffordshire. I got rid of the DVD orders fairly early ( too early for Mandy's liking) then I got stuck into the garden and got most of the remaining immediate tasks done, pansies and bulbs, removed spent bedding, mowed lawns, swept up etc then the phone starting ringing. A lorry has hit the St Oswald's lych gate roof twice while trying to turn round after dropping books off at the school. Church warden emergency response unit detached complete in PMP van with ladder and gloves to make safe the remaining tiles. Phoned insurance, investigated who it was that hit it, phoned those responsible, requested builders come and give quote ( again) This evening was a change of pace as we attended a function at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, it was a fund raiser evening for those thing of being sponsors, we already are. An inspiration to meet the talented performers and those who like us make all the little extras available, we were seated next to a violinist from Malaysia. The youngsters provided an evenings entertainment over another great meal by Brodskys restaurant. It reminds us that we need to get the concerts booked at the college, Bridgewater Hall etc although we do have a Welsh National Opera performance at Birmingham in a couple of weeks. The weather isn't as settled as it once promised to be with the remnants of a hurricane heading towards us on Monday. Rest assured the trucks will get my attention asap. All the PMP shops have been updated, EBay and Amazon , our own is nearly always right as it's the first we do. Here are the covers for those I've just done. Youtube is slackening off, hits please on the adverts! . As well as visiting Burton and Stafford the Weebly title for the blog worked first try, thats a red letter day for certain. Anyway lets get on my travels and yes it was a Staffordshire day, a bit on the sppur of the moment with reference to the weather forecast and it looked a good morning with light cloud and for once thats how it turned out. The traffic wasn't too awul, the closures and accidents on the motorway were out of the area I traveled in, they still took place though. Our roads in the village now all look like cart tracks with mud all over the place near building works and worse near the farms. We were up bright and early, it had been a fairly draining evening last night so I sl;ept well, it was good to have a relax with a couple of things I enjoy on telly. Burton didn't disappoint, Midlland Classic lifts this place into the bus enthusiast super league, as well as interesting well presented buses the drivers are always so friendly. It really didn't take that long to get over an hour of film and then I had a coffee in M&S before carrying on to Stafford, talk about the SATNAV finding tiny roads across country, their were highwaymen on one turnpike sand the ox carts were around every corner. Stafford after Burton ( why do I keep going there) was like watching very slow drying paint. I thin it's that my mind always goes back to the days when is was a thriving market town with plentiful bus services, now it a mess , dead hole and hardly any buses. One thing Burton did have was a new form of secret police, these are called civic enforcement something like East German STASI I think, there was this bloke with a Wyatt Earp badge and reckoned he was something else, had a forces badge on his jacket, thought he was some sort of special police - reported him on 101, perhaps he was just mentally disturbed! His picture is below. The slide show is of Midland Classic and Arriva/Trent this morning. Extra minutes in the day urgently required! First job was to get the DVD orders cleared then I met Tom at St Oswald's and loaded the van with the harvest festival produce donations which we took to the Salvation Army at Northwich and handed it over to Captain Becky Ward who is seen here unloading the PMP van. Great to see it being used for such good work. They are supporting over 60 families in the area and up to 20 people a day get fed. Next after getting a couple of PMP jobs done it was time to head off for the Wirral for the Polio Fellowship visit to Gordale Garden Centre, I think there were 14 members present and we always get an interesting talk which is followed by tea and cakes. This evening I managed to get my first Faculty submitted , this is the instrument required before you carry out work in a church listed building, as ours is Grade1 it receives a very strict assessment although it was a fairly straightforward one for a memorial plaque to Les Holt who lived down our road who sadly died earlier this year. He was 55 years a bell ringer and Tower Captain. Not bad images, these are stills from the DVD from our latest retro rally DVD featuring the Llandudno festival in April 2000 - clips will be on Youtube this evening The pressure remains firmly on even after an exhausting weekend. We weren't up too early today but were soon wading through a mass of DVD orders which I managed to get sorted before a friend of ours was due round for coffee and then I finished off the DVDs and decided that as I'm pretty well booked through all tomorrow that I'd get a bit of filming done. Stockport isn't too far away and is on my list to cover so I shot down there over lunch time and early afternoon. The timing was good for the second year running as the main road was up and all routes travelled through the bus station adding some unusual shots and more traffic making for a fairly quick session which includes a lot of recent deliveries as the Stagecoach fleet continues to keep its low age profile. The drivers were perhaps the most friendly I've encountered for years, full marks all the way and how enjoyable that makes a visit. We are well on the up on Youtube once more and nearly record breaking number of hits for a day and revenue climbing back up, thanks to all our viewers for helping achieve this. We went to Ellesmere port in the afternoon as it seems that i'm not likely to have enough time tomorrow , got my hair cut and visited the pet shop, Mandy got a box of pigs ears for Hil & Seans dogs in Ireland, she goes over on Saturday returning in a week. I had my course in Chester this evening, our speaker was Bishop Peter. Photos tonight from Stockport. |
PMP Sponsors the North West Vehicle Restoration Trust at Kirkby.
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