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It’s been two years since I went on a linocut course and really enjoyed the whole process; today they were selling starter kits at Salts Mill - so a purchase was made. I’ve spent the evening trying to carve out a tiny, snowy, Scottish bothy. Be kind everyone - I’m no expert.

Not a fan of New Street, and to be honest I’ve always tried to avoid it at all costs. This morning, however, passing through was unavoidable *but* I did manage to catch 323221 in Regional Railways livery. So… silver linings.

In Shropshire, when we do food - we do *food*. I had to be rolled out the pub. 🤤

If anyone needs me I’ll be disassociating whilst staring into my lunch wondering if I really need to go back downstairs. These really early starts teamed with consistently busy, stressful trains are physically and mentally exhausting.

Merry Christmas from across the border in bonny (squally) Dunbar. I was sufficiently sozzled by midday, lunch soon cleared up that problem, and a good walk around the headland in the rain woke me up from my food coma. Hope you’ve all had the best day. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🎄✨

A brisk Boxing Day here on the Scottish coast. I woke up to a view of the Cairngorms, snowcapped and dusky pink in the morning sun, the distance between them and I filled with a churning iridescent North Sea. There’s been dog walks, lighthouse spotting, and lots of leftovers.

40mph gusts here in East Lothian, with rain cold as ice, hitting any exposed skin with razor sharpness. And as the sun began to dip behind mottled rooftops, grey clouds cracked and welcomed blue sky appeared, but that quickly dissolved into overcast dusk.

Gratefully back home, and ironically even with speed restrictions in place on the border it was one of the quickest journeys I’ve done to Cambridgeshire recently. Back to the grind at the Cross tomorrow; but I’m coasting on the inertia of a wonderful Christmas break. 🌊

A busy day up in the KGX Control Room overseeing this afternoon’s service; I occasionally go and do a shift as Information Controller to mix things up a bit. Loads of set swaps today to get my teeth into, some rather excellent snacks, and my mug got a school trip to London. 🥸

Day two of two locked upstairs - but fear not - snacks were purchased beforehand and cups of Darjeeling tea drank aplenty! I’m back on the platform tomorrow as final man, just in time for the NYE’s celebrations. 🥳 🎊 ✨

And just like that the last passenger service of 2023 leaves King’s Cross on 1D32/2035 KGX-LDS; to top it off, it’s my favourite loco of our current fleet - 91119. Gorgeous. 🌟🎊✨Happy New Year, all! ✨🎊🌟

First day of the New Year and it’s kicking off with a pair of dogbox’s in the sidings at St Neot’s! 153379 + 153384 rest in the upside sidings after working 2Q50 yesterday on SNO - SNO via LST. I was tipped off last week that they’d be making an appearance soon. 🐶📦

Good luck to everyone travelling/working on the railway tonight. Absolute chaos network-wide with objects being caught in overheads, objects being struck, flooding, trees blocking the railway, and ESR’s caused by high winds. This weather is getting crazier by the week.

New 👏🏻 tent 👏🏻 day! 👏🏻 My trusty Snugpak is being retired after 7 years (for many reasons, including insufficient room to sit upright - especially annoying during bad weather). This MSR has excellent reviews, it’s 2kg, it’s spacious, and it even has a porch (!!!). ⛺️✨

Fascinated by these little glimpses into the past. This sticker could be almost as old as I am, and it’s still stuck fast. Nearly every time I deploy a ramp on a Mark IV, I think of all of the staff who have used it, all the miles it’s done, all the journeys it’s facilitated.

Another day, another cab ride. First one off the Cross for an ex-Bradford back. Time to irritate another poor King’s Cross driver (although I’ve promised him unlimited coffee and assured him that breakfast is on me today in compensation for my barrage of questions).

Oh, hello. 👋🏻 805008 sits at PBO platform 1 (and if I’ve done my research correctly because CCF is currently down), it’s running as 5Q32 Merchant Park Sidings to Oxley Carriage M.D, heading towards the Midlands via Stamford after reversing here at Peterborough.

Zoom in for a POIS sheet that looks about as haggard as I feel on early turns.