Broithe

Talk of closed/reopened railway infrastructure came to mind as I read one of the "Did you know..?" items on today's Wikipedia page. Northamptonshire, on the Big Island, once had 92 railway stations, but now has six. The Republic seems to have towards 150 currently.

I've just had this email from IÉ. Timetable changes from Monday 14th October Iarnród Éireann recognises the enormous disruption to our customers’ daily lives which have resulted from timetable changes since 26th August. We deeply regret the upset that this has caused and acknowledge how critical the punctuality and reliability of our services are to the daily lives of our commuting customers. In accommodating increased services on the Dublin to Belfast route, and managing overall capacity in the city centre area, the changes had a disproportionate negative impact on commuting punctuality and overall journey times, for which we are sorry. From Monday October 14th, morning Connolly route services will revert to the pre-26th August service patterns. This will rebalance the timetable, improve punctuality and end to end journey times for commuters, while accommodating improved frequency on a number of Intercity routes, including the Dublin to Belfast route. The most significant changes from Monday will be: Trains which previously terminated at Pearse, Grand Canal Dock and Bray will resume operation to/from these stations, reducing the need for interchanges in the morning peak at Connolly. Revised running times on a number of Belfast services, including changes to times on the 06:00hrs and 07:00hrs Belfast to Dublin services, arriving to Dublin at 08:23hrs and 09:20hrs respectively. As well as improving punctuality for Commuter services, this will enable a key gap in the Northern Commuter morning service to be reduced: Current departure times from Drogheda (with Donabate times for reference) are: 06:58hrs (07:32hrs), 07:09hrs (07:44hrs), 07:41hrs (08:16hrs) New departure times during the same time window from Drogheda (Donabate) from Monday 14th October will be: 06:55hrs (07:30hrs), 07:05hrs (07:39hrs), 07:19hrs (07:55hrs), 07:36hrs (08:13hrs) Some evening services which currently commence from Pearse/Grand Canal Dock will commence from Bray / Dun Laoghaire. There will be some minor changes to departure times to a number of DART, Northern, Maynooth and Phoenix Park Tunnel commuter trains, and one Dublin to Rosslare train to facilitate the above. Increased services on the Galway, Waterford and Belfast lines implemented on 26th August will be maintained. Full details of changes will be available for customers at www.irishrail.ie and the Iarnród Éireann app. The changes follow engagement with the National Transport Authority and our colleagues in Translink.

You couldn't make it up, but somebody did. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asiana_Airlines_Flight_214#KTVU_prank

The acre of land here, round the JFK memorial, is actually US territory. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.4453246,-0.569042,193m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAwMi4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

There's that island that Spain and France swap every six months. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pheasant_Island

If we're talking about weird borders, we have that large area of Monaghan that you can't leave without going through the North, unless you walk across the fields and wade through a river. And the Dutch/Belgian border is quite intricate in places. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Baarle-Hertog,+Belgium/@51.4413281,4.9244925,2748m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x47c6a54331164f29:0x40099ab2f4d4d20!8m2!3d51.4415736!4d4.9318189!16zL20vMDE0bGt6?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAwMi4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

The last word is 'Mafia'.

For those who believe that 'the state' is a legal fiction, there is always a large area* of reasonably habitable land between Sudan and Egypt, which is not claimed by either of them, or any other state. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bir_Tawil *About the size of Co Kilkenny.

Brace yourselves... https://www.facebook.com/BrehonKingOfTheWorldJames

I'll get them to send you an application form..? https://www.sovereignpeople.ie/ There was a case a while back of a bloke in court in that sort of defence - it wasn't a successful action for him. I can't find it yet, but I'll have a better(?) look later. OK, this is what I had in mind. Not quite the same thing, but this bloke thinks he's even more sovereign than the individual types. https://www.offalyexpress.ie/news/home/1407245/king-of-ireland-appears-before-district-court-laying-claim-to-local-roads.html

Yeah, I don't bother with them - rich women is the way to go.

And the other relatives - Ben O'Dictine and Carmel Ite.

Cistercian, if you say it quickly...

I've had a flick through - have we had Sister Sian yet, or is she in a different order?

They've probably run it in for you...

There was a radio program about this re-encounter, but I can't find it now. https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/john-waite-the-time-davy-jones-gave-me-a-lift-in-his-cadillac-7534765.html There's a bit of it here - https://audioboom.com/posts/697847-davy-jones-meets-john-waite

An interesting hexagonal modular idea. One of the "building supplies" stands had this model a pub which was illegally demolished a while back. And a model of one of the rooms in it - it was hard to judge when you had had enough... The 'permanent outdoor layout' was in action. And the 'volunteer' exhibition security detail were taken on a staff outing. And other stuff from the model engineers. And that all of it - two minutes a picture, I thought about trying a Morse key! Modern problems...

An atmospheric sky. Front- and back-lit cotton wool.

Something for everyone. I do like a nice fiddle yard. This layout had a great layout, public access inside and out...

Having failed to attend in 2023, I found myself on the Big Island just in time this year. There will be a stash of pictures later, but my connection here, particularly for uploads, seems to be based on a native boy carrying individual message in a cleft stick. It was very quiet. Saturdays used to be very busy and I would normally opt for the slightly less intense Sunday, but two friends were having to go today. In the end, it was no bother. Some other things struck me - lighting is so much easier today that there was sometimes 'too much for me' - both in the models, buildings, vehicles, etc., and of the whole layout. Some were as bright as being in the Libyan desert, it seemed - and some layouts even interfered with viewing the layout behind them, as their general lighting was in the eyes of the viewer in the next aisle. Also, some people seemed to need to spend a lot of time negotiating with the digital control systems and the 'hand of God' was rather more in evidence that it used to be, I thought. Definitely worth going, though - although, it was seventeen quid to get in... It's on again tomorrow, if you're going past.

Somebody must have done this as Last Train to Charleville, but I can't find anything...

I've become aware that there is a derelict Danish Hunter in Co Meath. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Moorepark,+Puddenhill,+Co.+Meath,+Ireland/@53.588953,-6.4304327,49m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x48673f8c370db041:0x203c5dca58264438!8m2!3d53.59041!4d-6.42855!16s%2Fg%2F119vh3qx4?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MDkyNC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

If they'd been a bit smaller, they would be in the British Museum...

Graffiti was a lot harder to accomplish sixty years ago. Marker pens and spray cans made it a lot easier than carrying round a tin of paint and a brush. And chalk soon washed off. Carving initials into a tree was about as much that was practical for for the uncommitted 'artist' to make a permanent mark.