Journals134
Newest
Devious Journal Entry
1 min read
It's been a while DA. I must apologise for not getting around to submitting anything recently, but the truth is full time work takes it out of you.
CJSutcliffe Photography
Those of you who have Facebook will have kept up to date with my goings on, and indeed my photos from any recent tours I've been out and about to see.
But I am going to make more of an effort to DA from now onwards. That's not a promise, more a guarantee.
Updates to follow, stay tuned, DA. I, am back!
CJSutcliffe PhotographyJoin the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Back Our British Rail Heritage
10 min read
Hello to all my watchers.
What follows is an open email to the Office of Rail Regulation, regarding recent proposals which could hurt charter train operation in the UK considerably. Currently, if a charter train is delayed up to the point that it delays other service trains, the operating company in charge of the train is only liable for a maximum £5000 penalty fine. If the fine amount exceeds £5k, Network Rail picks up the remainder. Under new proposals, the £5000 cap will be lifted, and operating companies will be responsible for the full fine amount no matter how large, so if a delay runs up a £15000 bill, the operating company has to pay in full.
This is my email direct to the ORR, also forwarded to the NRM York and the NRM Shildon, and shortly will also be forwarded onto the PM David Cameron, DPM Nick Clegg, leader of the opposition Ed Miliband MP, Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin MP, Mayor of London Boris Johnson and the London Museum of Transport:
To whom it may concern.
Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Christopher Sutcliffe, known as CJ Sutcliffe by many, and I'm a photographer from Manchester, specialising in transportation photographs. I've been brought up with the railway, my dad was a guard on British Rail from the 1970s til the early 1990s, and both he and my uncle share a great interest in the railway at heart. This was passed on to me, and since a very early age I've been heavily interested in transportation, mostly heritage transport, and heritage railway rolling stock above all.
I know of many people, including myself, that hold heritage in high regard. The lessons learned in the past can, and indeed have, greatly influenced the people of the future. When the Liverpool - Manchester railway was constructed in the 1830s, it was an engineering pinnacle, a milestone, and more than anything, a foundation. The lessons learned in the development of the railway influenced the people who took the railway as an entity onwards into the 20th century, and onwards once again into the 21st century, into our world.
The icons of the past are just as important as the icons of the present. The milestones of the present were influenced by the milestones of the past, and all of what we have today was brought into being by education and knowledge. The knowledge of what happened and what existed in the past, and the education of how we can take that technology and develop it to fit into a modern world with increasingly stringent requirements. Part of that process of education involves working items of past, and having working items of machines and technology from the past also creates the knowledge of what was done to create them.
Heritage holds the key to where we are going. Present day items of rolling stock may not currently seem like much else than just another machine/set of machines, but one day and one day soon, these machines will be teaching the people of a future generation what we did, how we made things better, what things we did right, and even what things we did wrong, and how to avoid these problems. Heritage will lead us into a brighter future.
I heard of the ORR's publication of new guidelines regarding mainline operation of heritage rolling stock, and the decision to remove a cap on penalties for delays of charter trains. The removal of the cap leaves operators exposed to the risks of failures and issues fully, with no safety net. Having read these reccomendations, I have some questions, and even alternate suggestions which may be cheaper/easier to integrate into the current mainline operation plans.
Firstly, the financial repercussions of this decision. In this current economic climate, jobs are scarce and business is volatile. I work in retail, and being on the front line of service to the general public I can respect how valuable profits and income are not only to companies, but the people they employ. I only work part time as no full time positions have ever been made available to me, and I receive benefits due to my Aspergers Syndrome, yet still I find it hard to even break even most months. Costs are spiralling almost out of control all over the shop. And it's the same in the railway world, the cost of fuel is skyrocketing, the cost of rolling stock maintenance and procurement is going up to the decreasing availability of spares and new parts, and the materials needed to make these new parts is also decreasing thus pushing up the price of procurement of the raw materials. To take a locomotive mainline is a herculean task. After an extensive overhaul requiring parts, materials and labour in epic amounts, the new equipment required to operate on the mainline, TPWS, AWS, OTMR and GSMR then needs to be acquired and fitted, at further cost of both acquisition and labour of fitment. It's been known that in excess of £1m can be spent on taking a locomotive mainline, small change to the major public service operators, but mega bucks in the preservation world.
The removal of the penalties cap would make the operation of mainline tours and loco movements a financial liability each and every time. It was suggested that each company should find their own insurance for the tours they operate, but in the long run, no insurance company would ever agree to insure such a trip as one from London Euston to Carlisle and back (The Cumbrian Mountain Express and Winter Cumbrian Mountain Express). This would in turn result in a decrease of tours and movements very sharply indeed. With that would come a financial loss to the operating companies involved, and such a loss could, and in some cases would, be a crippling blow. It would result in more companies being pushed into administration and more people becoming redundant, yet more victims of oppressive spending cuts and reforms. Yet more members of the club of people the government at heart wants to eradicate/reduce: The Unemployed.
Secondly, the wider picture. It seems to me that charter trains are being unfairly victimised in these new proposals, with such services formed of mostly heritage rolling stock being effectively outlawed on the national network. Some days there are no charters running to cause any delays to other service trains, yet service trains are still delayed/cancelled. Why is this? Is there some sort of recurring flaw that creates these problems? It's hard to believe that with so many delays still on the network even without a charter service "in the way", that a cure can be found in culling these services from the network. There must be, and indeed is, a lot of underlying problems that need to solved, and the culling of charters to me, is not a solution. If charters have to pay for the delays they cause/encounter, then surely a service train that delays other services should also be as heavily penalised. At the moment it doesn't seem like this is the case, with favouritism being passed to the public operators.
Thirdly, alternate measures. The solution to the inherant problem of trains with older locos either failing or encountering issues does not lie entirely in fines and financial penalties. The problem can be reduced or solved by the presence of backup machines either on the rear of each of these tours or en-route if the operators prefer steam/diesel/electric under it's own power with no extra weight to deal with. The requirement to provide backup motive power is a simple stipulation to inaugurate with a minimal amount of paperwork to push through parliment. And all over, it's a cheaper solution, not without it's risks of course but there are far fewer risks involved in that suggestion. And then again, what decision is without it's risks?
Fourth and final, the image we portray. England is a nation that is immensely proud of her national heritage, there was no better example of this than the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, which was dominated by such things other than sports such as industry, the NHS, the invention of the World Wide Web, the presence of royalty. And much of that was a portrayal of history. It's the same story on the railways right now. England was the birthplace of the railway as a modern item, and the railway as an entity was also built and developed here. The many developments we have created and implicated over the years is what we portray on our mainline tours, and in the process we put on display what our achievements have brought us, where we have come from and in some cases where we are going. Mainline tours as widespread as they are are important to the nation to display to as many members of the future generation as possible what the previous generation did for them, and to inspire them to join in and possibly aspire to do the same, or to just keep the items of the previous generation running as an advertisment to the wider world of just what's possible when you put your mind to it. It's also a very good advertisment for the United Kingdom as a whole, tourism thrives on such images as national heritage, and with the railways being our invention in the 1800s, what better way to show off the UK than to allow the appearance of heritage rolling stock on the mainline, either where it once was or where it still is and belongs.
I have been helped along the way by the online publication, UK Heritage Hub. An online magazine, run entirely by volunteers for enthusiasts of all kinds of British heritage. They have been working tirelessly around the clock making sure people are fully aware of what repercussions this could cause and building support. There is currently an online e-petition on the HM Government website which has collected 2000 signatures in under 48 hours, and still has the better part of 3 months to run.
Inspiration and image are at the heart of preservation and heritage, to relegate it off the centre stage is a damaging act to national image, pride and morale. My message is, keep the UK looking as attractive as possible, keep our heritage in place. It deserves to be seen by all, and all deserve to learn from it's existance.
Afterall, we are the country that invented the railways, we should be proud and willing to show that off to the world, London Underground's recent 150 for example...
Yours sincerely
Christopher Sutcliffe
CJSutcliffe Photography, www.facebook.com/cjsutcliffeph…
UK Heritage Hub, www.72010-hengist.org/ukhh/
Furthermore, the online petition to government can be found here - submissions.epetitions.direct.…
Thank you all for your time.
What follows is an open email to the Office of Rail Regulation, regarding recent proposals which could hurt charter train operation in the UK considerably. Currently, if a charter train is delayed up to the point that it delays other service trains, the operating company in charge of the train is only liable for a maximum £5000 penalty fine. If the fine amount exceeds £5k, Network Rail picks up the remainder. Under new proposals, the £5000 cap will be lifted, and operating companies will be responsible for the full fine amount no matter how large, so if a delay runs up a £15000 bill, the operating company has to pay in full.
This is my email direct to the ORR, also forwarded to the NRM York and the NRM Shildon, and shortly will also be forwarded onto the PM David Cameron, DPM Nick Clegg, leader of the opposition Ed Miliband MP, Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin MP, Mayor of London Boris Johnson and the London Museum of Transport:
To whom it may concern.
Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Christopher Sutcliffe, known as CJ Sutcliffe by many, and I'm a photographer from Manchester, specialising in transportation photographs. I've been brought up with the railway, my dad was a guard on British Rail from the 1970s til the early 1990s, and both he and my uncle share a great interest in the railway at heart. This was passed on to me, and since a very early age I've been heavily interested in transportation, mostly heritage transport, and heritage railway rolling stock above all.
I know of many people, including myself, that hold heritage in high regard. The lessons learned in the past can, and indeed have, greatly influenced the people of the future. When the Liverpool - Manchester railway was constructed in the 1830s, it was an engineering pinnacle, a milestone, and more than anything, a foundation. The lessons learned in the development of the railway influenced the people who took the railway as an entity onwards into the 20th century, and onwards once again into the 21st century, into our world.
The icons of the past are just as important as the icons of the present. The milestones of the present were influenced by the milestones of the past, and all of what we have today was brought into being by education and knowledge. The knowledge of what happened and what existed in the past, and the education of how we can take that technology and develop it to fit into a modern world with increasingly stringent requirements. Part of that process of education involves working items of past, and having working items of machines and technology from the past also creates the knowledge of what was done to create them.
Heritage holds the key to where we are going. Present day items of rolling stock may not currently seem like much else than just another machine/set of machines, but one day and one day soon, these machines will be teaching the people of a future generation what we did, how we made things better, what things we did right, and even what things we did wrong, and how to avoid these problems. Heritage will lead us into a brighter future.
I heard of the ORR's publication of new guidelines regarding mainline operation of heritage rolling stock, and the decision to remove a cap on penalties for delays of charter trains. The removal of the cap leaves operators exposed to the risks of failures and issues fully, with no safety net. Having read these reccomendations, I have some questions, and even alternate suggestions which may be cheaper/easier to integrate into the current mainline operation plans.
Firstly, the financial repercussions of this decision. In this current economic climate, jobs are scarce and business is volatile. I work in retail, and being on the front line of service to the general public I can respect how valuable profits and income are not only to companies, but the people they employ. I only work part time as no full time positions have ever been made available to me, and I receive benefits due to my Aspergers Syndrome, yet still I find it hard to even break even most months. Costs are spiralling almost out of control all over the shop. And it's the same in the railway world, the cost of fuel is skyrocketing, the cost of rolling stock maintenance and procurement is going up to the decreasing availability of spares and new parts, and the materials needed to make these new parts is also decreasing thus pushing up the price of procurement of the raw materials. To take a locomotive mainline is a herculean task. After an extensive overhaul requiring parts, materials and labour in epic amounts, the new equipment required to operate on the mainline, TPWS, AWS, OTMR and GSMR then needs to be acquired and fitted, at further cost of both acquisition and labour of fitment. It's been known that in excess of £1m can be spent on taking a locomotive mainline, small change to the major public service operators, but mega bucks in the preservation world.
The removal of the penalties cap would make the operation of mainline tours and loco movements a financial liability each and every time. It was suggested that each company should find their own insurance for the tours they operate, but in the long run, no insurance company would ever agree to insure such a trip as one from London Euston to Carlisle and back (The Cumbrian Mountain Express and Winter Cumbrian Mountain Express). This would in turn result in a decrease of tours and movements very sharply indeed. With that would come a financial loss to the operating companies involved, and such a loss could, and in some cases would, be a crippling blow. It would result in more companies being pushed into administration and more people becoming redundant, yet more victims of oppressive spending cuts and reforms. Yet more members of the club of people the government at heart wants to eradicate/reduce: The Unemployed.
Secondly, the wider picture. It seems to me that charter trains are being unfairly victimised in these new proposals, with such services formed of mostly heritage rolling stock being effectively outlawed on the national network. Some days there are no charters running to cause any delays to other service trains, yet service trains are still delayed/cancelled. Why is this? Is there some sort of recurring flaw that creates these problems? It's hard to believe that with so many delays still on the network even without a charter service "in the way", that a cure can be found in culling these services from the network. There must be, and indeed is, a lot of underlying problems that need to solved, and the culling of charters to me, is not a solution. If charters have to pay for the delays they cause/encounter, then surely a service train that delays other services should also be as heavily penalised. At the moment it doesn't seem like this is the case, with favouritism being passed to the public operators.
Thirdly, alternate measures. The solution to the inherant problem of trains with older locos either failing or encountering issues does not lie entirely in fines and financial penalties. The problem can be reduced or solved by the presence of backup machines either on the rear of each of these tours or en-route if the operators prefer steam/diesel/electric under it's own power with no extra weight to deal with. The requirement to provide backup motive power is a simple stipulation to inaugurate with a minimal amount of paperwork to push through parliment. And all over, it's a cheaper solution, not without it's risks of course but there are far fewer risks involved in that suggestion. And then again, what decision is without it's risks?
Fourth and final, the image we portray. England is a nation that is immensely proud of her national heritage, there was no better example of this than the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, which was dominated by such things other than sports such as industry, the NHS, the invention of the World Wide Web, the presence of royalty. And much of that was a portrayal of history. It's the same story on the railways right now. England was the birthplace of the railway as a modern item, and the railway as an entity was also built and developed here. The many developments we have created and implicated over the years is what we portray on our mainline tours, and in the process we put on display what our achievements have brought us, where we have come from and in some cases where we are going. Mainline tours as widespread as they are are important to the nation to display to as many members of the future generation as possible what the previous generation did for them, and to inspire them to join in and possibly aspire to do the same, or to just keep the items of the previous generation running as an advertisment to the wider world of just what's possible when you put your mind to it. It's also a very good advertisment for the United Kingdom as a whole, tourism thrives on such images as national heritage, and with the railways being our invention in the 1800s, what better way to show off the UK than to allow the appearance of heritage rolling stock on the mainline, either where it once was or where it still is and belongs.
I have been helped along the way by the online publication, UK Heritage Hub. An online magazine, run entirely by volunteers for enthusiasts of all kinds of British heritage. They have been working tirelessly around the clock making sure people are fully aware of what repercussions this could cause and building support. There is currently an online e-petition on the HM Government website which has collected 2000 signatures in under 48 hours, and still has the better part of 3 months to run.
Inspiration and image are at the heart of preservation and heritage, to relegate it off the centre stage is a damaging act to national image, pride and morale. My message is, keep the UK looking as attractive as possible, keep our heritage in place. It deserves to be seen by all, and all deserve to learn from it's existance.
Afterall, we are the country that invented the railways, we should be proud and willing to show that off to the world, London Underground's recent 150 for example...
Yours sincerely
Christopher Sutcliffe
CJSutcliffe Photography, www.facebook.com/cjsutcliffeph…
UK Heritage Hub, www.72010-hengist.org/ukhh/
Furthermore, the online petition to government can be found here - submissions.epetitions.direct.…
Thank you all for your time.
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What follows is an open letter to a newspaper of certain repute, clearing up a query relating to a mystery surrounding Class 55 number 55020 'Nimbus', dating back to the 1990s:
Dear Mr Charles Legge.
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Christopher Sutcliffe, and I'm a railway enthusiast from Manchester. I was brought to the attention of a question raised by a reader regarding the mystery surrounding a member of the 'Deltic Class' diesel locomotives (Thursday Nov 1st 2012), employed by BR on the ECML from 1959 (prototype, 1961 production started) until official withdrawal from revenue earning operation in 1981, with final withdrawal after the Deltic Scotsman Farewell in early 1982. Mr Newling-Goode from the Deltic Preservation Society (DPS) provided an accurate account of the locomotives final days of operation, but none of his reply I feel was really to the point.
The point of his reply was to answer the direct question: What was the mystery surrounding the locomotive? The 'answer' is as follows.
Long after the withdrawal and disposal of the fleet of Class 55s both to preservation and scrap, one scrapped, or presumed scrapped member of the fleet was presumably seen by unknown sources passing through Derby on a light engine movement in 1992, with the number 55020 being recalled in discussion. There are numerous different stories regarding ghost deltics and other ghost locos, but one that sticks to mind was the "top secret" plan to build a class of locomotive that would harness the power of a nuclear reactor as opposed to an electric transformer via overhead lines/third rail, or a diesel power unit generating electrical power for electric drive motors as per standard on the BR network. For these plans to go ahead should they reach a testbed stage, a locomotive would need to be kept aside in good structural and working condition. Therefore it was rumoured that 55020 "Nimbus" had been reported as scrapped by BR, but was instead stored in a secret location pending further use by the technical development department of the now Railway Test Centre at Derby. The project however, if it ever existed in the first place, never reached any kind of construction phase, and nothing was ever officially or unofficially heard again regarding nuclear powered locomotives on the British network of railways.
This is what I believe to be the correct information relating to the posed question. In reality it is mostly hearsay, with Nimbus being withdrawn and cut up in 1980. There are various other folklore stories regarding other locomotives, but I feel that could fill up an entire page and is off the point of this letter.
Thank you for your time in reading my reply, I hope this provides some clarity to the poser of the question.
Yours sincerely.
Christopher Sutcliffe.
Dear Mr Charles Legge.
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Christopher Sutcliffe, and I'm a railway enthusiast from Manchester. I was brought to the attention of a question raised by a reader regarding the mystery surrounding a member of the 'Deltic Class' diesel locomotives (Thursday Nov 1st 2012), employed by BR on the ECML from 1959 (prototype, 1961 production started) until official withdrawal from revenue earning operation in 1981, with final withdrawal after the Deltic Scotsman Farewell in early 1982. Mr Newling-Goode from the Deltic Preservation Society (DPS) provided an accurate account of the locomotives final days of operation, but none of his reply I feel was really to the point.
The point of his reply was to answer the direct question: What was the mystery surrounding the locomotive? The 'answer' is as follows.
Long after the withdrawal and disposal of the fleet of Class 55s both to preservation and scrap, one scrapped, or presumed scrapped member of the fleet was presumably seen by unknown sources passing through Derby on a light engine movement in 1992, with the number 55020 being recalled in discussion. There are numerous different stories regarding ghost deltics and other ghost locos, but one that sticks to mind was the "top secret" plan to build a class of locomotive that would harness the power of a nuclear reactor as opposed to an electric transformer via overhead lines/third rail, or a diesel power unit generating electrical power for electric drive motors as per standard on the BR network. For these plans to go ahead should they reach a testbed stage, a locomotive would need to be kept aside in good structural and working condition. Therefore it was rumoured that 55020 "Nimbus" had been reported as scrapped by BR, but was instead stored in a secret location pending further use by the technical development department of the now Railway Test Centre at Derby. The project however, if it ever existed in the first place, never reached any kind of construction phase, and nothing was ever officially or unofficially heard again regarding nuclear powered locomotives on the British network of railways.
This is what I believe to be the correct information relating to the posed question. In reality it is mostly hearsay, with Nimbus being withdrawn and cut up in 1980. There are various other folklore stories regarding other locomotives, but I feel that could fill up an entire page and is off the point of this letter.
Thank you for your time in reading my reply, I hope this provides some clarity to the poser of the question.
Yours sincerely.
Christopher Sutcliffe.
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Spirit Day - An Outline And Response
5 min read
It's been far too long since I last posted a journal, so I figured I'd use this occasion to break that break (I guess) and post something new. Surely everyone knows about Harry Potter now...
As some of you may have noticed (and those who haven't, take a look now), my avatar on DA and my profile photo on Facebook has turned purple. There's been no drugs smoked, and only a bottle of alcohol consumed, the real reason behind this is deeper.
America today celebrates something named "Spirit Day", where the most powerful nation in the world takes a stand against bullying and offers a hand of support to the gay/lesbian and transgender community. Despite being mainly orientated at bullying of gay/lesbian people, it can be a second fiddle to stand up against bullying of all types, of which most of the world is a victim. Bullying can be divided into emotional, verbal or physical abuse, and can leave people scarred for life, both mentally and physically. Sadly, I was just one of many who experienced all three types of abuse.
From age 4 til 10, I attended a local mainstream primary school. In my youth, I was a hell of a lot more immature, I had little social ability or social understanding, little friends, and many many differences in my mental ability to others, which were noticeable to say the least. I suffer from Aspergers Sydrome (the same syndrome as that Martian hunter who hacked the Pentagon), and have suffered it from a very early age due to complications relating to the Measles Mumps and Rebella immunisation, or the MMR jab, which has long been known to possibly cause a genetic fault when administered to people from certain genetic backgrounds. Over the years, I have with assistance managed to train my social skills and self awareness up to a level where next to no-one would recognise my handicap, though at the ages of 4 to 10, I was volatile. I had the shortest fuse known to man, and would snap at a moments notice to the slightest of things. I would spend time alone as much as possible, I would talk to myself (I still do), and would often say things that were considered either offensive or strange due to my reduced knowledge of the way the wider world worked. And it was because of this, and the extra assistance and compassion I got from staff at the school, which made certain people single me out as a "soft target", and you could pretty much guarantee every day would be made a living hell for me by these people.
My intelligence, potential, and difference from the norm all played a part in the "treatment" these "people" dished out to me. I was sworn at, name called, had nasty rumours spread about me, punched, kicked, spat at. You name it, I probably got it. This was every day for 6 whole years, and despite various letters and meetings and sit downs with my parents, the head teacher denied there was any bullying at his school, despite me having the evidence and the witnesses to prove it. A couple of times I did manage to get my own back however, I broke a guys nose almost one time after a spell of torrential verbal and emotional abuse, and another occasion receiving the same torrents from a different guy, resulted in me nearly putting him through a table. Both times I was rightly punished, and I learned my lessons the hard way. When I left the school aged 10, I could close one chapter of my life, but never close it completely, the memories remain like a burning scorch on the back of my mind, and those mental wounds will never heal.
From age 10 to 19, I was in special needs education, amongst people with either the same handicaps as me or different handicaps, sometimes worse, sometimes more or less the same. It was in special needs education that I learned to be more outgoing, to throw away my shell of shyness and step into the spotlight, to put my existing social skills to the test and work to improve them greatly. All this has helped me to the point I'm at now, a 24 year old with a regular job, an extra-regular hobby, and friends all over the world that I am willing to meet and can freely communicate to. Although friends outside the UK I mainly communicate with via the internet, but it's communication, it counts. On the surface I may think life could still be a little better, but deep down after the mental torture of 1992 - 1998, I feel things couldn't get much better. I achieved some of my potential, which is more than those who bullied me would ever achieve, and that makes me feel proud.
Ever since those days, I've vowed to take a stand against bullying of all types, and to show my support for this day, for 24 hours across October 19th from 00:00am to October 20th at 00:00am, my avatar and profile photo will go purple. Will yours?
As some of you may have noticed (and those who haven't, take a look now), my avatar on DA and my profile photo on Facebook has turned purple. There's been no drugs smoked, and only a bottle of alcohol consumed, the real reason behind this is deeper.
America today celebrates something named "Spirit Day", where the most powerful nation in the world takes a stand against bullying and offers a hand of support to the gay/lesbian and transgender community. Despite being mainly orientated at bullying of gay/lesbian people, it can be a second fiddle to stand up against bullying of all types, of which most of the world is a victim. Bullying can be divided into emotional, verbal or physical abuse, and can leave people scarred for life, both mentally and physically. Sadly, I was just one of many who experienced all three types of abuse.
From age 4 til 10, I attended a local mainstream primary school. In my youth, I was a hell of a lot more immature, I had little social ability or social understanding, little friends, and many many differences in my mental ability to others, which were noticeable to say the least. I suffer from Aspergers Sydrome (the same syndrome as that Martian hunter who hacked the Pentagon), and have suffered it from a very early age due to complications relating to the Measles Mumps and Rebella immunisation, or the MMR jab, which has long been known to possibly cause a genetic fault when administered to people from certain genetic backgrounds. Over the years, I have with assistance managed to train my social skills and self awareness up to a level where next to no-one would recognise my handicap, though at the ages of 4 to 10, I was volatile. I had the shortest fuse known to man, and would snap at a moments notice to the slightest of things. I would spend time alone as much as possible, I would talk to myself (I still do), and would often say things that were considered either offensive or strange due to my reduced knowledge of the way the wider world worked. And it was because of this, and the extra assistance and compassion I got from staff at the school, which made certain people single me out as a "soft target", and you could pretty much guarantee every day would be made a living hell for me by these people.
My intelligence, potential, and difference from the norm all played a part in the "treatment" these "people" dished out to me. I was sworn at, name called, had nasty rumours spread about me, punched, kicked, spat at. You name it, I probably got it. This was every day for 6 whole years, and despite various letters and meetings and sit downs with my parents, the head teacher denied there was any bullying at his school, despite me having the evidence and the witnesses to prove it. A couple of times I did manage to get my own back however, I broke a guys nose almost one time after a spell of torrential verbal and emotional abuse, and another occasion receiving the same torrents from a different guy, resulted in me nearly putting him through a table. Both times I was rightly punished, and I learned my lessons the hard way. When I left the school aged 10, I could close one chapter of my life, but never close it completely, the memories remain like a burning scorch on the back of my mind, and those mental wounds will never heal.
From age 10 to 19, I was in special needs education, amongst people with either the same handicaps as me or different handicaps, sometimes worse, sometimes more or less the same. It was in special needs education that I learned to be more outgoing, to throw away my shell of shyness and step into the spotlight, to put my existing social skills to the test and work to improve them greatly. All this has helped me to the point I'm at now, a 24 year old with a regular job, an extra-regular hobby, and friends all over the world that I am willing to meet and can freely communicate to. Although friends outside the UK I mainly communicate with via the internet, but it's communication, it counts. On the surface I may think life could still be a little better, but deep down after the mental torture of 1992 - 1998, I feel things couldn't get much better. I achieved some of my potential, which is more than those who bullied me would ever achieve, and that makes me feel proud.
Ever since those days, I've vowed to take a stand against bullying of all types, and to show my support for this day, for 24 hours across October 19th from 00:00am to October 20th at 00:00am, my avatar and profile photo will go purple. Will yours?
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The HP Effect
4 min read
I realise this will probably turn most of DA's population against me, or at least a large portion of it, but it needs to be said, so here goes.
Ever since the publication of J.K Rowling's worldwide smash hit literature series "Harry Potter", and even more so after the film adaptations of each book, fans of the series have been viewing railway viaducts and steam trains as all relating to the Harry Potter films. And thus have been commenting on every single steam train photo they see with "OMG! It's Harry Potter! Awesomeeeeeeeeeee!" or similarly.
Allow me to break it down for you:
Yes, the locomotive was red.
No, the locomotive was not black.
No, the locomotive was not green.
Yes, the locomotive was from the GWR region.
No, the locomotive was not from the LMS region.
No, the locomotive was not from the LNER region.
No, the locomotive was not from the Southern region.
Yes, the locomotive was a 4.6.0 machine.
No, the locomotive was not a 4.6.2 machine.
No, the locomotive was not a 2.6.0 machine.
Yes, the locomotive was filmed crossing Glenfinnan Viaduct on the West Highland Line between Fort William and Mallaig.
No, the locomotive was not filmed crossing Ribblehead Viaduct on the Settle and Carlisle line.
No, the locomotive was not filmed travelling across Dawlish sea wall.
Yes, the rolling stock was entirely BR Mk1 coaches, coloured maroon.
No, the rolling stock was not coloured cream and maroon (Blood and Custard)
No, the rolling stock was not coloured blue and grey.
No, the rolling stock was not coloured green.
No, the rolling stock was not BR Mk2 rolling stock, of any livery.
The actual locomotive you are looking for is GWR Hall Class 4.6.0 number 5792 "Olton Hall" or "Hogwarts Castle", for example:
Here's to hoping this clears it all up once and for all for you all. I'm CJSutcliffe. Thank you for listening.
Ever since the publication of J.K Rowling's worldwide smash hit literature series "Harry Potter", and even more so after the film adaptations of each book, fans of the series have been viewing railway viaducts and steam trains as all relating to the Harry Potter films. And thus have been commenting on every single steam train photo they see with "OMG! It's Harry Potter! Awesomeeeeeeeeeee!" or similarly.
Allow me to break it down for you:
Yes, the locomotive was red.
No, the locomotive was not black.
No, the locomotive was not green.
Yes, the locomotive was from the GWR region.
No, the locomotive was not from the LMS region.
No, the locomotive was not from the LNER region.
No, the locomotive was not from the Southern region.
Yes, the locomotive was a 4.6.0 machine.
No, the locomotive was not a 4.6.2 machine.
No, the locomotive was not a 2.6.0 machine.
Yes, the locomotive was filmed crossing Glenfinnan Viaduct on the West Highland Line between Fort William and Mallaig.
No, the locomotive was not filmed crossing Ribblehead Viaduct on the Settle and Carlisle line.
No, the locomotive was not filmed travelling across Dawlish sea wall.
Yes, the rolling stock was entirely BR Mk1 coaches, coloured maroon.
No, the rolling stock was not coloured cream and maroon (Blood and Custard)
No, the rolling stock was not coloured blue and grey.
No, the rolling stock was not coloured green.
No, the rolling stock was not BR Mk2 rolling stock, of any livery.
The actual locomotive you are looking for is GWR Hall Class 4.6.0 number 5792 "Olton Hall" or "Hogwarts Castle", for example:
Here's to hoping this clears it all up once and for all for you all. I'm CJSutcliffe. Thank you for listening.
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