![\"\"](\"http:\/\/banthewasp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/P1000593-300x225.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The next weekend saw us off to York, to meet Team Discovery, on the (near enough) 10th anniversary of our inaugural AGM.\u00a0 We were too busy chatting and laughing to remember the group photo, suffice to say the girls won the quiz.\u00a0 The journeys there and back were smooth, plus the majority of the taxi drivers we encountered were pleasant and helpful.<\/p>\n
I ticked a box at the National Railway Museum, which is free to visit, btw,\u00a0 what an utter bargain.\u00a0 When I was little, steam trains were still on the go and the ones that captured my imagination were the Bittern<\/a> and the Mallard<\/a>.\u00a0 I think it was the streamlined design and punky funnels which caught my childish eye, the bird names would have nothing to do with it, oh no.\u00a0 Mallard was awol from the museum last time we went, in 2010, but this time she was centre stage, and even had a caf\u00e9 named after her.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n I did manage to take a picture with only two humans in it, which was not easy.\u00a0 All I know about trains is from the standpoint (touchy subject) of a commuter and occasional steam groupie, but if I could meet Sir Nigel Gresley*<\/a>I would shake him by the hand.\u00a0 The trains he designed looked stunning and outperformed most others.\u00a0 Interestingly, his home had a moat in which he bred ducks.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Once I was forcibly extracted from the sheds, we wandered round the town, which was extremely busy with hen parties and football fans.\u00a0 Every pub had at least two bouncers, mid afternoon.\u00a0 It’s not like that in Dunfermline.\u00a0 Passing by York Minster we noticed that the restoration of some stonework was laid out for all to see, and by poking the camera lens through the wire fence I managed to capture this fine fellow. I found this link<\/a> which could well show the stonemasons involved.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n I have many more photos of trains, if you wish to see these please do call round.<\/p>\n We also travelled to Berwick.\u00a0 However, despite Paul’s best efforts the PC will not view the SD card from the camera, so I have to wait for him to upload them to the shared drive and them drag them in from the network.\u00a0 Looking at you<\/em>, Panasonic, and your WiFi link that scrambled my files.\u00a0 Lastly, a street with identity issues.<\/p>\n *From\u00a0 Wikipedia *A statue of Gresley was unveiled at King’s Cross station<\/a> in London on 5 April 2016, the 75th anniversary of his death.[6]<\/a><\/sup> Sculptor Hazel Reeves originally included a duck alongside Gresley in reference to his hobby of breeding water fowl and his bird-themed locomotive names such as Mallard<\/i>, but this was removed from the final design when two of Gresley’s grandsons complained it was “demeaning”.[7]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/banthewasp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/P1000649-300x225.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/banthewasp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/P1000665-300x225.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/banthewasp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/P1000713-300x225.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/banthewasp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/26607407877_e6623878d4_c-169x300.jpg\")
<\/a>