Monthly Archives: March 2013

Nice and fast: our Chiltern Railways day out to Birmingham

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Chiltern Railways Mainline: next stop Birmingham!

Chiltern Railways Mainline: Birmingham here we come!

Once upon a time, Britain had real trains. Powerful engines pulled rakes of elegant coaches. On most of our main lines this is just a memory, but happily Chiltern Railways has brought back the best of the past on its Mainline service between London and Birmingham – with the welcome addition of modern touches like free wifi and the most stylish toilets I’ve seen on a British train!

We had a family day trip to Birmingham on Mainline yesterday, courtesy of complimentary tickets from Chiltern.

Setting off

Setting off

As a former regular traveller to Chester on Virgin, I was very impressed by the legroom in Chiltern’s Business Zone. (Virgin’s Pendolinos and Voyagers aren’t the roomiest of trains, especially when they’re crowded.) And the big windows show off the advantages of the British Rail Mark III coach.

Chiltern's Mainline Business Zone - plenty of room for your breakfast and practising your writing

Chiltern’s Mainline Business Zone – plenty of room for breakfast and practising your writing

Chiltern’s Mainline service is a lot cheaper than Virgin’s trains from Euston, as the sign at Moor Street cheekily points out…

It’s good to see Chiltern transforming the former Marylebone to Birmingham line, as it was nearly killed by British Railways. Chiltern has invested millions restoring it to mainline standards – gone are the days of holding on tight when your train took the Marylebone line at South Ruislip!

Sadly, today’s Snow Hill is a shadow of the magnificent old station – more of a bus stop than a station for a country’s second city. So I was pleased that our train terminated at Moor Street station, which has been restored as a Great Western terminus, complete with a GWR 28xx heavy freight steam locomotive. It’s a fitting counterpart to Marylebone, London’s most civilised terminus.

Welcome to Birmingham - our Chiltern Railways train on right

Welcome to Birmingham – our Chiltern Railways train on right

We liked Birmingham. We enjoyed the walk to the National Sealife centre (Owen loved running around Victoria Square) and the sealife displays were very impressive – and we did well to visit when Octonauts Peso and Kwazii were visiting… And Brindley Place is really attractive, even when there’s still snow on the ground. (It was rather warmer last time I visited in March 2010.) On the way back, Owen insisted we pop in to Waterstone’s, which is less than 10 minutes’ walk from Moor Street station. Who were we to argue…

Owen and Peso, National Sealife Centre, Birmingham

Owen and Peso, National Sealife Centre, Birmingham

The Great Western lives - Birmingham Moor Street 2013

The Great Western lives – Birmingham Moor Street 2013

We got the 15.55 home, smiling at the group of fellow passengers enjoying a couple of bottles of champagne.

We thoroughly enjoyed our day in Birmingham – and getting there was a big part of the pleasure. Thank you, Chiltern Railways.

PS: the trip was memorable for another reason. It relived a famous film that we love: the 1962 British Transport Films production, Let’s Go to Birmingham, which was a speeded up Blue Pullman trip from London Paddington to the original Snow Hill. It was a real period piece with many steam trains along the route, from the Paddington pilot engine to the steam express that passed the Pullman as it approached Moor Street. There’s a sad sequel as the driver, Ernest Morris, was tragically killed when his diesel train collided with a steam freight train at Dorridge in 1963.

Disclosure: we travelled on complimentary tickets from Chiltern Railways.

The Beeching axe, 50 years on

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The axeman cometh

The axeman cometh

Can you name the 1963 boss of British Steel, British Gas or Marks & Spencer? I thought not. But you can almost certainly name the 1963 chairman of British Railways. His name? Dr Richard Beeching.

Dr Beeching wields his axe. Photos: PA, via ITV website

Dr Beeching wields his axe. Photos: PA, via ITV website

Beeching’s fame – or notoriety – is solely based on a report published 50 years ago today, on 27 March 1963. The Reshaping of British Railways proposed that 6,000 miles of railway and over 2,000 stations should be closed to reduce BR’s heavy losses. It reflected the rise in car ownership, and the view that the railways were in permanent, irreversible decline.

Railway closures didn’t begin with Beeching. Thousands of miles of track were closed between the wars, especially in 1930. But Beeching took things to a new level. It’s hard to argue with many of the closures – a lot of trains on rural branches carried a handful of passengers. Yet his reasoning was often simplistic, and many unprofitable lines were the victims of deliberate neglect, as rail historian Adrian Vaughan showed in his classic account of the last days of the steam railway, Signalman’s Twilight.

Beeching’s axe went beyond winding branches with a steam engine pulling one or two carriages. Beeching axed the last complete main line to London – the Great Central line to Sheffield – and the Waverley route through Scotland’s border country, not to mention the Varsity line between Oxford and Cambridge via Milton Keynes.

Today’s rail bosses are looking to restore at least some of these lost links.

Few realise that Beeching had a sequel. ‘Beeching 2’ in 1965 would have closed parts of Britain’s most important mainlines, including the Great Western west of Plymouth. It didn’t happen, as the backlash forced British Railways to relent. (A similar reaction torpedoed the proposed Serpell cuts of 1983. As a result, few remember Sir David Serpell, unlike Dr Beeching.)

The way we were: British Railways 1963

The way we were: British Railways 1963

It’s hard to imagine how different Britain’s railways were in 1963, the year I was born. Many ancient Victorian and Edwardian steam engines were still in service. Quite a few stations close to London were still lit by oil or gas light. Dr Beeching had a vision of a modern intercity and freight railway, which still lives on today. His greatest failure was to think the railways could not flourish again. His folly has been shown as the number of passengers has almost doubled in the past 20 years.

Dr Richard Beeching lost the PR battle. Yet he put a lot of effort into explaining his proposals. Here’s the rail boss whose name we still remember 50 years on, explaining his axe.

Weejot Donate to give charities a mobile boost

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The launch of Weejot Donate

Jadu CEO Suraj Kika explains Weejot Donate at today’s launch

The smartphone has changed our lives. We shop, share and pay on the go. And we’re increasingly giving to charity on our mobile and tablet – with almost 60 per cent of PayPal donations to this year’s Comic Relief Red Nose Day being made in this way.

Today’s launch of Weejot Donate will make it far easier for charities of all sizes to take mobile donations. It allows them to create ‘web apps’ – apps that are just as easy to use as apps made specially for platforms like iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) and Android, but run in the web browser on almost any device. This means a charity’s supporters don’t need to download anything. And the good cause can create a personalised app in under an hour, with no technical expertise. They can even let donors to share news of their contributions on social networks.

The service has been created by Weejot, Jadu‘s web app publishing service, with PayPal enabling its fast, secure donation payments. Alzheimer’s Society is the first charity to create apps using Weejot Donate.

You can find out more at Weejot.com. And Jadu’s chief executive Suraj Kika has blogged about it here. (Suraj created an app in three minutes at today’s launch in Westminster.)

PS: I was intrigued to learn from Alzheimer’s Society’s Liz Monks that many people with Alzheimer’s use Facebook to keep track of family and friends. As Liz observed, it’s remarkable that a social network created for students is now helping alleviate some of the effects of dementia.

Disclosure: I am head of PR for PayPal UK.

Looe landslip tragedy was in our 1976 holiday home

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Our holiday home - scene of March 2013 landslip tragedy

Our 1970s Looe holiday home – scene of March 2013 landslip tragedy (with roof windows: photo: Feb 2006)

The news that a home in Looe, Cornwall had been struck by a landslide was a shock. Karen and I have spent several happy holidays in Looe, including Owen’s very first vacation. But it was the photo on the BBC news website that stopped me in my tracks. I recognised it instantly: it was our 1970s holiday home in Sandplace Road.

We spent many happy hours there, including a fortnight in the glorious heatwave summer of 1976 after my sister’s wedding. That’s where we watched the BBC Sailor fly-on-the-wall series about HMS Ark Royal, Britain’s last ‘proper’ aircraft carrier. (And, if memory isn’t playing tricks, ITV’s Bill Brand drama about a Labour MP.) We went fishing for mackerel in Looe Bay, leaving Mum to gut the fish in the small kitchen in the flat. We loved the view over the East Looe River towards the Mill Pool. And, as a 1970s school boy, I made Airfix kits there: HMS Victory, the RAF emergency, refuelling and recovery sets (still being sold almost four decades later) and (again, this was the 1970s!) the Austin Maxi.

We first stayed in Sandplace Road 40 years ago in the spring of1973. The flats were run by Mrs Pearce. I wasn’t pleased as I wanted to go to Newquay, which looked much more interesting than Looe. (Thanks to a more impressive brochure.) But I came to love Looe, with its fascinating history, its small streets, beautiful rivers and compact beach. Our first visits were in the rooftop flat (with the distinctive windows), but later on we stayed in the main floor flat. I remember a very steep set of steps up the hill to St Martin’s Road.

When Karen and I stayed in Looe years later, we stayed at Barclay House on St Martin’s Road, run by the wonderful Nick and Kelli Barclay, who now run Blue Plate Restaurant in Downderry. (Another place with 1976 memories: I spend endless hours that summer paddling my rubber dinghy on the river at Seaton, which was then dammed to make a pool.)

This weekend, Looe is mourning Susan Norman, who died in the landslip at her home – our 1970s holiday home. A sad story to mingle with all those happy memories.

In praise of Great Missenden’s Roald Dahl museum

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Willy Wonka wall

Willy Wonka wall

Roald Dahl was a wonderful storyteller. Over 20 years after his death, millions of children and adults still love his tales of the unexpected. So it’s no surprise that the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in Great Missenden is so popular.

It’s a wonderful place, with storytelling sessions, displays telling Dahl’s life story and even a wall with fighter planes screaming across the sky. (Dahl was a pilot in the second world war, and was badly injured when he crashed in the desert.)

I’ve always had a soft spot for Roald Dahl. He was born in my own home town, Cardiff, growing up in Llandaff. He was christened in Cardiff’s Norwegian church in 1916. His stories are dark rather than sugary confections. Great Missenden has done him proud.

Measuring up against the BFG

Measuring up against the BFG

See my earlier post about the museum here.

Six Nations Champions: Wales smash England

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Six Nations Champions

Six Nations Champions

England entered Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on the brink of winning a grand slam. They left with their dreams in tatters after Wales destroyed the old enemy * in one of the finest displays ever from a Welsh team.

A Welsh victory seemed likely after England’s deeply unconvincing victory over Italy last Sunday. But few could have imagined that we’d win by a 27 point margin.

Wales may not have won a grand slam today. (The opening half against Ireland ensured that wasn’t to be.) But it felt as good as a slam: our most convincing win ever against England; the first time we have retained the championship since 1979; and the most enthralling game in years.

The only disappointment? I didn’t have any Brains SA in the house to toast an amazing victory.

Cymru am byth!

* Note to English wife and friends: ‘old enemy’ is a term of endearment. We’re the best of friends and neighbours. We forgive you for Edward I, the imposed act of union, the Welsh Not and much more…

PS: credit to BBC Wales for its witty rebranding of BBC One (below) to mark our famous victory….

BBC Won Wales

BBC Won Wales

Pope Francis and the Falklands

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The election of Argentina’s Jorge Mario Bergoglio as Pope Francis has been seen by many as good news, as the world’s largest church chooses a non European leader for the first time in a millennium. But Bergoglio’s election has been met with misgivings in the Falkland Islands, as the new pope has supported Argentina’s claim to their homeland.

It’s not the first time the papacy has been entwined in the Falklands controversy. Back in 1982, Pope John Paul II’s impending visit to Britain coincided with Argentina’s invasion of the islands. As a result, the pope was forced to pay a ‘balancing’ visit to Argentina.

PS: read my post on the Falklands War, 30 years on. 

EE 4G: so far, so good

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As I blogged on Saturday, I’ve just joined the 4G revolution with a Huawei E539 mifi device from EE. I was very keen to give it a test drive.

So far, so good, although I can’t say I’ve been overwhelmed – so far. I’ve not noticed a transformed experience compared with my Three 3G service. And EE’s website claim that they have 4G coverage in my street and the surrounding area proved plain wrong.

I shouldn’t be too harsh. You can see from the speed test below that EE was dramatically better than Three’s 3G service in London’s Green Park yesterday. (The top two results in the screenshot.) EE 4G scored 8.30 Mbps compared with Three’s 0.80 Mbps. And just look at the upload speed: an impressive 12.82 Mbps. I can’t dispute the figures; it’s just that I’ve not yet noticed a wild difference in my day to day online experience on the go. I’ll let you know if that changes after I’ve given it a more comprehensive test drive.

EE speed test: 8.30Mbps v 0.80Mbps on 3G

EE speed test: 8.30Mbps v 0.80Mbps on 3G

London Web Summit: Britain, the world’s internet capital

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Quite an entrance: the London Web Summit

Quite an entrance: the London Web Summit

Friday’s London Web Summit in London was an eye-opener. The most striking contributor was Saul Klein from Index Ventures, a major UK tech investor. Klein pointed out that Britain has the world’s largest internet-based economy by population. The UK’s digital businesses now make up 8 per cent of the economy. He added that London is the world’s top English language city on Facebook.

But he argued that the British government and too many UK companies aren’t doing enough to understand and embrace the online revolution. He pointed to Kodak and HMV as examples of brands that had been destroyed by their failure to come to terms with the internet. Klein said that the media and retail industries aren’t dying – they’re just changing. Smart brands recognise this and embrace change.

Mashery‘s Oren Michels also shared some striking trends. While mobile is booming, the growth in usage is in apps, not mobile browsing. (Mobile web traffic actually fell last year.)

It was intriguing to watch Wall Street Journal Europe’s Ben Rooney interviewing Mike Lynch, the former chief executive of Autonomy, bought by HP for $10 billion in 2011. The deal has become hugely controversial after HP’s new chief executive Meg Whitman accused Autonomy of inflating its earnings. Lynch told Rooney that HP, the UK’s financial reporting regulator and the US financial regulator have not been in touch over the issue.

PayPal's John Lunn at London Web Summit

PayPal’s John Lunn at London Web Summit

Few tech events these days are complete without a discussion of payments, and John Lunn from PayPal took part in a discussion panel with Stripe‘s Patrick Collison and Sebastian Siemiatkowski from Klarna. John announced that PayPal was making available APIs for PayPal Here, enabling developers to create opportunities from the face to face payment service, which is being launched in Britain this summer. He also reminded us that 2016 is likely to be the year that you won’t need a wallet to go shopping on the UK high street – a smartphone or tablet will be enough.

Finally, it was good to hear from Matt Mullenweg, the co-founder of WordPress.com, given that I joined WordPress last year.

Disclosure: I’m head of PR for PayPal UK.

How to open EE Huawei E589 web management page

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As I blogged earlier, I’ve just joined the 4G revolution with a Huawei E589 4G mifi device from EE.

The device is a lot bigger than my Three 3G Huawei E586, but opens up the possibility of superfast mobile internet.

The first thing I wanted to do was to change the device’s SSID (the name it broadcasts) and network key (password). To do this, I had to access a web management page. According to the Huawei E589 user guide, this involves typing http://192.168.1.1 into your web browser.

This didn’t work for me, on a 2012 MacBook Pro or 2007 HP Windows laptop.

Then I cracked it. I switched my laptop’s wifi connection from my home broadband’s wifi router to the mifi. (The mifi was connected to the laptop by USB cable.) I then typed the web management address, above. This opened the web management page. I was able to change the SSID and network key to something more meaningful.

It’s a shame that the E589 doesn’t come with any instructions. Or that the online manual is far from clear. I hope this post will help you get started.