All aboard for an English hobby

We English tolerate a lot of eccentricity. Train spotters perhaps get a hard time, but what about Train collectors ? Well I spend yesterday looking over such a collection at Mangapps near Burnham-on-Crouch run by the Jolly family.

In the words of its own web site

Mangapps Railway Museum is a privately owned working museum established on a farm at Burnham on Crouch, Essex. It features a mile standard gauge passenger carrying line, with restored stations, signal boxes and ancillary equipment removed from various sites throughout East Anglia.

To operate the line the Museum has 10 steam and diesel locomotives and over 80 carriages and wagons, some of considerable historic and technical interest.

What I really like about this sort of place is the open enthusiast nature, much like the Brookland's Museum conveys.

If you live in Essex then its a good Sunday afternoon out option. As ever the polish and "visitor centre" sheen is missing - but that's really the charm and perhaps part of the point.

It equally alarming to see items I've used - like platform ticket vendor machines - now in a museum !

PS Note you'll most likely need a car if your a family - its not easily walkable from the the railway station at Burnham-on-Crouch.


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Essex prepares ....

Busy day today, so I refer you to Jeff Randall in today's Telegraph for an analysis of the news soon to be delivered from Essex man.

As I pointed out earlier in some parts of Essex Labour is being pushed into 4th place behind the English Dems and Lib Dems - with the Conservative vote heading in by the ton.

Essex is the home of the can do attitude in this country. When I brought my then fiancée (now wife) down from Scotland I tried pointing out to her how every house was different on the streets as we approached my old home in Rayleigh. Why ? Because everyone had put their mark on their house - extensions, drives, you name it people did it. The results may look a little chaotic, but they display a strong streak of individual self reliance and personal pride.

Well Essex man is now smelling bullshit - and its coming from No10 - expect an appropriate and forthright response.

The political tide in Essex ?

As I mentioned in the last post I'm on a visit to my former home town in Essex. Today the family went out for a day out at "Tropical wings" (www.tropicalwings.co.uk) near Battlebridge, and fantastic family trip out with a range of creatures from butterflies to a falcon that flew of during the flying display and didn't seem very keen on returning. (The keepers will track him via a radio transmitter - so he knows how the rest of s are going to feel once ID cards come in).

Back at home I'm looking at the Yellow Advertiser and an interesting article on local politics. What strikes me as an occasional visitor is how the Lib Dems have just died off over here.

Take the local elections here are the number of candidates for each party for Rochford district council elections:

Conservative 15
Lib Dem 6
Lab 6
UKIP 1
Greens 3
English Democrats 5
BNP 1
Ind 1

Two of the Conservatives are already elected as their seats are uncontested. The Lb Dems ad Labour never stand in the sae wards - so the usual collusion there then. But the big surprise s the English Democrats putting up a major effort.

Essex should be fertile ground for the English Democrats. I've seen many St George's flags in evidence and no Union flags. People round here like to work for a living and are not impressed by the money being sent to Labour's client states in Scotland and Wales.

It will be intresting to watch the results as a growing English political dimension presents a special challange to the Conservative party.