Wednesday 24 April 2024

BEESTON DAYS OUT BANNER FROM 2019

 Back in the summer of of 2019 I created the banner you can see below based on what I call a 'worm map'. I still like it and would like to create an updated version when I can find the time. Since 2019 we have had two lockdowns and I have had numerous bouts of serious illness and hospitalisation (six times in the 12 months up to my 79th birthday in May last year).

I am pleased to say that I have been getting steadily better ever since, but I am now a half-day person at the best of times and for my 80th birthday, now just three weeks away, I am trying to decide what I want to prioritise during the next decade of my life because there is so much I would love the time and energy to do!

Having started posting again, I hope to manage one post a week from now on. Fingers crossed!


Regards Robert Howard, 24 April 2024

One Lucky old/Octogenarian Bunny🐰

CLICK ON THE MAP TO ENLARGE...





BeestonDestinations Map updated for summer 2024 plus new draft railway cube/map

BeestonDestinations Map updated

I have been working on this update for a while and it will appear, I hope, as a centre spread in the summer edition of our local streetmag, The Beestonian.

The map comes in two halves: inside and out, and folds into A6 pocket size. 

This is the only local transport map of its kind for several reasons:

1. It includes all operators and all bus routes.

2. You can tell how frequently roads are served by their             colours.

3. You can see at a glance a list of destinations served and the time journeys take, as well as their frequency.

4. I describe it as 'spider map'* because this is the only way the map is able to contain as much information as it does on a A4 sheet of paper (it has been created A3 size, which is how it will appear in The Beestonian).

I also have 'BeestonEveningDestinations' and 'BeestonSundayDestinations' maps which I will post before too long and create separate banners for. Right now planting runner beans and other vegetables has first call on my time.

NOTE.* This kind of map first appeared in London in 2002 and can now be seen at bus stops across London, especially, where routes meet at locations such as hospitals, town centres and railway stations.

My version of spider map is a cross between three kinds of maps: geographic around Beeston, then becoming schematic (you could describe it as 'simplified geography') before becoming diagrammatic at the edge.



I am planning to take a banner version of this and a couple of other public transport maps onto Beeston High Road during the summer.

The idea is to create a 'talking point', where passers-by will stop to look and chat, sharing memories etc. It is something which I have done in partnership with Beeston Civic Society at local events with some success.

I came to the conclusion that the railway lines serving Beeston Station needed their own map, which I actually designed as a cube (I did my first London Underground cube as long ago as 2017). It will easily covert to being a map. It has yet to be finalised because there have been news reports of changes to East Midlands railway services, but it is a good as ready to go and. 

In the meantime  hope you find these maps of interest.

Regards Robert Howard🐰, 24 April 2024