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

This blog posts dates from 31 January 2014. It will be ten years since in a month’s time. I have walked the Erewash Canal a few times since and I am planning to do so again during 2014, together with the Nottingham Tram and my beloved 35 Nottingham City Transport History Bus. I will be 80 in May and I want this collection to be a marker of mine, about what I love about where I live and what I love about life. It is all here.

 

This blog posts dates from 31 January 2014. It will be ten years since in a month’s time. I have walked the Erewash Canal a few times since and I am planning to do so again during 2014, together with the Nottingham Tram and my beloved 35 Nottingham City Transport History Bus. I will be 80 in May and I want this collection to be a marker of mine, about what I love about where I live and what I love about life. It is all here.

 In January 2014 we were still living on Devonshire Promenade in Lenton, our last cat, Markeza, having died in October, three months before, which prompted our decision to move to Beeston or Chilwell, and to look for a new home somewhere along the line of the Nottingham Tram of the Toton Lane extension, which was then under construction. We found our house in Beeston Fields the day before my 70th birthday, in the middle of May, after several failed attempts elsewhere. In the event, the gods were taking care of us and we have been happy in our new home since the day we moved in in November 2014. My map isn’t bad, but it doesn’t show Trent-Barton’s ‘My Local Fifteen’ bus route, which weaves in and out of the Erewash Canal between Gallows Inn and Tamworth Road. My 2024 map will correct the omission (as a fewer other maps have already done).

Erewash days of delight

I spent over half my life crossing the Erewash valley without even knowing its name as anything other than that of a borough council or a river; somewhere to be crossed when going to and from other places. Long Eaton and Sandiacre were not more than names. Ilkeston I knew because of the Co-op and the town's lovely museum.

Eastwood is also part of the Erewash valley, even though it is in Nottinghamshire, so it is a town I know a little better, as much for its D H Lawrence Birthplace Museum as anything else.

The River Erewash forms part of the boundary between Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire and I knew about the Erewash Canal because I crossed it so many times on trips to Derby or Ripley and saw it from a bus at the point where the Tamworth Road and Canal run alongside one another as you leave Long Eaton heading towards Sawley and Castle Donington.

 A Skylink bus approaching Long Eaton town centre along the Tamworth Road, which for about half-a-mile runs alongside the Erewash Canal, on its way to Nottingham.

I always wanted to walk the Erewash Canal – something I finally managed in 2012 and 2013. Walking its seventeen miles  gave me a whole new appreciation of the Erewash valley and its importance. I did my walk in four chunks and have been back since on a couple of occasions. I am in process of creating a separate Erewash page and have created the map beliw to show how easy it is to reach from Nottingham and the buses you can catch. All run frequently, except the 20 (Sundays only) and the 21 (Monday–Saturday). These buses run every sixty minutes.

The northern end of the Erewash Canal at Langley Mill, where it joins the Cromford Canal. It also used to be where the Nottingham Canal ended.

The southern end of the Erewash Canal at Trent Lock, where it joins the River Trent. in the background you can see Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station. To see more photographs and information about the Canal, go to the Erewash Canal page in the left-hand column.

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Box cube template and instructions

I met a lady in a cafe in Nottingham city centre who was creating embroidery patterns and we got chatting. I promised to share my cube box template with her and that I would do it here. I had thought about selling the cube template but I don't want the hassle at my age (79) of dealing with the Inland Revenue — hence my decision to make the template freely available. Robert Howard🐰

NOTE: Each full square is 8x8cm. laid out A3.

Full Nottingham City Centre map is not all on the Nottingham Cube for space reasons.

 The Nottingham Cube goes no further south than Nottingham Railway Station:

The original Cube extends further south and includes The Meadows and small parts of Wilford and West Bridgford on the south bank of the River Trent:

CLICK ON THE MAPS TO ENLARGE.

Three cube boxes for you to see.

The past year has been less than kind to me healthwise,which explains why there have been no posts. I now describe myself as 'a half-day person' full of good intent but not the energy to do all I want to do after I have undertaken my 'chores'. On the plus side I have updated my first ever cube, which was of Nottingham City Centre in 2017, and added two more: the Beeston and London (Underground) cubes:

They are all on sale in Plane Tree, a not for profit arts and crafts gallery/shop, on Beeston High Road (https://planetreenotts.com). I print and make the cubes in return for £1 to cover part of my costs, as I have no desire to have the taxman knocking on my front door. Coming up to 80, I do not want the hassle!

The London 1960 Cube is coming any day now

A quick post to share a box making project not involving a bus! This time it’s a map and it is a few days away from completion. My first cube map dates back to 2017, but it was less than perfect. Recently I made a cube map of Beeston open gardens and, by chance, realised how I could create a cube map of the London railways I knew and used in the fifties and sixties before leaving Wembley for Birmingham in 1969, arriving in Lenton in Nottingham ten years later, where I have lived ever since.

This cube map is about the world I grew up in and fell in love a few times, went to work in, all with the help of London Transport. More later. In the meantime, a teaser to look at:

P.S. The story of these years can be found on another blog of mine at:

mywembley.blogspot.com

Beeston Fields has it only little map. complete with bus info

 This small A5 landscape map first saw light of day in early-2019 and a few things have changed since then. Not least, the Beeston Fields Estate has lost its Monday-Saturday half-hourly bus service into Beeston town centre. Now we have just three journeys each way on Mondays and Thursdays, thanks to local government budget cuts.

I live in Beeston Fields, so know the estate quite well. I use the post office on Central Avenue when I need one and I visit The DoughMother Bakery and Café every week for a few hours to read and write. I also walk around Beeston Fields Recreation Ground regularly. 

It's a friendly estate and even with our regular estate bus, we are no more than ten minutes walk from high frequency bus services along the Derby and Woodside roads, and the town centre is just as close and, there, we can catch the tram as well. 

Nottingham City Centre is, even with the walk, within 35 minutes if you don't have to with for a bus and Derby City Centre is an hour away door-to-door. In other words, Beeston Fields is a good place to live.

Anyway, here is my update map. None of the shops on Central Avenue have changed since 2019 with the exception of one closure. It's much the same at the Priory Island shops.

The map has been designed so to is easy to read and there is a folded postcard in the process of being prepared for printing. I'm just waiting for an advert.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE.

 

I am a lover of trees and I have an image in my head of Nottingham City Transport's 36 bus and Trent-Barton Indigo travelling along a corridor of trees as they travel through Beeston. I hope the attached will tell you more:

The first image is of a banner being made for me for two events in Beeston later this month. Once I have more details I will share them with you. The second and thirds images are two sides of a leaflet which will accompany the banner when it is on display and, finally, an enlarged version of the sketch map I originally created in June 2020.

I describe my vision 'Creating Green Corridors'. Click on each image in turn to enlarge. I also hope to take them into Beeston High Road when there are nice days. Just turn up and pull up my banner with a small table for my leaflets.

 

The historic Bennerley (railway) Viaduct sandwiched between two canals

Well, posting a map has taken a little longer than I intended but a lot has happened — two eye cataract operations within four weeks of another at short notice. I have for several months been having problems with my vision and I finally went to my optician two months ago as good as, who told me I had a cataract on my left eye and wrote to my GP. Within three days I was invited to attend a pre-op appointment and I had the operation a fortnight later. The surgeon told me that there was a cataract on my right eye as well and I was offered a cancellation three weeks after my left eye was done. It still isn't a fortnight since my second op, but I have had a post-op check and told I now have 20-20 vision and all I needed was a pair of reading glasses, so here I am back at the computer and the map completed.

I have created the map so that it can easily be captured and printed off. I have just done it and have a perfectly readable A4 page in front of me. If you can find the leaflets referred to, then great, but you don't need them. There is plenty of signage along the Erewash Canal and by Bennerley Viaduct.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE.

For the moment just enjoy the pics (yet to be put in geographical order) and explore the weblink with The Friends of Bennerley Viaduct. 

A map showing frequent Trent-Barton daily bus links and my text will follow on Saturday, other than to say Susan and I took our first walk across Bennerley Viaduct yesterday after years of seeing it from the Erewash and abandoned Nottingham canals. Thanks to FoBV it has recently opened as a foot and cycle path.

Three cheers to Nottingham City Transport for spreading a little seasonal goodness

 Here I am a couple of days after taking delivery of two masks, a book and seasonal wrapping paper I bought from Nottingham City Transport, which they are selling to raise money for local NHS staff and patients.

The wrapping paper has already been put to good use, wrapping Christmas presents. The labels were made at home by Susan and printed on 220gsm white card.

Here is a link to the NCT website news story about the masks, book and wrapping paper: https://www.nctx.co.uk/read-all-about-it-nct-branded-face-coverings-and-book-written-nct-customers-sale-raise-money-local

A great idea. I wish them well. I also love the fact that Buster is back again. I still think he makes a great logo, despite being close to 40 years old. Here's Buster earning his keep on the front of my favourite NCT Route Map and Pocket Guide, dated October 1983 (click on the images to enlarge):

Perhaps next year NCT will create a fundraising 'Santa Bus', which will spend time on all the routes, collecting the wishes of passengers young and old and, perhaps, helping to deliver donated gifts to those who do not have a chimney for Santa to use. A few of his reindeer on the front and along the sides, plus his sleigh of course. I can't wait...!

In the meantime, enjoy the next few days as best you can in these difficult times. I am of an age when I tend to remember those no longer with us, who shared their happiness with me, and try to do the same.

Take care and thanks again to Nottingham City Transport for their generosity.

Bus Christmas cards

Every Christmas we get a few bus cards from family and friends. This year it has been nos. 2 and 3 below. The top one is from 2016 and is stuck to the wall by my desk at home and is my favourite to date. It's a scene c.1950 and that probably explains why. In those days there was more snow about and whilst I can't remember Christmas street decorations in Wembley I do remember going 'into town' (ie. London) to see the Christmas lights.

I would love to see Christmas bus cards like this for Nottingham and other cities. Maybe 2020 will be the year. In the meantime enjoy looking at the cards I have found together with the ones I already have.

You can find this card on the web (click here).

You can find this card on the web too (click here).

This is one I rather like, but that's the London Transport bus nerd in me. For the record is probably meant to be RT1, which entered service in 1939 but never on route 164A. For some of us with an interest in London buses, the RT trumps the RM Routemaster for its importance and comfort. You can find this on e-bay if you click here.

This one is captured from the Cards for Good Causes website (click link here).

The cards below have all been captured from the web today using 'Christmas Xmas bus card' for my search. There is not a single non-London card, this I find a little disappointing but I know from making bus boxes to take to local history fairs in Nottingham and near-by Mansfield, my London bus boxes go a lot quicker than my Nottingham City Transport and Trent-Barton bus boxes/

The similarity between these two cards is striking. In the absence of having them in my hand I can only wonder where they have been painted/creasted by the same artist/graphic designer?

And, finally, part of another Christmas card I found on the web, which you can buy. Click here for more details 

Of scenes outside London, there are a few showing my beloved trolleybuses and if you are looking for transport cards with a difference, then look no further than this link.

So, why not go in search of bus cards and see what you can find. You may well do better than me.

More Conservative promises which are not what the headline suggests

Barely a week ago this was what the Conservatives (and other political parties) said about public transport when I posted this summary from the BBC News website:



Today BBC News is running a story headlined 'Conservatives pledge £4.2bn for trains, buses and trams'.

Er, not until 2022! The report reads
The Conservatives have promised £4.2bn of new spending on local train, bus and tram services if they win the 12 December general election. The party said the cash, which would become available from 2022, would help fund transport projects outside London. 
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said it would transform services "in towns and cities across the country". 

The Conservatives are banking on the fact that come 2022 this belated £4.2bn public transport pledge will have long been forgotten by the muppets who voted for them. 

This is the political party with the slogan 'Let's get Brexit done'. A great many people believe if the Conservatives win we will leave the EU on 31 January 2020. NO WE WON'T! We'll be lucky to leave by the end of 2020.

Present-day Conservatives have no interest in public transport other than what profits it can make for their big business/corporate backers. Once it was very different. They created many of the municipal bus and tram systems in England, Scotland and Wales in the late-19th/early-20th centuries before the Labour Party existed. This is something you can read about in an earlier blog posted by me, headed: Take the slow bus no more dated 14 August 2019.

The Conservatives used to believe in and understand why public utilities exist to serve all us. Not any more. This makes me sad. They would be a better, and more acceptable, party if they could recapture some of the historic decency they once had.