Lockdown day #80

The birds woke me up very early - and I got up at 5.30am!  It was tipping down with rain too, grrr.

I received in the post the latest Stedsure Magazine.  I have e-mailed the editor with an article for the next edition (let's see if it goes in!).

I met up with my friend Dave and we went for a 4.7 km (2.9 miles) walk through Queens Park, Woodlands and Lower Crumpsall.  Very nice it was too.

I then did some research for a book

I should have been going to the theatre tonight to see a play called "Romeo and Julie" (obviously based on Shakespeare's play of a similar name).  It was, of course, cancelled due to this COVID-19.

Instead I downloaded an ebook on Blackpool's trams and did some editing on LibraryThing.

The road to 2013 part I

Nearly 50 years ago I was born in a suburb of Manchester called Ancoats, in the then Crossley Hospital.  The Crossley Hospital was run by the Salvation Army and its primary function was as a hospital for unmarried mothers.  My mother was married; but since she was a Salvation Army officer she gave birth to me in a private ward containing the "Officers' Bed".

This a picture of the Star Hall, one of the main Salvation Army meeting places in Manchester at the time.  The complex, which was originally a theatre, housed in addition to the Crossley Hospital, the main worship hall and the northern office of "Trade" (the Salvation Army shop).

The second picture is the site today, albeit from a different angle.  The tram in the picture is running past Crossley Court, a Salvation Army Housing Association development built on the site.

There is no blue plaque at this location commemorating my birth ... at least not yet.

Timeline Friday 26 July - Visit to Sheffield

After work I got the train to Sheffield.  I inadvertently caught the "stopping train", calling at Ashburys, Reddish North and ALL stations to Sheffield.  As far as New Mills Central the train was packed, mostly with commuters.  I got what seemed to be the last seat, and still they poured on to the train. 

Anyway we arrived in Sheffield and I thought, in my naivety, that I would catch the tram down to where James lives.  BIG MISTAKE!  I went to the tram stop for the station to be directed to catch a tram to Castle Square (in the other direction) where helpful staff would be there to direct me to the rail replacement service to Spring Lane, whereupon the trams would carry me to Gleadless Townhead and then another rail replacement to Herdings.  Firstly the ticket conductor let me pay £2.20 (which is a reasonable fare) and gave me my change, but no ticket.  On alighting at Castle Square I eventually got my ticket, but there were no "helpful staff", and the replacement buses were the other side of a busy city street.  I got the replacement bus and we journeyed to Spring Lane.  On the way the buses passed the front of the city railway station - so why were we directed to Castle Square to get the replacement bus, and not directed to the front of the station for the replacement bus??

When we got there, there was a further trek up hill to the Spring Lane tram stop.  No Supertram staff were there to assist or help and I had to reply on fellow travellers.  We got to the tram stop and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited.  Then the replacement buses actually went physically past the tram stop (which prompts the question why we couldn't have let off AT the stop, rather than having to trek up hill to it).

Eventually the tram deigned to appear and a few stops later we were the Gleadless Townhead.  No replacement buses to Herdings were in evidence, no Supertram staff to guide travellers to them - nothing - dumping people at the tram stop without any information.  Very helpful!  I did pop to the shop to get some milk and stuff, and then walked to James's house, which took about 30 minutes (thankfully downhill). 

The journey from Sheffield station took me over an hour and a half; its no way to run a tram service.