A brush with a Brian Rix-type farce

I use eBay quite a lot and rarely have any issues with it, but I have to relate this, with hindsight, quite ridiculous story. I know some folks really despise eBay but I’ve never fathomed why.

 

A few weeks back I ordered a set of 10 small modelling paint brushes, but only one of the set arrived through my letter box a few days later. I contacted the seller to tell them what had happened and that the packaging was intact so the other 9 brushes could not have fallen out. I even told them which of the individually numbered brushes I actually received. Of course, I asked them to send me the other 9 brushes.

The response was simply that what was dispatched to me was what I ordered. I pointed out in return that what I ordered was 10 paint brushes but only one had arrived. I got no further response.

So what next? A grumble to eBay which a few days later ended up with them telling me that the seller had informed them that I’d got what I ordered so no refund was due to me.

I appealed, pointing out, again, that I only received 1 of the 10 paint brushes, that I didn’t want a refund, I just wanted the seller to send me the other 9.

eBay then came back to me saying I was due a refund (what I’d specifically NOT asked for) and that I’d soon get a pre-paid return address label to send the one paint brush I actually held back! By my calculations I then had no paint brushes at all!

The label arrived and the single brush was despatched back to the seller. But why did the seller want a single brush back, when they could have spent the postage sending me the other 9 brushes? It’s been a brush with a mad, mad world, but at least I got a refund for the 10 paint brushes that I've now had to order from another eBay seller..

*****

For the youngsters amongst you Brian Rix was an actor-manager, who produced a record-breaking sequence of long-running farces on the London stage. I think he’d be proud of my little farce.

 

Why trams won’t be appearing in Liverpool

No, don’t worry, this is not another rehearsal of why ‘Merseytram’ failed back in the early 2000’s. That one has done the rounds probably too many times!

 

Back when the Tories were in power (pre June 2024) they allocated money to Liverpool City Region for transport infrastructure improvements and Labour has, in effect, confirmed that chunk of money. As any Merseysider will know the money is in significant part to pay for buses dressed up as trams and they’ll be running, we’re told, to Liverpool (John Lennon) Airport. Readers with longer memories will recall the first ‘Merseytram’ line was NOT going to go to Liverpool Airport and that caused quite a stink back then. So the City Region leaders knew what would happen if they talked about any new transport infrastructure without making an airport link, from the city centre, a priority.

Bendy-Buses!

Why not resurrect the tram scheme and build the first line to……. well you know where? Well, what they actually came up with were ‘Bendy-Buses/Boris-type Buses/Gliders’ (there may well be more names for them but I’ll omit the rude ones), in effect buses dressed up as trams and it seems our Labour gov’ confirmed the money could be spent on them. So, I guess, we’ll be getting them at some point.

Tram Raid

But why no trams? I’d always thought that the Tory and now Labour governments would be reluctant to fund trams in Liverpool/Merseyside due to cost and maybe the political hang-over from the ‘Merseytram’ demise. I had no evidence of this but felt that was the situation. Then Private Eye No.1672 (3^rd to 16^th April) dropped through my letter box and bingo on page 17 under its ‘Signal Failures’ column my thoughts were effectively confirmed under the heading ‘Tram Raid’.

West Yorks shunted back into sidings

Yes, that article is actually all about the farce over in West Yorkshire where their long promised tram/light rail system has been given more green then red lights than you could shake a stick at. And yes, of course, it’s been kicked back into the long political grass once again. But it’s the reason why it’s been kicked into the long grass that links to Liverpool City Region not proposing a tram system. You see it’s the words ‘might not be trams after all’ and ‘check whether [wait for it] buses would be more viable’ in that Private Eye article that made the penny drop for me. In essence Liverpool City Region was almost certainly told, by the last Tory government, don’t ask for a tram system as we won’t fund it and despite Labour coming to power in June 2024 the ‘advice’ has still been the same.

No Merseytram II

So now I think we know why Liverpool City Region leaders put in a transport bid for bendy-buses when, like West Yorks, local folk were fully expecting Merseytram II to be proposed by our local leaders. They didn’t bid for what they knew we all wanted/needed on Merseyside because they’d been told not to bother and they didn’t want to end up in the eternal shall we/shan’t we position that poor old West Yorks is in! Pragmatic, you could say, but my feeling is that settling for 3^rd best in a contest where trams were both number 1 and 2 could well come back to haunt Liverpool/Merseyside Labour leaders.

                                             What Liverpool won't be getting - 

A Geater Manchester Metro tram in Rochdale

 

 

Why are Lycra* wearing cyclists so upsetting?

Being a lefty Liberal, an atheist, a cyclist and a railway enthusiast means I understand what it’s like to be in a minority. I’ve never wanted to follow any crowd (Andy Burnham’s a crowd follower to me), to fit in, to keep up with the Jones’s etc. etc.

 

 

So what’s this odd rant all about then? Well, whilst I’m pretty much opposed to banning many things (because we Liberal’s don’t really do that sort of thing) I’m starting to worry about those who seem to get quite upset over cyclists wearing Lycra. When throwing insults at cyclists, usually on Facebook, keyboard warriors feel the need to do so by referencing what some in the cycling fraternity wear i.e. Lycra-type clothes.

Whilst not being a Lycra wearer when cycling I do see other cyclists with such get-ups on and yes older men, with a beer belly, can look, how should I say, interesting! But why does this bother many non-cycling people to the point where they feel the need to say ‘Lycra wearing cyclists’ as though what others wear is anything they need to be concerned about? Would it maybe help those who find cyclists wearing this type of garment upsetting if they averted their gaze?

But is it actually the type of material used to make cycling garments that those opposed to it are really upset about? Could it be that, in reality, they just dislike cyclists wearing bright colours? I wear bright colours when cycling so that I’m more easily seen by vehicle drivers; so it’s a safety thing to me. However, I once had a conversation with someone who disliked cycling who told me that cyclists wearing ordinary clothes are OK, or words to that effect. This may, in a non-scientific way, back up my mad theory that it’s the bright colours not the Lycra which some non-cyclists find upsetting.

 

Taking this theme a bit further, my observations tell me that cyclists not wearing bright clothing (usually black/dark clothes) are more likely to cycle on pavements. Now, don’t get me started about cycling on pavements! I view it as I do parking vehicles on pavements i.e. it gets me as irrational as folks who’re upset over ‘Lycra wearing cyclists’.

So why this rant now? Well, across the country councils are installing many new cycling paths and there’s nothing which seems to annoy folks more than improved cycling facilities on our highways. ‘Waste of money’, ‘no one will use them’, ‘use the money to fix pot-holes instead’, ‘I’ve only ever seen one cyclist using that new cycle path’ etc. etc. Oh, and yes, the anti-cycling rants often reference ‘Lycra wearing cyclists, or in the case of new cycling infrastructure the perceived lack of them.

Now, of course, all the money being spent (it’s actually not much in the great scheme of things) is an investment in the future. Many people who don’t cycle would do if they felt safer, so build safer cycling facilities on our highways and the theory is that the trend will turn from from petrol-heading to cycling, at least for shorter journeys. There’s not going to be a massive rush to get a pushbike, for every few hundred yards of new cycle path constructed. That won’t happen until we achieve a significantly improved safer cycling network across the country.

 

 

And yes, of course, some folks will always oppose cycling possibly on the basis that they don’t/won’t do it and for the life of them can’t see why anyone else could or would. Oh, and one final thing – as I often say, bad drivers make bad cyclists and bad cyclists make……… you get my drift I’m sure.

All driving age cyclists I know carry insurance and they’re also vehicle drivers, in case you may be wondering

*Lycra is a premier brand of spandex or elastane fiber known for exceptional stretch, recovery, and durability. As a synthetic polyether-polyurea copolymer, it is used extensively in activewear, swimwear, dancewear, and compression garments to provide a close fit, comfort, and freedom of movement. 

 

Carney seems to be everything Starmer is not

When you watch and listen to Canadian Prime Minister, now effectively leader of the West, Mark Carney you can’t but think that this guy knows what he’s doing, why he’s doing it and that he explains things well.

Carney comes across as confident and that he’s someone you can trust to get difficult jobs done. Let’s face it Canada is suffering the effects of Trumpism like no other country*, but instead of allowing themselves to be bullied Canadians, led by Carney, are digging in and fighting Trump every inch of the way, so it seems.

The UK meanwhile suffers from a significant lack of confidence in the government of Kier Starmer. Elected in June 2024, it seems to sway from one crisis to another, with U-turns in policy becoming commonplace. Attempts to creep around Trump have been excruciating at best and Brits really don’t know what Starmer’s plan is, because he’s never outlined one and may not even have one.

Carney and Starmer are chalk and cheese politically, despite both of them probably being decent human beings trying to do extremely difficult jobs.

So why are the two of them viewed so very differently? Carney, whilst being an economist running the Bank of Canada and Bank of England, has clearly got how politics works, probably because he’d done business with so many leading politicians in his previous life. Starmer, on the other hand, was effectively plucked from his legal background, without those promoting him, seemingly realising that he was significantly lacking in political acumen and goodness has that been exposed. Starmer has had to learn on the job how to be a PM and a party political leader and unsurprisingly he’s made many a misstep along the way. Canadian voters respect and trust Carney, UK voters are despairing about Starmer’s faltering leadership.

Will Canadian voters turn against Carney at some point? Probably they will, but at least he hit the ground running in a clear direction and has been able to take Canadians along with him. Starmer on the other hand looks to be lost and unable to take his own party along him, let alone UK voters.

Politics is brutal and Starmer is in a terrible bind. He can probably do nothing about his plight and can hope that ‘events dear boy, events’** turn in his favour.

* Mexico may be another

** PM Harold Macmillan supposedly said this and it’s oft quoted, but I understand there’s little to actually pin it down to him in terms of evidence.

 

On the passing of Jesse Jackson

You couldn’t have lived through the 1970’s and 1980’s without hearing of Jesse Jackson, the larger than life civil rights campaigner from the USA.

I have two distinct memories of him. The first being from the excellent Wattstax concert in Los Angeles of 1972 and second of seeing him at Liverpool University’s Mountford Hall in December 2008.

Being an avid Isaac Hayes fan I have a CD of his performance at Wattsax where Jesse Jackson was the MC introducing Hayes and getting the packed crowd at the Los Angeles Coliseum hyped up. The day-long concert featured virtually every artist signed up to Stax, and it was a positive reaction to the civil rights riots of 7 years prior in the Watts community. You could call it a black Woodstock. Of course, Stax also realised it would be a great showcase for those on its books, so good business as well as good social perspective.

Here’s a link to YouTube where Jesse Jackson winds up the crowd and the entrance of Hayes to the Coliseum stage:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiO3Bg2Dw6M&list=RDWiO3Bg2Dw6M&start_radio=1

Many years later, during my time as Leader of Sefton Council, I received an invitation to see Jackson in Liverpool. As it was Capital of Culture year for Liverpool it was probably why he was visiting. I still have my ticket and here it is:-

 

My recollection is that Jackson made a great characteristic speech and it was a privilege to be there listening. What I also recall though was his entourage of quite a number of formidable gentlemen, with whom you would not mess, who were clearly there to keep him safe.

So one of the most prominent civil rights campaigners has passed on and in his case I’m quite sure we’ll never see his like again. RIP Jesse Jackson.

 

Railway Liveries - Some good, some not so

To a rail enthusiast like me this is an important matter, to everyone else maybe not, but here goes anyway.

A Class 777 EMU in Merseyrail livery

 

On balance I don’t like the Merseyrail livery on their new(ish) and sadly rather unreliable Class 777 EMU’s. I feel that an opportunity was lost and at little extra cost batches of these new trains could have been vinyl wrapped in the various previous iterations of former BR and Mersey Railway trains of the now Merseyrail Network. Having them all look the same, well, it’s boring and unimaginative.

The draft GBR livery

 

So, what about the proposed Great British Railways draft livery? Well, it seems to have gone down badly. Yes, it’s striking but is it a good livery? Probably not. It’s clearly based on a stylised Union flag, although whether that’s intended to be a nationalistic nod to the current fashion of roundabout painting is not clear.

Apart from British Airways using a different 1980’s stylised version of the Union flag on their planes, much to the disgust of former PM Thatcher (who famously covered up a BA model plane tail fin with her handkerchief) I’d say that jingoist liveries are actually rather un-British.

If I had to point to a rail liveries I do like then Trans Pennine Express, LNER and ScotRail come to mind:-

Trans Pennine Express at Berwick-on-Tweed

 

ScotRail & LNER together at Edinburgh Waverley

 

As I said at the start of this ramble through modern-day railway liveries this subject may be what amounts to a nerdy matter to many folk who just want our rather unreliable railways to run on time without the oh so expected cancellations. I too want reliable trains but I want them to look well too. 

With regard to Merseyrail there was a clear opportunity to celebrate the railways and their liveries that came before the present Merseyrail Class 777's so, as a heritage inclined person, I really do point to a missed opportunity.

 

Robbie Fenton RIP – A great former local councillor

 

 

My friend Robbie Fenton died last Saturday, she was 84 and had been in poor health for quite a long time. She passed away in Lakeside Care Home in Southport where I visited her in her final weeks. I must say that the care home staff were really great, welcoming and caring during my visits.

Robbie was born in Maghull (on Northway, if I recall correctly), went to Ormonde High Secondary Modern School (now Maghull High) from the day it opened (September 1954) and lived for all the years I knew her on Haigh Crescent in neighbouring Lydiate. She participated in the formal opening ceremony of Ormonde High a year later in 1955 and a while back showed me the pamphlet produced about that notable event.

Whilst she was well, helping others was in Robbie’s blood so it’s no surprise that she spent many years on our local councils – Maghull Town Council, Lydiate Parish Council (both with her husband Tony who died a couple of years ago) and Sefton Borough Council – Park Ward (1997 – 2012).

What I noticed most about Robbie in her council days was how she’d be like a terrier trying to resolve problems brought to her attention. She wasn’t one for writing letters or sending emails but wanted to speak to people and council officials directly on the phone. She was persistent too, yet the council officers she pushed along seemed to like her, as did the residents she tried to help.

 

She campaigned for an improved health centre in Maghull; sadly a campaign that is still to be won. She battled to try to stop the closure of Lydiate Ambulance Station and of course she tried to defend the Green Belt around Maghull & Lydiate, but it was the small everyday matters that were Robbie’s bread and butter – pot holes, overgrown trees, uncut grass, litter etc. where her terrier-like approach usually got the job done.

 

I’ll miss my chats with Robbie. In her latter years I would stop and talk to her a couple of times each week whilst on my daily cycle rides. She would always ask after other folk whom we both knew and she clearly worried about those in poor health or difficult circumstances.