9 April 2009

Ruby and the trainspotters

Things have been pretty busy here for me. I've changed to working for myself after redundancy from the University Computing job. I now build web sites and manage them, and I write, and I'm planning on doing my BDS Level 2 exams / units in order to get my teaching ticket. So with Ruby and the self-catering cottage next door, life is pretty full.

Weather's been rubbish the last few days but despite strong winds today, it wasn't raining, and I thought I'd drive Ruby. She'd been in the stable all day yesterday because the weather was foul. Did a quick bit of shopping first 'cos I think most shops will be shut tomorrow, and I noticed on the way home that there were lots of cars parked at the railway bridge, which usually means a special is due through and the "chuffographers" are all setting up their tripods and video cameras. They're pretty bad at parking, and spectacularly good at blocking the place up, our roads being only just wide enough for 2 cars to pass at the best of times.

Hung about a while in the yard at home, keeping an eye on things, and the crowds got bigger.

Anyway, "steam specials" usually pass through around mid-day so I got Ruby out of the stable at noon and sure enough, there's a little train,with steam engine and "banker" engine (unusual) and two carriages, poop poop, chuffing merrily north. Good, thinks I, that's that, the chuffographers'll all be gone by the time I am yoked up to drive.

Ruby's shedding hard so the grooming and harnessing take up another 25 mins. Off we go.... and the car numbers if anything have increased! Hm, what do they know that I don't?

People parked in front of our house; man with camera talking to postie, who's blocking the road; the postvan mirrors are obstructed by talking man, so postie doesn't see us.

Patiently whistling to ourselves we stand behind the post van until he notices and moves on.

OK, we avoid the main hill out of the village (still double lined with cars and tripods) and go to Scout Green. Nice and quiet. Couple of standard trains go up and down the main line. Ruby's driving nice and straight and steady. (Did I mention that her inclination to drift right was cured by re-aligning the cart shafts? Duh.)

Down to Scout Green, hop off and do the gate there and travel on. Hmm. People all over the open fell, some running towards the railway.

CHUFF CHUFFF CHUFFF HOOT HOOT. Ah. Another steamer is coming up the gradient - this time working hard, black smoke, ten coaches, people waving, cameras working like mad. We pause in a handy space between cars so as NOT to be under the railway bridge when the dragon goes over ... And Ruby stands like a rock, just watching. CHUFF CHUFF CHUFFF HOOT HOOT. No problem. Good girl, on we go. Of course now everybody's mad to move on... idiots coming round corners without really looking. Watch out Ruby, park on the grass again till they clear the blind bend under the railway bridge... trot on... and walk again because there are chuffographers walking up the road, thrilled skinny at having witnessed A Proper Train going by (so what, they were ALL like that when I was a kid!) and not taking any notice of the unshod footfalls behind. So we walk along between the double row of cars and people, and a regular goods train comes north, heavy laden, grinding along, wheels squealing. Ruby doesn't like walking parallel to that; the track is only thirty yards from us. "DO I have to walk? I want to run away." We walk. She does a very collected, can-I-be-naughty trot until I tell her to calm down, nobody's going anywhere. The train is finally past and she's still in walk.

There's a queue of cars leaving this scene - for some reason there are men with a cherrypicker lift on the back of a truck, doing things to the motorway bridge 100 yards ahead. Everybody is backed up waiting for it to move. Ruby goes into Traffic Mode and is patient. We follow the truck up under the motorway underpass, and have to wait for it again at the next underpass (the motorway is in two separate parts here, north bound and south bound, so 2 underpasses). She's very relaxed but interested and taking it all in. Long wait. I stay just short of the tunnel so we don't have to wait in the shadows and echoes. When eventually the truck gets its lift packed away and departs, we have 3 cars ahead and at least 6 behind, so I park up by the next gate and they all overtake and rumble over the cattle grid. But one nice fellow stops and opens the gate for us. So at least SOME trainspotters have common sense.

After that it's just a case of listening (as well I can for the wind) for cars coming up behind and needing to overtake. Lots of hand signals. Ruby is getting good at telling me if she hears traffic and I don't - the ears turn back, and she moves over to the verge. Got to love that intelligent brain.

Coming home down the hill where the double line of cars were before we set off, there's nothing left but tyre marks in the mud. But she'd have made nothing of it if they'd still been there.

That's my girl. Have a nice feed. Go and tidy the grass in the yard for me.