Having been given the go-ahead for the book after my initial submission of numerous photos I had in my portfolio, which had grown quickly from my retirement from full-time employment. But now the challenge and at first seemed daunting to achieve what was described as an even spread of 126 places around England¡¯s Coast. With both excitement and trepidation about...

Southdown in preservation was book number five I have written and published by Amberley Publishing. My first book published in 2019 was to recall my memories of coaches in Brighton, its success has allowed me to continue to capture a lifetime career in the bus and coach business and an enthusiast too and preparations for book six are well underway...

Maj-Gen John Le Marchant I grew up on the island of Guernsey, and like many boys back then, I was fascinated with everything military ¨C soldiers, tanks, fighter jets. Our house was full of military models. So, when I started writing a few years ago, it felt natural to focus on military history. About three years ago, I was browsing...

Celebrating Evesham? Sounds like an excellent idea; but then, as a local born-and-bred, I¡¯m biased. Objectively, though, there are many aspects of this historic town which are worthy of celebration, both old and new, ancient and modern. Over the centuries there have been many public celebrations. In the 1990s we had royal visits (to open libraries and whatnot). The 1920s...

Football is Britain¡¯s national sport, and it is not surprising that it features a number of times in the forty-one chapters of my book Great Railway Journeys: The Flying Scotsman Route to Edinburgh. They include Hitchin, Newcastle upon Tyne and Berwick-upon-Tweed. However, in this blog, I retell a few of my favourite stories about Arsenal¡¯s Emirates Stadium, Ashington, and its...

For many decades bus services within the borough of Northampton were provided by council-owned Northampton Transport with United Counties, part of the National Bus Company, operating routes to outlying towns and villages. The ¡®town¡¯ buses were red and the ¡®country¡¯ buses were green. A number of private operators could also be seen around the area in particular on the town¡¯s...

This was my first major published book after recovering from bowel cancer surgery and acquiring a stoma for life. My struggle there coincided with Covid and lockdown. Amberley asked me to write the book when I provisionally proposed a different pub writing project to them. It took zero arm-twisting for me to accept their gracious invitation. I got onto it...

Flavour of Flight ¨C Captain Al Bridger Becoming actively involved with the fabulous British Airways Speedbird Heritage Centre was a huge privilege for me. Not only working with the highly knowledgeable volunteers it also gave the opportunity to delve into the extensive archives revealing some incredible objects, many of true national importance. Among these was the wonderful collection of menu...

Like many rail enthusiasts, my passion for all things trains started as a child. My parents would take my brother and I on annual holidays to north Wales and along the way we'd often stop at one of the many little narrow-gauge railways or model railway exhibitions and indeed we'd travel by train from Deganwy sometimes to Llandudno and the...

Many cities in Britain bestow the ¡®Freedom of the City¡¯ on individuals it wishes to honour. The practice has its origins in the ancient Roman privilege of permitting victorious generals to march their soldiers into the city, although in Edinburgh, as elsewhere, the process was by giving a gratis Burgess Ticket. Edinburgh, as elsewhere, was protective of trade and only...