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Last night Flo transferred several photographs from her mobile phone to my iMac.
On 28th December I had photographed our granddaughter photographing chickens at Hockey’s Farm. These were her images.
Yesterday evening we had enjoyed fortune cookies given to Jackie by Mr Chan at Hordle Chinese Take Away. Flo pictured the mottos, including the touch of curry on mine. For some reason the idea of me making a sudden rise caused a certain amount of hilarity.
The Branch Line To Selsey from Chichester enjoyed barely four decades of life. This is the front cover of a fascinating book published in 1983, giving its detailed story. Barrie Haynes had given me the book a few months ago after Jackie, Ian, Becky, and I had visited a mortgage adviser in the locality. Today I finished reading it.
The authors have thoroughly researched their material and presented it in an entertaining form. Their close scrutiny of contemporary photographs alert the reader to details they may otherwise have missed. Useful maps, tickets, and timetables supplement the illustrations.
I have chosen a few of the photographs in an attempt to demonstrate the flavour of the work. Edwardian days were just a century ago.
The text beneath the upper of these two images shows how freight was more profitable than passengers. What is happening in the lower picture is described on the facing page. The Hesperus is ‘in trouble’. A lifting of the train and a complicated adjustment of a ‘belligerent rail’ was required to help the 17 1/4 ton engine on its way.
Ralph Selsby was one of several carriers operating from Selsey.
Here are a couple of carriages from the early 1930s. The line was closed in 1935.
This is what constituted a railway replacement bus in 1910.
Just 16 years later, this bus was to herald the death knell of the historic little line.
This evening we all enjoyed more of Jackie’s excellent chicken and egg curries, samosas, and onion bahjis. Mrs Knight drank Hoegaarden, and I drank Wolf’s Leap merlot 2016, another very good wine from Ian’s case.