I have been watching this very interesting and enjoyable series of programs on BBC4 and this week they have been focusing on Norfolk. Last night took in the beautiful countryside and coastal scenery around Kings Lynn and the Wash. The train journey from Ely through the Fens to Downham Market and onto Kings Lynn. Tonight Portilo takes the train from Dereham to Cromer. If anyone's interested the program is on BBC4 at 7.30pm
Cheers buddy I'll stick a record on that off iplayer. It's funny watched some of these in the past and he actually comes across as quite a nice chap (high praise from me considering lol)
My dad god rest him was a train driver for over fifty years and he used to let me sit up in the cab beside him when I was a youngun. I remember him driving the train up to Norwich and then onto Cromer and then back home via Yarmouth and Lowestoft. They were wonderful days and this series has just brought it all back!
Awesome, we were visiting one of the heritage railways on an old dmu a few summers ago and our 2 boys love trains (naturally) they were getting all excited so these 2 old boys came through and sat em in the cab with them they were all having a great time. My dad used to work for BR I really miss my old priv card, when I was a teen I'd just hop on a train and go somewhere
I have taken the family many times to the steam trains heritage railway at Sheringham it's a great day out!
Watched that series first time round too, and they were immensely enjoyable. Also enjoyed the ones he did in Ireland. The East Anglian ones are of obvious interest to many of us. One of my daughters lives at Thuxton near the black Norfolk turkeys that were on the programme, her garden joins the track, and itâs fabulous to see the old steam trains hurtling past. I was on the narrow gauge railway that goes from Wells to Walsingham at the weekend, great fun sitting astride like Gulliver! Hard not to feel sad, though, at the thought of the proper trains using that line on their way to Fakenham and beyond not long ago. Also walk the dog regularly on Marriottâs Way. Some interesting sights like the old platforms at Hellesdon and Whitwell remind me what was once there. Canât deny they make a nice footpath, but I still hope the soul of Beeching is forever in torment for what weâve lost.
Excellent post Gandy and I am in complete agreement with you about Beeching! He decimated the railways and we are all the poorer for it!
I bet you are a fan of the presenter walky! Also have you seen the euro one he did? Saw a few in germany
Yes indeed I am a huge fan of his and to be honest he's turned into a far better bloke since he stepped down from front line politics! He is hugely charismatic and he has definitely found his vocation on TV. I really like This Week and he has this real chemistry with Diane Abbott on screen! They are polar opposites politically but they just flirt all through the program!
Objectionable politically, Portillo's programmes are excellent and as a host he is charming, witty and intelligent. We enjoy the UK stuff but his Continental Series last year was the best and it was partly on the back of that particular journey that Mrs Thurnby and I have just visited Copenhagen (and wonderful it certainly was, albeit bloody expensive!). He also did a couple of programmes about Spanish Wildlife a few years ago and they were equally entertaining. Good thread JWM!
Welcome back THURNBY - could have warned you about that, but didn´t want to spoil things, anyway I guessed you knew what you were letting yourselves in for. Hope you had a great time.
Hi RBF, I thought you may be on your Summer sabatical and so did not drop you a line personally. It was an excellent trip - we stopped at the Admiral which was an expensive start but hey you are only young once! The place was certainly wonderful and we included many wonderful places on our travels including Tivoli, The Botanical Gardens, Round Tower, Christianborg, walk up the coast past the Mermaid, the Opera House and Christiana which was something else!! We would love to return, but we need to review the finances for sure. The people were extraordinary and the "Jugge" is alive and well. You don't speak Danish do you RBF? We brought a phrase book but thought better of it after a couple of pages, we talked to a Norwegian lady who said that she really struggles and so on that basis we gave up gracefully. Tak.
I agree with you Thurnby - as a politician he was an objectionable a***hole which is why the look on his face when he lost his seat in the Blair landslide is such a delightful memory to us more discerning voters. In the following years he has matured and developed into a nice interesting chap and his dialogue with Dianne Abbot - a person he would not have shared a room with when he was a MP - is a TV highlight. He did a lovely series on the radio recently regarding WW1 and it is quite clear that he is an incredibly knowledgeable intelligent bloke - in fact a person who would make a wonderful companion at a dinner party. Never thought I would sat that about a right wing Tory twat!!!
Totally agree 1950, who would have thought that your views about a person could change so much and a dinner companion, yes, absolutely, good call.
Guys I do take onboard your comments about Portilo as a former politician but please do not turn this into a party political thread! I am hoping that each week we can add comments about the places he has been visiting.
Speak it fluently yes, but should hope so too, as we´ve lived here longer than we lived in Britain, and even started writing poetry in Danish too, which makes my efforts here seem like child´s play by comparison.
I think we can all agree on that, he was a smug objectionable twat but as said he seems to have matured into quite an interesting chap
I take my hat off to you RBF, I am genuinely very impressed and that is not meant to sound as patronising as it may come across.
I must tell you, when I was taxi-driving in Lincoln, I picked up a Danish lady going to Metheringham, quite a good fare, her English was outstanding! As we were driving along the A15, she said, "It feels strange to me that we are travelling on this side of the road, in Denmark we drive on the right side!" I immediately replied, "No you don't, you drive on the wrong side!" Her grasp of English was such that she immediately burst out laughing!
