06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Shrub Hill due 09:31

06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Shrub Hill due 09:31 will be started from Westbury.
It will no longer call at Salisbury and Warminster.
This is due to a broken down train.

From WikiPedia

Two men killed by falling trees as Storm Boelo leaves 160,000 properties without power

Two men have been killed by falling trees on Sunday as Storm Boelo continues to bring severe weather to the UK.

A man in his 20s was pronounced dead in north London after the car he was driving was hit by a falling tree. It came hours after a 60-year-old man died in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.

The harsh weather battering the UK had left 161,400 properties without power as of 15:00 GMT on Sunday afternoon, the Energy Networks Association (ENA) said.  Those still without electricity have faced delays as the dangerous conditions were "limiting network engineers' opportunities to safely start the work", the ENA added.

The Metropolitan Police were called to Dollis Road in Finchley at around 12:40 GMT to reports a tree had fallen onto a moving car, and the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Chief Inspector Guy Ellwood, from the North West Command Unit, said: "This is a deeply tragic incident and our thoughts are with the loved ones of the young man who lost his life."  A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said it sent incident response officers, paramedics from its hazardous area response team, and a trauma team from London's Air Ambulance to the scene.

Earlier, Police Scotland said a man died after being hit by a falling tree in southern near Castle Douglas.

During Storm Boelo and the earlier Storm Austen, which hit the UK on Friday, 838,700 properties across the country faced power cuts, according to the ENA.

Wind gusts peaked on Sunday morning at 85mph in Machrihanish, in Argyll and Bute, and 84mph in both Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides, and Capel Curig in north Wales.

An amber wind warning issued by the Met Office was in place until 21:00 on Sunday across Scotland and parts of northern England.

A yellow warning that also covered other areas of the north of England, including Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, as well as parts of the East and West Midlands and North Wales, also expired at 21:00.

The Met Office urged people to "stay indoors as much as possible", adding: "If you do go out, try not to walk, or shelter, close to buildings and trees."

The strongest gusts have continued to spread eastwards across the UK on Sunday.

(BBC article continues)

It is not alone in being hard to find.  Stand in the centre of Westbury or Melksham and ask a bod on the street ...

Refreshing! That's not to say Graham's posts are not good to read also.

(I have, however, bought a "reserve" bottle of Port, just in case!) 

I am not panic buying, I prudently stocked up long ago.
Only minor additions are expected and of course replacements for supplies that are consumed.

Man killed by falling tree as Storm Boelo batters Scotland


Gary Gallagher said this boat broke free from its mooring in Gourock and was thrown on to Cove Road during the stormy weather - Image © Gary Gallagher

A 60-year-old man has died after being struck by a falling tree as Storm Boelo brought strong winds and heavy rain to Scotland.

Police said the man was on a minor road at Mid Kelton, near Castle Douglas, in Dumfries and Galloway.  Emergency services were alerted at about 10:30 and the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

The storm has left more than 50,000 properties without power, with winds gusting to 85mph at Machrihanish in Argyll and Bute.

(BBC article continues)

In the end it started from Yeovil Pen Mill.

14:04 Frome to Swindon due 14:57

14:04 Frome to Swindon due 14:57 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

Residents Yvonne Newey and Shauna Naylor approached Sheffield City Council seeking assistance with noise and air pollution concerns after Network Rail installed the signal on the Hope Valley railway line in Totley two years ago. Ms Newey addressed the council's transport, regeneration and climate policy committee on October 21, stating that freight trains stop with their engines idling for extended periods.

She highlighted that the government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs warns that diesel locomotives can produce high nitrogen dioxide concentrations within 30 metres of a track — precisely the distance from her property. "As your own air quality team did not possess the monitoring equipment required, we keep our own recordings. They suggest we are being poisoned," she said.

She further noted that council environmental protection officers have recorded noise levels surpassing World Health Organisation guidelines, levels associated with ill health, heart attacks and strokes. Ms Newey revealed that Network Rail has informed the council it is addressing complaints, though she remains unconvinced.

I recall when we visited Benidorm for the very first time circa 2000

Not sure which station we used but it was just a single line with both up and down trains using the same platform.

Twelve months on from out first visit,a second platform had been built with an underpass under both lines.
Don't think its network rails policy to allow a brand road under their railway lines.
The only exception I can recall is the South Bristol link road at Long ashton where the rail line goes over the top of the road
 

10:38 Weymouth to Swindon due 12:57

10:38 Weymouth to Swindon due 12:57 will be started from Dorchester West.
It will no longer call at Weymouth and Upwey.
This is due to a fault on this train.

I like that ... but yet the Severn Valley does not use any Network Rails track, nor do the Bodnin or Kingswear suggestions.  Others similar are services to Chinnor and Wallingford.    Running onto Network Rail lines - Minehead and Swanage, please.

Could commuting by steam train be the future?

A unique trial that saw Severn Valley Railway steam and diesel trains help people travel was used by 1,000 passengers - leading to calls to make it a permanent service.

For the last two months heritage trains have been used to carry commuters from Bewdley to Kidderminster, where they can then access mainline services to Birmingham and beyond.

John Dutton, a special needs teacher, said: "It's brilliant - I think it would be good for tourists as well as workers if they made it a permanent thing."

Gus Dunster, Severn Valley Railway's managing director, said talks would be held to decide what happens next.

The service, known as the 'Bewdley Express', has been running three days a week between Tuesday and Thursday during the 8-week period in September and October.

If I was dropped in the middle of nowhere, there is no one else I would rather have as my guide than my husband, Graham. 

While we have railed through the nether regions of the northern coast of Spain, he has had to navigate missed connections, train cancellations, bus replacements, train reservations, hotel bookings, confusing timetables, missed hotels, Interrail manual entries... all the while not knowing the language except the all-important "gracias", which once came out as "merci" then "danke" in the rush of responding.

It's our own fault. We endeavour to "live as the natives" -- to eat the regional food and mix with those who actually live in places we're unfamiliar with. That means avoiding, for the most part, tourist-y spots, and staying in small to medium-sized towns. For this trip, we got our wish in spades. We should have boned up on our Spanish. It's not that it's difficult; it's that they speak it SO FAST! We'd previously been accustomed to people knowing English enough that we'd not kept Google Translate at the ever-ready. "Gracias" or "merci" or "danke" ordinarily was enough to get by in other countries.

You also have to have patience about times to eat and when shops are open. And that meals are often shared around the table, family-style. I'd order myself a main and then be asked if we were sharing the dish, and this had me confused at first. I do have a food mission: I'm on the hunt for Fabada asturiana, and apparently restaurants that advertise they have the best, don't actually serve the dish.

However, the scenes out the train windows, and yes, even the bus replacements, have given us views into the most charming seaside towns. I just love the architecture. "Seaside" -- actually Bay of Biscay, which is currently throttling our home country to the point of curtailing cruise liner schedules. (Note to Neighbours: we're not affected in the slightest.)
And now we're headed toward Portugal, where, I understand, the language is even more difficult. Note to self: Gotta look up how to say "thank you" in Portuguese before our train heads out.

Ah, but the food, and the kindness of strangers, and the scenery...

The Spanish are very hot on accessibility. When the Malaga to Cordoba line was closed, the rail replacement coaches were all equipped with wheelchair lifts, plus an army of very smartly dressed young people helping the infirm on and off them.   

Unless your panels were specifically designed to run during a power cut they will cut off when the power cuts out.  This is to protect your local electrician if he has cut the power to the house and the lines men working on an external fault if your system tries to export power.