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I'm going to Southport on Sunday for the air display , SWMBO has got to go to Chester , so I said she can have the car and I'll go on the train again, no problem so far, I priced it up £14.70 return from Winsford (37 miles), £4.40 from Chester (32 miles). Alternately £6 to park at Southport £15 in petrol or £4.40 on the train !!

Is it me , how can they justify a tenner extra for 5 miles??? both go via Liverpool and involve a change there.

Now for the punch line , a single from Chester would be £7 !!

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I see that you have to pay £8:00 on the door to see the airshow as well, plus the £5 parking charge, though kids under 5 are free, how generous of them. I note that Lowestoft, Clacton, Southend etc etc are free, so whats up with them miserable, Lancashire robdogs then, I don't think that the aircraft participation list shows much imagination either, why show a Harrier on your web site when they must have known that there wasn't going to be one there, still, they have the Seahawk, nice one, lovely aircraft, when it works, lets hope so.

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I've been to a few other seafront "Free" events and they can't compare to the usual Southport show. The only problem this year is the distinct lack of RAF participation, but this has been the same all season. You were very lucky last week ,at Cambridge, to see such a vast array of different aircraft.

Last years show saw one of the only UK displays by XH-558 and the beach invasion was a sight to behold (That's not being done this year either!!) 4 Tornados, 4 Hawks Apaches Chinooks E3 Sentry the lot, although the 'Paras' weren't able to 'Chute in (As usual) then again we've never seen a parachute at Southport due to the wind !!!! I see the Falcons are scheduled in for the weekend but I shall be very suprised if we see them !!

A couple of years back (Before we had Adam) a Hercules did a landing on the beach dropped off a couple of vehicles and troops turned and took off, (With the wind too) to start the invasion, always a spectacular sight , plenty of pyrotechniques too to make even the most staid of 'Trainspotters' draw a sharp breath.

The price has gradually sneaking up . £3.50 the first time we went, £4 the following year (We went both days and stayed overnight in Blackpool!!) and we got away without paying on the second day as somebody had removed a section of fence to let a vehicle out and forgot to put it back , we just followed the crowd and were in before we relised we hadn't paid......honest !!!!!

This year it's £5 in advance or as you say £8 on the day, but by far the biggest rob dogs are the people who want to charge you £2 booking fee if you book in advance !!!! that really makes my blood boil !!!!

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The thing is, we get fobbed off with the story of 'operational commitments', it's a lie, we pay for the RAF, why can't they put up a showing, as I said about the Marshalls event, one fast flyby by a Herc was an insult.

Go back 20 years, just think what you might have seen, Lightnings, Phantoms, Jaguars, Tornadoes, Harriers, Shackletons, stop it. I realise that these days have gone, some of these aircraft are history, and that there are financial restraints nowadays.

I just think that, ok, they're not providing dedicated RAF jet aerobatic teams, but go back to the airshow days of the 60's, when we had a couple of passes from all and sundry, it was impressive, I can't believe that they can't do it now, and that goes for the USAF as well.

It doesn't end there, Stephen Grey's aircraft have been stuffed all season due to CAA problems, though I'm sure that there's more to that story.

We pay the tab, the RAF still have a few interesting aircraft up their sleeves apart from the inevitable Typhoon, they seem to be able to fly them over here every day, let the bloody public see them and get a thrill out of it for Gods sake.

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All the best for tomorrow Beefsteak whichever method that you chose to travel by.

I gather that the weather is going to be reasonable as well, though not quite as sunny as it is down here. My cousin lives in Morecambe and everytime I ring her it's raining up in Lancs. They are now wittering on about a water shortage down here, apparently all the coastal meres on the nature reserves in Suffolk are drying up and they're worried about where the migrating wading birds are going to go. Which reminds me, isn't there a nature reserve near Southport that can only be reached by a causeway and has one of the last populations of Red Squirrells in England?

Incidentally, if you recall the April Aviation Day, the BBMF Spifire IIa was having it's wings repaired at DX. I gather that it flew for the first time just over a week ago and was taken back to Conno by Al Pinner, hopefully it will make what could be it's first public outing at Southport, new colour scheme too, look forwards to some pics of it.

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I don't think we're getting the BBMF on Sunday as it's required at CBY for the Lancaster day, they're all up 1 Lanc, 2 Hurricanes , the Dakota and 5 Spits , should be a sight to behold!!

I think you're thinking of somewhere between Formby and RAF Woodvale , I drove past there a few times and was amazed to see "sky ways" for them to safely cross from one wooded area to another on the other side of the road!!

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Just had a 'Firbeck' moment, the BBMF Dakota has just flown over our house at about 50 foot!!! heading towards Southport at a guess!!

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Just had a similar moment here as well, the silver Spitfire over my place heading back to Coningsby from the west, Nottingham area maybe?

Rog

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  • 1 month later...

Bumping this one back to trains, a couple of week ago we decided to spend Christmas in Scotland so went on line to check fares, bus/coach first for the two of us return Lincoln to Edinburgh £147.50 12hrs with a 100 minute stop in Birmingham. checked train fare Newark to Edinburgh, £150 reserved seats,forward facing,leave 07.48 arrive 12.08, thought about it for a few minutes and went on line again to book the train, WOW!! it's gone down to £133 for both of us, train booked and looking forward to Christmas

Rog

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Daily Telegraph 11/11/2009:-

Trains are too expensive, use coaches instead', rail head tells staff

The cost of 200 employees making a 90-mile trip from Reading to Coventry on the train was calculated as an "untenable" £27,000, compared to £2,400 by coach.

A second-class open return for the journey costs up to £146-a-head by train, whereas a return journey on a bus would cost £12 per person.

As a result the 200 staff will be packed onto buses picking them up outside their Berkshire headquarters on November 20.

In a memo, a senior executive at Network rail wrote,: "If we all book our own travel and most of us use trains, it'll cost £27,000 on travel alone."

He said that as a result they should instead get the "spacious" buses costing £12 a head – a total outlay of around £2,400. The news comes after Britain saw its first £1,000 train fare: a first-class ticket from Cornwall to the Highlands.

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Suspect the £4.40 return from Chester is a shopping special offer or something similar.

Nope regular Mersey rail fare, (Won't be the last time I use it either!!!)

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...

Didn't know where to put this but here goes, I've just seen the Duchess of Sutherland in steam painted BLACK. I don't know the reason why, but it doesn't look right.

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Didn't know where to put this but here goes, I've just seen the Duchess of Sutherland in steam painted BLACK. I don't know the reason why, but it doesn't look right.

Where did you see that, she was painted black during the war, but everything was, or was supposed to be when they got round to it, some escaped, but clearly Sutherland didn't, sounds interesting to me.

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funny this should be bumped , this morning I was pricing up going to RAF Cosford airshow again , in June, and was suprised to find there has been no price increase!! £15.50 and you can get the same combo ticket ie Train and entrance to Air show for £30.00 again cheaper than driving again !!

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I see the steam special through Nottingham this saturday (13th) 70013 Oliver Cromwell has been cancelled, (****!)

as regards The Duchess I wonder if doing some period filming? (hence all black) haven't they just made a new Robin Hood film around here? maybe it featured in that!

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Just come back from my local drinking hostelry and the reason she is all in black is because they are celebrating something to do with WW2, and as Firbeck said, that was her colour scheme back then.

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