Forshaw Heath & Earlswood BoD in Warwickshire

After a long day at work and having worked one of my very few late shifts last night, I couldn't wait to get home collapse into bed ready to start my few days off.  As I entered the platform on Snowhill Station I just knew there was something wrong and my dreams of collapsing into bed were shattered by the Guard of the Dorrige train wandering up and down the platform trying to relay why the train was still sat at the station instead of making its way to Dorrige. It was hopeless I couldn't hear the announcements over the noise of the engine of the train, the Guard wasn't really that sure what was going on or how long the delay was.  There was only one thing left to do! yep you guessed turn my faithful phone on and make my way to twitter.  I think it was David Tweeting last night and as always (in my case) there were the updates in real time.  The information I required to make an informed decision as to  whether  I should s...

BBC News - Q&A: Alternative vote referendum As we all start receiving our Poll Card I thought it might be a timely to remind myself what it was all about. Shirley Station It was open again yesterday but I noticed the signal box had gone. What a shame. Oh well never mind. Car Parking Whitlocks End Because it was Monday I thought I would take advantage of regular trains at Whitlocks End. LOL forget it if you leave on any train after 8:30 there wern't any parking spaces. I found myself back at Earlswood. Environmentally friendly BoD racing around the Countryside trying to find a parking space :o) Sunday Spent pennies at Earlswood Nurseries, spent loads of time in the garden, saw a Buzzard soaring over by Small Lane then saw another one (may be the same one hovering by the copse in Poolhead Lane. Made friends with a cheeky Robin whilst in the Garden. Left the plastic bit on the piece of gammon I was roasting. (It tasted OK)

I am actually finding my blog quite therapeutic as I have said before I can type away until my heart is content.  Anyway since my blogging has captured my imagination kept me quiet and allowed me to ramble away to myself and the odd visitor here and there alongside keeping up to date with Twitter.  I can't help but think Earlswood and Forshaw Heath are lacking a bit in the blogging and twitter stakes. I am not talking about our Parish Council or Residents Association. I am talking about just normal people. I have found one blog Birds Of Earlswood (Feathered Variety) other than my own. Memo to ones self (I must improve my google techniques) perhaps we are all just a bit shy and don't like scribbling in public. Perhaps we just haven't got anything to say at all. Whilst Twittering I follow all those surrounding Councils, Police Forces, local business and services and have learnt quite a lot. I must say I am very impressed with West Midlands Police. The timely upda...

I know we haven't got many manned ticket offices left which I personally think is very sad.  You only have to look at the sad state of some of what were once pretty welcoming stations on the way in to Stratford to realise that without these people the stations go to rack and ruin. For the 2nd night running I noticed that the ticket office in Shirley was closed it was horrid and even at dusk was uninviting and not somewhere I wouldn't like to be by myself.  As a Tourist on the way to Stratford I would start to worry about my expensive visit having passed so many unkempt stations so near to my holiday destination. All in the name of progress. I would love to know where all the people who buy their daily weekly or monthly tickets from manned stations will que at rush hour when they get off at Snow Hill or Birmingham.When the Guard hasn't been able to collect fair on the Train.  Although LM has recently improved its ticket gates or should I say the manning and opening ...

As I made time to have a little whinge a few days ago about LM and the exit problems at Snow Hill when two trains arrived together and how dangerous it was when the electronic gates were not opened quickly enough, resrticting people from leaving the Station. Having tweeted London Midland and making them aware of my concerns not only did I have a quick response via Twitter. I also enountered once again two trains disembarking at the same time however this time the gates were open and there did not appear to be any problems in exiting the station . I don't know if it was my tweet or lots of other complaints. I don't really mind which ever way something was done about it. Lets just hope it continues

Some of those people that were reading yesterday may of read me moan about the exit of Snow Hill station and how dangerous it is when two commuter trains arrive together and passengers try to leave the station at the same time. Yesterday I found myself stuck at the top of a moving escalator with no way forward and no way backward because the electronic gates weren't letting the flow of passengers out quickly enough. It is not the first time it has happened to me. I decided to put my new found piece of technology to use and Twitter London Midland with my concerns. I was actually pleasantly surprised to get a Tweet back at all asking me what I thought the solution was! Solution 1 Instead of keeping the gates closed for the early morning commuters putting them in danger leave them open and then try closing them after 10am until 15:30hrs. I notice when I get to work late or leave early there is no one around and the gates are open. Solution 2 Move the gates to the Glass door exi...

Here we are on the 2nd day of Spring and I feel like I have been blasted back into the depths of winter. Last Wednesday it was warm enough (just) to wear a T Shirt comfortably this evening I was scratching around for some gloves. Anyway today I started to get annoyed with London Midland again. For those of you that aren't aware at Snow Hill station they have introduced electronic gates where you pop your ticket in and the machine spits it out and opens the gate at the same time.  The trouble is there don't appear to be enough gates for people to flow through easily and the space between the gates and the escalators is questionable especially when two trains arrive together.  This is what happens people can't get through the gates quick enough and we all get packed together like sardines with people trying to get off the moving escalators.  I happened to be at the top of the escalators this morning and had nowhere to go.  How the hell this isn'...

I have to say I am pleasantly surprised at the over all performance of the trains on the North Warwickshire -  Stratford to Stourbridge line over  a period of very cold weather. for once I am not complaining about the train service its self and will give credit where credit is due. 8/10 for the train turning up.

Visitors travelling to Earlswood by rail should be aware there are two stations that are often mixed up. Earlswood The Lakes Both stations access Earlswood however if you disembark at Earlswood you will have to walk through the woods to get to the lakes or through the lanes it's a half hour 3/4 of an hour walk and not recommended for a wet day. Although if your a walker this is exactly what you might want to do. You should be warned that The Lakes is a request stop you have to ask the guard to ensure that the train stops at The Lakes also it is a short platform and you have to be situated at the front of the train to disembark. This is the station that most people use when wanting to get to the lakes quickly. Both stations have a very high step from the train to the platform please be careful. Regards Bod