A shooting, power stations and tilting trains

Today began with a journey to Stockwell, south of the Thames, for a meeting. At this moment this area was notable for the sad fact that here, in the Stockwell Food and Wine Shop  a five year old girl become the youngest gun crime vicitim in the UK. She is still fighting for her life as I write this, having been shot by two youths who were chasing others into the shop. That this was an unintended consequence of actually targeting others, is no consolation.

Mr Ebert and I left the region after our meeting further northwards at Battersea Park Rail. We passed two iconic establishments on the way to the station.

The first was the derelict Battersea Power Station, once the largest brick built building in Europe. The iconic tall chimneys and its imposing presence still create an impact and it is to be hoped that this Grade II listed building will soon be restored.

The second memorable address was the Battersea Cats and Dogs Home, whose patrons included Queen Victoria in th past and Queen Elizabeth II in the present. Aiming to never turn away a cat or dog in need, they looked after nearly 11,000 animals in 2009.

We crossed London to Euston Rail Station, where we boarded the fast train to Stoke on Trent. As soon as the train began to accelerate , it was apparent that we were in one of the tilting "Pendolino" trains. Made to squeeze additional speed on existing lines, the tilt also aims to reduce passenger discomfort.

In an ideal setting, all the force upon the passenger's body within the train would be down the passengers verticl axis, making motion imperceptible. However, as both Mr Ebert and I could testify by closing our eyes, this is not fully the case and we could still feel the turns. Placing a pen on the table top, it rolled outwards on each turn, confriming that a lateral element of motion was still present.

We were fortunate that the rain had cleared and the train ran through green countryside in sunshine on sheep in the fields and gaily painted barges on the canal on both legs of the return journey.

Mr Ebert was also treated to the friendly hospitality of the North as we visitied another business in the prime cheese trade. A significant proportion of the visit being in a cheese tasting extravaganza of varieties brought along by Mr Ebert and some fine English cheeses.

Back in London, we had our final meal together at the end of our successful joint travels, at the Swan in Bayswater.