Sat on the bench by the clock tower yesterday, waiting for the bus.Unexpectedly the conversation with the person sat next to me moved from the weather to we had both had strokes, we both had a hand that was locked. In that moment I felt a little less alone.

I joined twitter all those years ago to promote my old map walks. Now they are memories, I find I'm tweeting the delights of going to Maldon, egg on toast and a pot of tea in Sophie's tea room. So I've decided with nothing more to say I'm leaving twitter, thanks for your support.

#OTD 1928 It was announced that the Southern Railway was to build a halt at Swalecliffe at a cost of £2,500. It opened on 6 July 1930. It was later renamed "Chestfield & Swalecliffe Halt", shortened to "Chestfield" in 1987 and reverted to "Chestfield and Swalecliffe" in 1989.

Guildford #SailAwaySunday #postcard

RT @ItsDeanBlundell: Currently in Copenhagen in front of the US Embassy. Tens of thousands standing in solidarity with Danish Vets. Trum…

31 Jan 1956, A.A. Milne, author, died. #WW1 served in Royal Warwicks Regt & Royal Corps of Signals. Caught trench fever & invalided home. 1917, recruited into Military Intelligence to write propaganda for MI7(b). Some say wrote Winnie-the-Pooh stories to explain his PTSD to son.

Still my favourite piece of ancient seabed, millions of years old and found in rural Northamptonshire….amazing.

Here in Burnham, the new air ambulance shop opens next Friday 6th Feb. They are just moving along a few doors into much bigger premises. Exciting times!

My January salary donation to our A Bed Every Night scheme. This year, I will be calling on the Government to make this a national approach. GM can’t fix rough sleeping on its own. Newly-arrived or otherwise, no one should have to spend one night on Britain’s streets in 2026.

A view at Hemyock where No 1451 has just arrived on 26 June 1959. Passenger services ended in September 1963 but goods trains continued to serve a diary there until 1975. The ex Barry Railway coach was gaslit, the trains ran too slowly to recharge conventional coach batteries.

"Education on an empty stomach is a waste of money." Fred Jowett, Labour politican, was born in Bradford #OTD 1864. In 1904 Jowett persuaded Bradford Council to become the first in the country to assume responsibility for feeding school children.

I watched the final episode of Seaside Hotel last night. Hugely enjoyed this Danish period drama, basic premise a group of well to do people visit the same place every summer - their lives unfold alongside world events,it takes 10 series, I wanted it to go on, but it ended well.

St Bartholomew's Gatehouse in London, a rare surviving Tudor building.

#OnThisDay 1915: Kilburn Park station was opened by the Underground Electric Railways Company of London when the Bakerloo line was extended here. ➡️ buff.ly/n8bK9wN

This map has undergone many iterations, but an early version appeared in a book by local merchant Ralph Gardiner in 1655. It was drawn by renowned the Czech artist Wenceslaus Hollar in 1651 and may have been commissioned by Gardiner. Production of this map and its accompanying treatise, in short: England’s Grievance with the Coal Trade, is framed by the long-standing acrimony between Newcastle and North Shields. The hostmen and keelmen of Newcastle frequently employed strongarm tactics to extinguish the growth of Shields — once described as “A Town Where No Town Ought To Be.” Ralph Gardiner (b.1625) was a yeoman merchant and successful brewer from Chirton. He represented the businesses interests of the rapidly expanding North Shields. But he was made bankrupt and imprisoned as a result of the concerted effort of the hostmen of Newcastle to nip Shields in the bud. The cycle of violent crackdowns had being going on since the very birth of North Shields in 1225 and continued until the inception of the Tyne Improvement Commission in 1850. The hostmen were businessmen with vast power and means on a local level, owning the coal mines with their associated infrastructure and controlling the supply of coal on a national level. They held a formidable monopoly and employed the river’s keelmen, who were responsible for moving coal from the drops to the larger vessels down river. This was for centuries the main occupation in Newcastle. In Gardiner’s book, addressed to Oliver Cromwell, he makes the case for the granting of a charter to Shields. It appears that Gardiner had a hand in the design of the map, as the Long and Bill reaches nearer Newcastle show a number of sandbanks and shipwrecks, while North Shields harbour, Tynemouth Castle and the Spanish Battery are greatly embellished. The Black Middens are also omitted. This was likely done in order to persuade Cromwell of Shields’ rightful place as the favourable location for industry and trade as well as from a military standpoint. Gardiner also paints a stark picture in the book of the cruel and corrupt nature of the Corporation of Newcastle, describing the town’s governors as: “unchristian, illegal, oppressive and repugnant to the Laws of England.” His appeal fell on deaf ears, however, and North Shields was confined to being a fishing port, which it proudly remains to this day. Yet Gardiner’s document still serves as an early piece of discourse in the nation’s progression from a mercantilist economy to one with free trade as its premise. This map is offered framed, mounted & delivered here: penbal.uk/product/ralph-gard…

#Guildford #ShopFrontFriday #postcard

A very Danish solution After staff at the US embassy in Copenhagen removed the 44 Danish flags symbolizing the 44 fallen Danish warriors from the protective barrier on the sidewalk, ordinary Danes have been replacing them. The Silent Word manifestation on Saturday will be big.

I am giving an illustrated lecture about Colin O’Brien, the Clerkenwell Photographer, on Tuesday 10th February at 6:30pm at Islington Museum, 245 St John St, EC1V 4NB. Entry is free and no booking is required, just come along.

The Boathouse Inn, Shrewsbury, c1880 and today. I walked over that suspension bridge every morning on the way to school.

In spite of the lively weather, I had a lovely day in Maldon yesterday. Charity shop finds - set of Essex walking maps and an Alan Godfrey old O/S reprint Chelmsford (south) 1895 - had brunch in Sophie's tea room - scrambled egg on toast and a pot of tea!

I've been meaning to read this for a couple of years and now I have not only did it live up to my expectations it exceeded them. Brilliant @ClerkofOxford