Leighton buzzard railway museum

As mentioned, yesterday I went to the Leighton Buzzard railway museum, dedicated to a short miniature railway which served the local quarries. 

The adult ticket was around £14 and it includes a ride on the train. The main exhibition consists of a covered engine yard with several narrow gauge engines, both steam and diesel powered.

The museum is staffed entirely by volunteers and after a few minutes a very friendly gentleman approached us to give us a free impromptu guided tour.

He informed us on why narrow gauge is used(easier to turn corners and go up steep gradients) and the purpose the railway originally served.  It turns out sand was quarried in the area, which was used in building and in glassmaking.  The gentleman volunteer told us that the glass used in building Crystal Palace was made from Leighton Buzzard sand. 

On that day, it hosted a beer festival but we didn't partake. Then it was time for the train ride.  As expected it was a slow pleasant journey through the suburbs of Leighton Buzzard and it terminated at industrial estate on the edge of town. There were a few more engines and other rail related exhibits there. We then took the same train back. On the way out I bought a £2 booklet about the engines on display, which our volunteer guide suggested. 

It's well worth visiting for railway nerds, and much respect to all the volunteers involved. 

Bettany Hughes, “The hemlock cup”

 I’ve literally just finished reading “The hemlock cup. Socrates, Athens and the search for the good life” by Bettany Hughes.  Its a biography of the ancient philosopher, Socrates, and explores his life, the historical events that shaped him and his contemporaries and peers.  It’s a good book if you are interested in the life of the philosopher and the Athens city state but not a good book if you want to learn about his philosophy.  It is a well readable book and it should inspire the reader to dive deeper into Socrates.

Copy borrowed from Hong Kong public libraries.

Civilisation : the west and the rest by Niall Ferguson

I recently finished reading "Civilisation: the west and the rest" by Niall Ferguson, which accompanied the 2011 Channel Four TV series "Civilization: Is the West history?". It's an absorbing and thought provoking book on how the west, that is Europe and later the United States dominated the world from 1500 onwards. 

Most people, on both sides of politics, would argue that the western dominance came through military might in the last five centuries, however Ferguson presents a more complicated picture.  He explains in great detail that five 'killer apps' were responsible - science, property rights, rule of law, democracy and consumerism.  

It's a thoroughly readable book and I recommend it to anyone wanting to understand how the west became dominant. 

The Story of England by Michael Wood

Some of you may have noticed on my sleeper train ride to Beijing I took a book with me, “The story of England” by Michael Wood, I have now finished it and here are my thoughts.

This is a book linked to a a PBS TV documentary on the history of England as seen through the eyes of the inhabitants of a Leicestershire village of Kibworth from Roman times to the present.  I was not aware of the TV documentary and this book more than makes up for not watching it.  

Like his other books, Wood has given us another very readable work.  He explained a few things that I had heard of like the enclosure act and the rise of non conformist churches but didn’t know much about. He certainly filled in gaps in my knowledge. 

Now that I’ve read the book, I need to visit Kibworth to see the place for myself.

  

 

The Sceptered Isle 55BC to 1901 - a review

After nearly two months and four library renewals I have finally read Christopher Lee’s six hundred page book on British history from the Romans to the death of Queen Victoria. And here’s what I think of it.

The book contains many extracts from Sir Winston Churchill’s “A history of the English speaking peoples”.  It gives an overview of the English monarchs(post 1066), along significant people and events throughout the last two thousand years of the UK.  These events and personalities all add up to Britain, its culture and society that we see today.  

As expected, lesser known parts of British history were given less coverage than usual, especially the post Roman Anglo Saxon kingdoms, it was the ‘Dark Ages’ after all.  Without going into too much detail, it tells you the origin of some of our institutions and certain words.  Did you know that ‘Parliament’ got its name from the French word ‘parler’ to speak.  It always been a place to ‘parley’ or to speak.  Elsewhere I was interested in the rule of the some of the lesser known medieval monarchs such as Henry I and Henry III.

In brief, its a very readable book and the chapters are broken down in ten to fifteen page chunks.  Despite the intimidating thickness I would recommend this book if you are in any way interested in British history 

The sceptred Isle 55bc-1901

This is a damn good book if you're into British history. Over 600 pages and I'm not even read 200 pages, now at the Stuart era and already renewed it once at the library.