Training ... traming??

Dear Blog,

     As you may know, in God’s own county, a spade is called a spade. No messing about the bush, a spade. S-P-A-D-E. Pure and simple. So you expect that when you want to visit a tramway, you expect a tramway. As a kid, a tram could be a sort of bus running on rails sunk in the road. Like in Bradford. No messing about the bush, a tram. T-R-A-M. Pure and simple. O.K. it could be a trackless, a tram without rails in the road, the power fed from over-head tram lines suspended above the streets. Like in Leeds. No messing about the bush, a trackless. T-R-A-C-K-L-E-S-S-. Pure and simple. And in the summer as kids, we would visit Shipley Glen and catch the tram for the cost of a 1d ride, the tram taking us from the bottom of the glen to the top. In this case a cable car, the oldest in Britain, the cable attached to the underneath of the car pulling one car up while the weight was counter balanced by another car coming down on a parallel rail. No messing about the bush C-A-B-L-E-C-A-R. Pure and simple. If we were extremely lucky, we had a day out at Scarborough where we could watch the funicular tram. Watch because we could not afford to go on it! No messing about the bush F-U-N-I-C-U-L-A-R. Pure and simple. So in God’s own county, a tram is called a tram is called a tram, and you expect a tram, no messing.

But these Welshies are coy. Round and round the bush we go, bush we go, bush we go. Round and round the bush we go, this wet morn. Go on our tramway they urge. Sounds good! Ride in comfort up the side of a mountain, thinks I, sit back on the padded seats, enjoy the views. After this morning’s knackering trudge in the rain, a pleasant ride up hill letting the train take the strain and perhaps a gentle stroll down is just what the coach has ordered! So we gets there. Where’s the train? Where’s the tram? Tramway boyo, not tram. The Welshie explains that the tramway ceased to operate a couple of hundred years ago!!! You mean we have missed the tram???? We are too late?? So we climb up … and up … and up …. and up. And the ground, it gets wetter … and wetter .. and boggier … and even boggier.

But the view was worth it.

And the race down to beat the storm was exhilarating.

                                               Colin