When will Waverley be in our area in 2026?   From the Waverley Excursions page

 ... let me show you what Waverley looks like (and an excuse for sharing some pictures)

I love ferries. CfN.

It is, isn't it. Of course, everyone forgets Luxembourg, as if it's tiny like Lichtenstein or Andorra. I'd actually just been looking there, but to see if the hillier bits of scenery and buildings might fit no. 29. So far it was a draw with a less mountainous bit of Austria, which must now be the best bet. Specific location definitely "somewhere" - or perhaps "nowhere (middle of)" fits better.

Oh, for goodness' sake.

After much more poring over my paper remnants of grahame's original itineraries, I conclude that image 24 is, as close as you can get to it, platform 6 in Luxembourg's main railway station.

I shall now go to lie down, with a cool Taunton towel across my fevered brow.

Looking at no.3 again, fortified by a traditional Christmas turkey lunch and a few glasses of sparkling wine, it has clicked!

Small black tank engine, green coaches, it can only be-

Germany, Rugen Island and the Rasende Roland narrow-gauge railway!

If the quiz master requires a location on the line, I might consult my Kompass map to see if it helps....

Courrour?

Berney Arms doesn't even get a RRB, passengers are told to go to Reedham or Great Yarmouth instead.

I concede my even-a-half-point, and I am now starting again to read through paper copies of grahame's itineraries - which he gave me, at the beginning of the year. I am still struggling here. 

 Are there any other stations where the RRB calls only a significant distance away?

To my mind 3 and 29 were always going to be hard ones, not being "places". Since Austria is still availble one should be there. 24 is maddening, as it ought to be well-known.

28 might not have been Sweden, since SJ run much of the railway in Norway as well as Sweden. But while the train in 11 is barely visible so no help, there is writing on the hotel in the background. That leads to Bodø, Norway, fitting in with 28 being Sweden.

No 12 has to be Taunton?! Platform 2?

Another quick look before being summonsed to do turkey carving duties, I think that the Lithuanian one may be Klapeida.

To help anyone else who dips into this today, most remaining are easy to get to the country (17 Italy, 21 Spain, 25 Switzerland, 28 Sweden), but beyond that it looks like Googling if Christmas TV gets boring this evening!

Thanks Grahame for all your efforts with this years quizes, and Happy Christmas all - that turkey isn't going to carve itself!

A generous half point, indeed, awarded - Czechoslovakia split on 1st January 1993; the picture was taken in the left hand half - the Czech Republic.  There's another picture in the right hand half somewhere

Swimmers rescued amid ongoing emergency response

A significant emergency service response has begun after reports of a number of people getting into difficulty in the water off the Devon coast.

Police were called at 10:25 GMT to the beach at Budleigh Salterton after concern was raised for people in the water.

A number of people have been safely brought back to shore and will be checked by paramedics, Devon and Cornwall Police have confirmed.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said Exmouth and Beer Coastguard Rescue teams, RNLI lifeboats from Exmouth and Torbay, and coastguard search and rescue helicopters have been sent to the scene to assist, alongside police and the ambulance service.

Members of the public have been urged to not enter the water along this stretch of coast while the incident is ongoing.

Cold health alert as parts of UK set to freeze on Christmas Day

A cold health alert and weather warnings have been issued for parts of the UK on Christmas Day, as forecasters dashed hopes of a white Christmas.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued the yellow alert for south-west England from 18:00 on 25 December to midday on 27 December.

A Met Office yellow warning for wind covers south-west England, Somerset and a large swathe of Wales, stretching from Cardiff and Swansea up to Bangor. Gusts hit 68mph (109 km/h) early on Thursday at Berry Head, Torbay.

Organisers of some Christmas and Boxing Day swims in Devon and Cornwall have had to cancel events.

In total, the Met Office warning covers 18 of Wales' 22 council areas.

In south-west England, temperatures on Christmas morning were between 1C and 4C (34F and 39F) for most, said BBC Weather's Matt Taylor, but it was "feeling below freezing due to the wind chill". Winds around coasts and on moors have exceeded 40mph at times, hitting 43mph at Plymouth and 49mph at Liscombe, Exmoor, he added.

Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon said it was "highly unlikely" the UK would see a white Christmas. "We've got a very dry picture across the UK over the next few days," he added.

Although not an official part of the UK, the crown dependency of Jersey experienced snow on Thursday morning. The Jersey Met Section said it was only the third time since records began that snow was observed on the island on Christmas Day and the first time since 1970.
...

The highest temperatures on Christmas Day were forecast to be around 7C (45F) in north-east England and 6C in south or south-east England. The Met Office added that frost and freezing temperatures were likely in western rural areas overnight on Christmas Day into Boxing Day, with -6C possible in rural parts of Scotland and -4C in rural Wales.

Organisers of the Coverack swim in Cornwall said with the weather forecast it would be "too dangerous" for the event to go ahead and postponed the event until New Year's Day. Start Bay Inn, in Devon, said it was "really sad" to announce its Boxing Day swim had been cancelled, while the RNLI Teignmouth took a similar decision, insisting "safety considerations must come first".

No 12 has to be Taunton?! Platform 2?

re 7, the angular style of the GW lettering matches the 1930s date of the northern extension of Brunel's original trainshed thus providing an equally elegant cover for the higher-numbered platforms.