Happy to have this post moved if it's really out of place here

Vandals "motivated by social media likes" have been blamed for draining a stretch of canal.

The Canal and River Trust (CRT) said it was dealing with the after-effects of people purposefully draining water from the Trent and Mersey Canal on the Staffordshire/Cheshire border, near Kidsgrove, on Saturday.

The incident involved a two-mile stretch of the waterway between locks 44 and 54, the trust said, with every lock being opened.

Cheshire Police confirmed it was made aware of the incident, which was believed to have happened between 21:00 and 22:00 BST, and inquiries were ongoing.

The stretch of canal has since refilled but the CRT said the issue could have caused "massive problems" for boats moored in the area and wildlife living in the water.

"We believe that this vandalism is motivated by people looking for social media likes," a trust spokesperson added.

Despite the refill, the locks along the stretch had been closed to navigation due to very little water being left in the supplying reservoirs, the trust said.

In response to the vandalism, officials chained and padlocked the locks to "save what water we have left".

"Another incident like this could be devastating," the trust spokesperson said. "Please respect any advice signs, which are in place to keep people safe and protect the canal."

A Cheshire Police spokesperson said anyone who had any information on the incident should get in touch via 101 or the force website.

18:37 Westbury to Swindon due 19:21

18:37 Westbury to Swindon due 19:21 will be starting late from Westbury and is expected to be 5 minutes late.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Will be formed of 3 coaches instead of 2.

I can only offer a link to the current website of the Severn Beach Miniature Railway, at https://www.severnbeachminiaturerailway.co.uk/ for details.

CfN.

Looking forward (and knowing him quite well), I can say that grahame always has a 'Plan B' - and usually a 'Plan C' as well. 

Arriving into Euston this evening ... and then leaving from Paddington ... am I right in saying that with the demise of the 205 as we knew it, there is no direct public transport link between these two stations?   Walk to Euston Square, perhaps, on a shortish connection?   Alternative being the diverted 205 part of the way and a second wait for the 30, or a zigzag on the deep level tube?

Our train manager has confirmed, sadly, that the incident was a fatality.
I am finalising "Plan B" ...

https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/36171415/english-village-train-station-bristol-charfield/

Article about Charfield  ... picture looks to me like an old one of Oldfield Park taken in the days that HSTs were blue.  But to be fair, what could / should The Sun have used to illustrate the story?

Bus passengers are being warned over potential disruption as drivers ballot to take strike action.

More than 1,000 drivers working for First West of England could take action after rejecting an "unsatisfactory" pay offer.

If the members of Unite Union, which has urged the company to come back with an improved offer, vote to strike then services in Bristol, Bath, Weston-super-Mare and Wells could be affected.

First Bus West of England's managing director Doug Claringbold said: "Our above-inflation pay offer reflects the value we put on colleagues and demonstrates our commitment to protecting staff from the rising cost of living - even in the challenging financial environment we operate in."  He added that the operator remains open to having "constructive discussions" with drivers to reach a "fair resolution".

The dispute comes after members rejected a two-year pay deal which the union has said would give them an extra £1 of pay per hour from now until March 2026. After that, drivers will be given a 30p hourly increase from April 2026. New starters will be offered 50p extra on the hourly rate, which goes up by 10p in April 2026.

The company is part of First Group PLC. Last year, the group recorded an operating profit of £204.3m and share dividends were increased by 45%, compared to the previous year.

Unite regional officer Amy Roberts said: "We appreciate local residents may be concerned to hear of potential strike action, but First West of England has failed to put forward a meaningful pay offer to our members. Drivers at First West of England do a vital job for the general public and deserve to be paid fairly. We urge First West of England to come back to the table with a better offer to avoid any disruption."

Complaints about London buses being too hot have reached their highest level on record.

There have already been 276 complaints this year, up from 155 last year and 149 in 2023, Freedom of information figures show. There were 51 in the second half of 2022.

Although more than 6,000 London buses have air-cooling systems, according to Transport for London (TfL), most are not air-conditioned.

TfL, which only keeps figures for three years, said the data "should be viewed in the context of the 1.8 billion bus journeys that are made in London each year".

A series of heatwaves, where temperatures are above 28C (82.4F) for three consecutive days, have struck the capital this year.

Lorna Murphy, TfL's director of buses, said: "We value all customer feedback and continue to look at ways to make bus journeys more comfortable for our customers, especially during longer spells of hot weather. We've introduced several measures to help with this, including reflective roofs and insulation to help reduce heat, and opening windows for improved ventilation. All new double-decker buses are also fitted with air cooling. We also frequently issue travel advice for customers when travelling in hot weather, advising that they carry water and ask customers to look out for one another while on the move."

Last year, the Victoria line was shown to be the hottest on London Underground with average summer temperatures above 30C.

Sent a survey by Caledonian Sleeper the other day, in the response I did manage to shoehorn in both the loss of the Bristol Edinburgh sleeper and also the demise of the 205 connection to and from Paddington as two of the disincentives to using the service.

Mark