16:23 Westbury to Swindon due 17:06
17:35 Swindon to Westbury due 18:19

17:35 Swindon to Westbury due 18:19 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

Just noticed 14 blokes in the publicity picture and no bloke-esses.   Probably not PC to comment.

I went and had a look at the work on the new walkway this week and I will be really surprised if it is ready by the end of the month.

Hopefully I will be proved wrong but they still haven't put in place all the pre-cast concrete sections that make up the walkway and then they would need to clear up the site and move all the barriers, signs etc. before it could be used.

Video footage shared online show a long line of people rough sleeping outside John Lewis

Members of a group of rough sleepers evicted from an encampment on Park Lane are thought to have relocated to locations along Oxford Street.

Video footage shared online shows a long line of people outside John Lewis, with another group also known to be sleeping by Marks & Spencer.

Westminster City Council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) it believes some of them were among those in the Park Lane encampment recently dismantled by Transport for London (TfL). A spokesperson for the council said its rough sleeping teams were out speaking with people across the city, and "we can offer routes to hostel accommodation and help with addiction and mental health issues".


TfL spent about £37,000 removing people from Park Lane

The Park Lane encampment, which was established on a patch of land opposite the Hilton hotel by Hyde Park Corner, mirrored a similar site set up last summer closer to Marble Arch. This was also taken down after TfL was granted a possession order by the court.

The LDRS recently revealed TfL had spent nearly £37,000 on court fees and instructing bailiffs and legal counsel over the last two years removing people from Park Lane. Further costs are expected from the court this month.

The LDRS visited the Park Lane encampments both this year and last, and spoke to several local businesses who raised concerns.

One person who runs a nearby restaurant said: "The problem is we try to push them away and they won't budge out. All I want to do is get rid of them because of the customers. And it's not good for the area."

Following the dismantling of the encampment this year, a TfL spokesperson said those sleeping rough at Park Lane "have been made aware that returning to the site is not an option and that they will be removed. As there is no safe option for people to sleep rough at this site, we have also arranged for security staff to patrol the area to discourage people from returning."

People have been sleeping rough on Oxford Street for years, and it is understood some have been gathering by John Lewis and Marks & Spencer for at least a few months.

The LDRS visited Oxford Street one evening last week, by which point the two groups had begun gathering outside the stores.

Several workers at businesses along Oxford Street said they had experienced no issues with the groups themselves, though claimed they were aware of issues such as pickpocketing affecting the shopping district.

The Met Police has been approached for comment by the LDRS.

According to government data, on a single autumn night in 2024, Westminster recorded 388 people on the streets, a rise of 40 compared to 2023. In second place was Camden with 132 people and then 86 in the City of London.

Conservative West End councillors Paul Fisher and Tim Barnes previously called for TfL and Westminster to "provide a lasting solution to illegal camps, otherwise we will be back at square one. This is unacceptable at the centre of our capital".

Commenting on those sleeping on Oxford Street, Mr Barnes said the issue pre-dates the removal of the tents on Park Lane and that TfL and Westminster City Council should know the groups were linked. He also claimed it was part of a wider problem that had got "dramatically worse" over the last couple of years. He said: "We know that the vast majority of the rough sleepers in the area are part of organised criminal begging gangs but too little joined-up action has taken place to put their illicit trade to an end."

A Westminster City Council spokesperson said: "As a local authority we have more rough sleepers than any other part of the country and we spend more than any other local authority – around £8m a year – to offer rough sleepers a route off the streets. Across the city, our rough sleeping teams are out seven days a week talking to people living rough. We have more than 380 hostel beds to help those sleeping rough and 100 emergency beds on standby, so the reality is nobody needs to be sleeping on the streets."

The spokesperson added: "Over the years, we have witnessed those who have been human trafficked, those who are being exploited for criminal behaviour and those with complex mental health or other complex social needs. We work with colleagues across the public sector, including police, social care and health to ensure the right support and interventions are co-ordinated."

No toilets either I gather

While undoubtedly it was an achievement, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact it was achieved with slow speed running and no on-board heating.  A lower range to allow improved speed and conditions would still allow branch line services but we need to be mindful of the practical limitations.

GWRs own piece -

https://news.gwr.com/news/great-western-railway-battery-train-sets-new-world-distance-record-of-200-miles-to-celebrate-railway-200-in-style

While undoubtedly it was an achievement, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact it was achieved with slow speed running and no on-board heating.  A lower range to allow improved speed and conditions would still allow branch line services but we need to be mindful of the practical limitations.

It needs to  - Hendy promised that it would be, without fail, open by the end of this month....

Late Queen 'refused to open airport over gun row'


The late Queen was allegedly annoyed her cousin could not fly with his shotguns

A relative of the late Queen claims she once refused to open an airport terminal after he was prevented from boarding a flight with his guns on his way to visit her at Balmoral.

Lord Ivar Mountbatten, 62, a first cousin once removed of Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh, revealed he was prevented from taking his shotguns on a flight from Bristol Airport to Aberdeen.

He told broadcaster Gyles Brandreth's Rosebud podcast Queen Elizabeth was so irritated she told him: "They want me to open their new terminal. I don't think I will now."

A spokeswoman for Bristol Airport said it was always the case that Princess Anne would open the site, and not the late Queen.

Lord Mountbatten described how a "sweet check-in lady" told him the hold was accessible from the cabin so the guns would not be secure. He claimed Bristol Airport staff refused to budge despite him telling a manager: "The Queen's sending me a car and she's expecting me for tea."


Princess Anne opening the terminal extension in 2015, having previously opened the building in 2000

In the end, his guns were left in the police armory at the airport and Lord Mountbatten took the flight to Scotland to join the Queen for the shooting weekend in the Highlands.

Later that day at Balmoral, when he recounted the tale to the Queen, it led to her "getting rather irritated" and dispatching an officer to arrange transportation of the guns, Lord Mountbatten said.

The aristocrat, who is also Elizabeth II's distant cousin, told Brandreth: "She said…'I would like Lord Ivar's guns to be up here tomorrow morning. Please see to it'. Whereupon she turns back to me and she looks at me over her glasses with a glint in her eye and she says 'They want me to open their new terminal'. She says 'I don't think I will now'."

Lord Mountbatten added: "So every time I go back to Bristol Airport now, it was opened by the Princess Royal, I have a quiet laugh to myself."

The Princess Royal first opened a terminal building at Bristol Airport in 2000, and later opened a terminal extension in 2015.

Bristol Airport's spokeswoman said: "Bristol Airport followed royal protocol which was to request a member of the royal family to open the new terminal through the Lord Lieutenants office. The Princess Royal was always assigned for our area, never the late Queen."

Lord Mountbatten is a farmer and businessman, and in later life has become a reality TV star and this year appeared in the third season of the reality show The Traitors US.

His great-uncle was Earl Mountbatten - Prince Philip's uncle and mentor, who was assassinated by the IRA in 1979.

Both reinstated just after 3.30pm.

No alternatives offered ... and I thought the 17:35 was an upper tier / protected service?  Welcome to what feels like the despairing land of empty promises.

...for the 1700 from BTM to Paddington, due to more trains than usual needing repairs according to the TM. 2 of the 5 coaches are first class.

15:15 Swindon to Westbury due 15:59

15:15 Swindon to Westbury due 15:59 has been delayed at Swindon and is now 15 minutes late.
This is due to train crew being delayed.

I’m an OLE man myself

What We're Doing About It:
We have been informed of a train hitting an obstruction on the line between Salisbury and Warminster. This means that all lines are blocked between these stations.