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Oh yeah - searching the internet for pictures of stations.

I hadn't thought of that ...

tubeguru wrote: ↑31 May 2021, 10:55 Oh yeah - searching the internet for pictures of stations.

I hadn't thought of that ...

I always check using this method on google before I submit an answer after I have a reasonable idea (guess) of where it could be.

ok, as I've only had one submission for station Q here is a hint 'AC'

trains 500 wrote: ↑22 May 2021, 12:05
station Q: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXD8P4ANGyo

trains 500 wrote: ↑31 May 2021, 16:09I always check using this method on google before I submit an answer after I have a reasonable idea (guess) of where it could be.

Thanks for the advice. I'll give it a try myself

The reassuring thing is, whatever methods you use to work out stations (and we all have our own particular methods), I am very forgiving of incorrect guesses. (I'll forgive seventy-times-seven times!) I will just say "wrong!", and offer you another try. And another. And another…

But if you'd rather wait for the hint to increase the chances of a correct first guess, I will be at the computer with my "hint material" on it tomorrow evening…

RobbieM wrote: ↑01 Jun 2021, 09:44 The reassuring thing is, whatever methods you use to work out stations (and we all have our own particular methods), I am very forgiving of incorrect guesses. (I'll forgive seventy-times-seven times!) I will just say "wrong!", and offer you another try. And another. And another…

But if you'd rather wait for the hint to increase the chances of a correct first guess, I will be at the computer with my "hint material" on it tomorrow evening…

I can wait. I'll also stop being sarcastic now too

trains 500 wrote: ↑31 May 2021, 16:09

tubeguru wrote: ↑31 May 2021, 10:55 Oh yeah - searching the internet for pictures of stations.

I hadn't thought of that ...

I always check using this method

............and so u get a sarcastic reply back. It goes without saying I always do this!!

Thank you for your patience. Hope you're all relaxed now, here we go...

On this occasion, let’s give the hint for the bonus first:

• You can quote the warning in either the Queen’s English, or the area's local dialect. If you choose the latter, you may wish to sing it.

And now the hint for the station:

• If you choose the Queen’s English version of the above quote, the station is mentioned in it.

Answers at the weekend, and then your holiday homework is being prepared!

I'm still convinced I haven't had the expected answers for Station R, so I'm going to give you another hint. It's these photos.

I was going to use them as part of the grand reveal, but I think doing so now as a hint may help. Think outside the box, and do a bit of Googling if necessary. Hopefully the penny will drop!

----

(FYI - Holiday homework is almost prepared! It'll be an exam with seven questions - six stations plus one bonus, all answers to be submitted together on just one answer sheet/PM. Will explain soon. )

Okay, I’ve left it as long as I can. But now it’s time to answer Station R. Just to be different, I’m going to answer the hint first. I asked you to quote the warning about visiting an area near the station without wearing the correct PPE. Normally you’d expect such a warning to be on a sign as you enter the area, but I don’t personally recall any warning being there. So where exactly is this warning? It’s another history lesson, class! Pay attention, now….

The story goes that back in the 1880s, members of the Halifax Parish Church choir were on an outing to the area I’m talking about. Now, if you’ve ever been on a choir day trip, you’ll know that the journey can be quite ‘musical’. It often involves members taking a particular piece of the choir’s repertoire, and playing around with the lyrics to come up with something ridiculous. This used to happen on my own choir trips when I was younger. (Occasionally we kept the new lyrics clean… The coach drivers were always amused. I think….)

On this occasion, the Halifax choir adjusted the words to the carol ‘While Shepherds Watched’. This was at a time where it was sung to the lively tune ‘Cranbrook’, as opposed to the statelier ‘Winchester Old’, which is most sung today. (See? You’re getting a music lesson too!) But the new words had nothing to do with washing socks, or switching from BBC to ITV. No, they dreamt up a tale of love, death, and second-hand cannibalism, all taking place at the destination for their day out. It began with a simple question: “Wheear 'ast tha bin sin' ah saw thee, ah saw thee?” The responder indicated he had been visiting our area without a certain item of protection. So in horror, the questioner gave the following warning:

• “Tha's bahn' to catch thy deeath o' cowd, On Ilkla Mooar baht 'at.”

Or, in the Queen’s English translation:

• “You're bound to catch your death of cold, On Ilkley Moor without a hat.”

And “On Ilkla Mooar baht ‘at” has gone on to become the unofficial anthem of Yorkshire! Yes, the PPE is simply a hat to protect you from the cold, otherwise you might freeze to death. Not that it’s a given; it’s quite possible to visit the area without wearing a hat and live to tell the tale. These two photos show someone on Ilkley Moor removing his hat to see what happened. He survived, and later went on to set strange addictive photo quizzes of stations which have become popular with a number of people. (A number you can count on at least one hand.)

Oh, yes, the station? It’s mentioned in the Queen’s English version of the quote. It’s Ilkley, of course. As if you hadn’t worked that out by now!

Well done to: trains500 for getting the station very quickly, and an extra special well done to Steeevoooo, who got both the station and the bonus. It was Steevoo’s second attempt at the bonus which was correct, but I was very interested to read up on the area in first guess – The Strid, near Bolton Abbey. That was very educational for me, the teacher! Thanks Steeevooo!

Right, now, my holiday's coming up. I’ll try to get your ‘holiday snaps’ ready before the day's out....

RobbieM wrote: ↑06 Jun 2021, 16:08 Ilkley Moor

Thats too obvious to be a robbie M bonus answer that I bypassed it as a potential answer.

trains 500 wrote: ↑06 Jun 2021, 19:10

RobbieM wrote: ↑06 Jun 2021, 16:08 Ilkley Moor

Thats too obvious to be a robbie M bonus answer that I bypassed it as a potential answer.

Sometimes the obvious ones are the obvious ones! (Obviously... )

Homework coming shortly...

Righto, I’m gonna disappear for a few weeks. ( Yippee! School’s out! ) But I know you’d like a bit of homework, so I’ve prepared some. However, before you rush into it, there’s another subject on the curriculum – that of time management.

You see, I’m aiming for a proper break, and that includes from the forum! (It’s known as the ‘right to disconnect’.) So there’s no rush to get these answers in, and I’d encourage you to take your time. Get out and enjoy the sunny weather we’re finally having. (I intend to turn my PM message alerts off after this Wednesday, so I won’t be tempted to check answers.)

But I’d like you each to submit just one PM with all your answers in it (or as many answers as you can get) by Sunday 4th July. That’s when I’ll officially close it. So take your time to get your answers together. Yes, one PM per entrant only! So don’t rush in. There are no prizes for being first.

Now for the homework itself. There’s one item of school life which has been conspicuously absent in this quiz. It is the subject of corporal punishment! So I’m going to give you “six of the best”:

• Best1, Best2, Best3, Best4, Best5, Best6

Yes, a whole six stations to guess! Some easy, some hard. That’s for you to decide. And of course you want a bonus question – that's part 2 of the homework. It's in the next post…

Now, this bonus question really is for the swots, and if you’re stuck, feel free to ask a friend (or two) to help you. You may need to! (Or collaborate among yourselves? Teamwork's a great thing!) Once you’ve worked out the gist of where I’m going with this, you’ll probably need some specialist help to finally solve the puzzle. Hopefully you’ll know folks who you can ask, once you’ve deduced what kind of extra knowledge is necessary. Anyway, here we go:

It’s not just me who’s going on holiday. Crow is also having a break! He’s taking a ‘whistle-stop’ tour of some of the stations we visited earlier. Flying away from his Saundersfoot home, here’s his itinerary. Take note!

• He spends three nights in Rhymney, then flies up north, and spends:
• One night in Thurso. Then it’s:
• Two nights in Wick, whereupon he realises he preferred the previous stop, so spends:
• Another two nights in Thurso. Then whistles his way south to spend:
• Two nights in Sheerness-on-Sea. And realises he left his beak-brush in the far north, so returns for:
• Another two nights in Wick, and:
• One more night in Thurso (remember he liked it here!). Then he:
• Makes a sharp dash down south, for one night in Southminster. Then it’s time to head home, but:
• Two more nights in Rhymney break the journey nicely.

Then back to Saundersfoot, exhausted! He enjoys himself, but as he whistles his way through the holiday, an idea comes to him as to where he should take his next holiday. So the bonus question is:

• Where does Crow want to take his next holiday?

(And there’s extra points if you show your working! )

So, remember – you can submit one answer sheet (that’s a PM) with up to seven answers in it (six stations, one bonus holiday destination). Preferably not before 1st July, and no later than 4th July. I’ll then mark them, and publish your results soon after that. (Or possibly decide on hints if you want to extend it another week….)

Have fun – and do get out to enjoy the sunshine!

I'm back!!! Don't get too excited, though...

Technically this is the last day to submit your answers, though it seems that another week with hints will be welcome. So I'll put a few up later today (even though it's before the end of the day - practicalities will necessitate I do it sooner rather than later!).

This will include hints for the bonus, which, as I suspected, has elicited the reaction of 'What on earth is he going on about? '... All will be revealed, I promise...

Well, as suggested – an extra week with hints is going to happen. Partly because I think it’s desired, and partly because I’ve arrived back in the office, and technology has been changed while I was away. This means I’m going to struggle to upload any new photos for a few days. So here you go:

• Best1: I requested the train stop in this flat landscape, just so I could take the photo.
• Best2: Is James Bond nearby?
• Best3: This station has a unique historical feature – although no longer used, you can still see it towards the far end of the platforms on the photo.
• Best4: Ruglatch?
• Best5: Interesting windmill nearby.
• Best6: Nowhere near the sea, even though the name suggests it could be.

• And now the hints for that infernal Bonus: Take note! Follow those stations to the letter! Why did Crow take a sharp detour to Southminster? Why does he keep whistling? What is he whistling? Is it important how many nights he spends in each location?

I bet there’s a very good chance that you’ve heard Crow’s tune on TV in the last week or two. And for a completely different reason, you may co-incidentally have also heard it over the last few weeks on the radio. (All will be explained, don’t worry!)

Final answers next week!