Scotland Holiday - Day 5

The drive home began under more dark skies and the A702 proved a particularly effective way to get to get to the M74. At Gretna services I was shocked and saddened to open the Times and learn of the death on July 28th of Chris Dagley the drummer in the house trio at Ronnie Scott's. We saw him perform there only on May 9th; his motorcycle accident has cut short a talented life.

We drove on to Kendal and found a very attractive town with a testing one way system imposed on it I suppose by its age and bridge-rich infrastructure. Falling rain did not alter the fact that this was the Lake District in the first week of August and it was busy. We were there to visit the Loneliness of Lowry exhibition at Abbot Hall. I went specifically to see "The Derelict House" and also very much enjoyed "A Ship" (1965) and "Seascape" (1952). We both appreciated two Hepworths one inside and one out.

Oval Form 'Trezion' - Barabara Hepworth Abbot Hall, Kendal

Lunch at the cafe was excellent but I struggled a bit with the dullard boy at the till. He was English but did not appear to speak English at least not any of the words on the menu. I find that physical violence sometimes aids understanding but can also lead to arrest so I persevered. I am very pleased with my new high vis jacket - new in the sense that it came out of the packet which it has been in for 2-3 weeks since I bought it. It is meant to be a passport to wider transport photography opportunities. It did not work today at Stagecoach's Kendal garage.

Leaving Kendal via a joyous circuit of its elaborate roads we continued off motorway to Carnforth. I was there to see stored DRS locomotives and was not disappointed but there was so much more for me to see in a long visit. Once again I ended up with a set of photographs I am very pleased with.

We covered a lot of motorway today and saw a lot of people speeding. I reflected on the types of vehicle which do this. They fall broadly into two categories; one is the type of car people buy specifically to speed in, Subarus, Evos, certain BMWs and so on. Their drivers probably have DSD - dick size deficiency. More worrying are the cars in which speeding is entirely inappropriate as to do so clearly exceeds several design limits. At speeds in excess of 80mph a car with an engine of 1.4l ot even less must surely shake itself to pieces in the course of a long journey. Another mystery is that many of these are driven by women. It is not that women can't drive but I do wonder how anyone who can spend so long in one shop can get from Carlisle to Stafford in only 40 minutes.

At Cherwell Valley they have replaced (presumably temporarily) the buildings destroyed by fire earlier this year with a new facility which is essentially a giant portakabin. It is actually pretty impressive and if you ignore the eerily exposed HVAC and temporary stadium style steps, it is quite attractive.

Any sunshine today was sporadic and although it was generally brighter and drier as we moved south, dark cloud, rain and suicidal storm bugs pursued us for most of the journey. It has been a good break and yet there is still so much to look forward to. In Carnforth it will always be two o'clock.