“ANORAKS ON SUNDAY” … Greetings to ye, what news from the shires, pray? I must say things have happily lightened up a tad over the past week on DGBiC. . I missed all the animosity and have only a sketchy idea what it was all about. . I thought this site is supposed to be fun, yet it sounds as if some folks have their own agendas and wish to spoil it for the majority! I’m told some of the problems are being caused by an alternative Cheltenham site to which some former DGBiCers have fled? .. Who cares? .. I’ve heard these people ‘steal’ stuff from here, but I guess that’s what you should expect when you put your pictures and comments into the public domain and is a risk we have to take! ..Obviously, if that’s happening, those concerned lack any originality and ability to come up with their own material, so simply plagiarise the work and efforts of others! .. Sad puppies! I only joined DGBiC about a year ago and I initially felt it was a bit yucky and too narrow for my liking, but I stuck with it! .. When the Loopy Loo chappie hung up his carving knife it felt like a breath of fresh air around here to my way of thinking - quite suddenly, the previous rather blinkered junta sporting insular thoughts and tastes, gave way to a much more worldly site, which has since grown into a wonderful international circle of friends who all share Cheltenham Spa as their nucleus, but not their blind obsession! .. I haven’t visited Cheltenham for six years and no longer having any family or friends living there and little money available, it’s unlikely I will pass that way again! Since joining DGBiC, I’ve attempted to share with all and sundry what life was like growing up in a working class home over Cloddy during the 1950’s and 60’s .. .. one kid, running wild, obsessed with the wonderful and varied railway culture we enjoyed in these parts and my progression into becoming a music junky! (Booze, fags and wimmin’ also rated high on my ‘lifestyle’ tariff!) Everybody on DGBiC have their lives to live with all the everyday ups and downs, so if they like to post lovely photographs of wildlife and gardens, be it in Benhall or Basutoland, I think it’s splendid. . There’s a particular member on here who apologises if he posts something about Gloucester!!! Some folks post items and topics on subjects which really go against the grain with me and even bring about a feeling of anger … but even then, I usually tick on ’Like’ because they took the trouble to do so! (or just move on!) Sometimes, I feel administration are a little over zealous when vetting our posts, especially when a debate arises. It’s good people can exchange views provided they refrain from personal rancour! .. I’ve had stuff removed from DGBiC, but what care I? .. I’m too old to worry about upsetting anyone and I bow to nobody on this planet! .. BUT .. I do believe in greeting everyone as a friend and try to understand the views held by others! ‘CHELTENHAM CENTRAL’ better known as .‘St James’ Station‘. Much has been written on the subject of St James’ Station, so in today’s ’Anoraks’ I’m just going to deal with the final six years or so of it’s existence. . Everyone who remembers the place seems to do so with great affection. . It was a wonderful railway station with just about the right amount of everything to make it perfect .. only the seaside was missing! My earliest memories of St James’ Station was riding by with my mum on the #2 bus from Granley Road (Cloddymore Road) on our way to town. . As the old ’GUY’ double decker with the exciting Indian Chief’s Head perched upon the top of the radiator cap, turned left at Lockes the bakers, I was already poised for my ultra-loud announcement as we rounded the next bend …. ‘I WAS BORN IN THERE’ To my poor mother’s embarrassment, I always pointed at the railway station .. not at the Victoria Nursing Home, on the opposite side of the road! .. As far back as that, I was hooked on railways and my bedroom window looked out on the famous and magnificent signal gantry at the bottom of Granley Road, on the mainline between Cheltenham and Gloucester! .. To the left I could see trains travelling up and down the Kingham etc branch line! .. The huge arched windows of Dean Close School reflected in a dazzling orange hue at sunset! .. At the risk of boring you, one other great memory of St James’ Station was going there on a Saturday morning in hopes of finding one particular important looking railwayman on duty .. Cos’ he sold railway badges to us nippers!. . He occupied an office off the main concourse and it was quite thrill to go inside the big important looking door where he would lay out all his wares on a desk for us to choose from. . These badges were the fine enamel ones manufactured by Gomm of Birmingham. . The company is still producing it’s fine products nowadays. . A friend of mine in Ipswich commissioned Gomm to make an exclusive edition of a ‘Bristol B21’ bus, on a tie-clip back in 1990! .. Minimum order 400. . The workmanship was fantastic! .. at the end of the second run, my friend was given the mould! Our railwayman friend exhibited an amalgam of beautiful railway badges from locomotives to coats of arms .. he also had a selection of buses, traction engines and aircraft. . Unfortunately, these beautiful and very desirable ‘trinkets’ cost 2/- each, so buying one was a very rare treat. . I still have a couple I bought from him .. one is ‘Evening Star’ and the other is the essential ‘must have’ ‘Great Western Railway Coat of Arms’ .. Sorry, I detest that ‘must have’ term, as I do the use of all trite! One other thing I especially liked about St James’ Station was the big old solid iron green luggage labelling machine .. Put in a penny and punch out an aluminium tag with whatever you wanted to write upon it! .. The tag came with a tiny hole in each end through which you could pin it to something … like a suitcase, bag etc. St James’ had an unforgettable railway station smell .. of smoke, dust and pigeons! The downturn came for this often busy and very extensive town terminus, when the closure of the Honeybourne line was announced .. It was to be the first nail in the coffin of this lovely railway station although I don’t think many youngsters of my age understood the gravity of this first blow to our local railway heritage! In the first photograph: St James’ Station as I think most of us remember it, with the cobblestone approach beneath the lovely wrought iron canopy. .. When you arrived here your heart gave a little skip of excitement in anticipation of going on a journey. Naturally, you would buy a little something to browse through at W.H. Smith’s large wooden kiosk on the inner concourse before making your way (via the cosy tea room?) to one of the three (sometimes four) platforms in regular daily use. .. Beyond the platforms, the station yard spread out widely ahead and formed a broad gateway to the world … London, Weston, Porthcawl, Minehead etc. .. This pictorial study of St James’ Station, opened in 1894 as a replacement for the original station which was situated in the cutting between St Georges Road and Malvern Road bridges, dates from the final days of it’s existence and was photographed by E. Wilmshurst. .. The double gates in the foreground was the entrance to the goods shed and station yard.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 07:49:32 +0000
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