Blue Murder on the Trans-Pennine Express
Posted on May 06, 2009 under Juliet Archer's Diary |Not quite as glamorous as the Oriental Express and the blue murder refers to some rather rowdy Blackburn Rovers fans, but still …
Geography isn’t my strong point. So when I suggested combining a book signing tour of North-West England with our son’s golf activities, it seemed a sensible use of everyone’s time. Except I hadn’t realised that 3 of my 4 events were a good 50 miles away from our base at The Villa, Wrea Green (highly recommended). And the car was required for local journeys to transport the equivalent of Tiger Woods’ and Phil Mickelson’s golf equipment, plus son if there was room.
So for 4 days I became a commuter on the Trans-Pennine Express and the little local train service that runs between Preston and Blackpool. Great fun, even when some Blackburn Rovers fans murdered several once-respectable football songs on Saturday afternoon. I managed to get to the Borders stores at Warrington, Manchester Fort and Stockport - and back again - with comparatively little effort. Preston, on the Sunday, was even more of a doddle - a 30-minute car journey.
As usual I met lots of lovely readers - all with their own story to tell - and friendly, helpful staff. This time they included the CEO of Borders, although I didn’t realise it at the time!
