Robert Hampton

My friend Scott (aka the Mersey Tart) has been nominated for an award. Over 500 bloggers entered the Blog North Awards, and he made the shortlist.

For the uninitiated, Scott’s blog Round the north we go has been running since 2007. He set out to visit and write about every station on the Merseyrail map. When he’d done that, he just kept going. The end result is a love letter to the railways, borne of a level of dedication that goes above and beyond the call of duty. Every blog post is chock full of observations both whimsical and scathing. It’s a joy to read.

Also, if it weren’t for Scott’s station blogging, he and I would probably never have met, thus depriving the world of the greatest double act since PJ and Duncan. Now that has to be worth a vote, surely?

I don’t want to sound like those hectoring interstitials on dreadful programmes like Loose Women, shamelessly begging for votes in the TV Quick Awards or whatever they’re called. Yes, Scott’s a friend of mine, but in this case it really would be a deserved win. Voting closes tomorrow, so be quick!

If you like Scott’s blog, go to blognorthawards.com/vote and vote for “Round The North We Go” in the Best Personal Blog category. Thank you.

A hilarious tale of quaint Cheshire villages, near-forgotten railway lines and a security guard named Kevin — read the full account over at the Mersey Tart blog.

July saw Merseyrail’s run of bad luck continue, as a train rolled out of the depot and derailed. To atone for their sins, they introduced a new day ranger ticket, but I wasn’t convinced. This was something of a train-y month for me, as I did my bit to help out the previous generation of Merseyrail trains. Trains were also on the Government’s mind, as they announced that the Liverpool to Manchester line would be electrified.

In London, the Police proved once again what a wonderful organisation they are. In Rome, a swimmer suffered an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction.

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