The mysterious disappearance of that Malaysian jet has put me in my mind of a sad story from the 1920s.
One bright April morning the 11:15 for Northampton Castle left Nottingham London Road Lower Level as usual, but it never reached its destination. It was seen to call at Melton Mowbray North, and there were unconfirmed reports of it reaching Clipston and Oxendon, but one thing is sure: it never arrived in Northampton.
Extensive searches were undertaken and reports of sightings from as far afield as Bodmin Road and Leeming Bar were followed up, but not a trace of the train or its passengers was ever found.
It was because of this tragedy that the nation’s youth was encouraged to take up locospotting. The authorities reasoned that, in the event of a similar occurrence, the spotters’ notebooks could be called in and the mystery solved in short order. Happily, this has never proved necessary.
Lord Bonkers was Liberal MP for Rutland South-West 1906-10.
Previously in Lord Bonkers' Diary...
No comments:
Post a Comment