ChiefPlanner
Established Member
Mm -- no doubt an excellent person in many ways; but has always struck me as one of those Christians with a tendency to confuse themselves, with the deity they worship. It is -- above all else -- a statement by him concerning World War I, which prompts my dislike of him.
Yes I agree - I was thoroughly bored the first time I read his book , but with maturity - I can see some more positive points as to his character. The odd glass of red wine might have relaxed him a bit.
Anyway - back to the Railway Children - Mrs Waterhouse (is that right) , would have done a cracking job in WW1 with her natural empathy and organisation - would have discovered politics post war and become an early and much respected Member of Parliament in the 1920's as a humane and liberal person, the father , having done back to his Foreign Office job would have been asked to carry on beyond retirement , built an excellent repartee with Winston Churchill , and in memory of his lost son , worked hard to combat with some passion against the appeasement policies of the 1930's.
The Great Northern and Southern became part of the LMS ,and had troublesome times post WW1 , operational standards were maintained , but carriage cleaning deteriorated.
How does that sound ?