Things we do...

...for a blip.

There are very few trains crossing the viaduct in the evening, so you have to get your timing right. When I first arrived about 15 minutes before the 1939 to Barrow was due, the tide was out and the viaduct was reflecting perfectly (as last Sunday). I could tell though from the sound of water flowing that something was happening, and the next thing the tidal bore appeared slapping up against the viaduct, forcing me to retreat back along the edge of the embankment. I repositioned the tripod, and waited while the water level rapidly rose. Eventually I was standing in several inches of water when the train appeared a few minutes late. There was only one chance to get this, or wait another hour when the tide would make this vantage point inaccessible.

Why was I taking a night blip on a day when after a murky start the sun shone brilliantly? The answer is that I spent the best part of the day in a meeting in Wallasey Town Hall on the Wirral discussing a bizarre planning proposal, while being distracted by the amazing view from the window across the Mersey to the Liverpool waterfront that was glowing in late afternoon sunshine. I haven't reached the beyond embarrassment stage of blipping where I would feel able to whip out the camera during, or even at the end of a meeting, to lean out of the window for a photograph. Maybe there's hope for me yet, but it was a missed opportunity.

I learned a new expression though from the engineer developing the proposal, who said he had an "Open Kimono" approach to other people's need to know the detail of how the bizarre idea was going to work.