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Well, after a week or so of just being under the weather with a horrid cold type virus thingy, I had a full days outing yesterday. I took my camera and my sketchbook, but neither were pulled out during the day, which is an unusual occurrence!

I went to the West Somerset Railways Winter Steam Festival with some of the chaps from the railway I volunteer with. And we had a good day - lots of giggles, leg pulling, funny stories, and of course steam locomotives!

My favourite of the day had to be 6695 (I think it was ... yup, just checked the working timetable for the day!). It reminded me of 5619 that we had at our railway in September - a hellfire time was had by all then. And we had a dreadful time yesterday.

Hmmm let me explain those terms a little. They come from the golden heydays of 'diesel bashing'. Hellfire referred to something that was rather good in terms of motive power, in fact it's the best accolade that can be given to something. Dreadful, particularly as 'my lords! that's dreadful' means it's almost hellfire, but not quite! Apparently these terms shouldn't be used for steam locos, however I don't care as the terms are descriptive, and a steam loco does have a fire in it's firebox to generate the steam - a hell of a fire indeed!

Anyways, the day was dreadful! And a much needed time with people for me. I do tend to become very withdrawn and solitary if I'm not careful and going out of the house is a major problem at times, but not yesterday. Oh the inertia to cancel, to say I didn't feel well was there, but I ignored that and went and enjoyed.

It was a grey and gloomy, jumping cold, frosty day, but the steam heat was on and the coaches were cosy (except for those behind King Edward I where there was no steam heat- bah!). And the effervescent fun and silliness of our group added extra warmth and fun to what can be a gloomy bunch of enthusiasts.

I don't know what it is about some train enthusiasts, they are doing what they enjoy (allgedly) yet they can be the grumpiest, most antisocial and lacking 'hwyl' (a welsh word that kind of means fun, but it's more than just fun, fun and good spirits and so on all wrapped up in one word), and we feel it's our social duty to bring laughter and smiles to as many as we can and to exhibit our enjoyment of the day out together.

It was lovely to sit and enjoy the journeys behind various steam locomotives, as well as a leisurely lunch in a pub in Minehead.

I've said it before but steam train travel delights every one of my senses - sight, smell (steam and oil and coal fires, nothing like it!), taste (sulphurous coal fumes leave a tang in the mouth), hearing (rhythms, mechanical noises, the whoosh of steam being released under pressure, and the ghostly or mournful or shrill steam whistles), and touch (the motion of the carriages, the warmth of the steam heat, the fingers of cold air on exposed skin, the vibrations from the rails). It all can lull me to sleep, especially if I'm alone on a jolly.

It can also be quite a transcendent experience, especially when one is coccooned in old compartmented stock where the sounds of other passengers are muffled by the walls and you watch the world sliding by. The outer journey often mirrors an inner one that takes place as I relax and enjoy and let my mind drift and my subconscious work on the concerns it needs to work on. Sometimes a train journey is needed for me to clear my mind. Steam trains work best, but any train journey does - I have nothing to worry about except to change trains at the appropriate times ... nothing can disturb me, distract me, I can't procrastinate ...

And procrastinating is what I am doing ... I should be doing accounts or illustrations or a railway map ... but I'm so weary and fuzzle headed ...

The new calendar year is nearly upon us, though my spiritual new year has started with the re-birth of the Sun after the Winter Solstice.

I started reading a book last night called 'What the bleep do we know?'. It's about how science and spirit are the different faces of the same coin, that we are all consciousness, that the boundaries we percieve aren't really there - the limitations of our minds/brains limit how we experience 'reality'. That is most probably an oversimplification, and it's not a new idea - Buddhism and Hinduism have similiar ideas, and it's not the first time I've read a book like this (with a big bag of salt beside me!!) but it raises some questions and ideas I'd not had, says the same things as ideas I've had, and clarifies outher ideas. No doubt some of the views presented are whacky, but that's what the salt is for!

I ordered a box set of dvds containing the film earlier, and I shall look forward to watching that too. If it makes me think and question and move forward in terms of beliefs, helps me to come to terms with certain things, clarify others, discount still more, or makes me smile then it'll have done that.

The important theme for me, however, is how science has become divorced from viewing the Universe as a living entity in it's own right to seeing it as something to be tamed, enslaved, mastered, and raped for it's rescources, instead of living in harmony and understanding with it. And also, that there is a lot more we don't know, don't understand, and can't necessarily measure by scientific method - and just because we can't do that doesn't mean it exists does it? What is consciousness? Can we measure it? Can we distill it from a body and bottle it or analyse it? Yet consciousness exists doesn't it?

Art is wonderful, as it gives each of us a chance to express our views of our universe - how we percieve things, what gives us pleasure, what thoughts go on in our heads, and so on. I found myself, a while ago, on a trail from psychedelic art to visionary art, and found the idea of sharing our inner visions, realities, universes, beliefs, spirituality through art fascinating.

Anyways, I'm now wittering, I've lost the plot here and need some tea!

Whenever or however you celebrate the New Year, may it bring you peace, joy, love and light and may your creativity and appreciation of the the universe around you and within you overflow.