Episodes

Season 2018 / 2019 – Talk 12 e – Victoria and Albert (5) Please note: This talk is in five parts and Victoria and Albert (5) is the last part. Please scroll down to each part after listening to the previous part. There is a linked video after parts 1, 2, 3 and 4. Nigel Mariott tells us about the lives of Victoria and Albert and their great love for each other. He brings humour to the talk and included a number of video clips. I have split the talk into five parts so that you can ‘click on the l...

Your Big Project – Series 1 Episode 12 – Implementation / Go-Live Welcome to Implementation / Go-Live, talk twelve in the series ‘Your Big Project‘. Hopefully this series of podcasts will improve the chances of success for your project. We always consider the good, the bad and the extremely ugly! Implementation / Go-Live is where your work becomes reality. If you have skipped steps or haven’t done things thoroughly enough you will have a disaster. This lack of commitment to deliver a successfu...

Episode 18 – Life on the Watercress Line – Watercress People (2) Welcome to Watercress People (2), where I have the opportunity to interview some of the people who make the Watercress Line happen – when you and visit. My first interview in Watercress People (2) is with David Mead who has been involved since the early days after British Rail closed the line in the 1970s. I then talk to Steve Crowther, the Chair of the Mid-Hants Railway Preservation Society about how she became involved. Steve i...

Your Big Project – Series 1 Episode 11 – Testing Welcome to Testing, talk eleven in the series ‘Your Big Project‘. Hopefully this series of podcasts will improve the chances of success for your project. We always consider the good, the bad and the extremely ugly! Testing, properly carried out, is essential if your project is to have any chance of success. Far too often people skimp on testing as by the time it comes around the project is behind schedule. This has disastrous results. Skimping o...

Episode 17 – Life on the Watercress Line – Christmas Leave (2) Welcome to Christmas Leave (2), where I have the opportunity to travel with servicemen and their families at Christmas. Some are travelling back to base and others are going home for a few days. There are all types of people in Christmas Leave (2), in addition to the military I meet the entertainer at Alresford, a black marketeer, the police and many others. I get the opportunity to talk to some of the passengers who are out for th...

Your Big Project – Series 1 Episode 10 – Training Welcome to Training, talk Ten in the series ‘Your Big Project‘. Hopefully this series of podcasts will improve the chances of success for your project. We always consider the good, the bad and the extremely ugly! You need to have excellent training if your project is to have any chance of success. Far too often people skimp on training with disastrous results. Skimping on training can kill a successful business. Problems include: Boring train...

Season 2018 / 2019 – Talk 11 A – Shortcuts Around the World (A) – the Suez and Panama Canals Please note: Shortcuts Around the World (A) is the first part of the talk by Bruce Oelman. Once you have listened to this part please scroll down to part B. In Shortcuts Around the World (A) Bruce tells us about the building of the Suez Canal and then starts on the story of the Panama Canal. Bruce talks about Napoleon’s interest in building a canal. The project didn’t proceed because the French enginee...

Season 2018 / 2019 – Talk 11 B – Shortcuts Around the World (B) – the Suez and Panama Canals Please note: Shortcuts Around the World (B) is the second part of the talk by Bruce Oelman. In Shortcuts Around the World (B) Bruce tells us about the building of the Panama Canal. He covers the difficulties encountered by the French in their efforts. He also talks about the corruption case that ruined the reputation of Ferdinand de Lesseps. It appears that de Lesseps used innovative money raising tech...

Your Big Project – Series 1 Episode 9 – Build Welcome to Build, talk nine in the series ‘Your Big Project‘. Hopefully this series of podcasts will improve the chances of success for your project. We always consider the good, the bad and the extremely ugly! Many of you in the business may think that this is where IT takes over. This is incorrect! The IT team may take the lead for the build phase but you have to play a major role. If you don’t the project will have difficulties and might fail. ...

Episode 16 – Life on the Watercress Line – Christmas Leave (1) Welcome to Christmas Leave (part 1), where I have the opportunity to travel with servicemen and their families. With Christmas just over those who had leave for Christmas are travelling back to base. Those who were on duty over Christmas are going home for a few days. The Home Guard are very active in Christmas Leave (1) checking the identity cards of all the passengers. In addition they’re on the lookout for suspicious people – spi...

Your Big Project – Series 1 Episode 8 – Data Welcome to data, talk eight in the series ‘Your Big Project‘. Hopefully this series of podcasts will improve the chances of success for your project. We always consider the good, the bad and the extremely ugly! I talk about the need to take every opportunity to improve data quality. The improvement work should have started as part of the Best Practice programme. Improving quality at that stage means you will have a sound basis for your system! Bad ...

Season 2018 / 2019 – Talk 10 A – The Sick Man of Europe and the Berlin Conference of 1878 (A) Please note: this talk is in two parts. Please scroll down to the second part after listening to Part A. Peter Duffy tells us about the fate of Turkey and the Ottoman Empire in The Sick Man of Europe and the Berlin Conference of 1878. The conference led to changes in the countries allocated to the different European Empires in both the Balkans and Mediterranean. The Sick Man of Europe and the Berlin C...

Season 2018 / 2019 – Talk 10 B – The Sick Man of Europe and the Berlin Conference of 1878 (B) Peter Duffy tells us about the fate of Turkey and the Ottoman Empire in The Sick Man of Europe and the Berlin Conference of 1878. The conference led to changes in the countries allocated to the different European Empires in both the Balkans and Mediterranean. The Sick Man of Europe and the Berlin Conference of 1878 describes the different policies driving the key attendees. Britain was keen to protect...

Your Big Project – Series 1 Episode 7 – Listen Welcome to Listen, talk seven in the series ‘Your Big Project‘. Hopefully this series of podcasts will improve the chances of success for your project. We always consider the good, the bad and the extremely ugly! I talk about the need for everyone, from the top downwards, to listen. The listening should have started as part of the Best Practice programme. Listening at that stage means you will have incorporated Best Practice into the system! List...

Episode 15 Welcome to Watercress People (1), where I have the opportunity to interview some of the people who make the Watercress Line happen – for you and me. My first interview in Watercress People (1) is with Colin Fuller who was one of the original people involved when British Rail closed the line in the 1970s. I then talk to Steve Crowther, the Chair of the Mid-Hants Railway Preservation Society. We discuss the roles of the Society and the Mid-Hants Railway Limited in creating the Watercr...

Season 2018 / 2019 – Talk 9 A – Darwin and Evolution (A) Sam Osmond tells the story of the life of the Victorian scientist Charles Darwin and his theory of Evolution in Darwin and Evolution (A). We hear about his early life, and how he went to Edinburgh to study to be a doctor. Sam tells us about his time at Cambridge where he was studying to become a clergyman. As Darwin was more interested in entomology, botany and geology he only got an ‘ordinary’ degree. He was lucky to get a berth on the ...

Season 2018 / 2019 – Talk 9 – Darwin and Evolution B Sam Osmond continues the story about the life of the Victorian scientist Charles Darwin and his theory of Evolution in Darwin and Evolution (B) . We hear about Herbert Spence, a leading Victorian philosopher, and his ideas about evolution. Sam discusses selective breeding, a topic Plato wrote about over 2,000 years ago. 18th century selective breeding ‘improved’ livestock. We learn that DNA analysis of fossils supports the theories discussed...

Your Big Project – Series 1 Episode 6 Welcome to Keeping Tight Control, talk six in the series ‘Your Big Project‘. Hopefully this series of podcasts will improve the chances of success for your project. We always consider the good, the bad and the extremely ugly! In Keeping Tight Control I talk about the need to keep to the scope defined as part of the Best Practice programme . This means that the Project Manager will have to work hard to prevent scope creep. The Project Manager is likely to h...

Episode 14 Welcome to A Day Out With Thomas (B), a favourite event for visitors, of all ages, to the Watercress Line. I join Thomas and his friends who are out in the summer weather to entertain everybody! Rusty and I talk about his role and later I catch part of his magic show. I visit the swing seat roundabouts, a very popular attraction at Ropley. After that I take the first train to Alresford. At Alresford I speak to a family who are out for the day. In A Day Out With Thomas (B) I talk to ...

Series 1 Episode 16 From the Sierra Nevada to Richmond is the last part my journey westwards on the California Zephyr. I left you at the end of the last episode at the top of the Sierra Nevada. Today we come down the mountain and travel through California to Richmond. The speed limit is 30 mph as the train descends the mountain. We certainly don’t want to be on a ‘runaway train’. At one time there was hydraulic mining, where the topsoil was washed away by water. This was banned because of the d...

Your Big Project – Series 1 Episode 5 Welcome to the Detailed Project Scope, episode five, in the series ‘Your Big Project‘. Hopefully this series of podcasts will improve the chances of success for your project. In this series we always consider the good, the bad and the extremely ugly! In the Detailed Project Scope I talk about the need for ensuring that your scope is in line with your to-be process – i.e. the process that supports your Best Practice Programme. I talk about the need to defi...

Episode 13 Welcome to A Day Out With Thomas, a favourite event for visitors, of all ages, to the Watercress Line. I join Thomas and his friends who are out in the summer weather to entertain everybody! I talk to the Fat Controller who is here to ensure that the event runs smoothly. He has come all the way from the Island of Sodor for the week. I also speak to Rusty who gives magic shows each day. In A Day Out With Thomas (A) I get to talk with footplate staff and listen to Thomas driving the c...

Series 1 Episode 15 Across the Sierra Nevada to the Donner Pass continues my journey westwards on the California Zephyr. I left you at the end of the last episode as we started the climb across the Sierra Nevada. Today we continue the climb, through spectacular scenery, to the Donner Pass. Building the route required complex engineering because there were so many challenges. The train’s first stop in California is at Truckee, a town of around 16,000 people. The train goes round many very tight...

Season 2018 / 2019 – Talk 8 a in the Austro Hungarian Empire (a) Jo Huddleston tells us about the early years of the Empire. He tells us that there were Prime Ministers in both Austria and Hungary. He discusses the stress this caused and the need for the Emperor to keep tight control. We hear about the suicide of Franz Joseph’s son and how Franz Ferdinand became the heir apparent. We also learn about the international weakness of the Austro Hungarian Empire (a) and the threats from other natio...