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This is very interesting.

However, a 45 minute loco change at Oxford is really excessive, as  Martyn has already commented. The Southern Region allowed as many as 4 minutes for a loco and crew change at Salisbury for the "Atlantic Coast Express" - a shunter would be stationed at the platform end, and, as soon as the train stopped, he would be down between the tender and leading coach, disconnecting the vac and steam heating pipes and uncoupling the engine, which would immediately depart, allowing the new loco to back straight onto the train from a nearby spur. The very rapid loco change was applied to the majority of trains that that called at Salisbury. Nine Elms locos and crews rarely worked west of Salisbury; similarly, Exmouth Junction locos and crews rarely worked east of Salisbury. Of course we must not forget that Brighton-Cardiff and Portsmouth-Plymouth trains also changed their locos and crews there, from an SR loco to a WR loco, and vice versa, in the instance of the inter-regional services. I have had several experiences of this and the loco change was very slick, to my young teenage mind we'd barely stopped at Salisbury before we were away again, having exchanged our WC/BB Pacific for either a Castle or Hall 4-6-0.

My own layout, "Trewenn" (needs much scenic work do be done!), is "located" at the end of a meandering Western Region branch from Barnstaple, and at the end of a Southern branch line off the North Cornwall Line, west of Launceston. On summer Saturdays only, the Southern receives an inter-regional service from Nottingham (Victoria)  via the Great Central main line, Banbury, Oxford (loco change), Didcot East Junction, Reading West Curve, Basingstoke (detach the Bournemouth/Pool/Weymouth portion), Salisbury (loco change), Exeter Central (detach the Barnstaple/Ilfracombe portion), and the remaining five or six coaches (Thompsons/Mk.1s), go forward, with a new loco (more usually a Standard Class 4MT 2-6-0, or a Class N 2-6-0), via Okehampton, Halwill Junction, and Launceston to Trewenn. Of course, there's also a service in the opposite direction to Nottingham.

What fun a vivid imagination can be!

 

Liege and Lief was, in my opinion, a masterful piece of work.

At age 91 and living alone I don't get out at all, so have to rely on Tesco and Amazon deliveries.

Some Fairport, including the albums 'Liege & Lief' and 'Full House', along with what is possibly the longest titled track ever.....

'Sir B. McKenzie's Daughter's Lament for the 77th Mounted Lancers Retreat from the Straights of Loch Knombe on the Occasion of the Announcement of her Marriage to the Laird of Kinleakie.'

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Same here. The traffic and mayhem at the shops... you'd think they were shut for a week, not a day!!!

Knowing that food shopping this week would be mayhem, I needed some essentials such as milk and bread etc so, following our Monday night Zoom meeting, I duly drove to the supermarket at 22.10 and was back home and in bed by 23.20. There were still a good many shoppers but we were outnumbered by personnel restocking the aisles. Easy peasy.
To the best of my knowledge I am now set for a good 10 days or so as I'm old enough to recall the days when shops closed for at least a week over the festive period.
I just can't imagine some types coping at all as the store is shut just for Christmas Day. What on earth will they do? Red Cross parcels will be urgently required. Sandwich boards stating "The end of the world is nigh" will be seen on the streets. There will be an Armageddon.
I'm happy to avoid the 'Slough of Despondency'

He did, too.

Merry Christmas everyone!