Out of bed feeling grumpy and apprehensive. Checking the National Rail site last night I spotted that the service was still suspended between Bristol and Gloucester, but that a bus service was planned. This morning the buses had disappeared, but services were still running from Birmingham to the north. The advice was simply not to travel. Other Train Operators were accepting tickets though, so I decided to head for Bristol and see what happened. At worst, I'd be heading directly home. Despite rather grim conditions, a fairly uneventful journey up to Bristol - with little acknowledgement of the problems outside of the area - except that the train wasn't heading beyond Bristol. Stepped out into a fairly chaotic Temple Meads and headed directly for the information desk.

I had a fairly quick and simple question much to the relief of the beleaguered platform staff - would First Great Western honour my Crosscountry only ticket? Once clear they would, headed rather swiftly for the 07:30 to London Paddington. Services were getting through the flooded area at Swindon only hourly and the train was busy. Settled into the comparative quiet of First Class and hoped for the best. Along the way, staff tried valiantly to keep up with the changes in circumstances. Despite a fairly clear morning - especially around Didcot - the evidence of flooding was apparent. First we heard Didcot-Oxford was closed, then there was news of an hourly shuttle service just as we reached Reading. Somewhere along the way the train became incredibly busy, and First Class was declassified. This resulted in me sitting opposite someone who I'm almost certain was cult 90's video gaming show presenter Emily 'Bouff' Booth! The official advice for points north was to head to Kings Cross, and once clear of the extraordinarily busy concourse I made fairly quick time on the Underground despite a weekend closure of the Circle Line.

Surfaced at Kings Cross to find services running fairly smoothly, but a great deal of people. Flagged a couple of trains, and settled on the 11:00 to Glasgow. Firstly, I'd figured out what platform it was on, and also I hoped it would allow some of the crowds to disperse before I travelled. Rechecked my ticket validity with the information booth - a rather exasperated gentleman examined it carefully before saying GNER would honour it today. Time for a coffee, then swiftly onto the train and settled into a pleasant seat in the refurbished coach. Ticket check almost immediately on leaving Copenhagen Tunnel, and the Senior Conductor insisted on calling control to check out the story. Rehearsed the events of the morning in preparation for possible questioning - even managed to recall the name and a fair description of the Information Desk attendant, as if it would have made much difference. However, control agreed that today they'd pass the tickets - and I was left to snooze and spot my way northwards via a very busy Peterborough yard and Doncaster. Surprisingly soon, and only about an hour after I was due to arrive, rolled into York in remarkably pleasant weather. After briefly congratulating myself on my seasoned traveller's ability to get around the most difficult blockade, realised that I had to somehow get back in a couple of days time - and that might not be as simple as it sounded!

Straight to the B&B to check in. It was a reasonable walk from the station, but excellent value compared to the inflated York hotel market - and the welcome was surprisingly pleasant after staying in far too many impersonal hotels and thinking I preferred the anonymity. Spent some time refining my itinerary to replace tomorrow's cancelled railtour before heading back to the station to get a shot of DRS's 66419 which was stabled and switched off in the former parcels siding.

Spent a happy hour or so on the platform end with some friendly locals, and witnessed a couple of interesting workings including the steam hauled Scarborough Flyer tour, which created quite a stir in the station! When things went a little quiet and the light faded, headed for The Bay Horse for a pint before retiring to a nearby Indian restaurant for much needed sustenance. A surprisingly tiring day.

My summer weekend off crept up on me rather unexpectedly this year. Since I wasn't attending a conference this summer, and also because my planned railtour this coming Sunday was cancelled due to low bookings, I'd all but forgotten the trip to York and the tickets for the Minehead to Bristol service today, which I'd booked to fill a gap in my itinerary. So down to the station in mist and drizzle which I rather pathetically hoped would go away just because it was my day off work! The plan was to take the train to Taunton and then catch the bus to Minehead. I had thought about hopping off at Bishop's Lydeard to get the West Somerset Railway service - but since I was about to do the line back and had done it recently too in both directions, I decided to go for the bus trip instead. As it happened the DMU to Minehead was waiting for the bus as we called at the station, and I noticed a couple of familiar faces from previous class 31 hauled trips lurking about the station. Decided to stick with the bus since I'd paid the fare.

The journey was fairly interesting too. Once disentangled from a convoy of military vehicles near Norton Manor camp, we headed into very damp Quantock countryside. Noted that the road stuck fairly close to the railway as we wound through tiny villages and occasional small towns like Williton, passing under a fair few very low bridges. Particularly interested to visit Watchet where I haven't been (aside from the station) for many years. Arrived in a presently dry but overcast Minehead and strolled down the main street. Again a recent visit meant I wasn't too concerned with exploring, so I took a wander along the sea front to Tesco on a reconnaissance mission for my cousin. Strolled back to the station, watching the stock shunt over the level crossing and into the platform along the way. Also noted Tangmere stabled nearby.

The pair of locomotives looked and sounded in fine shape, and it was good to see them on a train again rather than languishing in Derby! Thought back to a good few excursions to Brighton and Weymouth over the past few years prior to the demise of Wessex Trains. Soon on board the service with plenty of seats to choose from, although a headcount later indicated a fairly healthy 80 passengers for a first, fairly poorly advertised trip. A couple of redcoats wandered up and down the train with literature and just to chat to passengers, which at least means Butlins are taking this experiment fairly seriously too. There was a fairly good trolley service provided which also made for a pleasant trip. Shortly after leaving Minehead we entered a patch of fairly heavy rain, which I think we pretty much remained in for the rest of the day. As ever, a long slow drag along the WSR - especially when you know the Peds could work much quicker. Noted North Star working the diesel service, along with 31128 stabled at Bishops Lydeard.

Once off Lydeard, their was an air of excitement. A fair few railway members and top-brass had come along for the right. And so as we passed onto the mainline at Norton Fitzwarren we became the first scheduled service to Bristol from Minehead since 1971! An early arrival at Taunton soon turned into a late departure however, due to a points failure north of the station. Unavoidable really as the only platform accessible from the connection with the WSR is 2. We eventually set off, reversing in order to pass through platform 5 and to speed towards Bristol, around 30 late.

Not much time for anything at Bristol, except to note whilst looking for our train on the departure board, that almost everything was cancelled! Heard there had been serious floods, but no means of checking where or how bad. Our train wasn't on the board either, but I understand a fair few National Rail tickets were honoured on the return! A very quick turn-around at Bristol, and a much quieter train on the way back. The rain was becoming heavy and I noted with alarm that in some spots along the way it hadn't stopped raining since I set out! The return run was a spirited affair if a great deal quieter on the passenger front, and I was lucky enough to be entertained by the conversation of Victa Westlink Rail and WSR management - quite a bit of which centred on the 'spartan' accommodation offered to the Victa drivers by Butlins. The irrepressible redcoats were happily out of earshot at this point! The trip back was a rollercoaster of gaining time here and losing it again there. I arrived in Taunton just in time to watch the hourly stopper I planned to catch home disappear into the gloom. Time at Taunton to note the chaos though - nothing going to London either via the Berks & Hants or Box and Bristol-Gloucester closed. London-bound passenger were being sent via Exeter and Salisbury "whilst that remained possible"!Watched the 31s disappear towards Minehead and spoke on the 'phone with my cousin who was at Worle and eventually caught the unit which would form my service back north, despite advice of it's cancellation.

So an interesting first day of operation, and a nice day spent chugging along the attractive branch line. Quite proud to have been on the first train too! As I type, the weather situation seems fairly desperate with widespread and serious flooding in the south. This also means that the York trip - already a pale shadow of the planned entertainment - looks in jeopardy. What will the morning bring?

Despite a miserable and damp morning it felt good to be going somewhere today. After news of yet another tour cancellation next week, and more work-related strangeness I needed something to work out - and happily today ran pretty smoothly. I'd tried to plan a few hours at the Barrow Hill Diesel Gala when I saw it announced earlier in the year, but no Virgin Value tickets seemed to be around at the time. A half-considered idea of staying in the area didn't materialise either. Checked again for tickets last week and found a reasonably priced fare, so recruited a local colleague and set about organising a trip. Out on the 0633 as far as Bristol, where it was only a brief wander up the platform to board 1S42. This combination has started a lot of successful trips and it proved reliable today too providing a relaxing run with an on-time arrival in Birmingham New Street. Time to get breakfast and to head for the already waiting 0930 to Chesterfield. Again, a swift and punctual trip which ran smoothly. A bit of a surprise passing Burton-on-Trent however, where we cruised past what appeared to be a Freightliner working, only to find Fastline's 56303 at the head of the train!

Arrived in surprisingly bright conditions at Chesterfield and joined the queue for the free bus. Something of a party atmosphere on the ride via Staveley to the Roundhouse. Also saw the tail-end of 57303's train disappearing along the 'Old Road' as we crested a hill on our journey. Disembarked and paid our way into the site. Immediately found unique 89001 repainted into former Intercity Executive livery, looking much the way I remember it best. Attempted a picture, which was a little tricky given it's location.

This year's event was themed around the 50th anniversary of the Class 20 locomotive's arrival on the scene. Many examples of the class in various states of repair and in some very unusual liveries were on show, and the regular shuttle trains were topped and tailed by pairs of the runners among the collection. A couple of tours out to Hope Cement Works were also running, but our all too brief visit occurred between these, so we didn't get to see them.

Strolled around the exhibits in surprising sunshine, managing to see almost everything on display. A few notable departures in the last twelve months, but some high-profile new visitors showed the importance of this facility to both the preservationists and the working mainline railway. A surprise was 47832, a recent visitor to the South West, which appeared to be undergoing some fairly heavy work. A resplendent 55022 looked in fine shape and hopefully will remain so for it's tour engagements later in the summer. We were also surprised to find DRS's 37667 in the shed, in apparently ex-works condition.

Followed the tour of the yard and sheds with a look around the numerous stalls, which proved expensive for some of us who couldn't resist purchases! All too soon it was time to head for the bus back to Chesterfield. Unfortunately the cheap tickets meant we'd had to opt to travel back sooner than I'd hoped, but we managed to see pretty much everything we'd hoped to during the visit.

After a brief food stop and a chance to bask in the unexpected sunshine at Chesterfield, boarded a surprisingly quiet Voyager and upgraded to First Class for the run back to Bristol. Another really fine journey, and so good to be back on the rails again! Pondered the fate of these cross-country services under new ownership, but figured not much would change beyond the livery and the uniforms. Another on-time arrival at Bristol and onto a rather packed local stopper, where some further old friends were encountered which meant a fairly entertaining ride home. Directly to the pub to celebrate a cracking day out with my cousin, who would I'm sure want me to point out he was in no way involved with the trip himself! One to look forward to for next year I think...

Many years ago, as part of a project to make lots of tiny applications, I wrote a web browser. It linked with the Gecko rendering engine from Mozilla and even though you had to have a whacking Mozilla install around, it was a quick and useful way to view URLs from chat programs and suchlike. FuzzyTheBear loved it, and spoke highly of Denzil far and wide - and a fair number of people downloaded it and used it for simple, quick tasks. The source code has lived on this webserver ever since, and I've dutifully moved it when hardware has changed or the site has been updated - but it's fair to say I haven't thought about Denzil for a long time!

Last night, I wandered into the #lemmings chatroom on Freenode to see which of my old friends was around. It's been a while, and following a few turbulent times lately I felt like I needed to catch up and relax a little. It was good to see some old faces around, and I was welcomed back into the fold like I hadn't been away. Later, when I was happily chatting and completely off-guard Fuzzy posed the question:

I'll confess I've wondered myself in the past - and even experimented a bit, and I shared my thoughts on how it would work. We even managed to get it building and running - but things had changed a little and it crashed on https:// URLs. We also talked about how the configure ought to try to check for Firefox or Mozilla and proceed accordingly. After agreeing this would make someone a great project, and remarking on how I'd used mental muscles which hadn't been flexed for years, I slipped off to bed happy to have chatted with friends again.

Well, a curse on FuzzyTheBear because I think he knows that once he'd woken me up and placed the trap, I'd fall right in! I never could resist a challenge, and tonight in an unguarded moment I set about figuring out why Denzil crashed on secure sites. I soon cottoned on to it being something to do with the Firefox and Mozilla profile system, and found a neat fix by looking for a user profile in .denzil. If it wasn't there, the libs were smart enough to set things up. Great! Next I tried to fix up the configure script. This was tougher, and the arcane syntax took awhile to resurface from the depths of my mind. After a bit of playing, tweaking and research I got the application to check for either Mozilla or Firefox, but always to prefer Firefox - because it just seems lighter and neater to do so. Inspired by this success, I fixed a bunch of warnings and complaints caused by building an ancient package, and even got the .desktop file installing correctly into the Applications menu.

Soon, not noticing how much time had passed since I sat down to 'just see if I could fix that bit...' I found myself bumping the version number, writing up my ChangeLog entry and doing make dist...

...and that's how Denzil managed to get it's first release since 15th July 2003!

Denzil still does what it always did, still has its funny 'self-contained' bookmark system, and still relies on wget to download things because I still haven't managed to figure out a smarter way. Best of all though, the stripped binary is still less than 20Kb in size! I'm sure that there are still lots of ways to break it too, and I'd be interested to hear of them - but for now it seems to work well enough.

You can download the source code for denzil here:

denzil-1.0.6.tar.gz

If you find it useful, I'm glad to be of service...and don't forget to thank FuzzyTheBear for knowing just which buttons to push to get me working!