One day of my Wessex Rover left, and not much going on. Heard early that the Weymouth 31s were not out today - not entirely sure I could manage another hot, crowded slog down to the coast anyway. Also considered West Wales once again, hoping for a 37. Finally decided just to wander, and not to spend any money.

So, a swift run to Cardiff. Watched the Rhymney 37s for a bit, then to Bath. Tried to buy a new notebook from a stockist who I knew carried them, but found they didn't any longer. The city was heaving with tourists, who seemed to assume that everything had been deliberately made 'quaint' for their pleasure - including the hairdresser 'Nick Brain' - who's name they thought was some sort of clever pun. 31454 and 31128 passed ECS at speed - heard they later resumed the Weymouth diagram.

Back to Bristol - briefly running with pet HST powercar 43130. Up to Cheltenham, then to Newport. High-velocity wander around town, remembering locations of bookshops and watering holes from earlier visits. In the late afternoon heat, the place felt murderous - crowds of drunken Welshmen and even more frightening screaming women outside the winebars and cocktail lounges of Newport! Picked up a slim collection of Nicholas Moore poetry in a shop which now proudly boasted of a licensed 'Adult XXX' section upstairs! Back to Bristol once more...

Long fester waiting for traincrew delayed on a Severn Beach service, during which the Network Rail Measurment Train arrived.

Queues for Weston train full of pointless and factually incorrect complaining which was driving me nuts. A hot and bothersome end to a strange but entertaining day.

Took advantage of the 'calm before the storm' of the early weeks of June to take a day off work, using up some of the masses of extra hours I've done lately. Took the opportunity to get up late, waste time, and finally get around to contacting my mobile phone company to upgrade to a new handset.

The real business of the day however was to try to get some mileage in behind both sets of Wessex Trains' Class 31's - including a first ride on the newly repainted 'flying plum' liveried set.

Started with a run behind the surely cursed 143611 - slow running, and looped at Yatton - although this has happened to me several times previously on 2W20. Time to wander a bit at Temple Meads, then onto the 1252 Brighton service as far as Westbury. Lots of the usual faces aboard, many piling in at Bradford-on-Avon seemingly having done the early Weymouth turn. 31454 and 31128 running very smoothly.

A quick dash under the subway at Westbury and onto a jammed 153 back as far as Bath Spa. Time to wander a little in Bath, in the hope of finding some food and drink. Back to the station for the 1446 to Weymouth, running with Wessex liveried 31601 at the front. Both first and last carriages locked out of use - apparently the front is due to a fire onboard this morning! A solid run, but hampered by some track problems at Witham and slow running later. ETH fails too, meaning no lights or air-conditioning. Just like the old days of Crosscountry haulage - wedged Mk 2 stock with no aircon! Utterly pitch black through the tunnels too, much to the delight of excited children heading for the seaside.

Quick change of ends at Weymouth. Packed solid from here - stood all the way back to Temple Meads. Heavy loading and a late arrival means a late departure. Some passengers trying to make an 1820 connection from Castle Cary inspire the driver to attempt to make up time in style! Some really quick running throughout. Open vestibule windows and wonderful countryside wreak havoc with the hayfever however! Ventilation is welcome as the lack of air, plus lots of hot and bothered passengers has made the interior of the stock quite uncomfortable!

Connection at Temple Meads not as tight as I'd expected so grabbed a quick snap of 31601 before heading off to Weston. A long, tiring and hot day - but some good running.

Went to see my nephew this evening. In the couple of weeks since I last saw him he has grown a great deal. Still seems unbelievable that its only five weeks since the desperate panic around his birth. He seems to be a contented little fellow too, quietly sleeping through the raucous attempts of my entire family to wake him up!

Arrived at Highbridge & Burnham to find my train home cancelled due to a failed unit. Suspect it may have been the ailing 143611 from yesterday, as the weekday evening service is usually the preserve of these units. Pleasant evening to wait around and relax, following an initially frustrating exchange of calls with Wessex Trains. Later, they became much more helpful, and about an hour later (but still 45 minutes before the next train) a large green coach appeared. I was the only passenger from Highbridge to Weston, so I chatted to the driver - who has a rather nice little business doing tours around the UK and Europe which he enjoys so much he doesn't want to retire!

Ordered a couple of books to get me up to speed before The Literary London Conference, although how I will find time to read them at the height of the appeals season is debatable!

Really wasn't sure if the Class 31s would be out and about today, since Bank Holidays seem to play havoc with their diagramming. Reasonably assured from some mailing list posts, so set out at 0745 for Bristol. As we crawled through Bedminster awaiting a platform at Temple Meads, noted 31454 and 31128 sitting outside the station - a good sign, but a shame it wasn't the freshly painted Wessex Trains liveried set - which I think looks pretty good, whatever others might say!

Just time to grab a coffee before heading for the train which hadn't been cleaned. Aside from that, both locomotives sounded in good form. As ever the first coach was full of cranks - with a subtle alteration from the norm - it seems some cranks "other halves" had demanded a day at the seaside today!. Took my usual seat half way along the coach - close enough to hear the locomotive, and far enough back to see it on the curves.

Ran to time all the way down, with some stretches of very good running indeed. Noted how the Mark 2 coaches seemed to load and unload much quicker than a DMU. Quite busy as we progressed toward Weymouth too. Very pleasant Wessex countryside views too.

Weather had deteriorated on arrival. Had the choice of staying for a few hours and getting the service on its second trip of the day, or returning on the 1100. Decided that I'd see how the weather was later, and hopped back abord behind 31128. Wise move, as the 31s returned to Barton Hill after arriving at Bristol and didn't work the afternoon trip at all - I'm guessing availability of suitable drivers isn't great on Bank Holidays.

Over to Cardiff to see if anything interesting was happening around the Third Division Playoff. Arrived a few minutes before kick-off to find Cardiff City Centre in disarray. The walk along the Bus Station to the shops is never pleasant - a sort of beggars alley with greasy pavements and a drab look about it. The main streets were a really dreadful mess - can only imagine what the two more major games produced. Eerily deserted except for clumps of Heddlu Trafnidiaeth Prydeinig near the station and in the streets, with more security guards than shoppers on what is normally a busy day I'd imagine. Strangely, as three'o'clock passed, the people of Cardiff appeared slowly, blinking into the devastation of their city centre. Must be awful to have to endure this several times each year.

After a brief farce with the 15:30 Portsmouth Harbour service being delayed whilst a very sick looking 143611 was tacked on the front, headed back to Bristol. 143611 formed the Taunton service too, so stayed in my seat back to Weston, wondering if the ailing unit would make it home. It did, just...