The Elliott

(I think) design for a more compact engine using gears, as a neater and more powerful alternative to the reciprocating beam. I wish I'd made notes or captured the caption - Google seems not to know about this, so perhaps I misremember the name of the inventor.

Taken on a free visit to the ThinkTank, or Birmingham Science Museum, after an enjoyable morning explaining the Open University Computing degree options to potential students.

Later visited the fabulous now Birmingham Library, and a breathtakingly wonderful exhibition of The Library of Lost Books

A crowded train on the way home. The throng thinned out by Worcester Foregate Street, when a confused gentleman sought reassurance that the train would take him to Evesham. Alas, we were heading for Hereford, quite the opposite direction. I helped him get off at Malvern Link whence there was a train going East a few minutes later. We had a lot of fun trying to get his pronunciation of Worcester Shrub Hill, or even "fourth station from here", to make sense. I can only imagine how I would cope on a rural branch line in his home country, Vietnam. I hope my gestures worked for him.