About Me

I'm a freelance artist, designer and demonstrator and have been involved in arts and craft my whole life in one way or another. I design stamps for top British company Personal Impressions, under the "Lindsay Mason Designs" brand, as well as papers, templates and other crafting products. I'm a certified Ranger Educator and my first book,"Stamping", was published in 2009. I also design regular projects for Crafts Beautiful magazine and have made guest appearances from time to time on QVC. I've recently joined You Tube under the name of LindsayMason1000 where I'm posting short technique videos and you can buy my paintings and hand crafted pieces from my Etsy shop. My work takes me all around the country demonstrating stamping, papercrafts and general inkiness! When I'm not working, I love gardening, church & community activities, nature watching, journalling, music and theatre and just relaxing at home. Email me at: ljm.design1@virginmedia.com

Monday 28 January 2013

Madness!

I can hardly believe that "the government" are prepared to destroy vast areas of beautiful countryside and villages, let alone spend 33 billion pounds (and we know that final costs are always far more than estimates in these things) on a crazy project that will disrupt travel whilst it's being built.....all for the sake of cutting a bit of time off rail journeys.
33 billion pounds works out at around £500 per head of the population. Having just travelled through some of the most beautiful countryside in Britain, some of which would be affected, the idea of swathes being cut through it is extremely distressing and I can only imagine how horrified anyone living along the proposed routes must be. 
Have we really become so obsessed with doing everything immediately that an obscene amount of money, and devastation that can't be counted in money, is seen as worth paying, just to cut journeys by half an hour or so? It's utter madness.
As I heard someone on a radio comedy show remark this week - just get an earlier train.

8 comments:

Gez Butterworth said...

Here, here Lindsay, well said :o(

Lindsay Mason said...

Thanks Gez...I keep getting all wound up just thinking about it! What's the big deal about everyone having to get everywhere faster and faster?
Lindsay x x

pearshapedcrafting said...

Totally agree with you and you should hear what Tony has to say about it! What it is with all this rush? Mind you a man nearly ran Em and I down at Dunham Massey on Sunday when the car in front of him stopped to let us cross the road in the carpark and he shot round the back! The lady driver followed him tooting! I wanted to go and speak to him but he did look angry and the menfolk wouldn't let me!! Ho!hum! Love Chrisx

Joanne said...

That's the trouble with this country, we lag behind most others and then when we try to improve and build new, everyone complains because we are used to Victorian standards. If we keep doing that everything will implode. We have to be forward thinking and doing no matter how much it hurts.
x

Lindsay Mason said...

Good to hear the different views. Everyone I've spoken to is absolutely against this scheme. As someone who uses the current railway system a great deal I am pretty happy with it most of the time and two hours to London is quick enough for me! If they do go through with it, it seems that the new stations will mean people have to travel out of their way to get to them, thereby cancelling out any time saved anyway! Can you imagine how much the ticket prices will shoot up to?! It would cost far, far less just to improve the current railway and get more rolling stock...and nothing is worth destroying our beautiful landscape yet again.
I, for one, don't want to live in a superfast, high speed, concrete and steel country. I don't see what the big hurry is all the time and I don't think that new always equals better.
Lindsay

Lindsay Mason said...

Looked at various articles, tweets and sites about the high speed train proposals and it would seem that almost everyone (not directly connected with it of course)is against it! As many have pointed out - travel (especially to London) is becoming less vital for work with so much being done online etc. It wouldn't do anything to help the overcrowding either.
I just hope that "they" listen to the people footing the bill (ie, the general population) and see sense before it's too late. Put the money (er, I thought this country was meant to be short of money anyway?) into something worthwhile that would benefit everyone...NHS for instance?
Ggggrrrr....can feel myself getting wound up again.
Lindsay :[

Gez Butterworth said...

It's senseless :(

My name is Cindy said...

Totally agree with what you say as does everyone around here. The disruption will be phenomenal (though it won't affect the countryside here in NW London). Hardly any benefit that I can see. However as we have found out they have no intention of listening to what people on the ground think. Have a good time at Stitches.