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aberlioness

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I haven't been around much lately due to getting a new job starting in November. Normally that wouldn't be that big a deal were it not for the fact that I'll be moving continents as opposed to counties! I'll be off to Dubai to hopefully re-energise and uplift my career in the wine trade. So lots of organising to do - namely packing and paperwork - with luck the transition will go smoothly. I hope to carry on finding great places to photograph - I dare say there'll be lots of desert - but now there's a new and different vista!
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I'm not one to really shout out about things being a laid back sort of character, however I'm using this space to highlight an issue that's very dear to my heart.

The British government in its infinite wisdom has launched a White Elephant of monumental proportions, one that if its carried through Parliament, will stomp on the lives of people and wildlife for generations. My concern is the issue of High Speed Rail Link 2 (HS2) which is a rail link that will connect London to Birmingham. The thinking of course is that it will make travelling between the two biggest cities in the UK faster. Well, that's the idea and it sounds fine if you just take the bare detail. What it doesn't address is a whole cornucopia of issues that this project brings.

The first point is: Is this really necessary? There is already an existing route between London Euston and Birmingham New Street stations, which takes roughly an hour and a half to get to. If HS2 is built, there will be (apparently) a saving of twenty minutes on this journey. Time is money in business, but, as trains leave every twenty minutes or so, why not just catch an earlier train? The next point in this section is that having regularly taken journeys on this route on my way to University in Wales, is that every single time that I have boarded trains there are at least ten carriages. Of these carriages, five or six are designated for first class travel and are always nearly empty. The rest are standard carriages and are packed to the rafters. This obviously means that a) those that HS2 are geared towards - business men and women - do not use rail, chiefly because the price of a ticket is exorbitant and in these times of austerity, first class travel is never going to pass muster with the company accountant. b) those who do use the route are ordinary people who sensibly refuse to fork out a ridiculous sums of money just for the sake of travelling for an hour and a half. HS2 is going to cost at least £50 billion, which given that it's mostly going to be paid for by the UK taxpayer (and of whom less than 20% will ever actually use this service) it will take at least two or three decades to pay off by rail fares, by which time this line will be obsolete.

The second point is the environmental impact. HS2 will be cutting through land which are designated as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and will disrupt delicate habitat in the Chilterns and outlying areas. The Chilterns alone are home to all sorts of rare orchids and other flora and fauna. It will also disturb ancient villages and towns which suffer badly as it is with the weight of road traffic never mind with a high speed rail link thundering past metres away. My home town of Amersham will be particularly affected. Amersham is one of these ancient towns. Twenty years ago a by-pass was built to prevent heavy goods vehicles from going through the centre of this town that has buildings dating back to the 11th century and are very vulnerable to vibrations caused by these behemoths trundling through this old coaching town. HS2 is planned to go underground at this point, but there's no proof that the foundations of these buildings will be safe from firstly the building of the line, and then secondly the daily use of massive trains which will cause greater problems than HGVs!

The green area outside of London is important. London is encroaching outside of its boundaries at a rapid rate, if it wasn't for the M25 (ironically) the urban sprawl would be greater than it is today. As such, we need these 'green' areas, there is nothing more uplifting than the countryside, and the Chilterns which is on the doorstep of London (I can get into the centre of London in about half an hour from Amersham) is a way out of the grey dullness that is urban life. Not that I am totally against cities, I enjoy them too, but the countryside is a space which one can, well, breathe. It is where a person can experience the joys of rolling hills, leafy woodlands, and the glories of delicate flora and (if you're lucky) the elusive fauna. The worst thing about HS2 is that it literally does go from A to B. There are no stopping places, so those travelling from the City will not be able to stop off in between. What a waste.

I for one will be furious to see my heritage destroyed by unthinking muppets who sit in the House of Commons with agendas that go against the wishes of the British public. It's obvious that older generations don't give a shit as to what the next generation really want or strive for. I know that my own generation - the twenty to thirty-five somethings - are concerned about environmental impact (and not just this intangible 'carbon footprint') and are aware that actually technology can be manipulated beyond the physical realm of Victorian engineering. Computing technology is moving at such a pace that having to travel between cities is largely unnecessary. What is more, in my opinion, the funds that are being put forward for this project is better spent towards investing in IT and other related areas rather than on huge vanity projects that will be obsolete in just a couple of decades time. For once UK PLC ought to think ahead and not go into ploughing money into glorified boys' toys for the sake of one-upmanship with other nations. For heaven's sake, the UK is a small country, we're not China who do need modern infrastructure of this nature because geographically they're huge! Even then, I am sad for the environment in China, because who knows what treasures have been lost due to someone's vanity?  

I would post pictures here that encapsulate the beauty of the Chilterns, but I don't know how! All I can say is that go into the landscapes and nature folder, and the pictures titled 'Pulpit Hill' and 'Dartmoor Ponies' show some of the natural wealth of the area.

Lastly, please sign this petition - epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petit… - the more voices that are heard, the better chance we have of averting this travesty.

Thank you for reading this, and a massive thank you to those of you who signed the petition. :)
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