Public Transport Christmas Day

Bethlehem Llandeilo

We have already been there and met only a bus stop without buses.

Bethlehem Street Grimsby

It is a busy street, close to the railway station with plenty of buses, mainly in the hands of Stagecoach. Back in the day it was Grimsby and Cleethorpes Council which ran the buses as here with a seasonal cosy evening picture.

fbb cannot locate the actual site of the above picture.

Bethlehem Pennsylvania

There would appear to be plenty of buses here and possibly worth a second look in a future blog. Here is a picture of a route 105 as above on the map.

O Little Town Of Bethlehem ...

... is a big suburb of Jerusalem these days.

Inquiries revel a 231 is a suitable bus to catch from a bus station near the famous Damascus Gate in Jerusalem.

This edifice now stands in the middle of a busy road junction ...

... where be a complex mess of bus stops. But the 231 is part of a smart looking service ...

... which will whisk you every 20 minutes to Bethlehem.The route details are in Hebrew, so fbb has no chance! ...

... but the map might help!

And herewith, a picture of your tickets for the 231.

What could be more exciting\\!

If you were thinking of joining the fun in Manger Square ...

... you wold need a taxi back to your Jerusalem hotel as the last buses are early by London standards.

On the opposite side of the square from the throng pictured above ...

... is the Church of the Nativity where ...

... a small door (don't bang you head) ...

... as "The Door of Humility" is aptly named. You have to bow low to enter the place, supposedly, where Jesus was born.

Sadly, deep in the church basement the site of the manger has been turned into  travesty of the simple truth.

Were fbb ever to go to Bethlehem, he would trot along to the shepherds field ...

... and remember the truth in an unadorned cave.

2025 is the first year since the Hamas atrocity that Manger Square has gained its Christmas lights ...

... its Christmas Tree ...

... and, far too early, the star that guided the Zoroastrian savants to bring their meaningful but strangely inappropriate gifts for the toddler!

Yes, silent contemplation in a secluded and peaceful cave sounds much more like a real CHRIST-mas!

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A Real CHRIST-mas PUZZLE

Fill in the gaps to complete the words - with clues as well!

Graphics bludner above : [being rescued]

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 Next Transport Christmas blog : Fri 26 Dec 

Public Transport Christmas (6)

Two Very Different Shepherds

This one has TWO stations; the above being on the main line between London and Dover. 

The station name (map above, top left) is Shepherds Well, or maybe Shepherdswell depending on where you look. But maps show he village as having an alternative moniker ...

... namely Sibertswold!

It has an hourly service of stopping trains  ...

... with a signal box ...

... and a footbridge just before the line plunges into a short tunnel.

The other Shepherdswell station is a terminus of the East Kent heritage railway, seen through the trees from Station Road ...

... but looking much better in the sunshine.

Elsewhere, the shepherds do not have a well; but they DO have a bush! And it is far from easy to work out how many stations these fortunate rail-travelling shepherds have as a choice day by day.

Obvious contenders are stations on the Central Line of London's Underground and, next door but not connected physically, is the Overground station on the Mildmay line.

There's Shepherds Bush Market on the Hammersmith and City ("H&C" - plus the non-circling Circle line!). Pretty much on the same huge site are Wood Lane on the Central and White City of the H&C!

And, once upon a time, there was this Shepherds Bush ...

... which was operated by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR). 

It was very close to Shepherds Bush on the H&C which was moved and renamed Shepherds Bush Market! The LSWR station and irs track bed are long gone.

North of the point at which the LSWR crossed the H&C is Goldhawk Road H&C station which might also have a claim to be part of the Shepherds Bush collection!

Astute readers may have spotted "White City Sidings" on the Central.

However astute you may be, a search on Google Maps or via Google Earth ...

... reveals no such sidings. Where have they gone?

It does reveal the former BBC Television Centre (upper left), now sold off to pay for the high quality BBC programmes, especially at Christmas. NOT.

This looks like an opportunity to delve a little deeper into the Bush after the festive frivolities.

Two Very Different Shepherds

Or maybe two ways of looking at one set of shepherds!

Is the above what they actually experienced? The trouble is that the shepherds have all bought new clothes for Christmas and the sheep have just returned from winning prizes at the Bethlehem Country Show. 

It was not like that.

And what did the "Heavenly Host" actually look like?

When God manifests himself physically on earth we can only struggle to express the super natural event in words. The Nativity remains the easiest to understand, thanks, in part, to writer Luke and the shepherds.

Maybe this is better ...

Whatever, it is no wonder the Angel told them not to be afraid!

So they left their sheep, thus risking dismissal or even the death penalty; it is clear that something very special must have happened.

So they went to the stable/cattle shed/cave to meet the Christ Child.

So momentous, so miraculous, so messianic! And so often pictured totally wrongly.

We can get rid of the Magi as they came about two years later and visited the house where the toddler Jesus was lodging.

The star can go, because it has't come yet!

Then exit the trumpeting angels who did not bring anything angelic to the actual nativity.. Nor did any angels trump in the Bible reports! The hymn writer is probably to blame for the trumpets as he wrote "Hark the herald angels sing".

Angels never appeared in any format the stable/cattle shed/cave.

And the shepherds went to Bethlehem, leaving their flocks, so no ovine visitors to Jesus!

It was simpler but certainly not pretty; largely because the shepherds, very much the lowest of the low in the society of the day, would have been very poorly dressed, smelly, unkempt and possibly kept warm by some alcoholic hooch.

No, it wasn't pretty - but it was magnificent.

You couldn't make it up! The Son of God is first to be greeted by the lowest echelon of humanity, setting a precedent for Jesus to come to the aid of hose low in status, low in self esteem and brought low m circumstance.

 THE REAL 

 CHRISTMAS 

 STARTS 

 JUST AFTER 

 MIDNIGHT 

 TONIGHT 

There will be a highly intellectual (?) Christmastime Quiz as part of tomorrow's blog.

 Next CHRIST-mas Day blog : Thurs 25 Dec