ERTA Dates, Times and Meetings 2022

These are goals we have, but are subject to revision. Please check with us in any case or join our free email loop: richard.erta@gmail.com

2022 Programme

ERTA Stall at Bedford Antiques & Collectables Fair – Saturday 2nd April 10am – 3:30pm
St. Paul’s Church, St. Paul’s Square, Bedford MK40 1SQ
Admission £1.50
Please visit the ERTA stall and show your support. Thank you.

Aylesbury Forum: Saturday 9th April 2022, 1pm food, 2-4pm business
The Bell, 40 Market Square, Aylesbury, Bucks. HP20 1TX T. 01296-388080
https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/buckinghamshire/the-bell
Agenda: Agenda for Aylesbury Forum 09-04-22

ERTA Ampthill and Flitwick Forum: Saturday 30 April 2022, 1pm food, 2-4pm business
The Swan Pub, 1 Dunstable Road, Bedford MK45 1HP
T: 01525 754777 E: steph@theswanflitwick.co.uk
It is adjacent to the Thameslink served railway station and with ample parking and bus links too.
https://www.swaninnflitwick.co.uk/menus/
 Agenda: Agenda for Ampthill Flitwick Forum 30-04-22
Station example: Click Here

ERTA Stall at Bedford Antiques & Collectables Fair – Saturday 7th May 10am – 3:30pm
St. Paul’s Church, St. Paul’s Square, Bedford MK40 1SQ
Admission £1.50
Please visit the ERTA stall and show your support. Thank you.

Leicester Forum – Saturday 14th May 2pm food, 3pm-5pm business

The High Cross,103-105 High Street, Leicester, LE1 4JB T. 0116-251-9218
https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/leicestershire/the-high-cross-leicester
Enquiries and expressions of interest via E. richard.erta@gmail.com
NOTE: Table bookings are not taken. We tend to sit towards the back area or out in the rear courtyard if weather clement and venue busy. Let us know if you are coming beforehand.

ERTA Stall at Bedford Antiques & Collectables Fair – Saturday 4 June 10am – 3:30pm
St. Paul’s Church, St. Paul’s Square, Bedford MK40 1SQ
Admission £1.50
Please visit the ERTA stall and show your support. Thank you.

Bedford Forum – Thursday 16 June 2022 1pm food, 2-4pm business

Pilgrim’s Progress, 42 Midland Road, Bedford, Beds.MK40 1QB

https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/bedfordshire/the-pilgrims-progress-bedford

ERTA Stall at Bedford Antiques & Collectables Fair – Saturday 2 July 10am – 3:30pm
St. Paul’s Church, St. Paul’s Square, Bedford MK40 1SQ
Admission £1.50
Please visit the ERTA stall and show your support. Thank you.

·                    We welcome offers of support, assistance and ‘light touch’ volunteering.

·                    Please make yourself known to us, join ERTA and find your niche/new calling!

Rugby Forum – Saturday 9 July 2pm food, 3pm -5pm business

Rupert Brooke, 8-10 Castle Street, Rugby, Warks. CV21 2TP

https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/warwickshire/rupert-brooke-rugby

London Forum – Saturday 13 August 2pm food, 3pm-pm business

Barrel Vault, Unit 23, St Pancras International Station, Pancras Road, London N1C 4QP.

https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/london/the-barrel-vault-st-pancras

NOTE: Table bookings are not taken

Berkhamsted Meeting – Saturday 24 September 12pm food, 2-3pm Members Meeting, 3pm - 5pm Public Meeting with Speakers. Venue https://www.stpetersberkhamsted.org.uk/heritage/court-house/ St Peters Court House, St Peter's Great Berkhamsted, Church Lane, BERKHAMSTED, Hertfordshire, HP4 2AX

https://www.stpetersberkhamsted.org.uk/about/courthouse/

Lunch at Wetherspoons the Crown, 145 High Street, Berkhamsted, Herts. HP4 3HH

https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/hertfordshire/ the-crown-berkhamsted

Station Stalls and leafleting helpers wanted! 2022

Email Simon Barber for details and offers to assist: simon4barber@gmail.com

Notes for Physical Meetings:
1. Subject to verification. Venues may change or be cancelled at short notice. Stay in touch.
2. People attend at their own risk. Everyone pays for their own food and drink.
3. There is a pre-pared agenda, please help focus on the pertinent issues

Main contact and convenor: Mr Simon Barber, 20 Fitzherbert House, Kingsmead, Richmond, Surrey, TW10 6HT T. 0208 940 4399, E. simon4barber@gmail.com

ERTA Newsletter May-June 2021 and Volunteer Opportunities

Despite the gloom around Covid, we had a positive meeting on Zoom yesterday about rail links to and from Northampton. Positive action and moving things forwards on a number of fronts courts Government tiers of all kinds to play ball and reciprocate and ideally give more leadership, direction and targeted policy and resources to nurture modal shift through choice for the benefit of people, communities and the environment. Clear choices exist, it is either more roads with time-wasted congestion and parking conflicts or re-railing and enabling rail to do more beit freight and/or passenger as well. ERTA is playing a key role in seeking to bring people of all walks together and find common ground, work together and nurture those choices we all may wish for on and off the rails. Development and impacts should be a concern to us all and striving to get balances right beyond mere ascetical considerations, should be a top priority. We can't just go on building platforms dependent on the car for everything, we must nurture choice to such lifestyles and make amenities accessible with walking, cycling, bus and rail incentives more.

I attach our newsletter showing what we are doing and have done as well as our summer programme of zoom meetings. Physical meetings may commence with our stall at St Paul's on 5th June in Bedford and unroll as unlock may permit. See: https://www.antiques-atlas.com/antique_fair/bedfordshires_antiques_collectors_fair_st_pauls/af2055 and https://ertarail.co.uk/events/ and register to join our zoom meetings.

On a note about being Bedford-centric, we are reliant on people elsewhere to help make things happen and send us news and captions/photos for us to use on social media and newsletter potential. We can only input what others help to inform, campaigning is about making news, not just passively following it! But with East-West Rail debates - remember in 1986 when we met at Centre Com Milton Keynes and 1987 when we met at The Bell Sandy, no-one was organising rail reopening of an Oxford-Cambridge railway beyond talk individually. Then 1995 the East West Consortium was formed after years of us pleading Councils and Government to protect routes and keep options open. 1997 the Bedford-Sandy part was fully worked up and evaluated and positive to go ahead, but stalled. Now we have a new route which is not as we may wish and indeed have suggested an alternative using the old route can be identified which fits in with a Tempsford orientation rather than Sandy which is screened off with development now. Cambridge likewise, pleaded with Councils not to build Trumpington Meadows Estate across the old railway route, but they have anyway. So we are left with a derivative set of options and dynamics and sadly, the pattern repeats elsewhere too. We want to rebuild a Westminster Team to pursue a national rail route protection legal obligation with incentives to reopen and protect and sanctions if development is allowed to blight strategic corridors. 

For the Brackmills Brochure, Newsletter or Rail Reopenings pdf docs please request email via richard.erta@gmail.com. Hard copies also available. 

Yours sincerely,

Richard Pill

ERTA Chairman