Oisin,
It probably won't work. I get slagged on a regular basis. The usual line is..."your a trainspotter, where's your anorak". Its all in good sport, from friends and family. I'm neither a trainspotter, nor do I own an anorak. Have a good golf umbrella though.
Unfortunetly, any interest in railways, usually meets with a reaction of..."you're a nerd, trainspotter blah, blah, blah". This is whats known as "the negative trainspotter impact syndrome". Hardened campaigners like P11 get tarred with this brush on a regular basis, but we put it down to ignorance and we are very sympathetic to this ignorance, but aware of the danger the trainspotter poses to successful lobbying.
In James Wickhams book, Gridlock, P11 are described as an organisation that was started by a small group of rail enthuasiasts. He's right. It was. But a broader mind should be willing to accept that a rail enthuasiast isn't necessarily an inept social reject, living at home with mammy and standing on platforms with a notebook and camera.
My wife Louise is a committee member of P11. She'll admit herself that she knows nothing about railways from an operational or technical viewpoint. But what she does know, is that a lot of IE staff are rude, trains are dirty/late or non-existant and that basic customer issues are ignored by the operator. She's about to explode onto the scene very soon with campaigns that your average trainspotter couldn't even comprehend.She came up with them herself. Furthermore, she is supportive of my interest in making the railways better and she views it that way, always has done. I don't neglect our relationship, because Im standing on a platform in the middle of nowhere looking for some oul banger of a train, so I can add it to my list. But I have neglected it, by attending meetings with concerned rail users, politicians, councillors and god knows who else, in an effort to make it better. Thats an activity, that can be referred to as, "bettering peoples lives" for no financial or any other gain.
The P11 bandwagon is no different to any other campaigning group. Thats what it is, pure and simple.
The trainspotters can stay on the platforms or wherever they want to hang out. Their hobby should never be confused with what P11 do online or otherwise.
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