No need to say – that was not a good news weekend: All the horrific mayhem of Norway’s Friday followed by the almost tiny in comparison tragedy of another tortured artist going the way of far too many before her. Of course; tiny it was not.

In between these two, each in their own way historic events, what were you doing?
Getting on with the life that must go on? The usual shopping trip, household chores, some long planned or impulse bit of DIY? Or did you get to the Tramlines Festival in Sheffield?

If you had seen the papers all carrying the same unreal photograph on Saturday morning did wandering around the country’s biggest free music festival feel strange?
Personally, despite having seen the TV coverage on Friday night and read all the ‘I’ editorial over a coffee on the Station concourse it didn’t seem to sink in.

I was meeting a friend and a bunch of his buddies at Sheffield Rail Station for a planned day on a Real Ale Rail Trail – a first for me – with seven new friends in tow, We all swapped clichés and well worn phrases of regret over the deaths in Norway but were then taken up by which train, what ticket from where to what; and it became a really great day.

Breakfast in Leeds followed by a walk along the picturesque tow path of Skipton to the first pint in the Narrow Boat and then two more in the Cock & Bottle soaked up by Steak and Ale Pie with Chips and peas, with much unembarrassed Seventies style humour and ‘sodding the diet’, before continuing on to The Railway at Cononoly, The Boltmakers in Keighley and Fanny’s in Saltaire before heading back to Leeds and a change of train line towards a Fish & Chip supper in Barnsley and The Tap back at Sheffield Station.

We heard about the death of Amy Winehouse while waiting for the train on the single return platform at Saltaire.

Life was once again a picture of sharp contrasts, a delicate bright bubble resting between heavy oak book ends.

Where the news of Amy's death reached us Last stop before heading back south