One Sketch #188) Tram on Westminster Bridge

Am I happy with this?
You bet I am
What more could I possibly want
Than London, a bridge and a tram.

Sorry - couldn't resist. (Not bad though, is it? Acrylic paint heavily watered down and used like water colour on watercolour paper.

One Sketch #187) Indiana Jones

A top treasure hunter? Not half,
Who often could do with a bath
Who shoots from the hip,
Is a whizz with a whip,
Archaeologist? Don't make me laugh.

You have to take inspiration where you can get it. In this case, having finished my series of trams and trains. I was watching "Raiders of the Lost Ark" with my grandson, and there was inspiration. I love the Indiana Jones films ( apart from Temple of Doom) I even like Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and those of us willing to admit this are a small but select band. How much do I love them? Well, two or even three years ago there was an exhibition in the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff, which was aimed at getting kids excited about archaeology. As a lure they had a small number of exhibits from the films - a hat, jacket and whip, and the actual crystal skull (or one of them, at least) used in the film. I went the day the exhibition opened.

One Sketch #186) London Underground Railway

Wherever I go
Wherever I might be
When you get down to it
The Tube's for me.

Yes, dearly beloved, this completes my set of sketches of the current city tramways, light railways and underground railways of Great Britain. I don't intend to say that much about the London Underground, since a few months ago I sketched an old District Line train at Ealing Common, and I tried to explain my love of the Tube then.

Well, this makes 12 sketches altogether - which, come to think of it, is a full calendar. Would you like one? Drop me a line and we'll come to some arrangement.

One Sketch #185 Mersey Rail, Liverpool

I'd be most remiss if I failed
To sketch and to praise Merseyrail

Yes, our third of Britain's 4 Underground Railways - Merseyrail being one of the quartet comprising of the Tyne and Wear Metro, the glorious Glasgow subway, and the mighty London Underground. So no prises for guessing what's on the menu for tomorrow, then.

One Sketch #184) Glasgow Subway

Again, again, again, again
I've sketched another flipping train.

Even if I didn't love Glasgow's 'Clockwork Orange' underground subway railway for itself, I'd love it for the fact that the first time I rode upon it was also the day that I won Mastermind. Still, coming towards the end of this series now folks - only Merseyrail and the London Underground to go.

One Sketch #183 (HALFWAY THERE!) Docklands Light Railway

I have to say
It's quite a strain
To write yet another verse
About a train.

Can you believe it, dearly beloved. 183 sketches and we're into the second half year. Being as 365 is an odd number, with yesterday's sketch we weren't quite halfway there, and with this one we're now just over halfway there.

So, the Docklands Light Railway. This opened just after I moved away from London, but I've ridden on it once or twice.

One Sketch #182) Tyne and Wear Metro

To pick another subject's hard
When one's as busy as I am
At least you can be thankful
It's a train and not a tram

Yes, sorry folks, but my little project of sketching all of Great Britain's Tramways, Light Railways and Underground Railways continues. This is the Tyne and Wear Metro - officially classed as a light railway, although I always thought of it as an underground railway. No matter. It opened in 1980, and I first travelled on it in 1982. Very good it is too.

Just a little note here. Being as this is sketch 182, my next sketch will take us into the second half year. I might not have posted each single day, but I have made at least one sketch on each of the days. A cause for a small celebration, I think. Cheers.