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Richard

@rtruscott.bsky.social
554 followers 624 following 914 posts

Architect, work for a London Borough in Planning, Urban Design, Housing, Policy etc, like politics, culture & history, cycling…

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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 17h
Reform UK-run council boycotts reporter after row over potholes Derbyshire county council accused of ‘worst kind of double speak’ as it denies banning local democracy journalist but says it will ignore his inquiries www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Reform UK-run council boycotts reporter after row over potholes
Derbyshire county council accused of ‘worst kind of double speak’ as it denies banning local democracy journalist but says it will ignore his inquiries
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Esther Rantzen had a long, busy & extremely impactful life, & though I was not a fan, her passing deserves memorialising. But, to me, she & her weird legendary TV show That's Life has never been spoofed better than by Not The Nine O' Clock News - youtu.be/h2QZprRgxDc?...
youtu.be
BBC Not The Nine O' Clock News - That's Life Spoof
YouTube video by Anthony C
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
No 10 gathering evidence on public support for rejoining EU. Senior Downing Street officials reach out to thinktanks and pollsters as they test backing for reversing Brexit. This seems like a very sensible & mature approach. Rejoin, or greater closeness? www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
No 10 gathering evidence on public support for UK rejoining EU
Senior Downing Street officials reach out to thinktanks and pollsters as they look to test backing for reversing Brexit
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
From Brexit to electoral reform: key takeaways from Andy Burnham’s conference speech. Ending the pensions triple lock, creating a national care service and making changes to leaseholds were all announced by the PM in Liverpool. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
From Brexit to electoral reform: key takeaways from Andy Burnham’s conference speech
Ending the pensions triple lock, creating a national care service and making changes to leaseholds were all announced by the PM in Liverpool
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Excellent Peter Kellner analysis of a) increasing willingness of voters to vote tactically to stop Reform UK, & b) how a switch to #ProportinalRepresentation could help UK negotiations with the EU kellnerp.substack.com/p/how-tactic...
kellnerp.substack.com
How tactical voting could destroy Reform…
…and left-of-centre voters help to revive the Tories
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I gather from this report that Foreign Sec. Ed Miliband delivered a terrific speech to the Labour Party Conference this morning, & from reading it, I agree on its rhetorical quality & content quality, & gave Chancellor Healy an impossible act to follow: www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
theguardian.com
John Healey says Labour will stick to fiscal rules in first speech as chancellor – UK politics live
The chancellor announced a new local apprenticeship service to boost opportunities for young people
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Brilliant, very British, story about the Farmer who stumbled upon 3 anonymous white vans obstructing her lane & then a 'large group of hooded and masked men', near the US air base at RAF Fairford; reminiscent of those Armstrong & Miller Pims O’Clock ads! www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live...
theguardian.com
RAF Fairford live updates: Streeting thanks farmer who alerted police but says she has ‘a partial picture’
Member of the public who contacted police after seeing ‘group of hooded and masked men’ near RAF base says she thinks ‘someone dropped the ball’ over incident
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
‘Rip the plaster off’: Andy Burnham sets out vision for universal free social care. An NHS-style service funded by everybody will be in Labour’s next general election manifesto. Great to have a Labour Govt with such a good & significant purpose! www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
‘Rip the plaster off’: Andy Burnham sets out vision for universal free social care
PM says he will put proposals for NHS-style service funded by everybody into Labour’s next general election manifesto
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The film Pulp: What Do You Do For An Encore? is TERRIFIC; built around a 2024 concert at the Millenium Dome, that finishes with the most epic version of Common People imaginable, but much more with biography, archive film, photos & interviews, rounded out by Jarvis’s lyrical words
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James Ball @jamesrball.com · 27/09/2026
I know America tends to forget the rest of the world exists, but this does make the chances of the rest of the world buying any of your cars drop to roughly zero, fwiw.
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Why This Beautiful Main Line Is A Mess - @garethdennis.uk #Railnatter 322 youtu.be/R2SJRtjQidc?... Very convincing in analysing capacity & need across whole line, Newcastle to Edinburgh, for commuter services at either end, & a vision of integrated local busses on Heritage Coast…
youtu.be
Why This Beautiful Main Line Is A Mess | #Railnatter 322
YouTube video by Gareth Dennis
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The Guardian’s coverage of Man City’s 18 years of fraud & cheating today is magnificent; great articles by @barneyronay & @david_conn backed up by explainer & detailed timeline in the Sport section, plus front page news report & more on the murky financial & legal details inside!
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Dani Garavelli · Diary: Cult of Mussolini. Fascinating piece on a horrible but intriguing figure, who undoubtedly left a legacy in twisted attitudes, as well as monumental architecture, mostly terrible but some stunning & beautiful, though pointlessly so! www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Dani Garavelli · Diary: Cult of Mussolini
A couple of days before I arrived in Predappio, I read that Hitler’s birthplace in Austria had been compulsorily...
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Great to be at the #HousingDesignAwards last night, to see our Kings Road housing infill scheme, by Metropolitan Workshop architects, awarded, alongside 2 others of theirs, in Farmstead Road, Lewisham & Blackwall Reach, Tower Hamlets (along with Haworth Tompkins)…
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
UK shares findings of damning climate crisis national security report suppressed under Starmer. Why suppress it? El Niño poses critical threat to nations’ defences, says Ed Miliband in presentation to global foreign ministers www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
UK shares findings of damning climate crisis national security report suppressed under Starmer
El Niño poses critical threat to nations’ defences, says Ed Miliband in presentation to global foreign ministers
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Andy Burnham faces a weakened Trump – but the president remains unpredictable. @pippacrerar.bsky.social PM hopes to be firmer with US leader than his predecessor without provoking diplomatic warfare, as the Iran war weighs on the UK economy. Going 2b a tense week! www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Andy Burnham faces a weakened Trump – but the president remains unpredictable
PM hopes to be firmer with US leader than his predecessor without provoking diplomatic warfare, as the Iran war weighs on the UK economy
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Tom Gauld Cartoon of the day in The Guardian today seems pretty accurate to me; not rich, nor with a rich aunt, not a vicar, but from a good family! i.guim.co.uk/img/media/13...
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Excellent road map by George Peretz how Andy Burnham could bring in lasting #ElectoralReform, achieving constitutional legitimacy & consensus, using #CitizensJuries, framing the decision as between the Scottish & Irish forms of #ProportionalRepresentation georgeperetzkc.substack.com/p/towards-el...
georgeperetzkc.substack.com
Towards Electoral Reform
Electoral reform now has the Prime Minister on its side: but how is it to be delivered?
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Dorian Lynskey @dorianlynskey.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
We should give them independence just for fun. See how they get on
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Peter Smith @redpeter99.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Breaking. Donald Trump announces state visit to Piddington.
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Huw... @hiker-huw.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Let's grant Piddlington independence. Make them show passports & get Visas to leave the village and enter the UK! 😂 Make the parish council negotiate contracts with utilities, service providers, and trade deals with the UK government...🤣🤣🤣🤣 #piddington
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Let me count the days … @simoncosgrove.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Day 2420 of #Brexit: ‘Andy Burnham is facing calls to ensure the UK does not fall behind its international allies after the European Union opened the door to Canada becoming its first 'associate member'.’ www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
independent.co.uk
UK urged to follow Canada’s example as it looks set to be ‘associate member’ of EU
Canada’s PM Mark Carney is pivoting to Europe amid his country’s trade war with Donald Trump
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Villagers in Piddington, Oxfordshire vote to leave UK in protest over migrant housing plan. Another mess, courtesy of Johnson & Sunak’s neglect of basic work processing asylum claims, which means temporary camps like this are needed. But not permanent… www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
English village votes to leave UK in protest over migrant housing plan
Villagers in Piddington, Oxfordshire, hold symbolic referendum over plans to house more than 1,000 asylum seekers nearby
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
All supporting acts withdraw from Ed Sheeran’s tour in solidarity with Macklemore - what a mess, undermines Sheeran’s attempt to reduce his bland, middle of the road reputation, hitting increasing division between corporate US/Israel & the rest of the West! www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
All supporting acts withdraw from Ed Sheeran’s tour in solidarity with Macklemore
Four openers and live band for Sheeran’s tour depart after removal of Macklemore over ‘free Palestine’ comments
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
George Osborne saying Britain should rejoin the EU Customs Union as the simplest & quickest way to repair the undoubted harm to the economy of Brexit. He’s right, but I don’t think many people are inclined to listen to the architect of Austerity right now! www.theguardian.com/business/202...
theguardian.com
George Osborne calls for UK to rejoin EU customs union and boost trade
Ex-Tory chancellor says economy has ‘fallen off a cliff’ since Brexit but rejoining union could be ‘quite simple’
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
‘People think fame is a magic wand’: Jarvis Cocker on old songs, young fans and his granny’s verdict on Pulp. Great interview by Rebecca Nicholson www.theguardian.com/film/2026/se...
theguardian.com
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The great Peter Kellner’s analysis of forthcoming Holborn St Pancras by-election; Zack Polanski would have to massively underperform both current polling & history of similar by-elections where a Labour govt had to defend against another progressive party…: kellnerp.substack.com/p/a-by-elect...
kellnerp.substack.com
A by-election that the Greens should win
It will be terrible for Polanski if Labour holds Holborn & St Pancras
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Speed up electricity grid upgrade or else face higher bills, warns UK watchdog National Audit Office says failure to implement £70bn modernisation would also hold back economic growth www.theguardian.com/business/202...
theguardian.com
Speed up electricity grid upgrade or else face higher bills, warns UK watchdog
National Audit Office says failure to implement £70bn modernisation would also hold back economic growth
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Urban Truth Collective @urbantruth.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Don’t buy the lie about a war on cars. They’ve been waging a WAR ON WALKING for a century. #UrbanTruth #WarOnWalking
Same text message as in the post, on a new poster from the Urban Truth Collective. Background image is a massive wide freeway, splitting neighbourhoods and filled with cars. #CarDependency #Traffic #Congestion
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Schnorkles O'Bork @schnorkles.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Well this is a man who's feeling very confident and not at all melting down in the background.
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
US citizens will receive $5,000 if Republicans win midterms, Trump claims in lengthy convention speech full of lies, offer that would cost US over $1tn, and asks voters to ‘pretend that I’m on the ballot’, despite being deeply unpopular among electorate www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
US citizens will receive $5,000 if Republicans win midterms, Trump claims in lengthy convention speech
President makes offer that would cost US over $1tn and asks voters to ‘pretend that I’m on the ballot’ despite being deeply unpopular among electorate
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Senior UK rabbis come out in support of sanctions on Israeli settlements Spiritual leaders stress diversity of views within Jewish community and warn against inaction on settler violence www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Senior UK rabbis come out in support of sanctions on Israeli settlements
Spiritual leaders stress diversity of views within Jewish community and warn against inaction on settler violence
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Brynley Heaven @brynleyheaven.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Rail Minister gives permission for Cambourne to Cambridge Guided Busway www.route-one.net/news/cambour...
route-one.net
Cambourne to Cambridge guided busway gets government nod - routeone
The government has given permission for a new guided busway between Cambourne and Cambridge after granting the necessary order.
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Burnham urged to tackle inequality with policies including wealth tax. Key thinkers suggest other radical measures in Compass report such as free personal social care and abolishing Lords. Some really good ideas here! www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Burnham urged to tackle inequality with policies including wealth tax
Key thinkers suggest other radical measures in Compass report such as free personal social care and abolishing Lords
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Brynley Heaven @brynleyheaven.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
this is a Grant Shapps/privatisation nobody-in-charge foul-up which presumably defaults to British Rail to pick up the responsibility
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Far-right port protests: police told to improve intelligence gathering - understandable as both Kent & Hampshire Police Intelligence seem to have been really incompetent in the face of meticulously organised, menacing, intimidating protest! www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Far-right port protests: police told to improve intelligence gathering
Whitehall officials ask why laws meant to clamp down on mask wearing at demonstrations were not used
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
This is shocking & a massive failure by Kent Police! EXCLUSIVE: Did Kent Police ignore Dover blockade 999 call? – HOPE not hate hopenothate.org.uk/2026/09/07/e...
hopenothate.org.uk
EXCLUSIVE: Did Kent Police ignore Dover blockade 999 call? – HOPE not hate
HOPE not hate can exclusively reveal that Kent Police were tipped off about the Patriot Platform mobilisation – and seemingly did not act.
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I think it’s good & about time that Ed Miliband to announce today that UK to adopt tougher stance on Israel with illegal settlements trade ban, essential to protect the #TwoStateSolution, the only way to achieve peace for Israel & justice for Palestinians www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
UK to adopt tougher stance on Israel with illegal settlements trade ban
Ed Miliband to reassert support for Palestinian rights and a two-state solution in move likely to draw fierce criticism from US and Israel
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Peter Walker @peterwalker99.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Thinking back on the Reform UK conference, one of the big impressions it left was *cosiness*. This sounds odd given the rhetoric, but it reminded me of some Tory conferences and Labour under Corbyn, where it was often a comfort blanket for members, with no beliefs or failures really challenged.
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Disaster yesterday in the pivotal east-central German Lande of Sachsen-Anhalt, with the fascist AFD just 3 short of an overall majority. The BSW (Sahra Wagenknecht’s “party”, with 5) can prove or not the horseshoe theory that far left parties are closer to far right than defenders of democracy!
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Peter Jukes @peterjukes.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Just a reminder, Professor James Orr, Reform UK head of policy, teaches 'ethics' to undergraduates at Cambridge University youtu.be/aXut3s90rUI
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Mark Thompson @markreckons.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Seeing how easily Farage dismisses people who have been close aides for over a decade as "just contractors" makes me wonder if parties need to formally declare who their senior aides are in advance. So if there is a scandal the party can't just pretend they were "nobodies".
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Another print. Love both Delauneys, this, by Robert, is a lovely rendering of the view from a window. Like 89 per cent of people in the constituency, this print lives in a flat. Thus far not a single vox pop has taken place in any of the many private or council estates in the seat.
Robert Delaunay's Windows Open Simultaneously, 1912, a foundational piece of Orphism (a movement stemming from Cubism that focused on pure abstraction and vibrant color harmony).

Visual Breakdown & Composition

Subject & Form: At first glance, the composition appears almost entirely abstract, built from a grid-like mosaic of overlapping geometric shapes—triangles, rectangles, and sweeping diagonals. However, embedded within the center of the image is the faint, green silhouette of the Eiffel Tower, flanked by abstract architectural planes that suggest a view framed by an open window looking out over the Paris cityscape.

Color Palette: Delaunay uses contrasting, translucent panes of color to simulate the interplay of light refractions. The palette features cool blues, purples, and deep emerald greens contrasted against warm ochres, yellows, oranges, and soft whites.

Light & Rhythm: Rather than using traditional shadows to create depth, Delaunay relies on the interaction of simultaneous color contrasts. The shifting translucent planes create a dynamic sense of rhythmic movement, visual rhythm, and luminosity, as if light is actively fracturing across glass.


Part of Delaunay's famous Windows series (Les Fenêtres), this painting represents his transition away from analytical, muted Cubism toward a style centered around pure color, light, and visual sensation. The poet Guillaume Apollinaire coined the term Orphism to describe this lyrical, music-like approach to abstract painting.
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Robert Hutton @roberthutton.co.uk · 04/09/2026
With all respect to the BBC, the reason this story "matters" is not about whether it distracts from Reform's conference. It "matters" because it is important our leaders are not conspiring to break the law.
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Wow - Farage himself, as well as several of his closest & most important advisors, are clearly I’m significant trouble for soliciting illegal donations & engaging in conspiracy to enable illegal donations to be funnelled to them! writesbright.substack.com/p/the-most-s...
writesbright.substack.com
The most shocking moment of Channel 4’s undercover Reform sting
Watch this immediately!
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
How the Delhi Metro Became a Leading Transit System, cutting carbon emissions & clogged vehicle traffic, connecting people, particularly women, to jobs, teaching people how to use the system, improving lives - great article from The New York Times www.nytimes.com/2026/09/02/h...
nytimes.com
How the Delhi Metro Became a Leading Transit System
This year, the Indian capital’s subway system passed New York’s in length.
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Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
I kinda get the sentiment but I really don't think it's a good idea to be blaming Thatcher in 2026.
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Burnham blames Brexit and Thatcher for ‘wrong turns’ in first Commons speech as PM - wow, the scale of ambition & coherence of analysis are very impressive; great counter to pessimistic commentators saying it’s just vibes, trivia & that nothing can be done! www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Burnham blames Brexit and Thatcher for ‘wrong turns’ in first Commons speech as PM
The prime minister said Britain needed to be brutally honest about the mistakes of the last 40 years of UK politics
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Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
This guy once loved Trump so much he called him "Daddy"
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Moor Park, on the Metropolitan Line, a couple of weeks ago, the terminus of my #LondonLoop walk that started in Rickmansworth; the station is a sadly unloved, simple, minimalist, Modernist beauty,…
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