Accountant-turned-fireman honoured in song celebrating 200 years of rail
Working with steam engines connected Joanne Ormesher to her beloved late grandfather and gave her strength during her battle with an aggressive cancer.
Now, she is one of five people whose stories have been turned into songs by top folk artists for BBC Radio 2's 21st Century Folk, which this year celebrates 200 years since the birth of the modern railway.
The bicentenary year, led by Railway 200, began with a 'whistle-up' of more than 200 locomotives across five continents, and Inspiration, a free travelling exhibition train showcasing the past, present and future of rail, is now touring the country.
Ms Ormesher's grandfather was an engineer who made model trains, and she recalls engine parts strewn across his home.
But it was not until two decades after his death that she happened upon an iconic steam engine waiting at a local station.
'I thought they were consigned to museums,' she remembers.
'But this was hissing and breathing at the station. It felt alive. I stood at the back of a throng of enthusiasts, and it felt like my grandad was there.
'The smells and the sounds, everything reminded me of him.'
Her life changed that day and she began volunteering cleaning engines at a local heritage railway and quickly rose through the ranks to become a fireman.
She now volunteers on the Llangollen Railway in north Wales, a journey that can take up to three hours from her home near Blackburn.
Starting as early as 5am, Ms Ormesher shovels hundreds of kilos of coal and ensures the train's engine is working correctly.
It took her body nearly a year to adapt to the punishing labour. Despite the toil, she often daydreams about being back on the railway while working in the office as an accountant.
In 2019, she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, and the railways helped her through.
'I didn't know if I was going to survive, I shouldn't have survived,' Ms Ormesher said.
'But I was determined to get back to firing steam engines. It's what kept me focused. Ten weeks after my treatment I was back at it.'
Now in remission, she continues to volunteer as a fireman.
Ms Ormesher also strives to pass on her knowledge to the next generation of enthusiasts and champions greater opportunities for women on heritage railways.
She said she loved the song about her – Firecracker, by Findlay Napier – and was 'so emotional' when listening to it.
The five songs celebrate 200 years since the first steam-powered, passenger rail journey when George Stephenson's Locomotion No. 1 travelled along the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
Emma Roberts, programme manager for Railway 200, said: 'The BBC and the folk artists have done an amazing job bringing these five stories to life.
'Joanne's story is inspirational and it really demonstrates the powerful impact that the railways can have on people's lives.
'This is a momentous year for the UK, and it's been wonderful to see so many people getting involved, with hundreds of events happening across the country and the rest of the world.'
The songs are being played on BBC Radio 2 this week.
On Friday, Jeremy Vine will broadcast live from The Greatest Gathering, a railway summit in Derby.
BBC Radio 2's Folk Show presenter Mark Radcliffe said: 'Folk music tells the story of everyday life, with melodies and lyrics that are passed down through generations of families.
'It's been amazing to see these listeners' stories take on a life of their own with these special compositions, written and performed by some of the folk world's most loved artists.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
26 minutes ago
- The Guardian
The Rise and Fall of the Clash Redux review – screen encore for punk's raging heroes
Here's a downbeat, slightly miserable documentary about the Clash, a 'redux' in fact by director Danny Garcia of his 2012 film The Rise and Fall of the Clash. Perhaps that earlier version had more to say about how the Clash came raging out of London's punk scene in the 1970s; this one only really gets going in 1982 when Joe Strummer boots drummer Topper Headon out of the band for heroin addiction, then a year later kicks out guitarist Mick Jones. Rise and Fall Redux is a portrait of the band as a sinking ship, finally disbanding in 1986. It is a film groaning with talking heads. Pick of them is Viv Albertine of the Slits who sums the Clash up nicely when she says: 'They were best when they were small and angry … when they were hard and angry and poor.' Others indulge in a bit intellectual waffle. The only member of the classic lineup to appear is guitarist Mick Jones, not taking it too seriously. Asked about the secret of the band's success, he grins slyly: 'It was a mix of luck and fortunate timing.' There are interviews too with the disgruntled drummers and guitarists hired in later years to replace Headon and Jones, poorly paid and seemingly badly treated by the band's svengali-like manager Bernard Rhodes. In the end this a film for Clash fans, with little in the way of explainers; there's not much, for example, about where the band came from or what it was like in the early days. There's no recap of the stories about how Strummer met Jones and bassist Paul Simonon in a London dole queue, or how they were so frequently spat at on stage that in 1978 Joe Strummer contracted hepatitis from an audience member. It would benefit from a little more of the glory days, a little rise with the fall. The Rise and Fall of the Clash Redux is in UK cinemas from 8 August.
Telegraph
26 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Anne Boleyn's stunning childhood home brings this new musical to life
The worldwide success of the musical Six means that the labyrinthine love life of Henry VIII is currently hot property when it comes to theatre. As its diligent yet uninspired title might suggest, Anne Boleyn the Musical doesn't have the snap and sass of Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow's hit show, or indeed its catchy tunes. But then Six cannot boast Hever Castle, Anne's real childhood home, as the stunning backdrop for the show. Belgian company Historalia are specialists when it comes to large-scale musicals in picturesque settings and their first outing in this country is impressive in both scale and ambition. A specially constructed covered 1800-seat arena offers guaranteed shelter from any rain, with an open back 'wall' looking out on to Hever's grounds. Not only is the sight of honey-coloured evening light bathing the castle a delight that no amount of stage trickery could hope to reproduce, but nature's own lighting states represent the perfect pathetic fallacy for Anne's narrative arc, right to her eventual tragic ending. As the glow of a summer's evening gives way to nightfall, so does the King's initial ardour dim when Anne fails to provide him with the male heir he so desperately craves. A professional cast of 11 along with an impressively drilled and highly tuneful community ensemble of 40 take us through the familiar story, onto which writer Rebecca Night attempts to put her own stamp through emphasising Anne's learning ('probably the most educated woman in England') and reforming tendencies. This Anne (Emily Lane) is little short of a secular saint, a feminist and a social campaigner rolled into one, albeit one inclined not to linger upon the awkward fact that Henry (Mark Goldthorp) already has a wife when he first starts to court her. Lane has a powerful voice – To Catch the Light is Anne's plangent lament when she realises that her marriage hangs by a thread – and Goldthorp rocks the full Damian Lewis, the actor who played the capricious monarch so memorably in Wolf Hall. We listen to words and music through binaural headphones, which allow us to hear different sounds in each ear. This technical achievement by sound designers Ben and Max Ringham is a first for an outdoor production, and more extensive and sophisticated use of this innovation will surely be made in future iterations. What is most fascinating about Roxana Silbert's production is often not what is happening on the wide stage, which is bedecked with moveable wooden stage furniture representing chapel screens, libraries and the like. It's the deep perspective of the background, stretching out over Hever's gardens, which intrigues, as messengers occasionally belt along the paths and Henry arrives on a real white horse for his first visit to Hever. This unexpected regal jaunt causes flap and flurry for Joan (Kim Ismay), Hever's amusing chatterbox of a housekeeper, and also gives rise to the evening's wittiest song, whose urgent refrain urges the staff to 'dig out the silver'. Tickets are not cheap, ranging from £50 to £97 for the 'platinum premium' experience, but this is packaged as an entire evening's entertainment, complete with the opportunity to wander around Hever's picturesque grounds pre-show. I suspect that we'll be hearing and seeing considerably more of Historalia in future British summers. Until Aug 30. Info: 0288 6422174;
Telegraph
26 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Championship predictions: Frank Lampard's Coventry promoted, Watford relegated
The English Football League Championship kicks off on Friday night, when relegated Ipswich Town travel to promoted Birmingham City. England's second tier produced drama all the way to the final day last season and the new campaign promises more of the same. Ipswich Town and Southampton are this season's favourites for automatic promotion, while in-crisis Sheffield Wednesday are favourites for relegation. Celebrity investors have distracted from the football this summer. Ipswich minority owner Ed Sheeran gave himself a squad number, rap star Snoop Dogg bought into Swansea and Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's Wrexham are attempting a fourth consecutive promotion. That is without mentioning Tom Brady starring in a fly-on-the-wall Birmingham documentary. There are 11 new managers, exciting new signings, famous owners drawing what is certain to be record viewing figures and the expectation of high drama and entertainment. Here are Telegraph Sport's predictions.
