Taking transport geekery too far.

This is the post which will cause you to lose any lingering hints of respect you may have still held for me.

The other day a small parcel arrived at my desk at work; a long-forgotten eBay purchase. I love it when this happens; I find stuff on eBay, buy it on a whim (if it’s, like, seriously cheap), and then forget about it. Then, several days later, a mysterious envelope arrives and I open it with glee. Sometimes I’m pleasantly surprised by what it turns out that I’d bought. 

And that’s exactly what’s happened here.

The badge is self-explanatory. It’s a 1982 pin-badge for the release of the Ford Sierra, it was probably given away at motorshows, at car dealerships, that kind of thing. It’s a reminder of the great excitement that surrounded the launch of Ford’s Cortina-replacing “jelly mould”.

As a fan of Uwe Bahnsen’s aero-designed medium car masterpiece, I’m sure I can be excused buying this, and then consequently proudly wearing it at work (concealed by my jacket). A legitimate purchase then. Well bought, I thought. Until I suddenly looked down towards my feet and realized something else.

My tie. This was another deranged eBay purchase from some time last year. It’s a reasonably tasteful medium-dark metallic-look tie, patterned with a motif of swallows. It lives in a drawer with all my other ties. I like it, though you could be excused for thinking it may look a little corporate, somehow.

That’s because it is. I fact, it’s a tie worn by train operators on Intercity Trains. Intercity was the brand which long-distance British Rail train services were marketed under, and the “Swallow” livery was worn by the famous Intercity 125 train, long-time holder of the diesel speed record for passenger trains.

So that’s it. Today I’m wearing a 1982 Ford Sierra pin badge and an early-90’s Intercity tie.

You think you’ve got problems.