Ryan's World of Nonsense

Well folks, it's that time of the year again. 2025 is coming to an end, A year packed with painful lab sufferings (just like last year), plot twists I didn't sign up for, and enough coffee to cover the Bristol Channel. I'd say 2025 is a test on my willpower (I'm still breathing, so that's good I suppose). But anyway, here’s some highlights of my 2025. January: Teignmouth's Sunrise Teignmouth Seafront I started 2025 by participating in the Teignmouth Promenade Parkrun. I arrived just in town to catch the sun rising from the horizon. It's absolutely mesmerising.  Of course, as a morbidly obese individual, running is proven to be impractical. So I jogged my way along the promenade, savoring the salty sea breeze and the occasional splashes from waves slapping onto the sea wall. It's definitely the most scenic parkrun I've ever done. 

HSTs at Plymouth Station Great Western Railway (GWR)’s High Speed Trains (HST) performed their final scheduled passenger service on December 13th, 2025. I was lucky enough to be there to witness one of those last journeys and say goodbye to the legend of Britian's railways. In this post, I’m taking you along for the ride on the legendary HST, so do grab yourselves a cookie, settle in, and enjoy the journey. The first production Class 43 HST Power Car 43002 (Credit: Geof Sheppard) For those of you who don't know what the HST is, here's a quick history recap on these machines: The HSTs, or the Inter-City 125 train sets, were actually built as a "stop-gap" while the APT (Advanced Passenger Train) project faced significant technical delays. While the APT was a clean-sheet design meant to revolutionise travel on the West Coast Main Line (London to Scotland via West Midlands) with its advanced gas turbines and tilting technology. Its high complexity meant it wouldn'...

Plymouth Citybus' New Wright StreetDeck Electroliner Plymouth is in the progress of electrifying its buses with the complete rollout of its 50 brand-new, zero-emission battery electric buses. These second-generation Wright StreetDeck Electroliners have been rolling out across various routes in and out of the city since May 2025. These buses feature a facelifted front design (which personally, I'm not a big fan of...) and the latest battery technology which extends its range up to around 275 miles (compared to around 150–200 miles of the first-generation StreetDeck BEV). These buses have been running on Plymouth’s streets for roughly six months now, marking the retirement of the older diesel-powered Enviro 400 models (They'll likely be cascaded to serve Cornwall or someplace else). The entire project, which cost around £32 million, was made possible through a funding partnership. between the DfT's Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) 2 scheme, financial support from t...

Wang Fuk Court Fire (Source: www.hk01.com) Tai Po's been home to me for over a decade. Words can't describe how heartbroken and devastated to see how a single spark has led thousands of residents losing their home, and even their loved ones.  Here's what happened in case you're not aware of the incident: On the 26th of November 2025, a quiet Wednesday afternoon in Tai Po, Hong Kong, a single spark turned Wang Fuk Court into a towering inferno. By the time the flames were extinguished more than 24 hours later, at least 140 people were dead, dozens more injured, and over 100 remained missing. Seven out of eight towers in this housing complex, home to thousands of residents, had been gutted in the city’s worst fire disaster in nearly eighty years. (one tower within the complex has not been affected by the fire and was evacuated) So, what went wrong exactly? The government and some early official statements blamed the bamboo scaffolding, stating that it's the main reaso...