RAILWAY buff and former Cabinet minister Michael Portillo will be steaming into Lydney later this year to talk about his passion for trains and his political life.

The Great Railway Journeys TV star will be presenting his one man show Life: A Game of Two Halves at the town hall on Sunday, November 5.

A spokesman for the Dean Forest Railway Society, who are co-organising the evening, said: “It took Michael a little more than 10 years to get a seat in the Commons and then rise in power and esteem to a point where he was a favoured leader of his party and possible future PM.

“A track record like that suggests to many a privileged friend of the rich and famous, but since leaving the House a decade ago, Michael has endeared himself to many with his obvious respect for solid workmanship and creative energy, as found in our great Victorian Railways, and the daily toil of the working man.

“A historian at heart, he has used the Victorian Bradshaw’s Guide to take millions of viewers on a historical voyage of discovery throughout the UK, Ireland, the USA and Europe.”

And appropriately en­ough for a former high-ranking politician, he’ll be facing a “Question Time” at the end of his talk.

Call 01594 845840 for more information.