Monthly Archives: May 2020

Lockdown. Day 57 (Tuesday).

20 Wednesday May 2020

Posted by in Coronavirus, Food and drink, Lockdown

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Today was another good day and it even had a touch of variety! It started well as the pair of us were up early following our productive routines of exercise and meditation. Dawn doesfar more exercise than I as she follows a regime via social media where she’s part of a group. Me? I stick to weights and walking – although I’m missing the workouts I used to get from carrying a 12-13 kilo canera bag around all day. It’s nearly two months since I last did that and I expect it’s going to be a shock to my knees to be picking up the strain again once this is all over and I can get back to travelling.

Somehow I suspect It’ll be a while before that happens. Whilst the railways started running an expanded timetable yeaterday the Government advice is still to stay away and there are plenty of unanswered questions over how the hell you manage social distancing on a busy public transport network as it will kill capacity. Not just on trains but at stations too.

All these matters are discussed by my colleagues in the latest edition of RAIL magazine which is available tomorrow. I have an article in there too but mine is a look back at 10 years of the reopened East London line. I lived and worked in that neck of the woods for over 10 years, from 1986 to 1997 before moving to North London for another 13 years, so I know the lines of old.  

As usual, a large chunk of my day was spent scanning slides but later in the afternoon the pair of us decided to nip out to a local farm shop as we both fancied something freshly cooked rather than relying on provisions from the freezer – even though that’s all home cooked meals. There’s no processed or ready-meals in our larder!

The first farm shop we called at only did phone in orders, which was our mistake as we should’ve checked first. Instead, we drove to our usual source of goodies at Bolster Moor, which we knew was open as we’d called in the other week. They’ve done a good job of working out social distancing space and their was no queue to get in, so shopping was a delight in the circumstances. 

I came away with some sirloin steak to use in a Thai salad as well as some chicken thighs. Oh, and one of their sublime pork pies which was still warm from the oven – although we were good and shared it between us!

Rather than drive straight home we took a detour via some of the local country lanes. Why not? Traffic’s light, it’s close to home and Dawn knows the roads. so it was lovely to break the monotony of the same routes we’ve been sticking to for the past two months.

En-route home we popped into the Tesco supermarket in Sowerby Bridge to pick up some alcoholic and non-alcoholic supplies. The place was quiet and the queue was short, so it didn’t take us long. Unless you’ve just arrived from Mars pretty much everybody knows the drill by now.

Back as Chez Bigland we buttoned down for the evening but first there was time to enjoy a drink in the garden and listen to the birdsong emanating from the stand of trees opposite the house. They’re a popular spot for all manner of our feathered friends including Wood-Pigeons, Crows, Magpies, Jays, Blackbirds, Finches, Tits and even the occasional Sparrow, although for some reason Sparrows are seen far more often at the back of the house than the front. The Tits are tarts, they get everywhere, as do the Magpies. 

Once the sun had set Dawn adjourned to the kitchen to prepare the Thai beef salad whilst I disappeared into the office to finish of some slide scanning before supper. The wait was worth it…thumbnail_20200519_222646

To be honest, neither of us are big red meat eaters. It’s something we have on rare occaisions, but when we do something like this is right up our street as the meat is simply one component of a dish with fantastic flavours. 

I have a suspicion food has become far more of a focus for many people thanks to the situation we find ourselves in. As we both enjoy cooking it’s actually good fun and we can honestly say that throughout lockdown we’ve not eaten a single take-away. Mind you, even before lockdown we’d only order a take-away once every Preston Guild. But we did enjoy visiting restaurants. I can’t see us doing that again for a while…

Lockdown. Day 56 (Monday).

20 Wednesday May 2020

Posted by in Coronavirus, Down memory lane, Lockdown, Photography

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After yesterday’s slight hiccup the two of us faced a new week with renewed determination that the next seven days would be productive! It certainly started well. Dee was up just after 6 to begin her daily exercise regime. I stayed in bed a mite longer but made the most of it by working on the laptop whilst I sipped my coffee and kept the moggie company. He’s decided our bed’s his now and won’t take no for an answer. Trying to remove him’s like trying to throw away a boomerang!

I did join Dawn in time for a morning meditation which put us both in a good frame of mind for having a positive day, whatever life threw up.

Suitably balanced we retreated to our separate workplaces and cracked on. I’d already got a queue of slides ready for scanning and had a pleasant trip down memory lane, meandering back 27 years to the summer of 1993. I’m still amazed at how many of the pictures I remember taking although every so often one foxes me, leavng me thinking “what was I doing there, then”? The fact the individual slides are still unblemished and undamaged after over a quarter of a century is a relief too. There’s the odd one with a bit of surface scratching but I was meticulous about keeping my camera clean after having some travel pictures from India so badly scratched by grit on the film plane back in 1991 that vowed never to make the same mistake again.

Whilst I was busy scanning I did keep one eye on social media and the latest pathetic antics of ‘Extinction Rebellion’ as their tiny band of protesters pretend they can stop HS2. Quite how holding up a some banners outside a couple of worksites long enough to get pictures to post on social media before buggering off again is meant to stop HS2 is a mystery. All it does is fool a few gullible voyeurs sat at home watching into donating their money, but presumably that’s the idea. I notice a lot of the bluster has died down now. XR’s supposed ‘protectors’ have gone from claiming they’ll stop HS2 to saying they’re there just to record ‘wildlife crimes’. Only problem is – despite all their cameras – they’ve failed to capture a single ‘crime’! So we have allegations thrown around like confetti, but not a single arrest, much less a prosecution or conviction.

It is laughable that people who can’t even stop themselves being evicted from any of their tiny camps claim they’re going tostop the biggest construction project in Europe. Talking of evictions, many of the remaining protesters at Harvil Rd (and some of their associates) have been served with writs and are up before the High Court on Thursday this week!

I finally took a break from scanning to take some exercise and stop my legs ossifying. The weather’s the worst it’s been for some time – cold and windy with occasional, desultory rain showers so literally took a walk up the road with the hope that conditions will improve later. My determination that this is going to be a good week extends to getting my daily 5 miles under my belt every day – but it does prove difficult sometimes when juggling so many things. Today was no exception. With the pair of us at full slog throughout the day it was after 18:30 pm that we went out together and did our local circuit through woodland and park before getting home in time for the weekly Platt family ‘Zoom’ call. 

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Zoom is a good stopgap for face to face contact in these troubled times, but will it replace it? You have to be joking!

Afterwards I had a last hour in the office editing today’s scans and getting them onto my Zenfolio website. You can find them in this gallery. 

I added to my health ‘brownie’ points by also having an alcohol free day so I felt very virtuous by the time I climbed into bed that evening. As for all those scanned slides – here’s a sample. 

03390. 86634. 86637. Stratford. 01.07.1993crop

On the 1st July 1993 Class 86s No’s 86634 and 86637 haul a Freightliner train bound for Ipswich through Stratford in East London. Built for the West Coast Mail Line electrification in 1965-66 these locomotives were 23 years old when this picture was taken. Remarkably 86637 remains in service today, 27 years later – although not for much longer! Freightliners remaining Class 86s are about to be replaced by Class 90s displaced from Liverpool St – Norwich services. The 90s have been rendered surplus by the introduction of the new Stadler built Class 745 units. 86634 lasted in service until May 2002. It was scrapped at CF Booth, Rotherham in 2005.

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Lockdown. Day 55 (Sunday).

20 Wednesday May 2020

Posted by in Calder Valley, Coronavirus, Flora and Fauna, Lockdown

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*My apologies, this blog was written several days after the event as I’m frantically trying to catch up with recording the lockdown*

It’s said the road to hell is paved with good intentions. We had a few of those today but they went out of the window almost as soon as the day broke! I’d intended to get some work done, scanning old slides, then catch-up on some DIY whilst Dawn had plans to carry on with her redecoration of the front room and the porch. The weather was ideal as it was warn but overcast.

In the end, none of that happened. I don’t know if it’s lockdown fatigue or ennui but the pair of us ended up sleeping late. Even when we got up the day never seemed to get into gear and before we knew it most of it had flown. In an effort to salvage something from the day we finally got our arses into gear and went for a walk around the valley. Despite the easing of lockdown restrictions we’re still not venturing far. Partially because we don’t want to get caught up in crowds and partially because – what’s the need when we live in such a scenic part of the country? We have some lovely views right on our own doorstep!

Our walk took us down to the valley floor and across the river Calder at Copley, below the Lloyds data centre where a new housing estate and road bridge has been built in the past 5 years. It’s not a place I’d want to live as it’s hemmed in by the river on one side and the canal on the other, with the risk of flooding that brings, but many people don’t seem bothered and the properties have all sold. Once across the river we passed under the railway lines and headed out into open country along Hollas Lane. Purely by accident we’d timed our trip perfectly with the weather as the clouds that had blocked the sun for most of the day finally broke, giving us a gorgeous spell of clear blue sky. Leaving Hollas Lane we followed footpaths across the fields which took us along a sunken, stone lined trail which is a perfect green tunnel.

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Breaking out into the sunlight on the other side we’d great views back across the valley to ‘our side’ and the height we’d gained gave us a commanding view of the Copley railway viaduct. It was so nice to be out that we stopped in field for 20 minutes just to admire the views and allow me to get a couple of pictures like this.

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A pair of Northern Class 195s cross the Copley viaduct with a Leeds – Manchester service. As you can see from the tree canopy, Spring has well and truly arrived in the Calder Valley!

It was such a peaceful spot I almost wished we’d have brought a picnic with us rather than just the Nakd bars which we munched on as we enjoyed the sunshine and the silence. The roads are still quiet around here, which allows for blissful moments like this.

Moving on uphill we crossed another couple of fields to reach North Dean Road, which is more of a track than a proper road as vehicle access is extremely limited. We followed it down through the woods to reach the new pedestrian bridge across the Calder to Copley, which replaces a older stone bridge that was washed away in the floods on Boxing Day 2015. On the way we passed masses of pungent wild Garlic which was in flower, carpeting the woods. Luckily I’d brought the camera with just one lens – a 105mm Micro, which is ideal for pictures like this.

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Once across the Calder we headed home through Copley village and re-crossed the canal and railway to head up towards Skircoat Green. On the way I couldn’t resist stopping to grab a shot of this Ceanothus bush which was a mass of blue flowers and industrious bees.

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There may not be very many opportunities to add to my archive of railway images, but I have to admit I’m enjoying the opportunity to shoot other stuff instead as I don’t normally have the time except when I’m travelling abroad.

We headed home through our local woodland (Scarr Woods) some of which you can see behind the train in the earlier picture. Despite their proximity to Halifax and the fact there’s so many properties scattered around their edges we hardly saw a soul. One or two couples like us and the odd family, but there was no danger of proximity or difficulties with social distancing.

Back at home we sat in the garden and soaked up the last of the evening sun whilst I enjoyed a beer and Dawn a glass of Tesco’s non-alcoholic fizz. It was the perfect end to our stroll and what had felt like a wasted day.

I did redeem myself later in the evening by spending an hour editing a few slide scans and setting up a batch for Monday but the both of us thought that the occasional day at less than full tilt was allowed, so we crawked into bed and had an early night, grateful for the fact that – if we want to – we can!

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The UK’s largest new railway station gets planning permission.

19 Tuesday May 2020

Posted by in Hs2, Old Oak Common

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Today, (19th May) the planning application for HS2’s west-London super hub, Old Oak Common, was approved by the Old Oak Common and Park Royal Development Corporation. This gives the go-ahead for what will be the largest brand-new railway station ever built in the UK with a total of 14 platforms comprising a mix of six high speed and eight conventional service platforms. The high speed platforms will be constructed inside a 850m long station box, which has the a volume to contain 6,300 Routemaster buses.

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The new station will incorporate some striking design features, such as an impressive sequence of interlocking curved roof forms, designed to enhance the open environment of the station and provide natural ventilation, minimising energy consumption. The arch forms also reduce the need for columns to support the roof, providing open sight lines, allowing clearer views compared to older, more traditional stations.

HS2 OOC Station Ground Floor Concourse View

The station design development has been led by engineering professional services consultancy WSP with architectural support from WilkinsonEyre.

When operational the station will be used by up to an estimated 250,000 passengers each day, making it set to become one of the busiest railway stations in the country and (potentially) second only to London Waterloo. It’s eight conventional platforms will provide seamless connectivity with the Elizabeth Line (Crossrail), Heathrow Express and trains to Wales and the West of England. This will also relieve pressure on Paddington station and the London Underground network such as the Circle and Hammersmith and City Lines as well as allowing faster Cross-London journeys.

HS2 OOC Conventional Rail Platforms View

The station design has been future-proofed with a sufficiently sized concourse and platform space to accommodate passenger growth to 2041 and beyond. Interchange with other modes of transport will be accommodated by provision of a dedicated bus and taxi facility, dedicated drop-off and pickup areas, pedestrian and cycle links, and upgraded highway infrastructure.

New public spaces are also being created as part of the design including a new public square directly outside the station that will include seating and cycle parking and may also be used as a setting for public artwork.

The station is designed to meet a ‘BREEAM excellent’ standard which is an industry recognised standard for buildings that reduce energy usage and materials waste, and minimise impact on the natural environment.

The station is being built by a joint venture of Balfour Beatty, Vinci and Systra (BBVS) who were awarded the contract to build the new HS2 station in September 2019 and are set to begin work on site next month.

The Old Oak Common area has historically been an important railway site as it was the location of the Great Western Railway’s locomotive and carriage stabling depot and workshops. Now, with the arrival of HS2 it’s set to leap into the future as a crucial transport interchange.

Lockdown. Day 54 (Saturday)

17 Sunday May 2020

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*Warning, blog under construction*

After Friday’s shopping expedition our normal weekend routine was altered by another trip out of the valley as we’d arranged to drop shopping off at Dawn’s folks in Huddersfield. There was no rush, and it was the weekend, so I left Dee to have a lie in and crept into the office to set up more old slides to scan. I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll manage to get all of the railway ones done before lockdown ends and my attention has to swing back to commissions. I’m still unsure of how the might work in practice as there’s obvious challenges. Hopefully things will become clearer soon as the public transport gets to grips with the challenges of mass transit and social distancing. In the meantime, I’m ploughing on with scanning and looking forward to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!

After lunch I ended up in a group call with friends from the rail industry which was a fun-filled hour of laughter as gossip was swapped and stories told – none of which are repeatable in a blog like this! For a brief time the physical distance between us disappeared and it was like old times…

As I’d joined the call on my mobile we continued our group chat whilst Dawn drove over to her parents. As we didn’t need to go into the town centre we drove direct across country. It’s a lovely drives that takes in some great scenery and although the roads were busier than they have been they’re still far from normal.

(to be continued)…

 

Lockdown. Day 53 (Friday).

17 Sunday May 2020

Posted by in Coronavirus, Halifax, Lockdown

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*warning, blog under construction*

The end to another working week. Well, in theory as weekends don’t mean as much nowadays, especially for freelances like me as it’s nearly 25 years since I last worked in a 9 to 5 job! Add in the effects of lockdown and it’s very easy to lose track of the days or what you’ve been doing, which is one of the reasons that I’ve been trying to write a daily blog.

Today’s routine did vary as after breakfast I left Dawn busy at work in the living room whilst I took a stroll into Halifax to pick up some shopping from Marks and Spencer’s food hall for her parents. It was my first trip into Halifax since the easing of lockdown restrictions, so I was curious as to what I’d find. With the weather being cloudy but warm it was a pleasant stroll. The main roads that I crossed on the way were much busier than has been the new normal but everywhere else remained quiet. It was the same situation in the town centre, albeit there did seem to be a few more people around – although no new shops appeared to have reopened. The pedestrian precinct that M&S is located in was dead. There was no queue to get in the shop but there was inside. We zig-zagged through ladies underwear to get through to the small food hall where staff enforced a strict one in, one out policy and insisted that everyone used trollies (no baskets). I managed to get most of the stuff on the shopping list although it took me a while as I never shop here so I had no idea where to find things!

Glad to be out I headed over to the local health food store to pick up some of the veggie cheeses that we use at home as Dawn is allergic to cheese. They’re coconut based and more expensive than ordinary cheese but they’re tasty and work really well in salads. We use them sparingly and regard them as a bit of a treat which is probably just as well as I spent over £20 just on cheese!

On my way home I stopped to get a couple of shots, just to show how quiet the place was.

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The Woolshops shopping centre with M&S behind me. On a normal Friday this place would be teeming. Thankfully, most people are still staying safe.

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Corn Market in the centre of Halifax with the Market Hall to the right. a Handful of shops (mostly butchers) remain open in the market, the rest of the place is deserted.

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The Westgate Arcade which leads on down to the Piece Hall, is deserted.

It’s reassuring to see that, despite the Government’s muddled advice, most people have made their own decision to stick with lockdown and stay at home. Sure, there’s always a few idiots who don’t and there’s some fringe political elements on the far-right and left who’re playing on people’s prejudices or paranoia to exploit the situation, but most folks aren’t taken in.

Walking back home with my goodies I traversed equally quiet streets and spent the rest of the day at home scanning yet more old pictures from the 1990s. I was tempting to head outside into the garden to soak up a little bit of sun, but (to be honest) the weather’s nowhere near as warm as it has been and a persistent wind’s taken the edge off it.

This change was obvious when it came to six o’ clock, when it was time for us refugees from the ‘Big 6’ pub to meet via Zoom and recreate the traditional Friday Quiz. Last week many folk were joining from their gardens. This week everybody was inside. The quiz was no less fun and it was lovely to be able to catch up with folks and share a few jokes – even if it was online. I wonder when we’ll be able to do this properly?

Quiz over, the rest of the evening was quite anti-social. Dawn did her thing and I did mine as the pair of us were focussed on other things. On the bright side, I did manage to finish scanning and editing another tranche of slides like this.

03306. 37676. Stratford. 07.06.1993crop

If I stood on this platform and took the same shot today, nothing would be recognisable. This is Stratford (East London) on the 7th June 1993. The railway line still exists, but everything that surrounds it has been swept away as the area’s undergone a massive transformation. The first part was due to London’s growing economy, the second part was due to Stratford becoming a major transport interchange. But the biggest transformation was because of the 2012 Olympics. 

 

Lockdown. Day 52 (Thursday).

16 Saturday May 2020

Posted by in Coronavirus, Huddersfield, Lockdown, Railways

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Thursday’s the highlight of our week in some ways as it’s the day we escape the Calder Valley routine and sally forth. Well, as far as the next valley anyway! It’s the day we venture over to Huddersfield to do John and Norah (Dawns parents) shopping. Both of us were curious as to what we might find as this was our first trip since the lifting of some of the lockdown restrictions.

The pair of us were up early in order to get everything done as Dee needed to be home for yet another Zoom meeting (love ’em or loathe ’em) so we were heading over to Huddersfield in what would normally be considered the ‘rush-hour’. Only it wasn’t. Yes, there’s certainly more cars on the road than there have been in recent weeks, but the days of being stuck in a queue of traffic up the by-pass to Ainly Top are unlikely to return for a while. It was the same with the run from the M62 junction into Huddersfield. Busier, but not busy.

In fact, we were really surprised when we arrived at our first port of call, which was Sainsbury’s supermarket. The past few weeks on a Thursday the queue’s been massive. Today it was tiny and the car-park much emptier than usual. It only took a few minutes before we were ushered inside. As usual, we’d split up to do different shops. Dawn to do her parents whilst I did ours. To be honest, apart from coffee and alcohol (my bad) there wasn’t much we needed, although I did pick up some of their veggie specialities in the form of Tempeh and Tofu to be used in a stir-fry.

Shopping done in double-quick time we headed over to the station so that Dawn could pop into work for a while to check on the place and access stuff she can’t at home. The weather was gorgeous so I took the time to grab a couple of rail shots such as this one.

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One of Trans-Pennine Express new Class 802 units (802208) arrives at Huddersfield whilst working 1F58, the 0834 Scarborough to Liverpool Lime Street arrives at platform 4 which is unusual in itself as Westbound TPE service always used to use platform 1 as 4 was used by terminating trains from both East and West.

I didn’t have time to venture far from the station. Even so, I saw a couple of things that caught my eye nearby. The sign of the new normal. One pavement is closed off by roadworks in order to allow appropriate social distancing so that workers can stay safe.

Whilst I was taking this shot I noticed a ‘to do’ the other end of the roadworks so went to investigate – and found this…

With the fact our roads have been so blissfully quiet accidents have been rare, and half this road is closed because of the roadworks in the previous sign, so you do have to wonder…That said, it’s quite possible that some drivers have become lazy and inattentive for the very reason that there’s less traffic out there.

As soon as Dawn had finished we headed over to her parents to drop their shopping off and have a chat. Considering the fact they’re both pretty much confined to barracks because of their age (apart from getting out for a walk) they’re bearing up well. The pair of them are both pragmatic and phlegmatic – and incredibly appreciative of the fact we do their shopping for them. I really feel for the members of their generation who we see in the shops who obviously don’t have anyone to do this stuff on their behalf. OK, one or two whom you see are just sheer bloody-minded and don’t understand the risks, but others are obviously fearful but have no other choice. This is not the ‘blitz’ – this is a far more insidious killer, which makes the government’s advice all the more stupid. How can you be ‘alert’ to some thing you can neither see, smell, touch, hear or taste?

Having done our duty we drove back home in time for Dawn to join in her online meetings whilst I disappeared upstairs to scan yet more old slides. At the moment the process is even more of a pain in the butt than normal as I’ve hot a vein of old Kodak slides that were sent back from their lab in cardboard mounts. They’re a sod to break out and still keep the slides dust-free for remounting so there’s lots of muttering under the breath going on whilst I did it.

I won’t miss this job!

Come late afternoon we did manage to get out for our usual stroll and keep the exercise going, although this won’t be a vintage week for me as I’m already behind all last weeks targets. Trying to juggle work and exercise sometimes means a ball’s dropped. I’ll just have to pick it up and run with it next week…

HS2 want people to choose the names of their first Tunnel Boring Machines.

15 Friday May 2020

Posted by in Hs2, Railways

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Today HS2 has launched a national vote to pick the names of the first of 10 giant tunnel boring machines that will excavate more than 35 miles of tunnel on the first phase of the UK’s new high speed railway between London and the West Midlands. Three names have been selected by local school children, they are Cecilia, Florence and Marie. The names with the most votes will be given to the first of two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) set to launch early next year. Much like ships, it’s traditional to name TBMs before they are launched and it is a long-held tunnelling tradition to give them female names.

tbm 3d model (1)

The TBMs will be operated by HS2’s main works contractor, Align JV – a joint venture formed of three companies: Bouygues Travaux Publics, Sir Robert McAlpine, and VolkerFitzpatrick. The machines will spend around three years digging the longest and deepest HS2 tunnels south of the M25, to South Heath in Buckinghamshire.

To vote, visit this link and vote for your favourite name. All three have been inspired by female scientific and medical pioneers.

Cecilia – named after Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, the Astronomer and Astrophysicist born in Buckinghamshire who became Chair of Astronomy at Harvard University in the United States. Suggested by students at Chalfont Community College in Buckinghamshire.
Florence – named after Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, who spent many years in Claydon, Buckinghamshire where she wrote numerous books on nursing. Suggested by students at Meadow High School in Hillingdon.
Marie – named after Marie Curie, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, and the first person and the only woman to win the Nobel Prize twice. Suggested by students at Maple Cross JMI and Nursery in Hertfordshire.

The name with the most votes will be given to the first TBM, due to be launched from a site close to the M25 early next year. The enormous, 2,000 tonne, 170m long machine will be one of two that will dig the 10 mile long Chiltern tunnels. The second machine, due to be launched a month later, will be given the second most popular name chosen.

The machines are being built by Herrenknecht in Germany. Their names are being chosen now so they can be fixed to machines during their manufacture, ready for when they emerge out of the factory.

After completion the first two machines will be disassembled before beginning their long journey to England. Once they have arrived on site, each TBM will be reassembled, ready to begin their life underground.

Launching the competition, HS2 Ltd Chief Executive Mark Thurston said:

“The launch of our first TBM will be a defining moment in the history of HS2 – and our work to deliver high capacity, low carbon high speed rail travel for millions of people across the UK.

“I’d like to thank all the schools that took part in the first stage of the competition and the pupils who suggested the three shortlisted names – Cecilia, Florence and Marie. Now it’s over to the British public to decide which will grace the side of our first TBMs.”

Daniel Altier, Align Project Director said:

“I would like to thank the pupils and teachers at the three local schools who suggested these three pioneering and inspirational women. Align would be very proud for our TBMs, that will incorporate the very latest technology and innovation, to bear their names.”

Voting closes on 5th June 2020.

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Lockdown. Day 51 (Wednesday).

14 Thursday May 2020

Posted by in Coronavirus, Lockdown, Musings

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The weather’s started to pick up again here in the Calder valley, although it hasn’t reached the balmy heights of a week ago. I’ve swapped my singlet for a fleece and waterproof as the winds are really knocking the temperatures down.

Today was meant to be the ‘great escape’ when more of the lockdown rules were relaxed, but to be honest, we noticed very little difference here. Yes, there was a small increase in traffic on the road outside the house as a few more folk returned to work, but it was negligible. There was certainly no mad rush – for whatever reason. I’m savouring the quietness whilst it lasts…

Much of our day fell into the routine of us both working from our respective offices. It may be predictable but it makes us no less busy – anything but as there’s no breaks or distractions. I spent much of my day scanning yet another batch of old railway slides in a process that I could pretty much do in my sleep now. It’s production line stuff until you get the scans in Photoshop which is when you have chance weigh up the best editing options. Old slide film can be very dark or very contrasty and no matter how much you try to keep dust and blemishes off the pictures whilst you’re scanning there’s often something that sneaks through and needs correcting, which adds time to the process.

Scans done I ended the afternoon with a pleasant hour or so in the garden, soaking up the sunshine and planting out the trailing lobelia that I’d acquired from a supermarket as I’d no idea when I bought it that Garden centres would be allowed to reopen so soon. Our garden may be small, but it’s an oasis that I love sitting out in and tending the plants is a therapeutic break from the cares and constraints of the modern world. Plants grow regardless of human concerns.

Once Dawn had knocked off for the day the pair of us took our daily constitutional on the usual circuit through Scarr Woods which are looking gloriously green and vibrant now. They also play host to a variety of birdlife although often they can be heard but not seen – apart from the Robins and Magpies as neither are exactly what you’d call shy birds. I must admit to being surprised at how quiet Savile Park was. I’d expected to see more people out enjoying the new freedoms. Perhaps it was the lateness of the hour (it was after 7pm when we were strolling around) and the chill wind, or maybe folks are thinking the same as us – this is all a bit premature?

Back at home in the warm home I spent another hour in the office catching up on blogging. I’ve been falling further and further behind recently so I was determined to make an effort to catch up. Hopefully my readers will think it was worth the effort! It’s not that I have nothing to write about, exactly the opposite – even if I’m concentrating on the lockdown right now. It’s the fact time seems to be all askew. We’re meant to have more time on our hands right now, but I’ll be damned if I know where it’s going…

 

 

Lockdown. Day 50 (Tuesday)

13 Wednesday May 2020

Posted by in Coronavirus, Harvil Rd Hs2 protest, Hs2, Lockdown, Musings

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Today the pair of us were back at work in our various offices and neither of us minded being at home in the least. The weather had taken on a distinctly chilly feel with cloudy skies and a biting wind so being cooped up indoors was the least of our concerns. We were warm, safe and busy. One lighter moment was recording a short video to add to a collection of lockdown birthday wishes for our friend Mervyn Allcock (of Barrow Hill roundhouse fame). Merv and his partner Alexa are in lockdown in Truro, so it was an inspired idea for a group of his friends to send him greetings.

Job done, the two of us cracked on. I’ve been remiss in scanning slides over the past few days, so I wanted to have a good solid day scanning, which I did. By the end of the day I’d managed to get nearly 60 either scanned and/or edited and onto my Zenfolio website, which I felt pretty chuffed about as it meant the end’s in sight with yet another album.

Whilst I was busy scanning I kept an ear to the ground listening to the antics of the Extinction Rebellion anti Hs2 protesters at Harvil Rd. HS2’s bailiffs had started evicting three of the protesters camps earlier this morning and it really wasn’t going well for the protesters. Despite the fact they’d had ages to prepare for this moment it was pretty much a walkover. Two of their encampments were very quickly cleared, whilst the third (an old garage) was also rolled up after a forced entry which only took an hour or so, leaving a handful of protesters inside who’d secured themselves to the building in a futile attempt to drag things out. It was pitiful to listen to as there was lots of screaming and shouting from the protesters and wild accusations of brutality – all to no avail. Quite how this rag-bag group is meant to stop Hs2 when they can’t even stop themselves being arrested is a mystery! Their only armament is weapons-grade hypocrisy and fake news –  as this tweet and picture demonstrates.

whistle

By the time this claim appeared the three camps were firmly in the possession of the bailiffs, not the protesters! Oh, and there was no High Court injunction either – that never happened. What did happen is the protesters scored a classic own-goal with this picture. The young protester isn’t wearing a mask, but she is blowing a whistle. If she was a Covid carrier she would be spreading it far and wide in the air with droplets from her whistle – yet these people constantly whine about HS2 workers not social distancing (ignoring the fact different guidelines apply to construction workers, bailiffs and the police). As for the person strumming a guitar in the background, well – that’ll really stop Hs2! What a pantomime…

I kept scanning until 16:00 when I finally had the opportunity to nip out for a long walk to the Supermarket to pick up some supplies for later, as our group had arranged to have a conference video call with Merv and toast his birthday. Our celebration was pretty far flung as it included people from Halifax, Warrington, Lichfield, Grantham, Norwich and London – as well as Truro of course. A few beers were sunk and stories swapped, along with some pithy comments about the new Covid strategy – as you might expect from a group of people who work on the railways or in the rail media. Even so, it was a fun hour – although all of us can’t wait for it to be safe (and possible) to celebrate properly, face to face in a Pub!

Celebration over, I joined Dawn for her evening perambulation around the woods and parks where we live so that we had some quality time together whilst getting our daily exercise. At least that’s going to be easier from tomorrow as we’re no longer officially limited to one stroll per day.

On our return and despite the coolness of the weather we both tucked into a home made fresh Tuna steak and tinned Octopus salad, which brought back fond memories of a trip to Portugal a decade ago now. Oh, to be sat at a table in a lovely little taverna there right now!

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