And then the rain came down…
When I threw open the bedroom blinds this morning I saw a sight I’ve not seen for months – the valley covered in rain – and a welcome sight it was too! We’ve had so little precipitation the fields were parched and turning brown so the change in weather’s going to be welcomed by farmers and (I suspect) by the medical profession as it might keep a few of the ‘covidiots’ at home more and away from beaches and beauty spots.
From my perspective the only downside was the fact it had turned chillier and windier too. Having been used to wearing shorts and singlets for so long it was a shock to have to dig out a fleece and waterproof jacket to dress up in for my daily exercise. Even so, it’s a small price to pay and it won’t be for long – I hope…
After our morning meditation and with no excuse to sit in the garden I knuckled down to having a productive day in the office without any distractions. This allowed me to plough through scanning 40 more slides, then get them edited and onto the website in far quicker time than normal. I’d also eschewed my two-hourly walk ‘cos of the weather so once the decks were clear I combined exercise with a trip to the supermarket and a local Indian market,where I stocked up on spices. With all the baking and smoothies Dawn’s been making we were running out of Cinnamon powder as well as the Smoked Paprika that we use for our weekend comfort food of spicy prawns. Whilst they’ve got better at stocking spices the supermarkets charge an arm and a leg in comparison to the local stores and I’d rather spend my money with them than a multinational if I can.
On the way back from my shopping trip I took the long way around via the Promenade and local woods to boost my step count. The earlier rain had subsided and the sun made its bid to break though the thinning clouds but the wind that had sprung up as an accompaniment really knocked the temperature down leaving the weather feel more like early spring than almost summer. On the bright side – at least I wasn’t going to be busy with watering cans today!
Back at home I stowed away the goodies in the kitchen but before I resumed the duties of office (as it were) I couldn’t resist grabbing a couple of shots in the front garden where raindrops had fallen on the Lupins.
If I wasn’t so busy getting my back catalogue of slides scanned I’d dearly love to be able to spend more time out with the camera and playing around with my micro lens getting shots like this. Ah, well…
On the positive side, I did rattle through a lot more old pictures which included shots like this from 1999.
Here’s the last of the Class of 58. 58050 to be precise, hauling a train of long-welded rails through Wandsworth Rd in South London on the 17th November 1999. This was a popular location with railway photographers because of the variety of traffic and the excellent vantage point provided by the station footbridge, which is where this shot was taken from. Sadly, this view is now partially obscured by trees which have grown up next to the lineside inside the fence to the left foreground. All the Class 58s have now been withdrawn. 58050 remained in traffic until 2002. In 2008 it was recommissioned and shipped to Spain where it was used on construction trains for one of the country’s new High-Speed lines. It remains stored at Albacerte, Spain now.
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Paul Bigland 