Apologies for the lack of blogging this week. This is due to several reasons. One is enjoying my new found freedom now that I’m Covid free. Dawn’s had the week off work so the pair of us have been extremely sociable, having eaten out several times already this week. First with Dee’s family, then last night we were invited round to friends for a home cooked meal of delicious Greek meatballs. Today we’ve been out for a pub lunch and a few drinks with another couple who’re the powerhouses behind the friends of Mytholmroyd station. We’ve really enjoyed these short-notice events which are such a refreshing change after all the lockdown protocols when the levels of planning involved in getting to see someone was like a military operation. Being able to share spontaneous quality time with friends again is brilliant.
This hectic social whirl has meant I’ve simply not had time to blog, but I’m sure I’ll be able to make up for that shortly. Tomorrow I’m taking a trip over to Southport to drop off a Tuxedo for my Niece’s husband to borrow, so I’m sure there’ll be blogging involved in the trip.
Until then I’ll leave you with today’s picture which is another from the latest batch of old slides from India. This is Sravanabelagola in the Southern state of Karnataka, seen in January 1997. It’s famous for its Jain temple and statue of Bahubali which is the tallest monolithic statue in India. As you can see, it’s quite a surreal landscape.
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Finally, after what seems like an age, my morning Covid test was negative – which was a great start to a new week. Time seems to have dragged over the past 10 days, but at last I’m in the clear. All I want to do now is one last test tomorrow to make sure the result wasn’t a fluke and then my mind’s at rest. Mind you – so’s Dawn’s mind. She’s been hugely supportive whilst I’ve been a (sometimes temperamental and impatient) patient.
Dee’s off work this week so the pair of us celebrated by going out for a long (ish) walk. Rather than going local we drove over to Todmorden to explore the hills to the North of the town. We’ve been walking on the tops of the valley to the North of the Todmorden to Burnley railway several times. There’s some great walking around there as the views are fantastic. Add in the fact there’s some fascinating old buildings and wonderful rock outcrops and it’s a winner. But today we tried somewhere different and explored the opposite side of the valley and the area known as Todmorden moor. Our experiences were mixed. On an O/S map the area teems with footpaths but when you’re on the ground it’s obvious many of them are so little used they’re almost impossible to find. That said. the views across the valley were superb, as was looking down from on high into the valley around Lydgate and the A646 road to Burnley. I’d certainly come back with the camera sometime, but if it’s the quality of walking we’re after we’d stick to the North side of the valley. What was interesting was finding out that Todmorden moor was once the site of industry. Collieries and a tramway once graced the area which must have been a desolate place to work. Imagine tramping all that way uphill from Todmorden only to return 12 hours later?
Having enjoyed our wanderings we headed back via an old haunt that we realised we’d not visited since before the first Pandemic lockdown. We used to walk from home to the Robin Hood pub in Cragg Vale above Mytholmroyd several times a year but Covid put a stop to all that. Our last visit was in 2019 so today we thought ‘why not’? and dropped in for a drink at this brilliant local boozer. It still retains its character (and characters) despite everything that’s happened in the last few years. It was lovely to be able to sit at the bar, enjoy the heat from the fire and join in the banter and laughs between the bar staff and regulars. It’s something I’d really missed in isolation.
Now we’re back at home preparing for the week ahead which is looking a lot more optimistic – and far busier! But for now I’ll leave you with the picture of the day which was taken from our walk.
A pair of Northern Class 150s (150149 and 150127) cross the viaduct at Lydgate whilst working 2N98, the 12:53 from Kirkby to Blackburn. As you can see, it’s not exactly flat around here! The bizarre thing? This is the first picture I’ve taken in 10 days…
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Right, I’m bored now. I first tested positive for Covid last Thursday. I felt shit for several days, then bounced back, but I’m still testing positive – including this morning! Unlike many people Dawn and I are taking this seriously and not putting anyone else at risk so I’ve had no close contact with anyone since I first tested positive. Well, apart from my wife – obviously! Oh, I’m tempted, there’s a few people who I’d quite happily give the Rona to but as they’re nowhere near me the chances of that happening are minute! I’m frustrated as I’ve no idea when I’ll start testing negative again. In the meantime it’s really cramping my style and the things that I can do.
The pair of us are feeling frustrated as there’s so many things we’ve had to put on hold – including family gatherings. So, to lighten the mood the pair of us had a long amble around the streets of Halifax today, exploring side-streets and areas we’ve never visited before. I find the town fascinating to wander around as the architecture is so diverse. It ranges from huge mansions to back-to backs and with a timespan that covers centuries. Many building have changed form and purpose over the years which leads to the opportunity for some detective work, trying to guess what the places were used for originally. There’s also some impossible building footprints too as properties have been squeezed on to odd plots of land, leading to some very oddly shaped structures which must be almost impossible to furnish well.
Back at Bigland Towers we’ve enjoyed another quiet night in. Dawn decided to take over the cooking tonight as I prepared last night’s meal, which leads to the picture of the day. I really enjoy cooking but it’s once in a blue moon we cook red meat at home. Maybe it’s the result of the ‘Rona’ but yesterday I fancied trying something different and found an Asian recipe for a beef Red Curry which sounded delicious so I gave it a go. When I cook I like to have everything prepared beforehand and laid out in a selection of bowls we’ve brought back from our travels in Thailand and Vietnam. So, here’s last night’s meal broken down into its constituent parts. Vegans, look away now…
I’m hoping that tomorrow I’ll finally test negative and can start to come out of my shell as (potentially) we’ve both got a lot on in the next week or so. Time will tell…
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Bugger, despite my gradual return to form as I shake off the ‘rona’ I’m still testing positive for Covid, which is cramping my style good-time as I’m avoiding everybody and everything (bar the great outdoors) until I start testing clear. I’m the last in the family – both my Father and Mother in law are now in the clear and Dawn’s never contracted it. I should be past the infectious stage now but I’m not willing to put anyone at risk – so no Friday quiz night for me…
Instead, Dawn and I managed to get out for a reasonably long walk through our local woods, although that was touch and go at one point as the weather really wasn’t playing ball. We had glorious sunshine this morning but the temperature was anything but spring like. By the time we’d finished up the work we were doing the sky had changed and kept dumping hail and snow upon us at regular intervals. It certainly made for some dramatic skies but Baltic conditions. Undeterred, we headed out for an hour to get some exercise. The beauty of the weather was bugger-all people were around apart for a few hardened dog-walkers, so I wasn’t too perturbed. Plus, if Covid can hang around long in the cold, windy and wet conditions we were out in then it deserves to survive!
So, for us it’s a quiet night in watching the TV, having enjoyed a glorious sunset as the skies cleared at an opportune moment and let the setting sun illuminate the undersides of the high cloud that decided to hang around. Dawn’s been busy in the kitchen, rustling up a prawn stir-fry so we’re certainly not going to starve – which means it’s time for me to bid adieu and leave you with the picture of the day, which is another old slide from the latest batch of images of India that I’ve been scanning. This is another from my favourite Indian city of Mysore. The city has an excellent market although there’s one area that vegetarians should certainly avoid – and meat-eaters who are so divorced from the food-chain that they think that everything every carnivore eats comes in cellophane wrapped polystyrene trays! Sanitation, hygiene and animal welfare are not high on the agenda…
You get an idea what this area of the market might be like when you look up and notice that many of the surrounding buildings are crowded with Raptors who sit there, eagle-eyed just waiting for the opportunity to snatch scraps as the butcher’s shops are open to the street. In fact, some butchers deliberately throw scraps into the street to allow the birds to swoop down and feed. It’s quite a sight to watch an Eagle do this – and it certainly makes a change from Pigeons!
Not an easy thing to capture on the slow slide film that I was using at the time (January 1996) but I did manage this after a few practice runs. I’d love to go back with a modern DSLR and try my luck again.
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Here’s a look at yet another of the BR commissioned ‘new’ train fleets which were built to replace the 1st generation of diesel and electric trains back in the 1980s but that are now being retired themselves.
The single car Class 153s – or ‘Dogboxes’ as they’re nicknamed were originally 2 car Class 155s which were built by British Leyland at their Workington factory back in 1987-1988. 42 sets were built but only 7 remain in original form.
How they started out. 2-car set 155305 seen at Manchester Piccadilly before working to Cardiff Central on the 19th June 1991. Note the original ‘Sprinter’ branding and BR Double-arrow.
The other 35 sets were split and rebuilt as railcars by Hunslet-Barclay at their works in Kilmarnock between 1991-92. Squeezing a second cab into the bodyshell was a challenge which led to the new cab being very cramped, causing surprise that the rail unions agreed to such a restricted space. The cars were renumbered by changing the 523xxx numbered 155301 – 335 to 153301-335 and adding 50 to the numbers of the 573xxx cars to make them correspond to set number 153351-153385.
The 70 new railcars (each with 72 seats) were spread around the regional railways network. The depots that received an allocation were Newton Heath (Manchester), Tyseley (Birmingham), Heaton (Newcastle), Canton (Cardiff) and Crown Point (Norwich).
On privatisation the fleet was divided to became the property of rolling stock companies Angel and Porterbrook.
Over the years the trains have been operated by a wide range of TOCs which include former franchises Central Trains, Anglia, Arriva Trains North, Arriva Trains West, and Wessex trains. Later they were used by Greater Anglia, First Great Western (later GWR), East Midlands Trains (later EMR), London Midland, Northern Trains, and the Welsh Franchises which became Transport for Wales. Over the years they’ve been a familiar sight – from Penzance to Carlisle, across the Midlands and North-East and through Wales. The only places they’ve never operated in have been Scotland and the Southern 3rd rail Network.
In recent years the vehicles have suffered from the fact most of them are not PRM (Persons of Restricted Mobility) compliant. Add to this the reduction of services due to the Covid pandemic and their use has dropped dramatically. The majority of the vehicles are now stored with just two passenger operators using them. Transport for Wales retains 26 cars which are all PRM compliant for services across its network, although these are due to be made redundant by the arrival of new trains by 2023.
Scotrail – who never operated the trains before – received 5 units in 2019-20 which have been converted to carry bicycles. These hybrid (part bike, part seating) trains are coupled to Class 156s and used between Glasgow and Oban.
Apart from passenger service handful of sets have been taken over by Network Rail for departmental use.
In this blog I’m not going to try and give an exhaustive list of their movements as individual cars have swapped between franchises many times. Instead, I’m going to illustrate the wide range of liveries and places the trains have operated.
The first of the Class, 153301 seen between duties at Darlington on the 24th April 1997. MTL Holdings had taken over services in the area just a few weeks before on the 2nd March 1997. The unit’s still in full Regional Railways livery and branding.153302 is the first of the 153s which has been cut up. It’s seen here when it was operated by East Midlands Trains. On the 12th July 2018 it was calling at Market Rasen with a service from Grimsby to Newark North Gate. In 2020 it was transferred to Transport for Wales who stripped it for spares to keep other units in service. The shell of the unit went for scrap in June 2021. Sporting Arriva Trains Wales livery and branding 153303 is pictured at Cardiff Bay on the 24th September 2012 when it was working the shuttle service from Cardiff Queen St. Northern Rail’s 155304 on jacks at Leeds Neville Hill depot on the 21st January 2014. At the time, Northern had 18 of the railcars based at Neville Hill for operating services across their empire, along with other sets at Heaton and Newton Heath. Here’s as far West as you can get on the UK rail network! 153305 in full First Great Western livery is seen at Penzance on the 10th August 2009. Based at Exeter, this was one of 12 153s operated by FGW which worked services across the Devon and Cornwall branches and sometimes further afield. This unit is now in Scotland having been converted into a bike carrier for use on the Glasgow – Oban line. 153306 wearing the base Anglia livery but with the added National Express white stripe and branding, seen at Norwich on the 22nd July 2010. It was one of 5 such units operated by the TOC, all of which were based at Norwich Crown Pont and used on Norfolk and Suffolk services plus the Marks Tey – Sudbury branch. An unidentified Anglia 153 crosses the Great Ouse at Ely whilst working the 14.54 Ely to Ipswich on the 22nd March 2003. Several years later this bridge collapsed and the replacement is far less photogenic.Former First North-Western 153310 seen after transfer to Arriva trains Wales at Llanwrtyd Wells on the ‘Heart of Wales’ line on the 26th June 2007.The 153s see regular service in Pembrokeshire working trains on some of the more lightly used branches. Here’s 153312 calling at Tenby en-route to Pembroke Dock on the 18th June 2019.A few years earlier on the 22nd March 2003 153314 in a version of ‘ONE’ livery but with Anglia branding is seen at Ely with the 13.54 to Ipswich. On the 26th July 2003 Arriva Trains Northern liveried 153315 sits at Doncaster with a service for Scunthorpe. This franchise was merged with the North-Western franchise to become Northern in December 2004. Post Covid with the railways reducing capacity on the order of the Government more 153s found themselves surplus to requirements now that trains no longer needed strengthening. Here’s former Northern unit 153316 in store at Porterbrook leasing’s site at Long Marston on the 17th June 2021. Here’s 153317 in more productive times, when it was covering services on Northern’s isolated outpost in Lincolnshire otherwise know as the Barton-on-Humber branch. Seen on the 18th May 2017. Here’s Wessex trains 153318 seen at Exeter depot on the 31st July 2004, sporting ‘Heart of Wessex’ advertising livery. This franchise operated 13 of the units between and 1st October 2001 and the 1st April 2006 when it was absorbed by First Great Western who took over the 153s. Arriva Trains Wales operated 153320 crosses the Knucklas viaduct on the ‘Heart of Wales’ line on the 27th June 2007. On the 17th July 2003, 153322 in full Anglia livery is pictured at Bury St Edmunds whilst working the 13.19 to Peterborough. 153323 bearing Arriva livery and Welsh branding is stabled in the carriage shed at Cardiff Canton on the 18th November 2008. On the 24th May 2000 Regional Railways liveried (but First NorthWestern branded) 153324 sits in the bay at Llandudno Junction in the days when First NW ran services along the North Wales coast. Here’s 153353 in a revised version of the Arriva Trains Wales livery, seen departing Cardiff Queen St on the shuttle service to Cardiff Bay. 24th July 2017. London Midlands 153s were regulars on the Bedford to Bletchley branch shuttles. Here’s 153356 at the pretty station at Ridgemont (visit the lovely tea room in the old station building) on the 3rd July 2014. Here’s Northern’s 153360 being used to strengthen a service on the glorious Settle and Carlisle line, seen arriving at Garsdale on the 2nd April 2009. Another of the first Class 153s to go for scrap (this time only recently) 153364 is seen in Regional Railways livery working a service out of Birmingham New St bound for for Coventry on the 29th of March 1997.Still in Central trains livery but now working for London Midland here’s another of the first units to be scrapped. 153366 arrives at Birmingham New St on the 28th November 2007. Here’s 153366 again several years later on the 19th May 2011. Wearing London Midland livery it’s very ‘off-route’! It was on loan to Northern at the time and it’s seen coupled to one of what it used to be – a Class 155 at Huddersfield. First Great Western liveried 153372 approaches Freshford en-route to Bristol Temple Meads on the 6th May 2008Here’s 153376 at Lincoln on the 17th July 2009. Still sporting Central trains livery but East Midlands branding having been inherited from the former franchise operator in December 2007. The difference in the size of the two cabs is very noticeable in this shot. EMT had 17 of these units on its books at the time, all based at Nottingham’s Eastcroft Depot. 153380 pictured at journey’s end at Looe on the scenic Cornish branch line on the 12th June 2006. Thanks to the community rail movement these branches have seen massive growth in passenger numbers which outstripped the capacity of the 153s.It’s the 31st January 2020 and who knew what craziness was about to befall the railways due to a global pandemic? Former GWR 153380 still wearing the company’s green livery but minus branding is stood in Sheffield station after being transferred to Northern. It didn’t stay long before moving to Scotrail who had it converted into a hybrid bike carrier. First Great Western’s 153382 crosses the viaduct at Penryn on the Falmouth Harbour branch from Truro on the 11th August 2009. Here East Midlands Trains 153385 and 153376 near Hubberts Bridge on line to Skegness seen on the 27th July 2018. 153369 and 153962 sporting Transport for Wales and East Midlands Trains livery are pictured at Liverpool Limes St on the recently introduced service to/from Chester on the 18th April 2021. The same train with the renumbered ex-EMR vehicle leading.
Here’s a few internal views to show the difference between different TOCs (or not).Here’s GWRs well loaded 153370 operating on the Falmouth branch on the 7th March 2013. At this time the franchise operated 14 Class 153s after the fleet had been strengthened with arrivals from Arriva Trains Wales and London Midland. Here’s the interior of Northern’s 153351 seen on the 7th March 2013. The same design of seats as GWR are in use.This is East Midlands Trains 153308 seen on the 20th September 2016. The general layout is the same but the seat type is different.
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There’s only a short blog from me today. Despite still testing positive for Covid I know that I’ll be clear any day now so I’m keen to try and return back to a normal life – part of which is increasing my exercise levels and stamina. I’m not a great one for taking to my sick-bed as I start chafing after a couple of days. Unfortunately the weather’s not been conducive to long strolls due to the constant rain storms so I’ve been doing more weights than walking. Hopefully the bouts of tiredness that seem to be a symptom of Covid will soon be a thing of the past.
Not that there’s been little to be getting on with at home of course. I still owe one magazine an article, plus I’ve been trying to catch up with picture editing, decluttering and restarting slide scanning – a project that’s very much taken a backseat recently. I can’t dedicate the time to it that I did during lockdown but I’m determined to keep that particular ball rolling as part of my decluttering – if nothing else. Today’s picture is from the latest batch.
Back in January 1996 a group of us were in Mysore, India. A larger group of us had spent Christmas in Goa but Lynn, I and a couple of friends from North London had more time to explore and visit one of my favourite Indian cities. Whilst we were there I spotted this rather surreal gem. I’ve always admired the hand painted posters you see across India, be it adverts for films, shop signs or just general hoardings. Local artists are kept busy with these (often huge) hoardings and they make a welcome break from the standardised adverts back in Europe. But every so often you see one and thing “wait, what?” This was one…
Quite what a woman playing a saxophone has to do with sanitaryware is a complete mystery – especially a woman dressed like that, which is hardly traditional. I had to do a double-take when I saw it as I really couldn’t work out the message. But maybe that was the idea as it certainly stuck in my conscious because as adverts go ‘bog standard’ it wasn’t!
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Here’s the final blog on the BR built Class 321s. I’ve lumped the final build of 3 Class 321/9s and 5 Class 322s together as they were both such small fleets.
The trio of 321/9s were built at BREL York in 1991. They were the final build of the Class 321 design. They were built for Regional Railways but paid for by for West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive who wanted them to operate local services on the newly electrified route from Doncaster to Leeds, so the units were built with all Standard Class seating. They shuttled between the two locations for several years before their sphere of operation was extended to include the Wharfdale line when the route was electrified in 1995.
Little changed for many years apart from liveries as they transferred from British Rail to Northern Spirit, then Northern Rail in all its incarnations. The units were refurbished by Hunslet-Barclay in Kilmarnock during 2006-2007 when they received an internal refit and and lost their original WYPTE livery for a derivative of the livery applied to the Class 333s with whom they shared Wharfdale services.
They remained based in West Yorkshire until they were displaced by the new CAF built Class 331s in 2020 when they were sent to Abellio Greater Anglia services to allow older (unrefurbished) Class 321s to be retired. The units hang on in service at the moment but are clearly living on borrowed time and their use could finish any time. They’ve been joined in Anglia by the Class 322s, which have had a much more varied career!
The 5 Class 322s were Class 321s in all but name. Like the rest of the fleet they were constructed at BREL York but in 1990, the year before the 321/9s. They were numbered Class 322 as they had minor detail difference to the rest of the builds and were designed for the new Stansted Express service from Liverpool St to Stansted Airport so they were fitted with a much larger 1st Class seating area and 2+2 seating in Standard Class. They were also delivered in their own ‘Stansted Express’ white livery.
The some of the units were loaned out a couple of times. in 1998 a pair were sub-leased to North-Western trains for the short-lived service from Manchester to London Euston. It folded after a year. They also appeared on Silverlink services from Euston and worked for Anglia trains from Liverpool St to Norwich.
They continued to ply their trade to Stansted airport until 2000 when they were displaced by refurbished Class 317/7 trains – after which they became ‘common-user’ and shared duties with the rest of the WAGN fleet on services to Cambridge and Peterborough. This led to their biggest move. In December 2001 all the units were transferred to Scotland to replace slam-door Class 305s on Edinburgh – North Berwick Services. They remained in Scotland until 2004 when they had a brief return to old haunts in order to cover services for the new ‘ONE’ franchise. This was short-lived, within a year they’d returned to Scotland and the North Berwick branch
Like the Class 321/9s they were refurbished in by Hunslet-Barclay in 2006-07 when the 2+2 and 1st class seating layouts where changed and Standard seating increased. The trains remained in Scotland until 2011 when they were displaced by the new Siemens Class 380s. This time they joined the Class 321/9s operating electrified services around West Yorkshire until they too were displaced by the new CAF built Class 331s by May 2020. Following the 321/9s they too were transferred back down to Anglia services which is where they remain to this day until their final withdrawal.
Here’s a selection of pictures of both classes during their time in service.
On the 1st September 2011 class leader 321901 pulls out of the bays at Doncaster en-route to Leeds.At Doncaster five years earlier on the 29th July 2006 321902 takes the same journey. It’s sporting the original WYPTE livery the units were delivered in, complete with ‘Metrotrain’ branding but with the addition of the ‘Northern’ logo.Fast forward another 15 years to the 12th June 2021 and 321902 is seen in the company of a ‘Renatus’ Class 321/3 passing Manor Park whilst bringing up the rear of a service to London Liverpool St.Here’s 312903 operating a Wharfedale service arriving at Kirkstall Forge on the 13th September 2019.A few months earlier on the 27th June 2019 322481 is pictured at Leeds before departing with a service to Ilkley. Here’s 322482 in the ‘as delivered’ Stansted Express’ livery. The driving cars carried ‘Stansted Express’ on one side of the vehicle and ‘Network SouthEast’ on the other. The unit’s seen diverted from its normal route, passing through Stratford on the 15th April 1993. Many years and many moves later, 322482 is pictured at Leeds Neville Hill on the 10th October 2011. In a revised form of its original ‘Stansted Express’ livery minus all branding bar the First group ‘Flying F’ 322483 is pictures at Edinburgh Waverley between turns to North Berwick on the 25th May 2005. Many years later after having spent time in West Yorkshire 322483 is seen eking out its last days working Anglia services. It’s pictures here pulling out of Wivenhoe on its way to Clacton on the 8th June 2021. Pictured at Liverpool St on a day in October 1996 is set 322484 showing the opposite side branding to ‘Stansted Express’. Also on display is the revised window layout for the extended 1st Class section which takes up 2/3 of the driving car. The same unit several years later in First North-Western livery with gold star on the driving car end seen passing Harringay at speed when it had been returned to WAGN and used as part of the generic fleet. It’s en-route to Peterborough, pictured on the 17th October 2000.322484 again after it has been transferred to Anglia services. It’s seen at Colchester Town on the 20th August 2004. Back in Scotland on the 9th September 2009 where 322485 in First Scotrail livery is seen arriving at Glasgow Central. Whilst the units were normally used on the Edinburgh – North Berwick services they also appeared on services to Glasgow Central via Carstairs – useful for returning them to base as the units were actually allocated to Glasgow Shields Rd depot. Fat forward to the 7th June 2021 and 433485’s seen passing Witham at speed with a service from Ipswich to Liverpool St. The interior of refurbished Driving Trailer 78163 when it was in service with Northern. This was originally a 1st Class section, the fact being given away by the large gap between the windows. It’s seen on the 10th October 2019.
It’s been a dank and dismal day here in the Calder Valley which was a shame as I’d hoped to start a new week in positive fashion. Sadly it wasn’t to be. Added to the gloom was the bounce I felt yesterday as I thought I was shaking off Covid bounced the opposite way today! This isn’t uncommon apparently. You have good days and bad days, it’s just the bad days get less bad. I’d tried to keep busy with paperwork and preparing for the week and even ventured out for a walk on my own through the local woods where I wasn’t likely to come into contact with people, but by the time I got back I was knackered! The stamina levels obviously still need a bit of tweaking. To that end I’ve loosened the reins on eating and drinking. After all, there’s got to be some pleasures left in life. Thankfully, Dawn still seems to be Covid free even though she feels that not all cylinders are firing.
Away from our own concerns there’s the tragedy of the Ukraine still unfolding. I’m resisting blogging about this (for now) as I need to be in full spleen-vent to describe my feelings about what’s going on, the atrocities occurring and the senseless waste of life on all sides. Because of this I did snap at one point earlier today when I saw a young HS2 opponent tweet about how the protesters were suffering ‘lifelong trauma’. What? from events that never happened? For years the protesters have complained about ‘brutality’ from police and security. This ‘brutality’ happens just as soon as someone says ‘no’ to them. A classic example would be a trespasser refuses to move despite several requests to do so, so the police/security use their powers and exercise reasonable force (as they’re legally entitled to do). As soon as the protester has a finger laid upon them they start screaming about being ‘assaulted’. Oh, please! Despite these protests having lasted for 5 years the only convictions for assault have been of protesters. Several charges and arrest warrants are outstanding but certain people have ‘disappeared’ in the hope of evading the police. Even though said protesters nearly all carry camera-phones to record their antics they’ve never yet managed to film a single genuine assault and the video they do produce often leads to the exact opposite result in court. Now, I’m not taking sides here (other than that of the law). If any member of HS2 security or the police does actually assault a protester they should have the book thrown at them. But that’s up to a real court to rule upon, not the court of social media. Frankly, I find it insulting that people who’ve suffered genuine traumas in their lives are being compared to a protester being told ‘no, the law applies to you too’ who them makes stuff up. It’s disappointing to see some mainstream greens supporting this position but I can see their dilemma.
The Green party began from a protest movement and it’s struggling to be a mainstream political party with aspirations of political power. It’s torn in too many directions. Because with power comes responsibility. How could you pass laws when you encourage people to break laws? It’s a question some greens would rather you don’t ask – especially coming up to the May elections. How can they reconcile support for the tactics of people allied to the Extinction Rebellion banner who routinely break the law (sometimes receiving custodial sentences) and at the same time criticise the Johnson Goverment for its law-breaking without looking like hypocrites. Clearly in ‘green’ eyes some laws are more equal than others. This leaves a huge hostage to fortune and the right-wing media an open goal.
Anyway, enough of these musings. I’m sure I’ll be revisiting them again in the future. In the meantime, here’s the picture of the day which relates to some of my earlier comments. We spotted this on out walk on Norland Moor yesterday.
The sooner this war criminal’s in the bin the better…
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After my last three days taking it easy due to contracting ‘the Rona’ today was anything but a lazy Sunday! I’d been chafing at the lack of exercise even though I knew it made sense to take it easy initially and let my system concentrate on combatting Covid. However, this morning I felt fine. The aches and fatigue had disappeared so I decided to take a Lateral Flow Test just to double-check. Bugger, the damned thing was still positive! I was hoping I might have been cleared for take-off by Monday but that isn’t going to happen now. Instead I’ll remain isolated from people until I do get the LFT all-clears.
Dee’s remained clear so the pair of us hatched a plan to get some exercise. We got in the car and drove across the valley up to Norland Moor where we could have a long walk in splendid isolation in the great outdoors. The only people we encountered was a few dog-walkers and they were easily avoided. I was putting no-one in danger and I felt so much better for being able to escape the confines of the cottage and hit the exercise targets I’ve missed. Now, back at home the pair of us are now having a quiet night in (as usual) and preparing for a busy week ahead. I may not be able to get out and about but there’s still plenty to do until I get the all-clear (whenever that is).
Tempting as it was to post today’s picture from the moor I’ve decided to opt for another archive picture with a touch of humour. In December 2010 I was staying in an old haunt – the Paharganj in Old Delhi, only the main street looked rather different and initially I couldn’t put my finger on why. Then the penny dropped. The street was wider. The authorities had made this happen by shaving a couple of feet off the front of buildings which had encroached on the original street. They’d literally demolished the frontage of each property, leaving the owners to rebuild. Well, eventually…
This led to to one hotel having a sign on the front that had left rather a hostage to fortune and one that really made me laugh. See if you can spot what I saw…
– or not, as the case may be…
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It’s April already and day 3 of my self-imposed isolation after having tested positive for Covid 19 on Thursday. Thankfully the symptoms seem mild. Apart from feeling tired and aching nothing more has manifested itself. I’m grateful that I managed to dodge the bullet until after I was triple-jabbed as it could have been an awful lot worse. Covid’s a weird virus as it’s so capricious. So far Dawn shows no sign of having been infected (thank the Gods!) despite us living cheek by jowl in a small space for so long but then we’ve heard lots of anecdotal evidence from friends that this can happen – as can the other extreme where everyone in a family contracts it. I’ve given up in trying to apply logic to Covid – it defies logic, but then so does many people’s attitudes towards it. I blogged not long ago about how so many people seemed to think it had disappeared. Now I’m reading about record infection rates and nearly 5 million Britons having it. Hardly surprising when people stop taking precautions…
My hope it that we’re now getting to the stage where it’s endemic but no worse than having mild flu. Even so, I’m staying at home and isolating until I know I’m no longer infectious purely for the sake of others. I’m chafing, admittedly. Both Dawn and I have been cooped up since I tested positive. Regular readers will know how I get stir-crazy after a few days and having that freedom to travel (even locally) taken away from me is irksome to say the least. On the bright side, I don’t feel as tired or achy as I did and Dawn’s been a star in looking after me. Everything could have been far more stressful so I’m counting my blessings. In the meantime, I’ve got enough things to keep my mind occupied even if my physical exercise levels are suffering. I’ll start making up for that now I’m rested and feel fit enough to do so without risking any recovery.
Having given a life update let’s move on to the picture of the day. I really didn’t know what to use today. There’s no new pictures as I’m stuck at home, so I’ve delved into the archives and come up with this. I was doing some research for a blog earlier which meant I was perusing pictures from a trip to India I embarked upon in 2010-11 and this one sprang out at me as it summed up the juxtaposition of old and new (spiritual and temporal) perfectly – and why Delhi was building a metro system! A version of it was used as a cover picture for the International Railway Journal too. Here’s the traffic chaos at a roundabout in Jhandewalan as a blue line metro train glides quietly (and cleanly) above the mess whilst a massive statue of Hanuman, the Hindu monkey God gazes out across the scene on the 3rd March 2011.
You can find the rest of the pictures from my travels around in India in this gallery. They include visits to Lucknow, Calcutta, Ahmedabad and the states of Gujarat and enclave of Diu.
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Paul Bigland 