Here we are, halfway through June and on the cusp of summer and all the weather’s done here is rain! Only now, this evening have the clouds (sort of) cleared and the sun found some space to put in an appearance. There’s a pattern developing here, crap weather throughout the day that gives way to a nice evening – just to tease you!
Today’s plans went out of the window for a couple of reasons, the weather being just one of them. A couple of days ago Dawn had ordered a variety of fish portions from the excellent ‘Sailbrand’ in Huddersfield, with the delivery date of today. Dee had to go out, which left me holding the fort until the delivery arrived. Sadly, this wasn’t until 15:30, Coupled with the pouring rain it meant our plan to escape and go for lunch somewhere was thwarted. Ho hum…
Instead, my day’s been one spent kicking my heels at home, although it’s not been entirely wasted as I’ve been busy researching my next RAIL magazine article as well as fulfilling some household chores. I even managed to get out for a walk and a swift couple of pints in our local, the Big 6 whilst Dawn kept herself busy in the kitchen, cooking up some delicious delights for Father’s day tomorrow as well as a great meal for tonight.
Now we’re kicking back, looking enviously at the evening sunshine and thinking ‘why weren’t you here this afternoon’? Ah, well. Tomorrow’s another day. Now it’s time for me to knock off and leave you with today’s picture. Whatever the weather, Yorkshire does produce some amazing skies…
Something wicked this way comes…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, 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/
*I originally wrote this as an article in RAIL magazine, where it appeared in April 2024.*
One complaint that’s levelled at the new HS2 railway is that it’s hardly going to be Britain’s most scenic rail journey! With 105km of tunnels on the section between London and Birmingham that’s no surprise. Much of the rest will be in cuttings. HS2 will be Britain’s most invisible railway. But there are a few structures that will afford views from the train (however fleeting) as well as provide iconic landmarks that can be admired from afar.
One such structure is the Wendover Dean viaduct which is being built just a few Km South of the town. In January RAIL was invited to take a look at construction progress in the week after the first 90 metre section of the deck had been pushed out onto the piers that will carry it. It’s an impressive structure which crosses above Durham Farm, a portion of Bowood Lane (which is being realingned) and parallels King’s Lane – which will allow views down over the structure.
A crane used to lift the infill panels into place. A stack of panels can be seen in the foreground. This view is looking South.
Built by EKFB with ASC (Arcadis, Setec, Cowi JV) as its design partner and Moxon as the architects the design has used as inspiration similar French structures like the Vicoin viaduct on the LGV Bretagne – Pays de la Loire high-speed line. When complete the viaduct will be 450m long, sitting on nine piers, some of which are 14 meters high, giving the structure a maximum height of 20 meters (not counting OLE masts). This method of construction is well known in Europe but it’s a first for the UK.
Traditional decks tend to use what is effectively a continuous block of concrete. A drawback of this is that concrete manufacturing is one of the most carbon-intensive parts of such structures. Instead of being constructed of concrete sections built in situ before lifted atop the piers then fixed together, at the Wendover Dean site, EKFB is using a pair of long ‘I’ beams of weathering steel sandwiched between two slabs of concrete with a hollow inner. These beams are constructed by specialists in France before being delivered to the Wendover site in 25 metre sections. They’re then welded together at ground level on the launching platform – a much safer method than having to do it in-situ at height.
This double composite structure is both super strong and lightweight. Compared to the traditional method (pre-cast concrete beams lifted into position with cranes) the overall carbon footprint gives a carbon reduction of 56% over the lifetime of the project. Most of this is in the materials themselves, with transport the next largest contributor. This method should save an estimated 7,433 tonnes of embodied carbon – the equivalent of someone taking 20,500 return flights from London to Edinburgh.
Another interesting aspect of the engineering is the nine piers that will support the deck. The foundations (piling began in June 2022) themselves aren’t unusual They consist of four piles between 38-45 meters deep. A steel cage is inserted into each borehole before being filled with concrete, then topped with a pile cap. Then, a steel cage is built above the pile cap with pre-cast concrete shells slotted over them. Finally, a hammerhead shaped shell is added as the final piece, with a steel cage dropped into it before the shell is filled with concrete. Having these pre-cast concrete shells made off-site at a facility in Northern Ireland is one of the ways that HS2 has managed to reduce disruption to the local area in Wendover as well as control the quality of the finish compared to being built on-site. It’s also a good illustration of how HS2 is generating jobs and income right across the UK, not just on the route. Northern Ireland’s contribution to the project amounts to £140 million in tier two contracts.
Looking North from atop one of the piers. The haul road can be seen to the right of the picture. The red structure on the end of the girders is there to allow the permeant bridge to be guided into place. The first section after being pushed into place, with some of the infill panels already positioned.
The deck is being assembled in three stages ranging from 90m to 180m sections, with each one pushed out from the north abutment before the next section is attached behind it. This slow and painstaking process means that the weight of the deck will increase with each push, up from an initial 590 tonnes to 3700 tonnes by the end of the year. With the deck moving at roughly 9m/hour, the process will take most of 12 months with the finish point at the South abutment approximately 1.8m higher than start point. The deck is pushed out over temporary bearings, sliding across Teflon plates which are fed across the bearings by hand. Pushing power is provided by cable winches which are anchored to the massive Northern abutment which was specially designed for this purpose – hence its size and weight.
Looking South from the Northern abutment.
When you visit the site you appreciate just how constrained the layout is. The HS2 Hybrid bill defined the limit of land that could be used to built HS2. As you’d expect at a viaduct site, this is quite narrow with most of the site to the West of the viaduct. There’s just enough room to store the concrete panels that form the top and bottom of the viaduct as well as the plant and other machinery needed for construction, plus the offices and welfare facilities which are on a temporary site nearby. One difficulty is the need for a haul-road to pass by the site. This is to allow for the movement of spoil from constructing cuttings to the South towards Wendover where it will be reused. To do this an extra strip of land had to be purchased to the East of the trace so that wagons could traverse the site without interrupting work on the viaduct. This land will be returned to its owners once work is finished.
Looking South from atop one of the piers. The wood on the horizon to the left of the pier is the (in)famous Jones’ hill woods which anti HS2 protestors occupied whilst falsely claiming it had a link to Roald Dahl. Their abandoned camp still lies there, rotting, polluting the very woods they claimed to have been trying to ‘save’.
Our visit allowed access to the top of one of the piers where we had a grandstand view of construction and an impression of how the viaduct was set in the landscape. On the edge of the rise to the South-East corner is the (in)famous Jones’ Hill ancient woodland, the edge of which (0.7 Ha) had to be felled for HS2. This privately-owned wood had been occupied by protesters who falsely claimed it was linked to author Roald Dahl. Their camp still exists, abandoned and rotting, polluting the very land they claimed to be trying to ‘save’. In mitigation, HS2’s planted 4.1 Ha of mixed woodland, some of which is adjacent to Jones’ Hill.
Seeing the red-painted launching-girder attached to the bridge deck at eye-level is quite a sight, as is knowing you’re standing atop a pier that will soon be carrying high-speed trains between London and Birmingham. Our guides also took us to the Northern abutment to see the temporary bearings and show us the Teflon plates that were used as flat rollers, allowing the weathered steel beams to be launched Southwards. Once the completed deck is in place it will rest on jacks which will gradually lower the whole structure onto the permanent bearings that will support it thereafter.
One of the temporary bearings used whilst the bridge deck is pushed out. Demonstrating how the Teflon plates are used to slide the bridge girders along the structure.
After the main viaduct deck is complete the parapets will be installed along with derailment walling and noise barriers. The parapets will be creased rather than flat. The crease will create inward and outward leaning surfaces that catch light and shade making the structure much more interesting, attractive (and photogenic). Once the civils side is finished the structure will be handed over to the rail systems teams to allow track, signalling and overheads to be installed.
Finally, the adjacent historic field boundaries and hedgerows will be recreated to provide uninterrupted access for farmers and local residents, leaving little to no trace of the construction compound and years of activity.
I suspect this viaduct will become a popular site for photography as it’ll be one of the very few locations where HS2 will be able to be seen in the context of the landscape it passes through. The sight of 400m long trains whizzing through the Chilterns atop a viaduct at speed will be one not to be missed!
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, 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/
OK, I’m fed up of this weather now. It’s starting to try my patience. Although I’d planned to work from home today I was hoping to get out with the camera tomorrow. Looking at the forecast I think there’s fat chance of that! Truly, this has been an awful June so far. Despite the pair of us being wrapped up like a pair of Eskimos we cracked and put the central heating on for a while just to take the chill off the place. Then, this afternoon the rain started…
So many folk we’ve talked to are feeling the same frustration. By now all the winter clothing should have been packed away and the drawers packed with T-shirts and shorts. Instead, I’m back wearing woolly jumpers whilst Dee’s in a ‘hoodie’! Instead of tucking into salads we’re on winter food. Dee made a gorgeous meat and potato pie tonight – something we really wouldn’t expect to be scoffing in June.
Please God, let the weather change soon, so that I can plan more than 24 hours ahead. There’s a lot of scenic rail pictures I’d love to be taking, but when you can’t rely on more than one day of sunshine it makes arranging trips (in the UK, anyway) very difficult and expensive if I come back with nothing that I can use. Costs have risen massively as it it without the added uncertainty of the weather.
OK, weather gripe over. Now I’ll talk about politics…
No, not really, I’ll spare you that at least. When it comes to the Tory campaign, the expression ‘same shit, different day’ springs to mind. Now all the main parties have released their manifestos and people can see what’s on offer. So, i’ll quickly observe that none of it is moving the polls in any significant way and move on…
One of the jobs I finished today was completing stocking the new Trans-pennine Route Upgrade gallery on my Zenfolio website. You can find it by following this link. As well as migrating all the old pictures from other galleries I’ve added yesterday’s selection. I’ll be keeping a regular eye on the project, so expect many more picture to appear through the course of the year.
Now I’ll leave you with the picture of the day. Bugger the British weather, I fancy something exotic and beachy. How’s this then? The stunning Cachorro and Conceicao beaches on the beautiful and amazing Brazilian Island of Fernando de Noronha, seen on the 16th August 2002.
You can find many more pictures of the island and the Brazilian mainland in this gallery.
See you tomorrow – come rain or shine!
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, 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/
I’m currently in Huddersfield, having travelled in with Dawn in order for the two of us to work from the Community Rail Network office in the old water tower at the station. Getting in to the office is ‘fun’ nowadays as it sits inside a fenced off TRU compound!
The CRN water tower surrounded by building materials and plant. We have to skirt the edge of this lot to get into the office…
My morning’s been spent on a couple of ‘teams’ calls with some Northern Rail staff as background for a forthcoming RAIL magazine article. The chats were really informative, which will really help the article. Now, they’re finished I’m heading out to have a look at some more upgrade work on the line from here to Leeds. Feel free to pop back and see what I get up to…
14:20.
Platforms at Huddersfield slowly disappear under scaffolding.
I’m currently at Mirfield, where the new platform 2 is really starting to take shape.
Earlier I popped in at Ravensthorpe where an awful lot of earth is being moved around.
The new alignment is going to pass through the middle of this picture taken from the existing Ravensthorpe station. The existing alignment to the left will be abandoned.
17:30.
After a very long diversion at Ravensthorpe due to a footpath closure, I made it to the bridge West of Ravensthorpe where I got these pictures (captions later). As you can see there’s going to need to be some tree trimming before the line’s electrified!
185134 passes the site of the new Ravensthorpe station whilst working 2M78, the 1458 York to Manchester Piccadilly which is routed via Castleford and Healey Mills. Whilst the other side of the line at Ravensthorpe has had vegetation cut back, the Eastbound side is in serious need of the same treatment.
21:45.
I’m back at home on what’s turned out (weatherwise) to be a lovely evening – something all too rare this year. Now it’s time to bring this rolling blog to an end with a couple more pictures from my TRU travels.
This scene will change dramatically over the next few years. Here’s 66847 approaching Thornhill LNW Jn from Healey Mills. The site of the new Ravensthorpe station slowly takes shape. The bridge some of the other pictures were taken from is seen in the background.
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, 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/
As expected, there was little point in heading out with the camera today. Not only was the weather cold and miserable but some early morning work emails changed my plans. Plus, I had a husbandly task to do this morning. Dawn had a routine hospital appointment but who likes going to these things on their own? Instead, we walked to the Calderdale Royal hospital together where I kept her company in the waiting room – which was just as well, because the unit was running late so we waited for around 45 minutes which is hardly something to complain about when you hear of some of the horror stories about hospital A&E units. Waiting times regardless, the staff Dee dealt with were all lovely and did their best to keep her informed and relaxed.
By the time we got home there was no point in me thinking of going anywhere. Instead I spent the afternoon researching my next RAIL article. I was surprised how few nuggets of information I could glean off the internet. Sometimes we think the world wide web holds the sum total of human knowledge, but that’s not always the case, especially if it’s something more esoteric such as railway history. I spent several hours searching for what I wanted and still found gaps in the timeline of the place I was researching. Now I’ve resorted to ordering a couple of specialist books that I hope will help plug the gaps.
Job done, I did manage to get out for a wander and boost my step count. This time of year I’d be expecting to be in short-sleeves and shorts. Instead, I was wrapped up as if it was March! Now it’s time to kick back at home and prepare for another day. Tomorrow both Dawn and I will be working from her company offices in Huddersfield. I’ll be staying for the morning as I have a couple of ‘Teams’ calls to do initial interviews of people for the article. After that, I hope to nip out and get some more Trans-Pennine route upgrade (TRU) pictures. I mentioned that I’ve established a new TRU gallery on my Zenfolio website. Well, one of the things I did first thing to day was start stocking it with archive pictures, so here’s a link.
OK, it’s time to go but first I’ll leave you with today’s picture. Because of the TRU work, Trans-Pennine Express services are diverted via the Calder valley route most weekends. Here’s Hitachi built 802206 working 9M32, the 1244 Newcastle to Liverpool Lime St passing the site of Luddenden Foot station (closed 1962) on the 1st June this year.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, 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/
I may have to bite a proverbial tongue but I promise not to mention the election and the latest Tory shitshows today. It would take too long and I expect most people are as bored of them as I am. This torture can’t end soon enough – for the good of the country and our sanity – if nothing else.
Today’s been the first day back at work for Dawn after her long weekend which I kind of mirrored by taking some time off myself. Today we’ve both been back our respective desks here at Bigland Towers. This has been a good day to be stuck indoors to be honest. Whilst we’ve had a fair bit of sunshine the temperatures are anything but what you’d hope to expect in June. The past few days have been so chilly that our central heating has switched itself back on as the thermostat has reached it’s critical low. Not what I’d expect this time of year at all. But then the climate is seriously out of kilter. I can’t remember a year as wet as this. We’re in ‘four seasons in one day’ territory at the moment, which could be fun as in a couple of weeks I’ll be involved in the annual ‘3 peaks by rail’ event, raising money for the Railway Children charity. Conditions on Ben Nevis could be rather challenging. Right now the weather forecast is telling me it’s 8 degrees here, so this is hardly ‘flaming June’ – except in the pejorative sense. Don’t get me wrong, I’m anything but a climate change sceptic, I know the weather’s changing and warming up (on averages) but the amount of rain we’re getting as a consequence is unreal.
Tomorrow I’ve another day which will be spent working from home as it’s almost certainly going to be a waste of time getting out with the camera as there’s yet more rain being predicted in this neck of the woods. Shame, as I’ve just started a new Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade on my Zenfolio website. This mirrors the High Speed 2 construction gallery as both projects will be under construction for many years and placing all the pictures in their own galleries makes sense. You can find the link here. Tomorrow could be a good day to migrate a lot of existing pictures to the new gallery.
Right, it’s time to go. All that remains is to leave you with today’s picture. But what to choose? I’m leaving you with a food shot – tonight’s supper. This is hardly salad weather so Dawn decided to cook the pair of us something a little more substantial…
Salmon, new potato’s, carrots, broccoli, green beans and a butter, lemon and honey sauce. Yum!
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, 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/
I’ve taken a short break from blogging these past few days. It’s not that there’s been nothing to write about, I merely wanted to change focus slightly and give myself some time off. Dawn’s been away with friends so I’ve had the place to myself and decided to catch-up on reading rather than writing. Plus, the absolute shit-show that is the Conservatives election campaign could have led me to another bout of spleen-venting. I really don’t know what to say about Sunak. His incompetence and arrogance (in equal measure) have led him to make the most jaw-droppingly ridiculous mistakes – and there’s still several more weeks of the campaign to go. Rather than narrowing the polling gap with Labour he’s actually managed to increase it! God knows what foul-ups he’ll make next.
Away from the political circus I took time out late last week to have a look at progress on the Trans-Pennine route upgrade between Huddersfield and Dewsbury. One of the biggest worksites is at Ravensthorpe. Not only is the existing station being relocated, there’s also a flyover and brand new section of line being built to the South of the existing alignment. Right now there’s a huge amount of earthmoving going on to prepare formerly derelict land to receive the new railway. Piling work has also commenced. Here’s a few pictures taken from a passing train.
Meanwhile, Huddersfield station roof is gradually disappearing as the area’s being shrouded in scaffolding.
The Sheffield bay platform seen through the scaffolding.Over in the old goods yard this massive office block has appeared.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, 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/
Typical! Today – after a short shower – the weather’s turned sunny here in the Calder valley. So, where am I off to? London, for a Siemens Ltd press lunch. Today’s merely a day trip to attend the lunch. This is an opportunity to chat to Siemens Senior management team, learn about what’s going on with the company in the UK right now – and meet up with fellow industry Journos for a couple of hours. After which I’ll get a few library pictures and head home.
Right now I’m on Northern’s 08:43 from Halifax to Leeds. Today this is made up of a pair of 2 car Class 195s. It’s not as busy as usual so I’ve blagged a table seat and set up the mobile office to get some work done en-route. I’ll be blogging throughout the day, so feel free to pop back to see what I get up to…
09:45.
My stay in Leeds was brief. We pulled into the platform adjacent platform 9 where LNER’s 09:45 to Kings Cross was waiting. Within minutes I’d transferred to an empty 9-car Azuma where I set up the mobile office on a vacant table bay in Coach C.
801213 sits at Leeds this morning before heading to Kings Cross.
Now it’s time to relax and enjoy the trip. That said, I feel sorry for anyone trying to head down the West Coast Main Line this morning. A fatality South of Watford Junction had closed all lines in and out of London Euston earlier. They’ve now reopened but it’s going to be a rough day out there…
11:00.
What a lovely day for heading South – although we seem to be heading into cloudier weather. For once, it’s grim down South! I’ve been busy clearing my email inbox and sorting out some picture editing, but I have had chance to check-out social media and the responses to last night’s ‘debate’ between Starmer and Sunak. It looks like Sunak walked into a trap.
The phrase ‘never interrupt your enemy when he’s making a mistake’ seems rather appropriate. Last night Sunak lied. More than once to be honest, but the one that’s coming back to haunt him is the claim Labour will cost everyone in the UK £2000 in raised taxes. Anyone who’s economically literate and follows these things already knows it’s a lie, but Sunak’s following in Boris Johnson’s (lying) footsteps and hoping to get away with it. This is Sunak’s £350m on the side of a bus moment.
There’s only one problem. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury has exposed Sunak’s lie in a letter that was sent a couple of days ago. So, Sunak was in no doubt he was lying. Starmer was in no doubt Sunak was lying, but Sunak did it anyway and then doubled-down on it today. But Labour have released the letter…
I’ve said for some time that this was going to be a dirty election with the Tories and the rest of the right-wing leaving no lie unturned in a desperate effort to win. The good news is that they’re not moving the dial (exactly the opposite). It seems so many people now see them as liars, they’re expecting it!
11:12.
We’ve just left Peterborough after our brief stop at the city. The bank of cloud on the horizon doesn’t seem to have got any closer so I’m optimistic that today’s going to be a good day. I’ve an hour to get from Kings Cross to today’s venue in Shoreditch in London’s East End so my plan is to take the scenic route. Well, as much as being underground is ‘scenic’!
18:15.
Sorry for the interlude but it’s been a busy day. As soon as I arrived at Kings Cross I spotted something other than trains at the platform ends – an old friend and colleague in the form of Rob Pritchard, Editor of Today’s Railways UK. The pair of us joined forces to travel over to my old ‘Manor’ in the East end via Thameslink, the ‘Lizzie’ line and London Overground which deposited us just a block away from where we needed to be in Shoreditch. Boy, has that area changed since I first got to know it in the mid-1980s!
Rob, myself and several other old faces from the rail press plus one or two from the national media then had a very pleasant and informative couple of hours chatting informally to Siemens Mobility’s senior management team for the UK. It’s rare that you get that level of access or the time to chat to people from a company. In truth, a couple of hours wasn’t enough, as much as people try and circulate between courses.
I’ll add a couple of pictures later.
Right now I’m heading back North (well, I did say it was only a day trip!). I’d have loved to have made more of the weather but I’ve things to do. Plus, Dawn’s away for several days from tomorrow. The journey home’s been made more ‘interesting’ by the fact the train I’d intended to catch – the 17:03 to Leeds has been cancelled due to a fatality – so that’s both East and West coast main lines afflicted by tragedies today. Instead, I’m on an Edinburgh bound service as far as York, where I can change and still get home earlier than if I’d hung around at Kings Cross.
20:25.
Changing at York turned out to be a good plan. I’m now at Bradford Interchange en-route to Halifax, having clawed back 15 mins. Not a huge amount in the scheme of things but at least I nanaged to add a few more libray pictures to the collection. The sun’s still shining in Yorkshire, but by heck – it’s cold!
22:30.
Time to call it a day. I’m back at home, spending an hour editing a few pictures before day’s end. So, as promised, here’s a small selection from the day…
A study in Azuma front ends at Kings Cross…It looks underground, but this is very much overground. The interior of the elevated Shoreditch High St station.It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it. Sitting down to lunch with Siemens senior management to talk about all things Siemens (and much more)…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, 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/
We’ve had another quiet day here at Bigland Towers due to the fact we’ve both had plenty of office work to keep us occupied, plus the weather’s been crap! Consistent it ain’t! There’s been no ‘flaming June’ here today. Instead we’ve had wind, rain and temperatures that make you want to wear several layers. It’s only this evening that the skies have cleared and the sunshine’s returned, but the temperature’s remained in single figures.
Still, I’ve had the latest general election fiascos and maneuverings to raise a smile. Honestly, what an absolute shambles for the Tories! I cannot think of another time when – instead of narrowing the polling gap, the party of Government widens it! Sunak’s an absolute disaster at hustings and his PR team want shooting (that’s metaphorical, OK – just before some people start to get wound-up). His campaign’s one disaster after another. Who in their right mind thought using an empty whiteboard in a Tik-Tok video was a good idea? Labour’s PR people were like greased lightning with their response, which got far more views than the original. Then the Lib-Dems (who seem to be having the most fun) photobombed Sunak from a boat.
Now, to add to the Tories sense of doom, Nigel Falange – sorry – Farage, has announced he’s standing for Parliament in Clacton! Admittedly, this is the ultimate in cynical opportunism by Farage. Originally, the UK wasn’t important enough for him. He claimed he was going to be a major player in getting grifter-in-Chief, Donald Trump back in the White House. Then Trump became a felon with 35 convictions, so the grifters gravy-train looked like it was going to hit the buffers. Suddenly, Farage did a reverse-ferret and decided that the UK election was worth his time. Well, grifters gonna grift.
Could he finally get elected on his eighth attempt? Possibly, Clacton’s very Brexity and if they’ve learned nothing since the referendum, voters may just be stupid enough to choose him. But it’s not guaranteed. Part of me hopes they will as it will finally expose the charlatan to UK public scrutiny in the way his previous role as an MEP never did. He’d make an absolute arse of himself in the House of Commons, if he could ever bother to turn up. He’d be a party of one. Can you imagine, just him and the other party of one (Jeremy Corbyn) having to share the end of a bench? His only hope would be that what’s going to be left of the Tories after the election will welcome him back – driving the Tory rump even further to the right and away from the political mainstream. Thinking about it, that might actually help put the final nail in the Tory party’s coffin…
Still, the whole circus will keep the media occupied for a while, just as the milk-shake throwing incident has today. Was it a set-up as some people claim? I’ve no idea, but I wouldn’t put it past Farage. He has form for these things. Either way, none of it is going to affect Labour’s standing in the polls, just as the hard-left shenanigans haven’t. Labour had a wobble over Diane Abbott standing, but it’s been a minor one that’s soon been eclipsed by other events. Meanwhile, there’s a debate twixt Starmer and Sunak in Manchester this evening, not that I’ll be watching as I’ve better things to do.
Tomorrow I’ll be back in London for a press lunch, so expect another rolling blog and pictures. In the meantime, here’s today’s picture. Yesterday Dawn and I had to pop over to Huddersfield to visit the dentists, afterwards we had a lovely lunch at Arcade coffee in the gorgeous Byram arcade before Dee had to call into her company office at the station water tower. That’s when I spotted today’s picture…
Wait? What?
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Bloody hell! It’s June already! To be honest the new month’s made a welcome arrival as it’s started on a weekend that’s brought some gorgeous and much-needed sunshine. I’ve been based in the Calder valley but not entirely at home. On Saturday the friends of Mytholmroyd station had an open day at their station building. This was in conjunction with the local historical society, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Rly society and other supporters. I dropped in for a while to help them with photographs whilst enjoying the atmosphere. A local gospel choir kept visitors entertained whilst they waited to join one of the organised walks around the village whilst other folk amused themselves looking through the collection of old photographs, posters and artwork on display inside the station building. Here’s a few pictures from the day.
The station building’s celebrating an important anniversary this year, as these signs mounted on the platforms proclaim.
Today (Sunday) has been a more home-based day. I made the most of the weather by spending much of my time gardening and trying to control the weed that threaten to take over the terraces at the back of the cottage. Everything’s growing at such a rate of knots now all I have to do is turn my back and the brambles start to encroach. Mind you, the wildlife can cause a few problems too. I had to scare off a Fox that (as bold as brass and in the middle of the day) decided to try and bury a chicken thigh (left out by a neighbour) right in the middle of one of my flowerbeds, and right outside the kitchen window too. Cheeky bugger!
Hopefully, this is the start of summer, but I’m not going to hold my breath. The weather’s been so unpredictable this year I wouldn’t be in the least surprised if we have snow by Friday!
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, 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 