Lockdown. Day 68 (Saturday).

31 Sunday May 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Calder Valley, Coronavirus, Lockdown, Musings, Railways

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In the words of the Lou Reed song “what a perfect day”…The pair of us had a relaxed start to the weekend by lying in until 08:00 despite the presence of the moggie on the bed in between us for most of the night. He obviously considers this his sickbed and us his 24 hour nursing care!

On flinging open the bedroom blinds it was obvious it was going to be another cracking day weather-wise. When you’re cooped up and restricted weather like this will always be tempting. The pair of us are missing beaches and the sound of the sea but there’s no way in a million years we’d be foolhardy enough to join the lemmings flocking to the seaside as if everything’s normal.

Instead, we stayed locked-down and local – for everyone’s sake. Besides, it’s not like we don’t have some gorgeous places to walk to from home. OK, the River Calder isn’t renowned for its sandy banks and the area’s industrial heritage has left its marks on the river and its surrounds, but this is hardly the inner city.

So, after a leisurely brunch took a stroll and retraced our steps from the other week when we explored the footpaths and fields around Hollas Lane. Being on the opposite side of the valley to where we live gives us a very different perspective. Surprisingly, we encountered far fewer walkers than we did the other week. The two of us speculated upon why. Were they all sunning themselves in their gardens, or stuck in their cars driving to more far-flung destinations now that lockdown is starting to fall apart (by both accident and design)?

Not that it mattered to us. We found a meadow to plonk ourselves down in and soaked up the sun and the quiet for an hour whilst admiring the vibrant woodland around where we live. The fact where we stopped had this view is (of course) entirely co-incidental!

Not a bad place to sit and while away an hour, is it?

Strolling on we followed the rest of the route down into Copley village where we were surprised to see the car park of the rugby club absolutely rammed with cars. But only a handful of people were in evidence outdoors. Surely, they weren’t all inside the Rugby club, were they? I’ve no idea of the answer to that but the sight certainly made me feel uncomfortable…

Moving on we crossed under the railway, over the canal and across the main road (then another railway) before cutting back into the woods on ‘our’ side of the valley. They were blissfully empty which did surprise me as they’re normally a popular spot for walkers.

Back at home we once again retreated to the front garden which was bathed in evening sunshine. It’s become our little oasis where we can sit and watch the world go by, chat to the neighbours and say hello to passers-by whilst listening to the glorious birdsong from the copse of trees opposite. Whilst Dawn was busy washing the car I pottered around, weeding or dead-heading before the sun set enough that I could start watering. There’s no water supply so I’m kept busy carrying watering cans through from the kitchen but I don’t mind as it’s good exercise. I don’t think either of us have been as appreciative of this space as we are now, especially as the lack of traffic makes it even more pleasant. We’re going to miss the quiet when things return to ‘normal’ – if they ever do.

This feels like it should be a caption competition for an old Ken Dodd joke. “What a beautiful day for”…

Neither of us were on cooking duty tonight as we decided to eat from the freezer. We had plenty of home cooked meals to choose from and plumped for a Vegetable Pulao I’d cooked, plus some of the Chicken Madras that Dawn had made. As it was late by the time we were eating we chose to be decadent and eat in bed whilst the cat kept us company and we settled down to a good bit of escapist TV. We’ve discovered a series on the BBC’s iPlayer called ‘The Honourable Woman and become rather hooked. It’s a political drama centered around the middle-East and starts Maggie Gyllenhaal as a woman called Nessa Stein who runs a charitable foundation. It appeals to me as parts of that world are familiar to me because of my past – although not the shootings, murders and spies!

And so another day ended…

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Lockdown. Day 67 (Friday).

29 Friday May 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Coronavirus, Lockdown, Musings, Railways

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Phew, what a scorcher! – as the tabloid newspapers are prone to saying. It’s absolutely roasting here in the front garden where I’m sat typing this on my phone.

The forecast predicted this and the day didn’t disappoint. Dawn was up by 06:00 to hit the exercise trail and I rose at the same time. The view across the valley that time of morning was ckear and cloudless, so we knew what to expect. I was happy to be up early as I wanted to get a solid few hours work in before 09:00 as yesterday had felt like a wasted opportunity. Relishing a coffee whilst I edited pictures and waited for Dawn to finish her calisthenics I also kept one eye on the cat who’s still struggling with sneezing and mucus. That said, Dawn gave him a full hit of his medication this morning, so he wasn’t feeling any pain – literally or metaphorically!

After breakfast we meditated together to get us in the right frame of mind for the day, then it was back to the grindstone. The series of pictures I was scanning and editing today dated from the summer of 1999, only a few weeks after Lynn and I returned from our 18 month trip around the world. They show a very different side to the UKs railways compared to the batch I’ve just finished scanning, which were taken 6 years earlier. By 1999 rail privatisation was well-established. OK, ‘well’ is possibly not the right word here! It was the days of the late (unlamented) Railtrack as owner of the network, plus one or two train operating companies also best forgotten (Connex anyone?). My point is that BR was already becoming a memory. Ironically, looking back now, all the original franchises are memories too! All have changed hands. Some several times. Even the freight operators. I’ll add some pictures and continue this blog later. Right now its almost 18:00 and time for the ‘Big 6’ Zoom quiz…

20:41.

Right I’m back from the quiz and various chores so I can sit down, iron out the typo’s from writing this on a phone and try and put the rest of the day together. Whilst it’s lovely being able to sit in the garden and blog from the phone the spelling errors I’ve made when I read it back on a large screen are horrendous! I blame squinting in the sun and small keyboards – honest!

The quiz went really well but it flew by. All but two of the nine participants were joining in from their gardens. This time the majority included me as I didn’t want to waste the sunshine and set the laptop up atop the cats cage to save my neck. Mel did a great job reading out the brain teasers and the whole event is a lovely start to what would normally be a weekend without work. Only this is still a form of lockdown – I think – the mixed messages are still very confusing. If we’re starting to come out of it right now, why do we still have one of the highest number of new cases in Europe? To be honest, as Dawn and I have her parents to consider, we’re not going to be availing ourselves of our newly granted ‘freedoms’. Instead we’re going to see how the next couple of weeks pan out. There’s plenty for us both to do at home. Plus, from my perspective, it’s unlikely the rail industry is going to be rushing to organise many press events just yet, so all the work I had booked may take a while to rematerialize. So many events have been cancelled or moved to next year I’m going to have a lot of blank spaces in the diary this year whatever happens post-lockdown, so I’m playing a long game. As long as the markets continue to recover (albeit fitfully) I’m in a better place than many.

Let’s face it, none of us know what the future will bring. Despite the relaxation of some restrictions we’re not out of the woods yet and this chart from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control makes sobering reading.

covid

Still, according to Johnson, we’ll have a ‘world beating’ track and trace system soon, one day (ish, possibly). So, that’s alright then, panic over. Quite how it’s meant to be ‘world beating’ is a mystery. Personally, I’d be happy with one that actually works, but that’s probably being defeatist in the government’s eyes. But then, haven’t they stopped providing comparisons like this?

Meanwhile, back on a more nostalgic note here’s a look at some of the pictures that I’ve been scanning. As they’re post-privatisation of the railways they’re spread over several galleries, so you’ll need to click on this link to find where they all are.

Here’s yet another view that’s changed out of all recognition.

07094. 319004. 18.23 to Gatwick Airport. Rugby. 09.08.1999crop

On the 9th August 1999, Connex South Central unit number 319004 sits under the skeletal roof of Rugby station whilst working the 18:23 service to Gatwick Airport. This platform still exits, but little else does! A few years later the station underwent a massive rebuilding programme whilst the tracks were realigned for 125mph non-stop running as part of the West Coast Route Modernisation. Little did I know when I took this shot that I’d be spending Xmas and Boxing day trackside here, documenting the rebuilding for Network Rail (but that’s another story). Nowadays the Gatwick service has been cut back to Milton Keynes. Connex was stripped of both franchises (South-Eastern and South-Central) by the Strategic Rail Authority due to the companies poor performance.

07110. 33103. 3TC No 417. 14.08 Barking - Gospel Oak. Harringay Green Lanes. 18.08.1999crop

OK, I’ll add caption details to this shot on Saturday morning. Can anyone guess where and what this working was? A clue. This was a stop-gap hire-in by a TOC as the old diesel units it were using on this line had sure dire reliability….

Lockdown. Day 66 (Thursday).

28 Thursday May 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Coronavirus, Huddersfield, Lockdown, Musings, Railways

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Right folks, I’ve moved ahead a few days due to the pressure of juggling life and writing a daily blog. Yes, I know we’re all meant to have more time on our hands due to the Covid-19 lockdown but sometimes the reality is anything but, because simple mundane activities take up so much more time! So, today I’m leaping right up to the present to describe the day and give myself time to live in the moment rather than play catch-up. Not that I won’t catch-up, but I’ve got tomorrow to do that as we’re going nowhere!

In contrast, today was a busy day as it’s Thursday – so it’s ‘escape from the valley’ day to head over to Huddersfield and the delights of the Colne rather than the Calder Valley. There couldn’t have been a better day to do it either as today’s been the hottest day of the year so far. The drive into Huddersfield was on roads that are the busiest we’ve seen since lockdown, which is slowly unravelling. That’s partially planned but I get the distinct impression there’s a Dominic Cummings “what’s sauce for the goose” element to it too. People are getting restive after two months and the antics of the Government are providing the perfect excuse.

To Tykes credit there weren’t that many overt signs of it in Huddersfield itself. Our weekly shop at Sainsbury’s (where we pick up a lot of Dawn’s parents shopping) was little changed. The queues weren’t bad and the trolley ballet inside was well choreographed but more shelves were empty, especially the booze section which suggests there’s going to be people making more of the outdoors and the glorious weather – as long as it’s not in crowds…

As usual after shopping we pitched up at the railway station to pop into Dawn’s work. The area was marginally more busy and I noticed a handful more folk on the trains that passed, but the station was obviously gearing up for more people as new signs had appeared to regulate flows in and out in order to respect social distancing.

Whilst Dawn was busy in the office I went for a wander around Huddersfield town centre to get a feel for how things are and also grab a few pictures. The main shopping areas are still pretty much deserted which is hardly surprising as nothing’s open. What was sad to see was how many shops look likely never to reopen. Very few showed signs of stirring even though it’s been announced small businesses will be allowed to reopen soon (ish). The only places that had any life were the banks. Several had large queues outside them. I’ve mentioned this before but in this age of internet banking I’m still amazed by how many people have the need to still visit a bank branch. I’m sure there’s some interesting statistics and research that will explain why. The only other folks who were out in any numbers were the town’s derelicts and drunks although maybe I’m only noticing them more because their normal refuge (Wetherspoons) is closed! One thing that I did observe was that more and more people are wearing facemasks, which is no bad thing. Here’s how quiet Huddersfield appeared today.

A Trans-Pennine Express service arrives into Huddersfield from Leeds across surprisingly deserted John William St.

New Street in the centre of Huddersfield looking desolate and deserted. Shops were suffering before Covid broke out. I wonder how many will never reopen?

Queuing outside the Barclays bank at Market Cross in the centre of Huddersfield.

Once Dawn had finished we drove up to her parents to drop off their shopping and chat over the garden gate. We’re lucky as we get to stand in the gorgeous sunshine. They draw the short straw as they stand in the shadow of the house although I doubt John minds as he saw more than enough sun when he did his National Service in the RAF in Cyprus. Suntan lotion was unheard of then and he’s had to be careful ever since…

We didn’t stay long as we had to get home. The drive across country was glorious in this weather but once again we noticed the volumes of traffic had picked up. Back home the pair of us had a couple of hours to try and get some work done before our next chore. Dawn was busy at her computer whilst I managed to swap my time between working upstairs in my backroom office and also out in the garden. I’m a sun lover still and I wasn’t going to waste such glorious weather, so I continued to edit down slide albums full of travel pictures whilst sitting outside. The album I filleted dated from 2000 and contained a mixture of personal, travel and social issues pictures I’d taken, mostly with the Lonely Planet and Photofusion picture libraries in mind which is where many of them ended up. Now I’ve got them back. Of course, nearly 20 years later there’s a huge amount of duplicates whilst others are now either irrelevant or superseded, so I managed to whittle the album down by half – which will make life a lot easier when it comes to the scanning process.

Time flew and in no time our appointment with the vet loomed. Jet (our cat) was due a check-up, which was just as well as he’s started sneezing and getting a build-up of matter in one eye. We suspected it was to do with him being ‘in the wars’ recently, but we wanted to make sure. The vets was extremely busy with people sitting in their cars whilst the vest too’d and fro’d with their pets. We were there for nearly an hour before we could take the boy back home with no major health worries. I’ve not complaints about the service (anything but), it’s just the fact so much of our time is eaten up by what were ordinary activities before Covid, now they take so long you just wonder where the hell the day goes. I do find it frustrating sometimes as it’s hard to feel you’ve achieved much. It’s one of the reasons blogging’s had to take a bit of a backseat.

By the time we got home via another supermarket call we were already late for Dawn joining in on a Platt family ‘Zoom’ call. I dipped in and out as I had to water a garden that had spent all day baking in the sun. It’s looking lovely right now (even passing joggers compliment me on it) so the last thing I want is for the plants to get stressed. Mind you, it’s also good exercise – and therapeutic!

Tomorrow I’m looking forward to having a day at home and cracking on. Hopefully, with a sense of moving forward at the end of it rather than just shuffling along in queues as a substitute. Watch this space…

Lockdown. Day 62 (Sunday).

27 Wednesday May 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Coronavirus, Down memory lane, Food and drink, Lockdown, Politics

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Apologies. I’ve had a few days off from blogging for various reasons that include our cat being ill, my wife’s birthday an this absolute shambles we have masquerading as a Government. I’m going to try and pick up now from where I left off and catch up over the next few days.

First, the good news. By Sunday our moggie was settled back at home and on the mend. He’s still not entirely ‘with it’ due to the pain killers, but he’s making a pretty good recovery and recovered his appitite now that his teeth aren’t troubling him anymore.

Right, that’s the end of the good news! Sadly, the weather had begun to reflect the mood of the country and turned moody and taciturn with the sun spending most of its time hiding its face behind varying layers of could. It wasn’t particularly cold, but not exactly a day for lathering oneself in suntan lotion, so the two of us kept busy indoors. Dee took over the kitchen for a baking session that resulted in two stunning cakes – both Gluten free. One was a Lemon Drizzle cake, the other was a Bakewell Tart made with cherry jam rather than the usual – and it was amazing as the flavor of the cherries complemented the other ingredients perfectly. Here are the results.

thumbnail_20200524_192538

thumbnail_20200524_192516

Whilst Dawn was busy downstairs I spent time in the office manfully scanning more old slides in a last push to get the batch from 1993 finished and another empty album set consigned to the loft until I can pass them on to my local station friends group.

Whilst we were living a lockeddown life of domestic bliss things were kicking off big-style on the political front as the row of Johnson’s Special Advisor, Dominic Cummings had exploded all over the papers and social media. It had go so bad that Johnson, a man who’s always had a reputaion for laziness was actually forced into breaking the habit of a lifetime and working on a Sunday. He gave an address (well, more of a blustering ramble really) in which he defended Cummings and gave him his full backing. To say that it went down like a bucket of cold sick would be somewhat of an understatement. Johnson threw everything away to defend his Spad, leaving many people incredulous – including Tory voters who’ve followed his Governments advice and now feel betrayed and angry.

I’ll be honest. I’ve never understood what some people see in the clown. I’ve met him and photographed him in the past when he was Mayor of London. To me he’s always come across as someone who only has one interest in life, himself and his own ambitions. There’s not one iota of interest in public service in him. Now, it finally seems that people are starting to see him for what he really is – too late…

What this shambles will lead us to now is a good question. How many people will now turn round and say “bollocks to staying at home, why should the rules only apply to me and not to the likes of Cummings”? Bank Holiday Monday could be ‘interesting’, to say the least.

To end, here’s a look back to 1993, which seems such a very different age now.

03499. 302990. Colchester. 27.08.1993crop

This is a Royal Mail postal electric train that was converted from an old Class 302 passenger unit by stripping out all the seats, re-inforcing the floors and adding roller doors. At the time half a dozen of these sets trundled up and down the old Great Eastern main line out of London Liverpool St to postal depots at places like Chelmsford and Norwich. This one’s seen at Colchester on the 20th August 1993. You can find the rest of the newly scanned images by following this link.

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Lockdown. Day 63 (Monday).

25 Monday May 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Coronavirus, Dawn, Lockdown, Musings

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*Warning. This blog was written several days after the event and backdated in an effort to keep the timeline*

Today’s Dawn’s birthday. As we’re in lockdown it’s a rather restrained affair. There’s no meeting up with friends or relatives or getting the glad-rags on and going out for a meal. Instead, we opted for a quiet day at home.

I let Dee sleep in for a bit before making her a cup of tea and presenting her with her card. Not that she had much time to enjoy either as Dawn noticed that our poorly moggie had got himself and his bed in a bit of a “two and eight” as they used to say in London’s East End. That ‘state’ was due to the fact the medication he’s been prescribed had given him diarrhea – and furry animals and the squits do not mix! So, Dee’s birthday began with us both performing a mopping up and cleaning operation on poor Jet, his basket and his litter tray. Nice….!

Luckily, Dawn saw the funny side of it. We were more concerned for Jet than anything else as the poor lad really has been through the mill recently so his needs came before anything else. Finally we got him and ourselves cleaned up and began Dawn’s birthday properly.

We didn’t need birthday cake as Dee had been cooking up a storm over the weekend. Unusually, there was no present from me for Dee to open either. We’d discussed one earlier in the week and apart from the logistical difficulties of being reduced to shopping on-line Dee had decided that, actually – we’d had an expensive enough time as it was with vets bills, so we took a rain-check on a present, although I’ve been told “you can buy me some perfume when all this is over”! Of course, there were cards for Dawn to open, although – as this is 2020 – there’s more birthday greetings sent via social media than post nowadays!

Rather than cake, we celebrated with a guilty pleasure. Poached egg and bacon butties! Both of us eat healthily and have very little in the way of processed food or red meat – so this was an indulgence for us that’s normally reserved for the odd weekend. Simple pleasures and all that…

To share her birthday we took some of the cakes Dee had made around to our friend Tony (of Phoenix brewery fame). He lives locally and we met him in his garden where we could hand over the goodies and stop for a chat whilst observing all the Covid proprieties. A couple of other friends from the Big 6 whom we hadn’t seen since all this kicked off had dropped in too, so it was great to catch-up with Steve and Lynn too. Afterwards we drove over to Dawn’s parent in Huddersfield. With it being the Bank Holiday there were plenty of people out walking but the roads were quieter than we’ve seen at weekends. Hopefully people were making the most of the fresh air and glorious sunshine – something that rarely appears at Bank Holidays!

When we reached John and Norah’s we sat in their garden which is big enough to allow us to keep a sensible distance. After all the precautions we’ve been taking for them the last thing we want to do is put them at risk now. The four of us chatted about events and the latest mixed messages from the Government and the potential consequences, although much of the conversation was far more light-heated and frequently interrupted by the gaggle of Starlings that were congregating in the trees next door. They were as raucous and rowdy as a gang of teenagers! We only stayed an hour, which was long enough to enjoy their company but not long enough that we might need the toilet. Oh, the things you have to think about nowadays…

By the time we got back home it was too late to go out for the long walk we’d planned to do, so instead we took it easy in our front garden. Despite the pair of us spending so much time cooped up indoors together, we don’t actually get that much ‘quality time’ together, so it was lovely just to be able to kick back and enjoy each other’s company without any pressures or plans. The moggie was sufficiently recovered from his troubles this morning that he came and joined us in the garden where he sat on the seat with us and toasted in the sun.

The birthday girl, the garden – and Jet…

The poor boy’s not looking at his best at the moment as he’s developed conjunctivitis, so we have to keep washing his face for him.

For the evening the only thing we had got planned was for me to cook Dee a birthday prawn and pea risotto, which I did whilst Dee relaxed and enjoyed her special day. It’s not exactly the ‘rock and roll’ lifestyle, but actually, having a chilled evening together was just what the Doctor ordered. Oh, and the risotto was delicious – even if I do say so myself…

Lockdown. Day 61 (Saturday).

24 Sunday May 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Calder Valley, Coronavirus, Lockdown, Our cat, Jet, Politics

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This morning we woke to the sound of the wind unabated. For the second day running it battered the trees and homes around us. In fact, it seemed to have increased in intensity, so my first job after breakfast was to strategically position bamboo stakes in the front garden to support the Irises and Lupins which were in danger of being beaten into submission. Even the two-stage aluminium ladder I keep chained up at the back of the house had shifted and needed re-securing which was a tribute to the strength of the wind as this is a sheltered space .

None of this could dim our happiness that we’d be getting our cat back today, although an early phone call from the vets was a concern. Whilst Jet had responded well to the opiates overnight the vet was a little concerned about his demeaner and the fact he was drooling so wanted to keep him under observation for a bit longer. Out of deference to their expertise we acquiesced but both of us suspected we knew what the problem was. After two nights, Jet was getting ratty with being stuck at the vets!

As there was nothing we could do but wait we did the best we could to pass the day, filling our time with stocking up on some shopping and pottering around at home. I scanned a few pictures but neither of us could give anything our full attention. It was that sort of a day.

What made it more awkward was the vets were only offering an emergency service so their normal number wasn’t being answered. Essentially, we had to wait for them to ring us. Finally, late afternoon they did. We had a chat about Jet’s progress and demeanour and the vets agreed – it was time he came home!

The surgery is only a 15 minute drive away so I wasn’t long before we picked him up. He was totally placid and disinterested in the world when we did. The vet said he was like a different cat to the one the day before, when he’d been growling at them. But we knew this was because he’d been fed up!

When we got him home the ooor boy was rather comical. He was obviously still off his head on the painkillers he’d been given! He staggered and bumbled his way around the house like a drunk, but the first thing he did was make a bee-line for his litter tray, which seemed like a good sign! The vet had left a catheter in his front left leg (just in case) and it was both comical and sad to watch him trying to shake it off as he walked. Eventually, he settled on his heated mat and we managed to get some food and water into him. Despite rhe poor old boy being off his head he was still as affectionate as he’s always been and we were so glad to have him home. We took turns in keeping an eye on him whilst I worked in the office and Dawn cooked up another chicken Madras. Dee had liked the one I did the other night so much she decided to have a go herself and cook up a big batch to eat now with more for the freezer.

Whilst domestic life was improving now the band’s back together the UK political world continues to fall apart with the revelations that Johnson’s PR polecat – sorry, Special Advisor Dominic Cummings has shown his contempt for the Covid-19 lockdown by taking a few trips to Durham from London. I suspect this story is going to run for sometime as it looks like the journalists who broke it are letting it out but by bit, which is making the Tories flounder as they don’t really know what the full story is. Meanwhile, the Labour party who at long last have a Leader who knows what he’s doing are going to make the most of this shambles to expose what a useless and dishonest bunch we have in control. I think this from Twitter pretty much sums up how many people view the situation right now.

cummings 2

After the sacrifices millions have people have made over the past few months to keep themselves, their families and everyone else safe from Covid-19, to see the Government endorse ‘one rule for us, one rule for you’ is sticking in an awful lot of people’s throats – on every side of the political divide. I wonder what the next series of revelations and the Government’s response to them will reveal?

Thank you!

Lockdown. Day 60 (Friday).

24 Sunday May 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Calder Valley, Coronavirus, Lockdown, Our cat, Jet, Weather

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And then the gales arrived…

This morning we awoke to the sound of high winds whipping though the trees outside and battering the house as they rampaged across the valley. It was impressive, but also rather disturbing as life’s not exactly normal at the moment so the last thing you need is to worry about storm damage!

The irony for me was that I was sitting in the garden the other day, looking at the Lupins, which are about to flower, and thinking “I wonder if I need to stake them yet as they do get battered in high winds”. My subconscious obviously knew more than my conscious mind!

Today was another that didn’t really catch fire as the both of us were still concerned about Jet (our cat) and how he was getting on at the vets. I know that the old adage ‘no news is good news’ is true, but that doesn’t make the lack of news any easier sometime. With so many vets in the area closed down due to Covid-19 the one’s that remain open are obviously having to deal with a vastly increased workload and I can understand the pressure they must be under, but it does make you anxious, not knowing when they’ll get chance to find time to ring us as we don’t want to be bugging them.

So, the morning passed with a meditation and an easy breakfast before we both knuckled down to try and do some work. I’ve only managed to get a handful of old slides scanned this week so I was anxious to try and pick up the pace a little and crack-on with finishing the album I’ve been scanning for a few weeks. I’d hoped to have had it finished by now!

As always when scanning pictures, the time flew. After sitting for a few hours I took a break by getting out for a stroll along our tree-lined road, which was a bit like taking your hands due to the gusting winds. There was debris everywhere as the trees had taken a real battering. There were so many leaves on the road it was like autumn, only this was a sea of green.

The wind didn’t drop all day, it just kept coming! I was glad that I had an excuse to stay indoors. I’ll bet it wasn’t much fun if you were on a ship somewhere as from what I saw on social media pretty much the whole country was talking a battering.

Whilst I was busy upstairs Dawn was pottering around keeping herself busy downstairs, although both of us were waiting for the phone to ring and get an update from the vets. Jet was due to have some teeth out but we knew the vets were under pressure due to lockdown and a reduction in vets in the area, so we’d no idea when (or even if) they’d be able to get him seen to. To say it made for a stressful day was an understatement!

It wasn’t until the evening that the vets rang. Jet had come through the opration and the anaesthetic but now only had two teeth left. We were both hugely relieved but the vets would be keeping him in another night to monitor his progress, so we wouldn’t get him home for another night at least.

Whilst we’d waited we did have one fun diversion – the weekly ‘Big 6’ on Zoom pub quiz. Dredging the memory banks for answers to arcane questions is certainly a good way to take your mind off things! Tracey, Holly, Tony, Fran and Aubrey, Olly, Ruth, Kath, Dawn and I pitted our wits against questions asked by Mel in her own inimitable style – and Lancashire dialect!

The rest of the evening was relaxed and hassle-free. After all, it’s not like we’ve got to get dressed up to go out! Instead after eating we did what so many people across the country are doing – retreated to bed and logged on to Netflix. Goodnight!

Lockdown. Day 59 (Thursday).

22 Friday May 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Coronavirus, Food and drink, Huddersfield, Lockdown, Musings, Railways

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Coronavirus, Food and drink, Huddersfield, Lockdown, Musings

Remind me never to complain about our moggie jumping on the bed ever again…

We both missed the boy this morning as he’s still in the vets. As a consequence our plans to get up early didn’t materalise. It wasn’t a ‘duvet day’ by any means but we hit the ground ambling rather than running as we waited for a morning call from the vet to let us know how Jet was. When the call came, it was (mostly) good news. He’d had a comfortable night and the pain relief was working. His potassium levels has risen and he was less dehydrated, but he was struggling to eat because of the pain from one of his back molars, which really needed to come out. The vet didn’t want to risk that until he’d regained some strengh, as there was a real risk we’d lose him under the anesthetic, so we were facing another day without him. Needless to say, this took the shine off the day.

Luckily, we had plenty to keep us occupied as Thursday’s shopping day and our weekly trip out of the valley to visit Huddersfield. We headed out not long before 10 and immdiately noticed the roads were the busiest we’ve seen them since lockdown began, driving into central Hyddersfield from the M62 motorway junction at Ainley Top was like a pre-lockdown day as traffic was that heavy.

Our first port of call was the big Sainsbury’s supermarket which was also much busier than last week so we had to queue for about 10 minutes, not that we minded. The weather was warm and sunny, although their was a persistent breeze that really kept the temperature down low enough that you still needed a fleece.

Once inside the pair of us breezed around with our respective trollies Dawn shopping for her parents and I for the two of us. It social-distancing ballet was harder to choreograph this time due to an increase in people. Family groups had been allowed in which was a real pain in the arse as they spead out and take up so much room. Kids being kids – they’re also unpredictable! Even so, it’s a lot more pleasant than the melee you normally get before a bank holiday.

Shopping done we headed over to the water tower at Huddersfield station that’s the base for Dawn’s organisation – Community Rail Network (or ACoRP as it was until the recent rebranding). Dee needed to spend some time in the office collecting paperwork and sorting out some bits so I had time to get a few shots around the station area. There’s still few rail passengers about and you could dump a herd of elephants in the deserted car park! The bus stand in the square outside was equally deserted. I watched a Trans-Pennine Express a 5-car Class 802 pull out of the station on its way to Leeds and counted just 4 passengers aboard. This is despite the ramping up of rail services since last week. Here’s a sample of what was around.

The 0Z68 Crewe Gresty Bridge to York Siemens loco move with 68029, 68028 and 68032 leading pass through sunny Huddersfield.

Having done what was needed the pair of us drove up to Dawn’s folks and dropped off their bags of shopping, staying just long enough for a chat in the sunhine before heading home as we both had work to do (and a vet to hear from). As we crossed over the M62 motorway I was surprised to see just how quiet it was compared to the local roads. There were very few cars or vans, most of the traffic was articulated lorries.

Back at home we stowed away our shopping then phoned the vets, who said Jet had gone for an x-ray, so they’d ring us back later when they knew the results, which left us feeling a bit uneasy. Dawn knuckled down to some work whilst I sat in the garden and caught up wit reading some technical publications I’d picked up from the CRN office earlier. To say the Covid-19 picture’s still confused for the rail and bus industry would be putting it mildly. Then again, is any aspect of the UK’s policy clear? The statistics on testing and deaths can’t be relied on, the ‘roadmap’ for the future exit from lockdown seems to be held upside down and we have an absentee Prime Minister and a Cabinet that makes the Keystone Cops look like the SAS. Meanwhile, scenes of traffic jams at our national parks and beaches show that relying on the “common sense” of the great British public is pinning your faith on an oxymoron. What could possibly go wrong? If only we could go to the Winchester, have a nice cold pint and wait for all this to blow over…

After ploughing through my ‘light’ reading the sun was sufficiently over the yard arm for me to break open a bottle of beer. We still hadn’t heard from the vets, which was worrying so we rang them again. A very apologetic nurse explained there’d been confusion earlier as they had TWO black cats called Jet in today. It wasn’t our Jet that had gone for an x-ray. Later the vet rang us and we got the full low down. Jet is staying in for another night so that they can stabilise him ready for his tooth extraction which (hopefully) should happen tomorrow. There’s still a risk with the anesthetic as he’s struggling to eat, so doesn’t have his strength up – but what can we do – other than go ahead and hope all will be right in the end? Hopefully, we’ll have him home soon…

Jet in better days, just where he likes to be – on the bed!

As a distraction technique I decided to do some cooking this evening and rustled up a chicken Madras from one of the ‘Hairy Bikers’ recipes. It’s a quick fix but very tasty. We ate it with chapattis as a change from rice. Dawn even said she preferred it to the recipie she uses. Within a short time I went from this;

thumbnail_20200521_202208

To this…

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I continued the therapy with a Gin and Tonic to wash the curry down with! Hopefully, tomorrow – we’ll have good news about the boy. The place just isn’t the same without him…

Thank you!

Lockdown. Day 58 (Wednesday).

21 Thursday May 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Coronavirus, Lockdown, Our cat, Jet

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Coronavirus, Jet, Lockdown, Our cat

Today was not the day we’d hoped for. It started out in style with a brilliant weather forecast suggesting it’d be the hottest day of the year so far. The pair of us were up early, bright-eyed and bushy tailed, ready to make the most of it. Jet, our cat had given us a break and slept in his own bed last night, he only leapt on this morning after Dawn had got up.

My plan was to eschew slide scanning for the opportunity to catch up with blogging, paperwork and reading. I was sat in the office typeswiping when Dawn told me that Jet had been sick. Nothing much – just some bile. It’s not unusual as we thought he’d probably been trying to bring up a furball. Then he was sick again. This time we could see there was something wrong. He retreated to his heated mat (we bought him one to ease his arthritis as he’s 18.5yrs old) and lay there looking very sorry for himself.

jet 2

The both of us were concerned but decided the best thing we could do was keep an eye on him. It was easy enough for me to shuttle between my office and the bedroom so I kept him under observation. He didn’t stir for several hours and was very quiet, which is very unlike him, he’s normally a very noisy cat and often wanders in to me for some attention. This wasn’t like him at all. In the afternoon Dawn looked in on him and decided to phone the vets. We managed to get the last appointment of the day at 17:50, so all we could do is look out for him until then. He hadn’t eaten or drunk anything all day, which was another concern.

With the weather being so glorious I relocated to the front garden to soak up some sun and crack on with writing as well as reading up on the current news from the rail industry. The day was a real scorcher so popping upstairs to check on Jet every so often was a useful cooling off period. Poor Dawn was stuck inside at her desk as the amount of paperwork she has to deal with makes it impossible to move outdoors in the way I can.

When it was time to take poor Jet to the vets we dug out his cage and Dawn lifted him in, which produced the only noise he’s made all day. He was clearly in pain. Normally, when we take him in the car to the vets I sit his cage on my knee and leave the top off as he’s a curious cat and he loves watching the world go by. This time he lay at the bottom of the cage without as much as a peep out of him. The vets had a system where the building was closed but one of the nurses would come and collect your pet off you before taking it inside for a check-up. We had an anxious few minutes sat in the car until the vet rang Dawn to say that Jet had Pancreatitis and was obviously in pain. They were treating him with opiates, hydrating him with a drip and would be keeping him in overnight to monitor him and do some blood tests. It was a relief to know he was in good hands, but a wrench to leave the poor little bugger…

Neither of us felt up to much after that. It was already 19:00 so we went and sat in the sun with a drink and talked about the day and our concerns for ‘the boy’. With everything going on right now we really could have done without the stress of this, but what can you do?

Let’s hope tomorrow brings some good news…

Lockdown. Day 57 (Tuesday).

20 Wednesday May 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Coronavirus, Food and drink, Lockdown

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Coronavirus, Food and drink, Lockdown

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…

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Paul Bigland

~ Blogging on transport, travel & whatever takes my fancy.

Author Archives: Paul Bigland

Lockdown. Day 68 (Saturday).

Lockdown. Day 67 (Friday).

Lockdown. Day 66 (Thursday).

Lockdown. Day 62 (Sunday).

Lockdown. Day 63 (Monday).

Lockdown. Day 61 (Saturday).

Lockdown. Day 60 (Friday).

Lockdown. Day 59 (Thursday).

Lockdown. Day 58 (Wednesday).

Lockdown. Day 57 (Tuesday).