Nostalgia (and the weather) isn’t what it used to be…

19 Friday Jun 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Arambol, Calder Valley, Goa, India, Musings, Travel

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Arambol, Calder Valley, Goa, India, Musings

Hardly a vintage day today for a whole host of reasons which I won’t bore you with, but there have been a few small victories – and plenty of losses. It’s now 91 days since I last set foot on a train, which is the longest time I’ve been off the rails (literally, if not metaphorically) for as long as I can remember. The last time may have been sometime in the early 1980s, so at least 35 years, if not more ago. The irony is that right now myself and many other volunteers should have been on day two of a marathon train journey – ‘3 Peaks by Rail’ – the annual fundraiser for the charity The Railway Children’. If you want to know what it’s all about, here’s a gallery of pictures from the 2019 event. It’s a gloriously mad and exhausting event that showcases the true spirit of the railways and the people involved in them. The camaraderie and banter amongst the team is superb and I really miss it. Normally we manage to raise around £250,000 so it’s also time well spent. Here we all are before setting off from Crewe. Well, all but me – obviously, as I’m behind the camera!

DG325281. 3 Peaks by Rail. Crewe. 13.6.19.crop

Instead of taking part in this adventure I’m stuck in the Calder valley, getting rained on, with no prospect of escaping for quite some time. On the bright side. I did finish scanning yet another old slide album today which consisted of travel pictures from 2003 although it was a bitter-sweet victory as it reminded me of just how much I used to travel in those days. Just that one album had pictures from Sri Lanka, Spain and Ireland as well as weekends away from several UK locations, and that was only between January and July! What a far cry from the past 91 days…

It got to the point that I needed to take a break, get some fresh air and some exercise to come back to the present. Despite the fact it was chucking it down I went out for a long walk to take some time to enjoy the here and now away from everything. It was lovely, just having the time to stand and watch the world go by in our local woods listen to the rain and smell the freshness of everything magnified by the downpour whilst gathering my thoughts. No-one else came along to disturb me I had the place to myself. Well, apart from the Robins and the Jays, who seemed oblivious to the weather. Afterwards I walked on up to the promenade above the woods where I had a grandstand view across the valley and beyond to watch the next rainstorm roll in. I was hoping it would be a thunderstorm as I love them, but I wasn’t that lucky. The climactic pyrotechnics, barometric changes and frisson of danger that you get with a good storm fascinate me. They also put you in your place in the grand scheme of things. I hadn’t taken the camera as pictures hadn’t been my intention so this series were taken on my phone.

Inside Scarr woods. Listening to the rain drip through the tree canopy, the birds singing and foraging – but not seeing another soul…

The view from the promenade above the woods looking South towards Norland as the next rainstorm heads our way. I was hoping for a thunderstorm but it wasn’t to be.

Looking over Sowerby Bridge in the valley and Norland up above to the left as the next weather front arrives.

Almost the same view as the cloud front passes, the light improves – and the rain arrives on its coat-tails. You can see why the painter Ashley Jackson loves the skies here so much. They really are Turneresque.

Whilst I’m in such a pensive and thoughtful mode, it brings me onto the…

Picture of the day.

This is about as far removed from the Pennines as you can get. Here’s a picture of the beautiful little beach at Arambol, in North Goa, India, taken on the 30th January 2000.

T9346. Arambol little beach and freshwater lake. Arambol. Goa India. 30.01.2000 crop

My connections to this beach go back to 1985 when I arrived here as a penniless traveller on my first trip to India. The story’s too long for this blog, but I spent 6 weeks living on this beach in 85-86. You see the rocks towards the end of the beach at the far end? We’d bury big old biscuit tins containing our valuables beneath the sand next to them. At night we’d dig pits in the sand on the broad sandy strip facing the sea which we’d line with a mat and cover ourselves with a sheet, falling asleep to the sound of the waves. In the morning you’d wake up and notice the trails of the crabs that had walked over you during the night! In those days it was effectively a nudist beach so in the morning your shower was just (literally) getting out of your pit and running straight into the sea to play in the waves until it was time for breakfast, which (if you wanted to get dressed) you’d have in the nearby village, otherwise from buying fruit off kids who’d come down to the beach, baskets on heads, selling all sorts of local produce. When you wanted to wash the salt off from your sea-shower you’d go for a dip in that lake at the back of the beach, which was freshwater. It was formed by a stream that ran down from the hills at the back of the beach. It was the closest you could get to an idyllic existence and I look back, grateful that I was there at the time to experience it.

One day I’ll do a blog about life here once I’ve scanned the old slides and gone through my old diaries. It was such a different world in those days…

By 2000 it was all rather different, but no less beautiful. Lynn and I had stayed here for several weeks at the beginning of our 1997-99 round the world trip. We’d only been back in the UK a few months but already had itchy feet, so came back to Arambol for a month over the festive season though to the end of January.

Sadly, I’ve not been back to Arambol since 2003. To be honest, I’m not sure that I want to as I don’t know what I’d find now. I have such fantastic memories of the place I wouldn’t want them spoiled. Maybe one day…

I’ve a favour to ask…
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Thank you!

(Not) the lockdown blog…

19 Friday Jun 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Coronavirus, Huddersfield, Musings, Shrewsbury, Travel

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Coronavirus, Huddersfield, Musings, Shrewsbury, Travel

Yesterday was the first day the pair of us ventured away from home since the end of lockdown and the rule change that allowed many shops to reopen. Thursday is our weekly outing to Huddersfield to collect shopping for Dawn’s parents, so I was curious to see how the town centre would have changed since last week. The roads were certainly busier. The amount of traffic seemed not far from pre-lockdown levels.

The weather was appalling, with grey skies and constant rain, which played to our advantage as our first port of call was Sainsbury’s – which was sans queues despite the car park being busy. We managed to get around in pretty quick time despite the fact not as many checkouts were open as normal.

Our next stop was Dawn’s offices at the railway station. There didn’t seem to be much in the way of extra footfall and St George’s Square was still empty, so whilst Dee sorted out paperwork and checked on the building I went for a walk into town. The first difference I noticed was on John William St where trees in pots had been moved into the road and barriers run between them to create wider pavements to allow for social distancing. Pedestrianised Market Place was marked out with a new one way-system with bright yellow markings. Sadly, many people were ignoring them. Despite 3 months of lockdown and massive media coverage of the virus and its dangers, some people still can’t follow simple rules set up for everyone’s safety.

How difficult is this to understand?

I sometimes despair at people’s exceptionalism and what it says about the lack of a cohesive society in the UK.

As you can see from the picture, the streets weren’t exactly teeming with people, but they were noticeably busier than they’ve been at any time since lockdown began. I noticed a variety of shops had reopened. There were jewellers, clothes shops, more food outlets like Greggs and even a good old-fashioned hardware store!

DG342300crop

Wandering back through town I saw that the large Kingsgate shopping centre was holding people at the doors to limit the number of people inside at any one time. It was the only place I really noticed a queue, but that could have been down to the weather as normally the banks always have folks waiting.

Another place that had reopened was the old Huddersfield Open Market. A variety of stalls were back in business selling cloth and household goods as well as fruit and veg, pies and pastries. Like many places. a one-way system was in place and the floor was clearly marked out into 2 metre sections.

DG342301crop

On a less serious note, I also came across two new units of measurement for social distancing…

Yorkshire Terriers.

DG342292crop …and Huddersfield station cats!

DG342309. Station cats Covid measurements. Huddersfield. 18.6.2020crop

Full credit to Kirklees council for finding a fun (and local) way of getting the message across to people. At least you’ve tried!

As the weather was so lousy we didn’t hang around any longer than necessary. After leaving the shopping we Dawn’s folks we high-tailed it back to Halifax and home to catch up on some work and stay dry. Nevertheless, it was an interesting day out (for me at least). I’ll be curious to see how many more shops have re-opened by next week.

Right, time to move on to the…

Picture of the day.

This shot was taken in the Loggerheads pub in Shrewsbury, Shropshire on the 4th May 2003 when we’d been away for the weekend with friends, walking on the Long Mynd. You can tell it’s an old picture by a feature on the tables that are long-gone. Ashtrays!

T15483. Local musicians gather to play in the old Loggerheads pub. Shrewsbury. Shropshire. England. 04.05.2003crop

It’s a classic old boozer that hosted music nights, where local people would turn up and play together. Whilst we were there I asked if the musicians would mind if I took a few pictures and they were happy to let me. Notice the old boy with the bushy beard, glasses and flat cap in the left corner? At first I thought he was a chap who’d just got trapped in the corner after the minstrels arrived, but later on, he doffed his cap and started singing (in quite a powerful voice) some old folk songs. It was a lovely evening and very different to my London life at the time. I must admit, I’ve a soft spot for Shrewsbury. It possesses some cracking pubs and it’s home to an enormous variety of old buildings. It’s one of the best preserved of our old cities and the place is well worth a visit as it contains 660 listed buildings. Here’s more details from the towns official website.

Lockdown – ish. Day 83 (Sunday).

17 Wednesday Jun 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Coronavirus, Lockdown, Photography

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Coronavirus, Lockdown, Photography

This is my last Lockdown journal. Tomorrow most shops are allowed to reopen and lockdown is officially dead. Of course, a lot of people are still furloughed, working from home or waiting for the hospitality industry to reopen but it’s not the same. This doesn’t mean I won’t be blogging about Covid again, or how life pans out over the next few months, but I’ll be freed to concentrate on other writing on subjects old and new.

To say it’s been a strange few months is an understatement. In some ways we’ve been protected from some of the worst aspects of lockdown. We live in Calderdale which has one of the lowest rates of Covid infections and deaths in the UK. We also have some beautiful scenery on our doorstep so – even when we were at our most restricted, we could still get out into the country. Nor has it all been bad. We’ve enjoyed the clean air and quiet as well as the chance to catch up on jobs we’d struggled to do otherwise.

But there have been downsides. For me, 2020 will pass into memory as the year that nothing happened. 99% of all the trade fairs, exhibitions, awards ceremony and events that are my bread and butter have been cancelled or postponed until next year. Finances are tight, but I’m in a better position than many in that I have reserves, and I have another string to my bow – my writing, which has kept my head above water and also kept me sane! How the rest of the year will unfold is a very good question. Life will slowly return to normal but it’s going to take some time. It’ll be a little while yet before I return to the rails and a lot of that depends on what happens with the rules on social distancing as the current 2 metre rule is crippling industries like public transport. There’s also the obvious concerns about a Covid second-spike. especially after some of the recent demonstrations and flouting of the guidelines at beaches and other tourist spots.

Our final official day of lockdown began like most other Sundays – with a lie-in and a leisurely start before coffee boosted the rest of the morning. The weather had really picked up so the pair of us were looking forward to getting out and about, but first we both had chores and some work to catch up on. I finished scanning another batch of travel pictures in order to give me the momentum to finish another album, whilst Dawn caught up on office work.

By late afternoon we’d both had enough and headed off out to do something we’ve not done before during lockdown. We went up to Savile Park to meet friends from the Big 6 pub and celebrate Alison’s 50th birthday – all at appropriate distancing of course! OK, we bent the rules a little bit as there were more than 6 of us all told, but we were a collective made up of different groups with a few people circling. The weather was superb and it was lovely to see people we’d not seen for months. I ended up chatting to John, the Landlord of the Big 6, about what happens next for pubs. Unsurprisingly, he told me Landlords hadn’t been offered any guidance or advice on reopening from the Government – so no surprise there then!

His view was he’d reopen – eventually, but only as a bottle pub as there were too many risks with selling real ale from barrels as they’d no idea how many people might turn up to use the beer-garden and there were too many financial risks involved with the vagaries of the weather and the chances of a second lockdown. I suspect he’s not the only pub Landlord thinking along these lines…

We stayed in the park for an hour before everyone started drifting off home, but not before Alison was presented with two birthday cakes! Here’s Hannah, one of our Neighbours, presenting the first cake…

20200614_161557crop

Returning home the weather was just too good to waste so the pair of us poured some drinks, used Jet’s cage as a table and settled down to a game of Scrabble in the front garden! It was a lovely end to a great day. I wonder how long it’ll be before we get nostalgic for the balmy days of lockdown?

20200614_192014crop

Or, will it all seem like a strange dream in a few months time when life does finally return to normal?…

Picture of the day.

Today’s picture was taken in Barcelona, Spain on the 20th April 2003. The cities famous tourist street, Ramblas, has always been the haunt of buskers and different street-performers. Whilst wandering along one day during a visit to some Spanish friends, this chap caught my eye as his impression of the left-wing revolutionary icon – Che Guevara – was very good. I’ve always been fascinated by the legend of Che. A few years later I visited Cuba and took a trip out to some of the most famous sites of the revolution, and Che’s mausoleum in Santa Clara – but those are pictures for another day!

T15343. Busker as Che Guevara. Barcelona. Catalonia. Spain. 20.04.2003crop

Lockdown – ish. Day 82 (Saturday).

16 Tuesday Jun 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Coronavirus, Lockdown, Musings, Travel, Uncategorized

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After the horrible weather we’d had to end the working week, Saturday turned out to be better than expected – not that we were up at Sparrowfart to see the sunrise as we allowed ourselves a gentler start to the day with coffee in bed at a sensible, but not outrageous, time.

We had a slightly different day planned and places to visit we’d not been to since lockdown began. It’s not that they were terribly exciting, but with the way the days tend to roll into each other because of the lack of options nowadays, a trip over to Holmfirth to visit their Lidl and Aldi stores seemed like a treat! Funny, isn’t it how lockdown has made the mundane seem exciting?

The drive over to Holmfirth wasn’t bad, the roads are getting more and more busy nowadays as people slowly return to work but maybe because it was a Saturday they didn’t feel that bad at all. We normally shoot over to Holmfirth every 6 weeks or so as we can pick up stuff there we struggle to get locally, also, it’s a nicer shopping environment. Neither store was crowded although the car parks were – and neither store had a queue outside – although I wouldn’t have minded if they had as the weather had really picked up by the time we arrived. T-shirt weather had returned at last! We breezed around both supermarkets as they weren’t crowded at all and the shelves were well stocked in comparison to the early days of lockdown. Stockpiling is obviously a thing of the past – thankfully….

Moving on we headed back towards home but called in at Dawn’s parents to drop of some shopping we’d picked up for them. The contrast to Thursday’s couldn’t have been greater. Then we were freezing our butts off due to the wind, today we were soaking up the sun! The trip back to Halifax was really pleasant, it was just a shame there was nowhere to stop off for a drink and to admire the view, instead we came straight back and relaxed at home instead. I indulged in some garden therapy whilst Dawn relaxed and pottered around before joining me for a drink outside. It was easy to forget what was going on in the outside world and lose ourselves in the sounds of the trees and the local wildlife. Lockdown as had its plusses as well as minuses and not having to rush around and instead be able to enjoy a slower life has been one.

Having picked up supplies earlier we had one of our favorite dishes for supper, which we save for a weekend treat: Spanish-style spicy prawns accompanied by garlic bread to soak up the delicious gravy which is far too good to waste. Bliss! Ok, it’s time to move on to…

Picture of the day.

Back in May 2003 I spent a weekend with friends walking around Church Stretton in Shropshire, a county I’ve long regarded as one of England’s hidden gems. It always seems to get overlooked, but that could be part of its charm as it means its not a packed with tourists as some other counties. Church Stretton’s small market town that’s an ideal base from which to explore the Long Mynd and the hills like the one this picture was taken from, the 459m tall Caer Caradoc. The Shropshire hills are an AONB and when you get there it’s not difficult to see why.

T15451. Looking down on Church Stretton from atop Caer Caradoc (459m). Shropshire. England. 04.05.2003crop

Once life returns to something resembling normal I’d love to take a break here once more as views like this should be appreciated and enjoyed.

Lockdown. Day 81 (Friday).

15 Monday Jun 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Coronavirus, Lockdown, Photography, Travel

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Coronavirus, Lockdown, Photography, Travel

Today’s been the worst day (weather-wise) that we’ve seen since lockdown began. It was awful. When I opened the bedroom blinds this morning much of the valley was invisible as it was hidden behind impenetrable murk whilst the rain never seemed to let up for most of the morning.

There was no point in going out – not that there’s really anywhere to go to – so after breakfast with Dawn I retreated into my office, thankful that I had comfortable surroundings to work from and having plenty to keep me occupied and gainfully employed. Let’s face it, the commute from the bedroom to my office (via the kitchen for coffee) isn’t exactly onerous – even if I do miss the variety of travel. Even so, I have the bird-feeder outside the window as a distraction and a regular stream of visitors to keep me distracted. The Tits and Finches have got used to me being here most of the time now and aren’t fazed at all – even when I have the window open.

It’s typical of the way things work that, whilst the weather had turned crappy and I was stuck inside, the batch of pictures in line for scanning were of palm-fringed beaches in Sri Lanka. Talk about rubbing it in! So, whilst the rain dripped from the stonework outside I was transported back to lovely Mirissa,a beach town on the islands West Coast and also the fabulous old fort at Galle, a sleepy little place that was originally built by the Portuguese in 1588 before being rebuilt by the Dutch from 1649 until the British took over in 1796. It’s a wonderful place to explore and was featured in one of my pictures of the day earlier. When all this is over and travel restrictions are eventually eased I’d really like to get back to Asia. It’s a part of the world I’m really missing. One day…

As is usual on a Friday we held the weekly ‘Big 6’ pub quiz via ‘Zoom’, which was great fun and had the added attraction of an extra quiz hosted by Holly – a teacher and former barmaid at the 6 who’s affectionately known as the ‘Ginmeister’ due to her knowledge of that particular spirit and its mixers. The quiz is a great precursor to the start of the weekend and an opportunity to catch up with friends – some of whom we’ve not seen in the flesh for months. Now, as ‘lockdown’ is relaxing (or falling apart, depending on your views) we’ll hopefully be catching up – at an appropriate distance – with people again.

OK, it’s now time for the…

Picture of the day.

In April 1998 I was a few months into an 18 month round-the-world adventure. Having spent time in India Lynn and I had moved on to Nepal, where we’d joined up with two Dutch friends who ran treks from Kathmandu to visit the village of Barpak in Gorkha district, where they ran a small charity. From Barpak we trekked towards the high Himalayas where we camped with the intention of enjoying some fantastic views of the snow peaks. Initially, the weather was cloudy and wet, so we really didn’t see much when we reached the place where we were going to stay. But the next morning, the skies cleared and this was the view from our tent.

T7204. Clearing skies over the Himalayas. Gorka District. Nepal. April 1998crop

Sadly, I’ve lost the notes which recorded the name of this particular peak, but wow – what a view – and what an experience – although I’m not sure my knees have ever been the same since! It’s not the climbing, it’s the coming down that does the damage…

Lockdown-ish. Day 80 (Thursday).

15 Monday Jun 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Coronavirus, Lockdown, Railways

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What a great start to the day! I opened the bedroom blinds this morning to be greeted by wall to wall sunshine across the valley! Well, in my dreams anyway, the reality was rather different. It was the sort of start to the day that our Scottish cousins would describe as ‘dreich’. It was gloomy and I couldn’t even see the other side of the valley because of the mist and low cloud. Of the sun there was no sign. Maybe one day soon…

Thursday’s are one of our most varied days as we escape the confines of the Calder Valley and today was no different. After breakfast we drove over to Huddersfield to do some collective shopping for ourselves and Dawn’s parents. The roads were busier than ;ast week but that’s hardly surprising now as ‘lockdown’ is slowly unravelling. As usual, our first port of call was Sainsbury’s. Fortunately there was a tiny queue, which was just as well as for the first time since we started all this – it was raining. Standing in a queue with an umbrella was a novel experience but everyone was sanguine and the staff were there usual smiling selves and doing their best to keep everyone cheerful. As per normal, Dawn and I split up to do our respective shops. There wasn’t a huge amount of stuff on my list as we’re pretty well stocked up, it’s only really specialist stuff or fresh veg we tend to need.

As soon as we were done we nipped in to Dawn’s offices at the station to do the weekly check and pick up paperwork and the post. Today was a flying visit so there was no chance for me to go walkies, not that the miserable weather was any incentive either. Our next port of call was Johns and Norah’s to drop off the shopping. We didn’t hang around there either was the wind was biting and standing in their driveway exposed us to the tunnel effect between the houses. I’d briefly contemplated stopping to get a couple of shots on the way but even that idea was abandoned, so we drove straight back to the comfort of home and our respective offices – and I didn’t mind one bit!

The rest of the day passed in the blink of an eye. I kept busy with weeding out old pictures and paperwork as well as writing. Not the most exciting ‘escape day’ we’ve had but that’s the vagaries of the British climate for you! I did manage to find time to scan one or two more old pictures, so here’s the…

Picture of the day

I’m thankful I’ve not had to attend an event like this for a very long time now. This is a picture from the Potters Bar train crash, taken on the 14th May 2002 as a massive crane is preparing to remove the leading vehicle of the train which had been stuck under the station’s platform canopies, which is where it had come to rest (at a 90 degree angle to the tracks) after derailing on a set of points just outside the station. Tragically, seven people lost their lives. Six people on the train plus one woman who was hit by debris falling onto the main road just out of shot to the right.

10615. Ready to lift the derailed coach. Potters Bar. 14.05.2002crop

I spent five days at the site (along with much of the national media) covering the accident for RAIL magazine. This particular picture has a story, as it was taken from the ITN news cherry picker.

Whilst we were waiting for events to unfold, many of the press sought refuge in the pub next to this carpark – especially when the weather was wet. I got talking to the ITN crew, including their reporter Lawrence McGinty who was due to do a piece to camera from the cherry picker in awful weather. He wasn’t kitted out for it so I offered to lend him my waterproof walking jacket, which he gratefully accepted (my jacket did what I never – made it onto the national news!) when he came down he said ‘look – if you want to get some picture from our cherry-picker, just tell the crew I said it was OK and they’ll take you up’. Needless to say – I jumped at the chance and got a scoop that no other snappers could!

Sadly, a few years later, there was another tragic accident at Ufton Nervert which saw me once again covering these events for RAIL. Who should I bump into but Lawrence, who hadn’t forgotten – so I got another scoop with access to the ITN cherry-picker there too…

Not the lockdown blog…

13 Saturday Jun 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Musings, Photography, Picture of the day

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I wanted to quickly scribble something as I’ve blogs describing the last three day partially written but I’m not going to finish any of them before Sunday – which will be my last lockdown blog.

From Monday ‘non-essential’ shops will reopen and lockdown really ceases to exist for most people. I’ll still be describing my experiences, but not as a daily diary. There’s so many things to blog about at the moment that I simply haven’t had time to do. I’ve a big update on the HS2 rail project that I want to pen and I’ve also got a couple of commissioned articles I need to crack on with. Oh, and there’s still the absolute shambles that passes for a Government in this country – and we’re only 200 days from crashing out of the EU and all the treaties we’ve benefitted from – with nothing to replace them. Then there’s the events of today.

There are times when I despair of this country. 60,000 deaths from Covid, an economy that’s contracted by 20%, the Tories hell bent on a no-deal Brexit – yet many of you are distracted by fighting over statues FFS!

This means you can expect a lot of blogs – but with a slightly different focus. I’ve even got a couple of ‘down memory lane’ blogs in mind, and whatever happens, there’ll always be a picture of the day. Talking of which, here’s one from the batch of slides I was scanning this morning…

Picture of the day

Anyone who’s passed through Wigan by rail has probably caught a glimpse of this advert for the towns most famous export. Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls, which is painted on the side of a building next to Wallgate station but is easily visible from the West Coast Main Line. I’ve passed it since I was a kid although it’s still there today, but back in 2002 (when this picture was taken) I manged to get a shot of it in ideal conditions when was exploring Wigan to collect pictures for a forthcoming Lonely Planet guide to England. I’ve just started scanning the album that contains these old slides. There’s a real mix of stuff so more will turn up as pictures of the day – just to give you a bit of variety!

T15157.Ad for one of the town's most popular export. Uncle Joe's Mint Balls. Wigan. England. 28.11.2002crop

Right, it’s Saturday night, it’s been a busy day – so I’m off to spend some time with my wife! See you tomorrow!

Lockdown-ish. Day 79 (Wednesday).

11 Thursday Jun 2020

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Today’s not been a vintage day weather wise. Far from it in fact – it’s probably the wettest and greyest of the series so far but I really shouldn’t complain as we need the rain and we’ve had a glorious year during the lockdown months. That said, it’s just not the same when you open the bedroom blinds to find half the valley hidden in the murk. Even the birds seemed subdued by it as the dawn chorus was decidedly muted this morning.

Despite the pair of us began the day in good order at a reasonable hour but skipped the morning meditation due to getting stuck into work almost straight away. Dawn was having a rest day from her training and it’s normally after that we join up for that special bit of quality time and serenity that helps us both relax and take our minds off the outside world.

Once I’d retreated to the office my day passed quickly. I had the tail end of the slides I’d discovered the other day to sort out which was satisfying as it was yet another job that I could tick off the list. If lockdown has been good for anything (apart from saving money by not going to the pub!) it’s that after nearly 30 years I’ve now got so many old pictures scanned and available to a worldwide audience, rather than being stuck in albums in a loft. I see this archive as a legacy. Sadly, so many fantastic archives taken by photographers of all interests (but especially rail enthusiasts) end up in the bin after their deaths, having never seen the light of day – despite their potential as an invaluable historical record – because no-one appreciates what it was they had.

As well as reliving the past I did keep my focus on the present by dodging the interminable showers to get my daily exercise and to venture up to the supermarket to stock up on a few necessities. The place was as quiet as a grave when I got there. I suspect a combination of more people returning to work – coupled with the poor weather – had kept people away. It was great for me as a breezed through the place, found everything I wanted, got home at a sensible time – and stayed dry.

As we’d a full freezer of home-made delicacies neither of us had to cook, which gave us more time to relax. Although I do miss the enjoyment of cooking from scratch there’ll be plenty of time at the weekend to indulge. Instead, the pair of us retired early to finish watching the end of the ‘Marigold Hotel’ series on BBC iPlayer. There was only one problem. It’s given me itchy feet – just when I can’t scratch them!

By pure co-incidence, talk of India brings me rather neatly onto…

Picture of the day.

I’d plucked this one from the archive by random and scanned it several days ago before we started watching the TV programme about, but it fits very nicely. This is the old India Offices at the Foreign and Commonwealth Offices in Whitehall, London.

T15430. Inside the old India offices at the Foreign and Commonwealth office. Whitehall. London. 30.04.2003crop

The picture was taken on the 30th April 2003. Lynn and I were there attending a charity event, although for the life of me I can’t remember what it was. I suspect it was to do with Actionaid, whom Lynn was working for at the time. It’s an amazing building and a reflection of how India was seen as the Jewel in the British Empire’s Crown. It’s just as grand inside, but I couldn’t get any pictures.

Lockdown-ish. Day 78 (Tuesday).

10 Wednesday Jun 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Coronavirus, Lockdown, Malaysia, Photography, Travel

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Coronavirus, Lockdown, Malaysia, Photography

Today’s been another day for tying up loose ends and streamlining the office – and my archive. The only problem with having pictures in different formats taken over 30 years is that no matter how organised you think you are – something will always turn up out of the blue – which is what I found when I started clearing shelves yesterday.

The process continued today, but only after a coffee kickstart and a meditation session with Dawn which got us both in the right frame of mind to face the day. The weather remained dull and wet, so neither of us minded continuing in lockdown. Like everyone else, we’re hearing all sort of rumours on what the Government may (or may not) do next when it comes to relaxing the restrictions, but no-one knows for sure – and I suspect that includes most of the Government. This shambles seems to be led by one man (Cummings) and his mouthpiece (Johnson). The rest of the lacklustre bunch in the Cabinet just do as they’re told.

Despite the Governments handling of the situation – and there’s going to be volumes written about that – both now and in the future – I’m cautiously optimistic. The reason for that is our weekly Platt family chats on Zoom. Dawns brother works at a senior level for a major international pharmaceutical company who obviously have access to a lot of data on Covid from around the world. I won’t go into detail other than to say that the medical profession now understand vastly more about the virus which appears to be changing again in a way that appears to lessen the treat and also the mortality rates. Time will tell, although none of this will be of any consolation to those who’ve already lost loved ones…

Back at the grindstone I managed to scan lots of loose slides, discover pictures I didn’t know I’d got – and clear a lot of space in the office ready for other projects. So not a bad day at all. The only downside to all this activity is I now have several large bags of broken slide mounts and yards of film, plus hundreds of old DVDs, ready to go to the tip. It seems a terrible waste in some ways but it’s a good advert for how ‘green’ digital photography is when coupled with access to massive but (inexpensive) hard drives or ‘cloud’ based storage. For photographers, digital truly was revolutionary. Here’s a sample of the last of the Hungarian slides I’ve scanned.

TD0279s. Budapest. Hungary. 01.10.2004crop

Looking across the River Danube and the city from atop Buda Castle. 1st October 2004.

As usual, I broke up my day with exercise, although I’m really missing the sunshine and ability to sit in the garden. On the bright side, my perambulations are taking me through woodlands and across parks that are noticeably greener – especially the parks, where the grass was brown and in danger of dying off. So, really I shouldn’t complain too much. I wonder how the reservoirs are doing? I’ve heard (but not seen for myself) that they’re getting very low, which doesn’t bode well now folk are being told to wash their hands at almost every opportunity…

Although we’d both had a busy day I told Dawn that I’d knock off early so that we could have a ‘date night’. It’s sometimes all too easy to neglect each other when you work from home. You just keep plodding on and before you know it the evening’s gone. I know it’s something I’m guilty of rather too often so today I said I’d shut down the office at 17:30 and walk just away.

Due to the present circumstances, our date night didn’t involve a meal at a restaurant, a night at the cinema, or any other event that meant going out. Instead, the two of us had a night in playing Scrabble! But it didn’t involve computers and the only time phones were used was to check on the validity of words – so it was a lovely evening enjoying ‘quality time’ regardless of the outside world. Same time next week perhaps?

Ok, now it’s time for…

Picture of the day.

This shot is one of the hundreds I had placed with the old Lonely Planet picture library and that’s been waiting to be scanned and added to my Zenfolio website. It was taken in the vast indoor market in Kota Baru, on Malaysia’s East Coast in June 1998. The market has a balcony which runs round the inside of the roof, allowing you to look down at all the activity on the ground. I spotted these two old women sitting and having a smoke whilst it was quiet and knew it would make a good photo. I love Asian markets like this, they’re such fascinating and colourful places.

T7306. Two old women on a stall. Indoor market. Kota Baru. Malaysia. June. 1998crop

Lockdown-ish. Day 77 (Monday).

10 Wednesday Jun 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Coronavirus, I love my job, Lockdown, Photography, Photojournalism, Railways

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Coronovirus, Lockdown, Photography, Photojournalism, Railways

Today was another of those days when, despite your best intentions to crack on with a list of things, you get side-tracked into doing something completely different. Not unproductive – and actually quite satisfying – but definitely not on this weeks list!

As befits the start of the working week we were up and at ’em early. Dawn had set the alarm for 06:00 so that she could do her training before work so I was up at the same time. Sadly, the weather was still cold and cloudy, otherwise I’d have been tempted by an early walk. Instead, I caught up with some of life’s more mundane activities – household chores – before settling down to work. My plan had been to catch up with some writing and research, but I wanted to tidy the office a bit first to give me some more space. That was my downfall! I made the mistake of rifling through some shelves to sort out stacks of slides I’d got in loose folders, so of course – I had to take a look, didn’t I? Within minutes I was being transported back 20 odd years and discovering all sorts of stuff – some of which hadn’t seen the light of day since it was taken! There was also folders full of returns from a couple of pictures libraries – a large chunk of which was no longer relevant or needed, so I ended up sorting through them. Did time fly…

Having learned to be rather ruthless nowadays I ditched hundreds of old slides then started sorting through old plastic wallets – only to discover sheets of unmounted slides that had barely been touched since they were taken in 2004. They were taken on a press trip as a commission for the Sunday Times magazine, who sent me off for a 4 day stint on the Royal Hungarian express luxury train. I’d swapped over from film to digital earlier that year but I still had a stock of unused slide film so I took my Nikon F5 and several rolls as a back-up, some of which I shot. I’d used a couple of images, but the rest lay unused and unseen – until now…

You can find the Royal Hungarian Express gallery on my website by following this link. It was a fabulous few days, being paid to enjoy a luxurious trip with other members of the press and some fare-paying passengers. It also led to a lasting friendship as it was on this trip that I first met the Journalist and Author Michael Williams, who was still Deputy Editor of the Independent on Sunday in those days and we’ve been friends ever since. The trips were run by Great Rail Journeys which in those days was still owned by the man who’d set the company up – Howard Trinder. When Howard found that Michael and I had a wider interest in railways he arranged a private side trip for the three of us to one of the narrow gauge lines that still hung on to life. Great fun and happy days!

I’d promised not to do any more scanning for a while but I couldn’t resist getting these few dozen done as it allowed me to throw more junk away and streamline the archive. I didn’t stay glued to my desk as I still took regular exercise breaks, even if it was just for repeated strolls through the woods and back. It made for pleasant interludes from staring at screens or peering through a loupe at slides. As a taster, here’s one of the pictures that’s newly scanned and added to the Hungary gallery.

FDG1323s. 424 247. Keszthely. Hungary. 1.10. 2004copy

Hungarian Railway 4-8-0 No 424 247 on the front of out luxury train at Keszthely on day 1 of our trip. We had a variety of motive power during the days, including a vintage ‘Nohab’ diesel loco. 424 247 is one of only three of the 514 strong 424 Class that is still in working order.

Needless to say, this trip down memory lane kept me busy all day, but what the hell – it was enjoyable looking back at some of the fun I’ve had in this job. There’s other slides that I’ll sort out over the next few days so that collection’s done. There was something else that I found at the beginning of the first roll of Hungarian shots. It was from a very different PR event, and one of them will form todays…

Picture of the Day

On the 20th September 2004 I’d been commissioned by Virgin trains as their official photographer to take pictures of the official launch of their new Pendolino services out of Euston branded the ‘Red Revolution. It was a big PR event that was attended by both Sir Richard Branson and the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair. As you can imagine, security was tight and it was quite nerve-wracking as I’d only turned professional 4 years before. The Virgin Press team were excellent and gave me a full brief on what to expect as there was a surprise planned that involved the TV News Presenter (Nicholas Owen) surprising Virgin Trains MD Chris Green with a spoof ‘This is your life’ whilst The Prime Minister and Richard Branson looked on. Nick and I knew each other through my late wife as he volunteered for one of the charities she worked for, so that made it less stressful. The only thing we both worried about was that Blair didn’t know what was going to happen! Nick joked ‘I just hope I don’t get shot when I do this!” As it was, everything went off without a hitch and Blair (and his security detail) took it in their stride. So, here’s the picture…

FVT02035. Green. Owen and Blair. Red revolution. Euston. 20.09.2004.crop

L-R Chris Green, Richard Branson, Nick Owen and Tony Blair.

Thinking about it, i’ve shot ever Prime Minister since Tony Blair (sometimes at private events too) bar one – Teresa May, whom I missed. Not a bad record. Oh, some of the stories I could tell…

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Paul Bigland

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

Author Archives: Paul Bigland

Nostalgia (and the weather) isn’t what it used to be…

(Not) the lockdown blog…

Lockdown – ish. Day 83 (Sunday).

Lockdown – ish. Day 82 (Saturday).

Lockdown. Day 81 (Friday).

Lockdown-ish. Day 80 (Thursday).

Not the lockdown blog…

Lockdown-ish. Day 79 (Wednesday).

Lockdown-ish. Day 78 (Tuesday).

Lockdown-ish. Day 77 (Monday).