The time’s 10 past midnight here in Singapore. Despite the fact I’m tired after such a long trip from the UK I’m also elated to be here so I wanted to get a few memories down in a blog whilst they’re still fresh in my mind.
My flight from Doha was another good one. Rather than the Boeing 777 I’d expected we flew in an Airbus A350-900. They’re decent planes. OK, ignore the fact that when they named the company ‘Airbus’, thus destroying any cachet air travel still had, their planes are good and Qatar’s internal fit-out adds to that. I enjoyed having decent backseat TV screens to watch films on and the archive is excellent – there’s just so much to choose from that it’s impossible to find something you won’t enjoy. The crews are very good too. Predominantly Asian (at least on this sector) they’re only too happy to help.
The seven hour flight meant we arrived at Singapore at night but as I had an aisle and not a window seat I wasn’t too bothered. Plus the A350s are fitted with several external cameras which you can view on screen. The lower body camera’s great fun as you come into land because you can watch the nose wheel deploy then hit the runway!
We touched down a little after 21:00 local time but it took a while to get out of the airport. Immigration were good. My biometric passport wasn’t accepted by the machines so I had to join the manual queue but the woman whom I dealt with was polite and efficient and never asked me for some of the more onerous paperwork-checking like Covid certificates, onwards tickets or suchlike. That said, you don’t even get your passport stamped anymore as you’re required to fill out a form online 3 days before you arrive. I’m not complaining. I’ve enough Singapore stamps as souvenirs and I need the space in my passport for all those EU stamps we get thanks to the Brexitshambles (don’t get me started)!
Finding my way to the metro was a bit of a chore as I’ve not done that route for several years, but in the end it was fine, I just had to negotiate the maze of corridors and escalators to terminal 2. I even had enough credit left on my old ‘EZ card’ from 2017 to get me into the city. The difference in public transport is marked. Everyone’s still wearing masks here in Singapore. Plus, you don’t get the same sort of moronic/rowdy behavior out here that you can do in the UK. I had to change at Expo to get the Downtown line to Jalan Besar although that’s an easy cross-level interchange and everything’s well-signposted. My hotel’s almost right across the road from the metro station (apart from the cheapness, it’s why I picked it). The only chore when I arrived tired after a long flight was that they’d put me on the 4th floor – and there’s no lift! You know it’s the sort of place that might generate a few stories when you arrive to find reception dark ‘cos the staff have gone home – but they’ve left you a room key with a note on the desk and the first guest you bump into is a tipsy Indian transvestite…
Duly settled in I decided to nip out for a celebratory beer. Only one mind. There’s a nice little hawkers market two doors down the road which sells all manner of food – and drink. The food prices don’t seem to have changed that much, but I winced when I bought a large bottle of Tiger beer, which cost £4.80 – in a hawkers market! I suspect I’m going to be on a health kick whilst I’m here as a decent meal will cost you half of that.
The eye-watering Tiger! I hate to think how much they’re charging the city-boys at the posh bars in the financial district nowadays…
Beer prices aside it’s lovely to be back. I’m still getting used to that fact but sitting in the hawkers market, watching the world go by made me feel very at home and at ease. Now for a good night’s sleep and a busy day tomorrow…
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 here in Doha airport in between flights. It’s changed a bit since I was last here. I take that back – it’s changed hugely! I’m currently sat in the indoor forest, listening to birdsong whilst a waterfall provides background sounds behind me. It really is quite a place, which is just as well as I’m here for the next five hours!
My flight from the UK was fine. I shared the row with a friendly and easy-going young Indian couple. The stewardesses were excellent and the food was fine. The only problem was when we hit some turbulence and I ended up wearing part of a glass of red wine! As it was 18:15 UK time when we took off there was no point trying to sleep so I watched a couple of films instead, including ones I’d missed at the cinema like ‘Dune’. Based on the Frank Herbert book I read as a teenager it was certainly a visual spectacular and very enjoyable. After that I dipped in and out of a couple of films based on the Marvel comic books but none of them were much cop.
Now tiredness is catching up with me so I’ll head off to a quiet part of the airport where I might be able to get my head down for a couple of hours, ready for the next leg to Singapore. Well, once the call to prayer has finished, it’s just shattered the peace of the airport as it’s piped across the PA system. In the meantime, here’s a couple of shots taken in the airport. I got told off for getting my SLR out, so these are camera phone pictures.
There’s acres of seating here but very few places you can lay down and stretch out without being chided by staff, so I’ve found the Male ‘quiet room’ which is equipped with a couple of dozen loungers and carpeted floor space where such activity is permitted.
04:00 (UK time, 7am Doha time).
I managed to get an hours kip in the (not very) quiet room, then went for another wander. By this time the sun was up and a lot of flights had arrived as the airport was far busier. I have to admit, it’s an impressive place. I couldn’t resist having a trip on the cable operated railway which runs the length of one of the buildings. It’s very swish. I’ll post pics later as I managed to get some SLR shots without being told off! Meanwhile, here’s the sun rising behind my Boeing 777 as it waits for us to board.
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/
Time to enjoy a coffee as I pack the final items I’ll be needing these next few months, enjoy a last breakfast and quality time with Dawn, then head off. Fingers crosses that there’s no problems on the trains. The good news is that I’ve looked up real-time information on my train and the empty stock to form Grand Central’s 10:40 from Halifax to London has left the depot which is always a good start! I’ll be posting throughout the day so feel free to pop back and see how my journey goes…
10:50.
I’m on my way! The weather here in West Yorkshire’s bloody awful – it’s been raining all morning leaving many roads flooded or resembling waterfalls. Dawn drove me to the station for a tearful farewell on the platform as she waved me bon voyage. It’s a shame Dee couldn’t have come with me – even if it was for part of the trip – but there’s where freelance life has its advantages. I’ll miss her wide-eyed enthusiasm and exclamations ‘oh, wow’ when it comes to seeing new sights.
Right now I’m on Grand Central’s 10:40 to London Kings Cross. It’s bizarre, but this is the first train I’ve been on in 2023! The only time that normally happens is if I’m already abroad for New Year, this time it’s been down to the strikes and preparations for this trip. My train’s busy, but I have a seat in 1st Class and (for now) a table bay to myself which has allowed me to set up the mobile office and get some work done.
On my way…
12:00.
After the usual stagger around the West Yorkshire backwaters and exotic places like ‘Pontycarlo’ (aka Pontefract) we’ve finally reached the East Coast Main Line and Doncaster, where dozens of people are joining what’s already a busy train. Standard class is rammed and First Class loadings are now healthy too.
12:30.
We suffered a minor delay at Doncaster but now we’re speeding South at line speed with the expectation of making up time. The weather’s a little better now as the rain’s stopped and the sun is making a valiant effort to break through the clouds but the amount of standing water in the fields, overflowing streams and swollen rivers betray the fact it’s been a very wet year so far. Cloud level remains very low but there’s now a multitude of shades and shapes of grey as differing formations have taken over from the thick ceiling of dullness we had earlier.
13:00.
We’re now the right side of Peterborough and cruising rather than speeding South, just 5 minutes behind time. I’m assuming we’re stuck behind slower services like Thameslink. I’m not too bothered as I’ve time in the bank – my flight doesn’t leave Heathrow’s terminal 4 until 18:15 which gives me plenty of time to get there on the tube rather than the much more expensive Heathrow Express. Plus, I’ve credit on Oystercards, so that leg of the trip won’t cost me anything. You can tell I’ve been living in Yorkshire for a while, can’t you!
14:10.
Part 1 of the trip’s complete and it was the one I was most edgy about as rail reliability hasn’t exactly been at its best recently. I was lucky with my GC service. The unit sprung a leak through one of its windscreens. Fortunately, it was in the trailling cab, not the leading cab, otherwiseit might have been a much more stressful story!
Made it to Kings Cross…
I didn’t hang around at Kings Cross. Instead I made a beeline for the Piccadilly line and stepped straight onto a train heading for Heathrow Terminal 4. Now I can start to relax a bit! The tube is quiet so there’s no problem with getting a seat.
Next stop – Heathrow…
16:10.
And – relax! The trip to Heathrow was hassle-free. Terminal 4 is pretty quiet so checking-in was a doddle with no queues. Even security was a breeze and for once my camera bag didn’t attract any attention at all. Now I’m airside. Having wandered up and down the terminal I’ve managed to notch up a few steps and explore. There’s not really much here at all apart from the usual posh but empty shops selling designer gear which are staffed by bored looking young women, the obligatory WH Smiths (closed, of course) and a trio of expensive cafe/bars. The plus side is there’s plenty of seating available and even a viewing gallery, although that’s of limited use as it’s dusk – and it’s raining. I’m sat outside the best of the three cafes, nursing an expensive pint and catching up on some emails whilst I’m still in the same time zone.
Heathrow T4. Not exactly buzzing…
17:00.
My gate’s been announced so now it’s time to hunker down, top up my phone at the handy free charging station and wait. My plane’s a Boeing 777-300 and I’ve a window seat for the 7 hour flight to Doha so I might get some rest. My fellow passengers are a rainbow of ethnic groups and nationalities with (thankfully) few young children in sight!
17:40.
All aboard! Well, not all – that may take a while yet but I’m ensconced in seat 37K and settling in out of the way of the chaos. See you tomorrow…
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/
This is my penultimate blog from the UK for a while as I head off to Heathrow tomorrow morning before catching an evening flight to Singapore. Today’s been spent preparing, getting (nearly) all those last minute chores ticked off the list before completing my packing and picking up a few last minute odds and sods. Anything I’m missing now will be acquired in Asia – but not Singapore as that’s ‘chingy’ (not Changi, that’s the airport). Much as I enjoy Singapore it’s economy means prices are steep for that part of the world. Even so, I’m looking forward to getting back there, although from what I’m seeing of the weather I’d better keep hold of my brolly! I’m going to be swapping a cold, windy and wet climate for a humid and wet one – so a brolly is ideal – and it can double as a sun-shade.
I’m flying with Qatar Airways whom I’ve used before but not for some time. This morning was spent reserving my seats as well as securing my Singaporean e-pass. It’s great that so many of these formalities can be done online nowadays as it removes the need for a stamp in your passport – which is just as well in post-Brexit Britain as mine’s now filling up with EU stamps (*mutter, mutter – brexitshambles*)…
Qatar Airlines gave me a 25kg baggage allowance but I’m not expecting to use it. Compared to most people I travel light. Well, if you ignore the camera bag! I’ve filled out my case with plenty of clothes, many of which I’ll probably never wear much – if at all, but they’ll provide padding, especially on the return trip for the exotic prezzies I’ve promised to bring back for Dawn!
Packing’s certainly changed from my old backpacking days when your rucksack would be weighed down and bulked out with books, batteries, film canisters and tape cassettes. Now there’s far more room for other stuff but what a plethora of cables and chargers I carry instead! A Kindle’s replaced all the acreage of books and I wouldn’t really need that if it wasn’t for the fact I can’t edit pictures on a tablet, so I carry different devices for reading and working. Plus, I wouldn’t really want to risk taking an expensive laptop to a beach just so that I can read the latest potboiler.
Now it’s time to finish off the final bits and settle down for final night with Dee before the adventure begins tomorrow. I’ll be blogging en-route and have a several hour stopover in Doha which should allow me time to write. In the meantime, here’s today’s picture which is from a previous visit to Singapore. I’ll be staying in ‘little India’ which – as the name implies is the centre of the city’s Indian community. Here’s a typical Hindu celebration outside the Sri Mariamman temple on the 5th October 2009.
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/
*for some reason my internal clock seems to be stuck in December – so apologies for those confused on seeing the titles of these blogs before I realise my mistake and correct them!*
Apologies for absence these past couple of days but I’ve been both a busy bee and social butterfly – if such things are possible at the same time! I’ve been trying to get various things in order before I head out to S-E Asia on Tuesday. Mostly stuff around the house, plus finishing off a few work pieces whilst prepping stuff to take with me to keep me occupied on quiet evenings or days when I’m relaxing by a beach – if I find the time, and a beach!
Plus Friday was a social evening as it was the last chance I had to meet up with friends in our local before I leave. Dawn joined me and the pair of us had a very convivial evening doing our regular quiz whilst quaffing a few ales (or in Dawn’s case, San Pellegrino) then chatting and joking with the rest of the pub. Saturday was in similar vein as Dee and I had brunch with her parents at Hinchliffes (billed as Britain’s oldest farm shop) where I enjoyed something I won’t be eating out in Asia – a full English breakfast!
Heading back to the Calder valley we said another farewell, this time to the fabulous Moorcock Inn at Norland Moor. We popped in for one last drink in order to say goodbye as Aimee and Alasdair are closing the place on January 20th as they’re giving up the lease. It’s a crying shame as in the five years they leased the pub for they’ve turned the place into a ‘must visit’ culinary experience with superb food and a great choice of drinks. They’ll be sorely missed by both locals and people who’ve travelled for miles to enjoy what they offered. We’ll certainly miss popping in after a bracing walk around the moor for a well-earned drink and a bowl of their sublime smoked roasted potatoes.
We continued our culinary these in the evening only this time it was just the two of us. Dawn took me out for a bon-voyage meal to a place neither of us had visited before, the Manor House at Lindley, on the Western edge of Huddersfield. It’s an old Victorian mill owners mansion which has been brought back from dereliction to become a hotel, restaurant and bar. The new owners have done an excellent job with the restoration. We had a drink in the bar before being shown to our table, which allowed us time to see what a mixed-age clientele frequented the place. The restaurant itself is stylish yet cosy and the food is excellent. As both Dee and I both enjoy cooking we’re not easily impressed and often find dining out a bit of a disappointment, but last night both of us were enthused by the inventiveness of the menu and the quality of the food. The place isn’t cheap but for once we felt we certainly had value for money. It’s not somewhere we’d go every month, but we’d have no hesitation in going back.
Today’s been more of a lazy Sunday, with a focus on more household chores and (in my case) packing whilst Dawn’s busying herself in the kitchen before we have a penultimate cosy night in – hence me blogging earlier than usual. So, all that remains now is for me to leave you with the picture of the day – but what to choose? I deliberately left my cameras at home these past few days as the time was about Dawn and I – not pictures – there’ll be plenty of time for those over the next few months! That means digging into the archives. One of the little projects I’m taking with me to Asia is another batch of old slide scans that need editing. There’s a real mixture (all from the late 1990s) but most were taken in India – including this one – which is of the delightfully battered and archaic Calcutta trams.
Sadly, the network has been cut back even more since those days. I’d love to go back and have a look at what’s left as I’ve not returned for a decade. Here’s how they looked in February 1998 when a queue of trams were stuck behind a common event – a derailment on the life-expired and rickety track.
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/
Another quiet day here in Bigland Towers – made all the quieter by the fact our four-legged lodger has now gone back to her owners after they arrived back in the UK this morning. It’s been fun, but the two of us agreed that whilst we’re happy to dog-sit on occasion we wouldn’t want the task of having a mutt of our own. An independent creature like a cat is our limit but now our old boy ‘Jet’ has passed on we rather like the freedom of not having the responsibility – or the vets bills!
Once ‘Bernie’ was collected the two of us knuckled down to another day working from home. I’ve been occupied weeding out a lot more old paperwork as well as cleaning up digital files and booking parts of my trip to Asia. Much of what I’ll be doing I’ll make up as I go along, but the first couple of weeks need planning, including my transition from Singapore into Malaysia and train from Johor Baru up to Kuala Lumpur. I’d be amazed if I couldn’t get a ticket on the day to get me from JB to Gemas (junction for the ‘Jungle’ railway and limit of electrification South from KL) – but I’m taking no chances. Instead I’ve taken the recommendation of Mark, the ‘Man in seat 61‘ and booked through one of his recommended agents. The first site claimed there was nothing available but as they said that for the next 2 months I’m assuming it’s a glitch. Instead, I’ve booked with ‘baolau’ which was easy as their website’s user friendly. All I’m waiting for now is my ticket confirmation. Let’s see how that goes.
The rest of my ticketing I can book when I’m in Malaysia. Their trains are good but I’ve never known long-distance ETS services to be full, although they do get very busy at holiday times. I’ll be stopping in Kuala Lumpur for several days so I can easily book onward travel there when my plans are firmed up for the first month’s travel.
I’m starting to get that frisson now that I’ve only a few days left in the UK. However, there’s still lots to do before I go which means the last few days will seem like a blur so I suspect it’s only when I’m on the plane on the runway that I’ll relax. What I’m really looking forward to is seeing how much things have changed in the countries I’m visiting. All have been busy investing in their rail networks so I’m expecting lots of interesting sights. Today’s picture is from my last visit to Singapore in February 2017.
This is a view of the North-South metro line with a train leaving Woodlands station. It’s a fine example of integrated transport. I took the shot from the roof of a nearby multi-storey car park whilst underneath the elevated tracks is a bus/coach station. Looking at all those construction cranes on the horizon makes me wonder what the skyline will look like now…
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/
After yesterday’s very personal blog this one’s more lighthearted, not that there’s a huge amount to report from Bigland Towers. The weather in West Yorkshire remains the same (wet) and there’s yet another day of industrial action on the railways which has meant I couldn’t have gone anywhere even if I’d wanted to! Thankfully, I’d plenty to do at home in preparation for next week’s Asian adventure. My office now has some empty shelves due to the amount of paperwork I’ve been sifting (or binning). Funny really, weren’t we told 30 odd years ago that computers would lead to the paperless office? Admittedly, they’ve certainly helped reduce it, but there’s still plenty of it floating around my place!
Having generated enough waste to keep our local recycling team in employment I’ve moved onto the electronic side of things and started spring-cleaning a hard-drive I’ll be taking with me for backup storage rather than relying on memory cards and the laptop before I can send stuff to the ‘cloud’. SE Asia’s such a photogenic part of the world I’m sure my memory cards are going to take a hammering. Plus, the hard-drive I’ll be carrying contains a selection of pictures I’ve never got around to properly filing/editing, so that will give me something useful to do on quiet evenings.
Today was Dawn’s first day back at work so the two of us have been busy on opposite levels of the cottage, only meeting in the kitchen or when I nipped out to take our guest mutt for a walk and a wee. With the weather the way it’s been poor ‘Bernie’ hasn’t been that enthusiastic and who can blame her? When you’re a pint-sized Cockapoo bad weather soon leaves you looking bedraggled – even with a coat on. Our little guest returns to her rightful owners tomorrow which is going to feel a little strange as we’ve got used to having her around. On the bright side, I don’t have to worry about taking her out first thing, or picking up poo – but I will miss having the excuse to take her to the pub!
So, today’s picture is a celebration of our little guest. Here’s Dawn and Bernie in our local (The Big 6) before New 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/
This is a very personal blog that I’ve been unsure whether to publish or not. But here goes…
Most of us acquire a few scars on our journey through life. Some are more visible than others as not all are physical.
I have two. The obvious one is on my forehead. I gained it in a childhood accident when I was 4-5. I was running down the drive at my parents, slipped on some sand and split my head open on the stone steps at the front of the house. It required a visit to the local A&E department where they put four stitches in it. After more than half a century it’s faded white and I rarely think about it. Very occasionally, I notice it in a mirror and the memories come back to me.
Today is the 10th anniversary of my other – invisible – scar. That was caused when my ex-wife, Lynn, took her own life. Regular readers of my blog will have seen her name mentioned many times, others may have wondered about the gallery dedicated to Lynn on my picture website. Some will know she died, none will know how. Only my closest friends and family know the full story.
It’s a tragic and traumatic one which I’m not going to go into great detail about here. It’s a very difficult subject to write about for a whole host of reasons. Maybe one day I’ll be able to share more, but not now. It started through a chance meeting between the two of us in a pub and led to us re-establishing contact with each other after our divorce a year earlier. It led to me learning that (for reasons I will never, ever understand) Lynn’s life had become a mess and she’d tried to commit suicide. I cannot even begin to explain how that bombshell affected me. The long and the short of it was that her closest friends tried to help her but she was failed so very badly by the NHS. In the final few months of her life Lynn and I went to live with my eldest brother whilst we tried to get her the help she desperately needed. In that time, the two of us became reconciled and talked through the past. It’s time I’ll always be grateful for, because I don’t know what would have happened if we’d never had that chance and suddenly I found out she’d died by her own hand.
In the early hours of January 3rd 2013 Lynn succeeded in her intention. She hung herself outside the house and despite everything I and my brother tried, I couldn’t bring her back. The trauma of the situation was made worse by the police. A Sergeant threw us out of the house because ‘it was HIS crime scene’ and we had to leave her.
So, January 3rd is always a difficult day for me. Now it’s 10 years on. Has that scar healed? Not really. I’m not sure it ever will, fully. Oh, I know it’s said that ‘time heals’ – and it does. But sometimes things never fully heal, you just learn to cope with them and (most of the time) don’t let them bother you.
Dawn, my now wife, knows the full story and throughout (despite the pain it’s caused her in the past) she’s been incredibly supportive and understanding – as she is today, as I write this. Her love has been a huge help and comfort. So were the words of an old friend, a Church of Ireland priest called Gregg Ryan, who rang me in the first few days after Lynn’s death. He told me not to try to understand why what had happened, happened. Because I never would. He told me not to go looking for answers because there weren’t any – and he was right. I stopped looking for answers a long time ago. Instead I’ve looked for acceptance.
For the dead, the pain has ended. For the living it remains, and I know many other people who have had similar experiences. Sometimes, although the scars aren’t visible, we can recognize each other, but often not. You never know what’s happened in someone’s life.
I’m writing this now after so many years of not doing so as part of that healing. Those awful, traumatic events are a decade old and time is doing its work. But it doesn’t mean you forget. The scar on my forehead healed years ago, but it will always be with me. However, you can prioritize the fond memories, and that’s what we’ll be doing today.
Lynn used to have this poem by Ann Gray in a frame on our bedroom mantelpiece. She kept it with her and I found it in her possessions at the end:
“Let’s love, listen, take time when time is all we have. Let’s be unafraid to be kind, learn to disregard the bad if the good outweighs it daily.
Let’s make a gift of silence, the day’s hushing into dark, and when we hold each other let’s always be astonished we are where we want to be”
I don’t know when Lynn did it, but she had highlighted the final paragraph, which says;
“Let’s hope to age together, but if we can’t, let’s promise now to remember how we shone when we were at our best, when we were most ourselves”
Happier times. Lynn on the backwaters in Kerala, India in January 1998.
I hope the poem gives the same comfort to others that it does to me.
Welcome to my first (but very definitely not the last) blog of 2023. New Years day was a quiet one here at Bigland Towers, although we popped out for drinks with friends ‘early doors’ on New Years eve we were back at home well before the year rolled on and had a quiet night counting down to midnight. Just the two of us, plus ‘Bernie’, a miniature cockapoo dog that we’re looking after for friends whilst they’re away on holiday.
New year’s day was in very much the same vein although Dawn couldn’t keep herself out of the kitchen despite having spent much of Christmas down in Surrey cooking for her family. I can’t complain as Dee prepared a fantastic Flemish beef stew and roast vegetables which made a fantastically tasty start to the year. In the meantime, I’ve begun to plan my Far-Eastern adventure in earnest which has involved a lot of research into seeing what’s changed since I was last out there in 2017. Well, Covid’s had a huge impact obviously and some places still have restrictions that we (perhaps foolishly) gave up on in 2021, but it’s the logistics of travel that have changed too as (for example) Malaysia’s redeveloped a lot of its rail network and Thailand is following suit. A few days before I arrive in Bangkok their massive new multi-level station at Bang Sue (now renamed Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal) will start receiving long-distance rail services instead of the old Hualamphong station. The full changeover isn’t expected to happen for several years but first services will run on the 19th February after a delay of several years.
Researching the changes meant I spent a lot of time digging through archive photos on my Zenfolio website only to realise that some pictures are missing. This is due to the fact I’d originally used the free hosting site ‘Photopic’. Sadly, the people who bought photopic off its creator were financial and business incompetents who pulled the plug on it in 2010. These idiots had no idea what a rich historical resource that contained millions of pictures from 10s of 1000s of worldwide contributors they were trashing. Many people lost entire collections. I didn’t as I only used it as a shop window. I’d kept the originals on hard-drives, but it took me several years to migrate my old pictures to my new Zenfolio website. Unfortunately, when I first went digital in 2004 I made a cardinal error. Rather than keeping one archive I divided it up into different folders (railways, travel etc.) which made it much harder to keep track of individual pictures. Some folders got filed away and never saw the light of day for years. In 2010 I learned from my mistake and kept a yearly folder containing everything I’d taken that year – no matter what the subject.
I found one ‘lost’ folder today which contains some of those missing pictures. They’re from Malaysia in 2009 and one of them is today’s picture as it reflects the changes I’ll be seeing in that country’s rail transport. The only thing in this picture that I believe still exists today are the two coaches.
Here’s the ‘international train’ that ran between Butterworth in Malaysia and Bangkok in Thailand. This view was taken at Butterworth (the station for Penang Island) on the 9th February 2009. The two sleeper coaches belong to the State Railways of Thailand whilst the engine is Malaysian. Well – sort of! It was one of 39 ex-Indian Railways Class YDM4s that were leased to KTMB for many years to cover a motive power shortage. Surplus to requirements in their home country due to the conversion of the meter-gauge network to broad gauge some pitched up here.
The coaches would be hauled by the KTMB loco from Butterworth to the border station of Padang Besar where there would be a customs check)and a loco change. An SRT loco would then take the coaches and passengers forward to Hat Yai where they’d be attached to the rear of an overnight sleeper train to Bangkok which would arrive in the Thai Capital the next morning. It was a fantastic (and cheap) way to travel between the two countries as well as a superb way to enjoy the scenery.
Nowadays you get an electric train from Butterworth to Padange Besar. After a wait you catch an SRT day train to Hat Yai where you join a sleeper service to the capital. I’ll be doing this trip in February so I’ll key you know what it’s like now.
If you want to see more of my old pictures of Malaysian railways check out these galleries.
One thing I’ve promised myself is that whilst I’m away these next few months I’ll rationalise these galleries by country and separate out the railways, travel and other transport images. It’s one of those classic ‘when I get around to it’ jobs that never seem to happen! In the meantime, expect a lot of new pictures and blogs from that neck of the woods over the next couple of months – starting very soon…
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 sitting here at the keyboard trying to work out how to make sense of such a tumultuous year without disappearing into repetitious rambling so I’m going to use a few headings to help – although there’s bound to be a few crossovers in the subjects. Let’s face it, it’s been one hell of a year, both in the UK and wider world, so it’s no surprise the the Collins dictionary word of the year 2022 is “permacrisis” – it sums up the situation perfectly. Having seen the back of Donald Trump and with Covid looking like it was burning itself out with no more nasty mutations the year started with some hope, but that was soon dashed.
Politics
On 24th February Russia invaded the Ukraine. ‘Special military operation’ (as the Russians called it) my arse, this was a full scale attempt to annex to country. It’s led to the largest refugee situation in Europe since world war two (both Ukrainian, and Russians who’ve fled their own country), along with the most destructive and devastating war since 1939. It’s also looking likely to lead to the collapse of Russia as it’s clear the war was a disastrous miscalculation of the part of Vladimir Putin. The pressures on the Russian economy due to sanctions plus the increasing lawlessness within the country as conscripts return from the war, disillusioned (and often with smuggled weapons) and the increasing isolation of the country are threads that are unwinding the fabric of the nation. It’s hardly surprising. Ordinary Russians are being kept tin the dark by their Government, but the scale of the Russian losses in men and equipment estimated by the Ukrainians (and others like the Oryx website) are staggering.
The knock-on effects across Europe and the UK have been huge. The British economy, already reeling from Covid, Brexit and 12 years of increasingly chaotic mismanagement by the Tories was then hit by massive increases in energy costs. In short. It’s a shit-storm and sadly, there’s no sign of it getting better in 2023. The Tories have run out of ideas (other than feathering their own nests) but they seem to have an endless supply of hopeless and hapless Prime Ministers. You may have thought serial liar Boris Johnson and his ‘oven ready’ Brexit deal was bad but after a painfully long election process Liz Truss said ‘hold my beer’ and managed to crash the UK economy and make the UK an international laughing-stock in just 49 days – the shortest tenure any British Prime Minister. Then there was the death of the Queen, which paralyzed the UK at the same time. Cards on the table (to quote right-wing Twitter trolls) – I’m not a monarchist, although having met many (including the late Queen and her husband) of them I have no problem with the people, just the institution. Most Brits have no idea how that institution has an impact on their daily lives as all they see is the pomp and circumstance – or read about the bitching that goes on in the UK press about them as a useful diversion from the real world. The Romans had ‘bread and circuses’, we have the spectator sport of Harry and Meghan vs the Palace as part of the extension of the right-wingers ‘war on woke’. It fills the news media to keep you distracted and stops you looking at the bigger picture.
Unabashed after their ousting of Boris Johnson – then Liz Truss, the Tory party then turned to an also ran – Rishi Sunak, a multi-millionaire who’s so out of touch his PR stunt serving food to homeless people went so spectacularly wrong a team of comedy writers would have dismissed it as too far-fetched. ‘Do you work in business’? Oh, FFS! With this bunch unashamedly clinging onto power for as long as they possibly can (2024) the new year looks to hold little cheer. It’s clear Rishi Sunak is a weak leader, but then his party is ungovernable. It’s riven by factions and dominated by swivel-eyed loons inside and outside the cabinet. Privately (and not so privately) many of them realise that they next election is lost, the question now is how much damage they’ll do before they’re turfed out when the votes are cast. There’s a lot of nest-feathering going on at the expense of ordinary people and I doubt the extent of the corruption will be revealed until (and unless) the next government hold some enquiries. The current situation goes to prove the old adage that oppositions don’t win elections, Governments lose them. Labour under Keir Starmer have vanquished the ghost of Jeremy Corbyn, the man who gifted the Tories such a huge majority in 2019 (cue howls of outrage, bluster and selective statistics from Corbynistas) but that’s all they’ve done. People will vote for them out purely for the fact they’re the only way to oust the Tories – not because they feel inspired by them. Starmer’s strategy to pretend he can make Brexit work may be seen as clever politicking, but it doesn’t make him look honest – and we desperately need a return to honest politics after so many years of lies and deceit. In the meantime, Brexit will continue to unravel. It’s painfully obvious that it’s a turd that can’t be polished but Brexit is like a religion to some, it’s an article of faith and they’ll cling onto it. But faith can’t make fiction fact and the economic harm its doing to the UK will continue to manifest itself no matter how deep its adherent stick their heads in the sand. Now people can travel again it’s not hard to see the disparity when you cross the channel. The EU hasn’t collapsed as predicted, supermarket shelves are full and despite the energy crisis caused by the war, living standards (and wages) are higher. Not only that but other countries are still clamouring to join the EU. In fact on January 1st Croatia adopted the Euro as its currency and also joined Schengen (the free travel area). It’s easy to see just how isolationist and out of step the UK is. Europe’s going forward and we’re going backwards.
Railways
It’s been another torrid time on the UK rail network. Just as the system seemed to be recovering from Covid and passenger numbers growing far quicker than many pessimists predicted we’ve had a series of debilitating strikes with central government and the unions at loggerheads. Whilst regional governments in Scotland and Wales are willing to compromise and find a way forward through pay agreements, central government ain’t. They see it as a trial of strength and a way of shoring up their collapsing vote (have you seen the opinion polls recently?) by playing hardball to pander to their hardcore. We’ve had the worst Transport Minister for decades (Grant Shapps) followed by a revolving door. In the meantime, the Treasury (as always) are dictating terms via the DfT and there’s no sign of any political coherence – much less a strategic plan that will last longer than the next Ministerial appointment. It’s a depressing time when there’s so many real issues needing serious answers – and a long term plan (hello ‘climate change’ anybody? That you despair. On the bright side, Crossrail – sorry the Elizabeth line – opened on the 24th May and proved to be a massive success, as many of us knew it would be. The expression ‘build it and they will come’ is appropriate for so many UK rail projects – and sod the useless and BCR (Benefit Cost Ratio) calculations which so often prove to be that conservative they’re useless. A fag-packet would be embarrassed to have them scrawled on its back.
London’s East End never used to look like this! This is the new Crossrail interchange station at Whitechapel. Once the territory of ‘Jack the Ripper’. Murder it ain’t!
The dumb thing? The future of the railways should be a no-brainer due to the need to get modal shift from road/air to rail to tackle climate change. But then you have the problem of competing political ideologies and the fact the Tories are underpinned by so many crazies from the libertarian far-right who’re doing their best to pretend it’s not real. Thankfully, they’ve not managed to stop the majority of building High-Speed 2. Forget the Nimbys and protesters, they never had nay political clout, it was people close to Boris ‘two-faced’ Johnson who’ve done the most damage to the project by paring away at it without any credible replacement, timetable or plan. The bright side? The next Labour government (because that’s what we’ll have) have committed to building HS2 in full. What will drag on is the interminable and utterly pointless political arguments over privatisation vs nationalisation which is a distraction from actually making the railways work for everyone. ‘Great British Railways’ is now dead. The reorganisation’s stalled, but we have no idea what will replace it. Instead we have the classic British ‘buggers muddle’ with the railways caught between a rock (the Treasury) and a hard place (The Dept of Transport), made worse by a Government that has no idea what it’s doing, other than trying to cling on to power. Here in West Yorkshire we do have some things to look forward to as at least the Trans-Pennine route upgrade is going ahead, although that’s still a mixed picture. We know what it will look like East of Huddersfield as far as Dewsbury where work’s already started, but we’ve no real idea how it will look Westwards, or how this supposed new line from Liverpool that’s (somehow) going to end in the village of Marsden will happen – if it ever does as there’ll be another election before work even starts!
Travel
I’ve been fortunate to have several breaks from the Septic Isle in 2022, Most of which have involved working (and meeting friends) in Germany which gives a completely different perspective from this bizarre up it’s own arse island nation many people choose to be marooned on. Then the pair of us had a a fortnight in Greece, which showed us another side. Funny how Rhodes – despite it being an island – didn’t suffer the supermarket shortages and empty shelves that have become a matter of routine in the UK – and that includes from imported goods. Once could almost imagine being in a customs union and single-market had advantages! Now, in the new year I’m preparing to take a break from Britain for a couple of months and catch up with old friends and happenings in South-East Asia. No doubt the contrasts to the UK will be very interesting, expecially as I’ll be starting in Singapore, the island state that some Tories touted as their aspiration for the Brexit Britain, with London becoming Singapore on Thames. It was all bollocks of course.
2023. Things to look forward to…
I’d love to be able to say ‘a general election’ but that’s extremely unlikely! Instead I’m looking forward to a Russian defeat and Ukrainian victory this year. I’m hopeful that there might be some economic cheer too but with this lot in charge I’d suggest that will be more down to luck and the actions of others than the Government. I’m also looking forward to seeing High Speed 2 construction proceeding apace. The project passed some impressive milestones in 2022, the anti HS2 rebellion collapsed as their camps were swept away and the few remaining occupants scattered to the four winds. I’ll be visiting as many locations as I can in 2023 to report on progress.
In the meantime, let me wish you all a peaceful and optimistic New Year and all the best for 2023.
Thanks for popping by and reading some of the 264 blogs I published in 2022. This site had 72,006 views from 115 nations last year plus several donations towards helping me cover the (not inconsiderable) costs of running my blog. Thank you one and all! And finally, a big thank you (and love) to Dawn, my wife, for putting up with me disappearing many an evening to pen one of these blogs. Thanks Babe!
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 