Category Archives: Covid 19

19th March picture of the day…

19 Wednesday Mar 2025

Posted by in Covid 19, London, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

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Bliss! When I woke up this morning the Covid aches had receded. All I was left with was the remnants and the usual aches you get used to as part of everyday life at my age! I feel like I’m over the worst now, even my energy levels seemed to have increased. This gave me the confidence to drag my arse out of bed (with Nurse’s permission of course), get dressed and potter around the house. I even made it outside – but only as far as the back garden in order to feed the bird and top up their water supply! Today’s been another lovely sunny day which has also helped to lift my spirits. I’d have been tempted to have sat outside on the front bench in the sun but with temperatures still in single figures that might have been tempting fate! Still, the change of scenery was much appreciated – as was the ability to move into the office and get a few more things done ready for when I can venture further afield. Oh, and thank you to all those people who’ve wished me well!

There’s not going to be much of a blog from me today as I want to crack on with other things. I’ve a much longer blog I want to write which will be about my recent Norwegian trip, but first I need to do some more research. In the meantime, here’s today’s picture. Now that spring is very much in the air I’m looking forward to sights like this;

Hawthorn blossom in St James’ Park in London on the 30th March 2001. This picture was used in a Lonely Planet guide that year although I can’t remember whether it was the London or England guide now. The long-gone days when you could make money from pictures in travel guides…

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

18th March picture(s) of the day…

18 Tuesday Mar 2025

Posted by in Covid 19, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways

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Four days in and Covid is still giving me grief. Whilst I don’t feel quite as crap as I did and managed to get a half-decent nights sleep the aches are still with me. Mind you, lying in bed all day doesn’t feel like it’s helping, but Nurse Dawn is insistent that’s where I should stay and I’m not going to argue with her as she’s probably right. I remember that I pushed myself too soon the first time I had Covid, which led to me tiring very quickly, so I’m not going to make that mistake again (even If I was allowed to). It is frustrating as we’ve had wall to wall sunshine today, although temperatures haven’t exactly matched. It’s still chilly up here in the Pennines although we’re promised warmer weather soon.

I’ve kept myself occupied dealing with paperwork and other admin tasks in order to feel like I’m achieving something. The rest of the time has been spent watching Netflix or watching the world going mad on social media. I can’t help thinking that if – say – 20 years ago you’d pitched what’s going on in the White House as a film script it would’ve been dismissed out of hand as too far-fetched and unrealistic. Now, nothing that Tangoed fool in Washington does surprises me. He’s clearly the best President that rubles can buy.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to rise from my sickbed tomorrow (if Nurses’ permission is granted) and start to potter around the house again. Just getting back in the office will be a welcome change of scenery. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with today’s picture which is one of a bunch of archive pictures from 2018 I’ve rooted out to add to my Zenfolio website when time permits. It shows an aspect of the railways which is little changed in over 175 years.

The Signaller at Rainford Junction on the Kirby-Wigan line collects the single-line token from the Driver of a Wigan bound train. Kept in leather bags on the end of a metal loop these tokens are the authority to proceed for a train to travel over the single-track line from Rainford to Kirby. This form of train control is known as Absolute Block, only allowing one train onto a section of track at a time. There are fewer and fewer locations where you can see this happen due to signalboxes being abolished with token equipment being relocated to anonymous metal cabinets on station platforms which are opened by the train Driver, who uses a telephone to contact the nearest signalbox (which may be many miles away) in order to get the token released. Here’s an example. This is at Battersby in North Yorkshire.

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

17th March picture of the day…

17 Monday Mar 2025

Posted by in Covid 19, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Politics, Sri Lanka, Travel

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I’d forgotten just how shit having Covid is. I had a lousy nights sleep as the aches meant I just couldn’t get comfortable and settle. Trying to toss and turn whilst groaning silently in order not to disturb Dawn was an effort in itself. By the time it came to wake up I was knackered so ended up having a lie in, having guzzled Lemsip and swallowed Ibuprofen in order to feel vaguely normal. This has meant today’s been another one where I’ve confined myself to bed.

I have managed to get some things done, mostly research for future projects. Apart from that it’s been another frustrating day. I’m hoping the aches will ease tomorrow as I’m fed up of being bedridden. I want to be able to potter around the house but I remember from the first time I contracted Covid that it’s unwise to push oneself too quickly.

Sadly, being bedridden with access to the internet has meant I’ve spent far too much time paying attention to the implosion of democracy in the USA. Trump has been in office for less that two months but he and his fellow kleptocrats are making huge strides in turning the ‘land of the free’ into a dictatorship. God knows what that country will look like in six months time.

Today’s picture is to take my mind off all that crap. Much as I enjoy exploring cities sometime later this year I’ll need beach time and the opportunity to listen to the timeless sound of the sea breaking on a beach, as it has done for millions of years, well before our distant amphibian ancestors crawled out of the primordial oceans to start fucking the planet up. The question is – where? Maybe somewhere palm-fringed with golden sands like this?

One of the beaches at Tangalle on the South-Eastern coast of Sri Lanka, seen on the 30th December 2003. I left only footprints and took only pictures…

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

16th March picture of the day…

16 Sunday Mar 2025

Posted by in Covid 19, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day

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Oh, bugger…

By the end of last night I wasn’t feeling at my best. I was under the impression that I was coming down with a cold as I was aching and sneezing, the usual symptoms. This morning after a restless night’s sleep I felt like shit so stayed in bed as I also had the shivers. Dawn, fearing it was more than just a cold picked up a Covid test whilst she was out shopping. Within a minute of me completing the test two very strong lines showed up on the indicator, meaning I’ve contracted Covid for the 3rd time, which is going to screw my plans for the next few days. With the incubation period being between 1-14 days (with an average of 3-5) I could have contracted the ‘rona’ at either of the two events I’ve attended recently – or even somewhere else. Who knows? All I can do now is rest and hope it passes quickly. Still, now I have time to catch up on some reading. And maybe blogging too…

For now I’ll leave you with today’s picture, which is of a type of establishment I won’t be visiting for a while until I’m no longer infectious (and feeling better). Here’s the Norfolk Arms pub in Marple Bridge, Greater Manchester.

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

6th April picture of the day…

06 Wednesday Apr 2022

Posted by in Covid 19, India, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

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There’s only a short blog from me today. Despite still testing positive for Covid I know that I’ll be clear any day now so I’m keen to try and return back to a normal life – part of which is increasing my exercise levels and stamina. I’m not a great one for taking to my sick-bed as I start chafing after a couple of days. Unfortunately the weather’s not been conducive to long strolls due to the constant rain storms so I’ve been doing more weights than walking. Hopefully the bouts of tiredness that seem to be a symptom of Covid will soon be a thing of the past.

Not that there’s been little to be getting on with at home of course. I still owe one magazine an article, plus I’ve been trying to catch up with picture editing, decluttering and restarting slide scanning – a project that’s very much taken a backseat recently. I can’t dedicate the time to it that I did during lockdown but I’m determined to keep that particular ball rolling as part of my decluttering – if nothing else. Today’s picture is from the latest batch.

Back in January 1996 a group of us were in Mysore, India. A larger group of us had spent Christmas in Goa but Lynn, I and a couple of friends from North London had more time to explore and visit one of my favourite Indian cities. Whilst we were there I spotted this rather surreal gem. I’ve always admired the hand painted posters you see across India, be it adverts for films, shop signs or just general hoardings. Local artists are kept busy with these (often huge) hoardings and they make a welcome break from the standardised adverts back in Europe. But every so often you see one and thing “wait, what?” This was one…

Quite what a woman playing a saxophone has to do with sanitaryware is a complete mystery – especially a woman dressed like that, which is hardly traditional. I had to do a double-take when I saw it as I really couldn’t work out the message. But maybe that was the idea as it certainly stuck in my conscious because as adverts go ‘bog standard’ it wasn’t!

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!

31st March picture of the day…

31 Thursday Mar 2022

Posted by in Calder Valley, Covid 19, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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Not a day that I was expecting at all – in more ways than one! My first surprise was on opening the bedroom blind this morning to find we’d had an inch of snow overnight which left the valley looking wonderful. There wasn’t a breath of wind so the snow had stayed on all the trees and bushes, adding to the winter wonderland effect. Flurries were still arriving but in between we had patches of blue sky which shed pools of glorious sunlight around the valley. This seemed like too good a chance to miss from a photographic perspective so I began packing the camera bag in order to head out and make the most of the opportunity for some snow shots before the scene changed and the snow melted in the sun.

Before I did I decided to err on the side of caution and take a lateral flow test as Norah, my Mother In Law had tested positive for Covid 19 at the beginning of the week and we’d seen them on Sunday. I’d taken a test on Monday which was negative so I really wasn’t expecting anything to change. Dawn had done a test yesterday which was also negative. Having done the test I went for a shave and thought no more about it until I returned to the bedroom and gave a cursory glance at the strip once more.

It was positive.

Oh, sh*t! Now I understood why I’d thought I was maybe coming down with a cold and felt achy and out of sorts. So, that was my plans for the foreseeable out of the window. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valour I cancelled my engagements and took myself off to bed whilst Dawn also re-arranged her calendar as the both of are confining ourselves to barracks until I get the all-clear. Hopefully Dawn will remain Covid-free.

Having mentioned my discovery on Twitter and Facebook I was amazed by the number of friends who’ve either only recently recovered or have also just tested positive for Covid. The pandemic hasn’t gone away in any way, shape or form – despite the fact the Government are doing their best to pretend it’s no longer an issue. It’s frustrating as the pair of us made it this far Covid free – as did Dawn’s mum and dad. The only saving grace it that I’ve presumably contracted the less damaging Omicron version and that my symptoms seem mild. Even so, I’m not going to push myself. Instead I’m going to sit this one out and give my body the chance to shake it off – and not put anyone else at risk of infection either.

If I feel up to it I may blog about a few things, but if not you’ll have to excuse my absence for a while.

As for the picture of the day, it’s the view from our bedroom window this morning when the world seemed rather a different place…

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!