Category Archives: Food

Well, that was fun!

15 Saturday Nov 2025

Posted by in Food, Photography, Pubs, Shropshire, Travel

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The pair of us are now back in Bigland Towers after our Shropshire sojourn. Travelling home on Friday was fun but nowhere near as bad as we feared. Our part of the Welsh borders missed the worst of the storms. They weren’t so lucky a few dozen miles further South, with extensive flooding in places like Monmouth.

We left Church Stretton just before 10am to drive up to Oswestry. There’s very few towns in the UK I’ve never visited. If it’s got a railway station then I’ll have been there. Oswestry isn’t on that list. Sure, it has a railway preservation site based by the old Cambrian Railway works, but as there’s no mainline connection the town was never high on my list of places to get to. On Friday we put that right, and I was pleasantly surprised. We didn’t stay long due to the rain which never let up, but we saw enough to make us want to revisit another time as the town has interesting variety of shops, cafes and pubs – along with a market. Unlike some towns which are dominated by chains and charity shops, Oswestry still has a range of independent outlets. One place I particularly liked was the indoor market. It’s got an eccentric feel to it as it contains cafes, a bar, lots of antique and model shops – and even has its own barbers.

Llwyd Mansion is a Tudor building dating from 1464. It’s grade 1 listed and currently under restoration by the local council who now own it.

Moving on we looked to find a country pub where we could stop for lunch. We’d decided to avoid the motorways as much as possible, so we stuck off across country along the A495 through Ellesmere before crossing the border back into England to skirt the Western edge of Whitchurch.

By the power of Google I found a pub further on by the Shropshire Union canal which seemed to fit the bill, the Willeymoor Lock Tavern North of Whitchurch.

We got there just after opening, making us the first customers of the day. This gave us chance to meet to and talk with the three generations of the family who run the place. Oh, and admire the amazing collection of over 230 teapots collected by the matriarch of the family, who at 97, is still going strong.

I ordered gammon, egg and chips whilst Dee had the home-made steak pie. Both were really good meals and very good value.

Tearing ourselves away we made a non-stop run across country to the M6 at Lymm. Needless to say, the motorway was chokka. Conditions weren’t much fun due to the rain and they got worse by the time we transferred to the M62 to head East across the Pennines. High winds didn’t exactly help matters but Dee’s excellent driving skills and my extra pair of eyes got us home safely. We were relieved to be home, but wistful too, as we weren’t really ready to leave Shropshire. We’ll be back…

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

Cheers!

2nd November picture of the day…

02 Wednesday Nov 2022

Posted by in Food, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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It’s been another slow day here at Bigland Towers. I’m still recovering from whatever lurgi struck me down on Sunday. The aches and pains have receded, but my energy levels aren’t back up to what they should be, so I’ve not been pushing myself too hard and spent most of the day writing and picture editing – although I did get out for a walk earlier as I was beginning to get stir-crazy. It’s hardly been a great day for walking as it’s been on and off wet most of the day. Fortunately, I managed to dodge the showers whilst I was out. I completed a circuit through our local woods but as I was walking along the road to get to them, I was amazed to see two mature deer bound across the road just 75 meters in front of me. It’s not that unusual to see them around here (even in daylight) but they were leaving a stretch of woods with little cover that’s very popular with dog-walkers and people out for a stroll. It’s not where I expected to see them at all.

Weatherwise, I pushed my luck too much this evening. Dawn’s been very good at looking after me whilst I’ve been under the weather, even though she’s not feeling 100% herself so tonight I offered to walk up to the local supermarket to get some of the ingredients Dee needed for the food she’s preparing. Bad move! The wind had really picked up late this afternoon, sending leaves skittering all over the place. Then the rain came back. I was lucky walking up to the shop as I found a lull in the rain. Hah! It was waiting to pounce on me when I came out – when I had to walk into the teeth of it coming back over the brow of the hill and walk downhill, exposed to the full force of the elements as they hammered across the valley. To be honest, it was rather exhilarating. I love a good storm and I was fully prepared for it as I’d donned full waterproofs including leggings and gaiters, so they got wet, and I didn’t. It certainly blew a few cobwebs away at least.

Now I’m catching up with uploading today’s pictures whilst Dawn cooks up a different kind of storm in the kitchen. Dee loves discovering and trying new recipes and found one yesterday…

Meanwhile, I’ve added two different selections from my recent (well, September’s) sojourn in Rotterdam to my Zenfolio website. There’s the travel and people orientated shots, which you can find here. Then there’s the transport related ones (trams, railways and transport infrastructure) which you can find here. I’ve still more to add and I hope to have them done shortly. Then I can move on to more German shots.

Admittedly, I’d like to get out with the camera to record some of the autumn colours whilst there’s still some leaves on the trees. I’ll see how my recovery goes tomorrow as the forecast for Friday seems promising. Right, it’s time to go as supper’s ready. So, tonight’s picture of the day is of a culinary theme. This is what Dawn’s been busy cooking. I have to admit, the smells emanating from the kitchen were wonderful. Now I know why…

Here’s a red lentil pancake topped with masala vegetables (potato, onion, spinach, carrots, green beans and mushrooms) spiced with turmeric, cumin, white mustard seeds, asafoetida, ground coriander and chili flakes with a dash of lemon juice. The final addition? Greek yoghurt mixed with some mint sauce. The whole ensemble tasted divine!

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

Thank you!

12th September picture of the day…

12 Monday Sep 2022

Posted by in Food, Musings, Picture of the day

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Another working week begins here in Bigland Towers now the holiday’s over. Well, for now at least. The pair of us have had a busy day keyboard-bashing, photo-editing and researching our next trips in the UK and elsewhere. The problem (as always) is there’s just not enough hours in the day or days in the week to get everything done which can be quite frustrating at times. Still, all will become clearer over the next few days. The pair of us are down in London on Thursday/Friday which is when we were meant to be at the National Rail Awards, instead we’re just going to enjoy a couple of days in the capital although I suspect it may be a rather different atmosphere due to ‘events’. We shall see…

As I’m now bog-eyed from said concentration and staring at screens it’s time for the pair of use to knock off and have some quality time together. We’ve raided the freezer and broken out some home-made urad dahl and chana masala to go with some firecracker basmati rice. Well, the salad days are behind us now after all as Autumn is fast approaching. This means the picture of the day is in the finest tradition of those food bloggers or people who love posting their meals on Facebook! Normal service will be resumed tomorrow when I’ve waded my way through more edited pictures. In the meantime, I’m off to scoff this!

A wicked combination of urad dahl (left) and chana masala (right) on a bed of firecracker rice and garnushed with hot lime pickle and mango chutney. I may need to put a toilet roll in the fridge for later…

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

Thank you!

10th August picture of the day…

10 Wednesday Aug 2022

Posted by in Calder Valley, Food, Photojournalism, Picture of the day

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The heat has made a comeback here in the Calder Valley. Today and for the next few days the skies will be blue and the temperature in the very high 20s. Today was a taster – although I spent a lot of it cooped up inside as I had a whole host of things to sort out for work and also (hopefully) pleasure. Plus – eBay!

I’m slowly wading through all the railway memorabilia I’ve amassed over the years and sorted out what’s not longer needed on the voyage. That includes a selection of commemorative notebooks which I’ll never get to use in a month of Sundays. Such as this one which celebrated the opening of Siemens new Three Bridges Depot back in 2015. There’s more on offer, plus there’s hundreds of old rail slides which can be found here.

As well as eBaying and catching up on paperwork I did manage to venture out into Sowerby Bridge to pick up some shopping, but it was the heat of the day and by the time I’d walked back up the hill to home I was a sweaty, soggy mess! Mad dogs and Englishmen and all that!

The heat has also kept me preoccupied with watering the garden. It may not be huge but the fact it’s spread over several levels means you get a work-out that way too! There’s no hosepipe ban around here yet but as I use watering cans anyway it won’t affect me. I’ve started using old dishwater anyway just to get in the habit and ‘do my bit’.

Tomorrow I’m tempted to venture out with the camera but I suspect I may have too much to do unless I have a really early start to spend a couple of hours on paperwork first, but as it’s so hot at night that may be difficult. Just in case, I’m going to call it a day and have an early night, so here’s today’s picture. When the weather had cooled down a bit I went for my evening stroll, but this time with a purpose. The Blackberry season is well underway here in the Calder Valley and despite the fact it’s been a dry summer the crop is bountiful, early – and lush. There’s a fantastic collection in a couple of locations along out road, one of which is the edge of a field which is clear of trees and affords a great view of the valley below. Oh, and cows…

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

Thank you!

28th October picture of the day…

28 Thursday Oct 2021

Posted by in Food, Musings, Picture of the day, Politics

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Apologies for a lack of a blog yesterday, but as it was my birthday other matters took precedence. I won’t go into much detail about the day other than to say I received some lovely presents, had a convivial day with t’other half (and a lovely lunch with the in-laws) and was blown away with the amount of birthday wishes I received via social media – which was very humbling. So thank you – one and all.

Today it’s been back to the grindstone – although at a less than frenetic pace. I’ve mostly been housekeeping and preparing for the next few days away. I’d half-hoped to get out and tick another job of the list but the weather’s really not been up to it. A weather front has swept in from the West which brought quite a bit of rain later in the day – just when I had some free time, but that’s the law of Sod for you. I still managed to get a walk in as I needed to pick up some ingredients for tonight’s meal as I was on cooking duty. Mind you, that’s something I really don’t mind as I enjoy it and find it therapeutic. Not that I’m going to be cooking again for a while…

Tomorrow I head up to Scotland for several days as I have a series of jobs to do around the railways and COP26. It won’t be my only visit either. I’m really looking forward to my time North of the border, the events that are planned – and the chance to catch up with several old friends. I’ll be rolling blogging over the next few days so you should get a flavour of what’s going on as Scotland prepares to host this most important summit.

That said, I can’t help but feel a sense of despair and disbelief at the antics in Westminster as expressed through the budget. We’re days away from a crucial event that’s highlighting the fact Governments really need to step up to the plate and tackle climate change. So, what does our Chancellor do? Announce that he’s going to cut Airline Passenger Duty on internal flights. The flights that are THE most polluting! Christ on an effing bike – the rest of the world must be looking at us and thinking – are they for real? Here’s a graph that illustrates the problem.

Oh, and let’s not even go there when it comes to the Government umming and aahing over building HS2 (the greenest form of UK transport) at the same time…

Right, now I’ve got that off my chest, here’s today’s picture, which is a little different – just so that you don’t get bored. When I cook I like to prepare ingredients in advance. We have a wonderful array of bowls and dishes that we’ve picked up in Thailand and Vietnam that help me do this, so here’s tonight’s seafood risotto in kit form…

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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!

29th August picture(s) of the day…

29 Sunday Aug 2021

Posted by in Food, India, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Surrey, Travel

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My Surrey sojourn’s been an enjoyable couple of days. On Saturday the pair of us enjoyed a trip into Guildford for a spot of shopping, both window and real. The sheer number of independent retailers is far greater in the South than some northern cities, especially when it comes to clothing. That said, the bargains I picked up (some shirts) were from a national outlet. In the evening we adjorned to a pub in Frensham, near to where we’re based in Tilford. The Holly Bush is a roomy place with a large covered seating area outside, plus a big beer garden. The food menu isn’t extensive, but what they do supply is very good. On a recommendation we shared the fish platter. Huge King prawns, excellent squid rings and a delicious Mackerel pate came with bowls of Olives and sun-dried tomatoes plus crisp pitta bread and a sweet chilli dip. Feeling ambitious we also ordered one of our favourites (soft shell crab) which was on the small plate menu and served with mango. So, here’s today’s bonus picture – the Fish platter (which was more than enough for two people)…

Today we went to somewhere Dawn’s never been to before and that I’ve not visited for years, Box Hill in the Surrey Hills AONB. Needless to say (being a bank holiday) it was very busy with families making a day of it and enjoying the views and walks, or just getting together in groups to have picnics or barbecues. The atmosphere was lovely. As we’d taken Tilly, my brother-in-Law’s Cairn Terrier with us, we made lots of friends! Now, back at home we’re having a relaxed evening as tomorrow it will be time for me to return North again – which should be fun as it’s Bank Holiday Monday. No doubt a rolling blog will appear…

In the meantime, here the real picture of the day which is taken from the last batch of old slides I’ve been scanning. I took this shot at the flea market in Anjuna, Goa, India in December 1993. It’s a shot of one of the Tribal Women from Karnataka state who sell the most amazing embroidered, bejewelled and mirrored clothing. Their personal jewellery can be quite something too. In this case it was the woman’s colourful sari which really added to the scene.

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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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!

25th June picture of the day…

25 Friday Jun 2021

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Phew! No trains and no buses involved in my life today. Instead I’ve had a busy day at home editing all the pictures I’ve taken over the past few days as well as catching up all the paperwork I’ve neglected whilst I’ve been away, which means I’ve been stuck in front of a computer screen for most of the day. That’s not been a hardship as the weather’s been less than seasonal with low cloud, desultory showers and a steady wind that’s kept temperatures low. Welcome to a typical British summer! The upside of all this is that I’ve received commissions for new articles and have some really interesting visits planned that I can’t talk about until they’ve happened.

I won’t have all the pictures I’ve taken edited for a while but the ones I’ll be adding to my Zenfolio website can be found by following this link. Of course, I’ve still hundreds of archive slides to add but right now they’re taking a backseat for the contemporary stuff. Well, they’ve waited 25-30 years so another few weeks won’t matter!

I’ve no plans to be away for the next week so I’m hoping I can catch up with the picture backlog by the end of next week but I’ve an article to write for RAIL magazine first. After that I’ll be on the rails again.

I have to admit, one of the things I’ve really enjoyed about being back home after my time away (apart from spending time with Dawn – obviously!) has being able to spend time in the kitchen cooking. It’s something I really enjoy and it’s a form of therapy, you forget everything else to concentrate on the preperation and the act of bringing all the ingredients together to make a wonderful meal. Dawn requested a Chicken Vindail curry from Rick Stein’s India cookbook as it’s become one of her favourites. I enjoy making it because the smell of all the spices is wonderful! It also goes really well with chapattis cooked on a griddle. So, tonight’s picture of the day is going to be something different. This is what I was up to this evening…

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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!

23rd May picture of the day…

23 Sunday May 2021

Posted by in Food, Musings, Picture of the day, Southport, Travel

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Apologies for the absence from blogging but I’ve been taking some time off now the UK is slowly opening up. I’ve been getting out and about more which has led to a hectic social whirl and a backlog of pictures and admin’ but it’s a lovely position to be in after so long. The pair of us have been busy as Dawn’s got two weeks holiday which started on Friday so we’ve been clearing the decks for that. Plus – I’ve spent two evenings in…pubs! Yep, remember those things? The valley’s been busy with different friends passing through – not all of which I managed to catch up with, but on Thursday I had the chance to meet a chap called Martin Ward. Martin and I cycled ‘Ride India’ together in 2018 and her was here in the valley with his family enjoying a break on a canal narrowboat, so it would have been rude not to. Plus, on Friday a group of us from the ‘Big 6’ pub (which is undergoing a change of management so hasn’t re-opened) who’ve been doing a weekly quiz via Zoom finally had the chance to meet up in the flesh again using a surrogate pub – the ‘Shepherds Rest’ in SA few other refugees from ‘the 6’ drifted in so it turned into a really nice night.

On Saturday Dawn and I drove over to my old home town of Southport to meet up with some of my family. First up was my niece, Charlotte whom we spent a very pleasant couple of hours with outside a cafe in Birkdale. The village has gone rather upmarket over the past 20 years as it’s a conservation area. Many of the cafes and shops near the station have old Victorian iron and glass canopies outside, so it’s an ideal place to sit and pass the time – even if it was a bit windy. Afterwards, Dawn and I met up with my sister Anne and her daughter Brier for a celebratory early birthday meal – something we’ve not been able to do since the first lockdown. I’d booked a table at Bistro Bar Med in the centre of town. one of us had visited before but we all really enjoyed the food, which is a mixture of Spanish Tapas and Turkish mezes.

It was wonderful be able to visit a restaurant again and Bar Med was ideal. The Owner and his staff were great hosts and the food was delicious! The place isn’t huge, which added to the atmosphere as it was more intimate and personal. I really liked the way the food was served – as you can see here. It saved a lot of space on the table and the wheel arrangement meant it was easy to share dishes. We’d certainly visit again as I love this communal way of eating, the quality of the food and the atmosphere. So, today’s picture is of something I’ve not posted for a very very long time – food!

We’re big fish eaters so our selection of five Tapas dishes was Green-lipped mussels, king prawns and Sardines, accompanied by meatballs and Patatas Bravas. The bread rolls meant none of the delicious sauces went to waste!

Eating ‘early doors’ allowed us to drive back to West Yorkshire without getting back too late, leading to an easy night. Today we’ve had a quiet day. The weather’s been pretty crappy again as it’s cold, wet and windy – distinctly unseasonal so we’ve not really done much apart from getting out for a short walk. That said, we’ve got plenty of plans, especially after a surprise. I’ve got my second Covid jab booked for Thursday but Dawn (being younger than me) hadn’t heard about hers – until this morning. Now Dee will get her second the day after me on Friday, so we’re both covered for the future, this is timely as we’re currently looking at our first foreign adventure for the future which will be somewhere I’ve been many times but Dawn’s never visited. Bali. Let’s just hope this happens as we’d be out there for a special occasion…

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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!

5th May picture of the day…

05 Wednesday May 2021

Posted by in Food, Picture of the day, Travel, West Yorkshire

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It’s been a long day and it’s after 10pm so I’m going to be relatively brief in this blog although I’d had intentions of doing a rolling one today as I was out and about but never found the time. I was up at 6am this morning as Dawn was up early. I’d got an article for RAIL magazine to finish so an early start seemed like a good idea. Having sent my copy off I was intending to potter around at home but then I saw the weather it was glorious sunshine and such a contrast to the past couple of days which have been wet and weary, so I decided ‘bugger it’, packed the camera bag and headed off out to enjoy the sun and capture some new shots. My RAIL article is on the local rail network and it was whilst I was researching pictures form my library to use in it that I discovered that a goodly proportion of pictures were out of date. I blitzed a lot of the area when I first moved here from London in 2010 but I’d not been back to several locations for a while – and certainly not since the Northern franchise (and livery) change so today seemed like a good time to make good on that. Having walked down to Halifax station my first port of call was Brighouse where I managed to get a few decent shots of Calder valley freight services. Having done so – and having time to kill before my next train – I wandered into the town centre for a mooch around. As I passed a little delicatessen called ‘Le Gourmet’ on Bethel St I noticed something unusual in the window. Nestled in between the pork pies and pasties was ‘Yorkshire Duck’. No, I’d never heard of it either! Looking like a massive mutant Scotch egg and costing £1 for two I couldn’t resist. I’m adventurous when it comes to food and a sucker for trying something different – and these certainly fitted the bill. So, what did they taste like? Well, they were a bit dry but they were certainly spicy! They appeared to be a mix of pork, breadcrumbs and spices although I couldn’t tell you for sure what was packed into them. Without doubt they were substantial and a real belly-filler for a quid. Having posted a picture of them on Twitter the reaction I got from most folk was bafflement although a Lancashire friend reckoned they could be a version of faggots. So, for tonight’s picture of the day I bring you – ‘Yorkshire Duck’!

The weather’s due to return to normal tomorrow so It looks like I’ll be busy in the office sorting out pictures from today’s travels. I’ll add a blog about it too as there’s no doubt rail passenger numbers are picking up again and some of the old locations I revisited are about to see massive changes. But for now, it’s good night from me – and the duck!

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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!

28th November picture of the day…

28 Saturday Nov 2020

Posted by in Food, Indonesia, Musings, Picture of the day, Travel

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Where the hell’s the day gone? It seems to have vanished into the mists and murk that have covered the Calder Valley all day. One minute it was there, next minute – whoosh – it’s eight o’clock!

Admittedly, with it being the weekend, we did have a teeny-weeny lie in this morning. After all, we knew the weather was going to be cold and wet, so what’s to get up for? It’s not as if we’ve got a flight booked, or people to meet in the pub. Instead, the pair of us have spent the day cooped up inside out of the way of the drizzle and damp. The only person who’s been venturing outside is the cat who’s repeatedly returned as a very soggy moggy before retreating to his heated mat to sit and steam!

The day’s passed with the two of us working in order to make the most of the time. Whilst Dee’s been working in the living room I’ve been holed up in my upstairs office sorting out paperwork and yet more old slides which includes the picture of the day. I’ve finished scanning the last album of pictures from our 1998 Indonesia travels, but I’ve skipped forward a bit as the next album in the series is stashed away in Dawn’s parent loft. So please forgive me going from Flores to Java with nothing in between (there’s plenty, honest – but they won’t appear for a few weeks yet).

So, today’s picture was taken in Yogyakarta. Java in early December 1998. Yogya’s one of the cultural centres of Indonesia. It’s a fascinating place with a rich history. I’d spent time there back in 1992, so I was determined to revisit on our grand tour. As it was, Lynn and I based ourselves there for over two weeks so we could explore the area. Well, that and the fact it was such a relaxed place. We were staying in the same cheap and cheerful Homestay in one of the backstreets by the station that I’d stayed in back in 92. The facilities were basic, but every morning a local woman would set up her stall in the street outside to sell the most wonderful Javanese food. Most of it was vegetarian and it was sublime. You could mix and match and a really hearty, spicy breakfast packed full of flavours would cost you about 20p. you’d see stall like this throughout Java. Women would cook the food at home, then set up little street stall every morning (or evening) and sell the most delicious street food. Once it was gone, so were they. The bowls would all be stacked upon each other and the woman would carry them off in the same way most of them arrived in the first place – by scooter, or balanced on her head, or by Becak (cycle rickshaw).

Boy, do I miss the food of Asia. I’m so glad that both Dawn and I are good cooks so we can recreate some of these tastes at home. But I do miss being able to nip out for breakfasts like this…

If you’re interested in looking through more photos from Indonesia (or the rest of the epic trip), you can find them in this gallery on my Zenfolio picture website. I’ll be adding many more shots of other exotic Indonesian Islands over the next few weeks. There’s a huge cross-section of Indonesian life and street-scenes like this.

Meanwhile, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/