Category Archives: Food and drink

Lockdown-ish. Day 72 (Wednesday).

05 Friday Jun 2020

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And then the rain came down…

When I threw open the bedroom blinds this morning I saw a sight I’ve not seen for months – the valley covered in rain – and a welcome sight it was too! We’ve had so little precipitation the fields were parched and turning brown so the change in weather’s going to be welcomed by farmers and (I suspect) by the medical  profession as it might keep a few of the ‘covidiots’ at home more and away from beaches and beauty spots.

From my perspective the only downside was the fact it had turned chillier and windier too. Having been used to wearing shorts and singlets for so long it was a shock to have to dig out a fleece and waterproof jacket to dress up in for my daily exercise. Even so, it’s a small price to pay and it won’t be for long – I hope…

After our morning meditation and with no excuse to sit in the garden I knuckled down to having a productive day in the office without any distractions. This allowed me to plough through scanning 40 more slides, then get them edited and onto the website in far quicker time than normal. I’d also eschewed my two-hourly walk ‘cos of the weather so once the decks were clear I combined exercise with a trip to the  supermarket and a local Indian market,where I stocked up on spices. With all the baking and smoothies Dawn’s been making we were running out of Cinnamon powder as well as the Smoked Paprika that we use for our weekend comfort food of spicy prawns. Whilst they’ve got better at stocking spices the supermarkets charge an arm and a leg in comparison to the local stores and I’d rather spend my money with them than a multinational if I can. 

On the way back from my shopping trip I took the long way around via the Promenade and local woods to boost my step count. The earlier rain had subsided and the sun made its bid to break though the thinning clouds but the wind that had sprung up as an accompaniment really knocked the temperature down leaving the weather feel more like early spring than almost summer. On the bright side – at least I wasn’t going to be busy with watering cans today!

Back at home I stowed away the goodies in the kitchen but before I resumed the duties of office (as it were) I couldn’t resist grabbing a couple of shots in the front garden where raindrops had fallen on the Lupins. 

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If I wasn’t so busy getting my back catalogue of slides scanned I’d dearly love to be able to spend more time out with the camera and playing around with my micro lens getting shots like this. Ah, well…

On the positive side, I did rattle through a lot more old pictures which included shots like this from 1999.

07306. 58050. CWR train heading for Hoo Jn. Wandsworth Rd. 17.11.1999crop

Here’s the last of the Class of 58. 58050 to be precise, hauling a train of long-welded rails through Wandsworth Rd in South London on the 17th November 1999. This was a popular location with railway photographers because of the variety of traffic and the excellent vantage point provided by the station footbridge, which is where this shot was taken from. Sadly, this view is now partially obscured by trees which have grown up next to the lineside inside the fence to the left foreground. All the Class 58s have now been withdrawn. 58050 remained in traffic until 2002. In 2008 it was recommissioned and shipped to Spain where it was used on construction trains for one of the country’s new High-Speed lines. It remains stored at Albacerte, Spain now.

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 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 locked-down freelances need all the help that we can get…


Thank you!

 

Lockdown. Day 62 (Sunday).

27 Wednesday May 2020

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

03499. 302990. Colchester. 27.08.1993crop

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

 

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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 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 locked-down freelances need all the help that we can get…
Thank you!

Lockdown. Day 59 (Thursday).

22 Friday May 2020

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jet

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

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

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To this…

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

 

 

I’ve a favour to ask…
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Thank you!

 

Lockdown. Day 57 (Tuesday).

20 Wednesday May 2020

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Today was another good day and it even had a touch of variety! It started well as the pair of us were up early following our productive routines of exercise and meditation. Dawn doesfar more exercise than I as she follows a regime via social media where she’s part of a group. Me? I stick to weights and walking – although I’m missing the workouts I used to get from carrying a 12-13 kilo canera bag around all day. It’s nearly two months since I last did that and I expect it’s going to be a shock to my knees to be picking up the strain again once this is all over and I can get back to travelling.

Somehow I suspect It’ll be a while before that happens. Whilst the railways started running an expanded timetable yeaterday the Government advice is still to stay away and there are plenty of unanswered questions over how the hell you manage social distancing on a busy public transport network as it will kill capacity. Not just on trains but at stations too.

All these matters are discussed by my colleagues in the latest edition of RAIL magazine which is available tomorrow. I have an article in there too but mine is a look back at 10 years of the reopened East London line. I lived and worked in that neck of the woods for over 10 years, from 1986 to 1997 before moving to North London for another 13 years, so I know the lines of old.  

As usual, a large chunk of my day was spent scanning slides but later in the afternoon the pair of us decided to nip out to a local farm shop as we both fancied something freshly cooked rather than relying on provisions from the freezer – even though that’s all home cooked meals. There’s no processed or ready-meals in our larder!

The first farm shop we called at only did phone in orders, which was our mistake as we should’ve checked first. Instead, we drove to our usual source of goodies at Bolster Moor, which we knew was open as we’d called in the other week. They’ve done a good job of working out social distancing space and their was no queue to get in, so shopping was a delight in the circumstances. 

I came away with some sirloin steak to use in a Thai salad as well as some chicken thighs. Oh, and one of their sublime pork pies which was still warm from the oven – although we were good and shared it between us!

Rather than drive straight home we took a detour via some of the local country lanes. Why not? Traffic’s light, it’s close to home and Dawn knows the roads. so it was lovely to break the monotony of the same routes we’ve been sticking to for the past two months.

En-route home we popped into the Tesco supermarket in Sowerby Bridge to pick up some alcoholic and non-alcoholic supplies. The place was quiet and the queue was short, so it didn’t take us long. Unless you’ve just arrived from Mars pretty much everybody knows the drill by now.

Back as Chez Bigland we buttoned down for the evening but first there was time to enjoy a drink in the garden and listen to the birdsong emanating from the stand of trees opposite the house. They’re a popular spot for all manner of our feathered friends including Wood-Pigeons, Crows, Magpies, Jays, Blackbirds, Finches, Tits and even the occasional Sparrow, although for some reason Sparrows are seen far more often at the back of the house than the front. The Tits are tarts, they get everywhere, as do the Magpies. 

Once the sun had set Dawn adjourned to the kitchen to prepare the Thai beef salad whilst I disappeared into the office to finish of some slide scanning before supper. The wait was worth it…thumbnail_20200519_222646

To be honest, neither of us are big red meat eaters. It’s something we have on rare occaisions, but when we do something like this is right up our street as the meat is simply one component of a dish with fantastic flavours. 

I have a suspicion food has become far more of a focus for many people thanks to the situation we find ourselves in. As we both enjoy cooking it’s actually good fun and we can honestly say that throughout lockdown we’ve not eaten a single take-away. Mind you, even before lockdown we’d only order a take-away once every Preston Guild. But we did enjoy visiting restaurants. I can’t see us doing that again for a while…

Lockdown. Day 41 (Sunday).

03 Sunday May 2020

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Wow! I’m way behind with these blogs and desperately trying to find the time to catch up. So much for the idea that there’s nothing to do because we’re stuck at home. It feels like I could do with another month of this just to catch up with all the stuff I’ve been hoping to get done.

It may officially have been the ‘day of rest’ today, but it felt like anything but for me. Whilst Dawn had a bit of a lie-in this morning I was up not long after 07:30 in order to sort out another batch of old slides to scan. I’ve moved on to another album of old railway pictures, this time from 1991. Unlike some of the later albums there’s very few duplicates in it so I have 500 different pictures to scan. As I’m lucky to get 40 done in a day there’s the best part of two weeks solid scanning to get through it. Will the lockdown last long enough for me to get all my old rail slides done? Who knows, so I’m making the most of the time I’ve got.

In between scanning there was the daily chores and everyday life to organise. I was on coffee duty this morning but Dawn made us brunch, which was something very different from our normal fare. Dee made the both of us fresh, home-made pancakes in what turned out to be a bit of a production line. We ate them straight out of the pan with freshly squeezed lemon and blueberry’s and they were gorgeous – although I may have made a bit of a pig of myself by eating six!

The pancake production line with the stove and two frying pans on the go just out of shot to the left. Cook and scoff! 

After brunch we divided our time between different jobs. Whilst I worked in the office scanning more old slides Dawn got stuck into some DIY and a project she’s been wanting to do for a while. The porch to the cottage has been overdue for a repaint for a few years now and with the improving weather it’s an ideal time to tackle the job – which Dee did with gusto! I could hear the furious wire-brushing and sanding from my office upstairs – along with the occasional shouts for advice or plea for supplies of refreshments.

And so the day passed – although I’ve no idea how it did it so quickly. Once the porch was prepared and Dee was occupied clearing up I pinched the ladders to clean all the back windows to the cottage. Well, if we’re going to be stuck indoors we might as well have clean windows to gaze (whistfully) out of!

I’d offered to cook a stir-fry this evening, using some of the Tofu we’d bought from the Moorcock shop, plus some Tempeh I’d spotted in our local Tesco’s. I marinaded both for a few hours in a mix of soy sauces, herbs and spices to give them a flavour boost before cooking them with some of the Moorcock’s organic veg and a load of rice noodles. The result was delicious, although I’m hoping none of the neighbours had any windows open as the mix of chili’s and spices certainly caught the back of the throat as they cooked!

Having eaten I worked off some of the calories by going for an evening constitutional up and down our road as it was too dark to stray through the woods to venture further. Evening time’s ideal to do this as it’s so quiet here. I spent 30 minutes to-ing and fro-ing without seeing a single car on the road. Bliss! Despite the enormous disruption the lockdown has caused to everyone’s lives there’s things I’m going to miss when things return to normal. The absence of road traffic being one. It’s been lovely to have the roads so free of vehicles.

The slides I’d scanned earlier are now on my Zenfolio website. I’ve started where I left off a few weeks ago with a previous album, which contained pictures of the open day at London’s Old Oak Common locomotive depot taken in August 1991. Here’s a sample.

02935. D400. D7018. D821. Old Oak Common open day. 18.08.1991 crop

A line-up of (mostly) preserved locomotives, including a trio of old Western region diesel-hydraulics that were once synonymous with Old Oak Common. At the time, who would have thought this depot would disappear? The whole area was razed a few years ago to make way for stabling sidings for the Crossrail train fleet. Now it’s not just the locomotives that are a memory…

You can find the rest of the pictures from the open day in this gallery. I’ve still a few more to add, which should get done in the next day or two. I’m looking forward to another busy week at home with plenty to keep me occupied, including catching up on a bit of blogging as I’ve been a bit tardy this weekend. Watch this space…

Lockdown. Day 6.

29 Sunday Mar 2020

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I was going to have a lie-in this morning, but forgot to reset my watch, so when I woke up and saw the time, then twigged that the clocks had gone forward I realised I’d already had one – which left me feeling rather cheated!

I left Dawn asleep and crawled out of bed, made some coffee, then retreated to my office to finish scanning and editing the batch of slides that I’d begun yesterday whilst catching up on the days news from around the world. You can find them on my Zenfolio website in this gallery. Scanning and editing is a time-consuming, tedious process, but at least it only has to be done this once thank God. I think I’d lose the will to live if I thought I had to do it again! I hope visitors (and picture Editors, hint, hint), will think the whole project’s been worthwhile. It’s certainly brought back a lot of memories for me. I’m actually surprised at how many I can remember the circumstances around taking them – even after 30 years!

Once the pair of us were up we planned our day. The weather’s nowhere near as nice as the past few days. The temperature’s dropped much colder and the skies greyer. Even so, it didn’t stop us getting our daily exercise, which we combined with a trip to the supermarket. To make the walk worthwhile we dropped down into Sowerby Bridge to visit the Tesco’s there. There was another motive, it’s the only one which sells their own-brand alcohol-free prosecco, which we both enjoy.

When we sallied forth the first thing we noticed was how few people had done the same. I’m sure the weather had more to do with it than anything as it was a Sunday, when you’d expect more people to be at home – but does that matter anymore? Most of the people who’re still occupied probably count it as part of the normal working week. There were a few hardy dog-walkers about but not as many young people for a change.

Sowerby Bridge still had a fair few cars whizzing through, but as the only shops open were Lidl, B&M bargains and Tesco there wasn’t much reason to visit. Even Tesco’s was quiet. The ‘social distancing’ barriers outside were empty of shoppers, so we strolled straight in. Panic-buying has subsided, helped by the fact the shops have limited the amount folk can buy so the shelves were pretty well stocked. There was no shortage of fresh fruit and vegetables, the only really empty shelves were the old panic-buyers favourites – toilet roll and pasta (as if they shouldn’t have enough by now). Oh, the other one was instructive, all the crap lagers in cases had vanished. All the decent booze was fine!

If you’ve got all this time on your hands, when are you going to realise you’re paying an awful lot of money for tasteless fizz? And you’re stockpiling it!

We even managed to pick up something that had been as rare as rocking-horse shit up to now – hand sanitizer gel result!

In theory, we should be able to shop online, but there’s one biiig problem. Everyone else is trying to do that too. Here’s the Boots website earlier today.

Your wait time is more than an hour..For over 81,000 people? No shit, Sherlock!

Strolling home we were caught in a couple of desultory hailstorms where the hail was so tiny it easily became victim to any passing breeze. Even so it was an indication of how the weather’s changed once more. The nights may be getting light, but the mercury isn’t rising.

Back in splendid Isolation we divided our time between me dealing with household chores and setting up more slides for scanning whilst Dawn dominated the kitchen. First up was a big pan of home-made broccoli, cauliflower and sweet-potato soup. Next on the menu was a vegetarian Shepherds pie, followed by crispy Kale, then stir-fried greens with garlic and chilli and soy sauce (so we’re certainly getting our five a day). Finally there was stir-fried peppers and mushrooms that can be kept in the fridge and used in vegetable omelets. We’re now set up with some gorgeous food to eat during the coming week which takes the pressure off the pair of us as we don’t have to get bogged down in prepping meals and can concentrate on work whilst still eating healthily. My mother-in-law says I’m lucky to have such a wonderful wife! Well, they do say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach! Dawn’s certainly been brilliant through these challenging times when others struggle. My MiL’s right…

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Interesting times. Part 5.

22 Sunday Mar 2020

Posted by in Coronavirus, Food and drink, Musings, West Yorkshire

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The pair of us are ‘enjoying’ our first weekend in a new Coronavirus world where the country is gradually shutting down, bit by bit. Now the pubs clubs and cafe’s have closed. Sadly, it seems a lot of people still haven’t got the memo – or think it doesn’t actually apply to them.

Saturday actually started with a rare luxury – a lie in. Well, what was the rush when much of the country’s in shutdown? Where are we gonna go, join a supermarket queue? Instead Dawn prepared breakfast whilst I finished editing some more old slides from 1991 and the new pictures of a deserted rail network that I’d taken on Friday. Here’s a sample of each.

It sure as hell doesn’t look like this anymore! On the 25th April 1991 73209 is seen at Stratford Low Level alongside 313010 which was working a North Woolwich – Richmond service. The Class 73, which was normally to be found working Gatwick Express airport services was in the area with an inspection saloon.
Despite the Coronavirus and plummeting passenger numbers, the future’s not all doom and gloom. Here’s the new platform at Leeds station taking shape.

Despite the surreality of the situation we find ourselves in we decided to make the most of the improving weather by driving up to Norland Moor to enjoy a long walk in solitary conditions. Whilst the Moor’s popular with dog walkers and mountain bikers, Hyde Park it ain’t!

The view from Norland Moor looking back across the Calder Valley to the Wainhouse Tower as it was last August.

We encountered a few people but it was mostly couples like ourselves, all who understood the need for distance right now. The only problem we encountered was the fact the moor’s so exposed there was an eye-watering biting wind blowing across it – which made us less keen to tarry! Having enjoyed a constitutional and a break from being cooped up we dropped into Sowerby Bridge and the local Lidl to pick up some supplies. Sadly, many of the shelves had been stripped bare of the stuff we needed. We’ll be damned if we’re going to join ridiculous queues early in the morning, so if it’s not on the shelves we’ll do without. I still find it bizarre the way people are panic buying and some of the shit they’re picking up. OK, alcohol and certain foods I can understand, but shampoo and washing powder? You’re meant to be at home self-isolating – just how many changes of bloody clothes do you need? You could sit at home in only your undies for all most people care – just as long as you remember to turn off your webcam when you’re in those conference calls!

Back at home we hunkered down for the evening and enjoyed cooking as therapy. Dawn prepped some veg for me, after which I cooked up a big batch of Cucumber curry to eat that evening and to add to the freezer. I can just imagine some of you saying to yourselves “Cucumber curry, seriously?” but it’s actually a gorgeous South Indian dish made with cucumber, red peppers and peanuts in a cream coconut sauce, finished off with a variety of fried spices.

Suitably sated, we binge-watched a few episodes of an Aussie series on Netflix called ‘The Glitch” which is about a group of people returning from the dead. We weren’t sure what to make of it at first, but it’s curiously addictive as it has several plot twists. It certainly takes your mind off other things…

Today (Sunday) initially began as a re-run of Saturday with me scanning pictures and Dawn preparing breakfast but the weather was so gorgeous we decided to shelve some of the chores we’d planned to get out again whilst we still can as it looks like further restrictions on movement are inevitable due to the sheer number of clowns still congregating.

The fact today’s Mother’s Day made it even more daft. I wonder how many people who’ve ignored the advice have now seen their mother for the last time? Whilst my parents passed away years ago Dawn is fortunate enough that both hers are still alive – but there’s no way on God’s green earth we were going to go anywhere near them today. Her Father’s 85 and Mother 79. Both of them are active yet both of them are heeding the advice to self-quarantine as they understand the risks.

Instead, the pair of us decided to go for a stroll locally along the Calder and Hebble navigation, which is the canal below us in the valley bottom. We walked as far as the locks at Salterhebble, where there’s boat moorings with park benches, the perfect place to sit and enjoy the beer we’d brought with us and watch the world go by for half an hour before walking home. The canal towpath wasn’t very busy and the people we met were all conscious of giving each other a wide berth so it was a stress free time.

Quiet, isn’t it? This is the Copley viaduct where the railway from Halifax (off to the right) crosses the road, the canal – and later the river Calder off to the left before meeting the line from Brighouse at Milner Royd Junction.

In fact, the weather was so pleasant we actually sat outside the cottage on our front garden wooden bench for the first time this year, soaking up the sun whilst listening to the birds in the trees across the road, who seemed to be enjoying the good weather as much as we were. If you closed your eyes, it was possible for a few brief moments to forget all the trouble in the world and indulge your senses, enjoying the simple pleasures of the heat of the sun on your skin and the melodic birdsong gracing your ears.

Next week will be a curious one as it’ll be the first full week where the pair of us will be self-isolating by working from home. The picture in the outside world’s still fluid so who knows how things will look by Friday, or what will happen in the intervening days, but right now all we can do is take one day at a time. The forthcoming weeks and months are in the lap of the Gods…

We live in interesting times…

15 Sunday Mar 2020

Posted by in Food and drink, Halifax, Musings

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– as the supposed old Chinese curse goes…

We’re certainly doing that with first the Brexit shambles and now the panic over the pandemic! The picture seems to change almost hourly as there’s a new development or story reported in the mainstream media or fed by social media.

For Dawn and I, yesterday seemed perfectly normal, although how long this will continue I have no idea. The pair of us went out for brunch in Halifax, visiting the wonderful Piece Hall to eat at ‘Elder’, a cosy café on the ground floor of the historic building. With what’s going on we’d expected Halifax to be quite but in fact it was teeming and we had to wait to get a table at the café! We both ordered the same brunch, a delicious mushroom Benedict, poached eggs and a béarnaise sauce served on potato rostis, accompanied by fried mushrooms.

Dawn had a coffee whilst I washed mine down with a bottle of Pale Ale from the Saltaire Brewery.

Suitably fed and watered we went off to do a spot of shopping to make a few strategic purchases rather than panic buying! Yorkshire being Yorkshire, we didn’t encounter a single person sporting a facemask. Having completed our chores we popped into one of the new bars in town. ‘Kobenhavn’, which is situated in the Westgate Arcade. It’s a modern bar on three levels which has an excellent selection of craft beers and real ales. They also cater for wine drinkers, have tea/coffee and a range of non/low alcohol drinks. Dawn was taken by some of the beers and enjoyed one of the Veltins whilst I went for “Pride and Joy”, a Pale Ale on handpump from local company Vocation Brewery which was very well kept. The bar was almost empty when we arrived but half an hour later it was teeming with beer aficionados of all ages and sexes.

It was a pleasant interlude, knowing that it might be the last time we were doing something like this for a while. The entertainment wasn’t over yet as this critter and some of his friends were on display outside in the arcade.

We’re fortunate that where we live the surrounding woods are home to many owls, who you often hear in the evening – although none are as majestic as this beastie, the Eurasian eagle-owl

Before heading we had one last chore to do which was to pop into the Tesco’s in Sowerby Bridge to pick up some supplies. Oddly, it’s the only Tesco’s in the area that sells their own-brand alcohol free Presecco. We’ve been sampling different brands and this is without doubt the best we’ve found. Whilst we were there we couldn’t miss the shelves which has been stripped bare of bog-roll and all the other stuff that’s on the list of essentials for those who’ve joined in the panic-buying jamboree…

Seriously?

Returning home to dump our purchases and change the fun was far from over as the rest of the evening was spent at a friend’s house, where the ‘6 from the 6’ were getting together to celebrate the birthday of one of our number, Tony Allan (of Phoenix Brewery fame). We were hosted by Fran and Aubrey, who’d cooked up a fantastic array of Caribbean recipes which catered for all tastes as we had vegetarian, chicken and lamb dishes. It was a lovely sociable evening. One only hopes the coming Coronavirus circus doesn’t mean we won’t be able to do such things for a while…

Today (Sunday) things have been a little more relaxed. We’ve been observing the unfolding world chaos via the social and mainstream media and thinking “the world really has gone mad”. At the same time we’re trying to make sense of it all and consider what we might need to do as it’s looking increasingly likely that many European countries, including the UK, are going into various degrees of shutdown.

So, we’ve been doing some strategic shopping ourselves. And no – I don’t mean panic buying bloody toilet rolls! Instead we’ve stocked up on a few everyday provisions that mean we don’t have to visit shops that often. We’ve been buying slabs of cooking staples like tins of chick-peas and chopped tomatoes just in case the Government, which doesn’t seem to know its arse from its elbow – decides to do something really daft. Oh, and I’ve stocked up on the wines and beers, so if nothing else I can always drown my sorrows at the stupidity of it all.

We did have a wonderfully light hearted moment when we were out. Whilst we were stood in the checkout queue I noticed the woman behind me had a large bottle of vodka in her shopping so I mentioned to Dawn that – if we run out of hand sanitizer you can always make some up using alcohol. Dawn (at the end of her tether) decided to count to 10 in a theatrical fashion. The elderly couple ahead of in the queue obviously overhead this and the woman turned around and laughed, saying “I’ll have to try that!”. Looking back at her more doddery husband who was slowly packing the shopping she observed “we couldn’t self-isolate for four months. I’d end up killing him!” I couldn’t help but sympathise…

These times are about to get a lot more ‘interesting’. Over the rest of the month I have several jobs lined up on the railways that include a fair bit of travel. Will any of them be cancelled? Who knows? I think next week could prove to be very fluid with things changing day by day. On the bright side, I have a home office, several articles and blogs to write and a large collection of old slides to scan, so I’ve plenty to keep me occupied in the case of an enforced stay at home. The difficulty at the moment is the uncertainty and the inability to plan – and I’m one of the lucky ones! I’m not living hand to mouth, I’m not on a zero-hours contract and I have the ability to ‘cut my cloth’. I feel for those who don’t, and I can’t help but wonder how all this is going to pan out. I’ve been a resident of this planet for 60 years now and I’ve never seen such strange times. At least it’ll give me plenty to write about…

Rain stopped play…

28 Friday Feb 2020

Posted by in Calder Valley, Food and drink, Musings, Railways, Travel

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Well, not just the rain, but it has been another wet and frustrating day. My cunning plan was to head over to the Wigan – Southport railway to get some shots of the new bi-mode Class 769 trains that are on test there to fill a gap in the library and also for a client.

I dutifully headed off in that direction this morning. The weather here in Yorkshire was less than ideal but I don’t have much time to spare at the moment as the diary for March is looking rather full.

The trip across the Pennines from Sowerby Bridge was uneventful. I was on a direct service from Leeds to Wigan Wallgate which was worked by one of Northern’s cascaded Class 158s. Once the staple of more express services, they’ve been displaced onto secondary duties that would once have been worked by Pacers. It was comfortable and not particularly busy until it called at Rochdale so I used my time wisely and got some work done. The lack of wifi and power sockets wasn’t an issue now I have my new ‘super duper’ Dell laptop so I managed to plough through and edit quite a backlog of pictures whilst keeping a wary eye on the weather which was worsening the further West I got.

Sod’s law being what it is, by the time I got to Wigan and checked the Class 769 workings on Real Time Trains it was obvious today’s runs had been cancelled. It’s always the luck of the draw with these things and the fact it was raining cats and dogs in Wigan (or ‘Wiggin’ as the local pronounce it) meant I wasn’t too disappointed. Instead, I admitted defeat to head back East and attempted to salvage the day by getting a couple of shots around Manchester Victoria, like this one which rather shows how much the railways around the city have changed in the past few years.

A pair of Hitachi Class 802s operated by Trans Pennine Express pass at Manchester Victoria. On the left 802215 works 9S12, the 1224 Liverpool Lime Street to Edinburgh. Yes, Manchester now has direct services to the Scottish capital – and from Victoria too! On the right 802209 was working the unfortunate 1P22, the 1047 Newcastle to Manchester Airport which was terminated at Victoria due to signal failure. It’s great to see the way Victoria has regained the intercity services that it lost decades ago – and with brand new state of the art trains providing them too!

Heading on East I managed to get home without getting drenched thanks to my trusty Siemens supplied umbrella and a new pair of walking boots that kept my feet above the many puddles I encountered on the way. This evening has been spent on different activities. Both Dawn and I love to cook and tonight the muse was upon me. Whilst Dee slaved away working from home I tried an Indian recipe I’ve never cooked before, Chettinad Chicken curry. It’s fiery due to the Kashmiri chilli powder and ground black peppercorns and aromatic due to the cumin, cinnamon and coriander seeds. Served with rice and a few pickles and chutneys it certainly brought some colour into an otherwise dreary day.

The weekend weather isn’t looking much better. In fact, it appears we’ve yet another storm on the way, so I doubt I’ll be getting out with the camera over the next few days although I might get a few more old slides from 1990 scanned – just to keep the momentum going. As chance would have it, the next ones to be done are from Bristol – a city that I’ll be back in on Monday as I’m at an ACoRP seminar on Monday – Tuesday. Hopefully I’ll have chance to get a couple of up to date shots as a comparison…

Winter hills…

15 Sunday Dec 2019

Posted by in Food and drink, Huddersfield, Musings, West Yorkshire

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We’ve had a chilly weekend in West Yorkshire, very much four seasons in one day sort of weather where there’s bright sunshine one minute, then you’re getting pelted with hailstones before being soaked by heavy rain.

Yesterday afternoon we went to see my Father-in-Law perform with the Honley Male voice choir at Huddersfield Town hall. They were supported by the excellent Carlton Frickley Colliery Band and also a local female choir from nearby Rastrick. It was a lovely, joyous event in a stunning setting. Here’s a shot from the end of the event when everyone was in the festive spirit, including the audience who were joining hands and swaying along to the songs!

Afterwards Dawn treated me to a belated birthday present, an excellent meal at Café Thai in West Vale, where we had the tapas menu in their upstairs restaurant. Thai food lends itself to the tapas format extremely well. We ordered three dishes each, which was plenty as the portion sizes are generous. Among the dishes we ordered was this, Pla Goong. Grilled prawns with a salad of red onions, coriander and garlic, along with a typically Thai spicy dressing that was the perfect fiery accompaniment.

We also sampled duck in a red curry sauce, steamed mussels with Thai Basil and a marinated Tofu dish, ‘Pad Char’ – none of which could be faulted.

Today’s been much more a home-based event. This is the view we woke up to from our bedroom window this morning, with the first snow of the season on the high hills and dark skies threatening more…