Christ on a bike! – another week’s over and I only have the weekend left before I begin my tour of the country by rail. I’m really looking forward to it. Much of my route’s planned out in theory but to paraphrase the famous quote from Helmuth van Moltke, “no plan survives first contact with the enemy”. I expect my finely tuned timetable to be nothing more than a wish-list, but we’ll see…
Today’s been spent sorting out the last logistics of the trip as well as tidying up paperwork before I go in order to have quality time with ‘the other half’. Tonight was such an event. We both knocked off early in order to meet up with friends in our local. We may have missed the quiz but we had such a laugh afterwards! The humour was flying – lubricated en-route by a variety of alcoholic mixes (or in the case of Dawn, just humour).
Now we’re back at home, resting our chuckle muscles, ready to watch the last episode of ‘Killing Eve’ – one of the few terrestrial TV series series we’ve got involved in for ages. This leaves me with one last task – posting today’s picture, which reflects where we’ve been tonight and one that real ale drinkers can relate to. This is what was on offer to slake your thirst in the Big 6 tonight…
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We’ve had another hot and sunny day here in the Calder valley which prompted me to venture out with the camera as on Saturdays Trans-Pennine Express trains are diverted from their usual route and traverse the Calder valley. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while but as Dawn had to work this morning this gave me the excuse I needed. I’ll be documenting the diversions at several locations over the coming months but as I only had a few hours today I headed over to Todmorden as I could swap between a couple of locations quickly.
Here’s a few examples.
185126 (rear) and 185138 speed through Todmorden station whilst working 1P71, the 11:02 Manchester Victoria to Darlington. 802206 passes Hall Royd Junction just outside Todmorden whilst working 9M20, the 09:47 Newcastle to Liverpool Lime Street. This is the junction for the line to Blackburn which is off to the left. 802217 approaches Todmorden station working 1P25, the 1154 Liverpool Lime Street to Newcastle.
There’s plenty of other pictures to be added to my Zenfolio website later, but these give you a flavour of what the day was like. On another day I would’ve stayed longer but I was keen to tear Dawn away from her computer, so the two of us arranged to meet up in Halifax for a wander and a couple of drinks.
I have to say I was amazed at just how busy Halifax was and what fun people were having. The Piece Hall was as stunning as ever. Right now the courtyard hosts a roller-skating rink which is proving to be very popular. What was equally popular was the nearby Westgate Arcade which hosts a variety of bars, cafes and restaurants. The covered seating area was jam-packed and the crowds were being entertained by a swing band and dancers who were performing nearby. The town’s really come on as a place to go to in recent years and it’s lovely to see. Here’s a few pictures to give a flavour.
The stunning Piece HallLife in the Westgate ArcadeOur final stop was in the ‘Meandering Bear’ which always has a great selection of beers on offer at prices that surprise many Southerners.
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Apologies for absence these past several days but I’ve been playing catch-up after returning from Germany. That return’s coincided with Dawn falling ill with Covid. Thankfully she’s now starting to pull through although poor Dee has had it far worse than I did as she’s suffered from banging headaches and a loss of some tastebuds as well as the standard aches and pains. In a reversal of what happened last time I’m the one who’s avoided catching Covid. It really is the most capricious of diseases. The worrying thing is the amount of friends who’ve also contracted it recently. Anyone who thinks Covid’s gone away is living in a fool’s paradise.
Of course, this would co-incide with the the need to get on with my role as Judge for the annual Community Rail Awards as well as other work and a backlog of picture editing. After all, there’s only so much I can do whilst wearing a nurse’s uniform (stop sniggering at the back!).
My enforced sojourn at home has come at a great time as the weather here in the Calder Valley has been stunning. We’ve had a run of gorgeous hot sunny days that have meant working on our outdoor terrace has become de rigeour. Admittedly, the intensity of the sun’s meant I’ve had to head indoors to use the laptop, but then I’ve had a patient to cook for and keep an eye on…
Because of the weather I’ve been getting up early (Asia style) to get a lot of stuff done before the Mercury climbs. After that it’s a case of “mad dogs and Englishmen” as I’ve headed out in the midday sun to get some exercise. Part of me would like to have got out with the camera but to be honest, the intensity of the sun this time of year doesn’t make for the best pictures as the colour of the light is too blue and the light too harsh. Far better to head out in the morning or evening.
Hopefully, now that Dee’s on the mend and I’m catching up with stuff I’ll be able to get out and about again to tick off some projects from my ever lengthening list – but maybe not this week. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with today’s picture which gives you an idea of how conditions have been here in the Calder Valley. We live below this rather magnificent folly, which dominates the valley. Here’s the view from my walk back from Sowerby Bridge…
The Wainhouse Tower.
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I have to admit, the day’s started well. I woke up to the news that the Tories had been roundly thrashed in both of yesterday’s bye-elections. The result in Wakefield was expected, but the Lib-Dems trouncing Tries in one of their safest seats wasn’t. As expected, it’s set a few cats amongst pigeons. Admittedly, I doubt it will lead to Johnson’s resignation. After all, he’s a man with neither scruples nor honour. He’ll hand on to No10 by his fingernails until he’s dragged from there kicking and screaming. He’ll have to be ejected by his own party or the electorate. I must admit I find the idea that his own constituents might finish his political career rather appealing if it wasn’t for the damage the man and the incompetent pets he keeps as a Cabinet could do in the meantime. I doubt Johnson will stay in politics after he’s ejected (one way or another). His only interest in politics was to massage his ego and get the top job. He’ll never stay on as a backbencher. Why would he? He’ll be off, being looked after one of the people he’s enriched who’ll give him a well-paid sinecure somewhere (preferably where he can’t do any more damage).
Apart from that been a busy morning/afternoon here in Bigland Towers. I’ve been kept occupied editing all the pictures I’ve been taking these past few days and getting them on my other website. You can find the results here. That done, it was time to finish type-swiping my latest article for RAIL magazine in order to be able to take some time off this afternoon as the pair of us are joining up with friends to go to the Piece Hall in Halifax this evening see too Nile Rogers and Chic in concert.
There’s only one tiny problem…
It’s an open-air gig and we’ve already had one absolutely torrential downpour with the weather forecast predicting thunderstorms to follow ! Now the sun’s out, making for a very muggy day with the temperature at 19 degrees. This could be interesting.
This means this is going to be a two-part blog, with the actual picture of the day added later. When I decide what it’s going to be…
OK. Here’s the picture of the day. The Nial Rodgers concert at the Piece Hall was an absolute stonker. It’s easy to forget just how many great tunes the man has written for other artists. Tonight he reminded us.
After a busy week we’ve had a quiet weekend here at Bigland Towers. Catching up on sleep was important as next week’s going to be another active and varied one – as will be the next few. Saturday’s weather was glorious with lots of sunshine and balmy temperatures, so the pair of us decided to walk into Halifax and visit the Piece Hall where a friend was exhibiting some of her charcoal artwork as part of a charity fundraising sale. The building and its internal square was packed with people enjoying the weather, bars and shops. It’s such a special place that it’s sometimes hard to remember that you’re actually in West Yorkshire and not somewhere in Italy.
Today the weather’s not been as generous although the threatened rain never materialised. Not that it mattered as we didn’t venture outside until late afternoon when we enjoyed a long stroll around the local area in order to get in some exercise. Halifax possesses some fascination old buildings, many of which have been repurposed over the years, so a wander invariably ends up in a game of ‘guess the house’s original purpose’.
Now we’re back at home and relaxing for the evening. Dawn’s cooking roasted vegetables with lamb rolls and I’m catching up on a spot of picture editing, trying to clear the backlog of pictures I’ve taken over the past few days. OK, it’s not exactly the ‘rock and roll’ lifestyle, but it suits us! Although talking rock and roll (and the Piece Hall, we’ll be back there twice over the next few weeks to see Nile Rogers and Chic, then Paloma Faith.
I’ll leave you now with today’s picture, which was taken at the Piece Hall yesterday, just so you can see what I mean about the building…
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Winter’s arrived with a vengeance here in the Pennines although we’ve been very lucky where we live as our little patch of the valley side’s normally sheltered from the brunt of the weather – and this time was no exception. Storm Arwen hit on Friday evening but we’d no idea just how bad it was as we were protected from the height of the winds. Oh, we knew it was gusty but it was only when we woke up on Saturday morning and saw that the high ground around the valley was covered in a blanket of snow we started to realise what had really occurred. Then we started seeing comments from friends on social media and the news wires that made us appreciate just how fortunate we’d been. But, it was a close run thing. Norland, on the opposite side of the valley had the electricity knocked out with places not seeing it restored until this afternoon (Sunday). There but for the grace of God…
This morning the snow returned and stayed with us nearly all of the day, giving us several fresh dustings of varying severities, all of which clung as temperatures were so low and there was hardly a breath of wind. The trees looked magical and the valley below eerie as tendrils of cloud toyed with with the town, grasping at sections whilst leaving other areas unmolested. It was so attractive that the pair of us wrapped up warm and went for a walk through our local woods, along the promenade where we could admire the vista, then circumnavigated an almost deserted Savile Park before returning home to the warm, feeling like we’d earned our evening in together where we relaxed in front of the TV, but not until I’d rustled up a Chicken Vindail curry which added some spice to keep out the cold on a day when you really did need it.
Here’s a few shots from our perambulations…
The view from our bedroom window – looking down over Sowerby Bridge with Sowerby beyond partially hidden by low clouds which slowly drifted through the valley. Looking across to Norland, which was still suffering from a power cut caused by the storm. It looks beautiful – as long as you don’t rely on electricity for heating! The top of the valley kept disappearing as low cloud kept overwhelming it. This is one of our regular walks because there’s the wonderful Moorcock Inn as a refuge at the end of the trek. The edge of Norland and Sowerby Bridge just at the edge of the picture on the right hand side. The row of trees in the valley bottom disguise the railway between Halifax and Manchester. Just a few minutes walk from the house our road has this avenue of trees which look superb in this weather. Scarr Woods looked stunning after the latest snowfall without a breath of wind to blow the dust off the branches.
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/
There was no time for blogging yesterday, the day was taken up with Tony’s funeral and the gathering in the Big 6 pub afterwards. It was a sad day, but also one filled with laughter, because so many of us had great memories of Tony to share and remember. The public event was at St Jude’s church on Savile Park, near where Tony lived. The hearse turned up outside his house and a hundred or so of his friends and pub regulars walked behind for the short journey to the church, where many more joined us. During the service memories of Tony were shared. I’ve a copy of the brilliant eulogy which was written by ‘Mel’, an old friend of Tony’s and read out by the vicar. I’ll edit it and publish it as a separate blog in Tony’s memory as it fleshes out his life – which was a full one. I certainly learned a lot about Tony’s early life and brewing career.
After the church ceremony a small group of us escorted the hearse to the crematorium for a private ceremony. At the Crem’, Steve Parker, a good friend and stalwart of Tony’s help during his illness read out this prayer which was printed in the order of service
After saying our final farewells to Tony we met up with the other mourners back at the Big 6 pub which had opened early especially for the occasion. Needless to say, it was packed. Alison (the ‘new’ manager who’s worked there for years) and the staff had laid on food which would have really appealed to Tony. Pork pies – several hundred of them of all different types! After all, what could be better than a pie and a pint? OK, the pint became several as many of us stayed until the evening! Here’s a couple of pictures from the day, just to give you an idea.
The cover of the order of service used a crop of a picture I’d taken of Tony at one of our many events together. I’d forgotten I’d taken it to be honest, but I’m glad I did as it’s Tony to a T. No-one went short of a pork pie in the Big 6 after the funeral! Oh, vegetarians were catered for too as all the pasties and sausage rolls on the table in the back are all meat-free. The staff from Phoenix brewery were at the funeral. Some were pall-bearers. They’d also brewed a special beer in his memory which was served at the Big 6.
So, farewell Tony, you will be missed, but we have some fabulous memories of you, the times together an the laughs we shared – and your legacy will live on in the Phoenix Brewery, bringing pleasure to many for many years yet…
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/
I’ll be updating this blog bit by bit throughout the day but it’s not a conventional rolling blog for the simple reason that’s it’s my wife’s birthday and I’d be in deep do-do if I was spending most of the day bashing away at a keyboard or staring at my smartphone!
The day’s started well if slowly. I brought the birthday girl tea and a bunch of flowers in bed then it was time to open all her cards and some prezzies before getting ready to go out for brunch. The weather’s cloudy and gloomy but we’re still going to walk into Halifax where we’ll meet Dee’s parents at the Piece Hall as part of the celebrations. It’s wonderful to be able to do this again although we were surprised to hear the news that the Government’s changed its advice about meeting up in nearby Kirklees without telling anyone.
I only found out this norning by reading about it on Twitter! I shouldn’t really surprised. This bunch have become a watchword for incompetence so this is par for the course. Dawn’s parents live in Kirklees and both have had their double Covid jabs and Dawn and I will have ours later this week, so the government ‘advice’ can ‘do one’ for once. We’ll take all sensible precautions – which is more than some Government Ministers and Advisors ever have!
11:10.
Time for brunch at the unique and rather superb Piece Hall. It being Tuesday not all the bars and cafes were open but there was enough to keep visitors fed and watered.
14:25.
Brunch turned into coffee and cake at a lovely little cafe tucked away near one of the top corners of the hall where the four of us whiled away a pleasant hour chatting and watching the Piece Hall slowly return to life. The Deli is run by the Piece Hall Trust and returns profits to the trust to keep the building running. The cafe’s only small (even smaller now tables have been stripped out to maintain social distancing) but the coffee’s very good and the staff are excellent – so friendly, helpful and cheerful. Plus, it was great to see people (cautiously) enjoying the freedoms they’ve regained after so long.
Coffee over we parted company until later and the pair of us walked home, strolling along some of the towns back streets, discovering some of Halifax’s hidden gems. There’s an amazing variety of buildings here, from huge mansions to back to backs, all linked by a maze of backstreets and footpaths. It’s always an adventure as we suddenly decide to veer off down a street we’ve never explored before. Admittedly, we had to keep one eye on the skies as rain was on the horizon which cut short our wanderings but we managed to make it home before the showers arrived.
Back at home we decided there was nothing for it but to put the heating on and break out the Scrabble board for a couple of hours before we needed to get ready for heading to the restaurant to celebrate Dee’s birthday in style…
16:05.
Our Scrabble match is neck and neck on points so we’ve set it aside whilst we get ready to head out to the restaurant. The weather’s finally brightened up so we’re hoping for a pleasant trip over to the 315 restaurant at Lepton, near Huddersfield.
19:50.
Yum, my starter – roasted scallops, Parma ham, pea puree, cauliflower and garlic dressing..
22:37.
Back home after a super evening with the four of us in the 315. The food was excellent and the staff were lovely. I’ll flesh this out more in the morning but for now here’s a couple more pictures of the main courses. I had the Venison;
Dawn chose the duck;
Both were cooked just right, presented well and were delicious!
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/
The first day of the month and the first day of the week arriving together along with some glorious sunshine gave me the impetus to break away from my usual routine today. Abandoning the computer I swapped it for the camera and enjoyed a long walk, just to blow the cobwebs away and do something different for a change.
For the first time this year I walked into Halifax itself, which was existing in that sort of strange half-life many towns and cities are enduring right now. The only things that were open were food outlets, banks and the odd shop selling the bare necessities of life. Still, it gave me time to look upwards to admire some of the fine buildings without worrying about walking into people as there were bugger-all people to walk into!
Despite the fact the low winter sun had already moved around and wasn’t in the best position for some pictures I began the trek from the town centre up the steep climb to the top of Beacon hill, which gives superb views across the town and out into the surrounding hills and valleys, so here’s the picture of the day, taken today from the top of the hill looking down into the town itself.
The square building at the bottom right of the picture behind the church spire is the superb Piece Hall. Above it in the centre of the picture you can see the Octagonal dome of Halifax Borough market which opened in 1896. Above the market to the right is a white fronted building with a dome. That’s the rather ostentatious Natwest bank, showing off in a town dominated by a building Society! I’m looking North-West here, so beyond the town you can see Mount Tabor and the moors around Ogden in the background.
I’ve added many other views of Halifax and surrounds taken today to this gallery. Enjoy!
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/
The end to another working week. Well, in theory as weekends don’t mean as much nowadays, especially for freelances like me as it’s nearly 25 years since I last worked in a 9 to 5 job! Add in the effects of lockdown and it’s very easy to lose track of the days or what you’ve been doing, which is one of the reasons that I’ve been trying to write a daily blog.
Today’s routine did vary as after breakfast I left Dawn busy at work in the living room whilst I took a stroll into Halifax to pick up some shopping from Marks and Spencer’s food hall for her parents. It was my first trip into Halifax since the easing of lockdown restrictions, so I was curious as to what I’d find. With the weather being cloudy but warm it was a pleasant stroll. The main roads that I crossed on the way were much busier than has been the new normal but everywhere else remained quiet. It was the same situation in the town centre, albeit there did seem to be a few more people around – although no new shops appeared to have reopened. The pedestrian precinct that M&S is located in was dead. There was no queue to get in the shop but there was inside. We zig-zagged through ladies underwear to get through to the small food hall where staff enforced a strict one in, one out policy and insisted that everyone used trollies (no baskets). I managed to get most of the stuff on the shopping list although it took me a while as I never shop here so I had no idea where to find things!
Glad to be out I headed over to the local health food store to pick up some of the veggie cheeses that we use at home as Dawn is allergic to cheese. They’re coconut based and more expensive than ordinary cheese but they’re tasty and work really well in salads. We use them sparingly and regard them as a bit of a treat which is probably just as well as I spent over £20 just on cheese!
On my way home I stopped to get a couple of shots, just to show how quiet the place was.
The Woolshops shopping centre with M&S behind me. On a normal Friday this place would be teeming. Thankfully, most people are still staying safe.
Corn Market in the centre of Halifax with the Market Hall to the right. a Handful of shops (mostly butchers) remain open in the market, the rest of the place is deserted.
The Westgate Arcade which leads on down to the Piece Hall, is deserted.
It’s reassuring to see that, despite the Government’s muddled advice, most people have made their own decision to stick with lockdown and stay at home. Sure, there’s always a few idiots who don’t and there’s some fringe political elements on the far-right and left who’re playing on people’s prejudices or paranoia to exploit the situation, but most folks aren’t taken in.
Walking back home with my goodies I traversed equally quiet streets and spent the rest of the day at home scanning yet more old pictures from the 1990s. I was tempting to head outside into the garden to soak up a little bit of sun, but (to be honest) the weather’s nowhere near as warm as it has been and a persistent wind’s taken the edge off it.
This change was obvious when it came to six o’ clock, when it was time for us refugees from the ‘Big 6’ pub to meet via Zoom and recreate the traditional Friday Quiz. Last week many folk were joining from their gardens. This week everybody was inside. The quiz was no less fun and it was lovely to be able to catch up with folks and share a few jokes – even if it was online. I wonder when we’ll be able to do this properly?
Quiz over, the rest of the evening was quite anti-social. Dawn did her thing and I did mine as the pair of us were focussed on other things. On the bright side, I did manage to finish scanning and editing another tranche of slides like this.
If I stood on this platform and took the same shot today, nothing would be recognisable. This is Stratford (East London) on the 7th June 1993. The railway line still exists, but everything that surrounds it has been swept away as the area’s undergone a massive transformation. The first part was due to London’s growing economy, the second part was due to Stratford becoming a major transport interchange. But the biggest transformation was because of the 2012 Olympics.
Paul Bigland 