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Paul Bigland

~ Blogging on transport, travel & whatever takes my fancy.

Paul Bigland

Category Archives: India

8th January picture of the day…

08 Sunday Jan 2023

Posted by Paul Bigland in Food and drink, India, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel, West Yorkshire

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Food and drink, India, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel, West Yorkshire

*for some reason my internal clock seems to be stuck in December – so apologies for those confused on seeing the titles of these blogs before I realise my mistake and correct them!*

Apologies for absence these past couple of days but I’ve been both a busy bee and social butterfly – if such things are possible at the same time! I’ve been trying to get various things in order before I head out to S-E Asia on Tuesday. Mostly stuff around the house, plus finishing off a few work pieces whilst prepping stuff to take with me to keep me occupied on quiet evenings or days when I’m relaxing by a beach – if I find the time, and a beach!

Plus Friday was a social evening as it was the last chance I had to meet up with friends in our local before I leave. Dawn joined me and the pair of us had a very convivial evening doing our regular quiz whilst quaffing a few ales (or in Dawn’s case, San Pellegrino) then chatting and joking with the rest of the pub. Saturday was in similar vein as Dee and I had brunch with her parents at Hinchliffes (billed as Britain’s oldest farm shop) where I enjoyed something I won’t be eating out in Asia – a full English breakfast!

Heading back to the Calder valley we said another farewell, this time to the fabulous Moorcock Inn at Norland Moor. We popped in for one last drink in order to say goodbye as Aimee and Alasdair are closing the place on January 20th as they’re giving up the lease. It’s a crying shame as in the five years they leased the pub for they’ve turned the place into a ‘must visit’ culinary experience with superb food and a great choice of drinks. They’ll be sorely missed by both locals and people who’ve travelled for miles to enjoy what they offered. We’ll certainly miss popping in after a bracing walk around the moor for a well-earned drink and a bowl of their sublime smoked roasted potatoes.

We continued our culinary these in the evening only this time it was just the two of us. Dawn took me out for a bon-voyage meal to a place neither of us had visited before, the Manor House at Lindley, on the Western edge of Huddersfield. It’s an old Victorian mill owners mansion which has been brought back from dereliction to become a hotel, restaurant and bar. The new owners have done an excellent job with the restoration. We had a drink in the bar before being shown to our table, which allowed us time to see what a mixed-age clientele frequented the place. The restaurant itself is stylish yet cosy and the food is excellent. As both Dee and I both enjoy cooking we’re not easily impressed and often find dining out a bit of a disappointment, but last night both of us were enthused by the inventiveness of the menu and the quality of the food. The place isn’t cheap but for once we felt we certainly had value for money. It’s not somewhere we’d go every month, but we’d have no hesitation in going back.

Today’s been more of a lazy Sunday, with a focus on more household chores and (in my case) packing whilst Dawn’s busying herself in the kitchen before we have a penultimate cosy night in – hence me blogging earlier than usual. So, all that remains now is for me to leave you with the picture of the day – but what to choose? I deliberately left my cameras at home these past few days as the time was about Dawn and I – not pictures – there’ll be plenty of time for those over the next few months! That means digging into the archives. One of the little projects I’m taking with me to Asia is another batch of old slide scans that need editing. There’s a real mixture (all from the late 1990s) but most were taken in India – including this one – which is of the delightfully battered and archaic Calcutta trams.

Sadly, the network has been cut back even more since those days. I’d love to go back and have a look at what’s left as I’ve not returned for a decade. Here’s how they looked in February 1998 when a queue of trams were stuck behind a common event – a derailment on the life-expired and rickety track.

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

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

Thank you!

28th December picture of the day…

28 Wednesday Dec 2022

Posted by Paul Bigland in India, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel, West Yorkshire

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Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel, West Yorkshire

I’ve had another ‘Groundhog day’ here at Bigland Towers, mainly because the weather seems to be stuck on ‘rinse and repeat’! I woke up early this morning in order to carry on with various DIY bits but the weather was so gloomy and wet the day took many hours to catch up with me. Venturing out with the camera seems pointless when the visibility’s so bad, the rain so persistent and the wind so gusting. Instead, I’ve stayed home in the warm and dry to tick a few more jobs off the list of stuff that needs doing around the cottage. That said, there’s several outdoor jobs on the list but they’re going to have to wait. I’m not climbing ladders to clear out gutters in this! I had a much less windswept time wielding paintbrushes and replacing the flush on the toilet instead. Not exactly the rock and roll lifestyle but hey – I’m going travelling for a couple of months!

I dis have one moment of angst before setting off for my daily constitutional (fully suited and booted in full waterproofs, of course) when it came to sticking a second load of washing in the machine ready for when I got back. For some reason I couldn’t get the damn thing to work. A small, friendly door symbol kept flashing but I hadn’t a clue what it meant. I couldn’t find the manual for said machine so, after much muttering and swearing I went online and download a copy from the Bosch website (thank God for the internet). Several pages and many more minutes later I identified the problem. Earlier on I’d accidentally applied the bloody child lock – not a feature I’ve ever had to bother with, so I had no idea such a device existed!

Now I’m winding down for the day, sitting in the office and finishing off a few more slide scans whilst the smell of fresh paint permeates the cottage. Outside the wind is howling and the rain’s battering the front windows but as I don’t have to go anywhere I don’t care. Plus, I have wine…

Right, on to the picture of the day. I’ve chosen another from the series of new slide scans which were shot at Varanasi, India in 1998. This one I’ve titled ‘when east meets west’.

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!

27th December picture(s) of the day…

27 Tuesday Dec 2022

Posted by Paul Bigland in India, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

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India, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

Apologies for my absence these past couple of days, but Hey – it’s Christmas and I’ve given myself a couple of evenings off. Besides, you probably wouldn’t want to read post pub blogs and I wasn’t keen to write ’em!

Christmas day was a quiet one here at Bigland Towers due to the fact I was on my ‘Jack Jones’ as Dawn is down in Surrey with her family whilst I’m at home catching up on some DIY and various bits before I bugger off to Asia in January. The rail strikes put paid to any ideas that I might have had about days away but then so has the weather which has been extremely wet here in West Yorkshire. So even if I’d the wherewithal to get anywhere all that would’ve happened is I’d have got soaked. It was bad enough walking to and from the pub!

I wasn’t entirely ‘billy no mates’ on Christmas day as my local (The Big 6) was open between 12-3pm to provide sanctuary and a stress-free environment to Xmas refugees. No family arguments, no hyperactive children, just a few adults enjoying respite care! That feeling of normality (well, apart from the rash of Xmas jumpers of course ) was welcome and it was lovely to catch up with a few people before returning home to the paintbrushes.

Boxing day was not dissimilar as I popped back to the Big 6 in the evening for a ‘swifty’ after a day of DIY and also scanning some old slides. I’ve been very remiss on that front over the past few months. My good intention to have all my old slides scanned by the end of the year has gone out of the window as I’ve still several thousand to get through. Realistically, I’m not going to get them finished before 2024, but at least I’ve made small dent in them today. Otherwise it was a question of sitting and watching paint dry (no, really!).

Tomorrow’s meant to be yet another crap day weather-wise, but I’ve plenty to do indoors before Dawn gets back. Right now, I’ll leave you with pictures from the past few days.

Showers and rainbows across the Calder Valley on my stroll to the pub.
Beer and convivial company in the Big 6 on Christmas day

Here’s one of today’s slide scans. Here’s the ghats on the river Ganges at Varanasi, on of the holy Hindu sites seen from out boat on the river at dawn one morning in February 1998. It really is a special place but sometimes difficult for Westerners to get to grips with as religion is part of everyday life (and death) here in a way it hasn’t been in much of Europe for a very long time.

24th November picture of the day…

24 Thursday Nov 2022

Posted by Paul Bigland in India, Photography, Picture of the day

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India, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

There’s a short blog from me tonight as I’m off on my travels again first thing tomorrow morning. After a busy day picture editing and filing and packing as well as staying out of the torrential showers we’ve had it’s time to curl up with Dawn and a film. But, I will leave you with today’s picture before I go.

Whilst I was at the dentists the other day we got talking about tooth care in different parts of the world. I mentioned a street dentist I’d encountered in India. Everyone was curious, so I called the picture up on my phone (the beauty of having all my pictures on a website). Meet Mr Gurbachan Singh, street dentist and resident of Jaipur, Rajasthan. Well, he was on the 31st October 1991 when I took the picture. Somehow I suspect he’s at best retired, if not expired.

Thankfully, I never required his services! He was a delightful chap to talk to tho’…

Expect a rolling blog tomorrow as I make my way down to Reading where I’ll be based for the next couple of nights, plus blogs on Saturday’s trip out for the Railway Children and my return North on Sunday.

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!

I’m back!

10 Thursday Nov 2022

Posted by Paul Bigland in India, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

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India, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

Sorry for the latest hiatus in blogging. This one’s been due to scribbling for a living as I needed to complete round Britain trilogy for RAIL magazine. The last one was finished today so now I’m free to concentrate on other matters, such as writing for pleasure and travelling. I’ve various project in the pipeline for November which should keep you entertained as there’ll be plenty to write about, starting tomorrow. It’s our wedding anniversary on Saturday so I’ve booked us a couple of nights away in Whitby on the North Yorkshire coast. It’s relatively easy to get to from West Yorkshire, which is an advantage. Plus, the weather’s meant to be good, continuing the run of unseasonably mild weather we’ve been having throughout the month. Our plan is to spend our time walking and exploring the coast as well as indulging in some of the local seafood. I’m not a great fan of fish and chips but I may have to indulge as they’re one of the things Whitby’s famous for, so it would be rude not to! I’m sure all the walking we’re planning will work off any calorific excesses!

I’ve enjoyed writing up my trip for RAIL (the first part of which is in newsagents now) but it’s always a bit of a struggle fitting seven days into 12,000 words spread over three articles. It’s not that it’s difficult to write – far from it – it’s choosing what to mention and what to leave out. Truth be told, after a week travelling around the UK by rail I always have enough material to write a book. I always end up with bulging notebooks. Maybe, one day, when I ‘retire’ (ha!) I’ll have time to expand on the original articles using all the material I never had space for. They’d certainly make for some interesting blogs as I’ve been travelling the network ever since 2004, so you can imagine the changes I’ve seen. Sadly, I suspect that will never happen. I’ve enough to try and write about with the present day, but we’ll see…

Right now it’s time to come back to the present and leave you with a picture of the day. My ambition was to get all my old slides scanned by the end of this year, but that’s turned out to be a forlorn hope. I’ve still a couple of 1000 left to do, along with many scans that I haven’t yet edited. Here’s one. This was taken in Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu, Southern India in February 1998. The village is an amazing place as its full of stonemasons who make the most amazing statues. Carving has a long history here, and the 5 Rathas are a testament to that. Cut out of solid granite, these figurines and temples were made between 690–725 CE. This one’s the Bhima Ratha.

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!

1st September picture of the day…

01 Thursday Sep 2022

Posted by Paul Bigland in India, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

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India, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

There’s a very short blog from me tonight as – despite the fact it’s been a busy and varied day – there’s no time for blogging as we’re busy packing for our trip to North Norfolk, so expect a rolling blog tomorrow. That shouldn’t be too difficult because as there’s four of us we’re taking the car. I’ll be navigating/riding shotgun which should give me time to type.

In the meantime I’ll leave you with a picture of the day. Today’s is from a backlog of scanned slides from India in the 1990s that I’ve yet to get around to edit. Now, India back in 1995 was a very different country to the one it is now. Forget the internet, there wasn’t even many TV channels and Satellite TV was in its infancy, so the place was a lot more conservative which is why I did a double-take when I saw this surreal hand-painted billboard.

I’d loved to have known what was going through someone’s (well, a man’s, obviously) mind when they decided that a woman in a low-cut, tight black dress and playing a saxophone was just what you needed to sell bathroom fittings…

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!

1st July picture of the day…

01 Friday Jul 2022

Posted by Paul Bigland in India, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day

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Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

Christ on a bike – are we really into July already? Where the hell has the year gone? I’ve so much to fit in yet half of 2022 is already history! I’ve been remiss with blogging recently because of trying to catch up with the past (such as slide scanning) and also planning for the future – but expect a few rolling blogs over the next week. After the fantastic Nile Rodgers and Chic concert the other week a band of us are off to see Paloma Faith at the same venue tomorrow.

On Sunday I’ll be heading South as I’m flying out to Hannover from Heathrow on Monday morning as part of a Siemens press trip. There’ll be plenty to write about between then and when I get back to the UK on Tuesday – and there’s still the journey back to Yorkshire. Expect some fun!

In the interim, I’m hoping to be able to edit some of the old slides that I’ve been scanning – such as this one, which I took in Calcutta (now Kolkata) India in February 1998. I first went to Calcutta in 1992 and I fell in love with it straight away. It’s Marmite, you love it or hate it and many Westerners simply can’t cope with it, but I find it a fascinating city.

Kolkata has two Indian lasts. It’s the last place you’ll find rickshaws like this, pulled by human muscle-power – and it’s the last place in India where you’ll find trams (but that’s another story).

Many Westerners are reluctant to use these rickshaws as they see it as demeaning. The problem with that attitude is that it doesn’t help these guys earn a living and keep their families. It’s something I learned having spent a long time travelling in India. These people can’t afford your guilt. When I’m there I’d use them, not haggle too hard and then tip generously afterwards – and thank the Gods that by a pure accident of birth I’m not in their situation.

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!

27th June picture of the day…

27 Monday Jun 2022

Posted by Paul Bigland in India, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

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India, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

Today’s been another mixed bag here at Bigland Towers and one enlivened by having a four-legged friend for company again – even if this canine companion was only on loan for 24 hours!

Dawn was up bright and early as she decided it was her turn to take ‘Bernie’ out for a walk. The pair of them padded off long before breakfast and ahead of the rain clouds that threatened to put a damper on the day.

Absolved of such duties I stayed at home and brewed to coffee, ready for their return. I’d various work jobs on my ‘to do’ list as well as household chores so the day’s pretty much flown by. We bid goodbye to ‘Bernie’ this afternoon as her owner came to collect her. Shame – I could have got used to taking her for a walk via our local pub but that would only have got me into trouble! Still, I managed to get out for a stroll (sans dog, and pub) when the weather brightened up as I had some shopping to do in Sowerby Bridge as well as drop the latest old slide sales into the post.

The brightening evening weather gave me chance to sit and relax in the sunshine on our terrace and top up my Vitamin D before returning to the office in order to relaunch my slide scanning project. I never did manage to finish this during Covid and the reopening of the world’s meant that the final few 1000 pictures have had to take a backseat to other (paying) jobs. Now it’s a question of fitting in scanning around other things, but I wanted to get a load prepped ready to be able to fill in an hour or so if the weather turns.

Another things I’ve relaunched now that my monthly eBay quota is about to renew is selling off original rail slides that are duplicates of ones I’ve already scanned. Expect many hundreds to appear in July, but in the meantime here’s 130 to choose from.

OK, it’s getting late so onto today’s picture, which is one of the latest batch of old slides I’m scanning. This was taken in Chennai, Tamil Nadu India in February 1998. Lynn and I had taken the bus into Channai (Madras as was) for a day, swapping the beach at lovely Mahabalipuram for the frenetic pace of the city. Whilst we were waiting for the bust to depart on the return this group of street-children clambered aboard to hustle. Kids being kids, it wasn’t long before they broke off to play games!

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!

1st May picture of the day…

01 Sunday May 2022

Posted by Paul Bigland in India, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways

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India, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways

Well, that’s another month ticked off on the calendar, we’re now in May although the weather belies that fact. It’s bleedin’ chilly up here in the Pennines. The days may be getting longer but the temperatures aren’t keeping up with the spirit of the seasons. Today’s drab conditions meant that neither Dawn or I have been particularly active, instead we’ve spent most of the day recharging our batteries and pottering around at home, sorting out bits and bobs for the future and our impending trip to Berlin.

Late in the day we did slip into another gear, Dee headed for the kitchen to prepare us a gorgeous evening meal (lamb and lots of veg) whilst I made it outside for a semblance of exercise by walking for an hour but failing miserably to hit my daily targets. Ho hum! Still, it’s a bank holiday weekend, so I’m not going to beat myself up too much – at least it’s not all been spent in a pub! Plus, tomorrow’s another day…

What I have managed to do to redeem myself is get more old railway slides sorted ready for sale on eBay. You can find out what’s on offer by following this link. Right now there’s over 500 diverse slides that include rail images from the UK, Malaysia, India and Ireland – with hundreds more to add. The next batch will feature some historic shots – one of which is today’s picture of the day.

Back in 1991 I visited India which still had hundreds of steam locomotives working on both the broad gauge and metre gauge networks. They weren’t in isolated areas either. Steam could still be found in the capital, New Delhi. I managed to blag my way around the steam shed at Old Delhi railway station. The dilapidated state of the she was reminiscent of pictures of the end of British steam back in 1968. So, watch out for this slide being offered for sale tomorrow. Here’s one of the majestic WP Class broad-gauge 4-6-2 ‘Pacific’ locomotives seen on the 17th October 1991.

I’ve a 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!

19th April picture of the day…

19 Tuesday Apr 2022

Posted by Paul Bigland in India, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

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India, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

With the bank holiday out of the way along with Dawn’s week off work it’s back to the grindstone for the both of us today. I’m making a concerted effort to up the ante with my energy and exercise levels, hit all my Fitbit targets – and be productive at work. To that end there’s been little time for blogging, but I’ve a new tranche of old slide scans that have allowed me to supply a new picture of the day. It’s one of the last in my series of pictures from India. Having them all scanned has made me realise that I’d got the date wrong by a year (I blame the absence of my old notebooks) so I’ll be correcting those as time permits. What I’d thought was 1995 was actually 1996, but then the memory dims somewhat after so long…

Anyways, here’s a shot taken on the beach in Arambol, Goa, India from January 1997. In those days locals and the more active travellers would gather on the beach at sunset to play volleyball. Admittedly, more people watched the sunset than took part, but it made for some interesting pictures. Here’s one…

I’ve a 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!

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