Category Archives: Indonesia

16th January picture of the day…

16 Saturday Jan 2021

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Rain staged a comeback today. It’s persistent nature made short work of the snow we’d enjoyed over the past few days which was a shame in some ways but a relief in others. Snow’s lovely when it’s pristine. When it hangs around in sub-zero conditions, turning roads and pavements into ice-rinks it’s a pain in the arse – so the rain’s done us all a favour in that respect – although I’ll miss the chance to get some more snow pictures.

We benefitted for another reason too. Today we had to drive over to Huddersfield to drop off shopping for Dawn’s parents. The clear surfaces meant there was no danger of pranging the car on steep hills or icy country lanes which was a relief as Dawn only changed it for a more modern model yesterday! We also stopped off at Huddersfield railway station so that Dee could pop into work for a few minutes. Whilst she was rummaging through paperwork I did a quick circuit of the town centre – which was deserted. OK, the fact there’s sod all open makes a difference, but even so – it was good to see that most people (including the young) were heeding the ‘stay at home’ advice. I wonder when normality might return and the town centre will be buzzing with people the way it used to on a Saturday? Personally, I can’t see that happening this side of Easter at the earliest. It’s been so long I’ve forgotten what it’s like to walk into a busy pub or restaurant. That might take some getting used to again. Odd to think that this was my first trip of the year outside the Calder Valley. We’re half way through the month and the furthest I’ve travelled is 8 miles!

Back at Bigland Towers we’ve settled in for the night which is why you’re getting today’s picture earlier than normal. I’ve been a busy bee finishing off yet another old album of travel slides which will be added to my website tomorrow. In the meantime, here’s a taster. I took this shot on the 19th November 1998 on the island of Java, Indonesia.

It looks beautiful, doesn’t it? Lush paddy fields full of rice, banana plants and coconut palms. And peaceful too, with an ancient volcano as backdrop. Only, that volcano is Mount Merapi -and it’s anything but peaceful…

Indonesia is famous for its volcanos and Merapi is the most active of them all. It’s erupted in spectacular fashion several times in the past few years. In 1994 it killed 27 when a pyroclastic flow caused havoc around the nearby town of Muntilan. In fact, since I took this picture, it’s lost 38 metres in height due to a major eruption in October-November 2010. Since then it’s erupted in 2013, 2020 and as recently as last Thursday!

And to think I’ve complained about a bit of snow…

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

Thank you!

10th January picture of the day…

10 Sunday Jan 2021

Posted by in Bali, Indonesia, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

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After the glorious winter’s day we had on Saturday, today was very much an anti-climax and back to the usual routine of low cloud and mists accompanied by drizzle that slowly eroded the remaining snow, leaving the ground sodden and muddy. Hardly great for walking but I forced myself to go out and complete my full seven days of exercise even if I did come back somewhat bedraggled! At least it gave me a sense of achievement – as did having added another huge tranche of old travel slides to my ’round the world’ gallery. Rather than give you a link to the gallery, here’s a link to the first of the new pictures. You can find your way from there.

I’ve plodded on throughout the day scanning more. It’s a time-consuming, mechanical process yet I’m slowly but surely coming to the end. The bright spot is that I get to see pictures of times and places I’d forgotten about, so it can brighten up a dull day, despite the repetitive nature of the task. Even so, I’ll be glad when it’s finished and I can concentrate on the future and new pictures rather than the old.

I’m looking forward to a bit more variety this week and the opportunity to escape the confines of the Calder Valley as part of a commission, even though I won’t be going far. Let’s see what happens. I’d like to have a day out with the camera but the weather forecast isn’t looking promising so I expect to be housebound for most of the week – but taking a break from scanning slides. I let my eBay account run out of goodies to sell at Christmas, so it’s time to resurrect that to start disposing of more surplus slides and assorted railway memorabilia which has the bonus of freeing up cupboard space as well as making some money. Watch this space…

OK, on to the picture of the day. I took this in Lovina, Bali, Indonesia at the end of October 1998. Bali is famous for its dancers and their exotic and colourful costumes. Visiting a temple of an evening to watch some of these performances is always a fascinating experience. The routines are highly stylized and the dancers are accompanied by Gamelan music from a live band, so they’re real theatrical performances Here’s a young man performing the Baris (warrior) dance.

I’ll be adding this and many other pictures from Bali to my Zenfolio website tomorrow until the end of the week when I should have the album finished.

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

Thank you!

8th January picture of the day…

08 Friday Jan 2021

Posted by in Indonesia, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

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There’s few words from me tonight as today’s hardly been the most exciting day – unless you count hoping the snow showers we’ve had on and off all day would deliver a decent deluge and we’d be covered in the white stuff for the weekend. I was looking forward to getting some shots of snow-covered trees in our local woods, but it wasn’t to be. We’re just that little bit too low on the valley side so whilst nearby Warley looked picturesque, we were left with muddy footpaths and wet woods. Maybe tomorrow!

The pictures I’ve been scanning today couldn’t be more different, as this one shows. I took this shot in the last few days of September 1998 on a tiny little Island called Kanawa which is a boat trip from the town and ferry port of Labuanbajo on the Western end of the Island of Flores, Indonesia. We were staying in the little resort you can see by the beach, although ‘resort’ is rather a grand term for a collection of a dozen stilt bungalows and a restaurant! But, it was a fantastic place to kick back and relax. This was in the days when mobile phones was a luxury and the internet was dial-up and could only be found in major cities. There was no TV here either. Lynn and I had a short-wave radio with us and that was our only contact with the outside world. Here, you sunbathed, swam, snorkelled and slept. Supplies were brought in by boat daily from the mainland and after a couple of days you learned not to order breakfast until you saw the boat arrive and what was on it. But everything was fresh, especially the fish – and the chicken as the birds scratched a living from the ground around the resort. I remember one day someone ordered chicken for the evening meal. The chef disappeared out of the back and there was a helluva commotion accompanied by lots of flapping, clucking and squawking. 20 minutes later the cook came back and said to the couple. “Sorry, you can’t have chicken”. “Why not?” they asked. “I can’t catch one” was his reply! At least you didn’t have to catch your own…

Looking down on our little haven with the Island of Flores beyond. Happy days…

I’ve dozens of pictures scanned and ready for editing before adding to my website tomorrow. When they are, you’ll be able to find them in this gallery. They’ll include shots of both Flores and Bali as we were heading West to Java before flying to Australia to spend Christmas with friends we’d made earlier in the trip, although first, we were meeting up with a group from the UK who were coming out to join us in Bali for a holiday.

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/

28th November picture of the day…

28 Saturday Nov 2020

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

27th November picture of the day…

27 Friday Nov 2020

Posted by in Indonesia, Picture of the day, Travel

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This blog’s going to be short and sweet as there’s little to report other than the mundanities of life – unless I want to launch into politics. If I did we’d be here all night and (as it’s a Friday) I suspect we’ve all got better things to do. After all, it’s not as if the current shambles is going to go away over the weekend, is it?

So, I’ll restrain myself and save my spleen venting for another time. Besides, I have a sneaky feeling January will be a fertile time to let off steam on that front…

Instead, I’ll go straight to the picture of the day. Amongst other things I’ve been busy scanning and editing more old travel pictures from my 1997-99 grand tour. I’ve come to the end of another album with a series of pictures from the lesser explored Indonesian Island of Flores. Most Tourists to Indonesia never make it beyond Java, Bali, Lombok or possibly Sulawesi. Flores isn’t really on their radar, but I’ve travelled across the island twice, in 1992 and 1998. It’s a fascinating place as it’s very different to the more well known islands as it’s more rugged and with very different flora and fauna as it’s east of the the Wallace line.

I’ve no idea what it’s like travelling across the island now, but when I did it the roads were rough and the local bus services were ‘fun’ to say the least, but it was an amazing place to visit as it was so different. Indonesia has a great variety of cultures and religions and today’s picture reflects that. I took this in a Ngada village near Moni in Mid September 1998. The Ngada people have a fascinating history. The layout of their villages reflect this. Here, you really are stepping back in time…

If you’re interested in looking through more photos from Indonesia (or the rest of the epic trip), you can find them in this gallery on my Zenfolio picture website. I’ll be adding many more shots of other exotic Indonesian Islands over the next few weeks…

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

26th November picture of the day…

26 Thursday Nov 2020

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Although today’s been spent working from home I’ve been making a conscious effort to tear myself away from computer screens and get some exercise. After spending 14 days in self-enforced isolation and not leaving the house I swore to myself that as soon as that was over I’d boost my exercise levels again. On thing I’m never going to develop is corns on my bum – so this week I’ve been out every day, getting the steps in. When you live high up on the side of a valley, exercise really isn’t a problem if you’re using ‘Shank’s Pony’ rather than a vehicle. There’s no chance of me getting more than a few metres from the house without hitting a gradient of one severity or another! I must admit I’m feeling better for it too. Mind you having to carry the full camera kit around again is pretty good exercise too – as I found out on Tuesday! I might not be globe-trotting at the moment, it’s more of a regional amble – but it’s better than nothing!

When I have been staring at screens it been to wade through emails and paperwork to sort out some more writing jobs, Ebay sales as well as continue the trek to get all my old slides scanned. I may not be able to leave the country, but the pictures I’m currently scanning of Island-hopping through Indonesia are certainly taking be places – both in space and time….

This leaves me in a quandry. What shall I choose as the picture of the day, as I’ve got so many suitable candidates. Orang-Utans in the Gunung Leuser national park in Sumatra perhaps? No, I’ve done that before (you’ll be able to see loads in the travel gallery tomorrow anyway). Maybe another gorgeous sunset somewhere? Nah, I don’t want to get too predictable. Oh, I know – something you might not have seen. Here’s a last one from Sumatra before Lynn and I started Island hopping. This was taken in Maninjau Town on Lake Meninjau, West Sumatra on the 17th August 1998. The 17th is Indonesia’s Independence day, and the town arranged a parade. Part of that parade involved local children dressing up in regional costumes, both from Sumatra and the rest of the Indonesian Islands. The country has a rich ethnic and religious mix and this parade celebrated that fact – as you can see from this picture.

If you’re interested in looking through more photos from Sumatra (or the rest of the epic trip), you can find them in this gallery on my Zenfolio picture website. I’ll be adding many more shots of other exotic Indonesian Islands over the next few weeks…

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

Thank You!

25th November picture of the day…

25 Wednesday Nov 2020

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I’ve been based back at home today after yesterday’s commission in Merseyside so I’ve been kept busy editing the pictures for my client as well as the library shots I took on the journey. Well, that and dealing with an overflowing email inbox, Ebay sales and trying to get fitter after shaking off our self-imposed lockdown lethargy! There’s been a lot to juggle and the days just don’t seem long enough to fit it all in. Oh yes – there was also a blog update on the past 6 weeks events on HS2 (our new high-speed railway). I hadn’t realised it was that long since my last update, or just how much had happened in the intervening time.

Because of the ‘action-packed’ programme I didn’t get out to complete my 12.5k steps until late this evening – which was interesting as it’s the first time I realised there is an impact from the latest lockdown(ish). During the day the levels of road traffic seem unchanged – especially when it comes to the school run. This evening was different as there wasn’t a soul on our local roads. Why would there be – there’s nowhere to go! Everyone’s at home in the evenings which makes it the perfect time to go out for a wander. There was just me, the odd fox and the occasional cat as I bimbled along the road through Scarr Woods and back.

OK, It’s late and I’ve a busy day ahead tomorrow, so here’s the picture of the day, which I scanned earlier. I took this in Mid August 1998 from the rear deck of our Homestay at Lake Maninjau, Sumatra late one evening as the sun set beyond the volcanic crater edge. Having a place that was built on the water’s edge is superb. I’d discovered the Homesty a few years earlier when I passed through on a solo trip in 1992 and I was more than heppy to find it unchanged 6 years later.

If you’re interested in looking through more photos from Sumatra (or the rest of the epic trip), you can find them in this gallery on my Zenfolio picture website. I’ll be adding many more shots of other exotic Indonesian Islands over the next few weeks…

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

Thank You!

23rd November picture of the day…

23 Monday Nov 2020

Posted by in Indonesia, Musings, Photography, Travel

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Another busy day during ‘lockdown’ – or what passes for it this time. The pair of us have been occupied with work all day apart from making a determined effort to get out and get some exercise – despite the rather biting wind and dull weather, although that kept many people at home and out of our way, so it wasn’t all bad!

My routine involved swapping between scanning yet more old slides and replying to emails, along with a bit of housekeeping and cooking. Not exactly the ‘rock and roll’ lifestyle, but at least things are moving in the right direction and getting us prepared to exit what’s probably been the shittiest year on record on an even keel – which is more than some poor unfortunates will be able to do.

I’ll end today’s missive with a picture of the day from today’s batch of old slide scans. It was taken at a Homestay at Lake Maninjau in West Sumatra in August 1998. I’d spent time here back in 1992 when I used it as a base for a jungle-trekking trip to the Mentawai Islands, and there was no way I was going to miss stopping there again as it’s so spectacular and so peaceful. This photo opportunity came out of the blue as one of the many kittens around our homestay decided to explore by leaping onto a backlit table just as I had my camera to hand.

If you’re interested in looking through more photos from Sumatra (or the rest of the epic trip), you can find them in this gallery on my Zenfolio picture website. I’ve been busy scanning throughout the day in order to get this album finished before the end of the week, so another 50 have been added.

I won’t have chance to add any more old slides tomorrow. Instead you’ll be treated to another rolling blog as I’m off to Widnes in Merseyside to carry out a rather interesting railway industry commission – which will also allow me to get some contemporary rail pictures too. Watch this space…

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/

22nd November picture of the day…

22 Sunday Nov 2020

Posted by in Indonesia, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Religion, Travel

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It’s not exactly been a lazy Sunday – even if it has been a fairly quiet one. My wife’s been busy much of the day on her ‘virtual retreat’ and the various yoga/exercise and meditation classes that involves whilst I’ve been pottering around at home scanning slides and catching up on some email correspondence. The weather’s hardly been conducive to doing much more as we’ve had intermittent rain thoughout the day. Even so, we did manage to get out in between Dawn’s sessions to food-shop and get a walk in through our local woods and up around Savile Park whilst dodging the showers.

Back at home, I took another trip down memory lane whilst scanning the latest batch of old slides from Sumatra. I reckon that with any luck this album will be done and dusted by the end of next week – which is rather pleasing. That means it’s only 22 years it’s taken me to get them to a wider audience! So, without further ado, here’s the picture of the day, which was taken in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province at the very Northerm tip of Sumatra on the 3rd August 1998. This is the city’s Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, which I couldn’t resist visiting at sunset. Here’s why…

Aceh has a fascinating if turbulent history going back centuries. It’s seen more than its fair share of conflicts, but its biggest challenge happened a few years after Lynn and I visited. On Boxing Day 2004 the city and surrounding area was devastated by a Tsunami. It’s estimated that the disaster killed 167,000 inhabitants and destroyed more than 60% of the city’s buildings. It was the hardest hit of all the places struck by the Tsunami. Lynn and I had a lucky escape from the Tsunami. On Boxing Day 2002 and 2003 we were on beaches in Southern Sri Lanka that were badly damaged by the disaster, but in 2004 we’d delayed travelling as we’d a lot of plans for that year. You can imagine how we felt when we learned of the devastation caused to places we’d visited and knew well. There, but for the grace of God…

If you’re interested in looking through more photos from Sumatra (or the rest of the epic trip), you can find them in this gallery on my Zenfolio picture website.

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

Thank you!

24th September picture of the day – and a bit of a rant…

24 Thursday Sep 2020

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I’ve had a busy day with Zoom calls for the Community Rail awards and also more ‘type-swiping’ as I continue to scribble my next series of articles for RAIL magazine.

Whilst I’ve been doing this I’ve been keeping one eye on the news as I watch UK events and wonder. I’ve stayed away from political commentary and events recently. Partly for my own sanity but also because some people get upset by it. Today I can’t let the utter madness that engulfing our country pass without some reference.

There’s now just 99 days left before we exit the transition period that’s kept us in the EU and we’re no nearer a deal than we were 4 years ago. If one isn’t struck next month, then there’s not enough time left to do so – which means we crash out of the EU with ‘no deal’ – and the usual suspects will blame anyone (and everyone) they can think of without once taking responsibility for their mess. It’ll be the ‘remoaners’, the people who didn’t ‘get behind’ Brexit, or the Judges, or anyone else who could see what a shit-show this was going to be as their natty three-word slogan (and my, don’t the like those) ‘take back control’ was nothing more than a sick joke.

All the promises of the Brexiters have evaporated like Unicorn farts. Now we hear that the Goverment is proposing a border around Kent to prevent 1000s of trucks clogging the county as they won’t have the paperwork needed to cross the channel. Oh, and then there’s the new border down the middle of the Irish Sea. You know, all those things Brexit fanatics dismissed as ‘project fear’. Of the ‘sunny uplands’ of Brexit we were promised there’s absolutely no sign. Instead, some political zealots still spin the line about ‘opportunities’ they can’t define – or name. Remember these clowns and their claims?

Meanwhile, our economy is about to take another hit from Covid as restrictions are tightened because some people (especially the young) ignored the memo, so a weakened economy is about to take a further hit from something that was entirely avoidable – the Brexitshambles…

Even if a last-minute, face saving deal with the EU is arrived at (and looking at Johnson’s talentless Cabinet I’ve grave doubts that’ll happen) we’ll still be in a worse position than we were. It’s mad. Utterly mad – but welcome to Britain in 2020. The only vision is myopic.

OK, I’ve got that off my chest, so it’s time for a picture of the day which reflects a different time when one country was finally coming out of nepotism and near dictatorship after decades of misrule. I took this picture in Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia in June 1998.

President Suharto had (finally) stood down earlier in the year. Students like this had been in the forefront of the campaign to oust him, with many losing their lives. This group were supporters of Megawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of the first president of Indonesia, Sukarno, who Suharto has ousted in a political coup in 1967. They used to demonstrate through the centre of Yogyakarta most days and that’s when I got this shot.

Sadly, Megawati, although elected, proved to be less than capable. However, Indonesia has come through turbulent political and economic times. A sobering thought for the UK is that in 20 years Indonesia is predicted to oust the UK as the world’s 6th most important economy – and we know what’s helped that come about…

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

Thank you!