Category Archives: Musings

26th October picture of the day…

26 Monday Oct 2026

Posted by in Germany, Musings, Photography, Travel, West Yorkshire

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Well, that was a wild and windy weekend! Whilst storm Boelo didn’t wreak the sort of havoc it caused in other parts of the UK it certainly made life interesting here in West Yorkshire as gusts of wind shredded trees, bringing down leaves and branches all over the place. We have a lot of woodland where we live, many of the roads around Bigland Towers are lined with old trees which made walking potentially perilous as you never knew what size of branch may descend as you were passing.

My waterproofs have certainly had a good outing, protecting me from the worst of the rain and keeping me windproof, although (to be honest) I’ve not really ventured far anyway. I’m still up to my ears in picture editing from my European trip. Right now I’m wading my way through my several trips in and out of Germany, which have left me with hundreds of pictures to collate, edit and caption. Today I passes a numerical landmark as the 100,000th picture was uploaded to my Zenfolio website. By the end of today I’m already way past that number – but I’ve still a hundred plus German pics in the queue.

You can find the railway ones here and the travel ones here. I’m hoping to have Germany finished by tomorrow (then I can move on to Switzerland) but as tomorrow’s my birthday (which will be low-key due to ‘events’) and as I have other work to do as well I may take some time off. In the meantime, here’s today’s picture from Dresden, Germany.

The Fürstenzug is a 102 metre long mural made up of 23,000 porcelain tiles which adorns one of the walls of Dresden Castle.

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/

Cheers,

Paul

22nd October picture of the day…

22 Thursday Oct 2026

Posted by in Germany, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, Travel

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Life feels a little like ‘Groundhog Day’ right now as the routine’s pretty much the same. I wade through 1000s of my European pictures, keep a wary eye on the weather in the hope I can go for a walk without getting soaked, complete some paperwork – then act as chef for lunch and dinner whilst Dawn slaves away in her office upstairs. Not that I’m doing all the cooking, Today Dee took some time off to make some delicious millionaires shortbread – something my skills don’t stretch to.

I’m starting to get a little stir-crazy. A feeling not helped by my picture editing as I’m reliving my adventures around Europe. Today I polished off Poland. You can find the Polish travel pictures here and the railway pictures here. I have to admit, I really enjoyed Poland. Warsaw’s a fantastic city and the Polish intercity trains are like a step back to a gentler age with many services having a full catering car serving freshly prepared and cooked food. I’m looking forward to returning and exploring the country in depth. Now my picture editing’s moved on to Germany. Well, my first of three visits anyway. I passed through on my way from France to Denmark when I first arrived, staying one night in Hamburg. I’ll edit all the different pictures together, just to save things from getting messy. I’ll be having a busy morning tomorrow, tying up some loose ends. After that (weather permitting) I’m hoping to take a break and stretch my legs for a while as being tied to a computer has really eaten into my step count this month.

For now, I’ll leave you with today’s picture which is from the incredibly busy Hamburg Hauptbahnhof – which is more of a multi-level village than a railway station. It’s always busy and buzzing with both trains and people. It’s a truly international feel due to the international trains serving it and also the people using it. It’s a fascinating place to watch the world go by.

You’ll be able to find the full selection of German railway pictures by following this link.

See you tomorrow…

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/

Cheers,

Paul

21st October picture of the day…

21 Wednesday Oct 2026

Posted by in Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, poland, Railways, Travel, West Yorkshire

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Today’s been another one where I’ve hardly left Bigland Towers due to work and the weather. Work because I’m still wading through 1000s of pictures from my recent travels as well as slowly getting used to a new laptop and software. To be honest, it’s lovely to have a new machine that doesn’t throw the odd spanner in the works just when I need to rely on it. But then my old machine was battle-weary. It’s been to dozens of countries and covered hundreds of thousands of miles whilst seeing almost daily use in all climates and conditions, so I can forgive it. Hopefully, my new machine will prove to be just as reliable and capable then my old one can be put out to pasture as a backup once it’s had some TLC.

Most of my day’s been spent picture editing whilst acting as Butler to Dawn whilst she’s been slaving away in her little office. Part of my job’s been to keep her supplied with coffee, lunch and the odd treat. Tonight was something a little more exotic as I batch cooked a fiery Thai green curry with chicken whilst Dee wrapped up her day and headed for a bath.

I had hoped to get more than my basic 12.5k (5 mile) steps in but the weather really wasn’t encouraging and I didn’t fancy getting soaked – or blown away! Gales are forecast for the weekend but the weather decided to get some practice in this afternoon, when it got really rather blowy, which can be ‘fun’ when you’re walking through old woodland. You’re always keeping eyes and ears open just in case a branch comes crashing down on the unwary. It’s why I never go out wearing headphones.

Now it’s evening time. We’re fed and watered (and in Dawn’s case – bathed) so it’s time to relax with a film before another busy day tomorrow. I’ll leave you with one of today’s edited images from Poland.

An ex-Polish railways TY51 class 2-10-0 steam engine plinthed at Rzepin station. 242 of these engines were built by H. Cegielski in Poznan between 1953-58. They were withdrawn from PKP regular service in the 1980s but were included in the strategic reserve (intended to haul military trains) and many were kept operational until 1990.

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/

Cheers,

Paul

20th October picture of the day…

20 Tuesday Oct 2026

Posted by in Calder Valley, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, poland, The Grand Tour, Travel

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Sorry there was no blog or picture yeaterday. That was because I ended up spending much of it ordering, collecting and setting up a new laptop. I’ve mentioned that my old one was ready for the knackers yard, but getting its replacement turned into a bit of a saga as I ordered it direct from Dell, who gave me the run-around, leading me to cancelling my order. That actually worked to my advantage as I ended up getting exactly the same model that I’d spec’d from Currys, £350 cheaper and 10 days earlier!

My local Currys had several Dell XPS laptops in stock so I was able to pick it up just a couple of hours after ordering and paying for it. OK, it didn’t come with a charger, but I’ve ordered one off Amazon at a damned site less cost than Dell would ching me for one of their branded ones!

It’s nearly seven years since I last had to set up a new laptop and the process is a heck of a lot simpler now – especially as so much of my stuff it Cloud based, not sitting on the hard-drive of another machine. I could copy down stuff within a few hours with the machine up and running in no time. Oh, there’s a few software programs I still need to re-install, but they’re not urgent.

So, now I have a machine that I can rely on again which will allow me to catch up on picture editing and other work without having to consider the idiosyncracies of an ageing machine. Talking of which, whilst my new bit of kit was sorthing itself out, I managed to edit another batch of ‘grand tour’ pictures on a reserve laptop. Latvia is now complete and so is Lithuania. Here’s links to Latvia’s rail and travel galleries, whilst the links to Lithuania’s train and travel galleries are here and here. Meanwhile, I’ve done the first edit of my pictures from Poland, which are in the queue to be checked and captioned next.

The weather here in the Calder valley’s been pretty wet and miserable these past couple of days, which means I’ve not missed much being stuck indoors. I’ve still managed to get out and rack up some steps but nothing like what I was doing whilst I was in Europe. Hopefully I’ll have broken the back of the European pictures by the end of the week which should free me up for some other activities next week. The autumn leaves are turning some gorgeous colours right now and I’d love to get out with the camera whilst they’re still hanging around.

In the meantime, here’s today’s picture, which is from Poland and the old city of Warsaw which has been beautifully restored after the terrible devestation it (and its people) suffered in 1944.

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/

Cheers,

Paul

13th October picture of the day…

13 Tuesday Oct 2026

Posted by in Calder Valley, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

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Tuesday dawned a wet and windy day here in the Calder valley, with heavy skies and high winds that sent clouds of autumn leaves skittering along the road before they got stuck to the wet tarmac. It was a good morning to be working from home as heavy rain showers kept lashing the windows. That said, it’s still incredibly mild, with temperatures in the mid-teens, so I shouldn’t really complain.

Whilst Dawn worked in the office I set up my laptop upstairs in the bedroom so that I could enjoy the view across the Calder valley, well – when the rain cleared! We’re still in the process of redecorating the living room so it’s cosier upstairs and it’s easier for Dawn to pop in for a chat when she needs a break.

Most of my day was spent picture editing. I’d started working on shots from Sweden yesterday afternoon and a concerted few hours work allowed me to get most of them edited and captioned. After that it was time to take a break and shift some paperwork, just for a bit of variety! By early afternoon the weather had broken, bringing mostly blue skies, so I nipped out for my daily constitutional and wander through our local woods ahead of the next shower. Leaves are really starting to fall now, soon there’ll be a thick carpet blanketing the paths, but at the moment the trails are still pretty clear – and not too slippy, or with hidden surprises thanks to lazy dog owners.

Later, Dawn had to nip out to a couple of appointments, so I had the cottage to myself which allowed me to really plow on with the pictures and finish the fourth of the twelve countries I visited. Sweden is now all loaded onto my Zenfolio website. You can find the railway images here and the travel images here. Next in the queue is…Tallinn, in Estonia. So, here’s a teaser from Tallinn…

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/

Cheers,

Paul

9th October picture (s) of the day…

09 Friday Oct 2026

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

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After the 1000s of miles I’ve travelled over the past month and finally getting home after working in Swindon I was looking forward to a restful night at home. Only that didn’t quite work out that way. I woke up in the early hours of the morning feeling very itchy, a quick feel of my legs and backside confirmed my worst fears. I was having an allergic reaction to an insect bite – something I’d not had on that scale for over 20 years. I had to wake Dawn up to check that it wasn’t my imagination. Dee was shocked at what she saw as it’s never happened to me in all the time we’ve been together. On further investigation we found it had also spread to my torso and arms. Bugger! Fortunately, ever since it first happened to me in India in 1991 I’ve always ensured that I have anti-histamine tablets to hand – just in case. These worked a treat and the rash, swelling and itching disappeared within a couple of hours, allowing me to get some sleep.

I have no idea what the damned thing that bit me is, but the reaction isn’t much fun. Thank the Gods for anti-histamine tablets…

Friday began wet and miserable so I was content to have a duvet morning, working from a horizontal position whilst sipping coffee and editing pictures – content in the knowledge there was nowhere I needed to be other than home! There were no hotel deadlines to check out to, no trains to catch and no sights to see. I could kick back and listen to the rain bouncing off the bedroom window.

Admittedly, I did start to get restless by late-afternoon, but by then I was sufficiently rested and recovered to potter around the house and consider nipping out for a pint in my local, where I’ve not set foot for over a month. Besides, it was Friday and there was free pork pie to be had!

The Big 6 in Halifax always has a fantastic selection of real ales – and free pork pie on the bar on a Friday

Now I’m gradually making inroads into the 1000s of pictures from my travels which are in the queue for editing and having captions added. Here’s links to the first two galleries – both from France. First up are the travel pictures, next are the railways gallery. Time permitting, I’m planning to clear the Belgian galleries over the weekend.

The day ended with Dawn making a cracking supper – spicy prawns with her superb home made focaccia bread.

Dawn’s excelled herself with her focaccia making skills. The dough has to prove in a warm space. Dee improvised. Rather than turn the heating on she used a baking tray, cooling rack and a hot water bottle!
One of our favourite dishes. Spicy prawns (with lots of chilies). Just make sure you’ve put a toilet roll in the fridge ready for the next morning!

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/

Cheers,

Paul

7th September picture of the day…

07 Monday Sep 2026

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

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I’ve been back in Halifax since Saturday but tonight’s my last night for a while. Tomorrow morning I start my ‘grand tour’ of Europe (North and South) so I’ve been busy catching up on various activities back home whilst I can. Sadly, the rainy weather put the kibosh on some of the outdoor DIY jobs I’d planned. Let’s face it, repointing and wet weather don’t really mix! Still, we managed to get a few indoor jobs done to begin getting the cottage ready for the winter. Winter – God, what a thought. Admittedly, the nights are already drawing in but I’m not in the mindset to contemplate those long cold winter nights just yet!

Instead I got into cooking mode, something I’m not going to be doing for a while. Whilst Dawn was busy with her parents and various appointments I nipped out to get my daily steps in and pick up various items of shopping. Back home I first prepared a dish that will go straight into the freezer for Dee to enjoy whilst I away. Cucumber curry! Yes, I know it sounds weird, but it’s actually a simple but stunning dish. Here’s the ingredients prepped ready for cooking.

Having that one under my belt I moved on to tonight’s evening meal. Seabass in a Lemon, Basil and Vermouth sauce, served with peas and spinach. The vermouth adds a wonderful flavour to the fish without overpowering it whilst the spinach and peas add an ideal veggie accompaniment.

Now it’s time for a quiet night her at Bigland Towers as I prep for an early start. Tomorrow will see me travelling down to Dover by train before getting a ferry from Dover to Calais. Hopefully the black-clad, balaclava-wearing morons pretending to be ‘patriots’ will be bothering someone else and not buggering up ordinary people’s travel plans. I’ll be ending the day by catching a train from Calais to Lille where I’ll be spending the night. Whilst I’ve passed through many times recently I’ve not spent any time in Lille for 20 odd years, when I was working their for a company supplying train simulators, so I’m looking forward to getting reacquainted.

After that – wait and see. I’ll be doing a daily rolling blog (internet permitting) which means the next few weeks blogs will have plenty of variety (and countries) on offer!

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/

Cheers,

Paul

1st September picture(s) of the day…

01 Tuesday Sep 2026

Posted by in Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Southport

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Well, here we are in another month and on the edge of autumn. The weather’s become far more mixed with heavy rain and thunderstorms (at least here in Southport) and the nights are drawing in. There’s no doubt the seasons are changing…

This bank holiday weekend saw the annual Southport airshow. It’s a popular event but as with many outdoor events it’s at the mercy of the weather – and the weather wasn’t particularly kind. After weeks of sunshine there was rain and even thunder and lightning – all of which plays havoc with an airshows plans, especially when you have precious and historic vintage aircraft meant to take part. I managed to attend both days with the Saturday providing the best and most consistent weather. Sunday was more of a bust. The day started off with glorious sunshine but as the time came for the ariel displays to begin the clouds rolled in. They made for some very dull photo’s. But a couple of acts provided their own contrasts. Like this…

The Red Arrows making a stunning contrast against grim skies.
This little helicopter provided its own firework show which really lit up the sky.

Bank holiday Monday was much like the traditional UK event we’ve come to expect. It chucked it down with rain during the morning, which (surprise, surprise) seemed to keep a lot of people at home, including me. But then I had plenty to do with picture editing and planning for my tour around Europe which is drawing closer. A chunk of today was spent arranging travel insurance. I’ve now reached that age where some companies take the pee. Fortunately, I’ve managed to get an annual policy that’s flexible enough that I can extend the length of time away if I need it.

So, on to September – and France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Switzerland and Italy – here I come…

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/

Cheers,

Paul

Bits and bobs from Southport…

27 Thursday Aug 2026

Posted by in Musings, Photography, Southport

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Apologies for the lack of blogs recently. A combination of being busy with other things and the muse not being about me has led to the drought. Not that there’s an actual drought back here in Southport as the weather has very much turned to wet! Here’s how the skies looked this morning during my walk into town!

I’ve been back in Southport since last weekend, when I had chance to attend a fun night at the Settle Inn which is in Botanic Gardens. Billed as an ‘alternative night’ the 3 DJs involved played some classic music from the 70s-90s. I bumped into many old friends, from one of my former London flat mates from the 1980s to people I grew up with whom I’ve not seen for 40-odd years. Talk about memory lane! As it was a ‘night off’ I didn’t take the camera with me, which I kinda regret as it would have been lovely to document the evening – and the people, as the passing of time has meant there’s quite a few faces from those days who’re no longer around. Maybe another time, if there is one?

Now I’m sheltering in the Atkinson library on Lord St, researching and booking next month’s adventure either side of working at Innotrans in Berlin. With an Interrail ticket booked it’s now a case of planning routes via train and ferry that will take me in a broad loop around Europe to take in several countries I’ve never visited before. Exciting! One of today’s little tasks has been to buy a new small suitcase to take with me. Whilst not being constrained by airline baggage regulations I don’t want to be towing a suitcase the size of a caravan, so I’ve cut my cloth. Travel insurance is next on the list, although I’ve mixed feelings about finding out that the best place place I can go for that now is SAGA!

Back in Southport it seems time is accelerating. A couple of days ago I spotted this, then today I was in a shop called ‘Home Bargains’ where they’re already selling Xmas decorations! Give it another month and there’ll be Easter eggs in the shops.

Much as the rain is welcome, it couldn’t have come at a more awkward time. This bank holiday weekend it’s the Southport airshow. No more clear blue skies for that as the forecast is for a very mixed couple of days. Ho hum…

Even so, some people are continuing to do their best to brighten up the town. In an era when so many people seem to spend their time spreading doom and gloom on the internet it’s great to see that others are more bothered about raising a smile with their work.

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/

Cheers,

Paul

8th August picture of the day…

08 Saturday Aug 2026

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

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I’ve been having a busy few days back here in West Yorkshire which is why there’s been no time for blogging – although I hope to put that right tomorrow. Dawn has been cat-sitting for a friend/colleague over in Todmorden and I popped in to join her for a few days. We’ve both rather fallen in love with ‘Tod’. It’s a lovely little town in a perfect location, surrounded by hills. It possesses a great indoor (and outdoor) market and a range of pubs and eateries along with a friendly and rather bohemian air.

Admittedly, when I arrived the weather had decided to change from wall to wall sunshine to moody skies and heavy showers but I really couldn’t complain. Today we moved back to Halifax as our sitting duties were done. We’ll miss ‘Luna’, the 12 month old tabby who was our charge, but I suspect it won’t be the last time we end up as her surrogate parents.

Now, the weather’s changing once more as temperatures rise and the sunshine returns. So, plant watering will be taking up more of my time. Plus, I’ve plans to attend to. I’ll be off to the massive Innotrans rail trade fair in Berlin for several days next month. I’ve decided to make a trip of it via Interrail which will make it a much more enjoyable journey by train/ferry and also extend my time outside of the UK to take in several other countries, which means there’s lots of train and ferry timetables to pore over and consider before I chose where I visit – and for how long. Then there’s other work – including writing and picture editing. I’m expecting a busy few days…

In the meantime, here’s today’s picture which was taken in Todmorden on Thursday as I was dodging showers.

Looking up towards Lumbutts from Todmorden as the next set of showers rolls in. Stoodley Pike is off to the left of the picture.

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/

Cheers,

Paul