The end of another week here at Bigland Towers and it’s been one of my most inactive for quite some time. By inactive I mean spending more time indoors at home than being out and about. I’ve problems with an elbow which has been cramping my style. I’ve no idea what I’ve done or how I’ve done it but it’s restricting my camera arm. Hopefully, now I have a physio appointment booked I can get it sorted out.
The awful weather we’ve been having hasn’t exactly encouraged me to get out much either apart from a couple of brief forays. Instead, I’ve been catching up with paperwork and picture editing in the comfort of my office. The only occupational hazard here is risking developing corns on my bum from all the sitting I’m doing. I’m not used to being this confined at all. To add to the ‘fun’ the Met Office has issued a new storm warning for this neck of the woods. Apparently, storm Debi is on its way, bringing high winds and (surprise, surprise) yet more rain. Just what we need when it’s hardly stopped all day! Getting to Nottingham tomorrow for the annual Community Rail Network conference may prove interesting…
In the meantime, here’s a picture of something I’ve not been able to see at all today. The other side of the Calder Valley and beyond – and certainly not with skies like this!
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/
My, wasn’t that predictable? Today’s scenes from London went on as suspected. The Metropolitan police reckon that 300,000 people joined the march calling for a cease-fire and end to the violence in Palestine and Israel. The demonstration included a cross-section of people and religions, including both Jews and Muslims. No arrests were reported and the demonstration went nowhere near the Cenotaph. But then it was never planned to. Protests about the situation in Palestine/Israel also passed off peacefully in Cardiff and Glasgow.
Meanwhile, egged on by the rhetoric from Home Secretary Suella Braverman, a few hundred far-right knuckle-draggers – including professional far-right grifter Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, aka ‘Tommeh’ Robinson turned up at the Cenotaph in London to ‘protect’ it from *checks notes* themselves. After which, they went on the rampage through central London (including Chinatown and Pimlico) which led to (so far) over 100 arrests.
Having incited such violence and hatred it’s hard to imagine any other Home Secretary staying in their job, but this is a Tory Government ‘led’ by Rishi Sunak who’s so weak that it looks likely Braverman will get away with it. Sunak has condemned the “unacceptable scenes” but not his Home Secretary who incited them, who apparently, has his ‘full support’. Will she classify the far-right running battles as a ‘hate march’ the way she did the peaceful protest? Of course she won’t.
God, what has this country become – apart from a plaything/battleground of yet more internal Tory party ambitions and lies? Surely, the few remaining decent Tories (yes, they do exist) must make their voices heard. Or is the party too far gone? I fear that question’s rhetorical.
Meanwhile, I’ll end this blog with a literal ray of sunshine. Things can only get better…
Decent folk of the UK watching the sun set on the Tory party and 13 years of shit…
Sunday update.
The Met police now confirm that some arrests *were* made at the main demonstration and that 3 people are under investigation for hate crimes (the banners they were carrying were appalling). The Met also say that while the march itself did not see such physical violence, serious offences relating to antisemitic hate crimes were being investigated (and rightly so).
Sadly with such a large crowd (300,000) you’ll always get some bad eggs, it’s a statistical certainty. But those few shouldn’t detract from the fact one demonstration was overwhelmingly peaceful – and one was not. One was condemned by our Home Secretary and one was egged on. Guess which was which.
It’s no wonder the UK’s Jewish community is feeling under siege at the moment. I’ve no sympathy for anyone espousing violence (from any side) towards anyone. I can only hope our political ‘leaders’ like Braverman are seen for what they are – cynically manipulating sentiments for their own ends.
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/
I’ve had another day working from home here at Bigland Towers, which has allowed me to have news channels and podcasts playing in the background as the the Tory Government descends even more into a farce as our hateful Home Secretary, Suella Braverman spreads her hate speech even further. Not content with attacking the homeless, she’s moved on to protesters angered by what’s going on in Palestine/Israel, labelling them as terrorist sympathisers – and at the same time impugning the police (and indirectly, the Ulster Unionists of Northern Ireland). All this seems to be in direct challenge to the Prime Ministers authority as Braverman positions herself as the flag-bearer of the right, who’ll lead them in their culture wars. Sunak looks too weak and to indecisive to sack her, so the war will continue over the weekend – and beyond. Police, fearing that the far-right will mass to ‘protect’ the Cenotaph from an imaginary threat on Remembrance Sunday will have thousands of officers on the streets over the weekend.
There’s just a couple of teeny-tiny problems with Braverman’s rhetoric. The protest march is scheduled for Saturday (Armistice day, not Remembrance Sunday) and it’s not planned to go anywhere near the Cenotaph, as this BBC map makes clear.
Yet again, the country’s caught up in more Tory-infighting, this time over who’ll be next leader of the party when Sunak leads the next election. We’ve been here before. Last time it was the infighting over Europe that led to Brexit, and the economic and reputational harm that did.
Which brings me back to the title of this blog. In all the Tory infighting, they’re forgotten what they’re meant to be here for. It’s the economy and the wellbeing and prosperity of the nation – only that’s been thrown under the bus (that same red one, the one that promised £350m extra for the NHS). Because if you look away from the infighting, you may just notice that the UK economy’s in the doldrums. Have you seen the stock exchange recently? Here’s how it looks today. Down 1.28% It’s been up and down like a bride’s nightie all year. This is the biggest fall in three months as news of the economy flatlining has broken. Having been hit by interest rate rises and inflation, we’ve narrowly avoided going into recession.
But what are the Government doing about it? Well, nothing positive. Sunak’s lied about things as usual. Just three days ago he claimed the economy was growing! Oh, he also lied about debt falling! The Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) had to point out that (in fact) the opposite is true. Now, what was that Sunak said about bringing ““integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level” back to Government?
Lies and culture wars are all we’re left with by this lot nowadays. This week the secretive fossil-fuel funded lobbyists at the Institute of Economic Affairs tried to claim that Brexit was marvelous and our sales to the EU had risen. The truth? They hadn’t adjusted their figures for inflation. When you did, the opposite was true and trade with the EU had fallen by 7.2%. Of course, the right-wing press only mentioned what the IEA claimed and ignored the chart in their report that showed the opposite! Funny, that…
It took the likes of Johnathon Portes, Professor of Economics, King’s College London to expose the IEA’s lie on Twitter (Sod off Elon, I’m not calling it X).
Lying at the heart of Government has become endemic. The Tories have made such a mess of the economy after 13 years it’s no wonder all they and the rest of the right-wing want to do is talk about ‘culture wars and the ‘woke’. And let’s not even mention what’s happening with the NHS.
Don’t be fooled. Don’t let them keep throwing dead cats on the table as a distraction. I hope there’s no trouble in London this weekend, but don’t let the Government weaponise it for their own ends. People have the right to protest, the right to have their voices heard. Even the Royal British Legion have come out in support of people’s right to protest – and who should know more about people fighting for freedom?
So, I come back to that phrase coined by James Carville in 1992 and used by Bill Clinton’s election team. It IS the economy that matters – and don’t let the Tories and their friends in the media distract you from that fact.
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/
Apologies for my absence these past few days. I not really been in the mood for blogging. I’ve been kept busy with other things and really couldn’t find either the time or the inclination. Besides, what I’d have penned would have turned into more spleen-venting on the state of the country and the Tory party in particular – so at least you’ve been spared that! Normal service will resume shortly.
I’ve been spending much of my time cooped-up here in Bigland Towers for one reason and another. It could be worse as the weather here in the Pennines has been dank and dismal so being in the warm and dry has had its compensations – such as being warm and dry!
I’ve also managed to wade through a backlog of pictures which have now been filed away on multiple hard-drives or added to my Zenfolio website which has been good timing as Zenfolio have started archiving galleries’ on people’s websites that haven’t been updated for over three years. It’s a pain as many of mine are historic galleries that I can hardly update as the subject matter disappeared years ago! Still, it’s given me the impetuous I’ve needed to begin slimming down and consolidating the number of galleries on my website. They’ve got a bit out of hand in the past 12 years. It’s a big task as it’s a slow one. Zen’s a bit cumbersome when it comes to moving pictures around so it’s going to take some time. On the bright side I’ve been looking through pictures I’ve not checked out for years. Hopefully, the process will be finished by the Spring.
In the meantime, there’s plenty of other things to keep me occupied. It looks like I’ll be doing a lot more writing for a living in 2024, which is no bad thing. I enjoy it and it gets me out and about almost as much as taking pictures.
Talking of pictures, here’s today’s. It being autumn woodlands are bounteous places. Our local squirrels are certainly making the most of the seasons largesse. Unfortunately a lot of it seems to be getting added to my pots and flowerbeds! Here’s one thing we don’t have in our area. Sweet Chestnuts. The woods around the hotel where Dawn and I stayed in the Lake District were full of them. As soon as I have time I’ll be writing a review of the Wild Boar as it’s well worth a visit. In the meantime, here’s what covered their woodland floor.
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/
‘Tis been a quiet weekend here at Bigland Towers. Partly because the weather’s been so bloody awful, but partly because it’s been nice to have the downtime and the opportunity for the two of us to spend some quality time together as well as to catch-up with various chores and bits.
I’d quite fancied the idea of attending a local firework display but the one’s I could find were on Saturday when the weather was crap. I’m glad I didn’t book as I ended up getting soaked just nipping out for some shopping. Standing around in the rain, trying to look up when you wear glasses wouldn’t have been much fun at all. I might as well have stayed at home, stayed dry and stared into a Kaleidoscope! Instead we had a quiet night in with me cooking, enjoying air-fried chicken thighs with a lovely honey, chili and soy sauce glaze, dressed with spring onions and Coriander and served with steamed veg. Bugger, I forgot to take a picture!
Today’s been better, the rain has (mostly) stayed away, allowing the two of us to get out for an evening stroll which eventually led us to our local pub for a drink and a warm by a real fire. Yes, they’re very un PC in these days of Climate Change, but when it comes to my contribution (or not) towards screwing up the planet, they’re the least of my concerns. If you want to help the planet survive, don’t have kids and don’t vote Tory…
Talking of voting Tory (or not, if you have any sense of community, decency or self-preservation) I couldn’t help but wonder what the latest gaffe from our Home Secretary, Cruella, sorry Suella Braverman is meant to be a dead cat for? I mean, suggesting that to want to ban and fine charities from giving tents to homeless people because homelessness is a ‘lifestyle choice‘? Even she can’t be this stupid (oh yeah? Ed) so what’s this a distraction for – the Covid enquiry? The sooner we’re shut of these asset-strippers, feather-bedders and shysters the better. But I’ll bet they’ll hang on as long as they can to remove all the fittings they can get money for. And the next election will be dirty and divisive. The Tories will fight the ‘culture wars’ as they can’t defend their 13 year record on the economy (they’ve trashed it) all they’ll do is pick on minorities as a tactic to appeal to their ageing and intolerant vote-bank – and their friends in the media will cheer them on.
Right, I wasn’t going to vent any spleen tonight, it just sort of happened. So now I’ll leave you with a picture of the day which isn’t in any way political and should hopefully make you go ‘awww’ Back in December 2022 I was standing in a queue to get through the ticket barriers at London’s St Pancras and felt this pair of eyes on me. Then I looked down and saw this.
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/
After a wonderful couple of days away thanks to my wonderful wife who arranged a special treat for my birthday we’re both back with our noses to the grindstone. Whilst Dawn’s been busy playing catch-up with her day to day work for Community Rail Network I’ve slipped on my CRN judges hat to spend all day wading through the entries for their 2024 awards. To be honest, it’s a pleasure rather than a chore as I get to learn about so many fabulous groups and the amazing stuff they’ve been up to over the past 12 months and more. There’s some really inspirational groups out there and the work they do is amazing. Judging them is really hard as the standard’s so high. In many cases there’s really not much in it, but we have a points based system spread over four categories, which makes life easier for myself and my fellow judge for the ‘It’s your station’ category – Mark Barker.
Now the first sift is done and all that remains is for me to fill out the awarded points on the spreadsheet and crunch the numbers. Then, in a few days time when both judges individual scores are combined we’ll meet to talk through the results and agree the final marks and winners of the four rankings (Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze). My work isn’t entirely done. I still have the shortlist for the photographic competition to select, this time with fellow judge Alice Mannion from CRN. The winner will be chosen from the shortlist by public vote.
Today’s been a good day to be stuck inside as the weather’s been awful, nothing but grey skies, mist and rain – although (so far) we’ve escaped the latest storm that’s battering the South coast. It’s heading our way but we’re expected to miss the worst of it as it passes through overnight. However, I’ll see how the weather is tomorrow morning before I make any plans. There’s still plenty for me to do at home if it’s not up to much.
Tonight I’ll leave you with a picture that illustrates the work of the community rail. The work the volunteers (and staff) carry out around the network is amazing. It’s not all station gardens or posters either. There’s restored buildings, station cafes, food banks, fetes and much, much more. Here’s on example from the friends of Buxton station who had ‘Joe’ made from scrap railway items donated from the site of the old Buxton locomotive depot. You can read all about the brilliant work this group are involved in here.
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/
After a busy few days (and with more to come) it’s time for a break. As part of my birthday bash my wonderful wife Dawn has arranged for the pair of us to have a luxury night away in the lake district. We’re in no rush to get there, the weather’s hardly conducive to long walks in the countryside – we can’t even see the other side of the valley through the rain and murk here, but that’s not the point of the trip. It’s chance for the pair of us to have some quality time together in lovely surroundings. Let’s see how the trip goes…
14:50.
We’re on our way cross-country via Skipton and Hellifield. Here’s the rush-hour and sunshine at Clapham. No, not that one – the other one!
16:00.
We’ve arrived at the Wild Boar – which is rather special…
Did I mention it has its own microbrewery? Our room’s not too shabby either. Dawn’s done a fabulous job in finding this place.
18:15.
Wow! What a lovely place and way to relax. We’ve spent the past couple of hours sat downstairs by the real fire in the bar area having a drink, chatting and watching the residents go by. Now it’s time to dress for dinner. Not too dressy mind – most of the hotel guests are like us and normally wearing walking gear.
21:30.
We’re both stuffed after eating a meatfest in the restaurant. Dawn had the Venison and I had the Mallard. Both were gorgeous, and not something we’d cook at home hence us ordering them. The irony? The dish we both enjoyed the most was a side dish – roasted Butternut squash with pickled Walnuts!
Mallard with some interesting (but light) sides. Dawn’s melt off the bone Venison.
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/
A day I’m glad is over to be honest. The weather here in’t Calder valley has been wet and miserable but that didn’t matter so much as I’ve spent the vast majority tied to my computer. First I had to sort out and edit pictures from yesterday as some are needed immediately for my next article. That took quite a while. Then I ended up wasting a couple of hours in a frustrating battle to get a new Fitbit. My ‘old’ one (just out of warranty) died last weekend when the battery gave up the ghost because it refuses to charge. After some to-ing and fro-ing with Fitbit they agreed to send me a voucher for 50% off a new one. Not perfect, but better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. Then I tried to use the voucher code. No-go. Repeatedly, for several days. So, today I contacted then again. Sorree – we’ll send you a new voucher code. Which they did. Only this time it was only for 35% off. Oi! I complained. After much more to-ing and fro-ing they apologised and said they shouldn’t have given me 50% as in the UK we’re only entitled to 35% (I wonder why?). But, a deal’s a deal. Only they couldn’t send me a new voucher. Oh no. Now I have to buy a full price Fitbit and they’ll refund 50%. Eventually, when it’s shipped – which may be days…
All this took over two hours to sort out as there’s no-one on the end of a phone, it’s a keyboard chat. The frustrating thing? They insisted on a copy of the order details to be sent to them. Eh? You’ve already got everything – I’m buying it off you! So, after faffing around with screenshots, they finally (albeit with an apology) said ‘OK’. Now I have to wait and see what happens.
This faff didn’t exactly put me in a good mood, but I gritted my teeth and finished writing my RAIL article, doing my very best not to let sarcasm slop over into it when I was writing about some recent political puffery. OK, maybe the Subbie is going to have to wield a judicious scalpel…
So, everything done and sent off I realised it was late and I’d promised to cook, which was just as well as I needed the therapy. Now I can add a fresh batch of Chana Masala to today’s accomplishments. At least the decks are now clear for tomorrow when I’m having a bit of a day out as a celebration of becoming a Beatles song. I’ll leave you guessing as to which one! The day might not go to plan as the idea was to enjoy a ride behind one of the last Trans-Pennine Express Class 68s and Mk 5 sets before they’re withdrawn at the December timetable change. Problem is, TPE have very few working sets and locos left and only one Class 68 is shown as being out tomorrow. Hopefully the spanner-monkeys will be busy on the other one overnight…
In the meantime, here’s a picture of what I’m hoping to enjoy…
68025 hauls 1U52, the 12:48 Scarborough to Manchester Piccadilly through Batley on the 19th Aril 2023.
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/
‘Tis been another quiet day here at Bigland Towers. The weather in the Calder valley’s been wet and miserable these past few days although we’ve been lucky (for once) to escape the flooding that’s affected other parts of the UK, including areas that I was in just a few days ago – like Chesterfield. It’s no laughing matter for those affected and flooded out of their homes or businesses. We know – we’ve experienced it here.
That said, I couldn’t help but laugh at the insanity of comments from our Environment Minister, Thérèse Coffey, who’s managed to outdo the classic railway PR blunder about ‘the wrong kind of snow’. Apparently, the flooding that’s been experienced is due to the rain coming from the ‘wrong’ direction. I shit you not! Here she is being quoted in the Guardian newspaper. Christ on a bike – how do these talentless people end up in Government – and stay there, rotating between one useless job to another? If you voted for these people – hang your head in shame (and do the right thing next time).
Away from the weather I’ve been busy researching and writing my next article for RAIL magazine, which will look at a route across Northern England which is a shadow of its former self but what’s left is very much worth visiting. I’ve also been planning the next few days which will see me out and about, looking at the present and future of the UK railways rather than reflecting on the past. Oh, and somewhere in all that I’ve a birthday to celebrate as I’m about to be a Beatles song. I’ll leave you to guess which one.
Right, time to go, which means leaving you with a picture. What to choose? Umm – how about this one? Fed up of rain and grey skies? OK, here’s a toast-rack tram crossing the old Carioca Aqueduct in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil at sunset on the 7th August 2002.
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/
I’ve a long list of things I want to write about but little time to do it at the moment, so some thoughts and spleen-venting are appearing here. I’ve had a busy few days which has left me with lots of pictures to edit against the clock as I’ve needed to get them out to clients – hence yesterday’s blog purdah. The whole day was spent staring at a screen as I waded through several hundred pictures which needed checking/tweaking. That said, yesterday was a good day to do it as the weather here in the Calder Valley was appalling. It didn’t stop raining once. Even so, we didn’t experience any flooding – unlike poor Chesterfield where I was the previous day. I’ve chosen (by accident more than design) a good couple of days to stay away from the rail network. Our Victorian system was designed when no-one had even dreamt of climate-change. Still, isn’t is a good job we’re building a new railway spine (HS2) that’s designed to cope with our changing climate? Oh, wait…
The one bright spot yesterday was hearing that that Tories were hammered in the two by-elections in what were supposedly ultra-safe seats. The other bright spot is hearing the levels of denial from the Tories over why this has happened. The delusions are weapons-grade. According to many Tories it’s because they’re not right-wing enough. Seriously? Talk about being out of touch! It reminds me of how the hard-left always used to blame Labour defeats on the fact the party wasn’t left-wing enough. Then along came their golden-boy, Jeremy Corbyn and his corbynistas. Corbyn still wasn’t left wing enough to win an election? Oh boy! The Tories are making exactly the same mistake, but then reality denial is a prerequisite of ideological purity. My gut feeling is that the Tories are going to lose the next election in spectacular fashion and then split just as Labour did in the 1980s when some of the centre-left went off to form the Social Democrat Party (SDP). The difference here is that I believe what’s left of the main Tory party will become UKIP by another name (aren’t they already? Ed) which will leave the right having completely abandoned the centre ground of politics. The old ‘one nation’ Tory party is dead, Boris Johnson saw to that when he expelled those people for opposing him over Brexit. Thus, the far-right Tory loons will become increasingly isolated. The SDP had the Liberals to merge with and the Liberals were the 3rd party with a powerbase and MPs. Who will the far-right Tories merge with? Reform? Britain First? Bless!
Sadly, Tory travails were the only high-point of my day. The economy (which they’re ignoring, preferring navel-gazing and stoking culture wars) is hardly in good shape and being hammered by the combination of Brexit, the war in Ukraine and the appalling scenes from Israel/Palestine. The old (apocryphal) Chinese curse ‘may you live in interesting times’ couldn’t be more appropriate. Still, the disaster capitalists are rubbing their hands in glee. Frankly? I’m getting fed up of interesting times. Like any rational person I’d actually prefer some stability but I can’t see us getting that for quite some time. There’s too many nutters around, both rich and poor.
Meanwhile, the rest of us rational poor plebs will try and weather the storm until Sunak decides he’s wrecked the country enough (or made enough money from doing so, which is more likely), leaving the rest of us to have our say via the ballot box. That will be one election where I’ll be staying up all night with the champagne on ice – although I don’t underestimate the challenge Labour will face when they take over.
In the meantime, here’s a picture from Thursday. After the successful launch of the new electric shunter a few of us adjourned to Chesterfield for a pint or two and the chance to catch-up after far too long. Imagine this as me and my old friend Steve Upton (@DriverPotter on Twitter) having adjourned to the Winchester, having a nice pint and waiting for this this to all blow over*…
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/
* See the 2004 cult film ‘Shaun of the dead’ which was filmed in 2003 with many scenes recorded just around the corner from where I lived in Crouch End, London.
Paul Bigland 