Category Archives: Musings

That went well!

20 Wednesday Sep 2023

Posted by in Hampshire, Musings, Railways, Travel, West Yorkshire

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I’m typing this from Bigland Towers, which is rather unfortunate as you should be receiving this missive from darkest Devon…

On Tuesday Dawn and I were due to drive down to North Devon in order to stay with some old friends who moved there from West Yorkshire a few years ago. It would have been the first chance we would have had to visit them as Covid got in the way before now. Then on Monday we received a message that the pair of them had gone down with a stomach bug so we provisionally knocked the trip back for 24 hours. On Tuesday we found out the bug wasn’t of the 24 hour variety so we reluctantly (but sensibly) decided to postpone our visit until next year due to hectic schedules between now and then. We were all gutted as our friends had planned some brilliant trips such as beach walks and (of course) railways.

Our ‘rain-check’ proved to be eminently sensible in more ways than one as the weather here in West Yorkshire and in North Devon was shocking – and in many points in between it seems. We’ve had torrential rain and gales so driving all that way on motorways would not have been fun at all – especially as we’d planned to do the 300 mile trip in a day. So, we’ve stayed at home, which has been frustrating as the climatic conditions have made it impossible to get much exercise in. I could have gone walking but even with full waterproofs it would’ve been a miserable experience. Instead I’ve been trying to stop the garden blowing away as my Gladioli and other plants have taken a battering. We’re now on day 3 and the weather’s finally changed. We nipped out for lunch with Dawn’s parents over at a garden centre near Holmfirth where I picked up some Pansies to replace some of the summer plants that are past their best. Late afternoon blue skies put in an appearance, the wind abated and the rain finally sodded off. So, tomorrow, rather than enjoying the hedonistic delights of Devon I’ll be at home, repairing the garden and putting up shelves. However, all’s not lost, we’re only stuck here until Saturday, then we head down to Surrey, where we’ll be based for a week – and the weather forecast is looking very promising indeed. I’m hoping I may be able to take the camera for a walk around this neck of the woods on Friday, but we’ll see how much gets done tomorrow…

I’ll leave you with a picture from one of the lines I should be back exploring next week. Here’s the old signalbox at Haselmere station, seen on the 5th July 2017.

This London and South Western Railway type 4 design is 127 years old and listed Grade 2. There are plans to preserve it in situ when the line is resignalled.

The Portsmouth direct line is in the process of being renewed and resignalled. You can learn more about the project 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/

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

16th September picture of the day…

16 Saturday Sep 2023

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

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The (alleged) old Chinese curse ‘may you live interesting times’ springs to mind right now. Having returned from Thursday’s national rail awards I’m finding life odd to say the least. Seeing so many familiar faces at the NRA was lovely – as was having time to chat – even though time flew by all too quickly and I didn’t get to talk to half the people I’d have liked to. Plus, the awards felt very much like the end of an era with Nigel Harris retiring, plus other changes that are going on I’m not going to reveal here. The railway ‘Oscars’ felt different this year because the rail industry is in a mess. Not one of it’s own making to be fair, the railways are just another victim of an utterly incompetent Government that hasn’t got a clue what it’s doing – about anything. Forget re-arranging the deckchairs on the Titanic, with this lot you can add musical deckchairs as Ministers constantly change their minds depending on which loon – Sorry, ‘think tank’ or special advisor has got their ear. The sooner we have a general election and this miserable lot are put out of their misery the better. Sadly, the mess we’re in isn’t all down to the Tories. There’s a sickness throughout the UK body politic which means we’re ill-served by the political classes as they just can’t be honest with people – hence Labour’s insistence that you can actually polish a turd and they can make Brexit ‘work’. Oh, and don’t even get me started on the ‘green’ party – a collection of Nimbys who seem to spend most of their time opposing solutions to climate change (solar farms, nuclear power, HS2) as they know they can posture all they like as they’ll never hold power. I should mention that the Scottish greens are an exception to this. They’re a separate party who’re pragmatic, positive and not in thrall to Nimbyism the way their cousins South of the border are. In a lot of ways I’d be quite tempted to move North of the border as Scotland seems to be so more progressive than England. Shame about the weather tho’…

Looking around it’s hard to remain positive about the future of this septic Isle as honesty and realism in politics is about as rare as rocking-horse shit right now. Meanwhile, as many folk who tear themselves away from gawping at TV screens may have noticed, we’re having some really weird weather due to climate change. But what are we doing about it as a nation? Answers on a postcard please…

You may have got the impression that I’m feeling rather cynical at the moment. In which case all I can say is – damned right! I’m normally a glass half-full sort of guy but right now it’s difficult to maintain that perspective. Hopefully, my equilibrium will be restored soon. Whatever, it’s time to think about my own future in a changing world.

Whilst I ponder I’ll leave you with today’s picture. I’ve updated my Zenfolio website with a host of different pictures taken over the last couple of weeks. Follow this link to see which galleries they’re in. Now, what to choose? OK, how about this…

Although I was away for the first couple of months of this year the one thing I didn’t manage was any beach time. I need to put that right on my next trip. Here’s a beach on a very special island few people will have set foot on due to its isolated location. This is Baia do Sancho on the island of Fernando de Noronha off the coast of Brazil, seen on the 19th 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/

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

11th September picture of the day…

11 Monday Sep 2023

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

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There’s only a short blog from me today. It’s late and I’ve had a long day glued to the computer editing pictures which have now appeared on my Zenfolio picture website. As usual, they’re spread around various galleries which are dedicated to particular train companies, aspects of the railways – or other interests. There’s still more pictures to edit but the majority have been uploaded. You can find them in these galleries;

Greater Anglia

Govia/Thameslink

Infrastructure and engineering

East Midlands Railway

Social issues

UK travel photography

Odds and sods

Another of today’s chores was to package and parcel the latest eBay sales of old railway slides and memorabilia and get them down to to post office for dispatch to the lucky winners. There’s still plenty of items on offer (I’ve just started another 5 day sale now) so if you want to browse what’s for sale, click on this link.

I’m having break from the office tomorrow so expect a rolling (ish) blog, although I can’t tell you where I’ll be going as I don’t know myself yet! It depends on the weather and what’s happening.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a taster from my new travel pictures. This one’s of Saffron Walden in Essex. It’s a delightful little market town that couldn’t be more different in character and design than West Yorkshire…

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

10th September picture of the day…

10 Sunday Sep 2023

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

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We’ve had a mixed weekend here back at Bigland Towers. Much of the time’s been taken up with catching up on daily chores that have been neglected after a week away. The one item missing from our accommodation was a washing machine, so ours has been working overtime to process a weeks work of dirty clothing. Thankfully, the sunny weather continued over Saturday, which was probably the hottest day we’ve had here in the Calder Valley this year. The pair of us were too busy to venture far but we did manage a wander into Sowerby Bridge to pick up some shopping, stop for a quick drink, then wander back along the canal. I even managed to nip out for a few games of pool and catch-up with friends before returning to evening cooking duty when I experimented with a new Thai recipe.

Today’s been in similar vein with the exception that Dee’s been out most of the day at a relaxation and meditation course whilst I’ve stayed at home to wade through more washing and get stuck into editing the hundreds of pictures I took whilst we were away but which haven’t (yet) made it onto my Zenfolio website. I’m making good progress and many of them will appear by tomorrow.

I still managed to get my daily constitutional in and 12.5k steps but it was a close run thing as the weather really has turned the afternoon. I’d hung around until late in the afternoon before getting out and just managed to dodge a heavy shower. That said, we’ve escaped the storms that seem to have hit to the North and South of us. all we’ve had is a few mild rumbles of thunder, but (disappointingly) no lightning – otherwise I’d have had the camera out as I love a good storm. Today’s picture is an illustration of all the weather offered us, hardly dramatic compared to some pictures I’ve seen.

Here comes the rain again…

Now I’m typing this listening to more distant rumbles of thunder as storms are moving through our area this evening but they’re still failing on the pyrotechnic front. Tomorrow’s going to be another day stuck at home as I’ve a load of eBay sales to dispatch, pictures to edit and stuff to sort out for later in the week. It’s the National Rail Awards on Thursday, so it’s time to dust off the Tuxedo…

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/

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

Cambridgeshire day 2…

03 Sunday Sep 2023

Posted by in Cambridgeshire, Musings, Photography, Railways, Travel

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It may be tardy but summer’s finally arrived. We’ve had great weather all day here in Cambridgeshire, although looking at the stressed state of some of the local trees I suspect there’s been a lot less rain here over the summer than we’ve had up in God’s own country.

After a leisurely morning we headed over to Ely, a town I’m very familiar with but one the Platt family had never visited before. On the way in I gave the folks a bit of a run-down on local history, including that of why there’s now a Southern bypass due to the number of HGVs that used to get stuck on the level crossing or jammed under the adjacent low bridge. I’d no idea how useful a lesson it would be until we parked at the station and prepared to walk down to the river. All of a sudden there was a hell of a bang and crunching noise from behind the trees masking the road. I knew what had happened straight away. This…

And the moral of the story is – always know the height of your vehicle…

To add to the drivers distress and embarrassment, there was a weeding party a few meters away who were about to board this vehicle. Needless to say, the wedding guests phone cameras were out capturing pictures of the added entertainment. Nice bus tho’…

Walking into town the Platt’s first stop was Costa coffee, which gave me chance to dash to the tourist office for leaflets, check out a few of the sightseeing opportunities and grab a swift pint before we moved on to the Cathedral. You don’t have to be religious or an architectural buff to appreciate the magnificence of Ely cathedral (although they’d help) as it’s truly a stunning building with a fascinating history.

Looking up into the cathedral tower…

The family were all impressed and moved by the building and the atmosphere within it. If you ever get chance to visit – do. I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

Having done our spiritual duties we moved onto more temporal concerns by stopping for a drink by the river Great Ouse at the Cutter Inn which has a great selection of food and drink – as well as great views along the river. We managed to bag a table outside which allowed views like this.

Two excellent forms of transport meet at Ely.

Whilst we were relaxing we were rudely interrupted by this critter above us – which we hadn’t even noticed until it started cooing like it was auditioning for a part in a Cuckoo clock!

Good to see those anti pigeon spikes work. Having seen the way this Dove’s defeated static defenses I can only assume it must be Ukrainian…

Now we’re back at home, relaxing and digesting the excellent coq au vin that Dawn had set up in the slow cooker before we left. Tomorrow we head to Cambridge – another first for the Platts…

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

Bank holiday blues…

28 Monday Aug 2023

Posted by in Musings, Photography, Politics, Railways

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Excuse me? This is the August bank holiday, the only one actually in that season we in the UK regard as summer. So where’s the summer weather? In fact, where was the summer? OK, I shouldn’t complain too much as we’ve hardly had any rain at all here in the Calder valley today which goes against bank holiday traditions, but honestly – what a low key event. Admittedly, Dawn and I hadn’t got anything planned as we’ve got a busy September ahead. Even so, the idea of sitting out in the garden with a G&T whilst soaking up the sun wouldn’t have gone amiss.

Instead, the pair of us have spent much of the say slaving over keyboards. The other day I had a conversation via Twitter (Musk, you can do one – I refuse to call it X) about the state of some of the old BR built diesel trains and the amount of corrosion repairs many of them had undergone. Then I looked for the pictures I’d taken, realised they weren’t on my website so went hunting. It’s a long story that involves tales of why you should keep a central database and not lots of different folders – but I eventually found them.

The interior of one of the cars of 150257. Note the bottom of the steel skin of the car has been chopped off to deal with corrosion of the bodyshell ribs. The condition of the car frames due to water ingress condensation is also evident. You can find more pictures from here.

Whilst these shots were taken in November 2017 they’ve become rather topical as replacement of these train fleets is back on the agenda as Northern have expressed for expressions of interest in building new ones to replace them. And that’s part of a bigger story. These old diesel trains date from 1985-86. Due to government inertia and dither on electrifying more of the UKs rail network we’re sending far greener and more modern electric trains to the scrapyard – like the Government owned (it’s a long story) class 365s built a decade later in 1995. Meanwhile, we have even more modern electric trains – the class 379s built in 2010 which are stored with no prospects of working for the foreseeable future.

Now, you’d think that a Transport Minister who’s supposed to be thinking about such things may be exercising his mind to solve the problem? But no. Mark Harper is too busy fighting culture wars and proving just how unfit for the job he is – hence this utterly ridiculous tweet.

The Government doesn’t have the ‘legal power’ to stop it? Either this is a blatant lie (it is) or Harper hasn’t got a clue how UK democracy works (possible) or both (likely). Because the truth is the UK Parliament is sovereign and can make or change whatever laws it likes. And let’s not even get into the fact ULEZ was a Tory policy and one they’ve pinned on Sadiq Khan. Plus, there’s the fact most Londoners (who actually want to breather clean air) support ULEZ. So, you can see why the Dept of Transport is in a mess. It’s ‘led’ by a politician who’s a bit like a tortoise atop a fencepost.

OK, I’ve digressed from Bank holidays to a rant about useless politicians. Sorry (not sorry) about that. Anyway, I hope you’ve all enjoyed your day off – if you’ve had one…

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

20th August picture of the day…

20 Sunday Aug 2023

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

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The pair of us have had a weekend at home here at Bigland Towers but it could hardly be described as a relaxing ‘feet up in front of the telly’ kind of weekend as both of us have kept busy. Dawn’s been on a mission. Having borrowed a carpet cleaner from her parents (think of a Dyson, in that it looks similar, weighs about the same – but works) Dee’s been methodically going from room to room, washing each carpet. The cottage is only small but these things still take time. Whilst Dawn’s been occupied thus I’ve kept out of the way and worked in the garden or on the outside of the house. For once the weather’s been conducive to such activities – despite the tail the end of storm ‘Betty’ which brough gusting winds to the Pennines. I’ve managed to fill several bin-bags with plant based detritus, including the trimmings off a Jasmine plant which was blocking a lot of light from the front of the cottage. The only problem was as soon as I saw how much extra light was coming in through the windows I also realised how dirty they were! Cooking when the kitchen is stacked full of exercise weights and office equipment was fun but I still managed to rustle up a typical Indonesian Nasi Goreng which has kept us going over the weekend.

Today’s been occupied finishing off the chores from yesterday, with one major difference. Dee wanted to watch the football world cup match between England and Spain whilst she was working. This involved plugging herself into the commentary via her phone whilst having the video on her iPad. Me? I was outside up a ladder cleaning windows, which was quite amusing as the expletives and exhortations coming from inside the house made me think Dee had suddenly contracted Tourettes!

Now it’s Sunday night, the carpets are drying and the cottage is slowly coming back together ready for another working week. The kitchen’s no longer an obstacle course and all the rubbish has been taken to our local recycling centre so it’s time to relax. The only thing left for me to do is post a picture of the day but as the camera’s been tucked away all weekend, the question is what to choose from the archives. How about this one which is completely random and not related to anything I’ve been talking about?

I’ve been crap at finishing scanning all my old slides this year because other things (modern life, mostly) have got in the way. Well, that and trying to earn a crust. But, I have a stack of already scanned slides I’ve just never got around to editing and sticking on my Zenfolio site. This is one, from February 1998, taken just after sunrise at the ghats in Varanasi, India.

A Brahmin (an upper caste Hindu – evidenced by the sacred thread he wears) gets his head shaved by a barber at the ghats in Varanasi.

Tomorrow’s the start of another busy week (as if this weekend wasn’t active enough) so expect pictures from one or two locations around the UK that I’ve not covered recently…

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

18th August picture of the day…

18 Friday Aug 2023

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

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I think the expression’s meant to be ‘thank God it’s Friday’, although it’s not really one that’s in a Freelance’s lexicon – and especially not if you work in the rail industry! Hence it being nearly 9 o’ clock on a Friday and I’m still editing pictures and sending them off to magazines. There’s no time to go to the pub tonight, but I’m also trying to be good after having had a week that’s been less than abstemious due to various events. That said, looking at the bin fire that’s the UK economy and stock market this week I should be reaching for the Brandy. We have a Government that’s more interested in fighting culture wars and posturing on pubs opening early so that folk can watch football rather than deal with anything important. You know – like the economy? The Tories feel very Romanesque right now. It’s all about bread and circuses.

Still, today’s not been a bad day to be stuck at home working. The weather’s been dull, cold and wet. I went out earlier and noticed that one of our neighbours had lit their coal fire. Yep – in the middle of August! Temperatures are hovering around 15 degrees here in the Pennines right now, which is hardly summer temperatures, but it’s not exactly Iceland either. With conditions not being that of a classic English summer keeping busy seems to be the only sensible thing to do. Who wants to leave a hostage to fortune by booking to go to any outdoor events when so many have been cancelled this year?

Right, time to go. This was always going to be a short blog but one batch of Wetransfer files are now winging their way to a client so it’s time to send a last one before I can call it at day. I’ll leave you with a picture of the day which is one from the series of images I took at the new Siemens train factory at Goole yesterday. Whilst the first London Underground trains to be built on the site won’t happen until March next year there’s a lot of work going on in one of the buildings where components for various trains (and not just Siemens products) are being overhauled.

Here are traction motors that power Eurostar trains being refurbished in a brand new on-site facility, although the company who’re doing the work have moved to Goole from Leeds – and expanded in the process…

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

14th August picture (and video) of the day…

14 Monday Aug 2023

Posted by in Calder Valley, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, West Yorkshire

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Another soggy week begins here at Bigland Towers atop the Calder Valley. Today the scanners of seaweed and tappers of barometers got it spot on – although I wish they hadn’t. The rain’s been persisting down and for most of the day we’ve hardly been able to see the other side of the valley apart form the odd break when the sun’s toyed with us for a few tempting moments. August has followed July in the path of being an extremely wet month. I’ve no ide how much rainfall’s fallen so far but it must be getting on for a record.

I’d already planned accordingly so I had plenty to keep me occupied indoors. First job was so complete updating my Zenfolio website with the hundreds of new pictures I took last week. You can find which galleries they’re in by following this link to the ‘recents’ section. Having all the pictures captioned and filed I could concentrate on writing for a living, researching and scribbling my next RAIL article on the Blyth and Tyne railway. I enjoy writing these articles because – despite them needing extensive research, that investigation means that I get to learn things too. I also get to discover old videos that sometimes divert me, like this one of Blyth Cambois loco depot on the day it closed in 1994.

Here’s how the depot site looks today…

Oh, that’s not today’s picture by the way – I have something better to offer than a flattened depot – honest!

Having spent most of today type-swiping I did get in my daily constitutional – even it has to be broken up into several short walks in between heavy showers although I do enjoy walking through our local woodlands after heavy rain. There’s a wonderful freshness in the air which is combined with the smell of wet leaves and damp earth. What’s not so wonderful is wading through the torrents of water running down the road. Due to repeated Government cuts to council funding nearly all the grids on our road are silted up as they’ve not been cleared out for years, leaving the drains blocked and unable to cope. There’s a downhill run of around half a mile past our cottage to Scarr woods so that torrent’s almost a river by the time it hits an even steeper hill and road to the valley floor.

Now it’s late and time for me to call it a day as I want an early start tomorrow to fit in everything I need to do. All that remains is to leave you with today’s image which was taken earlier this evening as I was watching more stormy weather approach us from across the valley. Our vantage point up on the valley side offers fantastic views like this which I never tire of as they’re constantly changing thanks to the weather and the change of the seasons.

Who knows how the valley will look tomorrow 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/

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

29th July picture of the day…

29 Saturday Jul 2023

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

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We’ve had a fairly relaxed Saturday here in West Yorkshire. Rail strikes meant I wasn’t tempted to venture anywhere – and I’ve a busy week next week anyway, so the pair of us have freestyled the day – apart from having a brunch date with Dawn’s parents over at Hinchliffes farm shop in Netherton, which is in the hills South of Huddersfield. The shop has a cafe called the Rusty Bull which is a great place to eat as the foods normally very good and they have a great view across to Castle Hill. Since our last visit the menu’s changed and one of our favourites (Shakshuka) has disappeared, to be replaced with another Turkish inspired dish – Cilbir. Dawn wasn’t quite sure of the idea but I wanted to try it. It’s poached eggs in a Garlic yoghurt sauce with pickled Dill and Aleppo pepper in Olive oil served with a flatbread. Here’s a recipe.

Unfortunately, the kitchen wasn’t on the ball today and my dish came without one of the main ingredients (the Aleppo pepper in oil). When that was added the dish was gorgeous – although the garlic quotient meant that people would be keeping their distance from me for the next few hours!

Heading back to the Calder valley the pair of us made the most of the decent weather to enjoy a stroll through the local woods and park which included a visit to our local pub (The Big 6) where we caught up with friends we hadn’t seen for a while and also had a giggle with staff and punters alike.

Now we’re back at home, enjoying the fruits of Dawn’s culinary expertise (I’ve got the night off) before settling down to watch a film, having made the most of the weather as tomorrow and the rest of next week’s looking pretty wet – which could make things ‘interesting’ for me as I’ve a lot of travelling to do.

In the meantime, here’s today’s picture, which is one for beer aficionados. This is what was on offer on handpumps at the Big 6 tonight.

The 2nd handpump from the left’s always a dark beer, the others are pale with the strength rising from left to right.

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