Category Archives: Musings

West Yorkshire wanderings…

02 Sunday May 2021

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The bank holiday weather’s been mixed to say the least but today was meant to be the best of an indifferent bunch so Dawn and I chose it to get out and go walking. We’d originally considered driving over to Derbyshire but then I suggested exploring somewhere more local – the hills above Todmorden. We’ve often hiked around the town but that’s either because the pair of us have walked up to Stoodley Pike (a favorite walk with fantastic if windswept views) or I’ve been up in the hills around Walsden as it’s an excellent location for railway pictures. Today we tried somewhere different. After parking the car on the edge of the town we headed up some steep paths through an area called Hole Bottom (no, really!) towards Todmorden golf club which gave some wonderful views across the town. We also passed some really interesting and curious properties. I love this old mill towns as they contain some fascinating buildings tucked in backstreets or on the edge of town. Many have seen several incarnations in their lifetime so often have original features like doors or windows bricked in. Trying to work out what they might have been is always fun. Here’s a classic example.

Further up the hill on the edge of the golf course we discovered this view. I’ve often tried for this shot from the other side of town without the same degree of success so I’m pleased to have found this place – even if you’d be shooting directly into the light on a sunny day.

Here a train from Blackburn to Southport traverses the viaduct which bisects the town centre before it arrives at the station just to the right of the viaduct. The imposing building behind the train is the neo-classical Town Hall. Designed by architect John Gibson it’s a grade 1 listed building that originally opened in 1875. Beyond the town hall is the Gothic splendor of the Unitarian church (The Unitarian movement originated in Todmorden in the early 19th century). Another grade 1 listed building designed by Gibson it was constructed between 1865-69. Both buildings were paid for by the wealthy Fielden family who were local mill owners, reformists and philanthropists.

By the golf course we joined the Calderdale Way footpath and headed west along the edge of the valley for several miles. This gave us some stunning views – even if we did end up stopping to eat our sandwiches in one of the rain and hailstorms that passed our way! You can see what the weather was like from this wider picture.

What’s very different about this side of the valley are the number of rocky outcrops and strange formations that dot the skyline. Places with names like Whirleaw, Stannalley or Golden stones – or the one we walked to – Orchan Rocks high above Lydgate.

From the rocks we continued on for another mile or so along the valley edge as far as Cross Hill before heading back to the valley floor. The first part was easy as we followed the road but then we cut across country along various footpaths to a place called Shore before descending an incredibly steep and narrow path through the dense woodland along Wittonstall Clough. I’m glad we’d not made the mistake of trying to climb this way as it’s band enough on the way down!

Reaching the main road at Cornholme we decided discretion was the better part of valour and walked back along the main road to Todmorden, although if we’d had time it would have been very tempting to scale the opposite side of the valley. Instead we decided to leave that for another day.

Now we’re back at home and relaxing. Dawn’s making one of our favorite weekend treats – spicy prawns and garlic bread. After that it’s time to settle down in front of the TV to join a large chunk of the country to watch the final episode of ‘Line of Duty’ – what a perfect end to a great day…

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

Thank you!

1st May picture of the day…

01 Saturday May 2021

Posted by in London, Musings, Photography, Photojournalism, Picture of the day

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The pair of us have had a productive if hardly exciting sort of day – unless you count the opportunity to tour garden centres again! Maybe it’s one of those signs of ageing, a bit like realising how much you enjoy watching the ‘Antiques Roadshow’ on the telly! As someone who’s been a keen gardener for nearly 30 years I make no apologies for such a pastime – even if my present patch of land is a lot smaller than I was used to. Even so, there’s plenty of opportunity to be creative as the massive stone walls that make up the terraces at the back of our cottage do lend themselves to some imaginative opportunities. Sadly, there’s not a great selection in our local garden centres. Maybe I was spoiled with living in London for 25 years, you could find almost anything you wanted within just a few miles and a trip to the Columbia Rd flower market in the East End was a must when you needed annuals. One centre we visited was just getting a delivery from Holland. A large HGV was taking up a chunk of the car park as pallets of plants were unloaded. I hate to think how much extra the Brexitshambles is costing them in both time and money. What was once a seamless operation is now mired in bureaucracy thanks to us throwing up rather than taking down barriers to trade. Despite the deliveries I’ve noticed that it’s really difficult to find the variety of ferns that I used to be able to buy in London. Maybe they’re not as popular up here? The back of the house is sheltered and in perpetual shadow, so it would ideal for displaying ferns – if only I could find the ones I want. Still, first world problems eh? At least I managed to restock our herb garden and replace some plants we lost due to the harsh winter.

Back at home I had a happy couple of hours replacing knackered hanging baskets, repotting and replanting and generally tidying up the garden – even tho’ the weather’s hardly spring-like as the temperature rarely makes it into double figures at the moment. As soon as the sun gets trapped behind clouds the temperature plummets. Frost is still a concern so I’m being careful what I plant out right now. How different to this time last year when we had such balmy days!

All this talk of gardening has chosen the picture of the day for me because it fits the theme. I scanned this one recently, although it was taken on the 12th March 1994 at Columbia Rd flower market.

Lynn and I were still living in London’s East End at the time and a trip to Columbia Rd was a regular occurrence for myself and some of my neighbours in the Housing Co-op where I lived. Decorating the communal balconies of our flats with plants was a great way of adding a splash of colour. Not everyone who joined us was green-fingered, it was just a great morning out as there were plenty of cafes offering coffee and cake and the opportunities for people-watching – hence this image which was a ‘grab-shot’ through the crowds.

Sadly, this sort of street photography has become harder for all sorts of reasons – especially to do with privacy laws. We’re in danger of losing the ability to document everyday life in the way the old masters of documentary photography never had to worry about – but that’s another blog entirely…

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

Thank you!

30th April picture of the day…

30 Friday Apr 2021

Posted by in Malaysia, Musings, Picture of the day

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Wait? What? It’s the end of April already – where’s the year gone whilst we’ve all been sat on our backsides at home? I thought time was meant to drag during lockdown but the opposite seems to be the case. Either that or someone’s been sneakily stealing days off my calendar whilst I’ve not been looking. As we’re now allowed out will someone please give me some of those days back so that I can savour them in the style in which they should be enjoyed? Joking apart, the year does seem to be flying by but for the life of me I can’t work out why unless it’s the ‘Groundhog Day’ effect. I wouldn’t mind but I’ve got so much that I want to do this year I really don’t want to run out of time.

Today’s been a good day – apart from the weather which has been cold with momentary flurries of rain and hail. Mind you according to Facebook’s memory prompt a few years ago we were covered in snow at this time – so I shouldn’t really complain. I certainly had a valid excuse to hole up at home ‘type-swiping’ to get an article written and a few more archive pictures added to my Zenfolio website which makes it rather a productive day.

Those old slides supply me with the picture for today. My 1991-92 solo odyssey has moved on from Thailand (yesterdays picture) to Malaysia where I discovered what – 30 years later – is still what I regards as a ‘happy place’. I’m sure many of us have them. They’re somewhere you’ve discovered where you feel perfectly at ease and at home for a whole host of reasons. Georgetown in Penang island, Malaysia is one of mine. I’ve been going back there every few years ever since. The first time I arrived I fell in love with it and that feeling remains despite the fact it’s changed a lot since those early days. What hasn’t changed is the mix of cultures (Malay, Chinese and Indian) the fantastic food, the fascinating architecture or the laid back atmosphere. Like many backpackers I ended up staying on Lebuh Chulia. In may case it was at an old Chinese hotel called the Eng Aun. It’s still there today but it’s gone much more upmarket from when I took this picture on the 1st May 1992.

Hotels like this had a central hall with reception on the ground floor behind which was a central staircase to the first floor. Each floor had rooms off to each side. The thing I remember about the Aun was the smell. It had a really weird one and I never worked out what it was. It wasn’t Durian (the stinky SE Asian fruit banned from most public transport) but it did smell like something had died beneath the floorboards! After a couple of days you got used to it, but I’ll never forget it! I passed through a couple of times on that trip and met some great people staying there. Nowadays I stay just around the corner in a place I first discovered in 1997, but I’ll never forget this place as my first introduction to Malaysia after a long trip overland from Thailand.

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

Thank you!

29th April picture of the day…

29 Thursday Apr 2021

Posted by in Musings, Picture of the day, Thailand

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I’ve not had time to post one of these for a while as I was away all of last week, concentrating on getting new pictures whilst enjoying the freedoms granted due to the easement of lockdown. As this coincided with some wonderful weather I was kept pretty busy. I’ve been back in Yorkshire since Sunday trying to catch up with all sorts of stuff that took a backseat as I was on my travels.

Being back in the office and stuck in front a screen made me appreciate having had the chance to get away. I’ve done so little travelling this past year but I count myself lucky as I’ve done more than many but right now it’s time to knuckle down and get some writing done. I’ve an article to prepare for RAIL magazine but once that’s done I’m looking forward to getting out and about again. On the 17th March hotels and B&Bs reopen in England, so I’ve been busy preparing a ‘cunning plan’ that involves cycling around some of the High Speed 2 railway construction sites in the Chilterns. The project is really ramping up so I’m keen to be able to document the work at this early stage in the same way I did with High Speed 1 from London to the Channel tunnel. Plus, being on the bike will give me a bit of exercise. OK, it’s not as exotic as cycling around India for charity, but at least I’m not expected to do 75 miles a day!

Of course I’m still trying to get through scanning my old slide archive but that’s going to be taking more of a back seat now the weather’s improving. Plus, Dawn and I have plans to get out and about too. Now I’m concentrating on ‘banking’ the scans (which I can only do at home) so that I can edit them at my leisure from wherever I am. I’ve already added another 60 plus to this gallery of my 1991-92 travel odyssey in the past few days – which brings me on to the picture of the day. I took this picture of the beautiful Thai island of Ko Phi Phi on the 20th April 1992.

The island is essentially two massive outcrops of karst rock linked by a narrow, low-lying sandbar, which is where the majority of the islands accommodation could be found. As you can see from the colour of the sea, the right hand beach is shallower whilst the left hand is deep enough for yachts, long-tailed boats and ferries from Krabi on the mainland. I spent an idyllic few days here exploring the island (this picture was taken from the viewpoint, a hot sweaty climb from the beach) and snorkelling in some of the fabulous bays around the coast.

A few years later the island were made famous as the setting for the film ‘The Beach’ which was based on the Alex Garland book. This sparked controversy due to allegations that the film crew caused a lot of damage to one of the beaches, but far worse was to come. On Boxing Day 2004 the Tsunami that devastated parts of SE Asia hit the island, killing over 1000 people. There but for the grace of God…

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

Thank you!

Rolling blog: Eastward Ho…

25 Sunday Apr 2021

Posted by in Musings, Railways, Rolling blogs, Southport

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Yes, I know the title of this blog’s 180 degrees about face but it got you looking didn’t it!

I’m about to leave sunny Southport to head back to Yorkshire, which gives me a rare opportunity for a rolling blog. It’s a long time since I’ve travelled anywhere by train on a Sunday so I’ll be sharing my impressions and experiences of the journey – along with a few pictures.

I’ve enjoyed my time here exploring and catching up on some childhood memories of the place where I grew up although so much has changed in the intervening half-century! Much of what I remember has disappeared, including many of the old corner shops. Napoleon supposedly once called the English a ‘nation of shopkeepers’ but if that were ever true it’s certainly not any more, a nation of supermarket shoppers, maybe.

Here’s an example. This was an old sweet-shop on the Corner of a road where one of my Aunties lived whom I used to stay with as a small child.

Mind you, it’s not just the shop that’s disappeared, behind the row of bungalows on the opposite side of the road was the direct railway line via Blowick which closed in 1964, sandwiched in between them was a abattoir where cattle used to be delivered for slaughter by rail. I can still remember hearing their pitiful mooing as they waited for the end. The abattoir must have closed in the 1960’s too. Now that whole area is covered by a housing estate built in the early 1970s.

One other memory that came up was due to walking over some of the old pavements in the area that are still tiled rather than tarmac’d. The 9′ blue tiles came from a company in North Wales and were a feature of the town in streets laid out in the Edwardian era. My ‘Nana’ invented an educational counting game where we counted the letters G of E that were embossed on some to mark the location of Gas pipes or Electric cables. I found plenty of E’s, but could I find a G?

Right, time to begin my travels, see you soon…

11.50.

I’m currently sat on the 11:38 Southport to Blackburn which is made up of a Class 156/158 lash-up. I did try the lead 158 which was almost empty but the wifi was up the spout so I’ve transferred to the 156 instead where it’s working fine and I’m typing this. Both sets are refurbished with new seat mocquette, passenger information system and USB chargers but no mains sockets as they’d drain too much power. There’s only a dozen of us (plus a plethora of pooches) in the car so I commandeered a table bay on which to set up my laptop with ease!

As I’m now a Pennine-dweller crossing the familiar fertile flatlands of the West Lancashire plains seems rather odd but it demonstrates why my Fitbit has registered such a low ‘stairs climbed’ total recently, the only way you can gain any altitude around here is by crossing one of Southport’s railway bridges!

Our first stop is Burscough Bridge. On the approach to the station are a couple of playing fields which are alive with footballers and onlookers – a sight I’ve not seen all year. The station’s graced with an expensive white elephant, a new ticket office/cafe that was built in the early 2000s, just as the market was changing and ticketing going more and more online whilst the cafe was never commercially viable as there wasn’t the required footfall. All it did was abstract income from established local businesses. The building’s been locked up and deserted for several years now. Another sign of how the times have changed are the Amazon parcel pick-up lockers that appeared in 2020.

12:10.

We’ve just arrived at Wigan Wallgate and the train’s filling up as several groups have joined us for the run into Manchester. There’s a mix of young families, teenaged lads off for a day out together and a few solo travelers with purpose unknown.

12:25.

We’ve just passed one of the delights of this line, the magnificent station gardens at Hindley station which are maintained by the multi-award winning friends group – although the brilliant work they do goes far, far beyond gardening. They a delightful group to visit and a trip to Hindley’s always something to look forward to when I’m wearing my Community Rail Network Judges hat.

From Crows Nest Junction we too the direct line via Atherton rather than swing left to head for Bolton. It’s hard to picture what this line looked like little more than half-a century ago. Then it was a four-track main line with classic island platform L&Y stations crossing the Lancashire coalfield that was festooned with collieries and railway lines that served them. Now it’s a two-track commuter and leisure line that carries no freight at all. Much of it runs on embankments which offer a grandstand view of all the new homes that are being built alongside the line. About the only thing that betrays this was once quadruple track are the bridges (over and under) which betray the width of the original formation. Now most of the cuttings are overgrown with Silver-Birch and other tress, creating a linear wildlife reserve and problem for trains in the leaf-fall season.

The one area that still surprises me as we pass is Agecroft. In my youth it contained collieries and a power station surrounded by a vast freight rail network. The Power Station had little steeple-cab electric locos whilst the colliery was still worked by steam engines in the early 1980s. Now everything’s been swept away to be replaced by vast anonymous grey warehouses that offer no interest at all.

14:00.

Due to gaps in the timetable I had an enforced break at Manchester Victoria that’s enabled me to get a few pictures and nip out to the nearby Co-op for a Scotch Egg lunch. All the catering outlets on the station were closed and the place was still quite deserted. Wandering into town I was disconcerted to see one huge gaggle of young people snaking their way through the streets in a long line. I’m assuming they’re part of a group but it does seem rather reckless as the social distancing was minimal to non-existent. I’m really hoping we don’t f*ck up this gradual release from lockdown, but sometimes I do wonder…

Back at Victoria I was interested to see that the Victoria – Blackpool North services were being worked by pairs of the new electric Class 331s from CAF rather than the old BR built Class 319s. I’m sure the extra capacity of a 6 car over a 4 will be a welcome during the summer months.

15:15.

Final leg now. I changed trains at Littleborough to get a last couple of pictures in this glorious weather and start to acclimatise again as it’s certainly a few degrees cooler up here than at sea level! Loadings on my present trains to Leeds are around the 50% mark but it’s difficult to judge as there’s a high churn rate between stations here.

20:10.

Back home to a beautifully clear evening and a glorious sunset to boot! I’m going to sign off for today as it’s time for some family time, just Me, Dawn and the moggie. Tomorrow’s going to be another busy day as I’ve loads of pictures to edit and an article to research, so watch this space…

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

Thank you!

Back to blogging…

21 Wednesday Apr 2021

Posted by in Liverpool, Merseyside, Musings

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Humble apologies for the lack of blogging recently but I’ve been taking advantage of the country slooowwlllyy opening up to get some work done away from the confines of the Calder Valley. Much as a I love the Pennines and home it’s so refreshing to be able to get out and about again, visit places old and new – and start to see what’s being happening whilst we’ve all been constrained.

In order to do that I’ve been popping over to Merseyside most days (bar today) in order to experience life in the big city and see what’s been happening with the rail network whilst we’ve all been doing our Rip Van Winkle impressions. I’ll blog about some of my experiences in greater detail when I have the time as my wanderings have given me a huge amount of material – and pictures. The pictures are slowly starting to appear on my Zenfolio website in the ‘recent’ section but there’s a few tasters in this blog.

I’d hoped to have been able to capture shots of the new Stadler built trains that will be taking over Merseyrail services from two of the oldest train fleets in the UK – the BR built Class 507/508 fleets. There’s a blog looking back over their lives and times here.

Sadly, the only 777s I could find on the network were a handful confined to barracks at Kirkdale, as you can see here.

Four of the new Stadler built Class 777s grounded at Kirkdale.

Also at Kirkdale was one of the older Class 508 units which had had an ‘interesting’ time at Kirkby when it tried to make its way to Wigan, despite the lack of track, electrification or that there was a chunk of platform in the way. In my day a ‘Kirkby kiss’ was a metaphor for a head-butt. Here’s the Merseyrail unit that tried to recreate the old tradition with a nice little board in front of it explaining what it failed to do…

– and failing at 42mph too…

My wanderings took me over the river to Birkenhead and the Wirral exploring some areas that I hadn’t visited for forty years, which was a bit of an eye-opener. To start with, here’s another ‘new’ train that’s having a few teething problems. OK, I admit, it’s not really new at all, this is ex-London Underground D78 stock converted to diesel power to be used on the Bidston – Wrexham line. The Vivarail conversions cover a variety of traction packages and are actually a clever idea.

As a former East Londoner I may very well have travelled on this old District Line train when it ambled its way across London from East to West. I’m looking forward to see how they work far away from London in the Welsh borders.

Whilst visiting Birkenhead North I was drawn to the dereliction of the old docks which once had an extensive rail network – although that was already well in decline during my last visit in 1981! Now the area looks like a backdrop for a ‘ColdwarSteve’ montage. I spotted this which summed things up for me. Derelict shipyards and docks occupied by a pair of mothballed Royal Navy ships and – what the hell’s an old Blackpool tram doing there?

I’ve got a whole host of pictures to finish editing yet which will appear in another blog. Tomorrow I have a couple of ‘Zoom’ meetings but hope to get them done before then. After that, there’s a lot more blogging to come…

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

Thank you!

14th April picture of the day…

14 Wednesday Apr 2021

Posted by in Malaysia, Musings, Picture of the day

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In an effort to be positive, optimistic and get loads of stuff done I was up and scanning old pictures at 06:30 this morning but by day’s end I find myself in pensive mode for a whole range of reasons. Maybe I’m just feeling the weight of history on my shoulders when I look back at pictures I’ve not paid attention to for nearly 30 years and I realise just how much the world’s changed in that time – as have I.

It’s not that a lot of the day’s been a bad one as I’ve achieved quite a bit, but there’s still a niggling feeling that no matter how hard I run, time’s catching up with me…

The day dawned bright (if not particularly warm) here in West Yorkshire. It’s almost like the weather Gods are teasing us. They dangle Spring in our faces then slap us with frosts and freezing temperatures just to remind us how capricious and powerful they are! Despite the weather, Bluebells are beginning to stick their heads up in the local woods – the brave souls. Back at home the central heating’s still earning its keep especially early morning, although we’re hoping that can’t be for much longer. I’ve noticed the temperature more as I had a crap week on the exercise front compared to the previous so I’d been stuck more indoors but I’m determined to up the ante this one – so far with success, but the long round-trip walk through the woods can still be rather chilly although its wonderful to hear the bird chorus now it’s Spring. You certainly don’t feel alone when you’re walking as you’re followed by the sounds of all manner of feathered creatures – even if you can’t always see the buggers!

Back at home I managed to make a sizeable dent in my email inbox by wading through a four-figure sum of the traffic contained therein. Remember the old days when it was exciting to receive an email? I do – but a bit like my youth – those days are long gone!

I mention stuff like email because of the picture of the day which is from my 1991/92 travels when such things never even existed. Then ‘you got mail’ was a physical letter sent to a ‘poste restante’ address which was normally the main Post Office in a city on your route. It was all a bit hit and miss as many post offices would only hold mail for 30 days before returning to sender (and I lost a few that way) so you had to have a pretty good idea of where you’d be and when.

‘When’ or rather maybe ‘where’ is a question I’ve been asking myself about the location of today’s picture. I’ve loads more new scans to choose from but I’ve been trying to keep the trip linear, so today’s shot comes from the country I moved onto from the last pic in Thailand. I took this in Georgetown on Penang Island Malaysia on the 3rd May 1992. This was my first visit to Georgetown and I fell in love with it immediately. It’s one of my ‘happy places’ and I keep returning to it as a consequence. I really feel at home here. It’s laid-back, cosmopolitan, colourful and with a fascinating history. Oh, and the food is divine because of that melange of cultures.

Of course it was rather different 30 years ago as it was a lot more run-down, but maybe that’s one of the reasons I fell in love with it. It had the air of a place time had rather passed by – as this shot shows. I had to chuckle when (as an English speaker) I saw the name of the coffin shop…

Nowadays many of these of Chinese shop-houses have been converted into fancy homes or boutique hotels or eateries. It’s a double-edged sword. On one hand old businesses like this are forced out because of prices and the area becomes more gentrified and loses some of its history. But, on the other, it means more are restored to their former glory. My concern is that it could mean the place becomes another Singapore where the buildings are saved but the character of the place is lost.

You’ll be able to find more of my pictures from Malaysia in this gallery very soon…

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

13th April picture of the day…

13 Tuesday Apr 2021

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

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Apologies for my absence over the past few days but I’ve been concentrating on other things. It’s the old story, there’s only so many balls a juggler can keep in the air at one time!

Like many people I’ve spent several days in awe at what the weather’s been throwing at us. It’s been bleeding ‘Baltic’ up here in the Pennines as the Mercury has dropped below freezing and we’ve been gifted with alternating show and hailstorms or bright sunshine. There’s certainly been some spectacular weather patterns but I’m hoping we can now have temperatures back in double figures – especially as we’re no longer in ‘Lockdown’ and the country is slowly returning to normal. To be honest, it’s made little difference to me as I’ve stayed away from those initial crowds as people queue to get back into shops or pub beer-gardens. I’m happy to wait a bit longer and let the novelty wear off again. I’ve still plenty to keep me occupied at home.

That said, I’m looking forward to being able to get out and about when the time’s right but in the meantime I’ve still several things to tick off my lists and until commissions start coming in I doubt I’ll be going far. Instead I’m still wading through work at home and trying to get another juggling ball in the air by beginning to scan old slides again and get as many done as I can before the summer months.

Here’s one from the latest batch of scans from my 1991-92 trip to Australia via SE Asia. I took this in the Khao San Rd in Bangkok, Thailand on the 12th April 1992 which was during the Thai festival of Songkran (Thai New Year) which is also a water festival.

Traditionally, Thai’s would pour water pouring on Buddha statues and the young and elderly is a traditional ritual, representing purification and the washing away of one’s sins and bad luck. But that’s been broadened out to Songkran being one glorious, nationwide water fight!

In the picture a couple on foot are unaware of what’s heading their way from a hotel balcony!

Back in 1992 the Khao San Rd wasn’t as big, bold and brash a tourist area. Many of the little hotels like this have given way to much bigger complexes as tourism to Thailand has grown massively in the intervening 30 years. Back then it was a real backpacker hub as Bangkok was a crossroads for people criss-crossing Asia. It still is, but now there’s many more less adventurous tourists too. I’d just flown in from Nepal and spent the first 48 hours as sick as a dog as I’d contracting food poisoning just before I left Kathmandu. I hadn’t known about Songkran (I didn’t buy a Thailand Lonely Planet guide till I arrived and could sell my Nepal copy) so it was quite an unexpected but welcome surprise and a real pick-me-up. To add to the fun, the local hoteliers association had set up strategic water dumps along the street – groups of 40 gallon oil drums that they kept filling up with a water tanker that sucked water up from the nearby Chao Praya river. People would hang around them with whatever water container they could find, waiting for victims. Tuk-Tuk drivers were especially prized as a way of getting your own back on people who’d been charging you extortionate fares, tio their credit, they took it in good spirit! For two days we had an absolute ball! Bangkok is so hot and sticky that time of the year it was bliss to be so wet. Mind you, the fun came at a price for me. I’d carried my camera around in a couple of plastic bags so that I could get shots of the fun without taking too many risks – or so I though. Sadly, I got caught in the same way as this and on the 2nd day my Nikon F801s (nice camera, not very waterproof) caught the full force of a soaking. Despite taking it into the Nikon dealers a couple of days later it was a right-off (the electronics were fused) and a new one cost me £358. Even so, I couldn’t be upset as the fun was worth it. You can find my other Songkran pictures here. I’ve always promised myself I’d get back to Thailand for Songkran – only with a proper waterproof housing for my camera. Of course, it’s Songkran in Thailand right now, so I hope my Thai friends are enjoying it, even if the atmosphere will be subdued because of Covid. Maybe next year…

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

Thank you!

7th April picture of the day…

07 Wednesday Apr 2021

Posted by in Musings, Nepal, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

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Apologies for the lack of pictures recently, I’ve been sidetracked by various other events like the farcical protests against the HS2 railway which I can’t resist poking fun at! That the protesters have a level of bombast that’s inverse proportions to their ‘achievements’ is too good an opportunity to miss – hence my earlier blog today.

I’ve also been keeping busy trying to catch up on some work after the bank holiday where I took some ‘us’ time in order that Dawn and I could work together on household/garden projects rather than being holed up in separate ‘his and hers’ offices where we only come together to eat. One of the ironies of this working from home malarkey is that we still contact each other via email even though we’re only separated by a floor! I’ve no doubt we’re not the only ones and I suspect some readers of this blog might be breathing a sigh of relief whilst saying to themselves – “thank heavens it’s not just us”!

Whilst the old slide-scanning has had to take a bit of a backseat I’m still managing to get a few ‘banked’ ready for editing although my Zenfolio gallery page is a country behind at present as I’m scanning pictures from Thailand whilst editing and adding ones from Nepal. I doubt I’ll be able to catch up with myself either as I realise the most important thing is to have the pictures scanned as I can only do that at home whilst the editing can be done anywhere. I have dreams of taking a month off in Asia at a gorgeous beach somewhere where my days are split between relaxing and slowly editing pictures as the mood takes me. Mind you, it’s not just the slide scans. Recent events (mostly deaths, sadly) have made me realise that I’ve got a huge digital archive that I’ve never really sorted out and must get around to doing – one day. Maybe that month on the beach needs to be extended to two as I’ve got some wonderful material for a whole host of picture of the day blogs and ‘trips down memory lane’ – a series I’ve sadly neglected recently as there’s been too many other things to concentrate on.

I have to admit blogging has been one of the things that’s helped keep me sane throughout the Covid lockdowns. It’s a catharsis, a way of purging oneself of thoughts, feelings and ideas that need an outlet. The fact so many of you have signed up to read these rambles is as gratifying as it is mystifying but thanks – at least I know I’m not shouting in an empty room!

The mental gymnastics many of us have had to put ourselves through to get through this unique time with its unparalleled challenged is (sort of) reflected in my choice of picture of the day. Only these gymnastics are physical rather than mental – although they’re no less extreme!

I took this picture in Bhaktapur in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal on the 13th March 1992. Myself and a mixed group of fellow travellers whom I’d met up with on the overland trip from India had got the bus from Kathmandu and stopped off on our way up the valley to Nagarkot. Whilst we were wandering around the square and I was busy taking pictures I spotted a crowd, so (naturally) my curiosity was piqued and I strolled over to see what they were gawping at.

It was an elderly Hindu Sadhu (a holy-man) who’d put himself in an extreme yoga position where he stayed for hours whilst raising alms from the admiring crowd. His long dreadlocks and fantastic eyebrows gave an indication of his real age, but his posture belied his years.

I’ve always been full of admiration for the fact so many Asian people of advanced years are far more supple than their Western counterparts – even if this is an extreme example. Still, it does show you the benefits of practising Yoga, something I wished I’d found the time to keep up doing. Maybe I’ll add it to the rota when I’m on that beach…

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

6th April picture of the day…

06 Tuesday Apr 2021

Posted by in Musings, Picture of the day, Weather, West Yorkshire

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Well, what a weird day weather-wise that was! There’s an old Crowded House record called ‘four seasons in one day’. That’s exactly what we’ve had here in the Pennines – and over a large chunk of the country apparently. Freezing temperatures, an icy wind and a mix of clear skies and storm clouds as dark as Hades have produced a constant rotation of snow, sleet and sunshine. It’s actually been quite entertaining to watch – but not so much fun to walk in! Instead, I’ve spent most of the day sheltering from the storms to work from home, catching up on work and scanning yet more old slides to add to the repository ready for scanning. Its a slow process at the moment as so many need retouching in Photoshop due to the blemishes and scratches. Even so, I’ve added another selection from India and Nepal to this gallery.

Tempting as it is to delve into the past to use one of these archive shots as the picture of the day I’m going to take the rare step of using a video that I took of some of the weather we experienced earlier – just for a change!

West Yorkshire, in April. In the hour before I filmed this we’d had a mix of sunshine, sleet and slight snow on an endless cycle

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

Thank you!