Lockdown – ish. Day 82 (Saturday).

16 Tuesday Jun 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Coronavirus, Lockdown, Musings, Travel, Uncategorized

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After the horrible weather we’d had to end the working week, Saturday turned out to be better than expected – not that we were up at Sparrowfart to see the sunrise as we allowed ourselves a gentler start to the day with coffee in bed at a sensible, but not outrageous, time.

We had a slightly different day planned and places to visit we’d not been to since lockdown began. It’s not that they were terribly exciting, but with the way the days tend to roll into each other because of the lack of options nowadays, a trip over to Holmfirth to visit their Lidl and Aldi stores seemed like a treat! Funny, isn’t it how lockdown has made the mundane seem exciting?

The drive over to Holmfirth wasn’t bad, the roads are getting more and more busy nowadays as people slowly return to work but maybe because it was a Saturday they didn’t feel that bad at all. We normally shoot over to Holmfirth every 6 weeks or so as we can pick up stuff there we struggle to get locally, also, it’s a nicer shopping environment. Neither store was crowded although the car parks were – and neither store had a queue outside – although I wouldn’t have minded if they had as the weather had really picked up by the time we arrived. T-shirt weather had returned at last! We breezed around both supermarkets as they weren’t crowded at all and the shelves were well stocked in comparison to the early days of lockdown. Stockpiling is obviously a thing of the past – thankfully….

Moving on we headed back towards home but called in at Dawn’s parents to drop of some shopping we’d picked up for them. The contrast to Thursday’s couldn’t have been greater. Then we were freezing our butts off due to the wind, today we were soaking up the sun! The trip back to Halifax was really pleasant, it was just a shame there was nowhere to stop off for a drink and to admire the view, instead we came straight back and relaxed at home instead. I indulged in some garden therapy whilst Dawn relaxed and pottered around before joining me for a drink outside. It was easy to forget what was going on in the outside world and lose ourselves in the sounds of the trees and the local wildlife. Lockdown as had its plusses as well as minuses and not having to rush around and instead be able to enjoy a slower life has been one.

Having picked up supplies earlier we had one of our favorite dishes for supper, which we save for a weekend treat: Spanish-style spicy prawns accompanied by garlic bread to soak up the delicious gravy which is far too good to waste. Bliss! Ok, it’s time to move on to…

Picture of the day.

Back in May 2003 I spent a weekend with friends walking around Church Stretton in Shropshire, a county I’ve long regarded as one of England’s hidden gems. It always seems to get overlooked, but that could be part of its charm as it means its not a packed with tourists as some other counties. Church Stretton’s small market town that’s an ideal base from which to explore the Long Mynd and the hills like the one this picture was taken from, the 459m tall Caer Caradoc. The Shropshire hills are an AONB and when you get there it’s not difficult to see why.

T15451. Looking down on Church Stretton from atop Caer Caradoc (459m). Shropshire. England. 04.05.2003crop

Once life returns to something resembling normal I’d love to take a break here once more as views like this should be appreciated and enjoyed.

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Not the lockdown blog…

13 Saturday Jun 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Musings, Photography, Picture of the day

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I wanted to quickly scribble something as I’ve blogs describing the last three day partially written but I’m not going to finish any of them before Sunday – which will be my last lockdown blog.

From Monday ‘non-essential’ shops will reopen and lockdown really ceases to exist for most people. I’ll still be describing my experiences, but not as a daily diary. There’s so many things to blog about at the moment that I simply haven’t had time to do. I’ve a big update on the HS2 rail project that I want to pen and I’ve also got a couple of commissioned articles I need to crack on with. Oh, and there’s still the absolute shambles that passes for a Government in this country – and we’re only 200 days from crashing out of the EU and all the treaties we’ve benefitted from – with nothing to replace them. Then there’s the events of today.

There are times when I despair of this country. 60,000 deaths from Covid, an economy that’s contracted by 20%, the Tories hell bent on a no-deal Brexit – yet many of you are distracted by fighting over statues FFS!

This means you can expect a lot of blogs – but with a slightly different focus. I’ve even got a couple of ‘down memory lane’ blogs in mind, and whatever happens, there’ll always be a picture of the day. Talking of which, here’s one from the batch of slides I was scanning this morning…

Picture of the day

Anyone who’s passed through Wigan by rail has probably caught a glimpse of this advert for the towns most famous export. Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls, which is painted on the side of a building next to Wallgate station but is easily visible from the West Coast Main Line. I’ve passed it since I was a kid although it’s still there today, but back in 2002 (when this picture was taken) I manged to get a shot of it in ideal conditions when was exploring Wigan to collect pictures for a forthcoming Lonely Planet guide to England. I’ve just started scanning the album that contains these old slides. There’s a real mix of stuff so more will turn up as pictures of the day – just to give you a bit of variety!

T15157.Ad for one of the town's most popular export. Uncle Joe's Mint Balls. Wigan. England. 28.11.2002crop

Right, it’s Saturday night, it’s been a busy day – so I’m off to spend some time with my wife! See you tomorrow!

Lockdown. Day 68 (Saturday).

31 Sunday May 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Calder Valley, Coronavirus, Lockdown, Musings, Railways

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In the words of the Lou Reed song “what a perfect day”…The pair of us had a relaxed start to the weekend by lying in until 08:00 despite the presence of the moggie on the bed in between us for most of the night. He obviously considers this his sickbed and us his 24 hour nursing care!

On flinging open the bedroom blinds it was obvious it was going to be another cracking day weather-wise. When you’re cooped up and restricted weather like this will always be tempting. The pair of us are missing beaches and the sound of the sea but there’s no way in a million years we’d be foolhardy enough to join the lemmings flocking to the seaside as if everything’s normal.

Instead, we stayed locked-down and local – for everyone’s sake. Besides, it’s not like we don’t have some gorgeous places to walk to from home. OK, the River Calder isn’t renowned for its sandy banks and the area’s industrial heritage has left its marks on the river and its surrounds, but this is hardly the inner city.

So, after a leisurely brunch took a stroll and retraced our steps from the other week when we explored the footpaths and fields around Hollas Lane. Being on the opposite side of the valley to where we live gives us a very different perspective. Surprisingly, we encountered far fewer walkers than we did the other week. The two of us speculated upon why. Were they all sunning themselves in their gardens, or stuck in their cars driving to more far-flung destinations now that lockdown is starting to fall apart (by both accident and design)?

Not that it mattered to us. We found a meadow to plonk ourselves down in and soaked up the sun and the quiet for an hour whilst admiring the vibrant woodland around where we live. The fact where we stopped had this view is (of course) entirely co-incidental!

Not a bad place to sit and while away an hour, is it?

Strolling on we followed the rest of the route down into Copley village where we were surprised to see the car park of the rugby club absolutely rammed with cars. But only a handful of people were in evidence outdoors. Surely, they weren’t all inside the Rugby club, were they? I’ve no idea of the answer to that but the sight certainly made me feel uncomfortable…

Moving on we crossed under the railway, over the canal and across the main road (then another railway) before cutting back into the woods on ‘our’ side of the valley. They were blissfully empty which did surprise me as they’re normally a popular spot for walkers.

Back at home we once again retreated to the front garden which was bathed in evening sunshine. It’s become our little oasis where we can sit and watch the world go by, chat to the neighbours and say hello to passers-by whilst listening to the glorious birdsong from the copse of trees opposite. Whilst Dawn was busy washing the car I pottered around, weeding or dead-heading before the sun set enough that I could start watering. There’s no water supply so I’m kept busy carrying watering cans through from the kitchen but I don’t mind as it’s good exercise. I don’t think either of us have been as appreciative of this space as we are now, especially as the lack of traffic makes it even more pleasant. We’re going to miss the quiet when things return to ‘normal’ – if they ever do.

This feels like it should be a caption competition for an old Ken Dodd joke. “What a beautiful day for”…

Neither of us were on cooking duty tonight as we decided to eat from the freezer. We had plenty of home cooked meals to choose from and plumped for a Vegetable Pulao I’d cooked, plus some of the Chicken Madras that Dawn had made. As it was late by the time we were eating we chose to be decadent and eat in bed whilst the cat kept us company and we settled down to a good bit of escapist TV. We’ve discovered a series on the BBC’s iPlayer called ‘The Honourable Woman and become rather hooked. It’s a political drama centered around the middle-East and starts Maggie Gyllenhaal as a woman called Nessa Stein who runs a charitable foundation. It appeals to me as parts of that world are familiar to me because of my past – although not the shootings, murders and spies!

And so another day ended…

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Lockdown. Day 67 (Friday).

29 Friday May 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Coronavirus, Lockdown, Musings, Railways

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Phew, what a scorcher! – as the tabloid newspapers are prone to saying. It’s absolutely roasting here in the front garden where I’m sat typing this on my phone.

The forecast predicted this and the day didn’t disappoint. Dawn was up by 06:00 to hit the exercise trail and I rose at the same time. The view across the valley that time of morning was ckear and cloudless, so we knew what to expect. I was happy to be up early as I wanted to get a solid few hours work in before 09:00 as yesterday had felt like a wasted opportunity. Relishing a coffee whilst I edited pictures and waited for Dawn to finish her calisthenics I also kept one eye on the cat who’s still struggling with sneezing and mucus. That said, Dawn gave him a full hit of his medication this morning, so he wasn’t feeling any pain – literally or metaphorically!

After breakfast we meditated together to get us in the right frame of mind for the day, then it was back to the grindstone. The series of pictures I was scanning and editing today dated from the summer of 1999, only a few weeks after Lynn and I returned from our 18 month trip around the world. They show a very different side to the UKs railways compared to the batch I’ve just finished scanning, which were taken 6 years earlier. By 1999 rail privatisation was well-established. OK, ‘well’ is possibly not the right word here! It was the days of the late (unlamented) Railtrack as owner of the network, plus one or two train operating companies also best forgotten (Connex anyone?). My point is that BR was already becoming a memory. Ironically, looking back now, all the original franchises are memories too! All have changed hands. Some several times. Even the freight operators. I’ll add some pictures and continue this blog later. Right now its almost 18:00 and time for the ‘Big 6’ Zoom quiz…

20:41.

Right I’m back from the quiz and various chores so I can sit down, iron out the typo’s from writing this on a phone and try and put the rest of the day together. Whilst it’s lovely being able to sit in the garden and blog from the phone the spelling errors I’ve made when I read it back on a large screen are horrendous! I blame squinting in the sun and small keyboards – honest!

The quiz went really well but it flew by. All but two of the nine participants were joining in from their gardens. This time the majority included me as I didn’t want to waste the sunshine and set the laptop up atop the cats cage to save my neck. Mel did a great job reading out the brain teasers and the whole event is a lovely start to what would normally be a weekend without work. Only this is still a form of lockdown – I think – the mixed messages are still very confusing. If we’re starting to come out of it right now, why do we still have one of the highest number of new cases in Europe? To be honest, as Dawn and I have her parents to consider, we’re not going to be availing ourselves of our newly granted ‘freedoms’. Instead we’re going to see how the next couple of weeks pan out. There’s plenty for us both to do at home. Plus, from my perspective, it’s unlikely the rail industry is going to be rushing to organise many press events just yet, so all the work I had booked may take a while to rematerialize. So many events have been cancelled or moved to next year I’m going to have a lot of blank spaces in the diary this year whatever happens post-lockdown, so I’m playing a long game. As long as the markets continue to recover (albeit fitfully) I’m in a better place than many.

Let’s face it, none of us know what the future will bring. Despite the relaxation of some restrictions we’re not out of the woods yet and this chart from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control makes sobering reading.

covid

Still, according to Johnson, we’ll have a ‘world beating’ track and trace system soon, one day (ish, possibly). So, that’s alright then, panic over. Quite how it’s meant to be ‘world beating’ is a mystery. Personally, I’d be happy with one that actually works, but that’s probably being defeatist in the government’s eyes. But then, haven’t they stopped providing comparisons like this?

Meanwhile, back on a more nostalgic note here’s a look at some of the pictures that I’ve been scanning. As they’re post-privatisation of the railways they’re spread over several galleries, so you’ll need to click on this link to find where they all are.

Here’s yet another view that’s changed out of all recognition.

07094. 319004. 18.23 to Gatwick Airport. Rugby. 09.08.1999crop

On the 9th August 1999, Connex South Central unit number 319004 sits under the skeletal roof of Rugby station whilst working the 18:23 service to Gatwick Airport. This platform still exits, but little else does! A few years later the station underwent a massive rebuilding programme whilst the tracks were realigned for 125mph non-stop running as part of the West Coast Route Modernisation. Little did I know when I took this shot that I’d be spending Xmas and Boxing day trackside here, documenting the rebuilding for Network Rail (but that’s another story). Nowadays the Gatwick service has been cut back to Milton Keynes. Connex was stripped of both franchises (South-Eastern and South-Central) by the Strategic Rail Authority due to the companies poor performance.

07110. 33103. 3TC No 417. 14.08 Barking - Gospel Oak. Harringay Green Lanes. 18.08.1999crop

OK, I’ll add caption details to this shot on Saturday morning. Can anyone guess where and what this working was? A clue. This was a stop-gap hire-in by a TOC as the old diesel units it were using on this line had sure dire reliability….

Lockdown. Day 66 (Thursday).

28 Thursday May 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Coronavirus, Huddersfield, Lockdown, Musings, Railways

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Right folks, I’ve moved ahead a few days due to the pressure of juggling life and writing a daily blog. Yes, I know we’re all meant to have more time on our hands due to the Covid-19 lockdown but sometimes the reality is anything but, because simple mundane activities take up so much more time! So, today I’m leaping right up to the present to describe the day and give myself time to live in the moment rather than play catch-up. Not that I won’t catch-up, but I’ve got tomorrow to do that as we’re going nowhere!

In contrast, today was a busy day as it’s Thursday – so it’s ‘escape from the valley’ day to head over to Huddersfield and the delights of the Colne rather than the Calder Valley. There couldn’t have been a better day to do it either as today’s been the hottest day of the year so far. The drive into Huddersfield was on roads that are the busiest we’ve seen since lockdown, which is slowly unravelling. That’s partially planned but I get the distinct impression there’s a Dominic Cummings “what’s sauce for the goose” element to it too. People are getting restive after two months and the antics of the Government are providing the perfect excuse.

To Tykes credit there weren’t that many overt signs of it in Huddersfield itself. Our weekly shop at Sainsbury’s (where we pick up a lot of Dawn’s parents shopping) was little changed. The queues weren’t bad and the trolley ballet inside was well choreographed but more shelves were empty, especially the booze section which suggests there’s going to be people making more of the outdoors and the glorious weather – as long as it’s not in crowds…

As usual after shopping we pitched up at the railway station to pop into Dawn’s work. The area was marginally more busy and I noticed a handful more folk on the trains that passed, but the station was obviously gearing up for more people as new signs had appeared to regulate flows in and out in order to respect social distancing.

Whilst Dawn was busy in the office I went for a wander around Huddersfield town centre to get a feel for how things are and also grab a few pictures. The main shopping areas are still pretty much deserted which is hardly surprising as nothing’s open. What was sad to see was how many shops look likely never to reopen. Very few showed signs of stirring even though it’s been announced small businesses will be allowed to reopen soon (ish). The only places that had any life were the banks. Several had large queues outside them. I’ve mentioned this before but in this age of internet banking I’m still amazed by how many people have the need to still visit a bank branch. I’m sure there’s some interesting statistics and research that will explain why. The only other folks who were out in any numbers were the town’s derelicts and drunks although maybe I’m only noticing them more because their normal refuge (Wetherspoons) is closed! One thing that I did observe was that more and more people are wearing facemasks, which is no bad thing. Here’s how quiet Huddersfield appeared today.

A Trans-Pennine Express service arrives into Huddersfield from Leeds across surprisingly deserted John William St.

New Street in the centre of Huddersfield looking desolate and deserted. Shops were suffering before Covid broke out. I wonder how many will never reopen?

Queuing outside the Barclays bank at Market Cross in the centre of Huddersfield.

Once Dawn had finished we drove up to her parents to drop off their shopping and chat over the garden gate. We’re lucky as we get to stand in the gorgeous sunshine. They draw the short straw as they stand in the shadow of the house although I doubt John minds as he saw more than enough sun when he did his National Service in the RAF in Cyprus. Suntan lotion was unheard of then and he’s had to be careful ever since…

We didn’t stay long as we had to get home. The drive across country was glorious in this weather but once again we noticed the volumes of traffic had picked up. Back home the pair of us had a couple of hours to try and get some work done before our next chore. Dawn was busy at her computer whilst I managed to swap my time between working upstairs in my backroom office and also out in the garden. I’m a sun lover still and I wasn’t going to waste such glorious weather, so I continued to edit down slide albums full of travel pictures whilst sitting outside. The album I filleted dated from 2000 and contained a mixture of personal, travel and social issues pictures I’d taken, mostly with the Lonely Planet and Photofusion picture libraries in mind which is where many of them ended up. Now I’ve got them back. Of course, nearly 20 years later there’s a huge amount of duplicates whilst others are now either irrelevant or superseded, so I managed to whittle the album down by half – which will make life a lot easier when it comes to the scanning process.

Time flew and in no time our appointment with the vet loomed. Jet (our cat) was due a check-up, which was just as well as he’s started sneezing and getting a build-up of matter in one eye. We suspected it was to do with him being ‘in the wars’ recently, but we wanted to make sure. The vets was extremely busy with people sitting in their cars whilst the vest too’d and fro’d with their pets. We were there for nearly an hour before we could take the boy back home with no major health worries. I’ve not complaints about the service (anything but), it’s just the fact so much of our time is eaten up by what were ordinary activities before Covid, now they take so long you just wonder where the hell the day goes. I do find it frustrating sometimes as it’s hard to feel you’ve achieved much. It’s one of the reasons blogging’s had to take a bit of a backseat.

By the time we got home via another supermarket call we were already late for Dawn joining in on a Platt family ‘Zoom’ call. I dipped in and out as I had to water a garden that had spent all day baking in the sun. It’s looking lovely right now (even passing joggers compliment me on it) so the last thing I want is for the plants to get stressed. Mind you, it’s also good exercise – and therapeutic!

Tomorrow I’m looking forward to having a day at home and cracking on. Hopefully, with a sense of moving forward at the end of it rather than just shuffling along in queues as a substitute. Watch this space…

Lockdown. Day 63 (Monday).

25 Monday May 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Coronavirus, Dawn, Lockdown, Musings

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*Warning. This blog was written several days after the event and backdated in an effort to keep the timeline*

Today’s Dawn’s birthday. As we’re in lockdown it’s a rather restrained affair. There’s no meeting up with friends or relatives or getting the glad-rags on and going out for a meal. Instead, we opted for a quiet day at home.

I let Dee sleep in for a bit before making her a cup of tea and presenting her with her card. Not that she had much time to enjoy either as Dawn noticed that our poorly moggie had got himself and his bed in a bit of a “two and eight” as they used to say in London’s East End. That ‘state’ was due to the fact the medication he’s been prescribed had given him diarrhea – and furry animals and the squits do not mix! So, Dee’s birthday began with us both performing a mopping up and cleaning operation on poor Jet, his basket and his litter tray. Nice….!

Luckily, Dawn saw the funny side of it. We were more concerned for Jet than anything else as the poor lad really has been through the mill recently so his needs came before anything else. Finally we got him and ourselves cleaned up and began Dawn’s birthday properly.

We didn’t need birthday cake as Dee had been cooking up a storm over the weekend. Unusually, there was no present from me for Dee to open either. We’d discussed one earlier in the week and apart from the logistical difficulties of being reduced to shopping on-line Dee had decided that, actually – we’d had an expensive enough time as it was with vets bills, so we took a rain-check on a present, although I’ve been told “you can buy me some perfume when all this is over”! Of course, there were cards for Dawn to open, although – as this is 2020 – there’s more birthday greetings sent via social media than post nowadays!

Rather than cake, we celebrated with a guilty pleasure. Poached egg and bacon butties! Both of us eat healthily and have very little in the way of processed food or red meat – so this was an indulgence for us that’s normally reserved for the odd weekend. Simple pleasures and all that…

To share her birthday we took some of the cakes Dee had made around to our friend Tony (of Phoenix brewery fame). He lives locally and we met him in his garden where we could hand over the goodies and stop for a chat whilst observing all the Covid proprieties. A couple of other friends from the Big 6 whom we hadn’t seen since all this kicked off had dropped in too, so it was great to catch-up with Steve and Lynn too. Afterwards we drove over to Dawn’s parent in Huddersfield. With it being the Bank Holiday there were plenty of people out walking but the roads were quieter than we’ve seen at weekends. Hopefully people were making the most of the fresh air and glorious sunshine – something that rarely appears at Bank Holidays!

When we reached John and Norah’s we sat in their garden which is big enough to allow us to keep a sensible distance. After all the precautions we’ve been taking for them the last thing we want to do is put them at risk now. The four of us chatted about events and the latest mixed messages from the Government and the potential consequences, although much of the conversation was far more light-heated and frequently interrupted by the gaggle of Starlings that were congregating in the trees next door. They were as raucous and rowdy as a gang of teenagers! We only stayed an hour, which was long enough to enjoy their company but not long enough that we might need the toilet. Oh, the things you have to think about nowadays…

By the time we got back home it was too late to go out for the long walk we’d planned to do, so instead we took it easy in our front garden. Despite the pair of us spending so much time cooped up indoors together, we don’t actually get that much ‘quality time’ together, so it was lovely just to be able to kick back and enjoy each other’s company without any pressures or plans. The moggie was sufficiently recovered from his troubles this morning that he came and joined us in the garden where he sat on the seat with us and toasted in the sun.

The birthday girl, the garden – and Jet…

The poor boy’s not looking at his best at the moment as he’s developed conjunctivitis, so we have to keep washing his face for him.

For the evening the only thing we had got planned was for me to cook Dee a birthday prawn and pea risotto, which I did whilst Dee relaxed and enjoyed her special day. It’s not exactly the ‘rock and roll’ lifestyle, but actually, having a chilled evening together was just what the Doctor ordered. Oh, and the risotto was delicious – even if I do say so myself…

Lockdown. Day 59 (Thursday).

22 Friday May 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Coronavirus, Food and drink, Huddersfield, Lockdown, Musings, Railways

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Coronavirus, Food and drink, Huddersfield, Lockdown, Musings

Remind me never to complain about our moggie jumping on the bed ever again…

We both missed the boy this morning as he’s still in the vets. As a consequence our plans to get up early didn’t materalise. It wasn’t a ‘duvet day’ by any means but we hit the ground ambling rather than running as we waited for a morning call from the vet to let us know how Jet was. When the call came, it was (mostly) good news. He’d had a comfortable night and the pain relief was working. His potassium levels has risen and he was less dehydrated, but he was struggling to eat because of the pain from one of his back molars, which really needed to come out. The vet didn’t want to risk that until he’d regained some strengh, as there was a real risk we’d lose him under the anesthetic, so we were facing another day without him. Needless to say, this took the shine off the day.

Luckily, we had plenty to keep us occupied as Thursday’s shopping day and our weekly trip out of the valley to visit Huddersfield. We headed out not long before 10 and immdiately noticed the roads were the busiest we’ve seen them since lockdown began, driving into central Hyddersfield from the M62 motorway junction at Ainley Top was like a pre-lockdown day as traffic was that heavy.

Our first port of call was the big Sainsbury’s supermarket which was also much busier than last week so we had to queue for about 10 minutes, not that we minded. The weather was warm and sunny, although their was a persistent breeze that really kept the temperature down low enough that you still needed a fleece.

Once inside the pair of us breezed around with our respective trollies Dawn shopping for her parents and I for the two of us. It social-distancing ballet was harder to choreograph this time due to an increase in people. Family groups had been allowed in which was a real pain in the arse as they spead out and take up so much room. Kids being kids – they’re also unpredictable! Even so, it’s a lot more pleasant than the melee you normally get before a bank holiday.

Shopping done we headed over to the water tower at Huddersfield station that’s the base for Dawn’s organisation – Community Rail Network (or ACoRP as it was until the recent rebranding). Dee needed to spend some time in the office collecting paperwork and sorting out some bits so I had time to get a few shots around the station area. There’s still few rail passengers about and you could dump a herd of elephants in the deserted car park! The bus stand in the square outside was equally deserted. I watched a Trans-Pennine Express a 5-car Class 802 pull out of the station on its way to Leeds and counted just 4 passengers aboard. This is despite the ramping up of rail services since last week. Here’s a sample of what was around.

The 0Z68 Crewe Gresty Bridge to York Siemens loco move with 68029, 68028 and 68032 leading pass through sunny Huddersfield.

Having done what was needed the pair of us drove up to Dawn’s folks and dropped off their bags of shopping, staying just long enough for a chat in the sunhine before heading home as we both had work to do (and a vet to hear from). As we crossed over the M62 motorway I was surprised to see just how quiet it was compared to the local roads. There were very few cars or vans, most of the traffic was articulated lorries.

Back at home we stowed away our shopping then phoned the vets, who said Jet had gone for an x-ray, so they’d ring us back later when they knew the results, which left us feeling a bit uneasy. Dawn knuckled down to some work whilst I sat in the garden and caught up wit reading some technical publications I’d picked up from the CRN office earlier. To say the Covid-19 picture’s still confused for the rail and bus industry would be putting it mildly. Then again, is any aspect of the UK’s policy clear? The statistics on testing and deaths can’t be relied on, the ‘roadmap’ for the future exit from lockdown seems to be held upside down and we have an absentee Prime Minister and a Cabinet that makes the Keystone Cops look like the SAS. Meanwhile, scenes of traffic jams at our national parks and beaches show that relying on the “common sense” of the great British public is pinning your faith on an oxymoron. What could possibly go wrong? If only we could go to the Winchester, have a nice cold pint and wait for all this to blow over…

After ploughing through my ‘light’ reading the sun was sufficiently over the yard arm for me to break open a bottle of beer. We still hadn’t heard from the vets, which was worrying so we rang them again. A very apologetic nurse explained there’d been confusion earlier as they had TWO black cats called Jet in today. It wasn’t our Jet that had gone for an x-ray. Later the vet rang us and we got the full low down. Jet is staying in for another night so that they can stabilise him ready for his tooth extraction which (hopefully) should happen tomorrow. There’s still a risk with the anesthetic as he’s struggling to eat, so doesn’t have his strength up – but what can we do – other than go ahead and hope all will be right in the end? Hopefully, we’ll have him home soon…

Jet in better days, just where he likes to be – on the bed!

As a distraction technique I decided to do some cooking this evening and rustled up a chicken Madras from one of the ‘Hairy Bikers’ recipes. It’s a quick fix but very tasty. We ate it with chapattis as a change from rice. Dawn even said she preferred it to the recipie she uses. Within a short time I went from this;

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To this…

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I continued the therapy with a Gin and Tonic to wash the curry down with! Hopefully, tomorrow – we’ll have good news about the boy. The place just isn’t the same without him…

Thank you!

Lockdown. Day 54 (Saturday)

17 Sunday May 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Coronavirus, Lockdown, Musings, Uncategorized

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*Warning, blog under construction*

After Friday’s shopping expedition our normal weekend routine was altered by another trip out of the valley as we’d arranged to drop shopping off at Dawn’s folks in Huddersfield. There was no rush, and it was the weekend, so I left Dee to have a lie in and crept into the office to set up more old slides to scan. I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll manage to get all of the railway ones done before lockdown ends and my attention has to swing back to commissions. I’m still unsure of how the might work in practice as there’s obvious challenges. Hopefully things will become clearer soon as the public transport gets to grips with the challenges of mass transit and social distancing. In the meantime, I’m ploughing on with scanning and looking forward to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!

After lunch I ended up in a group call with friends from the rail industry which was a fun-filled hour of laughter as gossip was swapped and stories told – none of which are repeatable in a blog like this! For a brief time the physical distance between us disappeared and it was like old times…

As I’d joined the call on my mobile we continued our group chat whilst Dawn drove over to her parents. As we didn’t need to go into the town centre we drove direct across country. It’s a lovely drives that takes in some great scenery and although the roads were busier than they have been they’re still far from normal.

(to be continued)…

Lockdown. Day 51 (Wednesday).

14 Thursday May 2020

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The weather’s started to pick up again here in the Calder valley, although it hasn’t reached the balmy heights of a week ago. I’ve swapped my singlet for a fleece and waterproof as the winds are really knocking the temperatures down.

Today was meant to be the ‘great escape’ when more of the lockdown rules were relaxed, but to be honest, we noticed very little difference here. Yes, there was a small increase in traffic on the road outside the house as a few more folk returned to work, but it was negligible. There was certainly no mad rush – for whatever reason. I’m savouring the quietness whilst it lasts…

Much of our day fell into the routine of us both working from our respective offices. It may be predictable but it makes us no less busy – anything but as there’s no breaks or distractions. I spent much of my day scanning yet another batch of old railway slides in a process that I could pretty much do in my sleep now. It’s production line stuff until you get the scans in Photoshop which is when you have chance weigh up the best editing options. Old slide film can be very dark or very contrasty and no matter how much you try to keep dust and blemishes off the pictures whilst you’re scanning there’s often something that sneaks through and needs correcting, which adds time to the process.

Scans done I ended the afternoon with a pleasant hour or so in the garden, soaking up the sunshine and planting out the trailing lobelia that I’d acquired from a supermarket as I’d no idea when I bought it that Garden centres would be allowed to reopen so soon. Our garden may be small, but it’s an oasis that I love sitting out in and tending the plants is a therapeutic break from the cares and constraints of the modern world. Plants grow regardless of human concerns.

Once Dawn had knocked off for the day the pair of us took our daily constitutional on the usual circuit through Scarr Woods which are looking gloriously green and vibrant now. They also play host to a variety of birdlife although often they can be heard but not seen – apart from the Robins and Magpies as neither are exactly what you’d call shy birds. I must admit to being surprised at how quiet Savile Park was. I’d expected to see more people out enjoying the new freedoms. Perhaps it was the lateness of the hour (it was after 7pm when we were strolling around) and the chill wind, or maybe folks are thinking the same as us – this is all a bit premature?

Back at home in the warm home I spent another hour in the office catching up on blogging. I’ve been falling further and further behind recently so I was determined to make an effort to catch up. Hopefully my readers will think it was worth the effort! It’s not that I have nothing to write about, exactly the opposite – even if I’m concentrating on the lockdown right now. It’s the fact time seems to be all askew. We’re meant to have more time on our hands right now, but I’ll be damned if I know where it’s going…

Lockdown. Day 50 (Tuesday)

13 Wednesday May 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Coronavirus, Harvil Rd Hs2 protest, Hs2, Lockdown, Musings

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Today the pair of us were back at work in our various offices and neither of us minded being at home in the least. The weather had taken on a distinctly chilly feel with cloudy skies and a biting wind so being cooped up indoors was the least of our concerns. We were warm, safe and busy. One lighter moment was recording a short video to add to a collection of lockdown birthday wishes for our friend Mervyn Allcock (of Barrow Hill roundhouse fame). Merv and his partner Alexa are in lockdown in Truro, so it was an inspired idea for a group of his friends to send him greetings.

Job done, the two of us cracked on. I’ve been remiss in scanning slides over the past few days, so I wanted to have a good solid day scanning, which I did. By the end of the day I’d managed to get nearly 60 either scanned and/or edited and onto my Zenfolio website, which I felt pretty chuffed about as it meant the end’s in sight with yet another album.

Whilst I was busy scanning I kept an ear to the ground listening to the antics of the Extinction Rebellion anti Hs2 protesters at Harvil Rd. HS2’s bailiffs had started evicting three of the protesters camps earlier this morning and it really wasn’t going well for the protesters. Despite the fact they’d had ages to prepare for this moment it was pretty much a walkover. Two of their encampments were very quickly cleared, whilst the third (an old garage) was also rolled up after a forced entry which only took an hour or so, leaving a handful of protesters inside who’d secured themselves to the building in a futile attempt to drag things out. It was pitiful to listen to as there was lots of screaming and shouting from the protesters and wild accusations of brutality – all to no avail. Quite how this rag-bag group is meant to stop Hs2 when they can’t even stop themselves being arrested is a mystery! Their only armament is weapons-grade hypocrisy and fake news – as this tweet and picture demonstrates.

whistle

By the time this claim appeared the three camps were firmly in the possession of the bailiffs, not the protesters! Oh, and there was no High Court injunction either – that never happened. What did happen is the protesters scored a classic own-goal with this picture. The young protester isn’t wearing a mask, but she is blowing a whistle. If she was a Covid carrier she would be spreading it far and wide in the air with droplets from her whistle – yet these people constantly whine about HS2 workers not social distancing (ignoring the fact different guidelines apply to construction workers, bailiffs and the police). As for the person strumming a guitar in the background, well – that’ll really stop Hs2! What a pantomime…

I kept scanning until 16:00 when I finally had the opportunity to nip out for a long walk to the Supermarket to pick up some supplies for later, as our group had arranged to have a conference video call with Merv and toast his birthday. Our celebration was pretty far flung as it included people from Halifax, Warrington, Lichfield, Grantham, Norwich and London – as well as Truro of course. A few beers were sunk and stories swapped, along with some pithy comments about the new Covid strategy – as you might expect from a group of people who work on the railways or in the rail media. Even so, it was a fun hour – although all of us can’t wait for it to be safe (and possible) to celebrate properly, face to face in a Pub!

Celebration over, I joined Dawn for her evening perambulation around the woods and parks where we live so that we had some quality time together whilst getting our daily exercise. At least that’s going to be easier from tomorrow as we’re no longer officially limited to one stroll per day.

On our return and despite the coolness of the weather we both tucked into a home made fresh Tuna steak and tinned Octopus salad, which brought back fond memories of a trip to Portugal a decade ago now. Oh, to be sat at a table in a lovely little taverna there right now!

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Paul Bigland

~ Blogging on transport, travel & whatever takes my fancy.

Category Archives: Musings

Lockdown – ish. Day 82 (Saturday).

Not the lockdown blog…

Lockdown. Day 68 (Saturday).

Lockdown. Day 67 (Friday).

Lockdown. Day 66 (Thursday).

Lockdown. Day 63 (Monday).

Lockdown. Day 59 (Thursday).

Lockdown. Day 54 (Saturday)

Lockdown. Day 51 (Wednesday).

Lockdown. Day 50 (Tuesday)