Tempting as it was I resisted writing a rolling blog today as experience has taught me HS2 site visits give me little time to write ’em as I’m too busy taking pictures and notes. Don’t worry. You’ll get a full run-down of my visit to Euston soon.
The day started in Clapham where I’d spent the night staying with an old friend. The visit didn’t start until 12:15 so I had time for a mooch around parts of the capital’s rail network first. Of course, Clapham Junction’s a very good place to start such an activity. The station’s recovered much of its old hustle and bustle even if some of the changes promised have yet to materialise. By 2019 most of the old BR built fleets operated by Southwestern Railway were meant to have been replaced. They still soldier on whilst their
Bombardier built replacements (the class 701s) have yet to turn a wheel in revenue earning service. I did see one of the new trains (well, most of it. It was missing the front end skirts again) on test and I pictured it at Waterloo. I can’t add the shot right now, but I will tomorrow. Waterloo was another station that had regained the old atmosphere as crowds scurried hither and thither, Waterloo East was somewhat quieter but my next stop (London Bridge) was just as frenetic. I hope to return next week as I have a job to do here. I still can’t get over what a transformation the station has had and seeing surplus to SWR requirement Class 707s here added to the effect. I moved on via Thameslink to St Pancras International before walking down to Euston in time for my appointment with HS2, having avoided crossing London on the tube.
The press trip around the HS2 works at Euston could best be described as intimate, which was brilliant as we had plenty of time for briefings and to ask questions. I’ll be writing about what we saw at length, but for now all you’ll get is a couple of teaser pictures.
Looking down on the site of the old Eston Downside carriage shed. Here’s where HS2 will emerge from the tunnels from Old Oak Common and run into Euston. You won’t see it when it’s built as this area will be built over afterwards Looking towards Euston station from atop the HS2 construction partners offices on the site of the old Euston downside carriage shed.
We had over three hours to be shown round and briefed, allowing us enough time to absorb the massive scale of the work at Euston and ask pertinent questions – especially on a day when the Governments HS2 Minister, Andrew Stephenson confirmed that the new station would only have 10 (not 11) high speed platforms
Afterwards the day took a social turn as me posting pictures on social media meant some friends knew I was in town so we ended up meeting for a quick pint outside the Euston Tap before I caught the 17:40 Avanti service northwards towards home. Like so many trains I’ve been on recently, this 11 car Pendolino has been really busy – especially when you consider the fact the first stop is Crewe. Yep, this is a service that will be vastly speeded up when it transfers to HS2.
Having slipped out of bed at 04:45 in order to beat the alarm clock and not disturb Dawn I’m currently on Northern’s 06:00 from Halifax to Leeds. My extra early start gave me plenty of time to walk to the station and the rain Gods smiled on me. So now today’s adventure starts. I’m heading for the South coast before a night in London. Stay tuned to see how the trip goes…
The 06:00’s the first train of the day towards Leeds and never the busiest as it’s only working from Hebden Bridge. That said, the 3-car Class 195 that’s working it today has (at a rough guess) loadings of between 20-25%. This time of day the passengers are all solitary folk on their way to work.
Early-birds off the 06:00 from Halifax at Leeds.
07:00.
I’ve transferred to the 07:00 to London Kings Cross. At this time of day Leeds is a hive of activity for LNER as trains from outlying towns and cities converge like Bradford and Skipton converge on the station before taking Yorkshire business folk down to the capital. The 07:00’s one example. Having started from Bradford Forster Square it reverses at Leeds, after which it makes one more stop at Wakefield Westgate before running non-stop to London, making the 185 miles and 70 chains trip from Leeds in 1 hour 59 minutes.
07:17.
We’ve just left Wakefield Westgate where several dozen passengers awaited our arrival. Needless to say, they’re almost exclusively business travellers. The tables in my car are now covered in laptops as people catch up on emails or other work. There’s a sea of red seat reservation lights in my coach, but a quick headcount reveals many seats are unoccupied. On a walk-through the car I count 31 people in a vehicle with 88 seats (27.3%) but as this is coach 9 of a 10 car set I know the cars that were nearer the Leeds gateline will be busier.
07:45.
We’re now flying down the East Cost Main Line, having just passed Retford. The day’s just beginning to dawn and I can see it’s wet. Very wet! Rain’s beating on the opposite side of the train so hard it’s making noise like a sizzling frying pan. I’m happy to be stuck inside this metal tube where it’s warm, dry and I can get on with some work.
08:20.
Fortified with a rather good coffee from the buffet (it’s strong and rich, unlike the dishwater you get on some trains) I’ve been occupied with researching today’s assignment whilst keeping one eye on the weather. The rain’s stopped for now but the low grey clouds look very uninviting. The forecast for the South coast is better, but we’ll have to see. We’re only 40 mins away from London now…
08:40.
Joy! Watery sunlight’s penetrated the murk here at Hitchin! Cloud level doesn’t seem to be changing, but it does appear to be thinning. On another note, I’ve just wandered through the car to the loo and observed that I’m the only person who’s still wearing a mask. Still, they don’t matter anymore now that Covid cases are dropping, do they? Oh, wait…
And the moral of the story is – wear a mask!
09:30.
I decided to take the ‘scenic’ route to the South coast which saved me having to cross London on the tube. I’m now on a Southeastern ‘Javelin’ service from St Pancras International to Ashford. I say ‘scenic’ but as much of it is in tunnels and it passes through Dagenham before it reaches the Rainham marshes that is somewhatof a misnomer! I’ve not been this aay since Covid kicked-off so I was amazed to see the amount of new housing neing built on brownfield sites on the ribbon of land North of the railways to Rainham.
I have to say it’s a pleasure to be able to speed between central London and Ashford in this fashion. As a former Londoner I remember what a schlep this was from our home in Crouch End, having to get the tube across to Charing Cross/London Bridge for the slow service.
10:40.
Having arrived at Ashford just 38 minutes after leaving St Pancras I’m now on the ‘Marshlink’ line on the non-electrified line between here and Ore. I’ve come this was as I’m hoping to kill two birds with one stone and get pictures around the area for another client. Fortunately, the weather’s playing ball. The skies are clearing, the sun’s appearing and the skies are turning blue! My luck might just have turned…
15:00.
Apologies for the gap in updates but I’ve been a busy bee. I took an hour-long break in the lovely town of Rye. Built on a hill and once famous as the nearby home of the comedian and author Spike Milligan (who lived close by in Udimore) it’s still a lovely place to visit as it has some fascinating old buildings. Here’s an example. That said, the place is starting to look a bit tatty. Many building are in need of quite a bit of TLC. Rotten window frames, peeling paintwork and closed shops are common. It’s a crying shame.
I was tempted to tarry but as the train service is hourly and I had a lot more to do I resisted the temptation. That said, I fitted a lot into the hour as the weather worked out for me which allowed me to get some half-decent pictures before moving on to my main destination. Eastbourne.
20:00.
I’m now back in London and winding down for the evening after a packed day. I struck lucky with the light as soon as I arrived in Eastbourne which allowed me to get shots in the bag sooner than I expected. Having done so I was able to have a wander around town, something I’ve never done before. Like many towns (seaside or otherwise) there’s a glut of empty shots as retail faces the forces of rising rents, online retail, Brexit and Covid. I saw a number of buildings that looked like they were once department stores but also a lot of smaller shops that were once eateries. It’s sad, but the world’s changing – as it always has.
Anyway, I’ll end this blog with a few pictures as I’m too knackered to write anymore after a 04:30 start and I’ve a busy day tomorrow.
The windmill at Rye, which is right next to the railway. Sadly, the classic shot of the two is now far too overgrown, but I’m tempted to do a wide-angle, higher level shot next time…The frontage of Eastbourne station. The building itself is being restored and the local Council have helped by changing the roads outside.
Tomorrow I’m in search of the new rather than the old as I’ll be exploring the High-Speed 2 railway construction sites at Euston in London…
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 appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
It’s a reasonably early start for me as I’m off to Manchester to join colleagues from Community Rail network to kick off Community Rail week, a new event with an exciting range of activities taking place across community rail, this year championing the message Go Green by Train, as part of the build-up to COP26. The essential message is quite simple. Ditch the car and go by train. Here’s why;
Our opening event is at Manchester Piccadilly station from 10:00 – 15:00.
Community Rail Lancashire, Mid Cheshire CRP, Calder Valley CRP and Liverpool to Manchester CRP will be promoting the Go Green by Train message, highlighting how visitors can explore a wealth of attractions and activities by train.
I’ll be blogging and posting pictures through the day…
09:10.
I’m en-route to Manchester although my train’s running late. I was in plenty of time at Halifax so caught an earlier Blackpool bound train as far as Hebden Bridge in order to get a few library shots and admire the old pictures of the railway displayed in the waiting room.
The Manchester service was running behind us but was several minutes late. Made up of a pair of Class 195/0s the service lost even more time outside Todmorden as (I’m assuming) it was stuck behind another service). Having crossed over the border into Lancashire we’re now running 16 minutes late.
I finally arrived at Piccadilly ‘on time’ but 22 minutes later than I’d planned. The lateness of our train turned out to be because of signalling issues around Todmorden. ho hum! Still, I managed to get the pictures we needed, including this one for the official launch of Community Rail Week.
Meanwhile, on the concourse, various community rail groups (and Network Rail) had set up a stall filled with leaflets and various goodies to give away…
16:00.
Whist some of the CRN team stayed at Manchester some of us had another appointment back in West Yorkshire. The friends of Mytholmroyd station were unveiling artwork painted in conjunction with a local school, so I headed back across the Pennines with Jools Townsend and other CRN colleagues to cover the event. For once, the weather let us down! Rain had set in as we left Manchester and it followed us home. Even so, we had a station building in which to shelter from the rain and also some delicious food laid on for us to enjoy before the pupils of ‘Spider Class’ at Scout Road academy could join us. Here they are with the artwork they’d contributed to, which is on the theme of ‘Transport through the ages’.
20:30.
I’m now back home in the warm and dry, preparing my kit for the next few days adventures which will be a marked contrast to today. Early tomorrow I head down to London and (hopefully) the South coast for an assignment which will no doubt generate a rolling blog. On Wednesday I’ll be looking at the opposite end of the railway spectrum and checking out work on constructing Hight Speed 2 at Euston. There’s a massive amount of work going on on hundreds of sites along the HS2 route at the moment, and of course Euston is one of the main terminal stations, with the challenge of building complex tunnel approaches without disturbing the existing railway. It should be a very interesting visit…
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 appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Today’s been a curate’s egg sort of day. I won’t dwell on the bad parts but the good ones are that I’ve managed to arrange some more jobs, sift yet more emails and paperwork, get my daily exercise in – and book tickets to see Paloma Faith for when she appears at the Piece Hall in Halifax next year. Oh, I’ve also managed to scan another bunch of old slides, this time from the 1990s, which has made me rather introspective as they’re of old friends and family that I’ve lost in the intervening years.
Some of the work I’ve been arranging is around the forthcoming COP26 conference and series of events in Glasgow in November. The importance of this major Climate Change conference can’t really be overstated, but looking at the record of our Government I can’t help but wonder if they’re taking hosting the event any more seriously than anything else they do. You know, like actually running the country for the benefit of the people who inhabit it, rather then the folk who donate money to the Tory party?
The signs aren’t good. Here’s why,
You’d think that decarbonising our transport infrastructure (the biggest single source of UK Co2 emissions) might be seen as a bit of a flagship policy and something to boast about at COP26? But then this happens – a story broken by an old friend on the International Railway Journal.
Yep, UK freight operators have been forced to revert back to diesel traction because of the rocketing cost of electricity! I’ll revisit this story in the next few days.
Meanwhile, here’s the picture of the day, which is rather a personal one. The tranche of slides I’ve been scanning include some of the one and only time my mum came down to visit me in London. After much persuasion Lynn and I managed to get her on a train to come and stay with us in the East End – an area she was fascinated with because of her Civil Service experiences in World War 2. One of her jobs was re-issuing ID cards to people who’d been bombed out of their homes. I remember her telling me that she knew exactly which cities and areas had been attacked because of the stream of applications they dealt with – even if it was never mentioned on the BBC due to wartime censorship.
So, here’s Mum looking comfortable in the ‘Sun in Splendor’ pub on the Portobello road on the 21st May 1994.
Mum loved markets and a bargain so she was fascinated by the stalls and butchers in the Portobello Rd and elsewhere in London. A trait I’ve obviously inherited…
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 appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
We’ve had a quiet but busy day here at Bigland Towers. I’ve been whittling down a list of ‘things to do’ both business-wise and socially, whilst at the same time lining up some jobs for the future with varying degrees of success. During the process I received a phone-call from a work-colleague of 12 years standing who’s become more than that as we see each other as good friends. She wanted to let me know that she’ll be leaving her job by the end of the year but wanted to tell me herself rather than me find out on the grapevine. I was delighted for her as she would be crazy to turn down the opportunity she’s been offered, but also sad that we probably wouldn’t work together again as she’s leaving the industry completely. Such is life, when you’ve been around for so many years as I seem to have been now you often see people come and go. Some of them you miss, others not…
Apart from that note of sadness it’s been a positive day. The weather’s been kind I’ve managed to bump up my exercise regime as a consequence and still get a lot done. Oh, there’s several blogs in preparation too – all I have to do now is find the time to root out the pictures for them.
As well as everything else I’ve also managed to get around to scanning a few more old slides. Not a huge amount, but the logjam is starting to be cleared once more. When the photographic work quietens down again (as it normally does in December-January) I’ll be rattling through slides at a much faster rate. Normally, January would be our big holiday. Dawn and I would get away for at least a month in SE Asia and I’d often stay away much longer, but Covid’s put paid to those plans, at least for now. Instead, I’ll be clearing the decks of various projects here in the UK. But, in homage to warmer climes and those long trips to exotic locations that have been the mainstay of my life for so long – here’s the picture of the day from today’s scans. I took this picture (on slide film) on the 14th December 1993. This was my hotel in India – honest!
The building you see is the Umaid Bhawan palace in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India. The palace was begun in 1929 as a job creation scheme as the area was suffering from a severe drought that deprived many farmers of their living. It was commissioned by Maharaja Umaid Singh and designed by the British architect Henry Vaughan Lanchester (a contemporary of Edwin Lutyens). The Maharajah’s ancestors still occupy the majority of the 347 room building, but when I was there part of it had been converted into a hotel. Lynn and I hadn’t planned to stay there, but it was Lynn’s first time in India and we’d had to sleep in the luggage racks of a packed overnight train from Delhi, so I thought a bit of luxury was in order as a commiseration. Of course, in 1992, the cost of luxury was very different to what it is today and the room we had was actually quite reasonable! That evening we sat out on the balcony you can see here, sipping cold beers, watching peacocks wander the lawns and through the bougainvillea bushes. Then at sunset, a sitar and tabla player appeared to give us our own personal performance. Magic! If you want to see more pictures that I took at the palace, you can find them here.
Oh, to be able to have the freedom to do these things again…
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 appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
The pair of us are starting to adjust to the idea of being back at home and work after a much-needed break in Shropshire. The positive note was that we came back just in time to catch some lovely autumnal weather which has stayed with us today – even if we only got out to enjoy it this evening as the day’s been full on for the both of us, catching up with work commitments as well as planning the next few weeks. I’ve got some interesting events coming up over the next few weeks, plus some new opportunities in the pipeline. Dawn’s been occupied catching up with her colleagues at Community Rail Network, one of whom pointed out that it’s only eight weeks until we’re down in Southampton for the Community Rail Awards! This year seems to be flying by, despite the continuance of the fallout from the pandemic, lockdown and all the other stuff that made 2020 feel to drag. To be honest, I can’t say I’ll be sorry to see the back of 2021 in the hope that 2022 will finally see a return to near normal and I can get away from ‘plague island’ for a while.
The change in the seasons are becoming very obvious in our local woodland, where the leaves are developing their autumnal palette, far more so than the trees we observed in Shropshire which are clinging on to their summer greens. I’m praying we get plenty of bright, sunny days before the final leaves are shed as it’s a glorious time of year to be out with a camera. But first, I have a few other jobs to do that involve cities, not countryside. Although not all will involve such architectural gems as the picture of the day…
Today’s image was taken on our Shropshire sojourn during a visit to Ludlow, a fantastic old market town full of Tudor and other era gems. This is the frontage of the wonderfully wonky Feathers Hotel.
The frontage of the building was completed in 1619 although the core is earlier. The hotel is three storeys high excluding the cellar and has a three-bay plan, with bays which are moulded and carved mullions and transoms, with cast diamond glazing. It was built by Rees Jones, an attorney from Pembrokshire who had come to Ludlow to pursue his profession at the “Council of the Marches”. Clearly, the legal profession was a wealthy one in those days. Nowadays it’s a grade 1 listed building that’s been a hotel for many years.
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 appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Just a short blog from me today – although I’ll flesh it out when I have a little more time when I’m back at work.
Today the pair of us passed the day walking on the Long Mynd above the little town of Church Stretton in Shropshire. The Mynd’s a heath and moorland plateau that’s been designated and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). It’s reached by a series of steep climbs from the town – which it towers over. Unlike when we climbed nearby Caer Caradoc we were lucky with the weather, as these pictures show. I’ll describe the area in more detail 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 appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
The weather forecast for Shropshire was lousy today. It claimed we’d be awash with rain, so we’d planned accordingly and arranged a couple of indoor visits. After a leisurely start to the day that involved lots of coffee and a healthy breakfast of porridge, blueberry compote and toasted coconut flakes we drove off to our first assignment – a visit to the Royal Airforce Museum at Cosford. For anyone interested in aircraft it’s an amazing place packed full of aircraft right through from World War 1 Sopwith Pups right to prototype Eurofighters – with lots more in between. The aircraft and other exhibits are spread over several halls, most of which are old aircraft hangers but the building dedicated to telling the story of the ‘cold war’ is a custom-built structure and a great exhibition space. Due to Covid rules we were encouraged to pre-book and register for add-ons like the 4D ‘Red Arrows’ experience, where you feel like you’re in the cockpit of one of the planes flying in their famous displays. The museum was quiet when we visited so we had the 4D experience (which costs £5 apiece) to ourselves. The pair of us found the museum so interesting we ended up spending several hours there, from 11:00 until after 14:30. Admittedly, we did take a coffee break in the cafe in-between halls!
An English Electric ‘Lightning’ interceptor aircraft on display in the ‘Cold War’ building. The Mach 2 Lightning was in service with the RAF from 1960 until 1988. It was designed to protect the RAF’s nuclear deterrent ‘V-Bomber’ airfields from Russian bomber aircraft. It’s displayed like this in homage to its incredible rate of climb capability which led to the nickname pilots gave it – the ‘Frightening’. This is the British Aircraft Corporation TSR-2 strike and reconnaissance aircraft, one of only two ever built before the programme was cancelled back in 1965. The decision was controversial with some people maintaining this was the best aircraft we never built. Here’s the Sikorsky S-65/HH-53C ‘Super Jolly Green Giant’ helicopter which was converted for special operations – hence the rotary cannon sticking out of the side behind the cockpit!
On leaving we drove back to our next appointment which was in Shrewsbury where we’d booked to see the new James Bond film “No time to Die”. At 2 hours 40 it’s hardly a short film but to be honest, the time flew by! It’s a blockbuster of a film with a real twist that I won’t reveal but fans of the franchise won’t be disappointed by the action scenes, chases, locations or gadgets. Daniel Craig’s as excellent as ever. Personally, I’d have to say he’s been my favourite Bond since Sean Connery started the ball rolling.
Now we’re relaxing at ‘home’ with a drink after scoffing a home-made veggie noodle stir-fry. Tomorrow the weathers meant to change once more so we’ll be back outdoors. The plan is to spend much of the day walking on the Long Mynd at Church Stretton, which is a wonderful bit of countryside. 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 appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
I’m taking an unplanned trip to London due to a problem with one of my cameras. My trusty Nikon D5 has taken a bit of a battering in recent weeks and has decided that enough is enough – so it’s gone on strike. It refuses to work in any mode other than manual, which is a bit of a bugger. So, it’s off on its holidays to Fixation for a bit of TLC. I’d intended dropping it in soon to have all the rubbers on it replaced. I bought the D5 in August 2016 and to be honest, it’s operated faultlessly for over five years since then, despite the amount of pictures it’s taken and the countries it’s been to. My cameras have a hard life as they’re tools, not toys, which means they don’t retain that much second-hand value – even on a £5,000 bit of kit as they really do look like they’ve been through the wars, even if mechanically and electronically they’re still sound. Fortunately,
I always have a back-up as I keep the camera’s predecessor, in this case, the Nikon D4., which is going to enjoy a brief spot in the limelight again. Of course, there’s never a good time for these things to happen, but tomorrow Dawn and I are taking a week’s holiday, so I’ve no commissions to worry about and can take pictures for pleasure. Hopefully, the D5 will be fighting fit by the time I return and need it again. Now maybe it’s time to think about one last upgrade and plan to acquire the D6 sometime next year…
Right now, I’m working from another mobile office. This time it’s another of LNER’s old Mk4 sets on a Leeds – London diagram. The train’s not as busy as my inbound TPE service from Huddersfield (which was packed) but the loadings are certainly in the profitable margin. I’ve a table bay, so I’m happily set up and working away – as I will be on my return. I won’t be hanging around in London once I’ve dropped off my camera it’ll be a quick turnaround, but that’s life. Catch you later…
17:15.
Having delivered my ‘baby’ to be repaired I’m now heading back North having taken a few shots at Kings Cross with the old D4 just to get used to using it in anger again. I’ve not handled it for years so I’m having to unlearn what I did when I switched to the D5. The ISO control switch was the only major button that moved. On the D4 it’s on the bottom of the backplate. On the D5 it was relocated onto the top plate so that you could press it with your finger and change to ISO with the rear control wheel without having to take your eye away from the viewfinder. It was a far better arrangement. You can still do it with the D4 but you need both hands and it leaves you holding the camera in a cumbersome way. Ah well, it’s only for a while and I’m sure I’ll still get used to it. The D4 sounds different too. The mirror and shutter mechanisms make a much louder ‘clunk’. I could literally tell the two cameras apart just by listening to it! Another thing’s the back screen. I’d forgotten just how much bigger and with better colour rendition the D5 has. I’m going to be doing a lot more histogram-checking again now.
Still, first world problems eh?
18:20.
We’re well on our way up the East Coast Main Line now, the weather’s looking pretty miserable with massive rain-clouds dominating the horizon although I’m warm and dry here. As well as ploughing through emails I’ve managed to download the pictures I took earlier to ensure the D4’s still working perfectly despite having been little more than an office ornament these past few years! Everything’s looking fine, much to my relief.
The start of a new week and the end of another month has been a mixed sort of day here in the Calder Valley. It was heralded by torrential rain and winds that beat against the bedroom window as the kind of dawn chorus you really don’t want to wake up to. Fortunately, I wasn’t booked to go anywhere and Dawn has the next fortnight off so I was happy to leave the weather to it whilst I pottered around at home, finishing another magazine article and getting my copy and pictures out to the Editor.
As the day progressed the weather grew tired, the wind and rain abated and the two of us nipped out into Halifax to meet Dawn’s parents for coffee for an hour at the magnificent Piece Hall, which was quiet due to the conditions. Caffeine levels topped up we went our separate ways in order to pick up some shopping and attempt to buy petrol. Thankfully, Yorkshire folks are less prone to panics, so whilst the Sainsbury’s garage in the centre of town was busy, it had fuel and the queues only stretched into a handful of cars – which is just as well as we’re driving down to Shropshire for a week in a few days time!
Back at home I retreated into the office to tidy up a few projects I’ve got in hand and finally get around to scanning a handful of old slides that have been sat on my desk for the past few weeks. The welcome return of commissions and work around the country has meant I’ve neglected that mission recently. As much as I wanted to, I can’t see me getting all the pictures scanned by the end of the year, but I won’t be far off. 2022 will certainly see the last ones completed – much to my delight!
I certainly won’t be getting any done tomorrow as we have have the funeral of our dear friend Tony Allan to attend. With everything that’s happened since he died I’ve not had chance to write the blog about him I’d in mind. Hopefully, tomorrow will provide a few more stories that’ll allow me to add other dimensions. Tony was quite private about sections of his much-travelled life and private family life, so I’m hoping to learn more as Dawn and I only knew him for less than 10 of his nearly 70 years. Sad as it will be, we’ll all be adjourning to our local pub afterwards where we’ll celebrate his memory with his own Phoenix brewery beers.
So, I’ll bring this blog to a close with the picture of the day, which is from the slides I’d scanned today. These were a batch that have never seen the light of day since I shot them back in July 1992. Taken in Java, Indonesia, they’d never even been catalogued as part of the film had been damaged soon after they were taken, so they sat in their sleeves waiting for me to get around to doing something with them. It’s taken a while…!
This shot was taken as I was wandering through Yogyakarta towards the end of the day. I love stree photography and always look out for snapshots of life like this. Stallholders whose shops lined the pavement had packed up for the day to allow their places to be taken by the night food markets, one woman found it all too much and decided to ‘power-nap’ by wrapping her head in a newspaper. The effect novel and all a bit Klu Klux Klan but it certainly caught my eye!
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