There’s no long preamble to today’s picture, other than to say it’s bloody cold here up in the Pennines so we’re having an easy night in and the heating’s on! This picture’s from somewhere you don’t need radiators. I took it in Trindidad, Cuba on the 5th January 2006.
An old man pauses to relight his cigar as he takes his Cockerel for a walk – as you do in Cuba…
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/
I’ve had a busy day with Zoom calls for the Community Rail awards and also more ‘type-swiping’ as I continue to scribble my next series of articles for RAIL magazine.
Whilst I’ve been doing this I’ve been keeping one eye on the news as I watch UK events and wonder. I’ve stayed away from political commentary and events recently. Partly for my own sanity but also because some people get upset by it. Today I can’t let the utter madness that engulfing our country pass without some reference.
There’s now just 99 days left before we exit the transition period that’s kept us in the EU and we’re no nearer a deal than we were 4 years ago. If one isn’t struck next month, then there’s not enough time left to do so – which means we crash out of the EU with ‘no deal’ – and the usual suspects will blame anyone (and everyone) they can think of without once taking responsibility for their mess. It’ll be the ‘remoaners’, the people who didn’t ‘get behind’ Brexit, or the Judges, or anyone else who could see what a shit-show this was going to be as their natty three-word slogan (and my, don’t the like those) ‘take back control’ was nothing more than a sick joke.
All the promises of the Brexiters have evaporated like Unicorn farts. Now we hear that the Goverment is proposing a border around Kent to prevent 1000s of trucks clogging the county as they won’t have the paperwork needed to cross the channel. Oh, and then there’s the new border down the middle of the Irish Sea. You know, all those things Brexit fanatics dismissed as ‘project fear’. Of the ‘sunny uplands’ of Brexit we were promised there’s absolutely no sign. Instead, some political zealots still spin the line about ‘opportunities’ they can’t define – or name. Remember these clowns and their claims?
Meanwhile, our economy is about to take another hit from Covid as restrictions are tightened because some people (especially the young) ignored the memo, so a weakened economy is about to take a further hit from something that was entirely avoidable – the Brexitshambles…
Even if a last-minute, face saving deal with the EU is arrived at (and looking at Johnson’s talentless Cabinet I’ve grave doubts that’ll happen) we’ll still be in a worse position than we were. It’s mad. Utterly mad – but welcome to Britain in 2020. The only vision is myopic.
OK, I’ve got that off my chest, so it’s time for a picture of the day which reflects a different time when one country was finally coming out of nepotism and near dictatorship after decades of misrule. I took this picture in Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia in June 1998.
President Suharto had (finally) stood down earlier in the year. Students like this had been in the forefront of the campaign to oust him, with many losing their lives. This group were supporters of Megawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of the first president of Indonesia, Sukarno, who Suharto has ousted in a political coup in 1967. They used to demonstrate through the centre of Yogyakarta most days and that’s when I got this shot.
Sadly, Megawati, although elected, proved to be less than capable. However, Indonesia has come through turbulent political and economic times. A sobering thought for the UK is that in 20 years Indonesia is predicted to oust the UK as the world’s 6th most important economy – and we know what’s helped that come about…
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/
Today’s picture was – like most of the ones I pick – chosen at random. This one doesn’t come from any exotic foreign destination (far from it) it’s actually something very British. It’s a good old seaside pier! Only this one is very delicate and rather genteel in outlook as this ain’t Blackpool, it’s Clevedon! I took this picture on the 31st March 2001.
I love the elegance and spiderlike simplicity of this structure. I’m no stranger to seaside piers as I grew up in Southport, which has one of the longest in the UK. If I looked through my archive I could probably do a whole blog on seaside piers. Maybe one day…
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 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 you see here can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
So much for Sunday being a day of rest! With Dawn being on her ‘virtual retreat’ we were up at 06:30 and prepped and out walking shortly after 07:00! Our timing was perfect as the weather here in the Calder Valley has been awful for most of the day. By getting out early we escaped the drizzle and later heavy rain that’s persisted right through until the evening.
After our amble down to Sowerby Bridge and home via the canal I’ve spent the day in holed up in the office having a marathon slide scanning session. I’ve hit a personal best as I’ve refined my systems and managed to get 88 slides scanned, edited and added to my Zenfolio website. Admittedly, I now have square eyes, but it’s been a productive day. I rarely use my new scans as pictures of the day, but this one I couldn’t resist. The batch I’ve been doing are railway images from late 2001 – early 2002. They may be nearly 20 years old but it’s funny how many I actually remember taking. This latest batch were all taken in the winter, which is a time of year that’s brilliant for photography. The days may be short but the richness of the colours is far superior to the harsh summer light. Here’s an example. This shot was taken at Clapham Junction station, London, on the 10th December 2001.
The day had been one of glorious (if short-lived) winter sunshine but the sunset was magnificent with the sky above Clapham looking as if it was afire. In this picture an old Silverlink Class 313 waits to depart for Willesden Junction on a shuttle service. Admittedly, this shot was taken on Fuji Velvia slide film which had superb colour saturation but I remember the sky really did look like this and the film managed to capture it – which is why I took the picture. Mind you, in those days I wandered around with a tripod on my back as Velvia was a very slow film (ISO 50) so there wasn’t a cat in hell’s chance of getting shots like this hand-held.
Looking at this picture now I’m amazed at how much has changed. The platform canopy remains, but that’s about it. The platforms themselves have been rebuilt. The old trains have gone, so’s the franchise. This service has been absorbed by the London Overground Network. Even the skyline’s changed as high-rise apartment blocks have filled in the background. What seemed mundane at the time is anything but now, instead, it’s become a snapshot in time, but that’s one of the beauties of photography. Sometimes I wonder what the scenes and locations I’ve captured in my modern pictures will look like in 20 years time – if I’m still here to recreate them…
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 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 locked-down freelances need all the help that we can get…
Work and other pressure have meant that I’ve had to let blogging drift for a few days as there’s just not been enough time to do everything that I’ve been wanting to. Even my normal exercise regime has gone to rat-shit this week so I’m determind to pick up the pace next week – which promises to be challenging as there’s a lot to fit in!
On the bright side, all those of you who’ve been buying railway memoribila and old railway slides from me off eBay have your orders sitting in our local post box, ready for collection in the morning. I still have various old railway slides for sale and here’s a sample. For those of you watching in black and white, here’s what the link shows you!
Right, lets move on to the picture of the day….
As well as everything else I’m doing at the moment I’m still trying to keep scanning other old slides as I’m determined to finish my railway archive before the end of the year. Right now I’m on an album of pictures from 2001-2002 which was when we started building what was then known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) from London’s St Pancras station through to the existing high-speed line at Fawkham Junction in Kent that would make the trundle along the existing ‘classic’ line to Waterloo International redundent. The finished product wouldn’t open until 2007. As I was still living in London in those days it was a project I followed with interest and popped down to the worksites around St Pancras every couple of weeks – hence today’s picture. Right next to the original St Pancras station was a cluster of old gasometers which has to be demolished to make way for the extended station. I was there on the evening of the 24th July 2001 when the weather was perfect and got this picture.
Unless you know the area around Kings Cross and St Pancras it’s difficult to explain what a transformation they’ve experienced in the past 20 years. It wouls literally take a book. All I can say is I’m glad to have known it then as well as now…
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 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 locked-down freelances need all the help that we can get…
Apologies for no picture (or blog) yesterday. I’ve rather a lot on at the moment and I didn’t manage to find the time to fit one in on top of everything else. I’m writing writing for pay not pleasure this week, so something has had to take a back seat. On the bright side, once this week is over I should have more time to fit in a lot more things, including scanning more old slides as well as actually getting out and about for (hopefully) my first trip on the UK rail network since March.
Oh, I have added a few more bits of railway memoribilia and surplus slides to eBay, but as I’ve reached my sellers limit there’s no more on offer for now. Here’s one of the items on offer, a Pullman car company badge.
OK, onto the picture of the day. The weather’s wild and windy here in West Yorkshire still, so I thought I’d brighten up life with a bit of sunshine – but not any old sunset. This is something very different. Here’s a classic old ‘toast rack’ tram on the former Carioca aqueduct in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, taken on the 7th August 2002.
Sadly, following a fatal accident in 2011 the service has been cut back from what it was when you could get a tram all the way to Santa Teresa. You can find more pictures of the tramway (and Brazil) in this gallery.
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 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 locked-down freelances need all the help that we can get…
Today’s picture was taken in Calcutta, India in March 1992. I was staying in Sudder St, the backpacker area of this vibrant city. Sudder St is a bit of an institution as it’s one of those places that become a crossroads for travellers but it’s not to everyone’s taste as the standards of accommodation as are as run-down as the city itself. Even so, it’s a place that I’ve visited several times and really enjoy. Life is lived out on the streets as there’s little incentive to hang around in dark and dinghy hotel rooms. Instead, many travellers congregate at the street stalls selling food and drinks, where you can sit, chat and watch the world go by. They’re ideal for photographers like me. One one morning I was sitting outside a pavement stall eating curd and honey when I spotted this scene on the opposite side of the narrow street.
Whilst his washing dried on the line behind him against a wall covered with election posters for the Congress and Communist parties a man was taking a shower from a bucket on the pavement. As always, I had my camera with me, so I quickly grabbed a shot.
I’ve been back to Calcutta several times since, the last time in 2011 and it’d changed little in the intervening two decades. It was still as run-down and gloriously anarchic as ever, but I still think it’s one of my favourite Indian cities as it has a vibrancy and soul that makes it rather special. If you want to see more pictures from Calcutta over the years (including of their incredibly run-down tram network), follow this link. Calcutta (or Kolkata as it’s been renamed) holds a special title amongst Indian cities in that it retains two forms of transport you won’t find anywhere else on the sub-continent – trams and hand pulled rickshaws.
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 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 locked-down freelances need all the help that we can get…
For the first time since lockdown began the pair of us made it out of West Yorkshire today – albeit only for a drive of a few hours. Having done various chores and some shopping we decided to see where the roads took us and went exploring to places we’d never been. Having headed over to Wainstalls, Mount Tabor and Ogden we found ourselves out on Ovenden Moor before ending up in Oxenhope. Another throw of the dice found us passing through Stanbury before crossing the border into Lancashire and skirting the edge of Colne. The weather was miserable, with low cloud and lots of showers. Even so, it was lovely to be out exploring places we never knew existed, like Trawden and Widdop, before we re-entered Calderdale and familiar names like Hebden Bridge. I was amazed by how little you have to travel from urban areas before you’re out in the middle of nowhere. It makes me realise that the folks who complain that the UK is becoming increasingly urban and built on really do need to get out more.
Once back home we settled in for the evening as the weather wasn’t going to play ball and be conducive to evening strolls. Whilst Dawn practiced her culinary magic I spent a couple of hours in the office sorting out a glitch on my Zenfolio website that meant people couldn’t buy prints of pictures, then fulfilled more eBay purchases to get them off to buyers before settling down to eat. Dawn had baked a quiche for us to take on a picnic tomorrow whilst also preparing tonight’s repast – Mushrooms risoniotto, made with Orzo pasta. It’s gorgeous!
Right, it’s time to knock off for the evening and spend some quality time together, so here’s the picture of the day, which I took at sunset on the 16th January 2004 from Eriyadoo Island in the Maldives. I don’t want to knock West Yorkshire, but it certainly puts what we’re seeing here tonight into perspective!
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 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 locked-down freelances need all the help that we can get…
I’ve not had time to blog for the past few days as I’ve been busy wading through entries in the ‘It’s your station’ category for the annual Community Rail Awards. I have to say, there’s some excellent entries and the standards are high. It’s also great to see that groups haven’t let the fact they’ve not been allowed near stations to dent their spirit or work with the wider community.
I’ve also been busy with something new. My first listings on ebay have borne fruit so I’ve been learning the ins and outs of online selling and posting out dozens of old slides and railway memorabilia to the winning bidders. Here’s a sample of what’s still available. I’ve hundreds more old slides to list as well as all sorts of ephemera from the post-privatisation era.
With the way the weather’s been it’s been a good time to be stuck at home, as this shot from one of my daily perambulations shows.
I do love the Pennine skies. You never quite know what to expect and they’re constantly changing. Talking of changing, it seems the Government has finally twigged that their ‘stay off public transport’ message has been crippling the railways. Passenger levels are around 16% of normal, whilst car use is almost back to normal and road freight has surpassed norms.
This means that I’ll soon be returning to the rails. Although many events in my diary have been cancelled I have a backlog of jobs to do. 2020 is also the year for my bi-annual trips around the network for RAIL magazine. We’re currently working out when that’s going to be scheduled and where I’m going to go. The trip will certainly be different this year!
In the meantime I’ve a trio of articles to write in the next week as well as finishing the first sift of station judging. It’s going to be a busy time! Hopefully I’ll be able to catch up with some blogging too!
OK, enough of words, lets move on to the picture of the day, which was taken at the Orang-Utan sanctuary at Bukit Lawang, Sumatra in 1998.
I was lucky enough to catch this shot of female and her baby out in the jungle. Nowadays, in the digital era, such a shot would be easy as you’d just ramp up the ISO. This was taken on 100asa slide film which was a hell of a challenge!
Today’s activities at Bigland Towers have been confined to the odd walk to take a break from staring at computer screens and spreadsheets as I sift through and mark the 46 entries to the ‘It’s your station’ category of this years Community Rail Awards. To be honest, there’s some wonderful entries and inspiring work there but Covid has made the process a little dry and distant this year.
So, without further ado I’m going straight to the picture of the day. Today’s was was taken In Nungwi, Zanzibar on the 30th May 2001.
I was out in Africa with Lynn, who was attending Actionaid’s Africa regional conference . After the conference we headed out from Dar-es-Salaam to visit Actionaid projects in the villages for a week. It was an amazing experience which gave me a real insight into the fantastic work the charity is doing with communities there. Afterwards, the pair of us had arranged to take a holiday and Zanzibar was the obvious destination. These dhows were pulled up on the beach just down from where we were staying and I loved the contrast between their sails and the sky. If you want to see more pictures from the trip you can find them here.
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 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 locked-down freelances need all the help that we can get…
Paul Bigland 