Category Archives: Photography

Rolling blog. Wending my way to Wendover…

11 Thursday Jan 2024

Posted by in Buckinghamshire, Hs2, London, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel, West Yorkshire

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06:25.

04:15, what a time to be alive! Well, half asleep really as that was the time my alarm clock went off this morning. Dragging my bones out of bed I had an hour to prepare and get myself out of the door before beginning my walk to the station. To be honest, it was one of the best strolls I’ve had for a while. I was in no hurry and the weather was mild (3 degrees) and dry. Whilst strolling up the hill to Spring Edge I looked back across the Calder Valley and the lights of Sowerby Bridge which looked lovely and peaceful. I was momentarily confused when I saw the lights of a 6-car train wending its way below me as nothing should have been running. Then it revved up its engines and the distinctive deep roar reverberating across a sleepy valley gave away the fact this was a pair of Trans-Pennine Class 185s on a diversion. I didn’t pass a soul on the way into town. Even the dog-walkers and their pets were still abed. Even the roads were quiet with just the occasional motorist around. Actually, it really was a good time to be alive…

The centre of Halifax at 05:30. Not a creature was stirring…

Now I’m on Northern’s 05:59 to Leeds. Despite the hour it’s a busy train. Dozens of folk were waiting to catch it at Halifax and many more have joined at Bradford Interchange. Of the 15 seats in the back of the rear car 11 are occupied. I suspect they may fill up before Leeds…

06:50.

My Hebden Bridge – Leeds train was early into Leeds, a rare event as normally you expect to be held outside waiting for a platform, but at this time of day there’s less chance of delays having accrued. This was fortunate as I managed to get ahead of myself by 20 minutes as I made a connection with LNER’s 06:40 to Kings Cross. I’ve now got the mobile office set up in a table bay ready to catch up with the day. At this point I’ve realised the flask of coffee I made to bring with me is still sitting on the kitchen work surface back at home. Bugger! Off to the on-board shop it is then…

08:25.

The arrival of dawn coincided with us passing Peterborough at speed. Supposedly, the days are getting longer but that’s not how it felt today. Now we’re bowling along South of St Neots in half-light past flooded fields that bare testament to just how much rain we’ve been having these past couple of months. The sun’s doing its best to break through the low, patch cloud so I’m optimistic we might get some good weather in Wendover by the time I get there. In the meantime, it’s warm and cosy aboard this train for the next 20 odd minutes before we reach London…

08:30.

I’m always fascinated by the way the weather works. After passing Hitchin we crossed into what’s obviously been a cold front. Everywhere (houses, cars and fields) is coated in a layer of frost so thick you could almost mistake it for a light dusting of snow. What a difference to the mild weather I had on my walk this morning!

08:40.

We’re in the North London suburbs. Having broken through the layer of cloud bordering the capital we’re once more enjoying clear blue skies.

09:55.

On arrival at Kings Cross I transferred to the ‘tube’, or in this case the old Metropolitan line which isn’t a tube at all. An uncrowded train deposited me at Baker St, a station whose architecture and detail I’ve always admired. I was in no hurry so whilst humming Gerry Rafferty’s musical homage I took pictures of the remnants of a more genteel and less rushed age.

Now I’m at Marylebone, waiting for my train to depart, having swum against the tide of incoming commuters. Marylebone has always been the odd one out of London’s termini. It still is today as it’s the only one that’s purely diesel powered – with no sign of electrification in sight…

10:40.

Almost there. The journey onChiltern’s been fine but by God their old ‘Thames Turbo’ fleet is looking tired. The seat coverings are threadbare, vestibule doors are missing and the whole train needs a damned good clean.

17:00.

Apologies for absence but it’s been another busy (if Baltic) day looking at the start of the Wendover viaduct deck push-out. I’ll describe it in more detail later, right now I’m on a train from Banbury into Birmingham have explored a couple of other HS and E-W rail sites with a friend (Chris Howe). In the meantime, here’s a couple of pictures to be getting on with.

The Wendover viaduct looking South. In the background (below the crane) is Jones’ Hill wood.
The view from atop one of the bridge pillars looking North towards Wendover.
Looking South from atop the same pillar. The construction site is long and very narrow. The track to the left is the haul road used for moving spoil from further South to be reused North of Wendover.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

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

Rolling blog. An excuse for a ‘jolly’ day out…

10 Wednesday Jan 2024

Posted by in London, Photography, RAIL magazine, Rolling blogs

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07:10.

Today I’ve escaped the bosom of the Calder valley for a day out to London as part of a ‘jolly’. This is to celebrate the 1000th issue of RAIL, a magazine I’ve been involved with for *gulps* 23 years! I fist started accepting photographic commissions from them in 2001, then began writing for them a year later. Now I’m heading to Leeds to catch a train down to London that will be hauled by one of LNER’s Class 91 locomotives that’s been specially renumbered from 91105 to 91000 and named ‘RAIL’. It’s working the 07:41 off Leeds, which is handy! On arrival at Kings Cross I’ll be joining RAIL colleagues past and present for a little ceremony before the train works back to Leeds.

Right now I’m on Northern’s 06:45 from Halifax to Leeds. This mornings walk to the station was conducted in miserable drizzle but it could’ve been far worse. With the way the temperatures have plummeted I wouldn’t have been surprised to have been skating on ice. The 06:45’s made up of a 3-car Class 195 and I’d say it’s between 60-65% full after leaving Bradford. Not bad loadings for this time of morning and I’m sure it’ll be far fuller by the time it reaches Leeds.

I’ll be blogging and adding pictures throughout the day, so feel free to pop back and see how things unfold.

07:50.

Having arrived from Skipton late 91000 has left Leeds seven minutes down.

I wondered if I’d bump into anyone else here. Sure enough, I met my old friend and RAIL colleauge Phil Haigh, who was waiting for the set to arrive.

Looking very smart and sporting its new ‘RAIL 91000’ branding 91105 prepares to push our train lo London.
All smiles! Phil Haigh with 91000.

11:15.

Well, that was fun! We arrived at Kings Cross 15 minutes late, which meant the photo opp in front of the loco was a little rushed! Still, it was great to see some old friends and familiar faces, including Pete Waterman and former newsreader Nick Owen. No doubt pictures will appear in the next edition of the magazine but here’s one from me.

L-R. Christian Wolmar, Howard Johnston, Pete Waterman, Nick Owen and Phil Haigh.

LNER put in a special stop order for the return working to call at Peterborough but I only stayed until Stevenage which gave me time for a ‘planning meeting’ with a couple of other RAIL colleagues. Now I’m heading back into London along an old stamping ground, the Hertford loop. The weather here down in the South-East is gorgeous, it’s one of those crisp sunny days with wall to wall blue skies, so it would be a shame to waste it.

I’ve fond memories of this line from my days living in North London. We used to pop up from Hornsey to Crews Hill to visit the huge garden centres based near to the station and carried all manner of stuff back home on the train. Huge bamboo plants and even goldfish made the trip!

15:45.

Having spent several hours rediscovering old haunts along the Southern end of the East Coast Main line and having performed a loop from Stevenage to London and back via the Hertford loop and main line I’m aboard an LNER service back to Yorkshire with my camera full of library shots. I’ve not explored some of these lines for several years. Then the Class 313s were still running. Now all services are run by new train fleets, or even cascaded new train fleets! It is odd to see some Great Northern Class 387s sporting the red livery of Gatwick Express or the green of GWR. GN has certainly hoovered up and interesting collection of 387s to replace the old BR built 365s. Trains aren’t the only changes. I spent a little time at one of my old local stations (Harringay) only to find the tiny ticket office which was on the footbridge across the tracks has disappeared. I’ve no idea when it was demolished. The news isn’t all bad. I was surprised to find another of my former locals (Hornsey) has gained a small coffee kiosk on the London bound platform, something I never expected to see, but there’s not that many alternatives close to the station, so they’ve clearly found themselves a niche.

17:45.

I’m back in Yorkshire, heading for Leeds after swapping my all-electric Azuma for a bi-mode set which is working to Harrogate. Not that you’d notice the difference – until you saw that there were no overhead wires! Whilst the York train was fairly quiet, this one’s busy with business people making their way home from the capital. There’s open laptops aplenty, although one or two folk look to be more dozing than typing. I know how they feel. I’ll not be sorry to get home as I have an even sillier o’ clock start tomorrow as I’ll be heading to Buckinghamshire via London to look at an HS2 construction project. Hopefully, the weather will be as good as it has been today, although it’s raining again here in’t North.

Dreary Doncaster…

21:45.

I’m home, fed and watered and preparing for tomorrow’s very early start, so I’ll leave you with a couple of pictures from my travels around the Herts loop.

Siemens built 717015 calls at Hertford North with a train from Stevenage to Moorgate. These 6-car units are a very good modern replacement for the old Class 313s as they boast air-conditioning 2+2 seating, wifi and plug sockets. Luxury!
Sister unit 717016 pulls into my old local station at Hornsey with a Moorgate service.

Tomorrow I’ll be on the first train out of Halifax as I’ve got to get to Wendover in Buckinghamshire, where I’ll be visiting the site of the new HS2 viaduct. I’ll be rolling blogging throughout the day. Well, as long as the coffee holds out…

Goodnight!

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

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

8th January picture of the day…

08 Monday Jan 2024

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

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It’s the start of another week here at Bigland Towers but, having finally digested all the Xmas turkey and other largesse, the country’s beginning to shake off the festive lethargy, which means I’ll be travelling to press events again, starting on Wednesday. Today, I wasn’t going anywhere. It’s been bleedin’ Baltic here in the valley. We may have escaped the floods and flurries of snow that have affected other parts of the country but the mercury’s remained huddled at the bottom of the thermometer so most of my day’s been spent glued to a computer screen in the office apart from a foray down into Sowerby Bridge to post the latest batch of eBay sales. Returning home in a biting wind made me decide it’s time to break out the winter woolies – especially as the forecast is for temperatures to continue to drop over the next week. Despite my Viking ancestry, I’m suited to sunny climes, not this sort of weather! Maybe we should rename this the colder Valley…

Still, I’ve had an interesting diversion from the UK climate in some of the old slides I’ve been scanning. I’m on the last few dozen from my round the world trip in 1997-1999. These are of Nepal and trekking in the Himalayas. They’ve brought back lots of fond memories as some of them I’ve not looked at for decades. Sadly, with the fact they’re 26 years old, several of the faces in them are no longer with us. They’ve made me realise just how precious time is. The last of the pictures will be scanned and edited by the end of the week when you’ll be able to find them all in this gallery on my Zenfolio website. But, in the meantime, today’s picture is another taster.

We’d joined a Dutch friend (Axel) who lived in Goa, India on a trek he ran in Nepal to raise money for a Nepalese charity that he and his Partner Lucie ran. The charity funded projects in the remote village of Barpak in the Gorkha district of Nepal. The treks (which lasted 10 days) took you from Gorkha to Barpak and beyond up into the Himalayas just short of the snow level. It was arduous and the accomodation was either in tents, local homes or the occasional basic hotel. One night our little band stopped in someone’s half built house. Needless to say, we became a curiosity for the local youngsters. There was no TV and certainly no mobile phones to keep them entertained, so why not watch us? I turned the tables and took this photo, here’s me watching them, watching us as we cooked our evening meal.

I often wonder what happened to people we met on or worldwide wanderings. How many of these young girls now have families of their own? Did any of them ever move from that village as most people never do.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

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

6th January picture of the day…

06 Saturday Jan 2024

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

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Miracle of miracles – we’ve had a whole day without rain here in the Calder valley! Not only that, we’ve also had blue skies and this strange round shiny yellow thing hanging around in them. Admittedly, it’s also been bloody cold but – hey, I’ll take it over the alternative!

After a morning sorting out pictures and paperwork indoors the dry weather allowed me to spend several hours catching up on exterior chores such as clearing mounds of slippy, wet leaves from the front and back of the cottage which has allowed me to get a ladder out safely and clear the guttering at the back of the property, ready for the next deluge. It’s lovely being surrounded by trees but they don’t half create some work in the autumn/winter! Whilst I was attacking the guttering I had the chance to check on the bird boxes I’d put up at the back of the house a couple of years ago. We’ve had plenty of prospective tenants but no-one’s ever nested. In close inspection I found some feathered friends had been trying to enlarge the holes in order to take up occupancy, so a job for tomorrow is to enlarge the openings and give ’em the chance to claim squatters rights.

The stone flags at the front of the cottage are still too slippy for ladders but we’re meant to have another sunny day tomorrow and a balmy 3 degrees so conditions should be good by lunchtime, allowing me to give the front of the cottage the same treatment as well as try to establish where our front porch is leaking from. It’s a lovely decorative stone feature but it was a later Victorian add-on to the original building so prone to water ingress. Whatever, there’s plenty to keep me occupied tomorrow which will help me meet my boosted exercise targets. I’ve ticked every box so far this year including ‘dry January’, so I’m feeling chuffed with myself. Plus, a bit of sunshine’s always a mood-lifter.

One of this morning office jobs was to crack on with finishing off some slide scanning which has provided today’s picture and look on life in a very different world. Forget supermarkets and pre-packaged fruit and veg. Here’s a local shop in Durbar Square, Kathmandu, Nepal, seen in April 1998. Give me this rather than self-checkouts any day…

You can find many more pictures from Nepal and the rest of this 1997-99 Odyssey here.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

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

Trans-Pennine (TRU) changes in West Yorkshire. Mirfield.

04 Thursday Jan 2024

Posted by in Photography, Rail Investment, Railways, TRU, West Yorkshire

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Over the Christmas shutdown Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade (TRU) teams have been busy in the Mirfield station area where a number of different jobs have been carried. I visited just before Christmas, when the place looked like this;

Looking West across the original station and platforms 2 and 1 from the newer wooden platform 3 which is located on the Up Slow.
Looking East from the end of platform 3 with a Wigan – Leeds train passing on the Down Slow. The centre track is the Up fast, which was about to move…

Over the holiday period approximately 560 meters of the Up Fast was renewed and slewed to a new alignment. This allowed the rarely used platform 2 to be cut back, creating more room for future works. At the same time two new beams were lifted into place over Station Road. these will form part of the new station platform. Here’s how things looked today – the first day of the year where it hasn’t rained!
Platform 2 has been abolished with the edging stones removed and earth cut back. It’s also been hoarded off from platform 1 which remains in use for Eastbound services. To the right you can see one of the new concrete beams which have been lifted into place over Station Rd. They’re protected by the white fencing. Here’s a slightly wider view.

Meanwhile, looking East…

The new view from the end of platform 3 look East, with a long section of the Up Fast having been relayed in its new position closer to the Up slow. Here’s a couple of pictures that give greater clarity.
Back in May 2021 180112 approaches Mirfield From Wakefield on the Up Slow. Notice the position of the Up Fast. Here’s (almost) the same view today.

These are the first really substantial alterations at Mirfield, but there’s lots more to come as the four tracks are restored and the station’s completely rebuilt.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

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

3rd January picture of the day…

03 Wednesday Jan 2024

Posted by in India, Photography, Picture of the day

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‘Tis a very short blog from me today as today was pretty much a replay of yesterday – bar getting out to photograph any trains. The weather here in’t Pennines (and across much of the North) remains resolutely rainy and miserable so there’s little incentive to venture far. Instead I’ve been keeping to my resolutions, getting fitter and making the most of the days. Hopefully, tomorrow of Friday will present an opportunity to do something different. We’ll see. So, rather than regale you with a Groundhog day I’m going to leave you with another picture from the set of slides I’ve been scanning.

Sometimes, we forget just how hard life can be for people less fortunate then ourselves. Especially for women in countries without any form of social security (unless you count family). Here’s a shot I took in the market in Darjeeling, India in April 1998. Human porterage is common here and all sorts of loads of varying weights are carried on people’s backs via a strap across the forehead, sometimes for miles and up steep valley sides. Imagine your mother (or granny) doing this for a living…

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

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

2nd January picture(s) of the day…

02 Tuesday Jan 2024

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

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I was up with the larks this morning – even though I wasn’t going anywhere special. As part of my New Year refocus I’m trying to make as much of the day as possible – although waking up when it’s still dark and it’s chucking it down kinda tests your motivation!

Having spent an hour or so soaking up some coffee, scanning a few old slides and catching up on the world’s news I decided to take advantage of a gap in the rain to get out and try for my first rail pictures of the year. I’d seen that Grand Central’s hired-in ‘Voyager’ was working the 10:20 service from Bradford through Halifax. I hadn’t got a shot of one of these GC 221s before (remiss, I know) so I packed the camera in a waterproof bag and walked down to Salterhebble where there’s a good view of the lines to Brighouse and Sowerby Bridge diverging at Dryclough Junction.

I was pushing my luck. Whilst the rain held off dark clouds were heading my way. So much so that by the train arrived I’d lost two full stops of light. At that location the speed it’s travelling at is more of a crawl, which was just as well. Here’s the shot I managed.

221142 drops down towards the Salterhebble tunnels whilst working 1A63, the 1023 Bradford Interchange to London Kings Cross.

There was no point in pushing my luck to try and get another other shots as the rain returned with a persistent attitude. Taking the hint I gave in and walked into Halifax with half a mind to try other pictures but the rain was having none of it. Instead I walked home having at least achieved my 12.5k step count for the day – if nothing else! I must admit, I do enjoy mooching around the streets and cobbled alleys of Halifax. Not having grown up in a mill town but at the seaside (far more genteel – and with cleaner air) I find it fascinating looking around terraced streets of back-to-back houses, little cottages and grand houses surrounded by walled gardens. Then there’s the mills, some of which still remain. Admittedly, having an interest in both history and architecture helps…

Back home there was little choice left but to retreat to the office and sort out some paperwork – which will bear fruit in the next few days (hopefully) whilst watching the rain drip off the stone walls outside. It was in complete contrast to the slides I was scanning – pictures of Social housing in East London built in the 1970s and demolished in the 1990s – then a selection of images of India and Tibetan refugees.

So, here’s a bonus picture for tonight. Here’s shot from the Tibetan refugee self-help centre in Darjeeling, India. More than just a refugee centre, it’s a place where exiled Tibetans can keep traditional crafts alive. This old boy caught my eye and was happy for me to take his picture. Shot in April 1998, I don’t expect he ever got to see his homeland again.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

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

Welcome, 2024…

01 Monday Jan 2024

Posted by in London, Memory Lane, Musings, Photography, Railways

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2024 has started the way 2023 ended. Wetly! Although to be fair the downpours have mostly been confined to this evening. As I type this I can hear the rain bouncing off the cobbles at the back of the cottage. Thankfully, I paid attention to the forecast and got out for a long walk around the area and into Halifax earlier this afternoon. Everywhere was so quiet it was reminiscent of the Covid lockdowns. Most shops and businesses had taken the day off, only a handful of pubs and a few fast food outlets were open. Trains were running and from what I could see were very busy but I’ve no idea where people were going to.

Dawn had popped over to see her parents in Huddersfield so I had the cottage to myself this evening. Having completed all my self-set New Year targets and not fancying an evening stuck in front of the TV I decided to dig out my slide scanner and make some headway with clearing the final backlog of old slides I’ve never got around to scanning. The project’s got stalled of late but I had an email from a chap who seen some of my pictures from my old days in London, working as a Housing Officer in Tower Hamlets. He was fascinated to discover pictures I’d taken of the demolition and rebuilding of the old Lefevre estate in Bow, and asked if I had any more. I had, they were in another album stuck in the queue, so this evening I’ve scanned a few dozen. It’s rather ironic, as I discovered that the first batch were taken almost 30 years ago, in September 1994! You can find them in this gallery on my Zenfolio website, but here’s a couple of samples.

Demolishing the disused multi-storey car park at the back of the Lefevre Estate. Part of this had been built on the site of the old North London Railway station of Old Ford. You can find pictures of it in this page of the ‘Disused stations’ website. The page also contains photos of what the area looks like now.
Contractors have arrived to start demolishing ‘H block’ on the Lefevere estate, probably in September 1994. None of the blocks on the estate had names. Only letters.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

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

30th December picture of the day…

30 Saturday Dec 2023

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

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So, here we are. The penultimate day of 2023. Not that you’d know if you didn’t possess a calendar as it’s been exactly the same as almost every day in December here in the Calder valley. Gloomy and wet. At this rate you’ll easily be able to tell someone from the Calder valley. They’ll be the ones with the webbed fingers! Right now it’s a miracle if we go more than a couple of hours without rain. We really have had an awful December that’s followed on from an equally wet November.

With the weather being so crap there was nothing else for me to do but concentrate on home life, so the day’s mostly been spent working and cooking. Yesterday I made a spicy vegetable hotpot with dumplings in the slow cooker. I’ve never made dumplings before but the whole recipe seemed to suit the season and I enjoyed something different. Today’s effort was designed t use up some of the Xmas veg we’ve got left – so Carrot and Parsnip soup it was. Admittedly, I may have overdone the Chili flakes for people with a more sensitive palette – but for us they give the warm glow you need this time of year. Besides, some of it’s to stock up the freezer and I’m sure it’ll be idea if we have a cold spell – although there’s little sign of that at the moment. I’m not a great one for New Year’s resolutions but I do have a few things planned and one is to spend more time in January cooking different dishes (mostly vegetarian) – which should keep me out of trouble and give Dawn a break.

I’m really hoping the weather does a volte face in January otherwise I’m going to have to cast my photographic net further afield, which will be a bit of a bugger in some ways as I have two articles lined up either side of the Pennines. That said, there’s a decaying national rail network to report on – and some interesting stuff on High Speed 2 on the bit Rishi Sunak hasn’t made a mess off (but more of that in my end of year review).

Right now it’s time to switch off for the evening and indulge in some escapism. I’m not a great watcher of TV. In fact, I can’t think of any programmes I watch on a regular basis apart from (when they’re on) ‘Dr Who’ and ‘Have I Got News For you’ and ‘The Last Leg’. The oxymoron that’s ‘Reality’ TV leaves me cold, so if I want to indulge I’m more likely to find a film or series on Netflix or Amazon Prime. Right now we’ve been enjoying the Amazon Prime series ‘Reacher’ which is based on the character invented by the author Lee Child. The books often turn up in travel libraries in homestays and hotels across Asia, which is where I first encountered them. The Amazon series isn’t bad, so that’s tonight’s TV sorted.

All that’s left now is the picture of the day – which comes from sunnier climes as I’m in desperate need of some sunshine and photographs are the only way I’m going to get it! Here’s Tangalle beach in Sri Lanka on this very same day 20 years ago when I was there with friends. How time flies – and if only I could…

Funny how fate works. We spent the Christmas season of both 2002 and 2003 on Sri Lankan beaches, as we often used to get away that time of year. If it wasn’t Sri Lanka it would be India, or elsewhere. The one year we decided to say in the UK for Christmas as we’d travel plans for later was 2004. And what happened here, then? The Tsunami…

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

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

28th December picture of the day…

28 Thursday Dec 2023

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

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With it being the festive season and my priorities lying elsewhere I’ve taken a break from blogging these past few days. Besides, who wants to read about Turkey and other Christmas treats? Admittedly, once the family stuff was over I’d hoped Dawn and I may have got out and about, enjoying country walks or even a little trip out, but the weather has been that wet and with constant storms the only sensible thing to do has been to stay at home. I can’t believe just how much rain we’ve had these past couple of weeks. The ground’s so saturated that any new rainfall runs straight off. Add in the gale-force winds and we’ve really taken a battering. Tonight, just before I started writing this we had the most amazing thunderstorm. It really threw me as I wasn’t expecting it and wondered what the hell it was at first. I don’t recall this time of year being the season for thunderstorms but whilst the weather’s been wet and windy it’s also been unseasonably mild, which may have had an impact. I’ll be interested in seeing the Met office monthly summary for December as I suspect we’ll have broken a few records.

Right now I can’t see myself escaping the Calder Valley until the New Year, but as that’s just around the corner I’m not too bothered. I’m not going to be sad to see the back of 2023. The year started well with me having two months away in SE-Asia but on the political and economic front it’s been a bit of a ‘mare.

I’m not going to get diverted into a review of the year. That’s to come. In the meantime, I hope you’ve all enjoyed your own festive activities. Right now I’ll leave you with today’s picture and bid you goodnight. I did nip out to get some shopping yesterday evening – although I had to don a full set of waterproofs to do it as the rain was pelting down. On the way back it cleared just long enough to get this shot of our local landmark all lit up for the evening.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

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