We’re at the start of a new week so it’s back to blogging for me after taking the weekend off as it was rather a sociable one, which left me neither the time nor the inclination to type-swipe but now my nose is firmly back to the grindstone as I plan another busy week. A chunk of today’s been spent doing exactly that, working out the logistics of another foray to Northumberland on Thursday. Thankfully, the weather’s beginning to improve. We didn’t have any rain here in the Calder valley today, which feels like a minor miracle. Instead we had this strange bright orb hanging around in the sky. In a few days time we’re even meant to have temperatures in the 20s – a figure we’ve not seen for ages, so I’d better make the most of it.
Another of today’s consuming jobs was to wade through the archives to collate a collection of community rail pictures for a magazine. I sometimes forget just how large the archive is nowadays. There’s over 84,000 pictures on my Zenfolio website alone, and that doesn’t include all the other folders of filed-away images and there’s only little-old me to remember where the damn things are! With that in mind I’ve also edited, sifted and filed away a lot of the images I took last week before they start overwhelming my hard-drive and so that they’re duplicated. Even though a selection’s on my website I’m still cautious about having everything backed-up, just in case. Still, that’s all done now. I’ve even managed to parcel up some of the latest eBay sales tonight so they’ll be in the post tomorrow. All in all – a productive day.
The only question now is what the picture of the day is going to be. Oh, I know, here’s one from the archives of how Northumberland’s industrial landscape used to look like. Here’s the old west coal staithes at Blyth, seen on the 27th December 1989, when I was staying in the area with friends that Christmas.
The staithes were used as a location for the iconic 1971 film ‘Get Carter’ starring Michael Caine. Now little remains of this scene. Blyth power station closed in 2001 and has been demolished whilst the upper decks of the staithes were torn down in 1994. The railway sidings that stabled the wagons of coal are also long gone. Here’s a link to another picture I took of them at that time.
I hope I have time to explore this area again later in the week. We’ll see…
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/
Time to tear myself away from the comfort of home and head off to the final event of the week and a meeting in Derby with friends and colleagues before enjoying a relaxing weekend at home (although our definition of relaxing may not be everyone’s cup of tea!). Hopefully, the railways will play ball today – and I don’t have to have anything to do with TPE, which is always a good start!
Let’s see how I get on…
10:45.
So far so good! Despite an earlier cancellation my Northern service from Sowerby Bridge to Leeds arrived on time. This 3-car service via Bradford’s certainly busy – I’d reckon about 75% full but I’ve managed to find a window seat from which I can admire the rain.
11:55.
Things are looking up! I had a 20 minuter interlude at Leeds which gave me time to take a few pictures before joining Cross-Country’s 11:12 service heading for Plymouth which is made up of two 4-car Class 220s, both of which are busy. I know because I swapped between sets at Wakefield to distance myself from the hen-party who were already breaking open the Prosseco! I’ve managed to find an airline seat in the rear set which is much more civilised. We’ve just pulled out of Sheffield where the weather’s brightening up. There’s still masses of heavy cloud but there’s multicoloured layers and individual formations rather than the uniform dullness West Yorkshire was suffering from.
17:30.
After an excellent meeting and chance to reminisce with old friends it’s time to head home. The railways are still SNAFU which has meant the train I was hoping to catch to Leeds has been cancelled. Instead I’m on plan B which is an East Midlands Railway service to Sheffield where I’ll select plan B. The weather’s changed completely. There’s mow this weird blueish tinge to the sky in which a weird yellow orb hangs…
18:55.
I’m late, but I’m finally heading North from Sheffield to Leeds. The irony? I’m aboard the same Cross-Country train (220031) that carried me South. Whilst I was meeting with friends it’s traversed most of the country. Now it heading back from Plymouth to where it started its day. Scotland.
Trains aside, my meeting turned into a trip down memory lane as other friends turned up. As a group we go back 15-20 years although none of us can work out where the years hsve gone.
Our group of friends is from right and left on the political spectrum. Politics aside the ome thing we care about and agree upon is the railways – and the univeral view is that the current government are awful. Then, when you have a multi-millionaire PM who flies everywhere by helicopter and has no idea of the importance of public transport is it any wonder we’re cynical?
19:50.
My Cross-Country train’s managed to deposit me at Leeds – along with all those who thought they were going all the way to Edinburgh or points in-between. The train’s been terminated due to overhead line damage on the East Coast Main Line which is really going to bugger up some people’s weekend. Still, Rishi’s got a helicopter to gad about in whilst the rest of us bare the brunt of the amount of money his friends have sucked out of the public purse, so that’s alright then.
20:00.
I’m now on the last leg home aboard yet another Northern Class 195.I’m not complaining, I have a table seat, power points and air-conditioned, but more importantly – we’re on time.
22:00.
Home again – and I didn’t get rained on once – which is a bloody miracle this summer! I’ve had a great day catching up with friends and talking over old times, some of which I’d forgotten about. When we think back to some of the things we and other friends used to get up to in days that were more laissez-faire it makes for some great memories and stories that will be best told when some of the main participants are pushing up daisies!
Now it’s time for me to switch off and enjoy the weekend at home. That said, expect a few blogs and lots of pictures to appear here – and there.
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/
‘Tis a short blog from me tonight. I’ve had a long day staring at screens editing pictures from the past few days. That’s taken up most of my time, although I must admit to enjoying having a day based at home where I’ve not got one eye on a railway timetable, checking that all my connections are running to time! With that pressure off me, I could very much suit myself when I did what. Well, apart from when the weather governed some choices such as taking my daily constitutional. For once, it hasn’t rained all day. Exactly the opposite, we actually had decent temperatures and sunshine this afternoon until the rain decided to reappear this evening when it came back with a vengeance. Talk about raining stair rods! I was starting to worry that the garden would be battered to pieces. Thankfully, the cloudburst passed before we got to that stage but we’ve certainly had a sizeable chunk of August’s rainfall arrive in the past couple of days – with more to come.
Still, tomorrow’s another day, so let’s see what it brings. Other than more rain, obviously! Whilst I’ve been typing this the last batch of pictures (for now) has uploaded to my Zenfolio website. Shots have been added to many different galleries, including railway stations, railway people, Chiltern Railways, the GWR franchise, Northern, TPE as well as East-West rail and of course – HS2. You can find the full list of updated galleries by clicking on the recent link.
For now I’ll leave you with the picture of the day, which was taken at Paddington station the other evening. The station roof looks magnificent when it’s lit up at night, as this view shows.
The time’s 22:45 and ‘Thames turbo’ 165122 rests at the buffer stops on platform 4, its days duties done until tomorrow.
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/
I should be using a U boat*, not a train! Following on from what must be the wettest July for years August’s maintaining the pace. It’s been heaving it down all morning here in West Yorkshire. I’m currently in Huddersfield waiting for a late-running (surprise, surprise) TPE service to Newcastle to take part in a press trip.
The Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade is now in full swing with work compounds springing up everywhere – including in the old goods yard/former car park at the station. Soon, work will be starting on the station itself. Whilst I was waiting for my service East ‘Felix’ put in an appearance. No, not Huddersfield’s famous station cat, but the Class 68 named after them!
68031 ‘Felix’ purrs through Huddersfield on its way to Manchester Piccadilly.
09:40.
We’re currently speeding up the rain-lashed ECML North of York. There’s little to see through the watery windows so I’m making productive use of my time by editing some of the hundreds of pictures I’ve taken in the past couple of days.
11:15.
There will now be an interlude…
14:00.
I’m back. I’ve just completed a fascinating run along the Blyth and Tyne from Newcastle to Morpeth via Bedlington on a special train organised by Northumberland Conty Council. The scale of work being done to repopen the line to Ashington to passenger trains is very impressive. A simple reopening it ain’t. You’ll be able to read all about it in a future edition of RAIL magazine.
The weather was atrocious and hasn’t improved, so I didn’t hang around in Newcastle. Instead, I’m off to have a look at another (much less ambitious) project – at Hartlepool…
15:20.
Another washout. The rain just won’t stop! My trip down the Durham coastline has been shrouded by low cloud and the sort of rain that has you soaked in minutes. It’s a shame as I’d have lacked to have seen more of Hartlepool than just the station – althogh to be fair, that has some interesting features and the work to reinstate the 2nd through platform is coming on well. Both the Station cafe and real ale pub were closed so I stayed long enough to take some pictures and enjoy the warmth of Grand Central’s well appointed lounge before retracing my steps.
A great use of an old building, with good facilities that are clean and well-kept.
17:50.
I give up! The weather’s been so universally awful there’s been nothing for it but to cut my losses and head home. To compound things Trans-Pennine Express are having a ‘senior moment’. They seem to have forgotten they’re meant to be running trains. The excuse offered is a classic ‘last-minute timetable changes’. That’ll be cancelling trains to you and me…
I managed to catch an LNER service down to York which I managed to find a free seat on. Changing TOCs I’ve ended up on a rammed 4-Car Cross-Country Voyager which will get me to Leeds. I’m currently ‘doing a Jeremy Corbyn’ and squatting the front vestibule, which isn’t ideal as there’s a howling gale blowing in through one of the external doors…
20:45.
I’m home, enjoying being in the warm and dry whilst spending some time editing a few more pictures before calling it a day. Dawn’s had a ‘fun’ day at work too due to the impact the TRU work is having on her office which is withing the curtilage of Huddersfield station so poor Dee’s playing ‘catch-up’ too. Thankfully, the freezer’s well stocked with food we’ve made ourselves so a chicken Korma’s defrosting as I type this. To bring this blog to a close I’ll add one last picture. TPE haven’t covered themselves in glory today, Here’s one of their trains doing what a lot have been doing – sitting around doing nothing, this one’s at Newcastle.
I’ll be working from home tomorrow so expect a lot of pictures to start appearing on my Zenfolio website tomorrow. Oh, and the latest eBay sale’s started. It’s the beginning of the month so I’ve relisted several hundred old railway slides and other memorabilia that’s for sale. Just follow this link.
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/
I’ve been far too busy today to do a rolling blog and besides, many of the places I’ve been phone reception wasn’t of the best. So, here’s a rundown of events as I head home from Leamington for a night at home.
I stayed in London last night but my sleep quotient was less than a few hours as most of the time I was on the move, exploring and enjoying my old home town at night. I pitched up at Marylebone station before the first train left and caught it out to Denham to update some of my HS2 construction pictures as building the Colne Valley Viaduct is really cracking on. Now the viaduct’s bridging the second of the two roads it’s crossing and the weather conditions couldn’t have been better with low sun and blue skies – as you’ll see in the full set of pictures pictures later.
I had all the time in the world to chat to the people building the viaduct or wandering with the camera. After all, it’s not every day one sees a 120 tonne viaduct segment maneuvered into position like this.
A 120 tonne segment is craned into place on the Colne Valley Viaduct where it crosses Moorfield Rd. Denham. This section of road is closed for three weeks whilst the work takes place. The viaduct marches onwards to the South…One of the viaduct’s V shaped pillars next to Moorfield Rd.Meanwhile, at Calvert.. Track is being laid on the East-West rail line. Here’s the switches will will allow access to the HS2 Infrastructure Maintenance Depot (IMD).Here’s the bridge which will carry E-W rail over HS2.The site of Calvert station on the old Great Central line has become a very busy haul road. Eventually, It will be site of HS2 tracks.
I managed to get to Calvert thanks to my friend Chris Howe, who provided the transport. Chris has a Youtube channel which contains some excellent explainers on construction, railways and also HS2. You can find his Youtube channel here.
I’ve plenty more pictures to add but I haven’t got the time right now. I need to get some sleep! Tomorrow I’m up early again as I’m travelling to Newcastle to carry out a job for RAIL magazine. I’ll blog about some of what I get up to during the day…
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/
Today’s been another home based one here at Bigland Towers. I’d hoped the pair of us might have got out and about as Dee’s had the day off but it wasn’t to be as too many other things got in the way and time flew.
So I spent time on various household duties, work and watching the Tory party in London disintegrate on social media. The High Court threw out a challenge by five outer London boroughs (all Tory voting) to the Mayor of London’s extension to the ULEZ (Ultra Low Emissions Zone) from central London. Apparently, it’s OK to have a ULEZ in the central London boroughs where few people own a car, but woe betide a Labour Mayor who has the temerity to extend it to areas where the Tory voting middle classes who own multiple cars per family live. Don’t even ask how much this futile court challenge has cost taxpayers in the five Tory boroughs. Oh, and ignore the fact that ULEZ was originally planned by one Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson when he was London Mayor as that just doesn’t fit the narrative!
The Tories are desperate to make out that ULEZ disproportionately hits the poor (it doesn’t) which is quite a turn-up for the books as they’ve spent the past 13 years making the poor poorer. Still, there’s elections due in 2024 so they need every excuse they can grasp hold of. In London the Tories have selected an absolute no-hoper as their Mayoral candidate. Susan Hall was never anyone’s first choice but a succession of scandals meant it was Buggins turn. Said Buggins is a very right-wing, Brexit, Boris and Trump supporting individual who’s left a car crash all across social media – the ideal candidate for London Mayor (not). Nominating Hall as their London candidate is like nominating Enoch Powell as prospective MP for Golders Green. It just ain’t gonna happen! It’s no wonder the Tories are clinging on to ULEZ like shipwreck survivors to a lifebelt. There’s only one problem. ULEZ only affects 1 in 10 cars (and they have to be at least 17 years old) and that number’s dwindling all the time thanks to age and the Mayors scrappage scheme. By the time it comes to the Mayoral elections in May 2024 and the general election later that year this will be a non-issue.
Sad to say, but this whole episode brightened my day. Well, added to the fact the Ukrainians are making solid progress in ejecting the Russian invaders from their country, leading to even more internet tizzys by Russian trolls.
Now it’s time to wind down, ignore the world of geo and local politics and look forward to the weekend. So, I’ll leave you with a picture of the day which was inspired by a conversation I had earlier when I nipped up to our local pub to indulge in the Friday night quiz. Here are Dhows on the beach at Nungwi, Zanzibar on the 30th May 2001…
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/
It’s time for a day away form the office and out on the rails. But where to? I’ve several places on the list to tick off but – as often happens – I’m being governed by the weather forecast. East coast or West? The Midlands or London? The outlook’s promising on the East coast and I’ve unfinished business over in Lincolnshire, so Barton on Humber it is…
Feel free to keep popping in to see what I get up to today. Will I have the fun and games I had last time or will I actually make it onto the Barton branch this time?…
06:40.
Not a bad start. I’m on Northern’s 06:37 off Sowerby Bridge to Leeds via Bradford. I feel odd getting a Westbound train from here rather than Halifax but as its all downhill from home there are advantages! Around a dozen folk were waiting for the service which is worked by a 3-car class 195. There’s plenty of seats available so I’ve bagged a table. I’ll be curious to see how it fills up at Halifax.
06:45.
Between 35-40 people were waiting at Halifax, including one person requiring assistance to board so the guard’s deployed the collapsible ramp. As you’d expect this time of day most folk look like they’re on their way to work.
07:50.
Having reversed at Bradford Interchange my train to Leeds ended up comfortably full but not overcrowded. It certainly paid its way. Leeds station was starting to get busy but was easily navigable. The new barrier arrangements have created a lot more circulation space opposite the main stairs from the island platforms which has really eased the logjam that used to form. I was waiting there for my next train which was due in at platform 8.
No longer a logjam…
I was pleased to see this arrive, working the 06:56 from Skipton to London Kings Cross…
91106 looking very smart in its revised Intercity livery.
What I like about these old Mk4 sets is the still have a quiet coach behind the locomotive which is where I am now. The coach is rarely husy even when the rest of the train is – as is the case today. There’s only a dozen of us in here whilst the next car’s almost full.
I’m not going to count my chickens just yet, but today’s looking good. The weather’s certainly better than forecast with high hazy cloud and lots of sunshine. I only hope this holds up as I travel further East…
09:30.
Yet again, my time at Doncaster was extended by late running trains. Trans-Pennine maintained their reputation by being over 12 mins behind time at Doncaster. The reason given was a late-running freight train. I wouldn’t have minded if it wasn’t for the fact ‘Donny’ was quiet with little of interest to photograph. Even the railway works yard was bereft of stock apart from a few old coal hoppers.
I’m now chugging along through the flatlands of Lincolnshire East of Scunthorpe. The town’s steelworks seemed oddly quiet too with little trace of the smoke or steam that you’d expect from such a huge industrial location.
09:45.
I’ve just been for a wander through the train. Well, the rear 3-car set anyway. There’s only three of us in it!
Pick a seat, any seat…
Admittedly, I saw quite a few folk detrain at Donny but I’d have thought it would be busier than this. Have the bright lights and fleshpots of Cleethorpes lost their lustre I wonder? I’ll find out later. I’m off at the next stop – Grimsby…
11:00.
Nothing much has changed in Grimsby since I was here last. Platform 1’s still out of use (points failure) forcing folk to use the footbridge or queue for the lift from platform 2 which all services to/from Cleethorpes are using. TPE are still late. The service behind mine was still using the ‘stuck behind a late running freight train’ excuse. I wonder how long they’ll keep that up? I’ll look the services up later. Still, the sun’s shining and East Midlands Railway’s 11:08 to Barton on Humber is running, so that’s a plus. There’s new ticket machines on platform one and I stopped to admire the extra decorations…
13:45.
Made it – and the weather’s played ball too! My trip up the Barton branch took me as far as Barrow Haven where I left the train at a single platform station that’s bern totally rebuilt in the past year as the old one was subsiding. I’d chosen this location for two reasons. There’s a nice shot of the train crossing a bridge over an inlet and it’s also the start of a lovely walk that takes you along the edge of the Humber to Barton. The footpath’s sandwiched between the river and old, flooded claypits so the area’s a haven for wildlife as its covered in reeds. You also get a grandstand view of the Humber bridge as you walk up to it…
I’m now in Barton waiting for the train back to Cleethorpes after a really enjoyable walk and quick wander around the town. Judging by the amount of old or vacant shops it was obviously a prosperous place at one time but I expect the opening of the Humber bridge killed a lot of that. Even so, there’s still a lot of buildings of interest.
The station mirrors the town as its reduced in importance too. It’s a single platform station at the end of a long siding from New Holland. Only now it’s graced by East Midlands Railway 2 car, air conditioned Class 170s rather than the Northern (then EMR) single car Class 153s which were the lines staple stock for so many years.
Compare and contrast today’s view with this one, which was taken on my first visit to Barton in March 1990!
Despite the sparse service and unexceptional traction the line has appeal to railway enthusiasts who’re interested in history and signalling. New Holland was the site of a pier station for ferries across the Humber to Hull. Nowadays it’s a bulk port but two old signalboxes at Barrow Rd Crossing and Oxmarsh survive along with an array of semaphore signals (some new). At Oxmarsh Crossing you can even observe the single line token exchange between the signaller and driver – a rare sight nowadays.
The station at Goxhill’s also worth a visit. There’s a lovely old station building. Wooden level crossing gates and a well maintained signalbox.
17:25.
I retraced my steps as far As Grimsby where I paused to grab a last few pictures before catching a Trans-Pennine service Westwards. The good weather was turning as grey skies moved in so there was no point in hanging around. Well, until we got to Scunthorpe where I took a break in between trains to for a couple of lineside shots and a nearby Road Traffic Accident (RTA) where a car was on its roof in the middle of a main road. Welcome to Scunthorpe!
Now I’m aboard a Northern stopper from Scunny to Donny. The weather’s getting duller and looking like rain so I might just head home. I have the shots I need so there’s no point in hanging around.
20:44.
Home and dry – literally! By the time I arrived in Doncaster the rain was setting in and stayed with me all the way home. The light was so bad I put the camera away and relaxed and enjoyed the journey instead. There were quite a few cancellations of Calder valley services shown at Leeds so I took the ‘scenic’ route via Shipley to Forster Square then walked across town to Interchange. The homeless ‘tent city’ under the arches at Forster Square had disappeared but what was there was worse in many respects. Dozens of people were queuing for soup kitchens that had been set up just before I arrived. It’s a tragic sight that also makes me very angry. We’ve had 13 years of Tory Government. Instead of tackling this problem they’ve made it worse. But at least their donors are well fed, having trousered billions in dodgy PPE contracts during Covid, or enjoying their expense accounts as members of the House of Lords…
A story you won’t see in the media as so many of them are obsessed with the much more important story about Nigel Farage’s bank account…
I managed to find a train from Interchange that wasn’t cancelled and Dawn saved me a soaking by picking me up from the station. Now I’m fed and in the warm, relaxing and sorting out a few of today’s pictures for your delectation whilst watching the rain bouncing off the cottage windows. Here’s a taster of what I’ve been taking…
170514 crosses the Beck at Barrow Haven with a service to Cleethorpes. It’s a squeeze to fit a 2-car into the shot compared to the single car 153s that used to operate the line. The Humber bridge seen from the coastal path near Barton on Humber.A variety of work and leisure craft moored in Barton Haven with the Humber bridge beyond. Old shopfronts in Barton on Humber.
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/
There’s been much of a muchness here at Bigland Towers today. I’ve made progress with the various weeks projects that are keeping me tied to the office with the intention of escaping as soon as the weather permits – which may be tomorrow if I’m lucky and the rain avoids areas I need to visit. At least a number of jobs have been crossed off my list which is always a positive feeling at the end of the day. I’ve also lined up a couple of trips for the beginning of next month which will add a varied start to August. Hang on – August? Yep, the year’s that far advanced, which seems strange as I feel like I’m still waiting for summer to arrive. July’s been such a wet month here in the Pennines I feel that I don’t really have a tan, it’s rust! Hopefully the proverbial ‘Indian summer’ will save us. If not – I’m buggering off abroad just as soon as I can – which may be difficult as the diary’s already full of events.
Still, I can’t complain too much about today. It’s been productive and I’ve hit all my exercise targets. Now I’ll I’ve got to do is hit the financial ones, which isn’t quite as easy, although the decluttering and sticking stuff on eBay’s adding the occasional bonus. The last sale’s ended but a new one has started, so feel free to check out what old railway slides and hardware (or clothing) is up in the final July sale by following this link. Oh, there’s also the opportunity to buy prints of some of the 83,800 rail and travel picture I have on my Zenfolio website should you be so inclined.
OK, enough of the salesmanship. The next picture’s for free. Dawn’s out with friends this evening so I decided that my daily constitutional could be postponed until then. This coincided with the best weather we’ve had all day, so here’s a shot from Wakefield Gate, the cobbled road above our cottage but below the Wainhouse Tower. There’s a great little place to stop and admire the view and this is how that view looked an hour ago.
Happy valley…
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/
Can we have some of that baking hot weather that Europe’s been suffering from here in the Pennines, please? This time last year we hit the highest temperatures we’d ever seen in this neck of the woods. Today we’ve seen low temperatures and enough rain to float an Ark! Most of the day’s been spent peering through rain and drizzle. OK. I joke. The last think I want is to experience the effects of Global Warming that Europe’s suffering from – but a bit of sunshine would be nice…
Because of the weather we’ve been busy with the mundanities of life – like shopping and cooking. This included a trip to the excellent Bolster Moor farm shop near Slaithwaite (more of which later) so we could pick up some of the ingredients for Dee’s fabulous gluten-free lasagna. We also nabbed some of their premium flour mixes for our neighbour, Susan. Susan’s hobby is baking bread. She makes the most fabulous loaves and we’re some of the lucky recipients. So, it seems only reasonable that we do our bit by providing some of the raw materials now and again.
Back at home Dee’s been busy cooking up a storm in the kitchen whilst I’ve been busy in the office continuing my clear-out. The amount of stuff one accumulates in a lifetime can be significant. Especially in this day and age. I’m trying to be mindful and start jettisoning stuff – hence some of the bits that are appearing on eBay nowadays. Other stuff is only fit for recycling. I have the memories which will never leave me – I no longer need the ephemera – although going through some of it certainly triggered a few of those memories…
So, here we are, living the ‘rock and roll’ lifestyle on a Saturday night (not). But neither of us care. We’re happy and that’s all that matters. There’s so many pictures of the day that I could leave you with – especially after all the stuff I’ve been rooting through and Dawn cooking, but I thought I’d leave you with this, which is something I spotted at Bolster Moor earlier. A Yorkshire wedding cake…
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/
Went the day well? It certainly started that way. Waking up to hear that the Tories had been hammered in two ‘safe’ seats is always a good start. Then I started to look at the result in Uxbridge, which led to this blog. The more I look at the Green party of England and Wales the more convinced I am they’re simply not fit for purpose and are part of the climate change problem, not the solution.
Numbers crunched and other work done Dawn and I nipped out for a coffee at the Piece Hall in Halifax with a friend from TfGM (Transport for Greater Manchester). Mark hadn’t been over to the hall for several years so was blown away by its present incarnation as a music arena that hosts world famous names. In recent weeks we’ve had Madness and Sting. Last year Dawn and I went to see Nile Rodgers and Chic as well as Paloma Faith. The Piece Hall’s rapidly gaining a name for itself as a place musicians want to appear at.
Coffee over the pair of us returned to home and the grindstone until this evening when I escaped to our local (the ‘Big 6’) to enjoy a couple of beers and the quiz. There’s been no ‘Pub Paper’ this week so Mel, our resident quizmaster dug out an old book which was a Yorkshire based quiz. Not being from these parts this left me with somewhat of a handicap. Ask me questions about far-flung parts of the globe and I’m your man. Ask me to name all nine towns in Calderdale and I haven’t got a ‘Scooby Do’. Apparently, one of them’s called Shelf. Seriously? As for old Yorkshire dialect – please…!
Still, it was fun. Hearing Mel (who’s from Rochdale and has a broad Lancashire accent) trying to pronounce some of these local phrases made me feel better. I love regional accents. Dee was remarking about how I slipped from the ‘Queens English’ back into Scouse earlier today, so I’m not immune. But, having spent so much time travelling around the UK and non-English speaking nations my accent and intonation changes to suit my surroundings.
Fun in the pub time over I’m now back at home as we’ve got a lot going on over the next few days which means it’s time to draw this blog to a close. I’ll leave you with a picture of the Piece Hall for taken from the hills above Halifax. It’s a unique building, so if you ever pass this way…
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/
Paul Bigland 