2022 is shaping up to be a funny old year. I can’t quite put my finger on why other than that it seems to be all over the place at the moment – and no – that’s not just the Government! With revelation after revelation about the party antics in No10 I can imagine that some Senior Tories must be thinking “please – just make it stop!” Somehow I think that’s going to be folorn hope. At least the Covid situation’s improving and the early signs that Omicron would be less of a problem appear to be panning out. Ironically, this could be adding to the Tories rows as they’ll no longer be able to use Covis as a smokescreen for what a shit-show Brexit is – especially now the latest customs restrictions kicked in in January, turning Kent into a vast lorry-park. Worse is yet to come as the next tranche of self-imposed restrictions come into force in the summer. I wonder if Johnson will still be PM then?
Despite the pandemic relaxing its grip the economic picture remains confused. Partly due to concerns about a possible war between Russia and the Ukraine, but also mixed news from other parts of the globe. It’s certainly causing disturbances on the world markets which are up and down like a bride’s nightie and returns aren’t always reflected in the performance of the stock markets . The old curse ‘may you live in interesting times’ couldn’t be more apposite.
Still, I’m doing my best to put such cares aside right now. There’s bugger-all I can do about them but watch from the sidelines. Having spent the past couple of days working from home editing pictures, blogging, scanning and slimming down on long-stored personal possessions I’m having a day away tomorrow. I’ll be returning to London so expect a rolling blog of my travels as I make my way to and around the capital.
Tonight I’ll leave you with another old slide as picture of the day. I’ve been working my way through an album of old travel shots in fits and starts. Having completed a selection from Denmark and England I’m about to embark on a series of shots taken in India in 1995-96 but I’m going to end tonight with one from the UK. This shot of the old post-windmill at Chillenden in Kent was taken on the 16th July 1995 during a cycle trip around Kent. For several years Lynn and I would attend the Kent beer festival in Canterbury with friends from London and stay overnight. We’d bring our bikes on the train so whilst everyone else headed back to London we’d spend the day cycling around the byways of the garden of England. This was one of the sights we discovered.
Lynn sitting on the base of the windmill, just to give a sense of scale. The whole windmill could be turned to catch the wind – hence the wheel on a beam at the back!
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
I’m out and about both sides of the Pennines today, starting off with a trip to Leeds. Sadly, it’s hardly a vintage day weather wise but that won’t affect either assignment as neither is about sesxy landscape shots. My walk into Halifax was fun. Passing the Piece Hall where the new Marvel comics ‘Avengers’ film is being shot I noticed the film industry’s answer to this problem towering over the area. Bring your own sun!
Here’s the ‘little’ brother of the other rig…
I’ve not bumped into any of the actors but Samuel L Jackson posed for selfies with locals outside a nearby restaurant the other day. Halifax seems to be much in demand by the media at the moment as another TV series of ‘Happy Valley is being shot here at the same time.
Leaving the bright lights (literally!) of the film industry behind I’m now on a Northern train to Leeds via Bradford. Passenger loadings are pretty good and seem to be recovering from the latest Covid knock. I’ll be interested to see how Leeds looks compared to my last visit.
14:30.
Well, that was an interesting interlude! I was being coy about where I was going as I didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that I was going to turn up to the anti HS2 farce (don’t you mean ‘day of action’? Ed) in Manchester’s Piccadilly gardens which was due to kick off at 12:00. It took me a while to find it as it was tiny! Just 10 people, a child and two others dressed as a white elephant where there. They were outnumbered by members of the media who patiently waited for them to assemble their banners and elephant before they set off on a circuit of part of Piccadilly Gardens. Their shouts were led by one Karen Wildin, an XR protester from *checks notes* Lreicester! In fact, I doubt any of the were actually from the city they were trying to prevent gaining green infrastructure, regeneration and thousands of jobs. It’s always been noticeable that there’s never been a single organised stopHS2 ‘action’ group in the whole of Manchester – hence them having to draft in people from elsewhere. I’ll do a separate blog about this whole farce, which lasted less then two hours before they traipsed back to Piccadilly station before catching their trains home to whence they came. The attitude of Manchester? Meh! Meanwhile, this afternoon, the HS2 phase 2b Crewe – Manchester Hybrid bill has been deposited in Parliament. It will get its 2nd reading in February, when it will fly through the vote as the opposition to HS2 has collapsed.
Here’s a picture of their farcical demonstration.
Somehow, I don’t think MPs will be quaking in their boots. I’ve seen more people turning up to protest about parking restrictions!
19:30.
I’m now on the train back across the Pennines after an interesting and certainly varied day. After attending the farcical and futile protest I spent a bit of time editing pictures and getting other images off to a client before their deadline, then had a wander around Manchester. I have to admit, the weather wasn’t exactly what you’d want for such perambulations but hey – this is the North in January after all. I did manage to bag a few more library shots which will appear on my Zenfolio picture website soon. After that, it was time for a trip to Chinatown to pick up some more edible goodies. I love mooching around the Chinese supermarkets as I always discover something new that I have to resist the urge to buy as – more likely than not – It’ll end up sitting in a cupbord as I don’t really know what to do with it.
Right now I’m on Northern’s 18:58 from Manchester to Leeds made up of a pair of 2-car Class 195s. It’s surprisingly quiet, not that Victoria station was. That was buzzing with hundreds of young people off to a gig at the Arena (just don’t ask me who was playing as I’ve no idea!).
It’s been a quiet weekend here in Bigland Towers. Dawn’s been under the weather. The weather’s not been great either – and there’s been enough to do at home to keep us confined to barracks anyway. That said we haven’t been completely housebound as we have nipped out to shops and a couple of our local pubs, but I’d hardly call it an active weekend – and neither would my Fitbit!
On the bright side, I’m cracking on with slide scanning and decluttering (much to the joy of the local charity shops) and preparing for the week ahead which I’m determined will be a good one. I’ve got two varied railway-related events on tomorrow which will see me out and about. One is taking more pictures for a forthcoming article in RAIL that involves a trip to Leeds. The other I’ll keep quiet about for now as I don’t want to spoil the surprise for some people. All will be revealed tomorrow. Expect a rolling blog and pictures from my travels anyway as well as an update on some other railway news.
Right, it’s time for super. Dawn’s made a fabulous Shepherds pie so I’m off to eat. all that remains is to leave you with the picture of the day which is taken from my latest batch of old slide scans. This is another view of London which has changed out of all recognition and if I didn’t tell you where it is in advance most people would have no idea where this was.
This picture is of what is now the Jubilee line underground station at Canary Wharf in London’s Docklands. It was taken in 1996 but my records don’t say what month.
The picture’s taken from the Docklands Light railway as my train passed over Middle Dock. This whole area is now an expanse of some seriously expensive real-estate! Oh, you see the buildings to the right? That’s South Quay. It was devastated by an IRA truck bomb in February 1996 which killed two people and injured 100. The buildings you see are shattered shells. I was living in the East End at the time and even though we were over a mile away our windows shook so much we though they were going to be blown in. This was the reality of terrorism in the days of ‘The Troubles’ and it makes some of the things people fret about now pale into insignificance when you look at what happened to the the capital on a regular basis in those days.
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
As threatened I’ve escaped the Calder valley this morning. Having packed my passport I’m heading across the Pennines to Manchester and the North-West to (hopefully) obtain some scenic railway pictures as part of a long-standing commission. The weather’s certainly ideal. We’ve a crisp, frosty morning in the valley with clear blue skies that make the ideal backdrop. Having walked up the hill towards Halifax I paused for a moment to grab this shot which illustrates what I mean. I never tire of this view and will often linger here to watch the world go by.
Right now I’m on the 08:44 Northern service from Halifax to Manchester Victoria which is made up of a 2-car class 195. I’m assuming this is part of the Dept Transport inspired cost-cutting/service reduction as normally this would be a four car service this time of day. Admittedly, it’s not even half full, but we’re only just into the journey.
I’ll be blogging throughout my travels today, so feel free to pop back and see where I get to and what I end up doing…
09:15.
We’ve just left Rochdale where we picked up a handful of people heading into the city, but nothing like the numbers you can expect during rush-hour. This side of the Pennines is just as frozen and icy as the West. Th fields are blanketed in frost which is glistening in the low winter sunlight. The roofs of many houses display the same characteristics – showing who’s got decent loft insulation – and who hasn’t! I’m looking forward to being able to get the camera out but first I’ve got to cross the city to get to Piccadilly…
10:10.
My meander across central Manchester was interesting as everywhere was quieter than i’ve seen it in a long time. Victoria station was sonambulent and the city centre just as sleepy. Few homeless people graced doorways (thankfully) and shoppers were equally thin on the ground. Passing the Wetherspoons I noticed a group of young lads huddled in the window. Eschewing the usual pints of lager they were drinking pitchers of lurid looking cocktails. Their day may get messy…
Piccadilly station was busier than Victoria but only marginally so. For a railway cathedral this was hardly a feast day.
I’m now on a Northern Class 323 heading out along the truncated remains of the old Woodhead route. It’s a route I know well but it’s a shadow of the line I knew as a boy in the early 1970s when it was a major trans-pennine freight artery. All the sidings and yards, loco stabling points and engines are long gone as the line was closed in 1981. Now there’s just a passenger service that shuttles between Manchester, Glossop and Hadfield.
12:45.
I’m retracing my steps from Glossop and Dinting after a productive if frustrating couple of hours. The low winter light didn’t allow me to get the pictures I wanted in Glossop (too many long shadows) but it was ideal for shots around the Dinting viaduct. It felt odd to be back. I last spent time taking pictures around here 10 or so years back but I chiefly remember it from the 1970s when there was an active steam railway centre here based on the single road loco shed. All of this was abandoned at the beginning of the 1990s. Dinting station still retains its old buildings although those on the abandoned platforms aren’t ageing well…
This shot was taken from the footbridge East of Dinting station where the entrance to the old steam centre was. The bridge gives great views across the nearby allotments to the Dinting viaduct where a Northern Class 323 is pictured traversing the structure en-route to Glossop. The view from below, showing a Manchster bound train crossing the viaduct. The extra brick piers were added in 1909 in order to strengthen the structure for even heavier trains.
16:15.
I’m now on my way back to Manchester after taking a trip down the Mid-Cheshire line to Northwich to recce a few photographic locations. Sadly, nothing stood out and what did would only work later in the year with different lighting conditions. Still, it was a chance to reacquaint myself with a line I’ve not had need to traverse for several years. I ended up in Northwich, the source of most of the UKs rock salt – a precious commodity this time of year! Ignoring the fact using such a cortosive naterial in this day and age is rather mad I was curious to see the state of the station. Part of the original building suffered a rather spectacular collapse not that long ago and it was amazing no-one was killed. Repairs are still ongoing. As a kid I remember when this place was a hive of railway activity due to mineral traffic to and from the ICI (remember them) works. Now the sidings are abandoned and overgrown with Silver Birch trees whilst the site of the locomotive depot is a housing estate.
I had an hour to kill between trains so wandered into town which is a 10 minute hike. It looks to have some fine old buildings but town planners haven’t done it any favours by cutting it off with inner ring roads. One of the most impressive buildings is now a Wetherspoons, which says it all really. The actual pub is in a shed-like structure at the rear!
A Wetherspoons where the facade is nothing like what you’ll get inside
19:00.
Wow, so much that I want to write about – so this section will change as I travel.
I was sorely tempted to stop off in Stockport on my way back North as the light looked like it would’ve been ideal for sunset shots through the iconic viaduct but I hesitated as I needed to pick up some shopping in the city. More fool me as by the time I was approaching Piccadilly the conditions were perfect. Oh well..
Back in the city I headed over to Chinatown to grab some ingredients that are almost impossible to find outside major cities or university towns with a cosmopolitan student base. I stocked up on Red and Green curry pastes plus fiery red chillis and pea aubergines which are such a feature of Thai cooking.
During my wanderings I found myself drawn to the Northern Quarter and a friendly pub of old. I’ll be honest – I miss city life – especially so after the covid separations we’ve all had to endure. Sitting at a bar, overhearing (intelligent) conversations has been much missed…
19:00.
The train back across the Pennines was another experience I’ve missed. The 3-car 195 was busy from Victoria as many people were either returning home from work or an early evening in town. As usual, my camera (which was cradled in my lap) became a talking point. It started a conversation with the the chap sat next to me in the tip-up seats. He’d been out with his grandson playing virtual cricket and was blown away by the experience. Apparently, the one thing that isn’t virtual is the bat you hold and the balls that head your way! I really enjoyed the interaction as it’s one of the things I’ve always loved about train travel and missed because of Covid, People just haven’t been as willing to engage in the way we used to. Whilst I loved to hear his enthusiasm (and trepidation) for trying something that was obviously outside his comfort zone, the issue for me was realising that ‘grandad’ was obviously several years younger than I am! This is becoming a familiar story. I don’t feel old, it’s other people who make me seem that way – honest!
23:00.
I’m now back at home and taking the rest of the night off, but expect lots of more guff and stuff tomorrow.
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
It’s been a busy week here at Bigland Towers. Despite the sunny weather I’ve been stuck indoors trying to catch up on paperwork, deal with picture requests from clients whilst continuing with decluttering – and scanning old slides. But now I’m getting itchy feet. The good weather is forecast to be around for a few more days so tomorrow I intend to get out with the camera in order to document more of the changing face of the railways. That’s getting harder to do as the Government and Dept of Transport cut many rail services from the timetable from Monday. An example is Manchester – Euston which has gone from three to one train an hour. All this just as it seems that Covid cases have peaked and are in decline, although the data is too fresh to draw firm conclusions. Mind you, with the political shambles we’re seeing at the moment I’m not expecting anything better. We have a Transport Minister who’s still trying to pretend his widely-derided (dis)Integrated Rail Plan is the best thing since sliced bread and castigates its critics, whilst everyone else outside of his Westminster bubble knows it’s a lemon. The railways are having an unhappy time of things at the moment due to a complete lack of direction and the feeling that the only people in charge are the bean-counters in the Treasury – the people who are the living embodiment of the old phrase about knowing the cost of everything and the value of nothing. Still, I’m looking forward to escaping the confines of the Calder Valley for a while, just to remind myself what the wider world looks like again. No doubt there’ll be a rolling blog appearing…
In the meantime, here’s the picture of the day selected from my latest batch of old slide scans taken in 1996. A lot’s changed over the past few years, but these standing stones at Avebury in Wiltshire have seen millennia come and go. After all, many of them have been standing since 2900 BC!
Sadly, I can’t see myself making it to Wiltshire tomorrow, but I hope I can keep you entertained with tales from somewhere less ancient…
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Apologies for blogging absence but I’ve been busy on other projects these past few days which have left me little time for writing, although I promise to make up for that this next week. One of the activities that’s kept me occupied wasn’t a new year resolution, but the new year has seemed like a fine time to do some decluttering and finally get rid of stuff I’ve had sitting around in boxes and cupboards ever since I moved to West Yorkshire from London in 2010. Loads of old books have been sorted and sifted, with most going to a local charity shop whilst a few have been kept back for sale on eBay. I neglected eBay all last year due to the madness of the customs changes brought about by the Brexit shambles and also all the new postage rates. I kept meaning to restart selling but other activities got in the way as the country rebounded from Covid and I could get out and about again. This year will be different as I’ve a lot of stuff to shift and (hopefully) monetize. As well as disposing of books and magazines I’ve been digging through cupboards to consolidate all the old camera and computer gubbins that’s all been stashed away – including what feels like miles and miles of old cables and chargers with all manner of redundant plugs and USB connections. Standardisation of these damned things can’t come soon enough! Oh, I also found some old Blackberry’s. Remember them? I had several over the years and found their QWERTY keyboard and decent screens a boon. Ironically, I found them just as the company (who no longer make phones) announced it was withdrawing support for them, rendering the devices unusable. So, so long Blackberry…
Another day of decluttering beckons tomorrow, although it’ll be some time before everything’s finally sorted and disposed of one way or another. Even so, we can both notice the difference already – much to Dawn’s delight as she’s been trying to get me to do this for ages!
OK, on to today’s picture which is all part and parcel of the decluttering in many ways as these old slide albums used to take up a hell of a lot of space before I started getting them all scanned and stored out of their folders and plastic mounts. Today’s picture was taken from atop the dome of St Paul’s cathedral in London in February 1996.
The tallest building on the picture is the old Natwest tower in London’s ‘square mile’. I really should go back up to the dome of St Paul’s and recreate this shot in 2022, because this aspect of London’s skyline has changed out of all recognition 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 that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Sorry – I took a day off from blogging yesterday as I was too busy travelling and wanted to savour the time I had exploring railway byways to enjoy the sights and concentrate on the photography rather than trying to type a commentary at the same time. There was also the added complication that I didn’t really have much idea where I was going to go at first!
As is usually the case at weekend various railway lines were closed for engineering work. In this case it was the South-Western main line around Weybridge which meant many services were being diverted via Guildford, including those from this neck of the woods. Despite the appalling weather forecast and heavy rain we’d suffered all morning I decided to venture out anyway. Dee gave me a lift to Farnham and I tootled off to Guildford on a very quiet train, then thought about where to go. A plan formed in my mind and I decided to head East towards London, stopping off on the way to grab shots in locations I’d not visited for quite some time – or not at all. My route was via Effingham Junction where I managed shots of diverted Weymouth services. It’s not a place where you’d normally find the 5-car Siemens Class 444s thundering through, so that was a bonus to add to pictures of the elderly suburban sets that normally ply the route between Waterloo and Guildford, These 1980s built Class 455s are living on borrowed time as they’re being replaced, but the new trains are late. Very late…
444041 and 444031 thunder over the junction at Effingham whilst working 1W69 the 1323 London Waterloo to Weymouth which would normally run via Woking, but that station was the terminus for services from Southampton and Salisbury, so the Weymouth line trains were run this way. The road bridge over the railway by the station provided an excellent vantage point, even if it was a wet one! .Having terminated at Effingham and stabled in the yard to let other services past, Class 455s 5868 and 5707 run back into Effingham Junction station to work 2D40, the 1402 Effingham Junction to London Waterloo.
Having secured the shots I wanted and being fed up of the heavy showers I moved Eastwards, having decided to visit one line I’d always missed off travelling on. En-route I passed through several stations which would be worth exploring at a later date as they still retain many of their old buildings and character, Leatherhead a good example. My next stop was Epsom where I switched from Southwestern Railways to Southern for a trip to Sutton on the edge of London. On the way I passed through Cheam (a name made famous by comedian Tony Hancock) where the station once boasted two fast lines running through the centre which were provided in the the days when freight was an important part of the railway. Nowadays it’s a rarity as the old Southern is overwhelmingly a passenger railway. I left the train at Sutton. It’s a busy junction served by both Southern and Thameslink services (via the Sutton loop). Although substantial, the four platform station’s looking a bit run-down nowadays, despite a series of refurbishments through the 2000s. The problem with it became obvious when I arrived in the middle of a torrential downpour. The roof leaks like a sieve! The platforms were awash with water and the covered footbridge between the four platforms wasn’t much better although to be fair, contractors are on site refurbishing the whole structure at the moment, which means there’s lots of scaffolding poles that need to be negotiated as well as puddles.
I was here to catch a train on the 6km line to Epsom Downs. Despite living in London for 25 years I’d never made it down the branch for one reason or another, so today seemed like a good time to put that right. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the old Class 455s I was expecting to find had been replaced with dual-voltage, 100mph class 377s – not that either of these features would be needed on this route!
The Epsom Downs line is an oddity. For the first Kilometer it’s double track, after that it’s a single-track branch line – essentially it’s a long siding. It has two single platform intermediate stations at Belmont and Banstead before reaching Epsom Downs, another basic station. But it wasn’t always like this. In its heyday it was a double-track railway and Epsom Downs was a station with nine platforms, most of which were only used on race days! Here’s a great article and old pictures taken over the years on the ‘disused stations’ website (link). Having been reduced in size over decades the old station finally closed in 1989 and this is what’s replaced it.
Units 377458 and 377211 sit at Epsom Downs before working 2B79, the 1508 Epsom Downs to Selhurst. Normally Epsom trains run to Victoria but the lines from Balham to Victoria have been closed since Christmas Eve as the route is being resignalled. To ease congestion Epsom services shuttle between the town and Selhurst in South London.This is Belmont, one of the intermediate stations on the line. As you can see, much of the old station land has been taken over by new housing. Here’s 377207 and 377215 calling with 2B72, the 1459 Selhurst to Epsom Downs. The remains of the stations second platform can be seen by the rear of the train.
Time and the light ran out before I could explore more, so I had to retrace my steps home, stopping to get a few more shots on the way. You can find them in these different galleries on my website, one dedicated to the Southern franchise, this one to SWR and this one to Thameslink.
Tomorrow we head home to Yorkshire once more. Weather permitting we’ll be taking a slight detour to have a look at some more of the High-Speed 2 railway construction work in Northamptonshire so keep an eye out for a rolling blog…
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
After all yesterday’s glorious sunshine the weather’s reverted back to type here in the Pennines. We’ve had gloomy skies, persistent rain and sleet throughout most of the day. Even so, I managed to keep up my new exercise regime and hit all my targets by nipping down into Sowerby Bridge with food shopping as the excuse. But then carrying a rucsac full of heavy shopping back up the valley is a pretty good workout!
I’d intended to be busy at home the next few days but plans have changed all of a sudden as now I find myself heading back down to Surrey tomorrow due to a last-minute request from Dawn who wants me down there for her own nefarious purposes! Who am I to say no? After all, have laptop, will travel, and besides, there’s a little photographic project that I have in mind if the weather’s up to it…
As another short Surrey sojourn beckons there’s not much of a blog from me tonight – I’ve other things to sort out. I’d planned to write about two social media dishonest disasters from two very different sources (the Dept of Transport, and Greenpeace) but that’ll have to wait until the weekend). Instead there’ll be a rolling blog of travels tomorrow whilst tonight I’m leaving you with another old picture from Denmark with a similar light-hearted theme as the last one. Well, unless you’re an irresponsible dog owner that is!
I found this sign on the side of the block where our friend lived in Copenhagen. Clearly, someone had got fed up with dog-shit being left outside their apartment door and decided to make a point!
I can sympathise. Our local woods can sometimes be a mine-field thanks to dog owners who can’t be arsed to clean up after their pooches. Then there’s the one’s who really get my goat. The one’s who bag it up – and then hang the bag on the nearest available tree branch, as if a poo-fairy will magically carry it away! A bullet’s too good for them…
See you tomorrow!
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Finally! The pair of us escaped the confines of the house and the Calder Valley on a day when we were blessed with glorious sunshine – although that did dictate where we ended up. Originally, we’d planned to drive over to the East coast and visit Robin Hood’s bay in North Yorkshire as Dawn was keen for some fresh sea air, but on checking the forecast this morning we found the area was covered in cloud which led to a rethink. The Met Office website showed parts of the West coast were graced with clear blue skies so we changed our plans at the last minute and headed to somewhere I’ve not visited for Donkey’s years – Formby Point between Liverpool and Southport.
Despite the round trip involving a triumvirate of motorways (M62, M57 and M6) it wasn’t a bad journey as traffic was mercifully light which meant we arrived at the National Trust car-park at Formby point just in time for high-tide which left a narrow strip of sand available to walk along if you didn’t fancy the strenuous trudge up and down the sandhills. With the wind whipping up muddy waves and ships slipping out of the Mersey estuary past wind turbines it was quite a sight.
Try as I might by flicking through various websites and lists I can’t identify this ship leaving the Mersey today…
Walking Northwards we headed up the beach as far as Freshfield, which is famous for its pinewoods which are a refuge for the Red Squirrel. Last time I was here the woods were full of the critters but they’ve suffered from the devastating impact of the squirrel pox virus. An outbreak in 2008 saw 80% of the population wiped out. Apparently, the population has now increased to almost 90% of the pre-pox numbers but the little buggers must have been having a day off today as we didn’t see a single one – which means I’m having to use an old picture I took on my last visit in 1994 to show you what you *could* see…
By the time we got fought our way up and down the sandhills back to the beach the tide had receded at a pace. The beach is shallow so it doesn’t take long for large patches of sand to be exposed – as you can see from this picture.
The pair of us really enjoyed being back at the seaside, getting the cobwebs blown away. Lovely as it is living up in the Pennines there’s something about beaches – even when they’re bloody freezing!
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
No blog from me yesterday I’m afraid. One of my new year resolutions is to reboot my exercise levels which took a dive in December. In order to do that something has to give sometime and yesterday that was blogging.
The reboot’s going well. I covered over 10 miles in 21,000 steps yesterday and hit all my targets except one as I was well below my calorie count – which will help burn off some of the Christmas excess! It’s not that I’m overweight, it’s just that I’m near the top end of the scale at which I’m comfortable with and I want to get back to where I feel happiest. After all, I’m not getting any younger and I’d prefer to be an active pensioner rather than a sedentary one!
As if to offer me encouragement the weather’s changed. We’ve lost the rain – and the mild temperatures. They’ve been replaced with colder, sunnier days. In fact, when I opened the bedroom blinds this morning I found there was snow right across the valley tops. It didn’t last long as the sun soon disposed of it, although it was amusing this evening watching cars go past that were still covered in snow. It was almost a weather vane to show how high up the valley side these people lived.
As well as my physical activity I have managed to get some work done, although I’m easing myself back into the swing of things as Dawn’s still on holiday as she’s a mountain of untaken leave to use up. As well as getting some pictures off to a couple of clients and wading through paperwork I managed to finish off scanning yet another album of old slides and begin the next in the series, which will be the final images from 1995-96 but they won’t start to arrive on my Zenfolio website until the weekend. In the queue are shots from Denmark, various points around the UK compass and India, so there should be something of interest for most people and a ready source of pictures of the day. Today’s is one of the series from Denmark.
Lynn and I used to visit Copenhagen on a regular basis as we’d met a Danish woman and her daughter out in Bali a year earlier. ‘Didi’ was a 60s ‘wild child’ who’d mellowed but still had her character. Her daughter, Amalie was a young teenager and quite a famous TV and film star in Denmark. We used to have some fantastic times when we visited them in Christianshavn in Copenhagen or they came over to stay with us in London. Sadly, neither Didi or Lynn are still with us and Amalie now has her own family and lives in Sweden, so I’ve not been back for many years. But, I still have some fabulous memories of those times. The picture I’m using is a great example of how what sounds great in one language doesn’t always translate well. This was a Chinese restaurant in Copenhagen city centre. I had to do a double-take when I saw the name…
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
