With the bank holiday out of the way along with Dawn’s week off work it’s back to the grindstone for the both of us today. I’m making a concerted effort to up the ante with my energy and exercise levels, hit all my Fitbit targets – and be productive at work. To that end there’s been little time for blogging, but I’ve a new tranche of old slide scans that have allowed me to supply a new picture of the day. It’s one of the last in my series of pictures from India. Having them all scanned has made me realise that I’d got the date wrong by a year (I blame the absence of my old notebooks) so I’ll be correcting those as time permits. What I’d thought was 1995 was actually 1996, but then the memory dims somewhat after so long…
Anyways, here’s a shot taken on the beach in Arambol, Goa, India from January 1997. In those days locals and the more active travellers would gather on the beach at sunset to play volleyball. Admittedly, more people watched the sunset than took part, but it made for some interesting pictures. Here’s one…
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Only a short blog from me tonight. It’s been a quiet day here at Bigland Towers with the pair of us making the most of the bank holiday to catch up on jobs around the cottage rather than try and compete with all the others who’re trying to ‘get away from it all’ which normally means prices rise as you’re all competing with each other!
Instead, we spent the day enjoying the warmer weather here in the Calder Valley. Dee was busy indulging in some DIY whilst I spent the day cleaning windows, tidying up the garden, repotting and planting lots of seeds and cuttings. Not exactly the ‘rock and roll’ lifestyle admittedly, but who cares! I find gardening really therapeutic and it makes a change from staring at computer screens.
So, without further ado, here’s the picture of the day, which is one of the series I took yesterday. I found this plaque at Wigan North Western station. It’s new (well, nearly new) as it was only installed last year. Installed by the British Transport Police History Group outside their offices on Wigan North Western station it commemorates an officer of one of the precursors of the BTP, Detective Sergeant Robert Kidd who was murdered at Wigan on the 29th September 1895 by a gang stealing from railway wagons in the nearby sidings. You can read about the events and subsequent trial here.
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Apologies for the lack of blogging this week. This is due to several reasons. One is enjoying my new found freedom now that I’m Covid free. Dawn’s had the week off work so the pair of us have been extremely sociable, having eaten out several times already this week. First with Dee’s family, then last night we were invited round to friends for a home cooked meal of delicious Greek meatballs. Today we’ve been out for a pub lunch and a few drinks with another couple who’re the powerhouses behind the friends of Mytholmroyd station. We’ve really enjoyed these short-notice events which are such a refreshing change after all the lockdown protocols when the levels of planning involved in getting to see someone was like a military operation. Being able to share spontaneous quality time with friends again is brilliant.
This hectic social whirl has meant I’ve simply not had time to blog, but I’m sure I’ll be able to make up for that shortly. Tomorrow I’m taking a trip over to Southport to drop off a Tuxedo for my Niece’s husband to borrow, so I’m sure there’ll be blogging involved in the trip.
Until then I’ll leave you with today’s picture which is another from the latest batch of old slides from India. This is Sravanabelagola in the Southern state of Karnataka, seen in January 1997. It’s famous for its Jain temple and statue of Bahubali which is the tallest monolithic statue in India. As you can see, it’s quite a surreal landscape.
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Finally, after what seems like an age, my morning Covid test was negative – which was a great start to a new week. Time seems to have dragged over the past 10 days, but at last I’m in the clear. All I want to do now is one last test tomorrow to make sure the result wasn’t a fluke and then my mind’s at rest. Mind you – so’s Dawn’s mind. She’s been hugely supportive whilst I’ve been a (sometimes temperamental and impatient) patient.
Dee’s off work this week so the pair of us celebrated by going out for a long (ish) walk. Rather than going local we drove over to Todmorden to explore the hills to the North of the town. We’ve been walking on the tops of the valley to the North of the Todmorden to Burnley railway several times. There’s some great walking around there as the views are fantastic. Add in the fact there’s some fascinating old buildings and wonderful rock outcrops and it’s a winner. But today we tried somewhere different and explored the opposite side of the valley and the area known as Todmorden moor. Our experiences were mixed. On an O/S map the area teems with footpaths but when you’re on the ground it’s obvious many of them are so little used they’re almost impossible to find. That said. the views across the valley were superb, as was looking down from on high into the valley around Lydgate and the A646 road to Burnley. I’d certainly come back with the camera sometime, but if it’s the quality of walking we’re after we’d stick to the North side of the valley. What was interesting was finding out that Todmorden moor was once the site of industry. Collieries and a tramway once graced the area which must have been a desolate place to work. Imagine tramping all that way uphill from Todmorden only to return 12 hours later?
Having enjoyed our wanderings we headed back via an old haunt that we realised we’d not visited since before the first Pandemic lockdown. We used to walk from home to the Robin Hood pub in Cragg Vale above Mytholmroyd several times a year but Covid put a stop to all that. Our last visit was in 2019 so today we thought ‘why not’? and dropped in for a drink at this brilliant local boozer. It still retains its character (and characters) despite everything that’s happened in the last few years. It was lovely to be able to sit at the bar, enjoy the heat from the fire and join in the banter and laughs between the bar staff and regulars. It’s something I’d really missed in isolation.
Now we’re back at home preparing for the week ahead which is looking a lot more optimistic – and far busier! But for now I’ll leave you with the picture of the day which was taken from our walk.
A pair of Northern Class 150s (150149 and 150127) cross the viaduct at Lydgate whilst working 2N98, the 12:53 from Kirkby to Blackburn. As you can see, it’s not exactly flat around here! The bizarre thing? This is the first picture I’ve taken in 10 days…
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Right, I’m bored now. I first tested positive for Covid last Thursday. I felt shit for several days, then bounced back, but I’m still testing positive – including this morning! Unlike many people Dawn and I are taking this seriously and not putting anyone else at risk so I’ve had no close contact with anyone since I first tested positive. Well, apart from my wife – obviously! Oh, I’m tempted, there’s a few people who I’d quite happily give the Rona to but as they’re nowhere near me the chances of that happening are minute! I’m frustrated as I’ve no idea when I’ll start testing negative again. In the meantime it’s really cramping my style and the things that I can do.
The pair of us are feeling frustrated as there’s so many things we’ve had to put on hold – including family gatherings. So, to lighten the mood the pair of us had a long amble around the streets of Halifax today, exploring side-streets and areas we’ve never visited before. I find the town fascinating to wander around as the architecture is so diverse. It ranges from huge mansions to back-to backs and with a timespan that covers centuries. Many building have changed form and purpose over the years which leads to the opportunity for some detective work, trying to guess what the places were used for originally. There’s also some impossible building footprints too as properties have been squeezed on to odd plots of land, leading to some very oddly shaped structures which must be almost impossible to furnish well.
Back at Bigland Towers we’ve enjoyed another quiet night in. Dawn decided to take over the cooking tonight as I prepared last night’s meal, which leads to the picture of the day. I really enjoy cooking but it’s once in a blue moon we cook red meat at home. Maybe it’s the result of the ‘Rona’ but yesterday I fancied trying something different and found an Asian recipe for a beef Red Curry which sounded delicious so I gave it a go. When I cook I like to have everything prepared beforehand and laid out in a selection of bowls we’ve brought back from our travels in Thailand and Vietnam. So, here’s last night’s meal broken down into its constituent parts. Vegans, look away now…
I’m hoping that tomorrow I’ll finally test negative and can start to come out of my shell as (potentially) we’ve both got a lot on in the next week or so. Time will tell…
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Bugger, despite my gradual return to form as I shake off the ‘rona’ I’m still testing positive for Covid, which is cramping my style good-time as I’m avoiding everybody and everything (bar the great outdoors) until I start testing clear. I’m the last in the family – both my Father and Mother in law are now in the clear and Dawn’s never contracted it. I should be past the infectious stage now but I’m not willing to put anyone at risk – so no Friday quiz night for me…
Instead, Dawn and I managed to get out for a reasonably long walk through our local woods, although that was touch and go at one point as the weather really wasn’t playing ball. We had glorious sunshine this morning but the temperature was anything but spring like. By the time we’d finished up the work we were doing the sky had changed and kept dumping hail and snow upon us at regular intervals. It certainly made for some dramatic skies but Baltic conditions. Undeterred, we headed out for an hour to get some exercise. The beauty of the weather was bugger-all people were around apart for a few hardened dog-walkers, so I wasn’t too perturbed. Plus, if Covid can hang around long in the cold, windy and wet conditions we were out in then it deserves to survive!
So, for us it’s a quiet night in watching the TV, having enjoyed a glorious sunset as the skies cleared at an opportune moment and let the setting sun illuminate the undersides of the high cloud that decided to hang around. Dawn’s been busy in the kitchen, rustling up a prawn stir-fry so we’re certainly not going to starve – which means it’s time for me to bid adieu and leave you with the picture of the day, which is another old slide from the latest batch of images of India that I’ve been scanning. This is another from my favourite Indian city of Mysore. The city has an excellent market although there’s one area that vegetarians should certainly avoid – and meat-eaters who are so divorced from the food-chain that they think that everything every carnivore eats comes in cellophane wrapped polystyrene trays! Sanitation, hygiene and animal welfare are not high on the agenda…
You get an idea what this area of the market might be like when you look up and notice that many of the surrounding buildings are crowded with Raptors who sit there, eagle-eyed just waiting for the opportunity to snatch scraps as the butcher’s shops are open to the street. In fact, some butchers deliberately throw scraps into the street to allow the birds to swoop down and feed. It’s quite a sight to watch an Eagle do this – and it certainly makes a change from Pigeons!
Not an easy thing to capture on the slow slide film that I was using at the time (January 1996) but I did manage this after a few practice runs. I’d love to go back with a modern DSLR and try my luck again.
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There’s only a short blog from me today. Despite still testing positive for Covid I know that I’ll be clear any day now so I’m keen to try and return back to a normal life – part of which is increasing my exercise levels and stamina. I’m not a great one for taking to my sick-bed as I start chafing after a couple of days. Unfortunately the weather’s not been conducive to long strolls due to the constant rain storms so I’ve been doing more weights than walking. Hopefully the bouts of tiredness that seem to be a symptom of Covid will soon be a thing of the past.
Not that there’s been little to be getting on with at home of course. I still owe one magazine an article, plus I’ve been trying to catch up with picture editing, decluttering and restarting slide scanning – a project that’s very much taken a backseat recently. I can’t dedicate the time to it that I did during lockdown but I’m determined to keep that particular ball rolling as part of my decluttering – if nothing else. Today’s picture is from the latest batch.
Back in January 1996 a group of us were in Mysore, India. A larger group of us had spent Christmas in Goa but Lynn, I and a couple of friends from North London had more time to explore and visit one of my favourite Indian cities. Whilst we were there I spotted this rather surreal gem. I’ve always admired the hand painted posters you see across India, be it adverts for films, shop signs or just general hoardings. Local artists are kept busy with these (often huge) hoardings and they make a welcome break from the standardised adverts back in Europe. But every so often you see one and thing “wait, what?” This was one…
Quite what a woman playing a saxophone has to do with sanitaryware is a complete mystery – especially a woman dressed like that, which is hardly traditional. I had to do a double-take when I saw it as I really couldn’t work out the message. But maybe that was the idea as it certainly stuck in my conscious because as adverts go ‘bog standard’ it wasn’t!
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It’s been a dank and dismal day here in the Calder Valley which was a shame as I’d hoped to start a new week in positive fashion. Sadly it wasn’t to be. Added to the gloom was the bounce I felt yesterday as I thought I was shaking off Covid bounced the opposite way today! This isn’t uncommon apparently. You have good days and bad days, it’s just the bad days get less bad. I’d tried to keep busy with paperwork and preparing for the week and even ventured out for a walk on my own through the local woods where I wasn’t likely to come into contact with people, but by the time I got back I was knackered! The stamina levels obviously still need a bit of tweaking. To that end I’ve loosened the reins on eating and drinking. After all, there’s got to be some pleasures left in life. Thankfully, Dawn still seems to be Covid free even though she feels that not all cylinders are firing.
Away from our own concerns there’s the tragedy of the Ukraine still unfolding. I’m resisting blogging about this (for now) as I need to be in full spleen-vent to describe my feelings about what’s going on, the atrocities occurring and the senseless waste of life on all sides. Because of this I did snap at one point earlier today when I saw a young HS2 opponent tweet about how the protesters were suffering ‘lifelong trauma’. What? from events that never happened? For years the protesters have complained about ‘brutality’ from police and security. This ‘brutality’ happens just as soon as someone says ‘no’ to them. A classic example would be a trespasser refuses to move despite several requests to do so, so the police/security use their powers and exercise reasonable force (as they’re legally entitled to do). As soon as the protester has a finger laid upon them they start screaming about being ‘assaulted’. Oh, please! Despite these protests having lasted for 5 years the only convictions for assault have been of protesters. Several charges and arrest warrants are outstanding but certain people have ‘disappeared’ in the hope of evading the police. Even though said protesters nearly all carry camera-phones to record their antics they’ve never yet managed to film a single genuine assault and the video they do produce often leads to the exact opposite result in court. Now, I’m not taking sides here (other than that of the law). If any member of HS2 security or the police does actually assault a protester they should have the book thrown at them. But that’s up to a real court to rule upon, not the court of social media. Frankly, I find it insulting that people who’ve suffered genuine traumas in their lives are being compared to a protester being told ‘no, the law applies to you too’ who them makes stuff up. It’s disappointing to see some mainstream greens supporting this position but I can see their dilemma.
The Green party began from a protest movement and it’s struggling to be a mainstream political party with aspirations of political power. It’s torn in too many directions. Because with power comes responsibility. How could you pass laws when you encourage people to break laws? It’s a question some greens would rather you don’t ask – especially coming up to the May elections. How can they reconcile support for the tactics of people allied to the Extinction Rebellion banner who routinely break the law (sometimes receiving custodial sentences) and at the same time criticise the Johnson Goverment for its law-breaking without looking like hypocrites. Clearly in ‘green’ eyes some laws are more equal than others. This leaves a huge hostage to fortune and the right-wing media an open goal.
Anyway, enough of these musings. I’m sure I’ll be revisiting them again in the future. In the meantime, here’s the picture of the day which relates to some of my earlier comments. We spotted this on out walk on Norland Moor yesterday.
The sooner this war criminal’s in the bin the better…
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After my last three days taking it easy due to contracting ‘the Rona’ today was anything but a lazy Sunday! I’d been chafing at the lack of exercise even though I knew it made sense to take it easy initially and let my system concentrate on combatting Covid. However, this morning I felt fine. The aches and fatigue had disappeared so I decided to take a Lateral Flow Test just to double-check. Bugger, the damned thing was still positive! I was hoping I might have been cleared for take-off by Monday but that isn’t going to happen now. Instead I’ll remain isolated from people until I do get the LFT all-clears.
Dee’s remained clear so the pair of us hatched a plan to get some exercise. We got in the car and drove across the valley up to Norland Moor where we could have a long walk in splendid isolation in the great outdoors. The only people we encountered was a few dog-walkers and they were easily avoided. I was putting no-one in danger and I felt so much better for being able to escape the confines of the cottage and hit the exercise targets I’ve missed. Now, back at home the pair of us are now having a quiet night in (as usual) and preparing for a busy week ahead. I may not be able to get out and about but there’s still plenty to do until I get the all-clear (whenever that is).
Tempting as it was to post today’s picture from the moor I’ve decided to opt for another archive picture with a touch of humour. In December 2010 I was staying in an old haunt – the Paharganj in Old Delhi, only the main street looked rather different and initially I couldn’t put my finger on why. Then the penny dropped. The street was wider. The authorities had made this happen by shaving a couple of feet off the front of buildings which had encroached on the original street. They’d literally demolished the frontage of each property, leaving the owners to rebuild. Well, eventually…
This led to to one hotel having a sign on the front that had left rather a hostage to fortune and one that really made me laugh. See if you can spot what I saw…
– or not, as the case may be…
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It’s April already and day 3 of my self-imposed isolation after having tested positive for Covid 19 on Thursday. Thankfully the symptoms seem mild. Apart from feeling tired and aching nothing more has manifested itself. I’m grateful that I managed to dodge the bullet until after I was triple-jabbed as it could have been an awful lot worse. Covid’s a weird virus as it’s so capricious. So far Dawn shows no sign of having been infected (thank the Gods!) despite us living cheek by jowl in a small space for so long but then we’ve heard lots of anecdotal evidence from friends that this can happen – as can the other extreme where everyone in a family contracts it. I’ve given up in trying to apply logic to Covid – it defies logic, but then so does many people’s attitudes towards it. I blogged not long ago about how so many people seemed to think it had disappeared. Now I’m reading about record infection rates and nearly 5 million Britons having it. Hardly surprising when people stop taking precautions…
My hope it that we’re now getting to the stage where it’s endemic but no worse than having mild flu. Even so, I’m staying at home and isolating until I know I’m no longer infectious purely for the sake of others. I’m chafing, admittedly. Both Dawn and I have been cooped up since I tested positive. Regular readers will know how I get stir-crazy after a few days and having that freedom to travel (even locally) taken away from me is irksome to say the least. On the bright side, I don’t feel as tired or achy as I did and Dawn’s been a star in looking after me. Everything could have been far more stressful so I’m counting my blessings. In the meantime, I’ve got enough things to keep my mind occupied even if my physical exercise levels are suffering. I’ll start making up for that now I’m rested and feel fit enough to do so without risking any recovery.
Having given a life update let’s move on to the picture of the day. I really didn’t know what to use today. There’s no new pictures as I’m stuck at home, so I’ve delved into the archives and come up with this. I was doing some research for a blog earlier which meant I was perusing pictures from a trip to India I embarked upon in 2010-11 and this one sprang out at me as it summed up the juxtaposition of old and new (spiritual and temporal) perfectly – and why Delhi was building a metro system! A version of it was used as a cover picture for the International Railway Journal too. Here’s the traffic chaos at a roundabout in Jhandewalan as a blue line metro train glides quietly (and cleanly) above the mess whilst a massive statue of Hanuman, the Hindu monkey God gazes out across the scene on the 3rd March 2011.
You can find the rest of the pictures from my travels around in India in this gallery. They include visits to Lucknow, Calcutta, Ahmedabad and the states of Gujarat and enclave of Diu.
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Paul Bigland 