I’d hoped my first blog of a new week would have been about something more positive, but I’ve just watched Sir Keir Starmer announce his resignation as PM and leader of the Labour party. A decent man has been hounded out of office by the media and betrayed by the disloyalty and the personal political ambitions of those in his own party.
Some things never change. It seems the Labour party has steadfastly refused to learn the lessons of the Tory years of endless political psychodramas. The political stability many have been yearning for following those times has been ripped apart again. Now we’ll have a Labour leadership race – with Andy Burnham looking the almost certain winner.
I’ve no real love for Burnham. Having watched his career over the years I’ve come to the conclusion he’s a political Janus. Now personal ambitions have unseated a serving Labour Prime Minister. Now, I’d be happy to be wrong about Burnham. I hope he makes a good Labour PM, but those in his party who think ditching Starmer will stop the onslaught of negativity from the right-wing media are naive fools. The media has gained another scalp and will be even more emboldened. Far too many of them want to see Farage in No10 so aren’t going to stop. Now will the Elon Musks of this world. They all have far too much power nowadays. Gone are the times when the rich spent their money on improving the welfare of their fellow citizens. Now they buy newspapers, set up TV ‘news’ channels which are little more than propaganda outlets, or rig social media to highlight and pump out far-right views – and or politicians seem unable and/or unwilling to do a damned thing about it.
Now, all we can do is sit back and watched the media circus as they salivate over the leadership contest, something they’ve been so keen to make happen.
This is not a good era for democracy.
Ironically, I passed this reminder of better times yesterday. Southport infirmary was built with money donated by the wealthy owner of Hartley’s jam. Then, the wealthy campaigned for and helped build a better future for the fellow citizens. Now the obscene wealth held by just a handful of people is used to undermine not only their own citizens, but everyone.
I’ve been splitting my time between Southport and Halifax recently, for a number of reasons which include family duties. This has given me an insight into two very different worlds across the North of England. Right now I’m back in Halifax, having come back on Thursday to vote in the local elections. Sadly, the election results were far less favorable in Calderdale than they were in Sefton (the area which covers Southport). I’ll blog about the results in detail tomorrow but the upshot is that whilst Labour retain control in Sefton whilst they’ve lost control of Calderdale to Reform. I now await the inevitable political shitstorm that will follow as Reform indulge in their usual backstabbing, abuse of anyone not ‘one of them’ and pointless performative politics whilst pretending they can be trusted to run more than a whelk stall.
Politics aside, Dawn and I have been getting on with home improvements and redecorating the living room. Dee’s proving her skills at wallpapering despite never having tackled it before. I’ve been offering support and technical advice in the background whilst covering other chores. Sadly, the great weather I’ve been enjoying over on the coast hasn’t followed me to Calderdale, but then the place does feel rather gloomy after the election results. No matter what you read in the media desperate to ‘big up’ Reform, it’s clear the majority of residents didn’t vote for the ‘Fagash Fuhrer’ Farage’s latest party and most reactions are less than favourable.
I’ll be here for a few more days yet as as we both want to get the living room to a stage of completion where it’s a livable space rather than a just a work in progress. After that I’ll be on my travels again. Whilst I’ve been here a couple of commissions have come in that will see me on the rails again at the beginning of next month, which will dovetail nicely with other projects in the pipeline. Plus, when the weather picks up I’ve more Merseyrail and Liverpool adventures planned – and more. June’s going to be a busy month.
But for now I’ll leave you with a picture of the weather over the Calder valley earlier today. It neatly sums up the mood of many in Calderdale after the election result was announced.
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We’re in the last day of campaigning for the 2026 local elections here in the UK so I wanted to write down some thoughts.
If you’ve been paying any attention to the media you’d be forgiven for thinking Nigel Farage and his Reform party are going to sweep all before them. This impression becomes more exaggerated on social media which is awash with pro-Reform bots and trolls who pile in from nowhere at the mere mention of Farage’s name.
But is Reform’s support really that strong in the real world?
I’ve been staying in Southport on Merseyside these past few days, walking miles around the town to explore old haunts, whilst doing so I’ve been keeping my eye out for expressions of support for the different parties. This is totally unscientific of course. Most people keep their politics to themselves. However, some supporters of various parties display their allegiance through the use of placards in the gardens (or in extreme cases, flags!).
So, I’ve been looking out for these across the town and noticed that there’s an almost even spread between Lib-Dem, Labour and Green parties, but overt support for Reform is noticeably absent. In fact, I could only find one Reform placard. Well, I assume it was Reform as only broken stub remained! It was in the garden of a large, well to do house on the edge of the town centre.
Across the road in another garden there flew the tattered remnants of a Union flag which rather set the scene in that part of town.
Because nothing says you’re proud to be British like (sort of) flying cheap Chinese made Union flags…
Meanwhile, some Lib-Dem supporters displayed a sense of humour as well as allegience!
There’s plenty of these around town.I do find it rather ironic that these ‘Greens’ have destroyed their front garden and turned it into a car park!
We’ll know the outcome of the elections on Friday. Whilst Reform are expected to perform well due to dissatisfaction with the Government I can’t help but wonder if their support has been overstated. There’s certainly not much of it evident on the ground, and their local election material is hardly convincing. One of their leaflets claims they’re going to ‘reclaim’ Southport beach, but don’t explain what that even means. Reclaim it from what?
The promises to cut council tax have been ditched and replaced with claims they’ll ‘audit’ financial waste and inefficiency. But what if they don’t find any?
Southport is part of Sefton, which has been run by Labour since 2012 who currently hold 51 of the 66 seats. Reform currently have 1, the same as the Greens and ‘your party’. The largest opposition group is the Lib-Dems who have 9 seats. In third place are the Tories, who have just 4.
From 1974-86 Sefton was Tory run, it slipped to no overall control between 1986-2012, then Labour won a majority. It would take a massive swing for Sefton to become a Reform-controlled Council.
I’ll watch this one with interest.
Back in West Yorkshire, Calderdale council has 51 members and is Labour controlled (26 members). The Tories are the largest opposition group with 8 and the Lib-Dems next with 6. The Greens have 3, as do Reform. Calderdale’s been Labour controlled since 2019. Before that there’s been long periods where there’s been no overall control with a couple of periods when the Tories were in charge (1975-80 and 2000-2002). Wandering around at home I’ve observed the same phenomenon, hardly any sign (literally) of Reform support – apart from one large converted farmhouse up at Norland where someone’s flying both the Union and Reform flags!
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What a glorious day here in the Calder valley! We’ve had sunshine all day, whilst temperatures have been racing upwards to reach what’s probably been the hottest of the year so far. It’s been so warm I’ve been able to work in the garden in a singlet. With not having got away to Asia this winter I’ve really missed feeling the sun on my skin so today was a real tonic.
What was less of a tonic was observing the latest antics of the madman across the pond in Washington, who seems to have got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning (doesn’t he always? Ed). His latest ranting on ‘truth social’ is posted here.
I mean, where do you start with unhinged, fact-free nonsense like this? The man’s completely lost the plot. First he’d won the war within a couple of days, then he wanted NATO and everyone else to back him up and join in, then he didn’t, then he did as it was all going tits up in the Straits of Hormuz – and now he doesn’t (again). If he wasn’t the most powerful man in the world it would be hilarious, instead it’s bloody scary. All the checks and balances the founding Fathers built into the American political system seem to have collapsed, leaving Trump basically unopposed and running riot, both in the USA and the world.
His Iran adventure (egged on by the Israelis) is proving to be a political and strategic disaster. Some maintain the military outcomes could still be a success but no-one seems to have told the Iranians that and they seem to have other ideas. They may not be chucking as many missiles around as they were at the start of the war, but politically it’s getting worse. Informed sources suggest Trump’s replaced one Ayatollah with another one who’s backed by even more hardline people than his father was, so that’s going to turn out well. This shows all the signs of becoming a protracted conflict – even if Trump loses interest, claims he’s ‘won’ and tries to walk away. Meanwhile, he’s trashed America’s reputation around the world and alienated just about every ally the US has.
In one of life’s ironies I’m reminded of the Vietnam war (which I’m old enough to remember) and the title of a 1966 play which became a popular slogan at the time, “Suppose they gave a War and Nobody Came”. I suspect there’s a few old US allies who’re rediscovering it right now too. Of course, Trump, who repeatedly dodged the draft for the Vietnam war (a doctor signed him off with ‘bone spurs’) has probably never heard of it…
No doubt I’ll be revisiting this tragi-comedy again soon, but in the meantime I’ve more pressing matters as tomorrow the pair of us head to Derby for a few days for the 2026 Community Rail awards, which should lead to some more light-hearted blogging!
In the meantime, here’s a couple of pictures from today’s stroll around my ‘manor’.
Looking down on Sowerby Bridge from the promenade above Scarr woods. The Wainhouse Tower looking fantastic against a clear blue sky.
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Another week flies by! After my day out on Wednesday, Thursday was very different. The weather turned wet, windy and cold, making walking through the local woodland ‘interesting’ to say the least. The amount of broken branches and twig detritus would have kept a wood-burner going for weeks. Stupidly, I timed my daily stroll to coincide with the arrival of a rainstorm so it turned into a very soggy experience. After that, I decided discretion was the better part of valour and hunkered down for the evening at home.
Friday’s been a little different. Sunshine appeared and as Dawn was out for the day I decided to head over to Todmorden to restock our freezer from the excellent butchers in the delightful covered market – and to get a few pictures. It sounded like a great idea but the weather decided not to play ball. We may have had sunshine, but we also had Baltic winds, showers and the threat of snow which cut my trip short.
There were a couple of freight services scheduled to pass through whilst I was there so I braved the conditions just long enough to grab some shots.
66712 thunders through Todmorden station with another load of biomass for Drax power station which has been imported from North America via Liverpool docks.Meanwhile, in the opposite direction, DB’s 66078 hauls the empty ‘binliner’ service from Wilton (Teeside) to Knowsley just outside Liverpool.
Having decided frostbite was over-rated I gave up photography and headed for the warmth of the market to enjoy a pint in the refurbished pub, the Todmorden Market Tavern before catching a train back to Halifax. You can’t grumble when you can get an excellent pint of real ale for just £3.40!
A quiet pint for now but this place can get very busy indeed…
Back home I called in my local for a ‘swifty’ and to give my apologies for the quiz that evening, then headed home to cook some of what I’d bought – spicy lamb koftas. I’ve found a gorgeous recipe which I tried for the first time the other week. (spicy lamb kofta with spiced chickpeas and bulgar wheat). We’ve found that you don’t really need the bulgar wheat as the rest is filling enough, and the ready made kofta from the butchers fit the dish perfectly. Next time I must remember to take a picture of it before we tuck in!
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Well, sort of. I’m still in the UK (sadly). But I’m escaping the confines of the Calder valley to do some exploring whilst the weather’s good and we have sunshine – even if the temperatures dropping due to a cold wind with snow threatened for later in the week.
And what a week it’s been. Talk about a mad, mad world! Trump’s busy trashing the world’s economy at the same time he’s trashing Iran, and the longer this goes on the more and more obvious it is that he has no plan. Iran lashing out in response is causing even more issues. Meanwhile, I’ve had bad news at home (which I won’t go into in this blog) which makes me conscious of the future and my own mortality. So, I need a break.
Right now I’m on a Northern service from Sowerby Bridge towards Manchester. I’ve a vague plan in mind, but that depends on the weather when I get across the Pennines. Let’s see what happens…
Leaving, but not on a jet plane…
11:45.
My journey into Manchester flew by. The train was crowded but that’s what happens when you only run a 2-car that time of day. Manchester city centre was equally busy with shoppers and the odd shoplifter getting nicked by police! There’s always plenty of life to observe in the city..
Having made my way to Piccadilly I’m now sat on an old friend to head out to New Mills Central.
The plan is to walk to a photographic location I’ve not visited for 26 years. I kept meaning to go back but never made it. Today’s the day, and a day where I expect to get a lot of steps in…
16:00.
I’m back as I’m taking a break, having wandered for miles. On arrival at New Mills I wandered the backroads to get to a bridge that overlooks New Mills South Junction. Here’s how it looked the last time I was here in May 2000.
158744 heads for Manchester past New Mills South Junction signalbox on the 26th May 2000.
Here’s how it looks now. Not much has changed.
A pair of Trans-Pennine Express Class 185s thunder through the junction on their way to Sheffield.This trans-pennine route sees a lot of freight traffic due to the Peak District quarries and cement works. The old Midland Railway signalbox has had a bit of a makeover in recent years. Now the signallers have the benefit of a outside loo at working level!
Having got the shots that I wanted I walked back into New Mills and caught the train to Edale, where I am now, enjoying a pint, a warm and the wifi in the Ramblers Inn by the station. It’s a cracking pub to stay the night in, or just pop in for a meal or a pint. Here’s a few shots from when I first arrived.
Another TPE service scurries through the Hope valley, this time bound for Cleethorpes.An empty stone train from Bletchley (near London) makes its way back to the Peak District quarries for another load. There’s worse views to gaze upon whilst you’re waiting to photograph trains. Here’s Lose Hill, part of the ridge that I love walking as the views are sublime.
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Having been confined to the Calder valley all week and waking up to a day where all you could see was fog I decided to take a break. But where to? Halfway through the night and in a semi-dream state my mind had hit on the idea of a trip to Blackpool, where the weather was predicted to be sunny. I’d not been for several years, so the idea appealed. Little did I know…
The trip there was easy. Direct trains from Sowerby Bridge are in short supply nowadays but it’s easy to make a connection a couple of stops down the line at Hebden Bridge. This time of year it’s not too much of a challenge to get a seat (or table) which I managed to do all the way to the coast.
En-route, the fog cleared, leaving us to travel under clear blue skies through the old ‘cotton country’ of Burnley, Accrington and Blackburn. We weren’t so lucky by Preston and the last few miles into Blackpool were bedeviled by high, hazy cloud. Even so, it was better than where I’d left.
A new tram terminus has opened since I was last in Blackpool. Now the system (which only used to run along the seafront) has a spur which ends just outside the railway station in an area that’s seen a lot of redevelopment. Much of Blackpool’s centre has seen a large injection of money over the past decade. There’s only one drawback. Whilst you can invest in infrastructure, how do you rebuild people?
Tram 001 at the new terminus. The railways station can be reached through the subway behind. Tram 001 leaves the new terminus and heads for Starr Gate.Tram 002 swings off the Promenade to head for the new terminus.
Having grabbed a few pictures of the changes I took a stroll along the seafront. In many ways there’s few things more depressing than a British seaside town out of season, when most things are closed. Trust me – I know. I grew up in one. (Southport, just the other side of the Ribble estuary).
The Central pier looks attractive in backlit light.
What added to the depression was the people. The hordes of pensioners and obese people on mobility scooters raised a wry smile as they reminded me of a ‘Monty Python’ sketch about ‘Hell’s Grannies’. It was the political undertow that I struggled with. Overhearing a young person holding forth in their criticism of Keir Starmer, who, in their opinion was the ‘leader of the liberal party’ (eh?). Shortly afterwards I watched the antics of a drunken young man draped in a Union flag being filmed by a couple of people who’d obviously set and staged an interview with him using Blackpool Tower as a backdrop. One of the pair was trying and failing to film with a drone which he clearly couldn’t control. I assume that this excrescence (if it ever makes it) will appear on TikTok or suchlike. I spotted said idiot wandering around later, carrying a speaker blasting out ‘Keir Starmer’s a w*nker’ on repeat. Such is the level of political discourse in Blackpool it seems.
Nothing sums up the state of English patriotism more than wandering around the streets draped in a tattered union flag whilst playing abusive songs.
Having justified being there by getting a couple of useful pictures I beat a hasty retreat, catching a train to Preston just as the rain arrived, reinforcing my reasons for getting the hell out of the place. I can’t think of any reason to return for a while…
*for those wondering, the title of this blog comes from a song by one of the bands that defined my teenage years, ‘Jethro Tull’ who were formed in Blackpool back in 1967. ‘Up the pool’ is a track off their classic 1972 album ‘Living in the Past’, which rather summed today up!
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We’ve had an absolutely glorious day here in the Calder valley as we’ve seen blue skies and warmer temperatures all day. It really does feel like Spring has arrived. Just getting out to feel the sun on my skin again (no need for winter woolies) has been wonderful. Almost overnight blossom has started to appear on trees near us, whilst the birdsong has reached a crescendo as our feathered friends realise it’ll soon be time to find a mate – and they’re on it!
What’s been less inspiring has been human activity and Trump’s ‘operation divert from the Epstein files’, AKA the undeclared war on Iran. This reached a new low today when an American submarine sank an Iranian military ship off the coast of Sri Lanka. Why? Other than the fact they could, because they had a submarine in the area? The 1,500 tonne ‘Dena’ was no threat to anyone. It had been taking part in joint exercises with the Indian and other navies 3000km away from Iran. Over 100 sailors have died. I hold no candle for the theocrats of Iran, but this seems like a completely unwarranted attack that not only demeans the US but also paints a big target on US ships not in a war zone as it sets a precedent. There’s something else that’s uncomfortable too. The US submarine – despite being in absolutely no danger from anyone – failed to assist survivors. Even German U-boat captains during world war 2 were known to help survivors of the ships that they sunk (despite the risks). This does not look good on America, but I’ve no doubt their apologists will be out in full flow.
I can’t help thinking that Trump and his acolytes are taking the USA in a very dark direction. Far from being the ‘beacon of democracy’ they now look no better than some of the countries they criticise. America’s gone from the world’s policeman to the world’s bully. I also note that the Americans don’t call this a war, it’s akin to a ‘special military operation’. Now, where have we heard that before, and who from? That SVO’s going as well as can be expected too…
We live in dark times. Well, apart from spring appearing here in the UK, obviously. So, on that brighter note, I leave you with a picture I took just down the road earlier today.
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Thanks to the orange fool in the White House mine and everybody else’s weekend turned out to be rather different than planned. After weeks of military build-up, with fleets of aircraft crossing the pond from the US to Britain and the Middle-East, Trump finally decides to bomb Iran, along with his mate from Israel.
Needless to say, this has turned into a mess from day 1, not least because none of the protagonists seem to have a plan. Having killed Iran’s Supreme Leader (no loss) and many of the Iranian leadership there’s no sign that Trump knows what to do now, what the strategic aims are – or how long the war will last. Mind you, the Iranians don’t seem to have much of a clue either – other than to hurl missiles and drones around the Middle-East, hitting mostly civilian targets across the Gulf. Talk about how to make friends and influence people. Meanwhile, Russia – who’re meant to be Iran’s firm ally – send nothing but ‘thoughts and prayers’. Mind you, the hardware they sold previously wasn’t much cop. The missile systems bought at great cost to defend Tehran have proved to be as much use as a chocolate fireguard (just as they have been in defending Russian targets from Ukraine). The US and Israel are now reported to ‘control the skies’ above Tehran which is going to be causing some consternation amongst the surviving Mullahs and military. Even more embarrassing is the fact the Kuwaiti’s have proved to be better at shooting down American aircraft than the Iranians, apparently the score currently stands at 3-0.
Thankfully, our Prime Minister has stepped back from Trump’s coat-tails, learned the lessons from the 2003 Gulf War and taken the pragmatic decision to only allow UK airbases to be used by the US to knock out Iranian missile systems in order to defend British citizens and interests. Common-sense prevails.
Whilst this war is anything but something to laugh about, I couldn’t help but crack a wry smile at the antics of the UK tax-exiles in Dubai who (after slagging the UK odd as being ‘unsafe’) are suddenly expecting UK taxpayers to save their necks. That wonderful German word ‘Schadenfreude’ springs to mind. I can’t help thinking of the brave Ukrainians, who’ve endured their cities being attacked night after night, looking at these Dubai immigrants having hysteria and thinking ‘you think a couple of drones is bad’?
An unfortunate consequence of all this is that any plans I have to head out to SE Asia with any of the Middle-Eastern airlines are currently on hold until we see how all this pans out. In some ways, the timing couldn’t be better as I’ve just had a renewal notice for our annual travel insurance. Talk about making your eyes water! It’s gone up from £117 to £390. They’ve not got back to me yet when I emailed them to say ‘WTF’? but I’m assuming that it’s because I’ve now crossed over into old-fartdom by hitting 66.
So, bugger that, I’m going to be shopping around. But now I have the time to do so…
I’ll be working from home for the next few days as I’ve a lot of admin to sort out. Hopefully, I’ll have chance to get out now and then as the weather’s really looking to be improving as spring certainly feels to be in the air, which brings me to today’s picture which was taken in Halifax on Saturday. Have a crocus. In fact, have lots of them!
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Today, Reform were soundly beaten in the Gorton and Denton by-election by the Greens (by more than 4400 votes). As a consequence – and almost within minutes of the result being declared, the right-wing and their friends across the media have rolled out the Trump playbook to claim the election was ‘stolen’, the latest excuse being due to ‘family voting’. Here’s the full results.
Allegedly, Muslim families were persuaded by the head of the household NOT to vote for the racist from St Albans (Matt Goodwin) and instead vote for *checks notes* a woman from a party led by a gay Jew!
How stupid do you have to be to fall for this?
That hasn’t stopped the media going full-tilt on this angle this morning, but the flaws in the argument are obvious. This was not a close election. The Greens majority is 4402. Pus, there’s the rather inconvenient fact that the Muslim population aren’t even close to being a majority in the constituency.
No matter how you try and spin it, the idea the election was ‘stolen’ from Reform by the Asian community simply doesn’t stack up. But hey, what do facts matter when you can just blame Muslims?
Oh, to add to the fun. The latest far-right party led by a millionaire (aren’t they all) – ‘Restore’ was beaten by the Monster Raving Loony Party by 159 votes to 154 despite fielding a local candidate, Nick Buckley. There’s several things to be learned from this. One is that most people haven’t got a clue who ‘Restore’ or its leader (Rupert Lowe) are, either nationally or in Manchester. Lowe, who was too racist for Farage and got kicked out of ‘Reform’ formed his own party this year. Lowe has an army of bots on social media who constantly ‘big him up’ but bots can’t vote, so when it comes to the real world he fails to make any impression. A handful of Reform Councillors have defected to his new party which has been amusing to watch but the chances of them holding onto their seats isn’t great. The idea that ‘Restore’ will ever be anything other than a syphon for a few far-right votes is the stuff of fantasy.
There was also bad news for the Conservatives, who had a terrible result. Just 706 votes, which led to them losing their deposit. Oddly, a lot of the media have glossed over this fact. I wonder why?
So, whatever way you cut the result, the by-election’s been a poor one for the far-right. All their bluster on social media and their army of bots has failed to swing this, but that’s not for the first time. Reform have failed to win the last THREE by-elections. They lost to Plaid Cymru in Caerphilly (Wales) and Labour in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse (Scotland). So, that’s failures in England, Scotland and Wales! It’s worth mentioning that the only by-election ‘Reform’ have won was Runcorn, where their odious candidate Sarah Pochin scraped in by a mere 6 votes.
Meanwhile, the former British home secretary and Buddhist daughter of a Kenyan descendant of Goan Catholics, and a Mauritian Hindu descendent of Indian Tamils, born in Harrow, studied in New York, married to a Jewish South African who lived In Israel says multiculturalism has failed, which suggests multiculturalism is thriving but irony is certainly dead…
Of course, the election’s a disappointment for the Government and some of the media are back to their usual trick of painting this as throwing Keir Starmer’s leadership into question – so no change there then! The truth is less dramatic. I predict that Starmer is safe for several reasons, not least because he has a massive majority of over 160 MPs, that there’s no real appetite in the party for changing horses midstream as well as the fact there’s no obvious candidate to replace him. Plus, there’s 3 years to go until the next general election, which gives Labour time to turn things around, and for Reform to continue to stumble as their local councils expose just how incompetent they are.
In the meantime, congratulations toHannah Spencer, the new MP. Now, is their any chance that you might be able to get a daily train service restored to Denton, which only sees one train each way on a Saturday?
156426 calls at Denton whilst working 2J45, the return 09:04 Stockport to Stalybridge on the 21st September 2024.
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 