There’s not much of a blog from me today, mainly because of the fact there’s been little of note happening today, just much of a muchness. I’ve plenty of things I could write about but there’s no time left in the day to do it! It’s time to switch off for the evening after a long day working on pictures, paperwork and plans…
Today’s picture is from the latest batch of old slide scans from the USA. I took this shot in Yosemite National Park in Northern California on the 29th October 1990. Our little band had booked a cabin for a couple of nights so that we could go walking in the park. On the first morning I spotted this shot as the rising sun was filtered by the pine trees around the camp and the wood-smoke from camp fires added an extra filtering effect. Magic!
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Saturday’s been another quiet day here in the Calder Valley, mainly because the weather’s not been up to much and Dawn’s been out with a friend, so I’ve been left to my own (electronic) devices for the day. I’d toyed with the idea of going for a long walk but the fact I’d have been soaked in the process put a damper on that idea. Instead I found myself passing time scanning yet more old slides, editing pictures and carrying out household chores, which kept me occupied until the rain decided to give us all a break, allowing me to venture out to enjoy a walk down into Sowerby Bridge, potter along the Rochdale canal, then climb the hill to home. Normally Sowerby Bridge would be busy with day-trippers and other tourists this time of year but the town was surprisingly quiet. Covid’s still having an impact as sensible people are being cautious at the moment. That said, I walked past our local narrowboat hire company (Shire Cruisers) only to find their basin completely empty as all their boats are out on hire. After the awful time they must have had in 2020 this was a sight for sore eyes. I must admit to a flash of jealousy. A group of friends and I hired one of their boats back in 2006 and had a fabulous time cruising from Sowerby Bridge up to the Leeds and Liverpool canal and across the Pennines towards Blackburn. I’ve always harbored an ambition to own a narrowboat and seriously considered buying one a few years ago, but plans got put on hold because of ‘events’ on the UK political scene. Maybe one day…
Having avoided the temptation to stop for a pint in Sowerby I dodged the rain on the way home and called in at a local hostelry just down the road called the Wainhouse Tavern. It was never my local pub, that was a place called The Big 6, but the 6 has been sold and legal bureaucracy over the transfer of ownership has meant it’s remained closed despite the lifting of lockdown, so the Wainhouse has become a sort of surrogate where I know I may be able to see a few familiar faces and have a chat and a joke. After months and months of lockdowns and as a freelance who can lead a fairly solitary and nomadic existence that’s lovely to be able to do now and again.
I didn’t linger longer than a couple of pints and now I’m back home at Bigland Towers sorting out a few more bits whilst Dawn (who’s returned from Holmfirth) cooks her amazing Spanish Prawns dish, so there’s just enough time left for me to post the picture of the day, which ia another old slide from my latest batch of pictures from the USA.
I took this picture in San Francisco, California on the 26th October 1990 as one of the iconic cable cars was being rotated on a turntable at the end of the line. I must admit to loving the old San Fran cable cars, they’re such a great way to travel and the folks who staffed them were brilliant as they were such wise-crackers and naturals with people, locals and tourists alike.
I rather fell in love with the city when I was there, although, bizarrely I’ve never been back since – despite having visited the USA many times afterwards. I’ve always promised myself – ‘one day’. Mind you, with the way Covid’s clipped my wings I’d settle for travelling anywhere outside this Sceptic Isle right now! I can’t wait for the world to start opening up again…
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It’s been a lazy Sunday here at Bigland Towers. The pair of us (well, the three of us really, as Jet our cat was in no rush to do anything either) had a slow morning drinking coffee, catching up on the news and watching the world go by. The only thing missing was having a Sunday newspaper spread out on the bed, but those days are long gone. I can’t think of the last time I bought one. Partly because there’s no local newsagent for miles, but also because the world’s moved online and I can pick and choose from loads of different news sources now. The difficulty is finding a reliable one! Talking of which, I was planning to dissect Simon Jenkin’s latest fact-free rant about HS2 in Saturday’s Guardian, but that can wait until another day. It’ll have exactly the same effect as all his other rants going back a decade. In other words, Zilch. Instead, I spent a couple of hours researching, reading through the minutes of last months Transport Select Committee meeting which heard from Birmingham’s Mayor, Andy Street and also HS2’s CEO, Mark Thurston. When you read their words verbatim it becomes obvious just how lazy the media reporting of their words was. I’ll be including excerpts when I fillet Jenkins rant.
The afternoon was far less lazy. Dawn went into ‘Domestic Goddess mode and spent several hours in the kitchen, experimenting with cake-baking recipes in order to perfect a cake for a friend’s wedding whilst I retreated to the office to sort out more old pictures. I have to admit the smells coming from the kitchen were divine. Dee’s a brilliant cook and really enjoys baking. It’s not something I’ve ever got into personally, my forte is more Asian and starters and main course dishes rather than sweets and desserts.
The day wasn’t all about food, we did both manage to get out for a stroll, even if it wasn’t far, just through our local woods along the promenade overlooking the Calder valley and thence around Savile Park, but it was good to be able to feel virtuous by hitting our daily exercise marks.
Now we’re home for another quiet evening, but as it’s going to be a busy week that’s hardly a problem. So, I’m going to leave you with today’s picture which is taken from another of the batch of old slides taken in the USA back in 1990. No animals today, this is very much a man-made structure. I took this shot of Big Creek bridge on State Highway 1 on the California coast on the 25th October 1990.
Opened in 1938, this graceful bridge is a 589 feet long, 24 feet wide open spandrel, concrete deck arch structure designed by Christian Theophil Gutleben. Each span is 178 feet wide and 65 feet above ground level. It’s quite an impressive sight when you first glimpse it as you approach along the coast from the South, but then the California coast road is a lovely route with several similar structures. There parking places at either end so that you can stop, admire the bridge, sea or cliffs and take photographs.
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Gordon Bennett – it’s almost August! I’m struggling to understand how the year’s managed to fly by so quickly. It is said by some that as you get older time does seem to do that. I’m now finding myself in agreement with that view. Today’s not been the most exciting one at Bigland Towers, unless you count the cat losing one of his last two teeth! The old boy was going to the vets today for a check-up and have his bloods done. Just as we were about to load him into his basket Dawn discovered one of his two front bottom fangs (all he’s got left) had dropped out and was stuck to his fur! It caused us a few palpitations en-route to the vets as we had visions of another large dental bill. The vet was less worried than us and explained that this was normal in old cats. Their bodies reject their teeth, dissolving them until they fall out. Jet was actually fine and there was no need for any dental work, which was a huge relief. Mind you, the bill for the blood tests and treatments still came to £180!
Having dropped the moggie back at home we decided to get out for a bit and go for a drive, visiting local places we’ve not seen for ages due to Covid. It turned into a bit of a random trip as we kept getting detoured through dodging tractors on the narrow country roads. In the end we decided to ‘go with the flow’ and see where we ended up – which was high above Mytholmroyd where we stopped to admire the view from the one bit of road where it was safe to stop without worrying about getting mown down by farm machinery! The road led us to Hebden Bridge but we didn’t stop as the place was packed. Instead we doubled back along the valley bottom and called in at one of our locals, the Moorcock Inn for a quick drink before food shopping and home. It may be Saturday night, but we’re happy to have a quiet one at home with good food, a drink and a film on TV. Not exactly the ‘rock and roll’ but far more relaxing!
So, what’s the picture of the day? I’d been wondering that myself but I’ve plumped for one of the latest batch of slides in the queue for scanning. I took this shot on the 25th October 1990. Four of us had pitched up on the West Coast of the USA for a touring holiday. Having hired a car in LA we drove up the coast to San Francisco. It was a brilliant trip and on the way we stopped at the wharf in Monterey, California which was teeming with pelicans, either roosting on roofs, or perched on poles like this one. It beat seagulls, that’s for sure…
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The week’s got off to a mundane start with no excitements or surprises, but after the ‘fun’ of last week that’s really no bad thing. The weather’s been mixed, with temperatures remaining stick in single figures so spring still seems some way off but the lighter nights are certainly welcomes, as was a few hours of sunshine which really brightened the place up. The forecast for the rest of the week isn’t looking much better so I’m assuming I’ll be spending most of my time office-bound, which is no bad thing. At least I’ve plenty of exotic pictures to look at.
One bright spot in the day was taking our moggie (Jet) for a check-up at the vets and hearing that he’s in no immediate danger. OK, he’s nineteen and a half, and he has long-term kidney problems, but considering we thought we were going to lose the old boy last week this is actually a result! Hopefully he’ll be here to get under our feet (and set traps for me at the top of the stairs) for some time yet…
My latest batch of slide scans has provided me today’s picture of the day, which features what’s probably the planet’s most famous hole in the ground. I took this shot at the Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA on the 3rd November 1990. Four of us were touring the West Coast together and we stopped on night at the Canyon so that we could see what it looked like at sunrise. We weren’t disappointed.
Once I’ve got all the pictures scanned I’ll set up a USA travel gallery on my Zenfolio website as I realise I only have one for rail pictures – which is an odd omission as I have travel shots from 3 previous visits to the States. Ho hum!
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I’m saying that because looking forward to the next week as by Friday Dawn and I come out of social-isolation and get to stare at and share more than four walls. Neither of us felt that it was likely we’d contracted Covid because of the contact Dawn had, but what we weren’t willing to do was put others at risk. It’s a sentiment that’s obviously been unfashionable in some circles, but all we can say is we’ve done our bit.
The feeling of isolation was doubled today by the fact the Calder Valley’s been covered in fog for the duration. Visibility’s been down to 2-3 hundred metres at best. So, the pair of us have been feeling like we’re living up in the clouds whilst keeping occupied pottering around in our gilded cage. Dee’s been busy being a domestic goddess whilst I’ve kept myself occupied blogging and eBaying…
Still, talking of ‘gilded cages’, has anyone seen any sense, contrition or humility (fat chance) coming from the Ex-President of the United States yet? No. Me neither. It looks like he’s going to spend his remaining days playing golf at taxpayers expense until he’s finally kicked out of the place. I mean, seriously – the man’s just lost the election and what’s he been doing since? Ignoring the result to spend the past two days on a golf course! Surely, even some of the people who voted for him might just be starting to think “well, this is a bit weird”, but maybe I’m being too charitable. Actually, after everything I’ve seem of Trump’s voters and staffers I’m sure I am.
Talking of Washington, here’s another picture of the day that I stumbled on whilst researching others. It rather fits the current theme of events. I took this at Chinatown station on the Washington metro on the 3rd April 2007.
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Finally, after the political shitshows and shambles of the past few years, we actually have something to celebrate. The orange cry-baby who’s inhabited the White House since 2016 has finally got his comeuppance thanks to the American voters. Oh, I know it’s not the end of the story, but it is (hopefully) the beginning of the end for populist politics and the poisonous ‘alt-right’ who have done so much to make this a less pleasant planet to live on (as if we’ve an option to go anywhere else).
Yes, I know the fat lady hasn’t sung yet, but the numbers show that we know exactly what she will when she does. Trump’s finished.
Watching his presidency unravel through the day has kept me going as the weather here in the Calder valley’s been miserable. We’ve had fog blocking us in all day, so much so I’ve forgotten what the other side of the valley looks like! Mind you, it’s not as if I can go anywhere at the moment anyway, so I’ve not been too concerned. Instead, I’ve concentrated on those mundane little chores that can actually be quite therapeutic, like chopping back the front garden ready for winter. I’ve always enjoyed gardening and would love to have the size of garden that I had in London, but that’s not on the cards right now, so I content myself with what we have. On the bright side – it doesn’t take all day to chop back! Whilst I’ve been busy pottering Dawn’s been busy in the kitchen as we’ve had a delivery from Sainsbury’s. This is the first time we’ve ever indulged in getting groceries delivered so I can imagine some folks will be thinking ‘what’s the fuss’? But for us it’s a novel experience. Now we’ve stocked up with edible goodies Dee’s busy making her brilliant Bakewell Tart whilst I’m finishing off research for a blog – and toasting the fact Trump’s toast – which brings me on to the picture of the day. This seemed rather appropriate. I took it in Washington DC on the 3rd April 2007 in the midst of the cherry blossom season. Washington looks stunning at that time of year. Let this be a metaphor for the (re)blossoming of democracy in the USA now that Trump and his cohorts have been defeated at the ballot box.
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Just a straight picture today, no rants or biography as I’ve been too busy sorting out work commitments and scanning a few old slides – just to try and keep up the momentum.
I took this shot on the 25th May 2018 at Broadway Junction, New York. I love industrial as well as railway archeology and this fits the bill. The NY metro is elevated at this point and there’s lots of abandoned routes under the existing lines, you can see the girders that supported them sweeping around in broad curves.
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 need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
After a pretty good flight with BA from Gatwick we’re starting our first full day in the city. As a veteran of long-haul flights to SE Asia the seven and a half hour flight was a doddle. Our Boeing 777-200 was dated but comfortable and the crew were really good, the only annoyance was the entertainment system. The seatback screens were tiny. The choice of films was good but the system kept dropping out or freezing every few minutes which made films unwatchable. I’d been looking forward to catching up on a few of the new releases so I found it really frustrating. Still, first world problems eh?
I’ve not been to New York since 2006 but Dawn’s never visited. To say she was excited was an understatement. She was almost bouncing up and down in her seat when we got the big yellow taxi from JFK to central Manhatten! As we passed through Times Square all I could hear was “Oh, wow!” On a loop!
When we flow in the weather was dull and wet, that’s now clearing and the city’s expecting to be baking in full sunshine from later this morning. I’ll post a few pictures later as time permits. Right, now we’re off to hit the streets…
11.30.
We’re currently sitting in Grand Central station, taking the weight off our feet whilst soaking up the atmosphere. This is what it’s like now.
I’ve started a New York gallery on my Zenfolio website. Here’s a link if you want to see the full selection of pictures as they’re taken I can’t add them all to my blogs.
Meanwhile, I’m rather dubious about this quote we came across. I’m not sure U-bends can compete with the mysteries of time and space…
Paul Bigland 