I may have to bite a proverbial tongue but I promise not to mention the election and the latest Tory shitshows today. It would take too long and I expect most people are as bored of them as I am. This torture can’t end soon enough – for the good of the country and our sanity – if nothing else.
Today’s been the first day back at work for Dawn after her long weekend which I kind of mirrored by taking some time off myself. Today we’ve both been back our respective desks here at Bigland Towers. This has been a good day to be stuck indoors to be honest. Whilst we’ve had a fair bit of sunshine the temperatures are anything but what you’d hope to expect in June. The past few days have been so chilly that our central heating has switched itself back on as the thermostat has reached it’s critical low. Not what I’d expect this time of year at all. But then the climate is seriously out of kilter. I can’t remember a year as wet as this. We’re in ‘four seasons in one day’ territory at the moment, which could be fun as in a couple of weeks I’ll be involved in the annual ‘3 peaks by rail’ event, raising money for the Railway Children charity. Conditions on Ben Nevis could be rather challenging. Right now the weather forecast is telling me it’s 8 degrees here, so this is hardly ‘flaming June’ – except in the pejorative sense. Don’t get me wrong, I’m anything but a climate change sceptic, I know the weather’s changing and warming up (on averages) but the amount of rain we’re getting as a consequence is unreal.
Tomorrow I’ve another day which will be spent working from home as it’s almost certainly going to be a waste of time getting out with the camera as there’s yet more rain being predicted in this neck of the woods. Shame, as I’ve just started a new Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade on my Zenfolio website. This mirrors the High Speed 2 construction gallery as both projects will be under construction for many years and placing all the pictures in their own galleries makes sense. You can find the link here. Tomorrow could be a good day to migrate a lot of existing pictures to the new gallery.
Right, it’s time to go. All that remains is to leave you with today’s picture. But what to choose? I’m leaving you with a food shot – tonight’s supper. This is hardly salad weather so Dawn decided to cook the pair of us something a little more substantial…
Salmon, new potato’s, carrots, broccoli, green beans and a butter, lemon and honey sauce. Yum!
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I’ve taken a short break from blogging these past few days. It’s not that there’s been nothing to write about, I merely wanted to change focus slightly and give myself some time off. Dawn’s been away with friends so I’ve had the place to myself and decided to catch-up on reading rather than writing. Plus, the absolute shit-show that is the Conservatives election campaign could have led me to another bout of spleen-venting. I really don’t know what to say about Sunak. His incompetence and arrogance (in equal measure) have led him to make the most jaw-droppingly ridiculous mistakes – and there’s still several more weeks of the campaign to go. Rather than narrowing the polling gap with Labour he’s actually managed to increase it! God knows what foul-ups he’ll make next.
Away from the political circus I took time out late last week to have a look at progress on the Trans-Pennine route upgrade between Huddersfield and Dewsbury. One of the biggest worksites is at Ravensthorpe. Not only is the existing station being relocated, there’s also a flyover and brand new section of line being built to the South of the existing alignment. Right now there’s a huge amount of earthmoving going on to prepare formerly derelict land to receive the new railway. Piling work has also commenced. Here’s a few pictures taken from a passing train.
Meanwhile, Huddersfield station roof is gradually disappearing as the area’s being shrouded in scaffolding.
The Sheffield bay platform seen through the scaffolding.Over in the old goods yard this massive office block has appeared.
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/
We’ve had another quiet day here at Bigland Towers due to the fact we’ve both had plenty of office work to keep us occupied, plus the weather’s been crap! Consistent it ain’t! There’s been no ‘flaming June’ here today. Instead we’ve had wind, rain and temperatures that make you want to wear several layers. It’s only this evening that the skies have cleared and the sunshine’s returned, but the temperature’s remained in single figures.
Still, I’ve had the latest general election fiascos and maneuverings to raise a smile. Honestly, what an absolute shambles for the Tories! I cannot think of another time when – instead of narrowing the polling gap, the party of Government widens it! Sunak’s an absolute disaster at hustings and his PR team want shooting (that’s metaphorical, OK – just before some people start to get wound-up). His campaign’s one disaster after another. Who in their right mind thought using an empty whiteboard in a Tik-Tok video was a good idea? Labour’s PR people were like greased lightning with their response, which got far more views than the original. Then the Lib-Dems (who seem to be having the most fun) photobombed Sunak from a boat.
Now, to add to the Tories sense of doom, Nigel Falange – sorry – Farage, has announced he’s standing for Parliament in Clacton! Admittedly, this is the ultimate in cynical opportunism by Farage. Originally, the UK wasn’t important enough for him. He claimed he was going to be a major player in getting grifter-in-Chief, Donald Trump back in the White House. Then Trump became a felon with 35 convictions, so the grifters gravy-train looked like it was going to hit the buffers. Suddenly, Farage did a reverse-ferret and decided that the UK election was worth his time. Well, grifters gonna grift.
Could he finally get elected on his eighth attempt? Possibly, Clacton’s very Brexity and if they’ve learned nothing since the referendum, voters may just be stupid enough to choose him. But it’s not guaranteed. Part of me hopes they will as it will finally expose the charlatan to UK public scrutiny in the way his previous role as an MEP never did. He’d make an absolute arse of himself in the House of Commons, if he could ever bother to turn up. He’d be a party of one. Can you imagine, just him and the other party of one (Jeremy Corbyn) having to share the end of a bench? His only hope would be that what’s going to be left of the Tories after the election will welcome him back – driving the Tory rump even further to the right and away from the political mainstream. Thinking about it, that might actually help put the final nail in the Tory party’s coffin…
Still, the whole circus will keep the media occupied for a while, just as the milk-shake throwing incident has today. Was it a set-up as some people claim? I’ve no idea, but I wouldn’t put it past Farage. He has form for these things. Either way, none of it is going to affect Labour’s standing in the polls, just as the hard-left shenanigans haven’t. Labour had a wobble over Diane Abbott standing, but it’s been a minor one that’s soon been eclipsed by other events. Meanwhile, there’s a debate twixt Starmer and Sunak in Manchester this evening, not that I’ll be watching as I’ve better things to do.
Tomorrow I’ll be back in London for a press lunch, so expect another rolling blog and pictures. In the meantime, here’s today’s picture. Yesterday Dawn and I had to pop over to Huddersfield to visit the dentists, afterwards we had a lovely lunch at Arcade coffee in the gorgeous Byram arcade before Dee had to call into her company office at the station water tower. That’s when I spotted today’s picture…
Wait? What?
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Bloody hell! It’s June already! To be honest the new month’s made a welcome arrival as it’s started on a weekend that’s brought some gorgeous and much-needed sunshine. I’ve been based in the Calder valley but not entirely at home. On Saturday the friends of Mytholmroyd station had an open day at their station building. This was in conjunction with the local historical society, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Rly society and other supporters. I dropped in for a while to help them with photographs whilst enjoying the atmosphere. A local gospel choir kept visitors entertained whilst they waited to join one of the organised walks around the village whilst other folk amused themselves looking through the collection of old photographs, posters and artwork on display inside the station building. Here’s a few pictures from the day.
The station building’s celebrating an important anniversary this year, as these signs mounted on the platforms proclaim.
Today (Sunday) has been a more home-based day. I made the most of the weather by spending much of my time gardening and trying to control the weed that threaten to take over the terraces at the back of the cottage. Everything’s growing at such a rate of knots now all I have to do is turn my back and the brambles start to encroach. Mind you, the wildlife can cause a few problems too. I had to scare off a Fox that (as bold as brass and in the middle of the day) decided to try and bury a chicken thigh (left out by a neighbour) right in the middle of one of my flowerbeds, and right outside the kitchen window too. Cheeky bugger!
Hopefully, this is the start of summer, but I’m not going to hold my breath. The weather’s been so unpredictable this year I wouldn’t be in the least surprised if we have snow by Friday!
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It’s a bit of a busman’s holiday for me today. I’m travelling to London for lunch with an old friend, then heading back later as both Dawn and I have another (railway related) appointment tomorrow.
On my walk to the station I couldn’t resist taking a detour past the Big 6 to see what the film crew were up to. The surrounding streets are now clogged with trucks and vans whilst the pub itself has disappeared behind scaffolding which is holding the blackout curtains in place.
The front……and back.
Right now I’m on Grand Central’s 08:13 from Halifax to Kings Cross. There’s been a last minute set swap which has led to the service being worked by one of their hired-in Class 221 ‘Voyager’ trains rather than the expected Class 180. This has caused some confusion amongst passengers as the seat reservations are all mixed up!
A sea of reservation labels aboard this GC service.
I rarely travel by GC nowadays so it was lovely to bump into an old friend working the train. Javid is one of the original West Yorkshire crews. Most have left or (like Javid) been promoted. He’s gone from a Customer Service Assistant to Train Manager (Guard in old money). Quite a few of his contemporaries are now Drivers with GC or other train companies. We had time for a catch up after leaving Halifax and before the train filled up even more at Brighouse. GC is a real success story. Their passenger numbers have grown massively with most trains being fully booked (one of the reasons I don’t use them as much) so it’s good to hear they’ll soon be introducing a 5th West Riding service.
I’d planned to do some work on the train but on unpacking my bag I realised I’l left my laptop lead at home! I’d been sneaking around this morning in order not to disturb Dawn so hadn’t checked. The battery won’t last there and back, so I’ll take it easy, save it for later and enjoy the journey instead.
09:00.
We’ve just left Wakefield Kirkgate, which is a busy exchange stop for GC because many people use the train to get there from Bradford and Halifax. They’re replaced by other passengers for Doncaster and London.
En-route I had chance to observe TRU progress. The most noticeable changes are the massive mounds of earth being moved at Ravensthorpe where the ‘dive under’ junction is being created. I need to pay another photographic visit soon. The abandoned marshalling yard at Healy Mills is seeing some changes too with many of the old sidings being lifted to create space for the new TRU construction yard.
09:55.
Having found the wifi wasn’t working on my GC set, and having something I wanted to get shots off at Doncaster I opted to change trains. This gave me just long enough to photograph what I was after, grab some library shots of the GC train and crews swapping over, then board the following LNER service. I’m now chasing the Voyager which I’ll catch up at Kings Cross! The 10-car LNER service (ex Harrogate) is the train I was originally aiming for at Leeds. It’s packed full of families and groups en-route to the capital although I have managed to bag an unoccupied seat that had been reserved from Wakefield. The wifi’s working, so I’m quickly blogging from my laptop and catching up on some work before switching off again.
11:15.
We’re now South of Stevenage and the weather’s rather disappointing. I’ve left behind sunshine in Yorkshire for the grey and dismal South! Hang on, isn’t it meant to be grim up North? Apparently (according to the Met Office) my Southern sojourn may be enlivened by heavy showers and even thunderstorms. Ho hum…
11:40.
Arrived…
21:30.
Mind the gap..
Sorry about that but I’ve had a lovely time in old haunts in North London with a group of friends from the industry where Chatham House rules (and more) apply. Gosh, did we all cover some territory – from both ends of the political spectrum – but, as old friends we still remained civil. Now I’m back in’t North, aboard a train from Leeds to Halifax.
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We’ve had another mixed day here at Bigland Towers. This morning Dawn was off to Manchester for a meeting with various Community Rail friends and colleagues regarding the history of the movement and an ambition to establish an archive relating to it. I’d had half a mind to pop over to Manchester too, but a glance at the weather forecast told me I’d be wasting my time. So, whilst Dawn was off on her travels I played the homebird! Talk about role-reversal…
My day flew by. After spending much of the morning researching stuff for my next RAIL article I closed down the computer to change roles and indulge in some DIY. I’ve been boarding out the cottage’s loft to add some (much-needed) storage space, but it’s a dirty, cramped job due to the condition of the loft and lack of space and the ‘interesting’ items you find. Dawn bought the cottage off a policeman many years ago, her view of the guardians of law and order has been ‘colourful’ ever since. In essence, said boy in blue had bodged just about everything in the property before putting it on the market. The place is a bloody minefield! Over the years I’ve managed to sort out many of his short-cuts and fakery but the loft space was always ‘out of sight, so out of mind’. Not any more. I’ve almost finished it, I just require a few more boards to cover the last couple of meters but the amount of crap, soot, rubble and other detritus I’ve removed that was hidden under rockwool has been amazing.
Having acquitted myself honorably on the DIY front I grabbed a shower then headed off for a walk and a pint, calling in at our local, the Big 6 for a ‘swifty’. I hardly recognised the place. A film company are taking over for the day tomorrow to shoot a new Alan Bennett screenplay called ‘The Choral’. It’s set in 1916, so the ‘Six’ was deemed ideal, well, once anything that didn’t fit the period was removed! That’s included everything off the walls and picture rail – and almost everything behind the bar – including optics, spirits and glasses! Meanwhile, the nearby road has been coned off for all the crew trailers and technical kit to arrive and the front and back of the pubs been swathed in scaffolding to install the blackout curtains which will turn day into night. And all this for one day’s filming! Here’s a few pictures as an illustration.
The stripped down bar sans optics, spirit bottles and modern beer classes. In their place is a few pewter tankards and fake beer bottles along with period beer glasses. The last vestiges of the 21st century will be stripped out after closing time. It’s a bit bare! Oh, and the gas fire has been hidden behind a screen.
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Another day of mixed fortunes here at Bigland Towers. The pair of us have been busy in our respective home offices, only meeting up in the kitchen to swap news and gossip. Still, from my perspective it’s been a productive day. I’ve finished penning my next article for RAIL magazine and even begun the next with some forward research and commitments from various players within Northern trains that will make it possible. I won’t say what it’s about just yet but it will give a ‘behind the scenes’ insight into an important operational area.
If only the weather had been so good. Frankly, if you were spending much time outside you’d have no idea that we’re on the cusp of June and only a few weeks away from the official start of summer. It’s neither warm, dry nor sunny here in the Pennines. Instead, we have the sort of weather that makes you hanker for foreign holidays and sunnier climes.
As Dee’s off to a meeting in Manchester tomorrow I’d had half a mind to follow her but the forecast tells me it would be a wasted day. Instead, I’m going to stay at home, scribble some more and work on the cottage whilst I have the chance as I don’t want to waste some sunny days – if and when they arrive. Plus, I’ve a rather full diary over the next couple of months.
Talking of sunny days, we have plans for later in the year which will involve just that. Today’s picture’s a clue about our intended destination. This was one of the first pictures I ever had published – in a spread in the Sunday Telegraph way back in 1996. But can you guess where it was taken?
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Apologies for the lack of blogging recently but I’ve been rather busy both personally and professionally, so something had to give. Plus, I’d have been tempted to indulge in some spleen-venting o ver the utter shit-show that’s the Tories election campaign, but more on that later!
The bank holiday weekend was rather sociable, partly because it was Dawn’s birthday on Saturday and we’d arranged to have a day out with her parents before going for a meal. We visited somewhere they knew well but I’d never been to before, Wentworth Garden Centre near Barnsley. It’s not just a garden centre (although that’s huge, and the cafe equally massive) but also an ornamental garden. I was impressed with both – especially the garden centre as it possessed a far greater variety of plants than any near us – and the prices were very reasonable too, which caused both Norah and I to come away with various green goodies. In my case a couple of colourful and unusual ornamental plants as well as herbs to replace some I’d lost last winter. Come the evening we adjourned to a favorite food haunt, Punch Tapas in Honley, near Holmfirth. The food’s always good, the atmosphere never too frenetic and the staff ever friendly and attentive.
The rest of the bank holiday weekend was spent at home doing not very much at all due to the weather, which has resorted to being atrocious. We’ve had huge amounts of rain dropping from end of the world coloured skies – as well as regular claps of thunder. To be honest, Dee was glad of the rest as she’s been working at 110% recently. I was quite happy to be housebound too as it gave me the opportunity to clear the decks of all the pictures I’d taken over the past week and get them out to clients – and get paid! Now we’re in a new week and the end of yet another month. The weather’s showing no sign of improving – exactly the opposite. We’ve more yellow warnings of thunder and heavy rain so I’m thankful that I’ve another day at home, writing for a living.
Of course, I’ve been keeping one eye on the election, and I have to say I’ve never known such an utter shit-show. It’s hard to believe the Tories once had a reputation as a fearsome electoral machine because all we’ve seen since Sunak dropped the news he was calling it has been one disaster after another. Over the weekend he came up with another ‘brainwave’ no-one in his party had been consulted on – bringing back national service. In fact, the whole idea had only been dismissed by his Government in Parliament the week before! But that’s ‘Head Boy’ Sunak for you. He only listens to a tiny bunch of ‘think-tanks’ he’s surrounded himself with. To say the idea was greeted by almost universal derision and condemnation would be an understatement. Of course, the right-wing press and client journalists tried to cheerlead for the idea, but it’s shot full of so many holes it’s had the opposite effect to the one he was mad enough to expect. As usual, the devil’s in the detail (not that there’s much of that) but the interesting admission was that the hopelessly underestimated cost (£2.5bn) would be paid for by scrapping grants to the regions that were meant to make up for losing EU regional funding after Brexit! Yep, the regions get shafted again!
This madcap idea was meant to appeal to the ‘hang ’em and flog ’em brigade, which is mostly the old. But not too old, as you’d have to be at least 84 to have done National Service (my FiL did, he’s 90 this year). To reinforce this appeal to an older generation, Sunak came up with a second ‘brainwave’, which is the ‘triple lock plus’. What’s that you ask? It’s a ruse to stop pensioners having to pay tax on their pensions as the Tories have frozen personal tax allowances until 2028. That ‘fiscal drag’ is why more people are now paying tax, but pensioners will become exempt. It’s just another mad ‘back of a fag-packet’ idea.
To say this appeal to the elderly is misjudged is becoming more obvious by the day. It’s widely accepted that the old make up the majority of the Tory membership and that it’s the over 65s who’re most likely to vote Tory, but the very latest polling research from Redfield and Wilton has put the cat amongst the pigeons. Here’s their breakdown of voting intention by age.
Labour are ahead in every age demographic – even the over 65s! In fact, only 26% of over 65s intend to vote Tory! The bribes aren’t working…
Polling across the board shows that the Tories are toast. If the polls are moving, the majority show Labour’s lead’s increasing. Nothing Sunak is doing is moving the dial in his favour. Mind you, you have to wonder what the next batshit idea his friends in the right-wing ‘think tanks’ will come up with. Bring back hanging? Send kids too young for national service up chimneys? Ban something – maybe Gay pride, or the Notting Hill carnival? I wouldn’t put anything past these people. God help us – we’ve 5 more weeks of this crap to go. Meanwhile, Labour are looking more and more like the adults in the room, just waiting to take over the reins of power.
There is one massive omission in all of this. Any talk of the biggest elephant in the room. Brexit. You can see why Labour are staying schtum. As the Napoleon quote goes – ‘never interrupt you enemy when he’s making a mistake’. What’s amazing is that the Tories aren’t talking about Brexit either. After all, they fought the 2019 election under the slogan ‘get Brexit done’. They did (supposedly) so why are they not crowing about the ‘success’ of Brexit, and how they’ve delivered on all it’s promises. Y’know – the ‘sunny uplands’ and all that, where we’re now richer and more important in the world, having ‘taken back control’? Anyone who’s not a fanatical Brexiter knows the answer to that one, but for some reason, the mainstream media give the Tories a free pass on that question…
OK, that’s enough politics for one night. Now I’ll leave you with today’s picture, which is from Friday’s visit to Newton Heath Traincare centre in Manchester, not a place many people get to visit.
A trio of the oldest diesel train fleet operating on the national network – all of which are now operated by Northern (bar 3 they’ve sent to work the Bedford to Bletchley line). As an aside, did you know one of the world’s most famous football clubs started out as the depot’s own team? Nowadays they’re better known as…Manchester United, which was formed in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR Football Club by the railway’s Carriage and Wagon department!
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Today’s been a very domestic sort of day here at Bigland Towers but it’s also one that’s allowed me (if not Dawn) to enjoy the stunning weather. Finally, it feels like summer is on the way. We’ve had wall to wall sunshine and temperatures in the low 20s – which is a bloody miracle around here so far this year! Whilst Dee was cooking up a storm with a production line of batch cooking for us and her parents I was busy on the cottage roof, giving it an annual clean and sorting out some minor repairs after the battering it’s received over the winter. My job was complicated by our new lodgers. Several years ago I put up a number of nesting boxes under the sheltered eaves at the back of the cottage. Until now they’ve always remained vacant, despite the fact the adjacent bird-feeders resemble Piccadilly Circus. This year a pair of Blue Tits have taken up residence in one of them. Only it’s the one where I normally put up the ladder to allow me to clamber onto the roof. Bugger! Their residence has meant I’ve had to access the roof from our neighbour’s backyard, which is rather more challenging. That’ll teach me! Mind you, once I scrambled up I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The views are stunning!
Having removed bags of crap from over and between the stone flags I felt I deserved a beer and adjourned to our local pub for a while. The Big 6 beer garden was doing a roaring trade and having chance to wash the dust from my mouth whilst soaking up yet more sun was much appreciated.
I did feel slightly guilty as Dawn was still busy in the kitchen. I made amends on my return by disposing of the mound of washing up Dee had generated with her Lasagne production line. Some were for us whilst a different (gluten-free) line were for her parents. That’s the freezer restocked then!
Now it’s time to relax before another busy few days. Community Rail Week begins tomorrow, which means I’m going to be out and about a lot. I’ll be heading down to London on Monday morning ready for a special event at on Tuesday at one of my old local stations in North London.
I’ll be blogging about all my travels and the various events I’ll be attending which means there’ll be plenty to see and read about this next week. In the meantime here’s a couple of pictures from our activities today.
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/
Apologies for the lack of blogging but I’ve been kept busy at home playing nurse as well as wading through hundreds of pictures from my recent travels that require editing and captioning. Thankfully, Dawn, my patient – is on the mend, so I can put away the nurses uniform again. Besides, it clashed with the chef’s hat I’ve been wearing, which has been another of my duties. It’s not been too onerous as Dee’s been a good patient but I’ll be glad to see her up and about again. On the bright side, the jumper she’s been knitting has really come on!
Today I managed to finish the majority of the editing and get the pictures onto my Zenfolio website. There’s several hundred, which you can find in the following galleries.
Tomorrow, with Dawn on the mend and picture editing almost finished I can concentrate on other things which includes organising my next tranche of travels as well as some scribbling for a living. Sadly, the weather’s reverted to type here. We had a couple of days of sunshine but now the rain’s returned. We’ve had some very heavy showers today with more predicted, so I can’t see me getting out with the camera just yet. Never mind, some of the travel I have to arrange involves places with plenty of sun!
In the meantime I’ll leave you with a picture from Germany taken last week which shows it’s not just the UK that’s been wet! This was the view from the 17th floor of our hotel as a rainstorm crossed Dusseldorf.
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 