‘Tis only a short blog from me tonight as the wanderer has returned. After spending Christmas with her parents and brother plus his two teenage children Dawn has returned to God’s own country (as I’m reliably informed Yorkshire has to be called). I’ve been in a flurry of activity in anticipation, finishing of various DIY projects on the cottage, then giving the place a good clean and tidy-up to make the place seem as welcoming as possible and the homecoming relaxing. So, tonight I’m on cokking and everything else duty.
Fortunately, we’ve had an incredibly mild day, so I could fling open the windows and give the cottage a good airing to banish the smell of fresh paint and other fumes. Well, until this afternoon, when the weather everted to type and the rain returned. Thankfully, as we live high up on the side of the Calder Valley we get advance warning – as this picture taken from our bedroom window this afternoon shows.
Rain sweeps in from the West up the Calder valley and envelops Sowerby Bridge
Once the rain departed the gales arrived, making it a very blustery afternoon indeed – as I found out when I ventured to the shops to stock up on some post festive season provisions. At least the extra weight added a bit of ballast, which was sorely needed when I crested the hill at Spring Edge.
Back home I had time in between chores to admire the local birdlife which is thoroughly enjoying the Oats and cooked rice I’ve been leaving out for them. Today’s visitors included Magpies, Doves, Thrushes, Blackbirds and this feathered staple of Christmas cards.
Seen from my office window at the back of the house (with the aid of a 400mm lens), a Robin perches on our wall before scoffing more of the oats and rice I’ve been leaving out. Birds seem to love them and it’s a damn sight cheaper than commercial birdfeed.
Right, time to go. See you tomorrow…
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I’ve had another ‘Groundhog day’ here at Bigland Towers, mainly because the weather seems to be stuck on ‘rinse and repeat’! I woke up early this morning in order to carry on with various DIY bits but the weather was so gloomy and wet the day took many hours to catch up with me. Venturing out with the camera seems pointless when the visibility’s so bad, the rain so persistent and the wind so gusting. Instead, I’ve stayed home in the warm and dry to tick a few more jobs off the list of stuff that needs doing around the cottage. That said, there’s several outdoor jobs on the list but they’re going to have to wait. I’m not climbing ladders to clear out gutters in this! I had a much less windswept time wielding paintbrushes and replacing the flush on the toilet instead. Not exactly the rock and roll lifestyle but hey – I’m going travelling for a couple of months!
I dis have one moment of angst before setting off for my daily constitutional (fully suited and booted in full waterproofs, of course) when it came to sticking a second load of washing in the machine ready for when I got back. For some reason I couldn’t get the damn thing to work. A small, friendly door symbol kept flashing but I hadn’t a clue what it meant. I couldn’t find the manual for said machine so, after much muttering and swearing I went online and download a copy from the Bosch website (thank God for the internet). Several pages and many more minutes later I identified the problem. Earlier on I’d accidentally applied the bloody child lock – not a feature I’ve ever had to bother with, so I had no idea such a device existed!
Now I’m winding down for the day, sitting in the office and finishing off a few more slide scans whilst the smell of fresh paint permeates the cottage. Outside the wind is howling and the rain’s battering the front windows but as I don’t have to go anywhere I don’t care. Plus, I have wine…
Right, on to the picture of the day. I’ve chosen another from the series of new slide scans which were shot at Varanasi, India in 1998. This one I’ve titled ‘when east meets west’.
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It’s been a quiet Christmas Eve here at Bigland Towers. Dawn departed yesterday, heading down to Surrey with her folks to meet up with her Brother and his family for the annual Platt family get-together. This year I’ve stayed behind in order to do some work to the cottage before I head off to Asia so part of today’s been spent filling and sanding the back door in readiness for painting, a job that’ll keep me occupied tomorrow. It’s not your traditional Xmas I know, but I’ve never really been that big on such things. For many years I was either in Asia over the festive season or donning orange PPE to work on various Christmas holiday blockades for Network Rail. At least this holiday I’m allowed to have a drink!
I did take some time off to enjoy the sunny weather and stroll into Halifax for a mooch around. I have to admit the place is growing on me. I never really spent much time in the town when I first moved up here from London, but the town’s changed since those days. It’s become quite a vibrant place due to the fantastic restoration of the Piece Hall, along with the amount of micro-pubs that have opened. There’s still a good range of shops too, unlike nearby Huddersfield which feels very much in decline. Plus, there’s some wonderful architecture around town, making it an attractive place to explore. I keep meaning to have a day out with the camera to capture some of the details but never seem to get around to it. Today I left the camera bag at home, which made it really feel like a holiday!
I wasn’t the only one in the holiday spirit as the town centre was really busy with many of the pubs, bars and cafes doing a good business, which was good to see. I popped into the lovely Victorian craft beer cafe for a pint and spot of people-watching before walking back for a quiet night at home and chance to catch up on paperwork and chores before breaking out the Christmas cheese stash and opening a bottle of good red wine, which I intend to enjoy with a movie.
So, whatever you’re doing dear reader, let me wish you all the best for the festive season.
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A short blog from me today, mainly because I’ve not been up to anything existing and I can’t be bothered trying to dress up the mundane with wordplay!
The weather’s been as gloomy as a post-brexit economic forecast – but I won’t go there tonight, honest! I’ve not been able to see the valley tops all day and tonight the weather’s closed in even more. I went out to do some shopping in the late afternoon and by the time I climbed up the valley side from Sowerby Bridge I was in the cloud line where the visibility would have been akin to one of the old London ‘pea-souper’ fogs. I half expected to see ‘Dixon of Dock Green’ come strolling towards me out of the murk to recite his iconic “Evening all”.
With the weather as it is I suffered a severe disinclination to venture anywhere else and enjoyed the rest of the evening at home on cooking duty, rustling up a new batch of Thai Green curry for tonight’s meal (and the freezer) whilst Dawn’s out making the final preparations for heading South for Christmas, taking her folks (and a friends dog) to Surrey for the annual family bash. This year I’m staying behind as I’ve work I want to do to the cottage before I fly out to Asia for a few months in the New Year.
Tempting as it was to post another food picture, I’ve decided you can have too much of a good thing. Instead, here’s a picture from the Hindi festival of Thaipusam. I *should* be back in Malaysia for this as this year it’s on February 5th. I last experienced it in 2009. It’s been banned in India due to the nature of sacrifice/penance people put themselves through, but it’s still a big event elsewhere. If you’re of a squeamish nature – look away now…
Four hours after leaving the temple in Little India, this pilgrim (who has pulled a chariot attached to his body by hooks) arrives at the The Nattukkottai Chettiar Temple. And yes, that ARE a real metal rods all the way through his cheeks and his tongue. (you should have seen the hooks in his back, but that’s another picture)..
If you want to see more pictures from Thaipusam, just follow this link.
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/
Today’s been another ‘confined to barracks’ day. Well, if you count the barracks as being a radius of a mile from home! Admittedly, much of the day’s been spent catching up on picture editing and paperwork, but I did have a stroll into Halifax to do some shopping for various DIY supplies I need for some of the projects I’ve planned for the Christmas period whilst I have the house to myself.
Halifax was busy with other folks shopping too but most of them were after stuff with a far more festive feel than the goods I was interested in. However, I did pop into the Sainsbury’s supermarket as they’re the sole stockists of a very nice low alcohol beer (an IPA) which I wanted to stock up on. The place was jam-packed with people shopping as if they were stocking up ahead of the Zombie Apocalypse! Clearly, some people either have a decent disposable income, or their credit cards are taking a beating…
The centre of town was equally busy, except for the empty shops of course – and the wonderful Victorian Halifax borough market, where a number of stalls had already shut up shop even though it was only mid-afternoon. But the one I was interested in was still trading – and had a queue – Thai Corner, where you can buy a wonderous Northern Thai/Laoation noodle dish called Kow Soi, something you rarely find on Thai restaurant menus. It’s a rich curry soup topped off with fried noodles and it’s delicious!
Having struck the final item off my shopping list I walked home under sunny skies to carry out one last chore before retreating to the office. I’ve been keeping our feathered friends fed and watered over the winter and gained a lot of pleasure from watching their activities outside the office window. I’ve discovered on food that’s very popular with some of the larger birds like Thrushes, Blackbirds and Magpies – oats. We’d been given a large bag of organic oats but found they were hopeless for making porage in the microwave, unlike ordinary oats. They take a bloody age and just don’t work right. I didn’t want to bin them, so the other week I tried putting them out for the birds and found that they (if you’ll pardon the pun) almost flew off the shed roof! So, when I got home I added another pile, along with some old cooked rice, peanuts and a few seeds. I see it as karmic payback for the decimation of the local bird population our old cat (Jet) carried out in his younger days – when nothing was too big for him to tackle and drag in through the catflap. We still miss him – even if the local wildlife has breathed a sigh of relief!
So, today’s picture is of a bowl of vegetarian Kow Soi I ate in Chiang Mai, Thailand when I visited in February 2011.
Bon appetit!
You can find many more pictures from that particular trip to Thailand (both rail and travel images) in this gallery on my Zenfolio website.
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/
It’s been a miserable day weather-wise here at Bigland Towers. Whilst having a lazy Sunday is no bad thing there’s been little incentive to venture far. Whilst the snows have (mostly) been washed away as the temperature has crept far enough up the scale to allow perpetual rain, conditions underfoot have been bloody awful. Earlier this afternoon I decided to head out this afternoon to pick up some foodstuffs, plus salt – in order to stop our front steps turning into a trip hazard. Heading up the cobbled hill behind the house made me realise just how hazardous conditions were – despite the rain. Black ice was everywhere, so climbing the hill then descending the other side was ‘interesting’ to say the least. I didn’t pass many other folk on foot – just a couple of hardy dog-walkers. All of us swapped tips about which bits of road or pavement to avoid. En-route I passed a couple of people learning to drive. I couldn’t work out if this was good training or utter madness!
Having made it to the shops safely I decided to take the long way home that avoided the cobbled hill. I had to traverse some local woods instead but figured conditions underfoot would be less treacherous. It was a wise decision. Plus, I managed to avoid some of the Yorkshire stone pavements. They may look pretty but give me tarmac any day as the stone turns into skating rinks at the first sign of moisture – never mind ice. Looking at conditions I suspect the Royal Calderdale A&E department will be working at full tilt tonight.
Now I’m back in the warm. Dawn’s busy wrapping presents to take with her down to the family Christmas in Surrey whilst I’ve been ordering DIY supplies on the internet as I’ll be using the Xmas interregnum to do work to the cottage whilst I’m the only occupant. I’m glad ordering was so easy as earlier today I downloaded Windows 11 to update my computer. Installing a new Operating System’s always an anxious time but it went without a hitch. Well, as far as I can tell anyway. Unlike previous OS changes all my major programmes and plug-ins work and the only worry I have is learning how to navigate through the new buttons. Time will tell…
The weather is due to be crap again tomorrow, so it looks like another day in the office for me but Tuesday should see me venturing over to Southport to catch up with my family before Christmas (in-between rail strikes). Right now, I’ll leave you with the picture of the day which is a look over the Calder Valley after slipping and sliding up that bloody hill! Thanks to the Yorkshire weather you never know what you’re going to see (mainly because a lot of the time you can see bugger-all). Today, it lived up to the old adage. It’s grim up North…
Play the brass band music of your choice…
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/
OK, this is a day late, but what the hell – I was busy!
Yesterday Dawn had to pop over to nearby Ossett, a town I’d never visited before so I tagged along to keep her company and enjoy the chance to explore. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.
Nestling on the side of the valley above the old Healy Mills railway marshalling yard, Ossett’s a small market town of 21,000 people. The town’s wealth was built on wool and coal although the former industry is long gone whilst the latter survives in vastly shrunken form. Nowadays the towns prosperity comes from its proximity to Leeds. Also long-gone is the town’s railway which closed in 1964. That’s why I’ve never had a reason to visit, until today!
Whilst Dawn went to her appointment I had a mooch around town. The main square’s been pedestrianised, as has the nearby portion of Station Rd. This has created an attractive area in the shadow of the Town Hall which is where the market’s held on Tuesdays and Fridays. I really enjoyed the market. Unlike many which survive by selling all sorts of plastic tat and cheap clothing, Ossett has some very good stall. There were a couple of fruit and veg stalls with a mix of local and imported produce at extremely good prices. Two vans were on site, one selling cuts of meat and the other fresh fish, whilst there were a number of other stalls selling bakery goods, including humongous bread rolls, fruit teacakes, pies and desserts. Oh, and an excellent cheese stall! I ended up spending quite a bit of money stocking up on various bits from several stalls – and stocked up my Xmas cheeseboard at the same time.
Stalls in the market Square which is surrounded by some lovely old buildings which don’t overpower. The one to the left is a former bank which now houses a pottery and arts cafe on the ground floor. Quality local produce.“This much Sir”? Measuring out a cut of cheese at the excellent cheese stall.A close-up of some of the delicious cheese on offer.
Sadly, the town hall (which would have looked lovely bathed in the winter sunshine that blessed our visit) was swathed in scaffolding as it’s currently being refurbished. I did pop in to have a look as it contains several bric a brac stalls on market day but there was nothing that struck my fancy.
Inside the town hall.
However, behind the Town Hall, in what looks like a 1960s shopping complex I found something that did appeal. The Bier Huis. Their small shop front hides an Aladdin’s cave of UK and foreign bottled beers as well as a counter-bar selling draught real ales plus a couple of tables where you can sit whilst you enjoy them. I couldn’t resist buying some bottles of German and Belgian beers that I’d never tried before, plus an old favourite (Zot, from Brugge). added to the cheese I’d purchased earlier they made a great Xmas present to myself!
Choices, choices…
Like the Beer Huis, Ossett has many local and independent shops which make it stand out from the crowd. One gets fed up of identikit town centres dominated by the same chains and charity shops. Ossett made a refreshing change and, whilst there are some empty shops, there’s not anywhere as many as you find in the likes of Huddersfield, where we drove back to afterwards as Dee had to return to work. I had journey onward to Halifax which wasn’t easy due to the rail strike. Instead of the usual train I headed over to the bus station to wait for what should be a frequent (every 15 mins) service between the two towns. The place was busy – but not with buses. I had to wait 45 mins before a double-decker arrived. My only consolation was that I had a bag full of cheese and beer and wasn’t waiting at some God-forsaken stop in the middle of nowhere! Despite this, I really enjoyed getting out and about again. The day was rounded off by Dawn catching up with me again in our local pub where we net up with friends whilst enjoying a few beers and testing our knowledge using the quiz from the local pub paper. Not a bad day at all…
I’m looking forward to a return to Ossett market in the near future. Only this time I’ll be bringing more cash and a bigger shopping bag as there’s some real bargains to be had on that market.
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/
It’s been another freezing day here at Bigland Towers, and another one where I’ve really not ventured far – apart from the back garden where I’ve been helping the local wildlife with food and water. People often feed the birds in the winter but water is just as important – especially in sub-zero temperatures when most sources are frozen solid. All my bird feeders are well-stocked but we had some porage oats going spare. They’re organic so should be virtuous. There’s only one problem. They take a bloody age to cook! We often have porage for breakfast – especially this time of year. Its ideal food for a cold winters day as it sticks to your ribs! Add some blueberry compote and a drizzle of honey and you’re set up for the day! We normally make ours in the microwave but found the organic ones we’d bought take at least twice (if not three times) as long to cook. Yesterday I went out and bought traditional Scotts porage oats, rendering the others surplus to requirements. Rather than throw them away I had the idea to feed them to the birds so I dumped a load by the water bowl in the garden. The Magpies and pigeons love ’em! Even the Robins and Thrushes have got in on the act although the Tits and Nuthatches are sticking to the seed-filled feeders.
Birdwatching aside I’ve been keeping busy (and warm) at home adding more old railway slides and other memorabilia for sale on eBay. Nearly 600 items went live this evening. You can find them here. https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/pabig-725
I’ll be adding another selection later in the week.
Due to the rail strikes I couldn’t make it down to London for today’s traditional railway carol service by Euston (although I hope a good time was had by all) but tomorrow I will be on the road again, popping over to Ossett and visiting the local market, which I’ve never visited before. Dawn’s driving over so I thought I’d pop along, so expect a few pictures.
In the meantime, here’s today’s picture which was taken from our bedroom window earlier. This is looking over Sowerby Bridge and the Calder valley at dusk. The clear skies give you an idea what the temperatures going to be like tonight. Looks like I may have to defrost that birdbath in the morning…
An incoming flight from the USA (and a wind turbine below it) are the only things to mar clear skies as the sun sets over Sowerby Bridge and the Calder Valley 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/
Despite the rail strikes and weather the pair of us strayed from Bigland Towers yesterday. Not that we went far. Dawn had a meeting with colleagues at the Community Rail Network office so I hitched a lift with her into Huddersfield and went for a wander around town. It was a depressing experience if I’m honest. Earlier in the day armed police carried out a big raid on a warehouse on the edge of the town centre which was a base for drug dealers (apparently). There was no sign of such fun and games on the streets but there was a melancholic air about the place. The amount of shops which have closed/are closing is quite depressing. Thriving the town ain’t. Big names like House of Fraser and Marks and Spencer have disappeared, never mind the multitude of local businesses. Even an old favourite – Millets – the outdoor specialist, is having its final sale before closing. Bargains were to be had but there was nothing I wanted or needed. It’s not just shops that have closed either, several bars and pubs have gone the way of all things too.
Whilst I was there I popped in to the railways station as at least Trans-Pennine Express were making an attempt to run trains, despite the strikes – unlike Northern. There was a roughly hourly service between Manchester Airport and York run by 6-car Class 185s. The trains I saw were mixed, some were busy, others very quiet – as if only the foolhardy (or desperate) were risking travelling. Typically (despite the sparseness of the service) TPE still couldn’t run to time. Every train was late by several minutes!
One Dawn and Co had finished their meeting we all met up for a post-work drink at the ‘Teepee’ which is a Xmas feature of St George’s Square. It serves a range of drinks including real ales, mulled wine, spirits, teas and coffees – and the heating system certainly keeps you warm. If you’re there after 7pm there’s often live music. All of us have had Christmas parties cancelled due to the strikes, so this was a welcome unofficial gathering. Still, it was good to while away a couple of hours doing something festive before venturing home in sub-zero temperatures, not that you’d stay all night with drinks at premium prices but then it shuts at 9pm! So, today’s pictures are a peek inside the teepee…
The statue of Harold Wilson looks over the Huddersfield Xmas Teepee…The bar and central seating around the firepit. The firepit (centre) with the stage area at the rear of the tent.
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 a wintery start to the week here at Bigland Towers. Snow arrived in the Calder Valley at the weekend and, whilst it’s hardly deep and crisp and even the dusting we’ve had is certainly sticking around. To make matters worse the temperature plummeted today with the mercury never getting above -2 but hitting -5 this morning whilst the valley itself disappeared behind a mask of freezing fog. So, I’ve spent the entire day indoors, not even making it out for my daily stroll. Instead, I’ve beavered away in the office sorting out pictures and filing in order to create some space in the calendar for the future (more about that later).
I doubt I’ll be venturing far for the rest of the week. Whilst the temperature’s due to creep above zero towards the end of the week there’s another problem. Tomorrow sees the start of the next round of rail strikes, only our local operator (Northern) has essentially thrown in the towel. They’re not bothering to run any service at all through Halifax and the Calder Valley until Sunday! That’s’ 5 days without any services across most of their network, which covers the whole of the North, taking in Cumbria, Yorkshire, the North-West and Cheshire, including major cities like Manchester. and Leeds (which sees a skeleton service based on the Aire valley electric trains, see below).
Sadly, there’s no sign of this dispute coming to an end. It looks like it will drag on well into next year. There’s conflicting reports coming out about who’s to blame for the breakdown in negotiations, as my RAIL magazine colleague, Phil Haigh, pointed out on Twitter earlier.
Whilst I can appreciate both sides of this dispute the people I feel for are those caught in the crossfire. I don’t just mean passengers, although having no trains here for the rest of the week when we have snow and ice on the ground is hardly desirable. I feel for the many small businesses who rely on the railways for their trade. The shop and cafe owners who’ve been suffering and struggling for years as Northern and the unions have been in regular disputes for years. The toll this has taken on many businesses goes unrecognised. Just as they were getting back on their feet Covid struck. Then, as they were slowly recovering from that we had the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent energy crises. Oh, and that’s without mentioning the impact Brexit has had, making goods ever more expensive. It’s been a perfect storm for rail-based businesses so I’m not in the least surprised to have seen how many had closed down when I was doing my recent round Britain trip for RAIL. Station cafes and shops the length and breadth of the network have gone forever, and my fear is that more will follow in the new year because there’s no sign of a light at the end of the tunnel. They’re the ‘collateral damage’ from these strikes.
Another casualty of these strikes is my annual visit to the Railway Carol service in London, which is being held in Euston on Thursday. There’s no way I can get there in time, and even getting back would be risky. Instead, I’ll be spending another day at home, planning another adventure that’s been deferred by Covid.
On Saturday I had confirmation of my flight to Singapore in January. I’ll be spending two months away from the Septic Isle, exploring old haunts in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia – and also taking in some new sights too (hopefully). So, the enforced ‘downtime’ I have this week will allow me to start planning the trip. I’d originally hoped to have left the UK before Christmas, but the cost of flights was ridiculous. This many have been a blessing in disguise as the Christmas period is looking like a lousy time to travel due to the rail dispute and disruption at airports due to the Border Force taking strike action. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the date I’ve chosen to fly out (January 10th) is in that ‘sweet spot’ between strikes. Time will tell.
So, don’t expect much in the way of new rail pictures from me this week, which is very frustrating as I have a market for railway snow scenes but no way of capturing them! Instead, here’s an archive shot taken in the Calder Valley several years ago.
On the 21st January 2013 ‘Pacer’ 144009 approaches Sowerby Bridge from the East with a service for Manchester Victoria.
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 