Category Archives: West Yorkshire

29th November picture(s) of the day…

29 Tuesday Nov 2022

Posted by in Calder Valley, Environment, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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As the last few weeks of autumn slip away and we enter the last month before winter (supposedly) sets in we’ve been enjoying a thoroughly foggy time here in the Calder Valley. Visibility hasn’t changed throughout the day, leaving the other side of the valley a memory. That said, it’s hardly a typical autumn. It’s been very wet and very mild. Of course, the usual suspects will claim this has absolutely nothing to do with man-made global warming. The rest of us who’ve lived long enough to have experienced a few decades of weather know that this is not normal. In my garden I still have Lobelia flowering. And Geraniums. There’s a lot of other fcuked-up plants as well. They’ve no idea what season this is meant to be. I suspect there’s quite a few wild animals wondering too.

Will the majority of people ever wake up to the reality of climate change before the damage becomes irreparable? Somehow, I doubt it – especially if it involves making personal sacrifices or lifestyle changes. After all, those gas guzzling SUVs are just so important for the school run, and the four-wheel drive is essential for popping down to Tescos.

You may have gathered I’m in cynical mode. Don’t worry, it won’t last. Well, not for long anyway. But my fuse when it comes to faux greens will always be measured in millimeters. You know the ones, they’re really Nimbys. They oppose any green development that’s going to impinge on their space on the grounds of ‘conservation’. Building HS2’s a classic example. Wind and solar farms are another. As far as they’re concerned, let the Maldives sink, as long as no-one chops any trees down around them whilst they’re alive.

OK, enough of the cynicism for now. I’ll have a full spleen-vent another day. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a couple of ethereal pictures from today’s stroll around home.

Scarr woods looking rather spooky.
There’s a valley down there somewhere…

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

28th November picture of the day…

28 Monday Nov 2022

Posted by in Flora and Fauna, London, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, Travel, West Yorkshire

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It’s been a frustrating day here in Bigland Towers as I’ve been chained to a desk and hot computer all day. I’ve got lots of work done – including having edited all the pictures from the past few days but I’d been hoping to get out for my usual stroll to keep the exercise levels up. Dawn had to take the day off to go and help a friend. That wouldn’t have been a problem apart from the fact two parcels were due to be delivered, so I agreed to wait in until they arrived. Only neither of them did. One company claimed to have called but no-one was in (‘oh yes – I bloody well was’!) and the other never showed up or even left a message, so what little exercise I got consisted of pacing back and forth from the office to the front window, watching out for delivery vans. Ho hum, maybe tomorrow…

As a consequence, it’s a short blog from me today. Still, here’s a few links to the various galleries containing the lates batches of photographs.

The GWR franchise

TfL/Elizabeth line

The GTR franchise

Infrastructure and engineering

Railway stations

Railway people

And last, but not least, a new gallery dedicated to Saturday’s Class 315 commemorative event.

There’s plenty to look at and not all is about trains themselves but also the people, infrastructure and stations that make up our rail network.

I’ll be working from home again tomorrow planning some other sorties, both UK and abroad, but I’m determined to get out at some point, even if it is just a stroll around the valley. In the meantime, here’s today’s picture, which illustrates the sometimes-uneasy relationship we have with our feathered friends, especially in cities.

These tree pigeons are roosting on the handrail of the main staircase in the ‘Lawn’ at Paddington station where they’re surrounded by cafes and restaurants. There’s a constant stream of people passing by but they’ve come to a wary truce with them, even if the truce isn’t reciprocated due to the mass they make with their droppings. But as far as the pigeons are concerned, it’s warm and sheltered with plenty of scraps on offer…

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

Rolling blog. An impromptu day out…

18 Friday Nov 2022

Posted by in Manchester, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel, West Yorkshire

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10:37.

My original plan to work at home today has been altered by a change in the weather. The forecast for the next few days is lousy but today (so far) has bucked the trend – and the forecast – so I’m heading over to Manchester for a couple of hours in the hope of checking on progress on Trans-Pennine electrification and return clothes I bought from Uniqlo the other day. I’m flattered to say that ‘medium’ size is just too big!

Right now I’m on the train from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester Victoria. It’s a Chester bound service operated by a pair of 2-car Class 195s which is pretty busy for the time of day although I had no problem bagging a table seat to set up the mobile office. This is a lovely time of year to be traversing the Calder valley as the colours in the remaining leaves on the trees are glorious and the low winter light shows them at their most intense. I only hope the sunshine I’m seeing now stays with me. Let’s see. Expect some pictures soon…

11:15.

Neither my luck nor the weather’s held, so it’s time for a different mode of transport to Shank’s pony…

13:50.

That was an interestinginterlude! I caught a couple of trams out to Ashton-Under-Lyme which turned out to be a good idea as the rain persisted until a few minutes after I arrived. The plan was to have a look at progress electrifying the line from Manchester Victoria to Stalybridge. This should have been completed years ago but it was one of the schemes delayed by political dithering. Now it’s well underway. Now, most of the masts and stanchions are in place.

802206 speeds through Ashton-under-Lyme en-route from Liverpool Lime St to Newcastle whilst the masts march towards Stalybridge.

16:00.

I chose to walk between Ashton and Stalybridge in order to check out the views from various bridges on the way. It was an interesting trip as it took me down all sorts of streets I’d never explore otherwise. The area’s a maze of brick-built, late Victorian terrace houses with patches of much wealthier properties. But not all’s well. In the space of a couple of hundred meters I passed three closed pubs. One was derelict, one was ‘closed until further notice’ and the other was up for sale.

I find derelict pubs terribly sad buildings as I can imagine all the happy times people must have had there in the past. They were community centres, but now they’re dying.

I arrived at ‘Stalyvegas’ station just as the rain did, so ended up with a soaking, but I dried out on the train back into central Manchester, where I am now, indulging in my least favourite activity. Shopping!

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

15th November picture of the day…

15 Tuesday Nov 2022

Posted by in Berlin, Germany, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel, West Yorkshire

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Half-way through November already, where does the time go? In my case it’s gone very quickly here at Bigland Towers. After our Whitby wandering I’ve spent the past couple of days in the office, which has been no bad thing as the weather has been crap. Most of Monday was spent enveloped in fog, so sitting in my office blogging and picture editing was hardly a hardship. I didn’t even make it out to get my usual 5 mile walk in. Today was very much the same only with the addition of torrential rain. Combined with leaf-fall and Calderdale Council having neglected to clean any drains around here for years the roads turned into streams. So, when I got stir-crazy it was a case of donning the full waterproofs (including gaiters) to venture down to Sowerby Bridge to drop post off and pick up some food shopping.

That apart I’ve had a productive couple of days. There’s been some utter rubbish written about High Speed 2 by two of the usual suspects (Andrew Gilligan and Simon Jenkins) so it’s been great to have time to blog about their nonsense. I’ve also managed to (almost) clear the backlog of picture editing. All the images from my trip to Innotrans in Germany back in September are now on my Zenfolio website. You can find the Dutch railway ones here and the travel images here whilst the German rail ones are here.

Tomorrow I’m venturing out as I’m representing Community Rail Network at a little event to commemorate Paul Abell, the former Editor of Today’s Railways UK and fellow Community Rail Awards judge who passed away suddenly last year. I’d known Paul for several years as one of the small band of railway Journalists who would often meet up on press trips. Then Paul joined me as a Community Rail Awards judge. The pair of us would help judge the shortlist for the Photographic competition. Paul was always a pleasure to work with and never got ruffled by anything. I don’t ever remember him saying anything stronger than ‘Oh – heck!’- despite his service in the Royal Navy and many years as a teacher! No doubt I’ll post some pictures from what transpires tomorrow.

In the meantime, here’s today’s picture, which is taken from my last batch of pictures from Berlin. This looks innocuous, unless you know the history. Here’s the Teufelsberg (Devil’s mountain in English) seen in September 2022 from the roof of one of the halls at the Messe.

Those ‘golf balls’ are part of an abandoned American spybase which was built to listen in on the Russians. It lasted until the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. The hill it’s standing on? That’s man-made. Rising to over 80 meters it’s constructed from the rubble of West Berlin left after the second world war. All the ruined building were cleared and the remains brought here to construct the hill.

It’s a sobering and very visible reminder of the war.

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

5th November picture of the day…

05 Saturday Nov 2022

Posted by in Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel, West Yorkshire

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It’s very much a short blog from me today as the old adage ‘nothing to report’ springs to mind. Unless you count cutting back and tidying up the garden ready for winter and filling a few bags with leaves! Admittedly, I find that very therapeutic. I enjoy gardening as it reconnects me with more elemental forces which are very different to what I do for a living. There’s also the satisfaction of being able to see a positive change, unlike (say) clearing your email inbox. Today was a good day to be outdoors. It may have been wet at times but here in the Pennines it’s also surprisingly mild for the time of year – which is great when you consider the escalating costs of fuel bills at the moment.

Having filled a few bags with garden waste and dead leaves I retreated to the office to research some more travel options for the future. Christ on a bike – flights are getting expensive! Admittedly, I’d have much preferred to travel overland, but the part of the world I want to get to (Thailand) has been cut off to all but the bravest (or mad) overland travellers for a long time. OK, I possibly *could* still do it if I wanted to cross Iran from Turkey, but as I don’t have the luxury of unlimited time and that country’s going through a period of huge civil unrest that might eventually see the overthrow of a theocracy ’tis probably not the best time for a Brit to be there! Oh, then there’s Myanmar. So, flights it is then. Eventually…

Of course, today in the UK it’s ‘Bonfire night’ – or ‘Guy Fawkes night‘. The day we celebrate when a bunch of Catholics tried (and failed) to blow up the House of Parliament. Right now, I suspect quite a few people had wished they’d succeeded! As I kid, I loved bonfire night. I came from a big family, and we’d always have a big party in the back garden that involved loads of fireworks, food and drink. Admittedly, at that tender age all I was interested in was the fireworks and my mum’s home-made treacle-toffee. The adults had other entertainments! But, they’re great memories. Alright, there was one year in the 1960s when a party was invaded by some local youths and the police turned up as there was an allegation of a stabbing, which was a bit traumatic when you’re about 6 but hey ho. It’s funny, I’ve only thought about that after decades as I started typing this. I really must remember to ask my elder brothers about it. It’s one of those family stories (and we have a lot) I’ve never really nailed down.

OK digression over. I went out for an evening wander so that I could look over the valley and watch other people’s fireworks as they lit up the valley. Maybe Yorkshire’s rubbing off on me after all these years and I’ve become too tight to buy my own! It was lovely sitting up on the side of the valley and watching a mix of displays and private garden parties light up the skies whilst the gunpowder fog with its distinctive smells drifted across the valley.

Now I’m back in the office quaffing LA beer and realising there’s only one possible picture for today. I know many animals struggle with bonfire night, just as they do with thunderstorms. My mum and our pet dog ‘Dori’ were the same. Both used to be reduced to shaking wrecks by a thunderstorm, so much so that when one happened my mum would get a Valium tablet and cut it in half. She’s take one half and give the other half to the dog! Sorry – I’m digressing again. Right, my point was, not *every* animal I know is frightened of fireworks. Our aged and late lamented moggie (Jet) was one of them. He was inquisitive rather than frightened of fireworks. But the winner goes to this particular dog that I encountered in Tangalle in Sri Lanka back in December 2003. This dog actually tried to eat fireworks!

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

4th November picture of the day…

04 Friday Nov 2022

Posted by in Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, Travel, West Yorkshire

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It’s a short(ish) blog from me today as the day’s been rather a mixed one. It started out well enough, the weather was gorgeous with wall-to-wall sunshine and clear blue skies, so – after completing several chores and putting other stuff on the backburner I decided to venture out into the valley in the hope of getting some shots of trains amongst the glorious autumnal colours in the woodlands around Todmorden. Only my cunning plan was thwarted by geography. The Pennines are notorious for micro-climates. We can have great weather here in the Calder Valley only for it to be bucketing down next door in the Colne valley. It’s the same if you move just a few miles along the valleys too – as I found when I caught the train. By the time I arrived in Tod’ there were clouds as black as the ace of spades appearing from the North-West. It even started raining. To my surprise I found that staff had salted the station platforms, which didn’t fill me with much hope about the weather. What did they know I didn’t? As I’d planned to be stuck up a hillside for an hour or two, I decided ‘bugger this for a game of soldiers’ and turned tail back to Hebden Bridge, where I stopped to change trains and at least get a couple of shots in the can before catching a service into Halifax – where the weather was back to full sun!

Admitting defeat I wandered home, where I’ve spent the day catching up on work and looking at flight options for a trip to South-East Asia. The prices I’ve been quoted for the time I was thinking of going are painful as they’re in four figures – far more than pre-Covid prices, so it looks like I’m going to have to work out a plan B and alter my dates – and maybe destination. More research is certainly needed.

To cheer myself up I trotted along to our local pub to join friends and partake in the Friday evening quiz. It’s not a formal quiz, it’s just a few of us getting together to answer questions from the quizzes published in the ‘Pub Paper’ but it keeps us amused. This month I’m ‘on the wagon’ as I’ve decided to give my liver a holiday (and lose a few pounds) – so I couldn’t even drown my sorrows. Instead, I was quaffing the alcohol-free ‘Erdinger’ beer, which isn’t bad taste wise, meaning you don’t feel you’re missing out in the way you would if you were nursing a Coke. Now I’m back at home. After knocking up a Prawn Noodle stir-fry for the pair of us I’m now sat in the office sipping Brewdog’s low-alcohol version of their ‘Punk IPA’, which is one of the better LA beers. I I prefer their Nanny State but you can’t get it in any of our local supermarkets, so I have to stock up. Ah well, 4 days down and only 26 more to go. My liver better be bloody grateful…

Right, on to the picture of the day. But what to choose? I know! One of today’s shots from the picturesque Hebden Bridge station.

Here’s the first of the CAF built 3 car diesel units (195101) arriving at Hebden Bridge station on its way to Leeds via Halifax and Bradford Interchange. It’s a little gem of a station as it retains so many of its old Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway features, even though that company ceased to exist in 1923!

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

2nd November picture of the day…

02 Wednesday Nov 2022

Posted by in Food, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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It’s been another slow day here at Bigland Towers. I’m still recovering from whatever lurgi struck me down on Sunday. The aches and pains have receded, but my energy levels aren’t back up to what they should be, so I’ve not been pushing myself too hard and spent most of the day writing and picture editing – although I did get out for a walk earlier as I was beginning to get stir-crazy. It’s hardly been a great day for walking as it’s been on and off wet most of the day. Fortunately, I managed to dodge the showers whilst I was out. I completed a circuit through our local woods but as I was walking along the road to get to them, I was amazed to see two mature deer bound across the road just 75 meters in front of me. It’s not that unusual to see them around here (even in daylight) but they were leaving a stretch of woods with little cover that’s very popular with dog-walkers and people out for a stroll. It’s not where I expected to see them at all.

Weatherwise, I pushed my luck too much this evening. Dawn’s been very good at looking after me whilst I’ve been under the weather, even though she’s not feeling 100% herself so tonight I offered to walk up to the local supermarket to get some of the ingredients Dee needed for the food she’s preparing. Bad move! The wind had really picked up late this afternoon, sending leaves skittering all over the place. Then the rain came back. I was lucky walking up to the shop as I found a lull in the rain. Hah! It was waiting to pounce on me when I came out – when I had to walk into the teeth of it coming back over the brow of the hill and walk downhill, exposed to the full force of the elements as they hammered across the valley. To be honest, it was rather exhilarating. I love a good storm and I was fully prepared for it as I’d donned full waterproofs including leggings and gaiters, so they got wet, and I didn’t. It certainly blew a few cobwebs away at least.

Now I’m catching up with uploading today’s pictures whilst Dawn cooks up a different kind of storm in the kitchen. Dee loves discovering and trying new recipes and found one yesterday…

Meanwhile, I’ve added two different selections from my recent (well, September’s) sojourn in Rotterdam to my Zenfolio website. There’s the travel and people orientated shots, which you can find here. Then there’s the transport related ones (trams, railways and transport infrastructure) which you can find here. I’ve still more to add and I hope to have them done shortly. Then I can move on to more German shots.

Admittedly, I’d like to get out with the camera to record some of the autumn colours whilst there’s still some leaves on the trees. I’ll see how my recovery goes tomorrow as the forecast for Friday seems promising. Right, it’s time to go as supper’s ready. So, tonight’s picture of the day is of a culinary theme. This is what Dawn’s been busy cooking. I have to admit, the smells emanating from the kitchen were wonderful. Now I know why…

Here’s a red lentil pancake topped with masala vegetables (potato, onion, spinach, carrots, green beans and mushrooms) spiced with turmeric, cumin, white mustard seeds, asafoetida, ground coriander and chili flakes with a dash of lemon juice. The final addition? Greek yoghurt mixed with some mint sauce. The whole ensemble tasted divine!

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

21st August picture of the day…

21 Sunday Aug 2022

Posted by in Food and drink, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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The lull before storm…

All three of us had a lie-in this morning. Well, until ‘Bernie’ (our friends dog) decided it needed to go out for a wee at 07:30 this morning which meant I was woken up by being slobbered over as a way of attracting our attention! I’d agreed to take the short straw so Dee could sleep in. What I hadn’t bargained for was letting Bernie out of the back door – only to find one of our neighbour’s cats sat on the doorstep. I don’t know who was more startled, Bernie, me or poor Popi – who took off like a bat out of hell! Luckily, I’d kept Bernie on her lead so there was no cartoon-like hot pursuit.

The excitement over we returned to a much calmer Sunday. Dawn returned Bernie to her owners (who were still recovering from their night out) whilst I pottered around at home, sorting out the final logistics for my week away before retreating to the kitchen to enjoy my last opportunity to indulge in some cooking for some time. I really enjoy the ritual of preparing the ingredients and laying them out before beginning the process of turning the raw ingredients into a meal. I was cooking Indian today so now the the cottage is filled with the smells of exotic spices. The dish I’ve made includes freshly roasted and powdered Fenugreek seeds along with Cloves, Cinnamon, Star Anise and Cumin powder. The mélange of fragrances is wonderful especially as the final product contains the tang of White Wine Vinegar which hangs in the air and complements the spices.

Now it’s time to kick back and enjoy the late afternoon sunshine and our evening together so I’ll end the blog here. Expect a series of rolling blogs over the next eight days – although they won’t be a complete commentary on my trip as I’m writing for a magazine. If you want to read the full details they’ll be published in a series of three articles in RAIL magazine starting in October. Despite that, I hope to keep you entertained as I take over 80 trains around the UK to explore many familiar destinations plus some I’ve not visited for decades – plus one of the last extremities of the UK rail network I’ve never managed to reach before…

So, today’s picture is cooking therapy. In this case, Chicken Vindail. Here’s the ingredients prepared for cooking.

19th August picture of the day…

19 Friday Aug 2022

Posted by in Halifax, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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Christ on a bike! – another week’s over and I only have the weekend left before I begin my tour of the country by rail. I’m really looking forward to it. Much of my route’s planned out in theory but to paraphrase the famous quote from Helmuth van Moltke, “no plan survives first contact with the enemy”. I expect my finely tuned timetable to be nothing more than a wish-list, but we’ll see…

Today’s been spent sorting out the last logistics of the trip as well as tidying up paperwork before I go in order to have quality time with ‘the other half’. Tonight was such an event. We both knocked off early in order to meet up with friends in our local. We may have missed the quiz but we had such a laugh afterwards! The humour was flying – lubricated en-route by a variety of alcoholic mixes (or in the case of Dawn, just humour).

Now we’re back at home, resting our chuckle muscles, ready to watch the last episode of ‘Killing Eve’ – one of the few terrestrial TV series series we’ve got involved in for ages. This leaves me with one last task – posting today’s picture, which reflects where we’ve been tonight and one that real ale drinkers can relate to. This is what was on offer to slake your thirst in the Big 6 tonight…

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

18th August picture of the day…

18 Thursday Aug 2022

Posted by in Musings, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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We’ve had another mixed day here at Bigland Towers – not that I was going to be going anywhere as there’s another rail strike on so no trains were operating through the Calder valley. I couldn’t have gone anywhere If I’d wanted to! Whilst this was a major inconvenience for many I was happy to be stuck at home as I’d lots to do in preparation for next week and my ‘grand tour’ around the UK’s rail network. To add to the happiness at being busy at my desk, the weather wasn’t exactly conducive to wandering with the camera. Our latest dry spell has broken but it’s still not going to be anywhere near enough to replenish our famished reservoirs. Whilst I was working I was seeing friends in the South and West reporting on the torrential rains they’d had and the consequent floods as the water ran off fields baked like clay. At least we’ve not suffered that here. I’ll be interested to see the contrasts as I traverse the UK next week.

My plans are finally coming together. I’ve only one day out of the seven where I may have to ‘wing it’ or plan at the last moment due to problems with a couple of the train operating companies. But that’s all grist to a journalists mill, so I’m not going to worry about it.

Whilst I’ve been busy at home I’ve managed to add another load of railway memorabilia to eBay and offer up for sale stuff that’s been sat in cupboards for years. Some of it is rather unusual and certainly limited edition as it was souvenirs that were commissioned for various press events over the years. Here’s an example. You’d be mugs to miss stuff like this! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314112297014

So, my picture of the day is another mugshot!

No, it doesn’t tilt – unless you make it!

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!