The fact we’ve slipped over from February to March didn’t go unnoticed today – mainly due to the gorgeous – almost Spring like – sunshine we were bathed in today, along with mild temperatures. Of course, today would happen to be a day when I spent most of it stuck indoors! Thanks to my recent travels and having rejigged my plans as short notice to accommodate last minute commissions I’m behind on scribbling some articles so enjoying the sunshine’s had to take a backseat.
That said, it’s ben a productive day and I’ve got a lot done so missing the chance to top up my vitamin D levels was a worthwhile sacrifice. Now, if only I can have another day like this tomorrow I might have the end of the week free – just in time for the next band of rain. Damn! Ah, well – maybe working from home for the rest of the week will have some compensations. I’ve certainly enough articles that need words bashing together and there’s always slides to scan…
Despite the forecast, there’s a real feeling that spring is just around the corner. Our garden is springing to life with a mixture of snowdrops and daffodils (plus the odd Hyacinth) and I was amazed to see how much blossom was appearing across the West Midlands the other day. Add in the fact the days are getting longer and there’s a lot to look forward to especially as Covid is slowly fading away. Mind you, that seems partly because some people are simply ignoring the risks to pretend it’s somehow vanished overnight. It’s been overtaken by the awful news from the Ukraine and the madness unleashed by Putin. Noe people are more worried about thoughts of war and nuclear arsenals than they are of microbes. Still, I’ll be wearing my mask in public places for a while longer yet…
Right, enough of such thoughts. What’s today’s picture? To be honest, even I had no idea what it would be when I started typing earlier. But I’ve plumped for this, taken yesterday. In yesterday’s blog I mentioned how passengers are returning to the railway. Quiet scenes like this at Leeds station are fast becoming a thing of the past as folk return to old habits such as socializing and going out. You won’t see it looking this relaxed at the weekend…
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps 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/
I promised myself a day working from home today and that’s what I’ve managed to have, which was just as well as we had yet more torrential rain this morning. Yet again roads turned into rivers and the amount of blockages caused by broken off branches from the recent gales made it look like an army of beavers had taken up occupancy in the Calder valley. Like every other local authority Calderdale has suffered from Government cuts to its budgets which means that many drains haven’t been cleaned for years, leading to blocked grids which have added to the problem as water has nowhere to go – except downhill…
The afternoon was a lot drier and brighter, giving the sodden fields a respite and breathing space for the land to begin to drain. It was a lovely time to tear myself away from my computer and go for a long circular walk which took in Sowerby Bridge then home on a route sandwiched between the canal and the Calder. River levels are dropping too, much to many people’s relief as the flood sirens had already sounded in nearby Todmorden over the weekend. Hopefully we’re now past the worst.
Back home I’ve had a busy day catching up on paperwork, organising future commissions (which when they come off will be an interesting challenge) plus prepping and researching my next series of magazine articles. So, all in all – not a bad day. Of course, all this means that scanning old slides has had to take a backseat, which is unfortunate but unavoidable as there are only so many hours in the day. I’m determined to get the last ones scanned this year and I have a folder full of scans waiting to be edited, but paying jobs take priority. Oh, there’s blogs to be written too – but these may also have to take a bit of a backseat other than short daily updates. Still, I’ll see what I can pack in to longer days.
I’ll end today with a picture of the day from the batch of slide scans which are still in the holding folder until I can find time to edit them and get them on my Zenfolio website. This one’s another from the batch of Images of India taken in 1995/96. Our little band took a trip to Old Goa, which was the religious centre of the Portuguese enclave of Goa. Whilst the British left in 1947, the Portuguese had to be forcibly removed from the colonies of Goa, Daman and Diu. The newly independent India launched “Operation Vijay” in December 1961 and took back the territory held by the Portuguese for 450 years. Needless to say, a lot of influence was left behind – including old cathedrals and churches like this – the church of St Cajeta.
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Yep, a slight change from pictures as today’s been full of surprises due to the weather, which has been wet, wet, wet. The wind and rain have never stopped all day, kyboshing any hopes I had out getting out for a walk as I’d have ended up looking like a drowned rat despite my waterproofs. Plus, this is not the time to be bumbling through the woods surrounding the cottage as trees are starting to fall like ninepins.
However, this afternoon the pair of us headed out and over to the Colne valley to pick up Norah and John (Dawn’s parents) as today was Norah’s 81st birthday and we’d a meal booked at the Bulls Head pub in Linthwaite in the Colne valley to the West of Huddersfield. The weather has been filthy as we drove over with several roads flooded and others on the valley sides turning into streams. But, as we drove along Blackmoorfoot Rd we were hit by a cloudburst of the likes I’ve never experienced in the UK before. It swept in from across the valley and within seconds visibility dropped to zero because of the sheer amount of water dropping from the sky that was blowing in on a gale. Dee immediately stopped the car as it was unsafe to drive in those conditions. I’ve only ever seen rain bucket down like that in SE Asia, never in the UK. We were all a bit stunned but I managed to get my phone out and record some of it (but not the height) as it passed. Here’s what we saw.
Once it cleared we got to the pub without further incident and enjoyed some lovely food. I’d been recommend the lamb shank which proved to be delicious – and looked pretty good too…
Heading back we dropped Dee’s folks off and drove back home through yet more heavy rain. Now we’re tucked up in the warm (and dry) and won’t be venturing out again! The forecast isn’t great for next week either but I’m hoping that the Calder won’t be bursting its bank yet again. I’ll venture down to the river tomorrow to see, but hopefully this trend will continue.
The past 24 hours at Bigland Towers have been dominated by (surprise, surprise) the weather. Fortunately we escaped the worst of Friday’s weather but I made sure of that by staying at home for most of the day, only venturing out in the morning to do some shopping before hunkering down in the office to begin editing the hundreds of pictures that I’d taken over the past few days. It wasn’t until the afternoon that the storm hit us. It’s arrival was announced by massive gusts of wind which stayed with us for most of the afternoon/evening. Luckily, we seemed to dodge the damage that was suffered down in the South-West and elsewhere – although we have lost a few trees. Most fences seemed to escape unscathed. Mainly because all the weak or badly-built ones had already blown away in the preceding storms! There wasn’t much left to flatten…
Today we’ve had a different weather phenomenon – snow. Despite it being Saturday I’ve been beavering away at home trying to get all my new pictures sorted as I’ve a new commission come in at short-notice which has a time imperative, so I’ve needed to clear the decks of pictures ready to go with some of the articles I’ll need to turn around pdq in order to leave time for other work. Oh, the joys of freelance work. Jobs are like the proverbial London bus – they all come along at once!
Thankfully, although the snow’s stuck and left us with a decent dustings across the hills it’s not caused any disruption on the roads or railways. A few hours of the predicted rain will soon see it off which is just as well as we have a lunch to attend tomorrow afternoon over in the next-door Colne Valley.
Tonight we’re having a quiet night at home in the warmth of the cottage. Dawn’s busy cooking industrial quantities of her fantastic Lasagne (as she also supplies her parents and stocks up the freezer at the same time) whilst I’m finishing editing pictures and scribbling this and enjoying the delicious smells wafting out of the kitchen.
So, I’ll leave you with today’s picture which was taken from our bedroom window late this afternoon as the snowstorms took a break and the weather cleared just long enough to be able to see clear across the valley to Sowerby.
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Today gave us little respite from the wild and windy conditions that have prevailed this weekend, the only different was that whilst yesterday was wall to wall rain, today was much more ‘four seasons in one day. We kept the high winds and torrential rain but this came in cloudbursts along with bouts of hailstones – in between which we actually had blue skies and sunshine!
To say that the skies were turbulent would be an understatement, but they were also fascinating to watch. The pair of us had little planned other than a quiet day at home. My intention was to spend several hours in the kitchen, batch-cooking for the freezer and fridge in order to give myself more time this week to concentrate on other things. Supermarket ‘fast’ foods are not our bag. We eat healthily and well – and like to know what our food contains.
In order to cook some of the recipes I had in mind I needed to venture out to a local Asian supermarket – despite the appalling weather. Plus, I wanted to get my daily exercise. It wasn’t a problem but I needed to kit myself out in full waterproof gear to do it. You’d have been forgiven for thinking I was headed to the top of Ben Nevis, not the shops, but it did mean I stayed warm – and dry. On the way home I stopped to bide a while on the edge of Halifax, looking across the Calder valley and watched nature in all its raw glory as the weather constantly changed. It was magnificent to watch. I can see why the artist Ashley Jackson moved to Yorkshire as the shadows and light in the Pennines are constantly shifting to put up a fantastic meteorological display. So, here’s a few pictures from today to show you exactly what I mean. These were all taken from today’s walk and within an hour.
The view from the Albert Promenade on the edge of Halifax overlooking the Calder valley with the Wainhouse Tower on the horizon. Looking right across the valley (further to the left from the last view) as yet another storm front passes. Can you believe this is the same day and view as the first picture, just an hour later?
Looking behind myself from the last picture as the sun breaks through a passing storm.
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Gosh, is it February already? I can’t say I’m too upset. After the past two Covid coated years I was looking forward to 2022 with optimism and renewed hope that we just *might* be starting to recover from all our woes and things would start to pick up. Sadly, for various reasons January was a mixed month to say the least, not helped by the shower of shits who sit on the Government benches in Parliament. I’ve never felt as embarrassed to be British as I am now, looking at this venal, lying and duplicitous bunch who’re more interested in their own careers, partying and lining each others pockets. But I can’t say I’m surprised. Johnson has a long history as a liar and a man who cares only for himself. The fact the Tories thought this qualified him to be their leader says everything you need to know about the Conservative party in the 21st Century. The sycophants and incompetents he’s surrounded himself and appointed to high-office so they owe him personal loyalty makes us look like a banana republic. I mean, Christ on a bike, who in their right mind would entrust Nadine ‘Mad Nad’ Dorries with anything important? I wouldn’t trust her with anything sharp! Her TV interviews yesterday were full on motorway pile-ups. Despite all this, Johnson (am man without an iota of honour) seems to brazen things out, despite the Grey report nailing the fact he lied to Parliament. As a man with no shame, he did it again by accusing Sir Keir Starmer of refusing to prosecute sex offender Jimmy Savile. It was yet another blatant lie, but lies are Johnson’s stock-in trade. He tells them as naturally as breathing.
How long are the Tories going to let this shit-show go on for? Have they any idea how this, their Brexitshambles and their empty bluster against the EU makes this country look abroad, or do they just not care as long as there’s still some money to be made out of it and most people seem in ignorance of what they’re getting away with – or just don’t care?
Sorry, I wasn’t intending to vent my spleen when I started typing, but the words came far too easily!
Away from the political and economic shambles its also been turbulent times here in West Yorkshire, but that’s been down to natural events – the weather! Having survived to named gales we were caught unawares by another one today which literally seemed to slip under the radar. Dawn and I went out for a walk this afternoon wondering if it was a wise move as the amount of trees that were losing branches was becoming worrying. Fortunately we survived unscathed but when I nipped out this evening I noticed a neighbour’s new fence blocking a nearby road. Hopefully the calm will arrive tomorrow. It doesn’t matter too much as I’ve another day based at home, so I don’t have to negotiate my way around a rail network choked with blown-away trampolines, shed roofs or fallen trees.
OK, on to the picture of the day, which has a very different vibe to all this. It’s from my latest batch of old slide scans. It dates from May 1996 and shows a rather special place. Here’s a pub that has what must be a unique location. The Red Lion is in the village of Avebury which is inside a massive Neolithic ditch containing several stone circles. Imagine sitting with your pint outside here, gazing out over a scene like this?
You can find (or buy) many more pictures from Avebury on my Zenfolio website if you follow this link.
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Apologies for absence these past few days folks but I’ve been busy dealing with life, the universe and everything. Which includes the weather. Yesterday we were hit by a gale with the innocuous name of ‘Malik’. For a change it didn’t arrive overnight where we were simply kept awake but couldn’t see its effect until morning. This time it blew most of the day, which was ‘interesting’ as the effect the gales had on the local woodland was instructive to say the least. We managed to survive mostly unscathed from what I can ascertain so far although I really need to be able to get onto the roof for a close examination. There’s odd chunks of material that have plonked themselves on the slabs (this being Yorkshire, we have a stone roof, not slate) which makes me wonder about the cement capping on the chimneys. The biggest surprise was to see that an Azealea bush which I have planted in a tub with the whole thing weighing several kilos was blown off its sheltered position on a roof at the back of the house. That’s one thing I didn’t expect to move! The other morning I did have to take down a bird-feeder outside the bedroom window which bares to full force of the wind across the valley as it was doing a passable impression of a propeller!
In-between gales we’ve been having a quiet weekend at home. I’ve been prepping a few new blogs and cooking Dee’s been busy with similar culinary activities and enjoying her well-earned weekend. We’ve even sallied forth together to meet friends at our local pub which feels a lot less risky and far more normal now the Pandemic is receding.
Now it’s Sunday evening and we’re battening down the hatches for the next storm in the cycle. We enjoyed a long walk earlier whilst the weather was good and even nipped up to one of our favorite pubs for a quick drink and chats afterwards although we could already see the next storm-front arriving over the horizon as we approached. Having buggered off home we’re now relaxing in the warm whilst the rain beats down outside. We’ve both got a busy few days ahead so a quiet night in with a home-made seafood risotto isn’t a bad way to end the week.
With such thoughts I’ll leave you with the picture of the day, which is very different to Yorkshire. I took this shot at the Columbia Rd flower market in the spring of 1996. I was still living in London’s East End at the time and this was the market where we all went to buy our plants, carrying them back home by tube or on bikes. In those days it was still a fascinating mix of the traditional and bohemian – as this picture shows. The chap in the hat was a classic old stallholder, barking out the prices to people in a way that hadn’t changed in years.
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
I’m out and about both sides of the Pennines today, starting off with a trip to Leeds. Sadly, it’s hardly a vintage day weather wise but that won’t affect either assignment as neither is about sesxy landscape shots. My walk into Halifax was fun. Passing the Piece Hall where the new Marvel comics ‘Avengers’ film is being shot I noticed the film industry’s answer to this problem towering over the area. Bring your own sun!
Here’s the ‘little’ brother of the other rig…
I’ve not bumped into any of the actors but Samuel L Jackson posed for selfies with locals outside a nearby restaurant the other day. Halifax seems to be much in demand by the media at the moment as another TV series of ‘Happy Valley is being shot here at the same time.
Leaving the bright lights (literally!) of the film industry behind I’m now on a Northern train to Leeds via Bradford. Passenger loadings are pretty good and seem to be recovering from the latest Covid knock. I’ll be interested to see how Leeds looks compared to my last visit.
14:30.
Well, that was an interesting interlude! I was being coy about where I was going as I didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that I was going to turn up to the anti HS2 farce (don’t you mean ‘day of action’? Ed) in Manchester’s Piccadilly gardens which was due to kick off at 12:00. It took me a while to find it as it was tiny! Just 10 people, a child and two others dressed as a white elephant where there. They were outnumbered by members of the media who patiently waited for them to assemble their banners and elephant before they set off on a circuit of part of Piccadilly Gardens. Their shouts were led by one Karen Wildin, an XR protester from *checks notes* Lreicester! In fact, I doubt any of the were actually from the city they were trying to prevent gaining green infrastructure, regeneration and thousands of jobs. It’s always been noticeable that there’s never been a single organised stopHS2 ‘action’ group in the whole of Manchester – hence them having to draft in people from elsewhere. I’ll do a separate blog about this whole farce, which lasted less then two hours before they traipsed back to Piccadilly station before catching their trains home to whence they came. The attitude of Manchester? Meh! Meanwhile, this afternoon, the HS2 phase 2b Crewe – Manchester Hybrid bill has been deposited in Parliament. It will get its 2nd reading in February, when it will fly through the vote as the opposition to HS2 has collapsed.
Here’s a picture of their farcical demonstration.
Somehow, I don’t think MPs will be quaking in their boots. I’ve seen more people turning up to protest about parking restrictions!
19:30.
I’m now on the train back across the Pennines after an interesting and certainly varied day. After attending the farcical and futile protest I spent a bit of time editing pictures and getting other images off to a client before their deadline, then had a wander around Manchester. I have to admit, the weather wasn’t exactly what you’d want for such perambulations but hey – this is the North in January after all. I did manage to bag a few more library shots which will appear on my Zenfolio picture website soon. After that, it was time for a trip to Chinatown to pick up some more edible goodies. I love mooching around the Chinese supermarkets as I always discover something new that I have to resist the urge to buy as – more likely than not – It’ll end up sitting in a cupbord as I don’t really know what to do with it.
Right now I’m on Northern’s 18:58 from Manchester to Leeds made up of a pair of 2-car Class 195s. It’s surprisingly quiet, not that Victoria station was. That was buzzing with hundreds of young people off to a gig at the Arena (just don’t ask me who was playing as I’ve no idea!).
I took a break from blogging yesterday due to the fact that you never know what’s going to happen in life and Tuesday was a classic example. I’m now propelled on a course which I hadn’t mapped but could prove to be very different to the one originally charted. All will be revealed soon.
Mind you, life’s full of surprises at the moment, although the fact our Prime Minister can no longer deny the utter shit-show that’s his Premiership is less of one. We all knew he knew about the parties at number 10 during lockdown, it’s just that it’s taken so long for him to finally admit that fact – sort of, ish…
The Prime Mendaciter apart, I’m amazed at the number of people who still fall for this shyster and the rest of his chaotic Cabinet. I try not to do politics too much in these blogs (although that’s probably about to change) as the invective would flow. How this country has been laid low by the forces that sold it Brexit – and then Johnson – which people then voted for is one of those things I’ll never come to terms with. What it has done is make me feel that this is no longer the country I was quietly proud of and was happy to call home. What on earth have we become – apart from an international laughing stock? Nowadays it’s embarrassing to admit to being English.
My sense of detachment from the UK is growing, and 2022 may well see that manifest itself more as the world gradually reopens for business. Covid is looking like its burning itself out and we’re going to be living with a virus that’s endemic rather than being a pandemic. Once that’s true across the majority of countries we can begin to return to some sort of normalcy and I can make up for lost travel time.
Talking of travel, the picture of the day comes from yesterday’s jaunt to Leeds to look at the work Network Rail carried out to extend platforms and increase capacity at the station. Work that was part of the Trans-Pennine route upgrade and that the Dept of Transport dishonestly claimed was part of the universally derided IRP. But then lying is endemic in Government right now…
So, here’s one of the former Scotrail Class 170s which have been cascaded to Northern from Scotrail leaving Leeds in lovely light as it works a service to York via Harrogate.
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
We’re putting the finishing touches to packing before loading the car ready for Dee to drive down to Farnham. Just to make it ‘interesting’ the Gods decided to dump some snow on us overnight! Here’s the view from the house right now.
Thankfully, it’s not heavy, although the leaden skies keep teasing us with more flurries. The forecast is crap across most of the Western side of the country this weekend, including the ‘sunny’ South so I many have to be inventive with the camera as I was hoping to have a day out tomorrow. We shall see…
I’ll blog about our journey down as it happens, so feel free to pop back and see what we get up to…
11:30.
We’re on the M1 and heading South now after avoiding the M62 by cutting across country along the A637. It’s a country road that takes us from Elland to Junction 38. The roads windy and narrow but it traverses the hills South of Wakefied and affords some wonderful views of Castle Hill at Huddersfield to the South. To the North you have views as far as the power stations such as Drax. We dipped in and out of the snowline which gradually petered out the further East we got – all in glorious sunshine. En-route we passed this interesting new house. Imagine the 360 degree views this affords you!
The weather here on the M1 is awful. It’s a combination of rain and sleet. The spray’s making visibility difficult so I’m going to finish for now to give Dee (who’s doing the driving) an extra pair of eyes…
14:30.
We’re off the M1 now which is a relief. Although the traffic wasn’t too heavy the changeable weather certainly made driving challenging.
One oddity was that we discovered a humbug shortage. Neither of us are great sweet eaters – except on long car journeys when we do enjoy boiled sweets with humbugs being a favourite. Normally motorway services and petrol stations are stuffed with ’em, but not today despite us trying several outlets. Oh, the irony, England suffering from a humbug shortage in this day and age…
We’re currently cutting across country via several A roads including the A43. We had a brief pitstop at Brackley to top up with fuel and allow me to have a look at early work on building the HS2 rail line which will pass under a diverted section of the A43, building the new dual carriageway has only recently started.
The Brackley roundabout. The new A43 will come off this roundabout in the centre of the picture. The ‘old’ road behind the HGV will be closed. HS2 will cross the picture from Left to Right in a cutting a few hundred meters North.
15:30.
We’re on the last leg nowhaving left the M4 at a humongous and complex roundabout by Reading to head South on the A33.
The roads have been surprisingly quiet for a Friday. Even the A34 which is normally congested around Oxford. Even the M4 was pleasant – not a word I’d normally use to describe the Thames Valley racetrack! I’m assuming a combination of folk isolating or working from home are the culprits. But it’s been to our advantage.
Sadly, the weather’s still crap, consisting of dull skies, rain and sleet. For the benefit of my many overseas readers who may find my seeming obsession with the weather odd – I’ll explain in another chapter of this blog after we’ve arrived…
18:55.
And relax! We’re now sitting by a wood fire here in Tilford, relaxing after the journey down. The weather deteriorated after my last post, the sleet turned into proper snow just before we hit Farnham but the ground was far too wet for it to stick even if it had persisted. Instead we’re in a very soggy Surrey, which isn’t what we’re normally used to, although there’s a certain feeling of festive deja vu as this is just how it was when we were here at Christmas.
But right now the weather’s behind us as we’ve a quite night in. Dawn’s planning on cooking so soon the house will be filled with the delicious aromas of chicken Korma and Bakewell tart to compliment the whiff of wood-smoke from the fire. Me? I’ve some picture editing to do…
I mentioned earlier about why the British seem to always be talking about the weather. For me that’s partly because it can have such a major impact of my job. I’m an outdoor, not a studio photographer so I’m often at the mercy of the elements. Sure, I do indoor jobs too, but the outdoors is a huge part of my work so I’m always keeping one eye on the weather map. I also live in the Pennines which is renowned for its micro-climates. We can have glorious weather in the Calder Valley whilst it could be blowing a blizzard in the Colne valley next door.
The British Isles benefit from the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, but this – and the islands location means that our weather patterns are unpredictable to say the least – and even more so now that the climate’s changing. It’s getting warmer, and wetter. I sometimes envy countries with more stable seasons, which is why I always love travelling in tropical SE Asia where there’s not the same variations and you don’t need to pack to cope with extremes. In the UK we can have snow in Summer! I shouldn’t really complain too much as the variety we experience can make for some dramatic skies and pictures – if you happen to be in the right place at the right time. Sadly, the law of Sod means that often, the opposite happens to me! However, it does teach you patience (and a certain amount of fatalism) to be stood out in the landscape in beautiful sunshine waiting for a certain train to arrive only for the event to coincide with a large, dark cloud muscling in to block the sun at exactly the wrong moment, then to clear just as the bloody train’s passed! Not a problem I encounter in Asia. I sometime joke that in the UK we don’t have climate, we have weather. Whether it’s snowing, rainy or sunny, it’s always whether! So this is why you may notice my keenness in noting the conditions outside.
Talking of the weather (sorry!) my plans for heading out tomorrow are looking dicey as nowhere seems to escape from the band of rain that’s due to sweep across the country which is making deciding where to go rather a challenge. Scenic shots are looking like they’re going to be out of the question, so I may have to decide my plans first thing tomorrow. Maybe a day indoors beckons…
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Paul Bigland 