Well, what a weird day weather-wise that was! There’s an old Crowded House record called ‘four seasons in one day’. That’s exactly what we’ve had here in the Pennines – and over a large chunk of the country apparently. Freezing temperatures, an icy wind and a mix of clear skies and storm clouds as dark as Hades have produced a constant rotation of snow, sleet and sunshine. It’s actually been quite entertaining to watch – but not so much fun to walk in! Instead, I’ve spent most of the day sheltering from the storms to work from home, catching up on work and scanning yet more old slides to add to the repository ready for scanning. Its a slow process at the moment as so many need retouching in Photoshop due to the blemishes and scratches. Even so, I’ve added another selection from India and Nepal to this gallery.
Tempting as it is to delve into the past to use one of these archive shots as the picture of the day I’m going to take the rare step of using a video that I took of some of the weather we experienced earlier – just for a change!
West Yorkshire, in April. In the hour before I filmed this we’d had a mix of sunshine, sleet and slight snow on an endless cycle
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For the past couple of days we’ve had lovely weather here in the Pennines so I’ve said ‘sod it’ when it comes to being chained to a desk and escaped out into the countryside to take the camera out of storage, breathe fresh air and stretch my legs. Yesterday I took a wander locally in the Calder valley to update my library shots of the local rail network. Sadly, things didn’t quite go to plan due to me leaving later than intended so by the time I’d arrived at my intended location the sun had already moved around! Even so, I had a lovely walk along the canal. The feeling that we’re finally coming out of hibernation was compounded by the confirmation of two photographic commissions over the next week, the first I’ve had since last November – which is a wonderful feeling as I know more are in the pipeline. As much as I enjoy writing, there’s nothing like the challenge of being on site in a strange location for testing your photographic skills. The two jobs are very different and one involves an iconic railway structure, but more about them nearer the time.
Today Dawn had to visit her office in Huddersfield so I accompanied her to take the camera for a ‘test run’ as it were. The combination of sunshine and the opportunity to document stretches of the Trans-Pennine railway via the Colne Valley before electrification work starts was too good to miss. Plus, it involved a lot of walking, so my exercise levels benefitted too!
Of course spending two days away from my desk means that there’s a backlog of scanned slides to edit, but they can wait. This is West Yorkshire after all – so it won’t be long before I’m trapped indoors by the rain again…
Now, the question is – what should today’s picture be, one of the old slides from my travels – or one of the new tranche of shots? I’ve plumped for one of today’s – purely for a change. After all, I’ve waited 30 years to get some of my slides into the public arena so another day or two’s hardly going to make a difference!
I took this shot at an area West of Huddersfield called Paddock. There’s a whole series of bridges over the railway at this point so there’s lots of photographic opportunities especially as the line passes through a deep cutting in the rock. Once four tracks, the line was reduced to two back in the 1970s. At the moment Network Rail are planning the upgrade of this section of line, which may (or may not) be electrified.
Taken with a telephoto lens, train 1K68, the 10:31 Scarborough to Liverpool Lime St accelerates to the linespeed of 75mph in the deep cutting at Paddock, West of Huddersfield. The train’s worked by a pair of Siemens Class 185 diesel multiple units. In the background is the spire of the ruined St Thomas’ church. Oh, and thank you to the driver of the train for giving me a cheery wave as he passed!
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Well, the first one anyway. I was invited to apply via NHS letter so immediately followed the website link to book my appointments. Oddly, I wasn’t offered anywhere in the Halifax area – only Huddersfield or Bradford. Plumping for Huddersfield I had the choice between the John Smith stadium or Boots the chemist in the centre of town. Choosing Boots as I could walk there seemed like a sensible choice to that’s where I booked.
So, this morning Dawn and I drove in as Dee had arranged to do some work at the Community Rail Network office at the station, which left me with a short walk into town. I decided to make the most of it by combining my visit with a wander around the centre to get some exercise before the jab just in case I was laid low afterwards. To be honest, my perambulations were rather depressing. I’d not been into central Huddersfield for several months so I’d forgotten just how many vacant shops there are. Whilst the Council have clearly got plans for the place they’re facing an uphill struggle to attract businesses. The world’s changed with the triumvirate of online-shopping, Brexit and Covid coming together to create a perfect storm for the traditional high-street. I’ve no idea what sort of businesses will want to take on many of these premises with their expensive overheads, but I wish the Council well in trying. I could see another problem on my travels, I don’t know what Huddersfield’s demographic is nowadays, but I lot of the people I saw out and about were what could best be described as ‘economically inactive’ – a trend I’d noticed before Covid reduced numbers on the ground to a shadow of their former selves…
It gave me something to think about as I headed to the large Boots the Chemist in King St which used to be a busy pedestrian street – only now the pedestrians are mostly missing. The vaccination centre had been set up on Boots’ first floor, where one side had been partitioned off. They were very efficient. You queued to give your details to a chap who had the air of Captain Peacock from the 70s sitcom ‘Are you being served’? He had the same ex-military manner, clipped tones plus a lack of a local twang that made him easy to understand. Once you’d answered all the questions correctly and you go the green light he ushered you behind the screens to a socially-distanced waiting area where single seats had been laid out with precision. I was waiting a matter of minutes before I was escorted to one of the two groups of staff who were administering the injections. I had a young Asian couple. Whilst she double-checked I had no medical conditions he prepared he AstraZeneca vaccine and within minutes it was all over. I was given a vaccine leaflet to read and told to sit in the exit area for five minutes (to double check I wasn’t going to keel over) – and that was that. Done.
Wandering back to the CRN office I picked up my back and left Dawn busy working as I’d decided to get the train back to Halifax. I mean, having your Covid jab must count as an essential journey, surely? Plus, it was my chance to take my first train trip of the year! The station was pretty deserted. It’s hard to believe that (pre Covid) 4.7 million people passed through its doors every year. A Manchester-bound Trans-Pennine service arrived just as I did and I was pleasantly surprised to see how many people detrained, but even so, this was nothing like the numbers we used to see. But then – what’s there to travel for? Everything’s closed!
I grabbed a few record shots for the library whilst I was there before joining the 11.35 Huddersfield – Bradford Interchange shuttle service which was worked by what’s now one of the oldest diesel trains in the fleet – the BR built Class 150s.
These old girls have always been my least favourite of the old BR diesel fleets, but right now I was happy to see one! 150222 waits to work the 11.35 Huddersfield to Bradford Interchange hourly shuttle service.
In a sign of the times only two of us occupied the front car of the two-car train when departed, weaving its way across the viaducts above the town to head to Halifax. By this time my left arm was starting to throb but as I’d been told that having a reaction to the vaccine is a positive sign your immune system’s working I wasn’t worried. Instead I relaxed and enjoyed the sights and sounds of something that used to be so commonplace, but that now had become special – a trip on a train.
All too soon we arrived in Halifax – at a time that coincided with a hailstorm, but I was fully kitted out in waterproofs as I’d taken no chances before leaving home. Knowing that there was a real possibility I’d feel like death warmed-up later I elected to walk home and get my daily step quota in before I did. I really enjoyed it because after being stuck at home for so long there was a new-found novelty to treading old boards as it were…
I may have pushed myself just a little bit too far, because when I did get home I soon felt like death – only sans warmed-up! I’ve not sallied forth since. Instead I’ve spent the day shivering and aching in front of a computer, but I really don’t mind! These side-effects are positive and short-lived, unlike the severest side-effect of catching Covid!
Tomorrow the sun could shine or the wind may blow – it matters not to me – I’ve lots to do at home, so expect my ‘picture of the day’ feature to return then as I’ve a lot of new scans to choose from. Right now, I’m off to bed….
Another very short blog from me today as it’s Valentine’s day and time to be concentrating on other things. Dawn and I have had a lovely, relaxed time and made the most of it with food, fun, laughter and even a bit of walking as the sub-zero temperatures are finally taking their leave. OK, the rain’s arrived and we got a bit wet, but what the hell – it’s better than freezing!
Today’s picture was taken yesterday. The pair of us headed over to the Bolster Moor farm shop to pick up supplies for today’s meal. On the way back Dee spotted this critter foraging for food in a field by the side of the road so we pulled up and spent half an hour watching this beautiful Barn Owl’s aerobatics.
We often hear Owls in the woods surrounding our house but never get to see them, so spotting one out in the open like this was really exciting. Thankfully, I’d packed the camera in the car ‘just in case’…
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The first day of the month and the first day of the week arriving together along with some glorious sunshine gave me the impetus to break away from my usual routine today. Abandoning the computer I swapped it for the camera and enjoyed a long walk, just to blow the cobwebs away and do something different for a change.
For the first time this year I walked into Halifax itself, which was existing in that sort of strange half-life many towns and cities are enduring right now. The only things that were open were food outlets, banks and the odd shop selling the bare necessities of life. Still, it gave me time to look upwards to admire some of the fine buildings without worrying about walking into people as there were bugger-all people to walk into!
Despite the fact the low winter sun had already moved around and wasn’t in the best position for some pictures I began the trek from the town centre up the steep climb to the top of Beacon hill, which gives superb views across the town and out into the surrounding hills and valleys, so here’s the picture of the day, taken today from the top of the hill looking down into the town itself.
The square building at the bottom right of the picture behind the church spire is the superb Piece Hall. Above it in the centre of the picture you can see the Octagonal dome of Halifax Borough market which opened in 1896. Above the market to the right is a white fronted building with a dome. That’s the rather ostentatious Natwest bank, showing off in a town dominated by a building Society! I’m looking North-West here, so beyond the town you can see Mount Tabor and the moors around Ogden in the background.
I’ve added many other views of Halifax and surrounds taken today to this gallery. Enjoy!
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On rolling up the bedroom blinds this morning I found we’d had the first real dusting of snow of the winter. Unlike last month the snowline was low enough to include us although the valley bottom was still clear of the white stuff. Even so, the view from the house was rather attractive – especially as I knew I didn’t need to venture out to slip and slide my way to work!
Instead, the pair of us have spent most of the day indulging in some DIY in order to rejig the bedroom and create more space in the cottage by relocating some shelves over the bed. A simple task normally, but this is an 1850s cottage that doesn’t contain a straight line/flat surface anywhere! Just drilling a hole into a wall as an adventure as you never know what you might find, or rather – not find. I sometimes think the interior walls were made of Emmental cheese that someone just roughly slapped plaster over. Hoping for a solid surface to drill into is like playing Russian roulette in reverse! Still, we got there in the end and the relocated shelves look rather dandy.
Having carried out my DIY duties and whilst Dawn finished some decluttering I ventured out for my daily constitutional before dark descended – although it was a close-call. The Mercury was already plummeting and the roads and pavements were becoming glasslike. Even so, it was lovely to be out for an hour as everything is really peaceful at the moment because so few people are sallying forth. I didn’t encounter anyone in our local woods and the promenade overlooking the valley contained little more than a couple of folks walking their dogs, so I was left to admire the valley views on my own. These Covid times to have their compensations…
Having been busy all day with other chores I’ve had no time to scan more old pictures, although I did break out more and install them in glass mounts ready for action. So, today’s picture is topical to say the least – if more mundane than most I’ve been posting recently. It’s the view from our bedroom window this morning…
I’ll be back at the grindstone tomorrow as I’ve a couple of blogs I want to write before we finally wave goodbye to (or put two fingers up at) 2020…
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Apologies for my absence this past couple of days but things have not exactly been going to plan. Well, as much as there seems to be any sort of plan at the moment as none of us have a ‘Scooby Do’ what’s going on right now. Until today, when all matters of choice were abruptly taken out of our hands thanks to a text message
This morning Dawn received such message from the manicurist whom she’d visited on Thursday to say that they had just tested positive for Covid 19. Bugger, drat and f**k! Only it was a double bugger as Dawn’s mum had visited the very same manicurist on Friday…
So, this morning the pair of us had a chat. Whilst all the Covid safety protocols were followed and the chances of Dawn (or her mum) contracting Covid appear small, we feel that we’ve no option but to self-isolate. This means we’ve no chance to prepare for Thursday’s national event. On the bright side, we’re reasonably well stocked with most foods and we’ve both got plenty to keep ourselves occupied with, but the fact we’re stuck indoors for the next 11 days isn’t exactly a joy. Hopefully, we won’t end up killing each other as we slowly go stir-crazy! We’ve let close friends know and some have very kindly offered to do any shopping we need in the meantime. Even so, the next week is going to be an anxious time until we know that neither of us have contracted Covid – and neither have Dawn’s parents. It’s not as if any of us can get a test either as you can only get ones on the NHS if you’re displaying symptoms.
With this news in mind, don’t be surprised if my blogging becomes ever more acerbic when it comes to describing the antics of the blond buffoon and his coterie of clowns who are meant to be in ‘control’ of the situation. The only ‘world beating’ that seems to be going on is in the levels of incompetence, which are stratospheric. It’ll be interesting to see if their ‘track and trace’ system picks up said manicurist and contacts us. If it doesn’t, you can see just how ‘world beating’ it really is…
What’s going to chafe over the next 10 days is not being able to venture outside. Even during lockdown we could go for a walk, but now we’re literally going to be confined to barracks, which is a bitch. I’ll miss my daily exercise and as we live in a small cottage where both of us are working from home there’s little chance to do much without one of us disturbing the other.
OK, having shared my joyful news I’m going straight on to the picture of the day, which is of the only view I’m going to be looking at for the foreseeable as this is the one from our bedroom window. Admittedly, as views go, it’s a damn sight better than many, so I really shouldn’t complain! I wouldn’t even mind seeing it like this right now either…
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Work hasn’t been at the forefront of my mind today, mainly because it’s my Birthday and Dawn was determined to make it a good one for me – despite the awful weather we’ve had today which has rendered any idea of a long walk in the country out of the question, unless you fancy pneumonia for a birthday present!
Instead, after a lazy (ish) morning the pair of us went out for lunch to La Luna in Halifax as a rare treat. Due to the madness off this year we can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times we’ve eaten out recently, especially as the increased restrictions have meant we’ve had to cancel plans several times.
Despite it being a Tuesday lunchtime La Luna was very busy which was good to see. They’ve stripped out a lot of tables inside but they have another seating area undercover in the arcade outside so they still have enough seats to make the place viable economically. We shared dishes off the small plate menu and mixed a Greek Meze plate with Singapore Crab Springroll (fresh white crab seasoned with chilli, ginger, coriander and served with sweet chilli jam and avocado mayonnaise) and Gambas Pil Pil (pan-fried extra-large king prawns with paprika, chilli, garlic, lemon, parsley & olive oil served with ciabatta). I washed it down with a rather nice glass of Merlot (well, it is winter!) whilst Dawn had a Peppermint tea. The portion sizes meant three dishes was plenty for us and the quality of the food and the presentation was very good indeed. It was such a lovely break from what’s become normal life.
Afterwards we drove over to Wakefield as Dawn wanted to buy me a new waterproof walking jacket, sadly the selection on offer at Go-Outdoors wasn’t what I was looking for but hey ho – we’re not going to buy something just for the sake of it. On the way back the appalling weather caught up with us. Wind and driving rain made the trip back fun to say the least as the cars windscreen wipers went into warp factor 7. The views from the hills above Huddersfield can often be very attractive – but not when rain reduces visibility to a few hundred metres and drops light levels to the equivalent of dusk. Even the giant Emley Moor TV transmitter was lost in the low clouds.
Back at Bigland Towers we’ve settled in for a quiet evening at home in front of the fire although we did decide to take a risk and book a long weekend away in Hexham, Northumberland next month. It’ll be the only time we’ll have this year to get away together and – as it’s an apartment – we’ll be self-contained and independent if any more restrictions kick in. I’ve always wanted to explore parts of Hadrian’s wall and more of the Tyne Valley, so this seemed like the ideal opportunity.
The rain’s battering the window as I write this so we’re both happy to relax and enjoy a chicken stew that’s been simmering in the slow-cooker whilst we’ve been out, which meant we returned home to some delicious smells! We might even stretch to something as adventurous as a play game of Scrabble, or even watch a film. The outside world can take a backseat for once. Anyway, we’re being sociable (at a social distance) tomorrow – so this is our time. After all, I’m only Sixty..X once!
And so to the picture of the day, which has been chosen totally at random by putting a name into the ‘search’ facility on my picture website, and it threw up this…
Here’s the main hall of the old Berlin Templehof airport, just a few weeks before it closed in 2008. Built by the Nazi regime between 1936-1941 it’s an impressive building that a few of us were determined to visit during one of our regular German forays.
The site and associated building have a fascinating history. You can read more about them here. Sadly, I never got to fly in or out of Tempelhof, but I’m glad I saw it before it closed.
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Today’s been a day for catching up with jobs at home as well as beginning the task of sifting and editing the hundreds of pictures that I’ve been taking over the past few days. Even so, the pair of us were determined to get out and spend some quality time together, despite the gloomy (but mild) weather conditions. This afternoon we put on our boots and headed up the other side of the valley and over to the Moorcock Inn on the edge of Norland Moor. The Moorcock’s been a regular calling point of ours very many years now. It was once we missed during the ‘lockdown’ so we were delighted when they reopened. Sadly, the latest Tier 2 tightening and uncertainty over the next few weeks means they’ve taken the decision to shut their doors once more from November 2nd. It’s a crying shame as we’d booked in for a meal for our wedding anniversary, but we can absolutely understand why they’ve chosen to do what they have. Having received the news we couldn’t not go up for possibly the last time before they shut just to say hello and offer our support – and enjoy the views from the beer garden one more time…
This rather neatly brings me on to the picture of the day, which is the view from our cottage looking across to Norland taken on the 3rd January 2010. As beautiful as it looks, I’m hoping the scene isn’t repeated this January!
Tommorrow I’ll be busy catching up on eBay sales and adding some of the new pictures I’ve been editing to my Zenfolio website – and hopefully a bit of blogging, so stay tuned…
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
The fact our internet connection collapsed this morning was the impetus I needed to take a break from staring at screens and get out in the autumn sunshine for a few hours. Well, when I say sunshine, I mean those few brief but glorious moments in-between the clouds and rain. But it made for some glorious skies and sights, at today’s picture shows.
I escaped to the hills above Walsden, just outside Todmorden to a photographic location I’ve known for years. It’s a beautiful spot which sums up this part of the world.
The rainbow was a bonus that was worth getting a brief soaking for! I won’t be back in the office now until Sunday, as tomorrow I’m off on my travels. No doubt a blog or two will appear..
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Paul Bigland 