Today’s been another day of mixed fortunes working from home. I can’t really complain as it’s been rather productive. I’ve no commercial writing to do this week so I can concentrate on pictures and rebooting scanning my old slides. A few weeks ago I managed to buy 4 packs of ‘Gepe’ glass slide mounts on eBay. I’ve been using the same 40 old mounts for nearly 15 years now and they’re showing their age. The plastic starts to split after hundreds of times of being remounted, so many of them are ‘cream crackered’ (Cockney rhyming slang for knackered = broken). Now with another 80 in the arsenal I can mount 60-80 slides at a time which speeds up the scanning process. OK, it’s still a tedious thing to have to do but there’s certainly light at the end of the tunnel now as I can see the physical pile of albums dwindle. Hallelujah!
Aside from scanning and answering emails Dawn and I did manage to get out for an afternoon constitutional – and avoid getting soaked. For the past couple of days we’ve experienced thunderstorms and some very moody skies. They’ve been wonderful to watch but you really don’t want to get caught outside when the heavens open. Thankfully, because we live high up on the valley side there’s normally plenty of warning as you can see the rain approaching which can make for some very dramatic sights. One of those sights is today’s picture of the day – just to give you all a break from exotic travel images (oh, and have I got some great ones in store)…
Here’s the view from our bedroom window earlier today as the latest in a line of thunderstorms darkened our door – and the valley…
One of the wonderful things about living here in the Pennines is the skies. They’re constantly changing to provide amazing backdrops to the green hills of the Calder Valley. I’ll never get bored of trying to capture their variety and moods…
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After last nights failure to deliver a Pacer I got home around 3am this morning which meant today was initially a slow one whilst I caught up on some sleep. The plan was was to potter around at home anyway, so the indifferent weather forecast didn’t make any difference. It’s not as if I had to go out and get any exercise as I’d walked the 7.5 miles back from Huddersfield so I was quids in on that front!
Instead the days been taken up with a mixture of gardening and household chores to try and catch up with stuff that I’ve been promising to do for ages. The rain held off long enough for me to get several hours in the garden without getting drenched which allowed me to dispose of a lot of the remains of a Russian Vine that had been invading us from a patch of no-man’s land above the house. God, I hate that stuff! We haven’t been able to kill at its source (yet) but we’ve hacked it back so much that it’s not going to bother us again for a while. By the time the rain arrived I’d moved indoors to catch up on some internal DIY and cleaning, so the day’s not been a complete waste of time. Now, in the evening I’m trying to catch up on some work and old slide scanning as I’ve exhausted the backlog of pictures awaiting editing so I need to get some more in the bank. I added over 100 old travel images from my solo trip through Asia in 1992 to this gallery on Saturday. There’s a large selection of stuff from Sumatra to enjoy and one of them is the picture of the day….
I took this shot in the market at Bukittinggi in West Sumatra on the 3rd June 1992. I love Asian markets as they’re fascinating places to explore and to indulge in people watching. There’s always something to new to discover, whether that’s a variety of fruit or veg I’ve never soon before, bizarre kitchen utensils, or ornamental ironwork for homes and gardens. The market here had the lot! In this case what caught my eye was some of the market porters who made their living moving goods round the market for a few rupiah a barrow-load.
Apart from the battered leather jacket and traditional hat, notice the man’s barefoot? If you look through the other shots in this series you’ll see him pushing his barrow through floodwater at the market after a heavy storm. This is no easy gig. In the background are ‘Dokars’ – horse-drawn taxis who’re waiting for trade, hoping to take shoppers and their purchases home. I made a couple of visits to the market whilst I was staying in the town before heading off to lake Maninjau. It remains one of my favourite towns ion the island but then I rather fell in love with West Sumatra. It has some of the most fantastic scenery, the people are a delight and the local food is superb. ‘Padang food’ as it’s known is famous throughout Indonesia, just look for ‘Masakan Padang’….
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There’s lots of ways of spending one’s Saturday night. Well, OK, not as many as there used to be pre-Covid, but tonight is a little different.
I’m in Huddersfield, waiting for the latest old Pacer train to be delivered to its new owners, the platform 1 charity based at Huddersfield station.
Unlike the first delivery which was to a school in Bradford this one is much, much more complex. It involves two large cranes (one’s a 500 tonner) half a dozen articulated HGVs plus loads of support vehicles. To make it even more interesting it also requires a possession (complete line closure) of the railway, which isn’t scheduled until 01:00.
Here’s how things look right now.
This is the smaller of the two cranes with the Pacer behind it to the left. It’ll be craned into position over a wall behind where it sits now. Thankfully, although the evening’s wet it’s not windy as that would kibosh the lift.
Right now, all we have to do is wait fot the possession – a feeling familiar to anyone involved in rail engineering! I’ll update this blog as events unfold…
00:00.
Don’t you just love it when a plan doesn’t come together? The job’s been cancelled at the 11th hour. I won’t go into detail other than to say it involves cranes – and mats…
Right now everyone’s busy deconstructing the site and packing everything away ready for another day.
Me? I’m off home to a warm bed. Sorry about that folks!
Meanwhile, in the best quiz show tradition – here’s what you could have won. 55801 from set 144001 repainted especially for platform 1.
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/
Regular readers will know I’ve become increasingly cynical about the UK ‘green’ movement. Mainly due to my support for building the High Speed 2 railway. This has brought me into contact with various charities, pressure groups and ‘celebrities’ in a way I’d never had before. Like many people, I simply assumed they were on the right side of things, knew what they were talking about and actually cared about Climate Change. Several years down the (metaphorical) line and my rose tinted glasses are well and truly consigned to the dustbin.
Over the years I’ve blogged about the fact free nonsense, scaremongering, hypocrisy (and downright lies) pushed by many conservation groups. Like the Woodland Trust (who’re still at it) or people like Chris Packham who really is beyond the pale (remember his ‘largest deforestation since WW1‘ claptrap?). Today I’ve found another in the Packham mould who I’d never heard of before. One Iolo Williams.
It seems Williams is another TV celebrity Conservationist. Well, in Wales at least – although he also works for the BBC and has appeared on ‘Springwatch’, so presumably knows Packham. What drew my attention was this fact-free load of nonsense on Twitter.
Ignoring the usual lazy canards about HS2 being a ‘Vanity project’ and only saving 20 mins we have a new one. According to Williams HS2 “destroys thousands of acres of prime wildlife habitat”. Really? Where? As usual, the truth is completely different. HS2 affects a tiny amount of ancient woodland (less than 1 ha on Phase 1) a large chunk of the line is in tunnels and the land it does traverse is mostly monocultural farmland – which is hardly renowned as “prime wildlife habitat” (as many environmentalists are at pains to point out)! In fact, some of the farmland that HS2 crosses and that’s being used in the construction phase will be repurposed afterwards and turned into genuine “prime wildlife habitat” like this example (link).
Here’s an image of what to expect once the line is built. Not exactly the barren wildlife wasteland people like Williams pretend, is it? Not only that, but HS2 is committed to ensuring there’s no net loss of biodiversity, something Williams ignores completely.
Let’s have a look at Williams other claims too shall we? Let’s start with the tired and trite canard about HS2 only ‘saving’ 20 mins. Apart from the blindingly obvious fact HS2 isn’t just an end to end railway with just two stations (but a network serving 31) so can’t just be a single time saving, let’s look at the real figures. Note: 20mins isn’t true on any of them…
Right, that’s that canard exposed. Now let’s move on to one of my favourites, that HS2 is a ‘vanity project’! Here’s my standard response to anyone who’s lazy enough to trot that one out;
Since HS2 was first mooted in 2009 we’ve had a Labour government, a Coalition government and now a Tory Majority government. We’ve had four Prime Ministers: Brown, Cameron, May and Johnson. We’ve had five Transport Ministers: Adonis, Greening, McLoughlin, Grayling and Shapps.
The HS2 phase 1 bill passed with the biggest majority of any Coalition legislation, both in the Commons and the Lords. It continues to enjoy massive cross-party support from all the major political parties. Hs2 is also supported by the elected regional mayors (both Labour and Tory), The Core Cities Group, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPS) transport bodies, business groups and individual companies. The list is huge.
So, exactly whose ‘Vanity project’ is HS2 meant to be?
Oh, there’s another thing. As I’d never heard of Williams I did a bit of research and found this on his website. Just like Packham, Williams advertises expensive trips to exotic locations where you can enjoy the pleasure of his company. For a price, of course. Williams is currently advertising 6 such trips in 2021-22. Destinations are Brazil, Costa Rica, Sri Lanka, the Antarctic, Cantabria and East Africa. These trip don’t come cheap either. Here’s an example.
Five grand each for a party of 10. Nice work if you can get it. But how far is it from London to Costa Rica by air? Here’s your answer…
Yes folks, that’s a round trip of almost 11,000 miles (not including any internal trips within Costa Rica itself). As old Cilla Black used to say – that’s a lorra, lorra Carbon Emissions – and that’s just one trip…
So, (just like his mate Packham) Williams is happy to see groups of wealthy people fly around the world as a business opportunity, but opposes building green land transport in the UK for everyone (rich or poor). Because without HS2 we simply won’t have the rail capacity for the future to get people & freight off roads and cut transport CO2 emissions to tackle GLOBAL ClimateChange. Stopping HS2 isn’t ‘green’, it’s exactly the opposite.
Hypocritical, much?
There seems to be a recurring pattern here. With these people it’s very much a case of ‘do as I say, not as I do’ plus a completely cavalier approach to facts and fact-finding. Scaremongering and exaggeration’s the order of the day and they seem to feel no obligation to report responsibly which is sad as we desperately need a Green movement that is worth its name. Sadly, these people aren’t it.
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With the anti HS2 campaign continuing to fall apart as more and more activists become ‘slacktivists’ or disappear completely now it’s obvious the game’s up. There’s been little to comment on recently because it’s really all over bar the posturing. Until today, when in one glorious cock-up HS2Rebellion and others who’re linked to the rather ridiculous (but also faintly sinister and rather fascistic) Extinction Rebellion spin-off political party ‘burning pink’ have excelled themselves in utter stupidity and tinfoil-hattery on the day London’s voters go to the polls!
Why? Well, Burning Pink have put up a candidate for London Mayor, one Valerie Brown (who? Ed). You may well ask, as no-one’s ever heard of her before now. Apparently, she’s the co-founder of ‘burning pink’ along with the odious Roger Hallam, who was previously one of the founders of Extinction Rebellion. Frankly, there’s less chance of her winning as there is of finding Lord Lucan.
SkyBet are offering odds of 750-1 on her. To put that into perspective, Count Binface is way ahead of her with odds of 500-1! For someone standing on a supposed environmental ticket her campaign’s been a joke. Money’s been found from somewhere for a campaign ‘battlebus’ which turns out to be a pollution disaster as it’s 17 years old and wouldn’t be allowed on the streets of London any other way.
With her campaign going nowhere Hs2rebellion/Extinction Rebellion activists came up with an idea to attract publicity and make some impossible demands at the same time. Two (one of whom is serial failure Larch Maxey) clambered on to the roof of 1 Eversholt St at Euston and sprayed the building with pink paint, then said they’d only come down if their ridiculous demands were met. They and their hangers-on like ‘Boots on the ground’ (see previous blog) claimed they were spraying the HQ of HS2.
To say these people aren’t playing with a full deck is beautifully illustrated by another of ‘Boots’ tweets from yesterday.
This is tinfoil-hattery of the highest order. Why the Chinese would want inland naval bases miles from the sea would seem to be a logical question, but obviously not if you’ve been sucked into the ‘shocking pink’ orbit where it seems the first thing you’re asked to do is leave your brain at the door.
Now, as Larch Maxey had previously spent 3 weeks holed up in the pointless tunnel under Euston Gardens early in the year, you just might have thought he’d have an idea of who had offices at Euston and where. But no! Needless to say, this stunt backfired in spectacular fashion as people pointed out what should have been blindingly obvious. HS2’s HQ is in Birmingham. Yes, the do have offices at Euston – at the Podium. The offices Maxey and his mate painted are the offices of err…Network Rail, the company that runs the publicly owned rail network, you know – public transport – the sort of thing Greens are meant to like…
Here was the reaction of one person on Twitter who pointed out the obvious.
Of course, the mistake is even harder to make now as buildings 1 and 2 have been demolished so Maxey had a 50-50 chance of getting the correct building – and still failed to get the right one!
Meanwhile, others started doing some digging about that ‘battlebus’…
I sometimes wonder if Extinction Rebellion and ‘Burning Pink’ aren’t actually working for the oil and road lobby as the only thing they’re good for is bringing the UKs green movement into utter disrepute. Whatever these idiots thought they were achieving that would help their cause is a mystery. The reaction on Twitter has been overwhelmingly negative, if anything it’s exposed just how ridiculous, arrogant and unpleasant ‘Shocking pink’ are – with Extinction Rebellion not far behind. Remember, ‘shocking pink’ under their other name ‘beyond politics’ attacked the offices of several political parties (including the Green Party) because they claimed they weren’t ‘radical’ enough.
Still, tomorrow we’ll be able to see the election results. One thing I can confidently predict and that’s the fact Valerie Brown will not be Mayor of London! I’ll update this blog with the results. Anyone care to bet she has less votes than Count Binface?
Of course, this futile act of stupidity does beg one question. Whilst these two and their rag-bag of supporters are poncing around outside Network Rail’s offices, who’s meant to be on the frontline trying to ‘save’ trees and stop HS2?
UPDATE: 9th May.
As promised here’s an update on Brown’s performance in the Mayoral election. She came last! She managed a measly 5305 votes and was trounced by Count Binface who garnered 24775 votes! Worse was to came. ‘Burning Pink’ have reported Brown was arrested at home by the Metropolitan police on Saturday morning for conspiracy to cause criminal damage (of for ‘caring’ as Burning Pink’ claim). She’ll be in good company as Larch Maxey and his co-vandal Xavier Gonzalez Trimmer were also arrested after their stupid stunt.
Meanwhile, in the real world. HS2 construction continues uninterrupted…
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It’s been a long day and it’s after 10pm so I’m going to be relatively brief in this blog although I’d had intentions of doing a rolling one today as I was out and about but never found the time. I was up at 6am this morning as Dawn was up early. I’d got an article for RAIL magazine to finish so an early start seemed like a good idea. Having sent my copy off I was intending to potter around at home but then I saw the weather it was glorious sunshine and such a contrast to the past couple of days which have been wet and weary, so I decided ‘bugger it’, packed the camera bag and headed off out to enjoy the sun and capture some new shots. My RAIL article is on the local rail network and it was whilst I was researching pictures form my library to use in it that I discovered that a goodly proportion of pictures were out of date. I blitzed a lot of the area when I first moved here from London in 2010 but I’d not been back to several locations for a while – and certainly not since the Northern franchise (and livery) change so today seemed like a good time to make good on that. Having walked down to Halifax station my first port of call was Brighouse where I managed to get a few decent shots of Calder valley freight services. Having done so – and having time to kill before my next train – I wandered into the town centre for a mooch around. As I passed a little delicatessen called ‘Le Gourmet’ on Bethel St I noticed something unusual in the window. Nestled in between the pork pies and pasties was ‘Yorkshire Duck’. No, I’d never heard of it either! Looking like a massive mutant Scotch egg and costing £1 for two I couldn’t resist. I’m adventurous when it comes to food and a sucker for trying something different – and these certainly fitted the bill. So, what did they taste like? Well, they were a bit dry but they were certainly spicy! They appeared to be a mix of pork, breadcrumbs and spices although I couldn’t tell you for sure what was packed into them. Without doubt they were substantial and a real belly-filler for a quid. Having posted a picture of them on Twitter the reaction I got from most folk was bafflement although a Lancashire friend reckoned they could be a version of faggots. So, for tonight’s picture of the day I bring you – ‘Yorkshire Duck’!
The weather’s due to return to normal tomorrow so It looks like I’ll be busy in the office sorting out pictures from today’s travels. I’ll add a blog about it too as there’s no doubt rail passenger numbers are picking up again and some of the old locations I revisited are about to see massive changes. But for now, it’s good night from me – and the duck!
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I’m so happy we took note of the weather forecast and went out walking yesterday as today we’ve had traditional bank holiday weather – absolute crap! When I first gazed out of the bedroom window this morning I thought “well, it’s not brilliant, but at least there’s no rain”. Little did I know what was in store for the afternoon…
As we’d nothing exciting planned and Dee was feeling the effect of so much walking uphill we decided to have a lazy start to the day. Well, it was a bank holiday after all and we’d certainly put effort into yesterday! Several cups of coffee later we both decided that – actually – a day at home wasn’t really a bad thing. Then the rain arrived…
One of the beauties of where we live is that we have a commanding view across the Calder Valley and the direction that most of the weather arrives from, so we can literally see it coming. Today was a case in point as the skies got darker and more ominous, making it clear what we were about to experience. Depending on the speed of the wind we can normally expect to see the rain sweeping in about 10 minutes before it hits us and today was no exception so it was a case of batten down the hatches, make another coffee and get on with other things. In my case this was sifting and editing pictures for my next article in RAIL magazine then spending time Photoshopping another load of old slides from my 1991-92 travels that have been added to this gallery. So, not entirely a wasted day and listening to the rain beat against the windows was actually rather therapeutic.
Having felt virtuous because I’d achieved so much I decided to venture out for some shopping and get some exercise despite the weather. OK, I’d have to don full walking waterproofs, but what the hell, I was only going to the supermarket, not the North Pole. It seemed like a great idea at the time until I started walking back and the high winds arrived which turned the rain almost horizontal! It was at that point I realised that perhaps my waterproofs need a little TLC as they were were more water than proof! Despite my rainwater revelation I rather enjoyed being out in the eye of the storm. I don’t quite know what it is but there’s something about being out in the elements when you feel the full force of nature. Perhaps it’s the fact it puts you into perspective – puny humans with their momentary lifespan against the elements that are timeless and ageless.
The theme of the elements brings me on to the picture of the day which is another of my latest batch of old slide scans. I took this at Lake Maninjau in West Sumatra, Indonesia during the first week of June 1992.
In some ways Maninjau reminds me of where I live now although the landscape couldn’t be more different. Maninjau is a lake in the caldera of a massive extinct volcano. But, the lake is so wide and where I was staying faced the prevailing weather you could watch storms approach in the same fashion that I can now. The little ‘homestay’ I shared with several other travellers was right on the lake. We has access to canoes and rubber rings (old wagon inner-tubes) so we’d spend many a happy hour floating or swimming in the temperate waters of the lake. In the evening we’d sit there with a few beers, chatting and watching the sun set, which sometimes produced scenes like this.
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The bank holiday weather’s been mixed to say the least but today was meant to be the best of an indifferent bunch so Dawn and I chose it to get out and go walking. We’d originally considered driving over to Derbyshire but then I suggested exploring somewhere more local – the hills above Todmorden. We’ve often hiked around the town but that’s either because the pair of us have walked up to Stoodley Pike (a favorite walk with fantastic if windswept views) or I’ve been up in the hills around Walsden as it’s an excellent location for railway pictures. Today we tried somewhere different. After parking the car on the edge of the town we headed up some steep paths through an area called Hole Bottom (no, really!) towards Todmorden golf club which gave some wonderful views across the town. We also passed some really interesting and curious properties. I love this old mill towns as they contain some fascinating buildings tucked in backstreets or on the edge of town. Many have seen several incarnations in their lifetime so often have original features like doors or windows bricked in. Trying to work out what they might have been is always fun. Here’s a classic example.
Further up the hill on the edge of the golf course we discovered this view. I’ve often tried for this shot from the other side of town without the same degree of success so I’m pleased to have found this place – even if you’d be shooting directly into the light on a sunny day.
Here a train from Blackburn to Southport traverses the viaduct which bisects the town centre before it arrives at the station just to the right of the viaduct. The imposing building behind the train is the neo-classical Town Hall. Designed by architect John Gibson it’s a grade 1 listed building that originally opened in 1875. Beyond the town hall is the Gothic splendor of the Unitarian church (The Unitarian movement originated in Todmorden in the early 19th century). Another grade 1 listed building designed by Gibson it was constructed between 1865-69. Both buildings were paid for by the wealthy Fielden family who were local mill owners, reformists and philanthropists.
By the golf course we joined the Calderdale Way footpath and headed west along the edge of the valley for several miles. This gave us some stunning views – even if we did end up stopping to eat our sandwiches in one of the rain and hailstorms that passed our way! You can see what the weather was like from this wider picture.
What’s very different about this side of the valley are the number of rocky outcrops and strange formations that dot the skyline. Places with names like Whirleaw, Stannalley or Golden stones – or the one we walked to – Orchan Rocks high above Lydgate.
From the rocks we continued on for another mile or so along the valley edge as far as Cross Hill before heading back to the valley floor. The first part was easy as we followed the road but then we cut across country along various footpaths to a place called Shore before descending an incredibly steep and narrow path through the dense woodland along Wittonstall Clough. I’m glad we’d not made the mistake of trying to climb this way as it’s band enough on the way down!
Reaching the main road at Cornholme we decided discretion was the better part of valour and walked back along the main road to Todmorden, although if we’d had time it would have been very tempting to scale the opposite side of the valley. Instead we decided to leave that for another day.
Now we’re back at home and relaxing. Dawn’s making one of our favorite weekend treats – spicy prawns and garlic bread. After that it’s time to settle down in front of the TV to join a large chunk of the country to watch the final episode of ‘Line of Duty’ – what a perfect end to a great day…
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The pair of us have had a productive if hardly exciting sort of day – unless you count the opportunity to tour garden centres again! Maybe it’s one of those signs of ageing, a bit like realising how much you enjoy watching the ‘Antiques Roadshow’ on the telly! As someone who’s been a keen gardener for nearly 30 years I make no apologies for such a pastime – even if my present patch of land is a lot smaller than I was used to. Even so, there’s plenty of opportunity to be creative as the massive stone walls that make up the terraces at the back of our cottage do lend themselves to some imaginative opportunities. Sadly, there’s not a great selection in our local garden centres. Maybe I was spoiled with living in London for 25 years, you could find almost anything you wanted within just a few miles and a trip to the Columbia Rd flower market in the East End was a must when you needed annuals. One centre we visited was just getting a delivery from Holland. A large HGV was taking up a chunk of the car park as pallets of plants were unloaded. I hate to think how much extra the Brexitshambles is costing them in both time and money. What was once a seamless operation is now mired in bureaucracy thanks to us throwing up rather than taking down barriers to trade. Despite the deliveries I’ve noticed that it’s really difficult to find the variety of ferns that I used to be able to buy in London. Maybe they’re not as popular up here? The back of the house is sheltered and in perpetual shadow, so it would ideal for displaying ferns – if only I could find the ones I want. Still, first world problems eh? At least I managed to restock our herb garden and replace some plants we lost due to the harsh winter.
Back at home I had a happy couple of hours replacing knackered hanging baskets, repotting and replanting and generally tidying up the garden – even tho’ the weather’s hardly spring-like as the temperature rarely makes it into double figures at the moment. As soon as the sun gets trapped behind clouds the temperature plummets. Frost is still a concern so I’m being careful what I plant out right now. How different to this time last year when we had such balmy days!
All this talk of gardening has chosen the picture of the day for me because it fits the theme. I scanned this one recently, although it was taken on the 12th March 1994 at Columbia Rd flower market.
Lynn and I were still living in London’s East End at the time and a trip to Columbia Rd was a regular occurrence for myself and some of my neighbours in the Housing Co-op where I lived. Decorating the communal balconies of our flats with plants was a great way of adding a splash of colour. Not everyone who joined us was green-fingered, it was just a great morning out as there were plenty of cafes offering coffee and cake and the opportunities for people-watching – hence this image which was a ‘grab-shot’ through the crowds.
Sadly, this sort of street photography has become harder for all sorts of reasons – especially to do with privacy laws. We’re in danger of losing the ability to document everyday life in the way the old masters of documentary photography never had to worry about – but that’s another blog entirely…
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/
Wait? What? It’s the end of April already – where’s the year gone whilst we’ve all been sat on our backsides at home? I thought time was meant to drag during lockdown but the opposite seems to be the case. Either that or someone’s been sneakily stealing days off my calendar whilst I’ve not been looking. As we’re now allowed out will someone please give me some of those days back so that I can savour them in the style in which they should be enjoyed? Joking apart, the year does seem to be flying by but for the life of me I can’t work out why unless it’s the ‘Groundhog Day’ effect. I wouldn’t mind but I’ve got so much that I want to do this year I really don’t want to run out of time.
Today’s been a good day – apart from the weather which has been cold with momentary flurries of rain and hail. Mind you according to Facebook’s memory prompt a few years ago we were covered in snow at this time – so I shouldn’t really complain. I certainly had a valid excuse to hole up at home ‘type-swiping’ to get an article written and a few more archive pictures added to my Zenfolio website which makes it rather a productive day.
Those old slides supply me with the picture for today. My 1991-92 solo odyssey has moved on from Thailand (yesterdays picture) to Malaysia where I discovered what – 30 years later – is still what I regards as a ‘happy place’. I’m sure many of us have them. They’re somewhere you’ve discovered where you feel perfectly at ease and at home for a whole host of reasons. Georgetown in Penang island, Malaysia is one of mine. I’ve been going back there every few years ever since. The first time I arrived I fell in love with it and that feeling remains despite the fact it’s changed a lot since those early days. What hasn’t changed is the mix of cultures (Malay, Chinese and Indian) the fantastic food, the fascinating architecture or the laid back atmosphere. Like many backpackers I ended up staying on Lebuh Chulia. In may case it was at an old Chinese hotel called the Eng Aun. It’s still there today but it’s gone much more upmarket from when I took this picture on the 1st May 1992.
Hotels like this had a central hall with reception on the ground floor behind which was a central staircase to the first floor. Each floor had rooms off to each side. The thing I remember about the Aun was the smell. It had a really weird one and I never worked out what it was. It wasn’t Durian (the stinky SE Asian fruit banned from most public transport) but it did smell like something had died beneath the floorboards! After a couple of days you got used to it, but I’ll never forget it! I passed through a couple of times on that trip and met some great people staying there. Nowadays I stay just around the corner in a place I first discovered in 1997, but I’ll never forget this place as my first introduction to Malaysia after a long trip overland from Thailand.
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 