Today’s been spent at home dodging the gales that have been sweeping the Pennines – not to mention the rains we had this morning which made it a good day to stay at home and continue having a clearout. I’ve been having a trip down memory lane as part of a decluttering exercise. When you find stuff where it’s the first time you’ve looked at it for 30-40 years you do start to think – do I really need this? The shredder has now overheated because of the amount of work it’s had to do. That said, I now have a nice collection of old photographs to use in future blogs when I talk about past careers and experiences. Oh, I also have a lot more shelf space…
It’s a thought that rather neatly brings me onto the picture of the day which was taken in the Paharganj area of Delhi, India on the 7th December 2010.
My office doesn’t look like this at all – honest….
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As I’ve described in my earlier blog about today’s events, it’s been a long day that’s brought back a lot of memories and purely by accident, it’s produced today’s picture.
Whilst we were all sat in Pat and Jake’s garden talking about old times, Jake spotted this dragonfly which had landed on a sunflower. For once, the critter stayed long enough for me to get my camera out and get a shot. I love these creatures as they’re both delicate and colourful – and extremely photogenic – when they stay still…
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Well, it’s a bloody long time since I did a rolling blog, but today’s the day…
I’m currently sat in the 07:00 from Sowerby Bridge to Wigan Wallgate which is making its way through Salford. The train’s never been more than 25% full – even between Rochdale and Manchester, which used to be rammed. Manchester Victoria station was eerily quiet too. Here’s my 3-car Class 158 when I boarded.
On the plus side, it’s a beautiful sunny day, although the fact I’m on my way to a funeral does take some of the shine off it.
Most of my fellow passengers have been conscientious mask wearers – although the couple who weren’t may well be exempt. The train’s clean and well presented, so it feels safe.
It feels slightly odd to be heading back to Southport. Even though I grew up there and have family still residing it’s a town I feel little connection with nowadays. I suppose it’s a combination of factors. English seaside towns haven’t fared well in the past 50 years with the advent of cheap holidays abroad. Add in the rise of out of town shopping and poor planning decisions and it’s not hard to see why.
08:31.
A bright spot is that I’ve just passed through the wonderful Hindley station. It’s one of the jewels in the crown of the community rail movement. The group who look after it have transformed it from semi-dereliction into a garden oasis.
08:52.
I had to change trains at Wigan Wallgate where I’ve swapped my nice comfy 158 for my least favourite train – a Northern 150 with 3 + 2 seating and bugger all legroom! There’s a mix of people aboard including a young mother with a baby, a retired chap with a walking stick and camera, a couple of workman plus two teenage girls and their younger brother. It’s obvious leisure travellers are returning to the railways, but not in the numbers they once did. Yet…
12.51.
Well, that was a trip down memory lane, and (considering it was a funeral) not a sad event at all. On arrival I walked to my sister’s house as Anne wanted to come to the funeral too. She remembered Mike from when he lodged at my mothers house for several years back in the 1980s. The addition of Anne meant there were 13 at the Crematorium. The service was conducted by the chaplain of the Hospital Mike died in. He did an excellent job. He kept God out of it and the short ceremony was all about Mike himself. He read out part of my blog, which Pat had passed on to him. Another more recent friend of Mike’s who shared the same love of books read from Some of Mike’s favorites, such as Terry Prachett’s ‘Mort’, Oscar Wilde and also Shakespeare. Mike’s love of books was such that Broadhursts (Southport’s oldest and finest bookshop) had sent a representative. Apparently, his bungalow was literally crammed with books, some of which were rare and valuable. Martin taught me things about Mike’s later life I didn’t know. How Mike would teach his kids about literature and send them wacky Xmas presents. From the Chaplain I learned that Mike had actually arranged to have his body left to science and had even completed the papers with a major medical school, but Covid brought an end to that plan as the school wasn’t accepting bodies – so the funeral we were attending wasn’t the plan at all!
After the ceremony half a dozen of us adjourned to Pat and Jake’s house. As the weather was so good we could sit and social distance in the garden whilst reminiscing about Mike and the old days and play games of “whatever happened to?” Sadly, there were two murders amongst the stories. On the bright side – I seem to be faring better than some of my contemporaries…
When we left I bid goodbye to my sister and walked into the town centre through streets that left me playing Detective as I spotted the odd cluster of new homes and tried to remember the name of the pub that stood there before. Wasn’t that the site of the old London and its bowling green that backed onto the railway? Yep. Oh, and that’s where the Shakespeare stood – another vast multi-roomed building that had no chance of commercial success in this era.
Strolling through town I took a look at the Old Ship and paid my respects before moving on and walking on to Lord St, which still has plenty of life, even if the big department stores are all closed and boarded up. Ironically, the broad pavement and canopies have come into their own during Covid as there’s plenty of outside seating to be had at the bars and cafes, so even if the weather’s not as good as today you can sit outside in safety.
Sunk. The Old Ship…
15:10.
Having had a wander around the town centre I’m struck by how busy the place is. In the era of Covid and ‘staycations’ it seems people are rediscovering seaside towns like Southport. The trains from Liverpool are certainly busy. Of course that adds another hazard, as well as mobility scooters you’re now having to dodge a plethora of prams and the associated flotilla of kids, like destroyers protecting an aircraft carrier.
15:54.
Funny the things a wander reminds you of isn’t it? I’ve just passed through the Cambridge Arcade (Arcades were very popular in Southport) and spotted a shop that’s now a barbers. I remember it as something very different. In 1976 I’d just left school and I landed a job as an apprentice locksmith in a town centre shop owned by a father and son company. They were real duckers and divers who made the fictional Trotters look like amateurs. They also owned a lingerie shop (what’s now the barbers). One day the son came into our hardware shop and said he needed a man to stand in the shop for an hour or so whilst his wife cashed up and did some stock-taking – and I was that man! In reality I was a shy 16yr old and standing around in a lingerie shop with nowhere to hide was excruciating! I can laugh now but the memory has stayed with me, which gives you an indication of how powerful the feeling must have been at the time. One day I’ll relate how they invented these handwriting analysis kiosks and we built one on a Blackpool pier..
16:50.
I’m now on the train Eastwards, heading home. It’s a Class 156/150 lash-up with the 156 leading, so there’s no guessing where I am and wo-hoo – it’s set 460, so it has USB chargers! I was surprised how many people were awaiting its arrival but the overwhelming majority are being good and the front car’s certainly not crowded.
18:33.
I abandoned the lash-up at Salford Central, where I was left with 40 mins to kick my heels. I’d forgotten the building was one of the BR modular designs of the type a few of us had been discussing on Twitter a couple of weeks ago. I should’ve – Network Rail had me there as their official photographer!
I’m now on another 158 back to Sowerby Bridge. There’s definitely a build up of passengers and Manchester Victoria is starting to look busy again, but numbers aren’t going to return overnight.
21:16.
The last entry. It’s been a really interesting day and far more positive than I first thought it might be. The fact Mikes funeral was all about Mike and (despite the small numbers) it was obvious he’ll be remembered was reassuring – and the stories were fond. Who can ask for more?
One other thought from today is – this is the most people I’ve seen since lockdown started. No, not the funeral – Southport! I actually felt uncomfortable at times because of the crowds. Me, who lived in London for 25 years and used public transport most days! How things change…
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Today’s world photo day and my contribution and today’s picture of the day was taken in Darjeeling, India in April 1998. It was the view from our bedroom window and one morning, when I opened the curtains, it looked like this. The clouds boiled up from the valley below to envelope parts of the town.
Happy world photo day!
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Yesterday I got a phone call out of the blue from Pat, a longtime friend from my days growing up in Southport. Pat rang me to tell me that the funeral of an old friend from those days who’d died back in May was being held tomorrow (Thursday). I’d not seen Mike Smith for a very, very long time. Our friendship waned when I moved to London back in 1986. I only saw him a couple of times after that on the odd occasion when I popped back to see my family. Mike was best described as an eccentric who became increasingly eccentric as the years went by!
I first met him in Liverpool back in 1979 when I was involved in some political campaigning. I was put in touch with some like-minded souls in the city and Mike was one of them. At the time Mike lived in West Derby but would often come over to Southport along with another old Scouse friend, Glen Bowker (who was one of a trio of us who moved to London where we shared a flat for many years). Eventually both Mike and Glen moved to Southport, which became his home for the rest of his life.
I rarely think of those days now – it all seems so long ago and so far away – over 40 years. But Pat’s call made me think – and remember. What I remember is the laughter, something that seems in rather short supply nowadays. Back then we were all young, and care-free, with our futures ahead of us. Our social life revolved around a pub called the Old Ship Inn where you’d find many of us most evenings. It was a large community of like-minded souls and boy – did we have fun! Mike’s humour was plentiful and dry so the jokes and banter would fly. It was the sort of laughter that left your stomach aching – remember that?
How times have changed. Many of those people are no longer with us, including Mike, who died of prostate cancer at the age of 64. My eldest sister Ruth is another one, cancer took her when she was in her 40s. I can think of a long list of other names who’ve gone too, many of them at no great age – and no doubt there’s many I don’t know about as I’ve lost touch with people. Even the pub has gone now. It was badly refurbished back in the early 1980s and it lost a lot of its character and custom. Last time I went back the place was closed and boarded up, but then closed pubs are hardly novel nowadays.
I remember one time the pub had a fancy dress competition. I can’t remember what the theme was now, but Mike came dressed as another of Southport’s eccentrics – the ‘purple lady’ (so named for the colour of the voluminous shirts and shawls that she used to wear in her wanderings around town) – he even had the carrier bag! Needless to say, he won.
Pat’s phone call made me look for some old photos of Mike. These are what I found – all taken on a mickey-mouse little Instamatic on grainy 110 film, but it’s all I have….
Mike Smith in 1981, holding a bong containing, illicit smoking material.. Mike was always smartly dressed and normally sported a tie or bow-tie. His diminutive frame meant he could often pick up bargains from the kids section in charity shops!Mike in the same year, when he’d just moved to Southport where he’d got a bedsit in a house on Scarisbrick New Rd. He’s riding my mums bike and carrying a bamboo plant we’d dug up out of my parents garden. The house became something of a social centre as my sister Ruth also moved into a flat there. I remember one Christmas the house got together for a jojnt Xmas dinner with people cooking different part of it in their baby Bellings, then coming together in Mikes room. We didn’t have a dining table so we used an old advertising hoarding ‘borrowed’ from somewhere, and a couple of trestles!
Some of the crowd from the Old Ship seen on the 17th May 1982 when we’d been to the wedding of Sparks and Vicky. It’s an awful photo, but Mike is at the front, sporting a bow-tie and blazer. 2nd to his left is my late sister, Ruth. I’m second from the end on the right.
So, tomorrow I’ll be journeying to Southport to attend Mike’s funeral at Southport crematorium at 10:00. Mike was always a bit of a hypochondriac but in his later years his imaginary illnesses became real and he became increasingly frail. I spotted him from afar once, walking around town using a Zimmer – hardly an unusual sight in Southport which always had a reputation as one of God’s waiting rooms! His infirmities, and the fact people don’t bother going to pubs as much nowadays meant he became more isolated so his funeral won’t be a big affair. Pat (who Mike effectively made his next of kin) reckons there’ll be a dozen of us at most. There’ll probably be more people I know whose ashes are scattered around the ‘crem than there in person – but I wanted to be there, just to say goodbye – both to Mike and to those long gone days in Southport…
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Today didn’t quite turn out as I was expecting, for reasons I’ll be blogging about tomorrow. I seems my first public appearance post lockdown is going to be on Thursday, at the funeral of someone whom I shared a lot of of fun and laughter with back in the late 1970s – early 1980s. Not that it’s going to be a big event by all accounts…
I only found out this afternoon and it’s put me in a retrospective and pensive mood. It’s funny how stuff that happened 40 odd years ago can suddenly come flooding back isn’t it? I’ve spent a few hours searching for old photos which will appear soon.
But today’s picture of the day is about something entirely different. Today, Jet – our cat had his 19th birthday. To be honest it’s been a bit touch and go this year as he had pancreatitis and at one point we thought we’d lose the old boy. But, he’s pulled through and keeps going. OK, he’s like a bloody limpet nowadays and insists on sleeping on the bed, but he’s so loveable we really can’t kick him off.
So, happy birthday Jet. May you stay this side of the rainbow bridge for some time yet….
Today’s picture’s remarkably mundane, but for me it’s a milestone during these troubled times, because today was the first time I’ve set foot on a train since the 20th March. Admittedly, it wasn’t to go far, I’d walked into Halifax to do something that I do once in a blue moon nowadays, pay a cheque into a bank. Mind you, I don’t exactly go into Halifax that often either. Covid has turned me into a bit of a recluse and the only reason I’d normally head to Halifax would be to catch a train – which is what I did. After a marathon day staring at computer screens on Sunday I was yearning for a break and a semblance of normality so I decided to get a train to Mytholmroyd, grab a few pictures then walk back along the Rochdale canal.
I caught the 14.17 from Halifax which was bound for Manchester. To say it was quiet was an understatement. I shared the carriage with just 4 other people. Two of them (both teenage girls) had decided not to wear masks. The cynic in me wondered if this was because masks would ‘ruin’ their make-up. Apart from them, all the other passengers I encountered complied.
I stayed in Mytholmroyd for an hour – just long enough to grab a few pictures, admire the massive flood defenses the Environment Agency are still building then strolled back along the canal. After a mile I stopped to take a break and watch the world go by, which was when I noticed the ominous clouds heading my way. When the first rain fell I wasn’t too bothered, it was only when the claps of thunder started I thought ‘oh, bugger’…Fortunately, I’d come prepared and brought an umbrella which kept the top half of me dry if not the bottom. The rain absolutely hammered down and made the walk back home soggy to say the least. But, do you know what? I really enjoyed it. It was so good to be out and about again. I’ll add a set of pictures tomorrow. In the meantime, here’s the picture I was going to post before I started rambling. The first train I’ve been on in 148 days…
The pictures will be back to more exciting/interesting ones soon – promise…
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So much for Sunday being a day of rest! With Dawn being on her ‘virtual retreat’ we were up at 06:30 and prepped and out walking shortly after 07:00! Our timing was perfect as the weather here in the Calder Valley has been awful for most of the day. By getting out early we escaped the drizzle and later heavy rain that’s persisted right through until the evening.
After our amble down to Sowerby Bridge and home via the canal I’ve spent the day in holed up in the office having a marathon slide scanning session. I’ve hit a personal best as I’ve refined my systems and managed to get 88 slides scanned, edited and added to my Zenfolio website. Admittedly, I now have square eyes, but it’s been a productive day. I rarely use my new scans as pictures of the day, but this one I couldn’t resist. The batch I’ve been doing are railway images from late 2001 – early 2002. They may be nearly 20 years old but it’s funny how many I actually remember taking. This latest batch were all taken in the winter, which is a time of year that’s brilliant for photography. The days may be short but the richness of the colours is far superior to the harsh summer light. Here’s an example. This shot was taken at Clapham Junction station, London, on the 10th December 2001.
The day had been one of glorious (if short-lived) winter sunshine but the sunset was magnificent with the sky above Clapham looking as if it was afire. In this picture an old Silverlink Class 313 waits to depart for Willesden Junction on a shuttle service. Admittedly, this shot was taken on Fuji Velvia slide film which had superb colour saturation but I remember the sky really did look like this and the film managed to capture it – which is why I took the picture. Mind you, in those days I wandered around with a tripod on my back as Velvia was a very slow film (ISO 50) so there wasn’t a cat in hell’s chance of getting shots like this hand-held.
Looking at this picture now I’m amazed at how much has changed. The platform canopy remains, but that’s about it. The platforms themselves have been rebuilt. The old trains have gone, so’s the franchise. This service has been absorbed by the London Overground Network. Even the skyline’s changed as high-rise apartment blocks have filled in the background. What seemed mundane at the time is anything but now, instead, it’s become a snapshot in time, but that’s one of the beauties of photography. Sometimes I wonder what the scenes and locations I’ve captured in my modern pictures will look like in 20 years time – if I’m still here to recreate them…
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Today’s not been the most exciting Saturday on record although it has been productive. The weather here in the Pennines hasn’t really been conducive to doing anything terribly exciting as it’s been cloudy but clammy. The sun’s not been able to muscle its way through the low cloud, merely announced it presence in the temperature which has made wandering up and down the valley to go shopping rather a damp experience. On the bright side – who needs to pay to go to a sauna.
As Dawn’s been enjoying another of her ‘tribe’ virtual retreats on’t tinternet I’ve spent much of the day processing dozens more old slides in a valiant effort to get the last few hundred scanned, bringing to a close a project that’s taken me over 20 years to complete. Admittedly, this is just one book of a trilogy as I still have 1000s of travel and social issues pictures to scan. Even so, it feels like an important milestone. You can find the latest batch by following this link.
Unsurprisingly, this leads me on to the picture of the day. I’m really looking forward to being able to get all my old travel slides scanned as the world’s changed so much since I took many of them. Here’s an example. I took this picture looking over the city from the Archway viaduct near my former home in North London back in 2003. If I took the same shot now the whole skyline would have changed.
Mind you, so’s Archway! It was where the charity Actionaid was based and Lynn and I would often meet people in local pubs after work, then cycle home over this bridge. Somehow, I don’t think I’m going to be stuck for a picture of the day anytime soon…
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The past couple of days I’ve been busy trying to catch-up on scanning old slides in order to keep the momentum going after having to divert into writing and judging. It’s a slow, tedious job and no-one else is going to do it! My only consolation is that with everything doing on in the world there’s never been a better time to hunker down in the office and crack on with production line scanning. At least it keeps me out of trouble…
If you want to have a look at what I’ve been busy scanning follow this link to the ‘recent’ section of my Zenfolio website as these are the galleries the pictures are in. I’ve a load more scanned that need a final retouch in Photoshop, so expect more soon. I’m determined to get the rail images finished before the end of the year which will be no small achievement after 30 years!
OK, on to picture of the day, which is from a place I’ve not featured so far. In 2004 Lynn and I visited Hong Kong as part of an Asia trip. Lynn was out in Singapore and Hong Kong for as charity as their head of global major donors, so it made sense for me to tag along and the pair of us to tag a holiday onto the trip which would allow me to spend time taking pictures whilst Lynn attended various meetings and one to one’s with potential major donors. I’d come along for the cocktail parties and soirees, which gave me a fascinating insight into the differing expatriate communities and how they viewed each other. At one event in Singapore I heard them joke about Hong Kong and ‘filth’. I found out it was an acronym for ‘Failed In London, Try Hong kong’. I wonder if they’re still laughing now?
I’d always wanted to explore Hong Kong’s tram network, which really is a colonial hangover – but also a great way of getting around. We were staying in the Wang Chai area of the city and the trams ran past our hotel – hence this picture, which was taken on the 4th November 2004.
I loved the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong. It’s such an incredibly vibrant (and impossibly crowded) place. If you want to see more pictures click on this link for trams and this one for travel pictures.
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Paul Bigland 