We’ve had another of those winter days where brass monkeys are seeking the urgent assistance of welders! Temperatures have remained sub-zero all day. The forecast is telling me it’s currently minus 6 which is hardly surprising as we’ve had clear skies and sunshine throughout most of the day. Despite sunny weather I’ve been happy to stay in for most of the day, picture editing and catching up on various other admin. In fact, it’s been rather a productive day and one that’s lined up work for the future.
Whilst I’ve been busy in the office I’ve also been keeping an eye on the welfare of the wild bird population by ensuring they’ve plenty of food to eat with a mix of oats, rice and chopped (cooked) vegetables. At times I’ve seen real bunfights between several Blackbirds, Magpies, Thrushes and Robins as they establish (literally) a pecking order! They’ve been quite entertaining to watch. With the amount of food the Blackbirds have gobbled I’m surprised they’ve not needed a runway to take off on!
Now it’s evening, the temperatures dropping and I’m preparing to wind down for the day. I’ll leave you with a snow scene, but it’s not from the Calder valley, it’s from a valley much, much further away. You’ll never see the Pennines like this!
A medium long lens shot of the Himalayas taken from outside our tent when we were trekking in Nepal in 1998. Sadly, I never recorded the names of the individual mountains. So, apart from the fact this is one of the range North of Gorkha, I couldn’t tell you if it’s Manaslue, Bauda Himal or any of the other high Himalayas in that range. Whatever it’s called it really was rather special being this close.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Well. I didn’t have this on my bingo card when I pulled open the bedroom blinds this morning!
We weren’t meant to be having snow until late in the day and even then it was meant to be mixed with rain. Instead, we had rather a nice dusting of the white stuff. Well, at least at our height. The valley floor didn’t get the same treatment. This was rather frustrating as I’d several hours work planned this morning which I couldn’t get out of so by the time I did get to don my waterproofs (more to keep the freezing wind out than anything else) the snow had already begun to recede, despite the low temperatures. Working on the old axiom of ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained’ I caught a train West to Todmorden, working on the assumption that as the weather was coming from that direction I’d be likely to find more snow. Sure enough, there was more on the ground, even though it still wasn’t exactly ‘deep and crisp and even’. I went for a hike from Tod’ station along footpaths well gritted backroads to Gauxholme, between Tod’ and Walsden then slipped and slid my way uphill to a site that’s one of my favourite locations in the valley. Here’s why…
195005 leads 195019 through Gauxholme whilst working 1J19, the 14:12 Leeds to Manchester Victoria.
I stayed long enough to get several shots but by 15:00 the snow was coming in again from the West and the wind was perishing! Besides, there’s only so many permutations of this shot you can take. Walking downhill with the camera bag on my back was more difficult than ascending. I was kicking myself for not bringing my walking poles but I managed to make it down without going arse over tit. Maybe we’ll get a thicker covering of snow later in the year. Maybe not, but at least I’ve finally got a snow shot from Gauxholme.
Now I’m back home taking it easy for the evening, feeling virtuous as not only do have some useful pictures, I’ve smashed all my exercise targets to boot. Still, it’s strange to think that this time last year I was doing anything *but* freezing. I’d already been in SE-Asia for a week and had just arrived in Kuala Lumpur.
I won’t be venturing out of the valley tomorrow. I’ve too much to sort out in readiness for what’s going to be a hectic time next week as I’ll be doing a lot of travelling with many different events to blog about. But for now, it’s time to say goodnight.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Not a bad start to the week! Today we have wall to wall sunshine in the Calder Valley – and sub-zero temperatures to go with it! It’s currently -1 which has warmed up since first thing when it was -3. Despite the cold I’ve been tempted out with the camera as this weather’s too good to waste. I’d like to have got out earlier but I had too much to do. Maybe tomorrow. Right now I’m on my way to Liverpool via Manchester for a flying visit to try and catch the last Class 508 remaining in service – and hopefully grab a shot of 507001 if its running.
13:40.
I broke my journey at Newton-le-Willows to check out the work extending the station’s platforms. Currently tthey can only cope with four-car trains, which is a bit awkward when 5-car TPE services call. Like this one I’m on now.
It seems odd to think this station was once a ‘Motorail’ hub. The Manchester bound platform extension is being built over the site of the old ‘Motorail’ loading bay. Here’s a better view of the work.
16:00.
Bloody hell, it’s cold! I made it to Liverpool at the same time as patchy clouds blew in from the West, which caused a slight rethink. I decided to concentrate on trying to get shots of the last Class 508 as it’s already living on borrowed time as it was due to have been withdrawn the other week. Knowing it was on the New Brighton vircuit I opted to ‘ambush’ it at Liverpool Central then catch it out to the Wirral with the hope of getting some sunshine shots. Sadly, the low sun and clouds didn’t play ball. Still, I managed a few controlled light shots at Central and Conway Park. Frustratingly, the unit has suffered a crap graffiti attack on one of the driving cars. Ho hum.
508104 calls at Birkenhead North on its way back into Liverpool after working to New Brighton.The return working to New Brighton seen at Conway Park. The half-arsed attempt at graffiti can be seen on the front car. It’s a shame but as the unit only has a day or so left in service before it goes for scrap I can’t see it being cleaned off.
16:50.
I hung around Liverpool long enough to get a handful of library shots then decided to call it a day and head home as I’ve had some picture requests from a magazine that need my attention, plus, it ain’t getting any warmer! Right now I’m on one of Northern’s all-stations services to Manchester Victoria via Earlestown that would have been worked by Class 319s but are now 331s. It’s a busy train but I’ve managed to blag a seat at a table to set up the laptop and begin sorting out today’s pictures. I’ll add some later when I get home.
21:15.
I’m home and thawing out whilst editing a few of today’s pictures. Here’s a small selection as promised.
The new order. 777006 at Liverpool Central earlier today with a service to Ellesmere Port.The last of its class. 508104 should already have been withdrawn but it has had a charmed life and hangs on. Latest news is that it will be stood down at the end of services on Tuesday 16th January. Here it is working the 14:35 from Liverpool Central to New Brighton.777019 approaches Birkenhead North with a service to new Brighton. Despite what the destination blind says, 777005 was very much in service on the New Brighton line. PIS failures are a common and confusing fault on the new trains. The old order hangs on. Here’s 507010 working the 16:03 service to New Brighton, seen at Liverpool Lime St.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
We’ve had another quiet day here at Bigland Towers, although it’s been anything but lazy. I was up early and working in the office by 07:30. Admittedly, it’s not much of a commute from the front to the back of the cottage – and I can do it in my dressing gown! Even so, I felt virtuous as I was making the most of the day. The fact the nights are getting shorter helps. There’s nothing worse than sitting there in the dark, not being able to see anything out of the office window but being able to hear the wind and the rain beating down outside. Thankfully, we’ve finally hit a dry spell which is also lightening the mood.
Much of my day’s been spent catching up on picture editing and adding recent images to my Zenfolio website. Click on this link to see which galleries have been updated. I’ve still got many more to add, both from my recent HS2 site visit and also archive shots from Nepal (but those will be taking a backseat for a little while).
Continuing with the virtuous theme I managed to surpass all my exercise targets which has made me happy – and helps me feel ‘dry January’ is proving worthwhile. Now I’ve got to hope the bathroom scales will confirm the results! It’s not that I’m overweight in any way, I’m merely outside my normal parameters so it was time to get back to the weight I feel happiest and most comfortable at.
Whilst working I’ve enjoyed watching the birdlife outside. We have a stone shed roof opposite which is an ideal bird-feeding station. I’ve found that bags of oats make a cheap alternative to more expensive bird-foods and our feathered friends of all sizes love ’em. I’ve had Magpies, Doves, Wood Pigeons, Blackbirds, Thrushes, Robins, Sparrows and Wrens put in an appearance today, whilst the nut and seed feeders hanging under the eaves have attracted all manner of Tits. As the light’s improved I was even tempted to get the camera out. So, today’s picture is of one of this morning’s visitors. I’m presuming this is actually a Thrush – my bird recognitions not as comprehensive as my railway fleet recognition!
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
After my recent travels I’m having a quiet weekend at home here at Bigland Towers, editing all the pictures I’ve taken, getting some out to clients and preparing the research for my next series of RAIL articles, plus pitching for other work. There’s certainly been plenty to keep me occupied – including household chores and routine maintenance to the cottage, which has been made possible now we’ve hit a dry patch. That said, the weather’s turning increasingly cold and the media is full of forecasts (some of dubious provenance and reliability – but enough of the daily Express!) of impending snow storms and apocalyptic conditions. We’ll see. I wouldn’t mind the chance to update some snow pictures, but it’s moot if I can’t get out of the house!
One thing the dry conditions have aided me in is the ability to hit all my January exercise targets which are going along with my month-long holiday from alcohol. That’s not proved to be the problem I thought it might. My willpower’s remained strong. But abstinence is starting to get a tad boring. The thing about being a real-ale drinker is that there’s so much variety. However, much as Adnams ‘Ghost Ship’ 0.5% is a reasonable substitute for a proper pint, variety is lacking. I may have to take a trip to Sainsbury’s and buy some of their low-alcohol Infinite session IPA which comes in cans. Abstinence from alcohol aside, there’s plenty to look forward to in the next couple of weeks with jobs around the country. All will be revealed in rolling blogs as they happen.
Right now it’s time to call it a day and put my feet up with Dawn and enjoy a spot of escapist TV, so I’ll leave you with today’s picture. Here’s one of Chiltern’s old ‘Thames Turbo’ trains that I travelled on earlier in the week. It’s seen at Marylebone station in London. Now, I ran this question as a quiz on Twitter, some people got the answer, but many didn’t.
What makes Marylebone unique amongst London’s terminal stations?
I’ll post the answer on Monday. There’s no prize for the correct answer – just the opportunity to show off your ‘inner anorak’!
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
04:15, what a time to be alive! Well, half asleep really as that was the time my alarm clock went off this morning. Dragging my bones out of bed I had an hour to prepare and get myself out of the door before beginning my walk to the station. To be honest, it was one of the best strolls I’ve had for a while. I was in no hurry and the weather was mild (3 degrees) and dry. Whilst strolling up the hill to Spring Edge I looked back across the Calder Valley and the lights of Sowerby Bridge which looked lovely and peaceful. I was momentarily confused when I saw the lights of a 6-car train wending its way below me as nothing should have been running. Then it revved up its engines and the distinctive deep roar reverberating across a sleepy valley gave away the fact this was a pair of Trans-Pennine Class 185s on a diversion. I didn’t pass a soul on the way into town. Even the dog-walkers and their pets were still abed. Even the roads were quiet with just the occasional motorist around. Actually, it really was a good time to be alive…
The centre of Halifax at 05:30. Not a creature was stirring…
Now I’m on Northern’s 05:59 to Leeds. Despite the hour it’s a busy train. Dozens of folk were waiting to catch it at Halifax and many more have joined at Bradford Interchange. Of the 15 seats in the back of the rear car 11 are occupied. I suspect they may fill up before Leeds…
06:50.
My Hebden Bridge – Leeds train was early into Leeds, a rare event as normally you expect to be held outside waiting for a platform, but at this time of day there’s less chance of delays having accrued. This was fortunate as I managed to get ahead of myself by 20 minutes as I made a connection with LNER’s 06:40 to Kings Cross. I’ve now got the mobile office set up in a table bay ready to catch up with the day. At this point I’ve realised the flask of coffee I made to bring with me is still sitting on the kitchen work surface back at home. Bugger! Off to the on-board shop it is then…
08:25.
The arrival of dawn coincided with us passing Peterborough at speed. Supposedly, the days are getting longer but that’s not how it felt today. Now we’re bowling along South of St Neots in half-light past flooded fields that bare testament to just how much rain we’ve been having these past couple of months. The sun’s doing its best to break through the low, patch cloud so I’m optimistic we might get some good weather in Wendover by the time I get there. In the meantime, it’s warm and cosy aboard this train for the next 20 odd minutes before we reach London…
08:30.
I’m always fascinated by the way the weather works. After passing Hitchin we crossed into what’s obviously been a cold front. Everywhere (houses, cars and fields) is coated in a layer of frost so thick you could almost mistake it for a light dusting of snow. What a difference to the mild weather I had on my walk this morning!
08:40.
We’re in the North London suburbs. Having broken through the layer of cloud bordering the capital we’re once more enjoying clear blue skies.
09:55.
On arrival at Kings Cross I transferred to the ‘tube’, or in this case the old Metropolitan line which isn’t a tube at all. An uncrowded train deposited me at Baker St, a station whose architecture and detail I’ve always admired. I was in no hurry so whilst humming Gerry Rafferty’s musical homage I took pictures of the remnants of a more genteel and less rushed age.
Now I’m at Marylebone, waiting for my train to depart, having swum against the tide of incoming commuters. Marylebone has always been the odd one out of London’s termini. It still is today as it’s the only one that’s purely diesel powered – with no sign of electrification in sight…
10:40.
Almost there. The journey onChiltern’s been fine but by God their old ‘Thames Turbo’ fleet is looking tired. The seat coverings are threadbare, vestibule doors are missing and the whole train needs a damned good clean.
17:00.
Apologies for absence but it’s been another busy (if Baltic) day looking at the start of the Wendover viaduct deck push-out. I’ll describe it in more detail later, right now I’m on a train from Banbury into Birmingham have explored a couple of other HS and E-W rail sites with a friend (Chris Howe). In the meantime, here’s a couple of pictures to be getting on with.
The Wendover viaduct looking South. In the background (below the crane) is Jones’ Hill wood.The view from atop one of the bridge pillars looking North towards Wendover. Looking South from atop the same pillar. The construction site is long and very narrow. The track to the left is the haul road used for moving spoil from further South to be reused North of Wendover.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Today I’ve escaped the bosom of the Calder valley for a day out to London as part of a ‘jolly’. This is to celebrate the 1000th issue of RAIL, a magazine I’ve been involved with for *gulps* 23 years! I fist started accepting photographic commissions from them in 2001, then began writing for them a year later. Now I’m heading to Leeds to catch a train down to London that will be hauled by one of LNER’s Class 91 locomotives that’s been specially renumbered from 91105 to 91000 and named ‘RAIL’. It’s working the 07:41 off Leeds, which is handy! On arrival at Kings Cross I’ll be joining RAIL colleagues past and present for a little ceremony before the train works back to Leeds.
Right now I’m on Northern’s 06:45 from Halifax to Leeds. This mornings walk to the station was conducted in miserable drizzle but it could’ve been far worse. With the way the temperatures have plummeted I wouldn’t have been surprised to have been skating on ice. The 06:45’s made up of a 3-car Class 195 and I’d say it’s between 60-65% full after leaving Bradford. Not bad loadings for this time of morning and I’m sure it’ll be far fuller by the time it reaches Leeds.
I’ll be blogging and adding pictures throughout the day, so feel free to pop back and see how things unfold.
07:50.
Having arrived from Skipton late 91000 has left Leeds seven minutes down.
I wondered if I’d bump into anyone else here. Sure enough, I met my old friend and RAIL colleauge Phil Haigh, who was waiting for the set to arrive.
Looking very smart and sporting its new ‘RAIL 91000’ branding 91105 prepares to push our train lo London.All smiles! Phil Haigh with 91000.
11:15.
Well, that was fun! We arrived at Kings Cross 15 minutes late, which meant the photo opp in front of the loco was a little rushed! Still, it was great to see some old friends and familiar faces, including Pete Waterman and former newsreader Nick Owen. No doubt pictures will appear in the next edition of the magazine but here’s one from me.
L-R. Christian Wolmar, Howard Johnston, Pete Waterman, Nick Owen and Phil Haigh.
LNER put in a special stop order for the return working to call at Peterborough but I only stayed until Stevenage which gave me time for a ‘planning meeting’ with a couple of other RAIL colleagues. Now I’m heading back into London along an old stamping ground, the Hertford loop. The weather here down in the South-East is gorgeous, it’s one of those crisp sunny days with wall to wall blue skies, so it would be a shame to waste it.
I’ve fond memories of this line from my days living in North London. We used to pop up from Hornsey to Crews Hill to visit the huge garden centres based near to the station and carried all manner of stuff back home on the train. Huge bamboo plants and even goldfish made the trip!
15:45.
Having spent several hours rediscovering old haunts along the Southern end of the East Coast Main line and having performed a loop from Stevenage to London and back via the Hertford loop and main line I’m aboard an LNER service back to Yorkshire with my camera full of library shots. I’ve not explored some of these lines for several years. Then the Class 313s were still running. Now all services are run by new train fleets, or even cascaded new train fleets! It is odd to see some Great Northern Class 387s sporting the red livery of Gatwick Express or the green of GWR. GN has certainly hoovered up and interesting collection of 387s to replace the old BR built 365s. Trains aren’t the only changes. I spent a little time at one of my old local stations (Harringay) only to find the tiny ticket office which was on the footbridge across the tracks has disappeared. I’ve no idea when it was demolished. The news isn’t all bad. I was surprised to find another of my former locals (Hornsey) has gained a small coffee kiosk on the London bound platform, something I never expected to see, but there’s not that many alternatives close to the station, so they’ve clearly found themselves a niche.
17:45.
I’m back in Yorkshire, heading for Leeds after swapping my all-electric Azuma for a bi-mode set which is working to Harrogate. Not that you’d notice the difference – until you saw that there were no overhead wires! Whilst the York train was fairly quiet, this one’s busy with business people making their way home from the capital. There’s open laptops aplenty, although one or two folk look to be more dozing than typing. I know how they feel. I’ll not be sorry to get home as I have an even sillier o’ clock start tomorrow as I’ll be heading to Buckinghamshire via London to look at an HS2 construction project. Hopefully, the weather will be as good as it has been today, although it’s raining again here in’t North.
Dreary Doncaster…
21:45.
I’m home, fed and watered and preparing for tomorrow’s very early start, so I’ll leave you with a couple of pictures from my travels around the Herts loop.
Siemens built 717015 calls at Hertford North with a train from Stevenage to Moorgate. These 6-car units are a very good modern replacement for the old Class 313s as they boast air-conditioning 2+2 seating, wifi and plug sockets. Luxury! Sister unit 717016 pulls into my old local station at Hornsey with a Moorgate service.
Tomorrow I’ll be on the first train out of Halifax as I’ve got to get to Wendover in Buckinghamshire, where I’ll be visiting the site of the new HS2 viaduct. I’ll be rolling blogging throughout the day. Well, as long as the coffee holds out…
Goodnight!
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
It’s the start of another week here at Bigland Towers but, having finally digested all the Xmas turkey and other largesse, the country’s beginning to shake off the festive lethargy, which means I’ll be travelling to press events again, starting on Wednesday. Today, I wasn’t going anywhere. It’s been bleedin’ Baltic here in the valley. We may have escaped the floods and flurries of snow that have affected other parts of the country but the mercury’s remained huddled at the bottom of the thermometer so most of my day’s been spent glued to a computer screen in the office apart from a foray down into Sowerby Bridge to post the latest batch of eBay sales. Returning home in a biting wind made me decide it’s time to break out the winter woolies – especially as the forecast is for temperatures to continue to drop over the next week. Despite my Viking ancestry, I’m suited to sunny climes, not this sort of weather! Maybe we should rename this the colder Valley…
Still, I’ve had an interesting diversion from the UK climate in some of the old slides I’ve been scanning. I’m on the last few dozen from my round the world trip in 1997-1999. These are of Nepal and trekking in the Himalayas. They’ve brought back lots of fond memories as some of them I’ve not looked at for decades. Sadly, with the fact they’re 26 years old, several of the faces in them are no longer with us. They’ve made me realise just how precious time is. The last of the pictures will be scanned and edited by the end of the week when you’ll be able to find them all in this gallery on my Zenfolio website. But, in the meantime, today’s picture is another taster.
We’d joined a Dutch friend (Axel) who lived in Goa, India on a trek he ran in Nepal to raise money for a Nepalese charity that he and his Partner Lucie ran. The charity funded projects in the remote village of Barpak in the Gorkha district of Nepal. The treks (which lasted 10 days) took you from Gorkha to Barpak and beyond up into the Himalayas just short of the snow level. It was arduous and the accomodation was either in tents, local homes or the occasional basic hotel. One night our little band stopped in someone’s half built house. Needless to say, we became a curiosity for the local youngsters. There was no TV and certainly no mobile phones to keep them entertained, so why not watch us? I turned the tables and took this photo, here’s me watching them, watching us as we cooked our evening meal.
I often wonder what happened to people we met on or worldwide wanderings. How many of these young girls now have families of their own? Did any of them ever move from that village as most people never do.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
This is a rewrite on a much earlier blog which is now out of date due to a changing financial world, but where the basic economic rules still apply. Rules that our (hopefully soon to be Ex) Prime Minister – despite his time as Chancellor of the Exchequer – seems to be unaware of. More likely? He’s gaslighting you. Let me explain…
What are Capex and Opex – and why does the difference matter?
Capital expenditure is an expense incurred to create future benefit, such as buying new assets for a business – like buildings, machinery or equipment. Doing so generates profits for the future over several tax years. Hs2 is a very good example of the principle. It will generate jobs (which generate tax revenue), kick-start regeneration in some of our major cities and make the UK a more attractive place for businesses (which generate corporation tax). Capital investment on decent infrastructure is well understood as bringing economic benefits. This BBC article sums up the situation. As capital expenditure will generate tax revenue year after year it’s not just a one off. That income stream would enable the Treasury to spend money on many different things, from the NHS to social welfare, to more modern infrastructure and even tax cuts if it so chose.
Operating expenditure covers the day to day functioning of a business, like wages, utilities, maintenance and repairs. It also covers depreciation. It’s money needed every year. It’s not a one-off – and it doesn’t generate any extra income the way Capex does.
The UK has a poor record for capital expenditure on infrastructure. It’s why so much of the countries infrastructure is old and outdated (like the railways) and why our productivity is so low.
The OECD (Organisation Economically Developed Countries) recommends that baseline infrastructure investment is 5.5% of GDP annually for an economy with aspirations to growth. We’ve only spent this amount twice since WW2. This is especially relevant now as the UK desperately needs to invest in ‘green’ infrastructure to both tackle and be resilient to Climate Change. HS2 was one of the projects that ticked all these boxes. The importance of such investment has been thrown into the spotlight by the recent storms that have closed railways and flooded large parts of the country. We need modern infrastructure designed and built to cope with them.
Now to the present. Rishi Sunak has announced he’s ‘scrapping’ HS2 and diverting the capital expenditure to operating expenditure, like filling potholes and subsidising bus fares. It’s economic madness, but it’s also a con as the ‘diverted’ money doesn’t exist. There’s no pot of money sat in the Treasury labelled ‘for HS2’ that’s waiting to be diverted elsewhere. HS2 is funded from Government borrowing and the money for the sections of HS2 Sunak has cancelled isn’t on the Governments books as it wasn’t due to be borrowed for many years yet. It’s fantasy money, as real as the stuff you play Monopoly with. Sunak knows this, but he’s taking voters for fools as he also knows most people have no understanding of either economics or Government finances.
Sadly, much of the media is helping him perpetuate the con by lazily copying and pasting his claims and not once asking any awkward questions, informing people of economic basics (like Capex and Opex) or doing any analysis of his claims.
Don’t be fooled.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Miracle of miracles – we’ve had a whole day without rain here in the Calder valley! Not only that, we’ve also had blue skies and this strange round shiny yellow thing hanging around in them. Admittedly, it’s also been bloody cold but – hey, I’ll take it over the alternative!
After a morning sorting out pictures and paperwork indoors the dry weather allowed me to spend several hours catching up on exterior chores such as clearing mounds of slippy, wet leaves from the front and back of the cottage which has allowed me to get a ladder out safely and clear the guttering at the back of the property, ready for the next deluge. It’s lovely being surrounded by trees but they don’t half create some work in the autumn/winter! Whilst I was attacking the guttering I had the chance to check on the bird boxes I’d put up at the back of the house a couple of years ago. We’ve had plenty of prospective tenants but no-one’s ever nested. In close inspection I found some feathered friends had been trying to enlarge the holes in order to take up occupancy, so a job for tomorrow is to enlarge the openings and give ’em the chance to claim squatters rights.
The stone flags at the front of the cottage are still too slippy for ladders but we’re meant to have another sunny day tomorrow and a balmy 3 degrees so conditions should be good by lunchtime, allowing me to give the front of the cottage the same treatment as well as try to establish where our front porch is leaking from. It’s a lovely decorative stone feature but it was a later Victorian add-on to the original building so prone to water ingress. Whatever, there’s plenty to keep me occupied tomorrow which will help me meet my boosted exercise targets. I’ve ticked every box so far this year including ‘dry January’, so I’m feeling chuffed with myself. Plus, a bit of sunshine’s always a mood-lifter.
One of this morning office jobs was to crack on with finishing off some slide scanning which has provided today’s picture and look on life in a very different world. Forget supermarkets and pre-packaged fruit and veg. Here’s a local shop in Durbar Square, Kathmandu, Nepal, seen in April 1998. Give me this rather than self-checkouts any day…
You can find many more pictures from Nepal and the rest of this 1997-99 Odyssey here.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Paul Bigland 