We’ve had an interesting day here in West Yorkshire, and rather a sobering one -despite having visited a couple of pubs. We nipped out for lunch at the Robin Hood pub in Cragg Vale near Mytholmroyd, a hostelry where we’ve not eaten for ages. Funnily enough, we both plumped for the same thing. Home-made Haggis and black pudding pie served with chips and gravy. Talk about filling! Neither of us could finish our meals – even though we’d ordered one portion of chips between us! The rest of the repast came home with us in a cardboard ‘doggie bag’ to be savoured later.
Burp!
On the way back we decided to pop in to a local reservoir just to see how things are going. Whilst we’ve had some rain recently, there’s been nowhere near enough to top up supplies, and some reservoirs are getting dangerously low. Like this one. Baitings reservoir.
Looking East towards the dam and Ripponden. Here’s looking the other way. The old bridge you see has only reappeared a few times since the dam was constructed in 1956. This has happened twice since 2020.
Our curiosity was piqued, so we visited several more reservoirs. Here’s one many people will recognise as it can be seen from the M62. This is Booth Wood, with the M62 in the background. Not as bad a Baitings, but perilously low for July.
Our last port of call was another location visible from the M62. Scammonden.
What’s noticeable here is the way plants have colonised the sides of the lake, which shows just how long the levels have been low..
There’s no heavy or persistent rain forecast – the opposite in fact. So these levels are only going to get worse. Still think Climate Change is a myth and this is just normal and nothing to worry about? Think again.
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My weekend at home is drawing to a close but it was nice whilst it lasted. My body-clock has been reset back to UK time, although I’m still waking up early, which is no bad thing. Maybe it’s my age! Sadly, the weather here in the Pennines wasn’t conducive to outdoor activities. When I got up at 07:00 the wind was already howling, with the promise of rain later, so staying at home seemed like the sensible option. Besides, I’d plenty to do, what with picture editing and preparing for my next trip away. In fact, the day flew by. I’ve managed to edit and caption dozens of pictures which you can find in the following galleries (the links are built in).
Here’s a couple of samples to pique your interest.
Yes, that is a small child stood in the middle of the tracks waiting for a train to pass outside Duri station! Trespass is endemic on railways in SE Asia (including Indonesia) but then many railways have shanty towns backing onto the tracks which people then use as their backyards. The train itself is an ex-Japanese Class 205 set. Introduced in 1985, the 205 series were used on both JR East and JR West lines. 524 205–0 series vehicles were shipped to Jakarta between 2013 and 2020. They form the backbone of the capital’s suburban train fleet. Garuda Indonesia Boeing 737-800 number PK-GFM seen at Jakarta’s Soekarno Hatta airport on the 3rd February. The aircraft has been repainted into a retro livery which was used by Garuda in the 1960s.
There’s still several hundred pictures in the queue for editing, but they’re going to have to taka a backseat for a while as I’ve more immediate concerns. The other job I had to do (apart from unpacking and repacking) was confirming my travel arrangements for getting to Norway on Monday. This will see me returning to Manchester airport – albeit with a much smaller suitcase! I’ll have time to blog throughout the trip as it’s a fairly leisurely affair. I don’t fly until 17:15 and even then it’s via Schipol airport in the Netherlands. I won’t get to my hotel until around 23:00 but there might still be chance for a snifter in the bar with colleagues from the UK and elsewhere. The press event itself doesn’t actually start until Tuesday but we’ve got a lot to fit into the two days.
OK, time to go. The pair of us have both had a busy day. Now it’s time to eat and enjoy each other’s company before I head off again.
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, that was the plan. Sadly (like many plans) it didn’t quite go the way expected. When we woke up this morning after a night of torrential rain we found the day was dull and overcast. That wouldn’t have been a show-stopper, but Dawn’s digestion decided to interject (or in her case eject). A grumbly tummy isn’t the most ideal thing to have when you’re well away from sensible sanitation, so Dee decided to have a day lounging around our luxurious accommodation. I opted to stay with her in order to be around if needed and also sort out some work and travel stuff.
I’ve now altered my flight so that I’ll be staying on in Asia after Dawn flies back. I’ll be here until the 20th February in order to have a look at various rail projects in this part of the world – including the high-speed line between Jakarta and Bandung on Java. I’ve not planned all my trip yet but the intention is to visit Thailand and Malaysia to catch up with progress on rail schemes there as well. It’ll be a bit of a whirlwind tour but doing it solo means I can separate the trip into first having a holiday with Dee before exploring in more ‘backpacker’ mode (and covering a lot of ground). This means you’ll be getting insights into Asian life, travel (and railways) for some weeks yet.
I had considered staying even longer but I received an invitation to go on a press trip to Norway on the 25th February which was too good to miss. So, I’ll be flying back to the UK and swapping singlets and shorts for something slightly warmer!
As I’d sorted out some business and Dawn was happy to relax at the hotel I ventured out to visit an old haunt – Bias Tugel Beach, which is hidden behind a headland not far from where we’re staying. I’ve fond memories of spending time here back in the 1990s but I’ve not visited since 2003. Getting there involves a trek as there’s no road access, you have to use steep footpaths through forest. Now the locals charge 10,000 rupiah (around 50p) admission in order to keep the beach clean, which it is (just don’t look too hard at the condition of the footpaths). There used to be a couple of ramshackle warungs (eating houses) at the back of the beach. Those have now multiplied and they’ve added sun-loungers and umbrellas, but it’s still a lovely little beach on a gorgeous sea where you can watch ferries and small boats to-ing and fro-ing from Padangbai harbour whilst sipping a cold beer or basking in the sun. Here’s how the beach looked in January 1995…
Here’s a similar view that I took today. Sadly, the dull skies don’t show off the clear waters.
As I was on my own I stayed long enough to have a beer and a bite to eat whilst reminiscing about past times here and watching the ferries ply their trade. Otis Redding eat your heart out!
One of the Lombok – Bali ferries passes a local outrigger canoe taking people on a diving trip.
Before long I headed back to check on the ‘patient’ who’d recovered enough that we managed to grab some time together in the pool. Where we’re staying is very quiet so you’re surrounded by birdsong. I’ve managed to grab a couple of long-lens shots of some of the local feathered-friends, although for the life of me I couldn’t tell you what this one’s called!
Tomorrow we take our leave of Padangbai to head back to Ubud. I’d liked to have stayed longer, but this trip was very much a taster for Dawn – who’s never been to Bali before, so it’s a bit of a whistlestop tour.
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 still plenty of snowy scenes here in the Pennines. Much of it hasn’t really shifted, especially away from human habitation and major roads. Today the pair of us spent quite some time digging Dawn’s car out of the drifts – something I don’t recollect doing for donkey’s years as normally the stuff doesn’t hand around that long. On the bright side, the exercise was useful. Plus, helping to clear the road was a bonus as the pair of us are expecting various parcels to arrive over the next few days as we’ve been busy preparing for our Asian odyssey. Admittedly, most of mine will contain things like photographic kit (my old camera bag is on its last legs) whilst Dee’s orders are rather more wide-ranging.
Like most days since the snow’s arrived and we know we’re off to Asia, my day’s been spent working from home, ticking off various things on my work ‘to do’ list before we bugger off. This included editing the last of 2024s pictures that I’d not uploaded to my Zenfolio website. There’s still a few more to do, but the job’s back’s broken, so I’m hoping (weather permitting) to venture out with the camera tomorrow whilst there’s still enough snow on the ground to make it worthwhile.
What is remaining has certainly cramped people’s style. Having spent the day getting square eyes I did venture out to our local pub (the Big 6) for a pint earlier this evening. I was one of a handful. The place was deserted due to the difficulty in getting there. Most pavements are still under several inches of snow and driving to the pub isn’t recommended in these conditions.
A welcoming sight after a trek uphill through the snow. The Big 6…
Still, I did get to try a very tasty beer (thanks, Lee) which will be on in a couple of days time. I’m savoring my last chance for real ales right now as decent ales are as rare as rocking-horse droppings out in Indonesia.
It looks like a cider, but don’t let looks (or the innocuous fruity taste) fool you. This 5.2% beer is anything but a session ale…
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/
There’s a short blog from me today for a number of reasons – not least the fact the wifi where we’re staying is extremely slow tonight. That’s the problem with being out in the sticks. Forget the idea of superfast cable broadband in the middle of nowhere, you’ll be lucky to be able to watch a whole film without it buffering every few minutes. It would take me days to upload pictures to my website. Still, the scenery’s good and everything else can be done another time.
Today we made the must of the improving weather to visit the unique village of Portmeirion. As folly’s go, this one’s been executed on a grand scale. It’s also a stunning collection of rescued buildings (or part buildings) in an amazing landscape that’s also been the setting for one of the most enduring 1960s TV series. ‘The Prisoner’, starring Patrick McGoohan was filmed here in 1967-68. I was an avid fan so Portmerion always held a fascination for me. I’ve not visited the village since 1978 so it as a real trip down memory lane. Here’s a trio of pictures.
I’ll blog more about today when I have decent wifi. Be seeing you…
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 