Here we are at the end of another working week with the August bank holiday looming. It’s been an odd week here at Bigland Towers, the classic curate’s egg. I’ve enjoyed getting out and about to see the latest High Speed 2 railway construction milestone in Birmingham (a full blog and pictures to follow shortly). The weather’s been rather indifferent and the nights are certainly drawing in, heralding next month’s change of season. I’d have liked to have got out more but there’s been a lot to do at home, partly because Dawn’s had a tough week so I’ve been on hand to offer tea and sympathy. Oh, and breakfast lunch and dinner as required!
On the bright side, I’ve also booked a fortnight in Portugal for the pair of us, starting in the first week of September. This will see us exploring the Algarve, Lisbon, Porto and the Douro valley, travelling by train. We’re both really excited about the trip, we just need to bottom out a few details – like where we’re actually going to stay! That will be one of the tasks this weekend as we’re not planning to go far over the bank holiday – although there will be some walking involved – somewhere.
Right now it’s time to sign off and relax. I’ll leave you with today’s picture, which is one I’ve been meaning to use for a few days. I have a 105mm micro lens which really doesn’t see much use nowadays (I’m hoping to put that right in Portugal), but I couldn’t resist digging it out when I saw this opportunity last week.
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I’m sorry I’ve been absent for so long but the pair of us have had a rather shitty time this past week. I won’t go into details other than to say the worst is over and we’re gradually bouncing back. On the bright side, we’ll now have more time to devote to the things in life we both want to do and enjoy. In my case that means getting back to travelling and blogging, so expect a renewed stream of rolling blogs from my travels as well as wry and/or splenetic observations on the state of UK politics.
Oh, then there’s the weather. My absence has coincided with a change in the weather. We’ve actually had a few much-needed rainy days here in the Pennines, although it doesn’t seem to have made much difference to the levels in local reservoirs, which remain perilously low. I’ve visited some recently and have a new reservoir blog in the pipeline – if you’ll pardon the pun.
On Thursday I’ll be heading to Derby, so expect a rolling blog and preview pictures of a very important event in the railway calendar to help celebrate the 200th anniversary of Britain (and the world’s) railways.
Anyways, it’s good to be back. I’ll see you at greater length tomorrow. In the meantime, here’s today’s picture which is of a lovely meal Dawn rustled up using steak from the excellent Bolster Moor Farm shop. We both love Thai food – and this fiery Thai beef salad is a favourite.
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I’d an intention to write another reservoir blog today as Dawn and I were out exploring recently, looking at locations across Yorkshire and Derbyshire – but that’s going to have to wait until tomorrow as today’s proved to be a busy one – and the sun’s re-appeared (despite the threats of thunderstorms).
Having made the most of the day and called into our local to enjoy the sun and a pint in the packed beer garden we’re now back at home and I’m slowly copying more pictures of that infamous (by now) recalcitrant hard-drive. Today I’ve been moving old slide scans off it, which has prompted today’s picture. I have tens of thousands of pictures in my archive, going back nearly 40 years, so it’s easy to forget what I have sometimes, so the act of copying them over can jog my memory. This picture was taken in Georgetown, Malaysia back in 1992. I’ve always loved the fact we can be brought together or separated by the same language depending on circumstance – or spelling. Poorly translated menus have always been a favourite, but sometimes the humour is more basic. Here’s an example. I walked past this shop in Georgetown, Malaysia in May 1992 and immediately did a double-take.
If it was a delayed delivery, did you get to ask him where’s your fook hing coffin?
Sadly, this place is no longer there. He’s made his last coffin. Maybe it was his own – who knows?
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/
I’m afraid there’s not been many blogs from me recently for a variety of reasons, but I’m determined to put that right from next week. It’s not that I haven’t been doing stuff or have nothing to say, it’s merely the fact certain things have got in the way. I’ve a whole host of things I want to blog about (not least Friday’s election results) but time’s been at a premium and the muse hasn’t been with me.
However, I’m here now, having spent the day wondering just where the glorious weather we had recently has disappeared to. Compared to Friday when the two of us were basking in glorious weather whilst walking in Derbyshire, today’s seemed perishing with temperatures that have struggled to get into double figures. Bank holiday Monday’s not looking much better either, but at least it’s not raining.
Much of my day’s been spent editing pictures from the last weeks travels. I’ve uploaded the majority of them to to my Zenfolio website this evening but there’s still more to add tomorrow. With that done I can start to think about word-smithing.
Anyway, I’ll leave you with one image from Friday’s walk. Here’s how the Ladybower reservoir looked from high in the hills above.
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/
By the end of last night I wasn’t feeling at my best. I was under the impression that I was coming down with a cold as I was aching and sneezing, the usual symptoms. This morning after a restless night’s sleep I felt like shit so stayed in bed as I also had the shivers. Dawn, fearing it was more than just a cold picked up a Covid test whilst she was out shopping. Within a minute of me completing the test two very strong lines showed up on the indicator, meaning I’ve contracted Covid for the 3rd time, which is going to screw my plans for the next few days. With the incubation period being between 1-14 days (with an average of 3-5) I could have contracted the ‘rona’ at either of the two events I’ve attended recently – or even somewhere else. Who knows? All I can do now is rest and hope it passes quickly. Still, now I have time to catch up on some reading. And maybe blogging too…
For now I’ll leave you with today’s picture, which is of a type of establishment I won’t be visiting for a while until I’m no longer infectious (and feeling better). Here’s the Norfolk Arms pub in Marple Bridge, Greater Manchester.
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/
Whilst I’m optimistic about the new year I have to admit it’s started slowly. Neither of us were out carousing last night. In fact, we both fell asleep not long after welcoming each other into 2025! There’s been torrential rain across the North-West and Yorkshire overnight, so any thoughts of long walks were dashed when we watched the rain bounding off the bedroom window. Instead, we’ve had a home-based day, recharging the batteries in the expectation of a much better year ahead.
That’s not to say 2024 was awful, it had real highs and lows. Dawn look back at it more fondly than I do as the Platt family had some great times together, including celebrating her father, John’s 90th birthday. For me, it was rather more mixed. I certainly covered some ground, although that’s been mostly in the UK. I’ve added 1000s of pictures to my archives, carried out some amazing commissions with some incredible site visits and written dozens of magazine articles. I’ve also hit my own personal milestone by turning 65, although I’m still trying to work out where the hell the years have gone. My Fitbit stats tell the tale. Since I first bought one in 2017 records show I’d walk anything between 4.5 to 5.5 million steps in a year. 2024 has been a new record. I’ve hit 6,051.989. Maybe it’s time to slow down a little, especially now I’ve aggravated an old knee injury I picked up during my cycling commute days in London back in the 1990s.
That’s not going to stop me travelling of course. There’s a lot of places I want to see in the next few years, with (hopefully) the focus switching outside of the UK. Watch this space.
2024 was also a weird year for politics. The highlight was seeing the Tories swept from power in the British general election, bringing 14 years of awfulness to a close. Sadly, they did their best to salt the earth before they were kicked out, leaving the incoming Labour administration with an awful financial landscape and some tough choices, which haven’t been made any easier by an almost universally hostile media. You’d be forgiven for thinking their first 6 months in power have been a disaster, because that’s the message the media have been keen to push, rather than reporting factually and accurately on what’s been going on. Despite all the froth and daily dross from Reform, who pretend they’re really the opposition (despite only having 6 MPs) Labour have over 4 years until the next general election to come good. That stability shouldn’t be underestimated after the dramas of the Tory years.
Mind you, it’s not just the mainstream media that’s guilty of hysteria. 2024 saw social media become more and more poisonous thanks to the likes of Elon Musk’s Twitter (I refuse to pander to him and call it X) and the algorithms of Facebook and others which are pushing contentious content or unreliable and inaccurate AI nonsense. The old axiom of ‘put shit in, get shit out’ has never been more true. Even Google is pushing this nonsense, making it harder and harder to separate fact from fiction, truth from lies. No wonder so many of us are limiting our exposure to social media or switching platforms from the likes of Twitter to Bluesky.
This disinformation helped in propelling Donald Trump back into the American presidency, in what was undoubtedly the biggest political disaster of 2024. On the bright side, the cracks in his administration, (which hasn’t yet come to power) are already showing, infighting between his MAGA cronies and the likes of Musk are already in full swing, which could make 2025 a record market for popcorn sales…
Another potential bright spot on the horizon is the continuing collapse of Putin’s Russia, thanks to their massive and continuing human and material losses in Ukraine and defeat in Syria (the fall of Assad being another bright spot in 2024). I’m loathe to rely on crystal balls but I’ll be watching what goes on in Ukraine with interest. The Ukrainians are rewriting the book on warfare, whilst Russia is rapidly running out of old Soviet era equipment and increasingly relying on Iran (another country that got a kicking in Syria) and North Korea. I have to admit, I never had North Korean troops fighting in Russia on my 2025 bingo card…
So, despite everything, including the increasingly obvious impacts of climate change. I remain cautiously optimistic about prospects for 2025. Plus, I become a state pensioner this year, which is something to look forward to – sort of! After all, it’s not as if I have any choice in the matter and can turn the clock back, so I might as well embrace it!
Hopefully, I can keep you entertained with blogs about politics, travel, life, the universe and everything throughout 2025. In the meantime I hope you all have a fabulous year! In the meantime, here’s a link to my Zenfolio website which has had a huge picture update today. Look out for many more soon. Here’s a sample.
Siemens built ‘Desiro’ number 350237 stands at Stoke-on-Trent whilst working 2K81, the 16:45 Stafford to Crewe on the 30th December. The Class 350/2s are slowly being taken off-lease as they’re replaced by new Class 730 trains from Alstom.
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 