Tag Archives: Calder Valley

Tuesday musings and the picture of the day…

07 Tuesday Jul 2020

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I’ve just returned from a long walk at dusk, right as the valley is disappearing into the low clouds and the drizzle accompanying them. It’s a very still night with nary a breeze, but the clouds still managed to appear from somewhere! It may be July but the cold and damp has encouraged folks to stay indoors in the warm. One of the cottages in our row has lazy wisps of white smoke emanating from it to merge into the mist.

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After a day where I’ve been spent mostly glued to a computer and a screen it’s lovely to get out and enjoy the countryside – even if it’s not exactly behaving like the height of summer. The roads and paths are covered in shredded leaves and branches of various sizes as a result of the gales we had last week. The heavy rain’s merely added to the carnage. I’ve not even plucked up the courage to start sorting out the battered front garden yet – but then I’ve not had the time either.

Despite the fact we remain in lockdown it’s a busy time as I’ve several projects on the go. Yesterday I chose the shortlist for the photography competition at the Community Rail awards, with 97 photos whittled down to a handful. Next week I and the other judges will pick the final shortlist via Zoom. Despite Covid and the chaos it’s caused we’ve had no shortage of entries this year. Now i’ve the ‘It’s your station’ category to sift which has also had a record number of entries. Myself and Mark Barker (my fellow judge) are having a busy time going through all the entries before we start talking to the entrants.

As if that isn’t enough I’ve got several articles in the pipeline, including another one which has come about as the result of my last blog on the impressive progress with the new High Speed 2 railway.

All this means that I’m going to be glued to a desk and screen pretty much all of this month. Then I’ve household stuff to sort out – and an eBay account I’ve set up which I’m slowly loading with various railway goodies before I spring it on an unsuspecting world. Trust me – I’ll let you know when I do. To make time for everything else I’m taking a break from the time-consuming job of scanning old slides. After all, they’ve been waiting 20-30 years to see the light of day, another month isn’t going to matter!

OK, let’s head over to todays picture of the day, which (this time) comes from glorious Greece in 2001. It’s a place Lynn and used to visit regularly, especially when she ended up managing Actionaid’s Athens office for several months back in 2004.

I love Greek island hopping by ferry and here’s one place that’s very impressive when you arrive by sea – Santorini. This is the view from Fira town, with a couple of cruise ships moored in the flooded caldera of the original volcano, whilst tourists relax by one of the swimming pools built into the crater sides.

T11902. Swimming pool and crater. Santorini. Cyclades. Greece. 26.9.01crop

I must admit, on a damp July day like today, I’d love to be right here, right now…

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Nostalgia (and the weather) isn’t what it used to be…

19 Friday Jun 2020

Posted by in Arambol, Calder Valley, Goa, India, Musings, Travel

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Hardly a vintage day today for a whole host of reasons which I won’t bore you with, but there have been a few small victories – and plenty of losses. It’s now 91 days since I last set foot on a train, which is the longest time I’ve been off the rails (literally, if not metaphorically) for as long as I can remember. The last time may have been sometime in the early 1980s, so at least 35 years, if not more ago. The irony is that right now myself and many other volunteers should have been on day two of a marathon train journey – ‘3 Peaks by Rail’ – the annual fundraiser for the charity The Railway Children’. If you want to know what it’s all about, here’s a gallery of pictures from the 2019 event. It’s a gloriously mad and exhausting event that showcases the true spirit of the railways and the people involved in them. The camaraderie and banter amongst the team is superb and I really miss it. Normally we manage to raise around £250,000 so it’s also time well spent. Here we all are before setting off from Crewe. Well, all but me – obviously, as I’m behind the camera!

DG325281. 3 Peaks by Rail. Crewe. 13.6.19.crop

Instead of taking part in this adventure I’m stuck in the Calder valley, getting rained on, with no prospect of escaping for quite some time. On the bright side. I did finish scanning yet another old slide album today which consisted of travel pictures from 2003 although it was a bitter-sweet victory as it reminded me of just how much I used to travel in those days. Just that one album had pictures from Sri Lanka, Spain and Ireland as well as weekends away from several UK locations, and that was only between January and July! What a far cry from the past 91 days…

It got to the point that I needed to take a break, get some fresh air and some exercise to come back to the present. Despite the fact it was chucking it down I went out for a long walk to take some time to enjoy the here and now away from everything. It was lovely, just having the time to stand and watch the world go by in our local woods listen to the rain and smell the freshness of everything magnified by the downpour whilst gathering my thoughts. No-one else came along to disturb me I had the place to myself. Well, apart from the Robins and the Jays, who seemed oblivious to the weather. Afterwards I walked on up to the promenade above the woods where I had a grandstand view across the valley and beyond to watch the next rainstorm roll in. I was hoping it would be a thunderstorm as I love them, but I wasn’t that lucky. The climactic pyrotechnics, barometric changes and frisson of danger that you get with a good storm fascinate me. They also put you in your place in the grand scheme of things. I hadn’t taken the camera as pictures hadn’t been my intention so this series were taken on my phone.

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Inside Scarr woods. Listening to the rain drip through the tree canopy, the birds singing and foraging – but not seeing another soul…

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The view from the promenade above the woods looking South towards Norland as the next rainstorm heads our way. I was hoping for a thunderstorm but it wasn’t to be.

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Looking over Sowerby Bridge in the valley and Norland up above to the left as the next weather front arrives.

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Almost the same view as the cloud front passes, the light improves – and the rain arrives on its coat-tails. You can see why the painter Ashley Jackson loves the skies here so much. They really are Turneresque.

Whilst I’m in such a pensive and thoughtful mode, it brings me onto the…

Picture of the day.

This is about as far removed from the Pennines as you can get. Here’s a picture of the beautiful little beach at Arambol, in North Goa, India, taken on the 30th January 2000.

T9346. Arambol little beach and freshwater lake. Arambol. Goa India. 30.01.2000 crop

My connections to this beach go back to 1985 when I arrived here as a penniless traveller on my first trip to India. The story’s too long for this blog, but I spent 6 weeks living on this beach in 85-86. You see the rocks towards the end of the beach at the far end? We’d bury big old biscuit tins containing our valuables beneath the sand next to them. At night we’d dig pits in the sand on the broad sandy strip facing the sea which we’d line with a mat and cover ourselves with a sheet, falling asleep to the sound of the waves. In the morning you’d wake up and notice the trails of the crabs that had walked over you during the night! In those days it was effectively a nudist beach so in the morning your shower was just (literally) getting out of your pit and running straight into the sea to play in the waves until it was time for breakfast, which (if you wanted to get dressed) you’d have in the nearby village, otherwise from buying fruit off kids who’d come down to the beach, baskets on heads, selling all sorts of local produce. When you wanted to wash the salt off from your sea-shower you’d go for a dip in that lake at the back of the beach, which was freshwater. It was formed by a stream that ran down from the hills at the back of the beach. It was the closest you could get to an idyllic existence and I look back, grateful that I was there at the time to experience it.

One day I’ll do a blog about life here once I’ve scanned the old slides and gone through my old diaries. It was such a different world in those days…

By 2000 it was all rather different, but no less beautiful. Lynn and I had stayed here for several weeks at the beginning of our 1997-99 round the world trip. We’d only been back in the UK a few months but already had itchy feet, so came back to Arambol for a month over the festive season though to the end of January.

Sadly, I’ve not been back to Arambol since 2003. To be honest, I’m not sure that I want to as I don’t know what I’d find now. I have such fantastic memories of the place I wouldn’t want them spoiled. Maybe one day…

 

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Lockdown-ish. Day 76 (Sunday)

09 Tuesday Jun 2020

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Where did the day go? When you were younger Sunday’s seemed to drag for one of several reasons (depending on your age). Either because the shops weren’t open, the pubs were closed, or there was nothing on the TV. Admittedly, none of those are a problem any more. Oh, wait the shops and pubs ARE closed! And, despite the fact we have TV channels coming out of our ears, it’s still sometime difficult to find anything worth watching. But I digress…

My point was going to be that – despite all these things – today seemed to fly. Admittedly, we did have a leisurely morning but started motoring in the afternoon with me doing a few chores and cleaning up the office whilst Dawn had another stint in the kitchen cooking more home-made Lasagne for us and extra for the freezer. This was in addition to the industrial quantities of home-made Thai Green curry Dee prepared yesterday.

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Little and Large! Two gorgeous home-made Lasagne made with a sauce of Dawns own recipe plus vegetarian cheese. 

All this activity meant that we had a productive day but we were keen to take a break at the end. For a change, rather than treading our well-worn path up to Savile Park we elected to stroll down to Copley and walk into Sowerby Bridge via the canal for the first time since Lockdown began. We’ve been avoiding the canal in that direction to follow the advice on social distancing from the Canal and River Trust. Some parts of the towpath are very narrow, and people constantly parading past boats people are living on can make their life uncomfortable. As it was later in the day we knew the canal would be quieter, so we explored. We both enjoy the serenity of the canal and because of Covid there’s hardly any movement of boats, so it’s even quieter.

We passed a few other walkers en-route and a couple of cyclists on our way into  Sowerby Bridge but the town itself was pretty much deserted as by then the supermarkets were closed. Unless you’re picking up a take-away from one of the handful of places still open there’s just no reason to be there. We didn’t hang around and tackled the climb back up the valley side almost immediately. Sadly, the weather wasn’t warm or sunny enough to sit outside when we returned so we were soon cocooned by the cottage and enjoyed a quiet, but early night by retreating to bed to watch TV and a program Dawn had found on the BBC’s iplayer. It’s called  ‘The real Marigold hotel’ and it follows a group of pensionable age celebrities who’re experiencing India as a possible place to retire. I’m not normally one for ‘reality TV’ but this is much kinder and gentler than many. No-one’s competing or bitching about each other and it’s a mixed cast that includes the legendary cricket commentator ‘Blowers’, Britt Ekland and musician Barbera Dixon, amongst others. The early parts are set in places familiar to me – Pondicherry, Chennai and Madurai in Tamil Nadu. It was a gentle way to end the weekend. And now, it’s…

Picture of the day.

Today’s picture comes from a place that’s not a million miles away from Tamil Nadu. Sri Lanka. This is sleepy old Galle town on the country’s West coast, and a place I’m sure ‘Blowers’ is familiar with as it’s where international cricket matches are held.

T15095. Bhuddist temple and Christian Church. Galle. Sri Lanka. 13.01. 2002.

The pictures shows Galle old town, which is a fascinating mixture of buildings, cultures and religions. In the foreground you can see a circular Buddhist stupa whilst in the background is the tower of a Christian church. I first game here on my own, travelling solo in 1992. This picture was taken when Lynn and I visited on the 13th January 2002. We spent several weeks exploring the hill country and beaches. We returned again for Christmas and New Year 2003 as we would normally visit Asia at that time of the festive and holiday period. But, for once, we didn’t go back in 2004 as we’d done a lot of travelling that year and had only just returned from Singapore and Hong Kong in  November. So, purely by chance, we missed the devastating Tsunami that struck on Boxing Day 2004. Galle was very badly hit, as were many of the beaches we’d visited the previous two years. There but for the grace of God…

 

 

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Lockdown-ish. Day 72 (Wednesday).

05 Friday Jun 2020

Posted by in Calder Valley, Coronavirus, Food and drink, Lockdown

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And then the rain came down…

When I threw open the bedroom blinds this morning I saw a sight I’ve not seen for months – the valley covered in rain – and a welcome sight it was too! We’ve had so little precipitation the fields were parched and turning brown so the change in weather’s going to be welcomed by farmers and (I suspect) by the medical  profession as it might keep a few of the ‘covidiots’ at home more and away from beaches and beauty spots.

From my perspective the only downside was the fact it had turned chillier and windier too. Having been used to wearing shorts and singlets for so long it was a shock to have to dig out a fleece and waterproof jacket to dress up in for my daily exercise. Even so, it’s a small price to pay and it won’t be for long – I hope…

After our morning meditation and with no excuse to sit in the garden I knuckled down to having a productive day in the office without any distractions. This allowed me to plough through scanning 40 more slides, then get them edited and onto the website in far quicker time than normal. I’d also eschewed my two-hourly walk ‘cos of the weather so once the decks were clear I combined exercise with a trip to the  supermarket and a local Indian market,where I stocked up on spices. With all the baking and smoothies Dawn’s been making we were running out of Cinnamon powder as well as the Smoked Paprika that we use for our weekend comfort food of spicy prawns. Whilst they’ve got better at stocking spices the supermarkets charge an arm and a leg in comparison to the local stores and I’d rather spend my money with them than a multinational if I can. 

On the way back from my shopping trip I took the long way around via the Promenade and local woods to boost my step count. The earlier rain had subsided and the sun made its bid to break though the thinning clouds but the wind that had sprung up as an accompaniment really knocked the temperature down leaving the weather feel more like early spring than almost summer. On the bright side – at least I wasn’t going to be busy with watering cans today!

Back at home I stowed away the goodies in the kitchen but before I resumed the duties of office (as it were) I couldn’t resist grabbing a couple of shots in the front garden where raindrops had fallen on the Lupins. 

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If I wasn’t so busy getting my back catalogue of slides scanned I’d dearly love to be able to spend more time out with the camera and playing around with my micro lens getting shots like this. Ah, well…

On the positive side, I did rattle through a lot more old pictures which included shots like this from 1999.

07306. 58050. CWR train heading for Hoo Jn. Wandsworth Rd. 17.11.1999crop

Here’s the last of the Class of 58. 58050 to be precise, hauling a train of long-welded rails through Wandsworth Rd in South London on the 17th November 1999. This was a popular location with railway photographers because of the variety of traffic and the excellent vantage point provided by the station footbridge, which is where this shot was taken from. Sadly, this view is now partially obscured by trees which have grown up next to the lineside inside the fence to the left foreground. All the Class 58s have now been withdrawn. 58050 remained in traffic until 2002. In 2008 it was recommissioned and shipped to Spain where it was used on construction trains for one of the country’s new High-Speed lines. It remains stored at Albacerte, Spain now.

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Lockdown. Day 69 (Sunday).

31 Sunday May 2020

Posted by in Calder Valley, Coronavirus, Lockdown, Uncategorized

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I’m really not sure that ‘lockdown’ actually describes the situation in England anymore as the Governments contradictory advice and actions have pretty much demolished that idea. We never had the severity of isolation the many other countries had anway, but now it’s feeling like the whole idea’s been thrown away in a sort of “well, do what you like now” free-for-all where the Government has washed its hands of any pretence of controlling the situation. That said, that pretence slipped when Johnson backed Cummings a week ago and it’s been a slippery slope ever since.

Now we see many of the Governments expert advisors backing away from them and breaking ranks to put their side of the story and social-distance themselves from what’s looking like a disasterous mistake. Having locked down the country too late the error’s being compounded by by releasing lockdown too soon. Who can blame the experts for not wanting to be left carrying the can for this one?

Still, it’s not all bad news eh? Matt Hancock has announced horseracing can resume soon, so everyone can take their mind off things by having a flutter with whatever money they have left by betting on the gee-gees. Hang on, isn’t Health Secretary Hancock the MP for Newmarket? You bet…

With all this in mind the pair of us resolved to continue with life as the new normal. The weather’s still amazing, with the sun cracking the flags, so it’s not much of a chore to stay at home when you’re blessed with the amenities and countryside that we have.

Even so, the day passed quickly, although as usual, our plans were fluid. Dawn needed to get a few hours work done so whilst she was banging away at her keyboard I was occupied in the same fashion whilst trying to catch up with a backlog of blogging. There’s so much that I could write – and want to write, but finding the time is surprisingly difficult. It wasn’t ideal, but I sat in the garden and soaked up the sun whilst blogging via my Samsung Galaxy phone rather than being stuck in the office and bashing away at the computer. The smaller screen, glare and tiny keyboard make typo’s inevitable and the ‘spullchucker’ constantly rewrites things for me so every so often I’d disappear inside to correct them on the laptop and check on the cat, who’s still not at his best. 

Later in the day, when work was finished we did manage to walk up to the supermarket to pick up some essential shopping. The place which was blissfully quiet. There were no queues and the isles were empty. Most people seemed to be out enjoying the weather. Later on we decided to do the same. Rather than walking from home we drove up to Norland Moor on the opposite side of the valley. As it was late in the day the moor was equally quiet. We only saw a handful of other people and it was glorious! 

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Looking down from Norland Moor over Sowerby Bridge. You feel on top of the world up here.

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Dawn enjoying the exercise – and the view.

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This pond atop the moor is normally a magnet for every dog being taken for a walk on the moor. You’ll normally find several having a doggy paddle whilst there owners relax and wait for them to get bored. This time of day it was deserted.

The walk wasn’t a long one, but it was lovely to get out and enjoy such a fabulous evening. The one thing that’s made up for being locked-down has been this run of glorious weather. Back at home we had another relaxed evening. Whilst I watered the garden Dawn was busy in the kitchen rustling up our evening meal. Hake on a bed of salad with fresh Tarragon, Chives and Parsley taken from our garden. Ideal summer food!

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Lockdown. Day 68 (Saturday).

31 Sunday May 2020

Posted by in Calder Valley, Coronavirus, Lockdown, Musings, Railways

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In the words of the Lou Reed song “what a perfect day”…The pair of us had a relaxed start to the weekend by lying in until 08:00 despite the presence of the moggie on the bed in between us for most of the night. He obviously considers this his sickbed and us his 24 hour nursing care!

On flinging open the bedroom blinds it was obvious it was going to be another cracking day weather-wise. When you’re cooped up and restricted weather like this will always be tempting. The pair of us are missing beaches and the sound of the sea but there’s no way in a million years we’d be foolhardy enough to join the lemmings flocking to the seaside as if everything’s normal.

Instead, we stayed locked-down and local – for everyone’s sake. Besides, it’s not like we don’t have some gorgeous places to walk to from home. OK, the River Calder isn’t renowned for its sandy banks and the area’s industrial heritage has left its marks on the river and its surrounds, but this is hardly the inner city.

So, after a leisurely brunch took a stroll and retraced our steps from the other week when we explored the footpaths and fields around Hollas Lane. Being on the opposite side of the valley to where we live gives us a very different perspective. Surprisingly, we encountered far fewer walkers than we did the other week. The two of us speculated upon why. Were they all sunning themselves in their gardens, or stuck in their cars driving to more far-flung destinations now that lockdown is starting to fall apart (by both accident and design)?

Not that it mattered to us. We found a meadow to plonk ourselves down in and soaked up the sun and the quiet for an hour whilst admiring the vibrant woodland around where we live. The fact where we stopped had this view is (of course) entirely co-incidental!

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Not a bad place to sit and while away an hour, is it?

Strolling on we followed the rest of the route down into Copley village where we were surprised to see the car park of the rugby club absolutely rammed with cars. But only a handful of people were in evidence outdoors. Surely, they weren’t all inside the Rugby club, were they? I’ve no idea of the answer to that but the sight certainly made me feel uncomfortable…

Moving on we crossed under the railway, over the canal and across the main road (then another railway) before cutting back into the woods on ‘our’ side of the valley. They were blissfully empty which did surprise me as they’re normally a popular spot for walkers.

Back at home we once again retreated to the front garden which was bathed in evening sunshine. It’s become our little oasis where we can sit and watch the world go by, chat to the neighbours and say hello to passers-by whilst listening to the glorious birdsong from the copse of trees opposite. Whilst Dawn was busy washing the car I pottered around, weeding or dead-heading before the sun set enough that I could start watering. There’s no water supply so I’m kept busy carrying watering cans through from the kitchen but I don’t mind as it’s good exercise. I don’t think either of us have been as appreciative of this space as we are now, especially as the lack of traffic makes it even more pleasant. We’re going to miss the quiet when things return to ‘normal’ – if they ever do. 

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This feels like it should be a caption competition for an old Ken Dodd joke. “What a beautiful day for”… 

Neither of us were on cooking duty tonight as we decided to eat from the freezer. We had plenty of home cooked meals to choose from and plumped for a Vegetable Pulao I’d cooked, plus some of the Chicken Madras that Dawn had made. As it was late by the time we were eating we chose to be decadent and eat in bed whilst the cat kept us company and we settled down to a good bit of escapist TV. We’ve discovered a series on the BBC’s iPlayer called ‘The Honourable Woman and become rather hooked. It’s a political drama centered around the middle-East and starts Maggie Gyllenhaal as a woman called Nessa Stein who runs a charitable foundation. It appeals to me as parts of that world are familiar to me because of my past – although not the shootings, murders and spies!

And so another day ended…

 

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Lockdown. Day 61 (Saturday).

24 Sunday May 2020

Posted by in Calder Valley, Coronavirus, Lockdown, Our cat, Jet, Politics

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This morning we woke to the sound of the wind unabated. For the second day running it battered the trees and homes around us. In fact, it seemed to have increased in intensity, so my first job after breakfast was to strategically position bamboo stakes in the front garden to support the Irises and Lupins which were in danger of being beaten into submission. Even the two-stage aluminium ladder I keep chained up at the back of the house had shifted and needed re-securing which was a tribute to the strength of the wind as this is a sheltered space .

None of this could dim our happiness that we’d be getting our cat back today, although an early phone call from the vets was a concern. Whilst Jet had responded well to the opiates overnight the vet was a little concerned about his demeaner and the fact he was drooling so wanted to keep him under observation for a bit longer. Out of deference to their expertise we acquiesced but both of us suspected we knew what the problem was. After two nights, Jet was getting ratty with being stuck at the vets!

As there was nothing we could do but wait we did the best we could to pass the day, filling our time with stocking up on some shopping and pottering around at home. I scanned a few pictures but neither of us could give anything our full attention. It was that sort of a day.

What made it more awkward was the vets were only offering an emergency service so their normal number wasn’t being answered. Essentially, we had to wait for them to ring us. Finally, late afternoon they did. We had a chat about Jet’s progress and demeanour and the vets agreed – it was time he came home!

The surgery is only a 15 minute drive away so I wasn’t long before we picked him up. He was totally placid and disinterested in the world when we did. The vet said he was like a different cat to the one the day before, when he’d been growling at them. But we knew this was because he’d been fed up!

When we got him home the ooor boy was rather comical. He was obviously still off his head on the painkillers he’d been given! He staggered and bumbled his way around the house like a drunk, but the first thing he did was make a bee-line for his litter tray, which seemed like a good sign! The vet had left a catheter in his front left leg (just in case) and it was both comical and sad to watch him trying to shake it off as he walked. Eventually, he settled on his heated mat and we managed to get some food and water into him. Despite rhe poor old boy being off his head he was still as affectionate as he’s always been and we were so glad to have him home. We took turns in keeping an eye on him whilst I worked in the office and Dawn cooked up another chicken Madras. Dee had liked the one I did the other night so much she decided to have a go herself and cook up a big batch to eat now with more for the freezer.

Whilst domestic life was improving now the band’s back together the UK political world continues to fall apart with the revelations that Johnson’s PR polecat – sorry, Special Advisor Dominic Cummings has shown his contempt for the Covid-19 lockdown by taking a few trips to Durham from London. I suspect this story is going to run for sometime as it looks like the journalists who broke it are letting it out but by bit, which is making the Tories flounder as they don’t really know what the full story is. Meanwhile, the Labour party who at long last have a Leader who knows what he’s doing are going to make the most of this shambles to expose what a useless and dishonest bunch we have in control. I think this from Twitter pretty much sums up how many people view the situation right now. 

cummings 2

After the sacrifices millions have people have made over the past few months to keep themselves, their families and everyone else safe from Covid-19, to see the Government endorse ‘one rule for us, one rule for you’ is sticking in an awful lot of people’s throats – on every side of the political divide. I wonder what the next series of revelations and the Government’s response to them will reveal? 

 

 

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Lockdown. Day 60 (Friday).

24 Sunday May 2020

Posted by in Calder Valley, Coronavirus, Lockdown, Our cat, Jet, Weather

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And then the gales arrived…

This morning we awoke to the sound of high winds whipping though the trees outside and battering the house as they rampaged across the valley. It was impressive, but also rather disturbing as life’s not exactly normal at the moment so the last thing you need is to worry about storm damage!

The irony for me was that I was sitting in the garden the other day, looking at the Lupins, which are about to flower, and thinking “I wonder if I need to stake them yet as they do get battered in high winds”. My subconscious obviously knew more than my conscious mind!

Today was another that didn’t really catch fire as the both of us were still concerned about Jet (our cat) and how he was getting on at the vets. I know that the old adage ‘no news is good news’ is true, but that doesn’t make the lack of news any easier sometime. With so many vets in the area closed down due to Covid-19 the one’s that remain open are obviously having to deal with a vastly increased workload and I can understand the pressure they must be under, but it does make you anxious, not knowing when they’ll get chance to find time to ring us as we don’t want to be bugging them.

So, the morning passed with a meditation and an easy breakfast before we both knuckled down to try and do some work. I’ve only managed to get a handful of old slides scanned this week so I was anxious to try and pick up the pace a little and crack-on with finishing the album I’ve been scanning for a few weeks. I’d hoped to have had it finished by now!

As always when scanning pictures, the time flew. After sitting for a few hours I took a break by getting out for a stroll along our tree-lined road, which was a bit like taking your hands due to the gusting winds. There was debris everywhere as the trees had taken a real battering. There were so many leaves on the road it was like autumn, only this was a sea of green.

The wind didn’t drop all day, it just kept coming! I was glad that I had an excuse to stay indoors. I’ll bet it wasn’t much fun if you were on a ship somewhere as from what I saw on social media pretty much the whole country was talking a battering.

Whilst I was busy upstairs Dawn was pottering around keeping herself busy downstairs, although both of us were waiting for the phone to ring and get an update from the vets. Jet was due to have some teeth out but we knew the vets were under pressure due to lockdown and a reduction in vets in the area, so we’d no idea when (or even if) they’d be able to get him seen to. To say it made for a stressful day was an understatement!

It wasn’t until the evening that the vets rang. Jet had come through the opration and the anaesthetic but now only had two teeth left. We were both hugely relieved but the vets would be keeping him in another night to monitor his progress, so we wouldn’t get him home for another night at least.

Whilst we’d waited we did have one fun diversion – the weekly ‘Big 6’ on Zoom pub quiz. Dredging the memory banks for answers to arcane questions is certainly a good way to take your mind off things! Tracey, Holly, Tony, Fran and Aubrey, Olly, Ruth, Kath, Dawn and I pitted our wits against questions asked by Mel in her own inimitable style – and Lancashire dialect!

The rest of the evening was relaxed and hassle-free. After all, it’s not like we’ve got to get dressed up to go out! Instead after eating we did what so many people across the country are doing – retreated to bed and logged on to Netflix. Goodnight!

 

 

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Lockdown. Day 55 (Sunday).

20 Wednesday May 2020

Posted by in Calder Valley, Coronavirus, Flora and Fauna, Lockdown

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*My apologies, this blog was written several days after the event as I’m frantically trying to catch up with recording the lockdown*

It’s said the road to hell is paved with good intentions. We had a few of those today but they went out of the window almost as soon as the day broke! I’d intended to get some work done, scanning old slides, then catch-up on some DIY whilst Dawn had plans to carry on with her redecoration of the front room and the porch. The weather was ideal as it was warn but overcast.

In the end, none of that happened. I don’t know if it’s lockdown fatigue or ennui but the pair of us ended up sleeping late. Even when we got up the day never seemed to get into gear and before we knew it most of it had flown. In an effort to salvage something from the day we finally got our arses into gear and went for a walk around the valley. Despite the easing of lockdown restrictions we’re still not venturing far. Partially because we don’t want to get caught up in crowds and partially because – what’s the need when we live in such a scenic part of the country? We have some lovely views right on our own doorstep!

Our walk took us down to the valley floor and across the river Calder at Copley, below the Lloyds data centre where a new housing estate and road bridge has been built in the past 5 years. It’s not a place I’d want to live as it’s hemmed in by the river on one side and the canal on the other, with the risk of flooding that brings, but many people don’t seem bothered and the properties have all sold. Once across the river we passed under the railway lines and headed out into open country along Hollas Lane. Purely by accident we’d timed our trip perfectly with the weather as the clouds that had blocked the sun for most of the day finally broke, giving us a gorgeous spell of clear blue sky. Leaving Hollas Lane we followed footpaths across the fields which took us along a sunken, stone lined trail which is a perfect green tunnel.

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Breaking out into the sunlight on the other side we’d great views back across the valley to ‘our side’ and the height we’d gained gave us a commanding view of the Copley railway viaduct. It was so nice to be out that we stopped in field for 20 minutes just to admire the views and allow me to get a couple of pictures like this.

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A pair of Northern Class 195s cross the Copley viaduct with a Leeds – Manchester service. As you can see from the tree canopy, Spring has well and truly arrived in the Calder Valley!

It was such a peaceful spot I almost wished we’d have brought a picnic with us rather than just the Nakd bars which we munched on as we enjoyed the sunshine and the silence. The roads are still quiet around here, which allows for blissful moments like this.

Moving on uphill we crossed another couple of fields to reach North Dean Road, which is more of a track than a proper road as vehicle access is extremely limited. We followed it down through the woods to reach the new pedestrian bridge across the Calder to Copley, which replaces a older stone bridge that was washed away in the floods on Boxing Day 2015. On the way we passed masses of pungent wild Garlic which was in flower, carpeting the woods. Luckily I’d brought the camera with just one lens – a 105mm Micro, which is ideal for pictures like this.

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Once across the Calder we headed home through Copley village and re-crossed the canal and railway to head up towards Skircoat Green. On the way I couldn’t resist stopping to grab a shot of this Ceanothus bush which was a mass of blue flowers and industrious bees.

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There may not be very many opportunities to add to my archive of railway images, but I have to admit I’m enjoying the opportunity to shoot other stuff instead as I don’t normally have the time except when I’m travelling abroad.

We headed home through our local woodland (Scarr Woods) some of which you can see behind the train in the earlier picture. Despite their proximity to Halifax and the fact there’s so many properties scattered around their edges we hardly saw a soul. One or two couples like us and the odd family, but there was no danger of proximity or difficulties with social distancing.

Back at home we sat in the garden and soaked up the last of the evening sun whilst I enjoyed a beer and Dawn a glass of Tesco’s non-alcoholic fizz. It was the perfect end to our stroll and what had felt like a wasted day.

I did redeem myself later in the evening by spending an hour editing a few slide scans and setting up a batch for Monday but the both of us thought that the occasional day at less than full tilt was allowed, so we crawked into bed and had an early night, grateful for the fact that – if we want to – we can!

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Thank you!

Rain stopped play…

28 Friday Feb 2020

Posted by in Calder Valley, Food and drink, Musings, Railways, Travel

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Well, not just the rain, but it has been another wet and frustrating day. My cunning plan was to head over to the Wigan – Southport railway to get some shots of the new bi-mode Class 769 trains that are on test there to fill a gap in the library and also for a client.

I dutifully headed off in that direction this morning. The weather here in Yorkshire was less than ideal but I don’t have much time to spare at the moment as the diary for March is looking rather full.

The trip across the Pennines from Sowerby Bridge was uneventful. I was on a direct service from Leeds to Wigan Wallgate which was worked by one of Northern’s cascaded Class 158s. Once the staple of more express services, they’ve been displaced onto secondary duties that would once have been worked by Pacers. It was comfortable and not particularly busy until it called at Rochdale so I used my time wisely and got some work done. The lack of wifi and power sockets wasn’t an issue now I have my new ‘super duper’ Dell laptop so I managed to plough through and edit quite a backlog of pictures whilst keeping a wary eye on the weather which was worsening the further West I got.

Sod’s law being what it is, by the time I got to Wigan and checked the Class 769 workings on Real Time Trains it was obvious today’s runs had been cancelled. It’s always the luck of the draw with these things and the fact it was raining cats and dogs in Wigan (or ‘Wiggin’ as the local pronounce it) meant I wasn’t too disappointed. Instead, I admitted defeat to head back East and attempted to salvage the day by getting a couple of shots around Manchester Victoria, like this one which rather shows how much the railways around the city have changed in the past few years.

A pair of Hitachi Class 802s operated by Trans Pennine Express pass at Manchester Victoria. On the left 802215 works 9S12, the 1224 Liverpool Lime Street to Edinburgh. Yes, Manchester now has direct services to the Scottish capital – and from Victoria too! On the right 802209 was working the unfortunate 1P22, the 1047 Newcastle to Manchester Airport which was terminated at Victoria due to signal failure. It’s great to see the way Victoria has regained the intercity services that it lost decades ago – and with brand new state of the art trains providing them too!

Heading on East I managed to get home without getting drenched thanks to my trusty Siemens supplied umbrella and a new pair of walking boots that kept my feet above the many puddles I encountered on the way. This evening has been spent on different activities. Both Dawn and I love to cook and tonight the muse was upon me. Whilst Dee slaved away working from home I tried an Indian recipe I’ve never cooked before, Chettinad Chicken curry. It’s fiery due to the Kashmiri chilli powder and ground black peppercorns and aromatic due to the cumin, cinnamon and coriander seeds. Served with rice and a few pickles and chutneys it certainly brought some colour into an otherwise dreary day.

The weekend weather isn’t looking much better. In fact, it appears we’ve yet another storm on the way, so I doubt I’ll be getting out with the camera over the next few days although I might get a few more old slides from 1990 scanned – just to keep the momentum going. As chance would have it, the next ones to be done are from Bristol – a city that I’ll be back in on Monday as I’m at an ACoRP seminar on Monday – Tuesday. Hopefully I’ll have chance to get a couple of up to date shots as a comparison…