Tag Archives: Flora and Fauna

22nd May picture of the day…

22 Monday May 2023

Posted by in Flora and Fauna, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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Apologies for the lack of blogging these past couple of days but I decided to take the weekend off – something I’ve not done for a long time. Writing a daily blog can be time-consuming and the past few days I’ve been concentrating on other things – such as the glorious weather we had on Saturday and Sunday! The wall-to-wall sunshine we enjoyed made me want to spend as much time outdoors and away from computer screens, so that’s what I did. Instead, I swapped the office for the garden and spent a lot of time on Saturday repotting plants, tidying up the front and back gardens and trimming back some young saplings which are taking over land at the back of Bigland Towers. The place looks a lot better for the work and I feel virtuous as I expended a lot of energy doing it!

The only strange thing is we seem to have inherited some mad birds. A crow took an irrational dislike to a mirror which I’d propped up on the terrace at the back as it enabled me to see what the weather was like coming in across the valley. The crow spent two days smashing the mirror to pieces! The umbrella dish bird-feeder outside my office window became the target of a pigeon which has learned that if it attacks it all the seeds are scattered to the cobbles below so the greedy creature can hoover them up. Looks like I’ll have to come up with a plan B…

Today the weather reverted to type. Temperatures are still above normal (18-19 degrees instead of the average 15 for this time of year) but cloud cover has been with us for the afternoon. Dee and I still managed to get out for a couple of walks through the woods – which are gorgeous, but the Bluebells are past their best. So, today’s picture is what’s replacing them in several people’s gardens (including mine). Azaleas.

There’s not going to me much time for woodland walks for the rest of the week as we’ve both busy schedules. Expect a rolling blog tomorrow as I’ll be out and about on the Aire valley line and up to the Settle and Carlisle railway as part of community rail week. Then later in the week I’ll be in Beeston and Matlock – and no doubt a few other places too. Plus, there’s a birthday girl to treat this week…

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

12th May picture of the day…

12 Friday May 2023

Posted by in Flora and Fauna, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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Another short blog from me at the end of another day dominated as much by the weather as anything else. Call this May? It’s bleedin’ freezing! Today Dawn and I went out for a light lunch with her parents over at Totties garden centre in ‘Last of the summer wine’ territory just outside Holmfirth. They have a good cafe there where John and Norah are regulars. The only problem is Totties is on the side of a hill and a stiff breeze left the place ‘Baltic’! I was glad we had a nice warm cafe to seek refuge in. It was hardly salad weather so three of us ended up ordering Sausage, chips and mushy peas with onion gravy, which was far more suitable – and warming.

Of course, I couldn’t resist a mooch around after eating so I left the others in the cafe and checked out what was on offer. They have a good range of plants but it was some of the plastic pots that really caught my eye as they had stuff in sizes and at prices I can’t find around home. In the end, I didn’t buy any but I’ve certainly got my eye on a few for the future when I’ve done some more changes to the terraces at the back of the house. I did end up with a couple of plants but they were indoor ones. I spied a plant I’d not owned for years. In fact, it’s so long ago I can’t even remember where and when it was I had it. I suspect it was in my flat in East London, but the memory’s hazy. It’s called Hypoestes. They’re small plants that have attractive pink polka dot leaves, although I also managed to pick up a red-leaved one too – all for £4.50. Back at their house Norah dived into the greenhouse and shared some Gladioli bulbs with me and some ‘Golden Rod’ which we dug out of the front garden. This will add a splash of colour to the back of the house later in the year.

It wasn’t the weather for hanging around in the garden so we quickly bade goodbye and came home to the warm, where Dawn’s stayed ever since (sensible woman!) whilst I potted up my new acqusitions before heading out for a walk to get my remaining steps in. I’ve always said the two valley’s (Calder and Colne) have their own microclimates and today was another example. The temperature at home felt a couple of degrees warmer than over in Huddersfield, but then we do benefit from being on the sheltered side of the valley and South facing, so we catch the sun. I’m hoping we’ll catch more of it tomorrow as the weather’s due to pick up, then I can get more jobs done around the place.

To round of the day I’ve spent some time editing travel pictures from Turkey which you can find in this gallery. There’s many more to add yet, so today’s picture is a sample. Here’s the inside of the magnificent blue Mosque, looking up into the domed roof.

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

11th May picture(s) of the day…

11 Thursday May 2023

Posted by in Calder Valley, Flora and Fauna, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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Another short blog from me as today’s not been the most exciting of times unless you count dodging heavy rainstorms, potting cuttings for the garden and slaving over a hot keyboard in order to get a load of pictures edited! To be fair, the rainstorms were fun – as long as you weren’t caught out in the open by one. The forecast had threatened us with thunder but that never materialised which was a shame as I love a good thinderstorm. What was very much in evidence was the thunderous looking skies. Dark clouds forming a band low in the skies that contrasted magnificently with their lighter, wispier counterparts which were occasionally illuminated by the sun. All of this was played out whilst I had a grandstand view from the bedroom window. I do love the skies up here in the Pennines, they’re constantly changing to provide a stunning backdrop. Well, on the days they’re not doing their best to hide the valley – obviously!

Having successfully edited another tranche of pictures ready for captioning and with the weather having changed from showers to sunshine I made a break for freedom and a long walk through our local woods – Scarr and Long wood. Both are looking stunning at the moment as they’re covered in Bluebells. Long wood has the added attraction of wild Garlic flowering which adds another contrasting colour to that of the bluebells. The round trip is a lovely walk and good exercise as the woods cling to the side of the valley so are anything but flat.

Now it’s time to knock-off for the night and catch up with the ‘other half’ who’s still on holiday and been out for a long lunch with friends. So, I’ll leave you with a couple of pictures from today’s perambulations.

Bluebells and wild Garlic in Long wood
A mass of Bluebells adjacent to Scarr wood.

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

2nd May picture of the day…

02 Tuesday May 2023

Posted by in Calder Valley, Flora and Fauna, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Uncategorized, West Yorkshire

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There’s only a short blog from me today for two reasons. One is that’s it’s not been the most eventful of days and the other is that with everything that’s going on in the country politically and economically I’m in danger of letting my spleen vent – and if that happened I’d be here for several hours! So, I’ll sum it up in three words and then move on.

What. A. Shitshow.

My only hope is that the local elections this week might provide some insight into the direction the country may be taking. Hopefully it will be a positive one, but I see an awful lot of ingrained deference and forelock tugging around which makes me wonder if a significant percentage of the electorate rather enjoy misery and being kept in their place. Either way, I’ll be in Turkey from Friday so somewhat removed from politics, pomp and circumstance.

On a brighter note, the in-laws popped round for coffee this morning which gave me chance to show-off the work I’d been doing outside as Norah is also a keen gardener and appreciated my efforts. Dawn had to shoot out to a work appointment so it was my turn to rustle up the brandy coffees! The three of us had a pleasant time joking and chatting before it was time for them to head back to the Colne valley and me to get back to work. One task that kept me busy was adding more old railway slides for sale via my eBay account which you can find here.

My only other achievement today was getting over 16,000 steps (7.5mls) in whilst not getting rained on! This led to today’s picture which was taken in our local woods. They’re looking stunning right now as the Bluebells are taking over.

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

24th April picture of the day…

24 Monday Apr 2023

Posted by in Calder Valley, Flora and Fauna, Hs2, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways

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Today’s been an odd start to the week. I was full of determination to hit the ground running after a lovely weekend and the day started well as I hit all my targets for exercise, then spent several hours working in the office getting paperwork and pictures organised. I even managed to tear Dawn away from her computer so that the two of us could go for a walk together. Then, all of a sudden my batteries drained, leaving me completely out of energy. It happens to me maybe once or twice a year and I’m assuming it’s down to doing too much whilst running on a nearly empty stomach (although I’d have thought a gut full of porridge would have kept me going). Poor Dee was quite concerned as it’s never happened when we’ve been together before.

As a supermarket shop was part of the plan I had a short sit-down whilst Dee stocked up on various bits which included cereal bars – one of which I soon scoffed in order to give me the boost I needed to get home. It seemed to work although it was a couple of hours before I felt energised enough to get my last couple of thousand steps in to hit my daily target.

Now I’m having a relaxing evening at home. Dawn’s been fabulous and sorted out jacket potatoes with tuna, mayo and a side-salad whilst I’ve been ‘busy’ watching the Public Accounts Committee hearing on the debacle of the HS2 station at Euston which has been ‘paused’ for a couple of years whilst the Govt and DfT work out what to do. I’ll blog at greater length about this when the transcript is published. I took copious notes but there’s nothing like having it verbatim.

My take from the hearing is that this really is just a pause and HS2 will make it to Euston. The railway’s an expensive white elephant without Euston as Old Oak Common simply doesn’t have the capacity to be the London terminus. Mark Thurston made it clear that whilst contractors are being stood down, the contracts haven’t been ended, there’s merely an agreement to pause them. Plus, some work at Euston (to the tune of £200-220m) will continue until the autumn as the TfL substation, skills centre and Euston station facilities block will be completed whilst the station site is made secure. So, in theory, the ‘pause’ could be as little as 18 months – if people can come up with a viable new station design in that time, although the depressing thing seems to be the focus on cost, rather than anything else – like what we need the station to actually do.

Interestingly, what wasn’t mentioned at all was Bernadette Kelly’s claim at the Transport Select Ctte hearing that opening Euston later was the plan all along.

Right, onto the picture of the day and another sign that spring is here – seen in our local woods earlier…

Hopefully my batteries will be recharged by the morrow as I’ve lots I want to do this week…

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

25th March picture of the day…

25 Saturday Mar 2023

Posted by in Flora and Fauna, Halifax, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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The pair of us have had a domesticated sort of day here at Bigland Towers. To be honest, with the way the weather’s been, there’s been little point to doing much else. Torrential rain overnight led to a miserable start to the day, but thankfully, that gradually improved. Dawn had a morning appointment elsewhere which left me free to chalk up some household chores – albeit not always successfully. I’ve been trying to change the cartridge in one of our bath taps. The first one was easy but the second one is stuck fast. You can’t apply too much brute force as the fittings made of soft brass so it’s easy to strip the nut. Even a ring spanner, oodles of WD40 and tirade of swear words won’t shift it. I’ve one trick left up my sleeve. After that I’m calling in an air-strike…

Once the rain finally subsided I moved outdoors to tidy up the gardens (front and back) having not been around to look after them since January. I really enjoy gardening. It’s such a therapeutic pastime and the joy of producing life through planting is hard to beat. This year I’ve decided to do some major replanting as many of the shrubs have outgrown their locations or simply spread too far. I rescued some yellow Iris from a canal a few years ago. They’d been dumped in dredged mud, so I brought a few home. They’ve loved our garden and spread like wildfire. The same with a variegated Hosta. I really like Hostas – but so do slugs – which is always a problem. I’ve split the original plant several times but now it needs doing again whilst being confined to a few pots, some which I can give away. Sod paying garden centre prices!

Our herb garden’s being revised too. Previously we had stuff all over the place (front and back). Now I’ve cleared a bed opposite the kitchen window where the panoply of edible plants will be congregated. That said, I sowed some French Parsley in the terrace above the back of the house last year and that’s going great guns already as it obviously likes the location. Sadly, not everything survived the winter so I’ll have to buy a new Rosemary plant. Our previous specimen loved it out at the back. So much so we had to severely chop it back to let the neighbours get past. Eventually it had to be chopped down as it just got too big. The new one I planted in a pot in the front did well initially, but this winter was its nemesis. Sadly, our Variegated Thyme didn’t survive either. Having fresh herbs you can pop out and crop as you need them is wonderful. Plus, if you love cooking as we do – it also saves you loads of money.

Gardening duties done I joined Dee for a trip into Halifax for a spot of shopping. Retail therapy isn’t a thing for either of us, but when needs must. At least Halifax still has a decent range of outlets, including an M&S and a ‘Body Shop’ plus the obligatory supermarkets. Our trip was prolonged because we couldn’t get Dawn’s favourite tipple for love nor money. Being teetotal, Dee’s developed a taste for the alcohol-free Guinness as dark beers were always her favourite (personally, I’m a pale ale fan) and apparently, the AF Guinness tastes just the same as the real stuff, but it’s hard to come by. Only one of our local supermarkets normally stocks it but they’d run out days ago. We ended up diverting to Sowerby Bridge where Tesco’s had finally had a delivery – so now Dee’s well happy!

Now we’re kicking back at home. I’m writing this whilst Dawn’s cooking one of her fantastic Chicken Madras curries. So, it’s time to relax and watch a film together with a drink and some brilliant home-cooked food. That leaves me to find a picture of the day – so I’ve chosen this. The garden’s too messy to post right now and I can’t find the picture I’m thinking of, so this will have to do. It’s a bit more exotic than anything I can grow here in Yorkshire. This is Duranta Erectica, otherwise known as Golden Dewdrops, shot at Gardens by the Bay. Singapore.

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

20th March picture of the day…

20 Monday Mar 2023

Posted by in Flora and Fauna, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Politics

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Not a great start to the week this week. I’ve been pretty optimistic since my return from Asia but today (for a variety of reasons) that optimism evaporated. To be honest with the UK the way it is at the moment optimism is a bit of a slog. One only has to look at the mess the Government is making of the rail industry (and as a consequence – net zero) to see that. Add in the fact that once again bankers have been wankers and done their best to crash the global economy, plus a few issues closer to home and it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimism and ‘what am I doing here?’ It will pass. It always does, but there’s no denying the world’s in a mess right now and the UK feels like a failing country. Not that the Tories seem to care. They seem to have given up any real hope of winning the next election on the basis of any competency. Instead they’re cutting back spending to save money for election bribes whilst planning to fight their next campaign on ‘culture wars’ rather than anything tangible. Let’s face it, they’ve no claim to economic competence (Brexit, anyone?) and corruption has been rampant, so what else is left other than to sow more division with such nebulous crap as the ‘war on woke’ whilst at the same time trying to demonise trans people and their rights. It’s straight out of the American far-right playbook of course – hence the ridiculous huffing and puffing over drag acts being a ‘danger’ to children – as if no-one remembers watching mainstream TV in the 1970s where you had Danny la Rue and Stanley Baxter with their own shows, or the Two Ronnies and Les Dawson, and let’s not even mention pantomime. I have a feeling that the next election is going to be a very nasty and divisive affair with repercussions that will go on long after the result is declared.

I know, I’m a right ray of sunshine today, but this is my blog so my rules – and feelings!

Anyway, I’m hoping for a better day tomorrow. In the meantime, here’s today’s picture which adds a splash of much-needed colour to life. I spotted this plant in the gardens by the bay in Singapore but I’d no idea what it was. I’ve now been able to identify it as . Mussaenda erythrophylla, otherwise known as Ashanti blood.

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

16th March picture of the day…

16 Thursday Mar 2023

Posted by in Flora and Fauna, Malaysia, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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The pair of us have had another busy day here at Bigland Towers. Dawn’s been slaving away in her home office downstairs, having her day packed with online meetings and vast amounts of paperwork and spreadsheets. Remember the concept of the ‘paperless office’? It never happened, but at least this houshold doesn’t generate anywhere near as much as we once did.

Whilst Dee was busy downstairs I’ve been kept busy upstairs. I’ve almost finished editing and captioning my Asia travel pictures. The latest batches can be found if you follow these links to either the rail or travel images. Out of the pair of use I was the luckier one as I was able to tear myself away from my desk for an hour late this afternoon in order to complet my daily walk which I combined with a visit to our local supermarket to post some mail. I even made a detour via our local pub, the ‘Big 6’ for a quick pint. We visit infrequently nowadays. This was my first time over the threshold since I got back from Asia. Appropriately, the beer I chose was a pint of Elland brewery’s ‘Tank Engine’, a zesty pale ale at 4.8%. After a few months away where the only beer that passed my lips was lager it was lovely to taste a proper pint of bitter – but just the one mind!

When I returned home Dee was still bashing the computer keys so I took over domestic chores including cooking. Well, reheating really. I didn’t have to prepare anything fresh. Instead, we’d taken one of Dee’s home-cooked prawn and chorizo risottos out of the freezer. They’re spicy, filling and delicious! Now it’s time to switch off and relax for the rest of the evening before another busy day tomorrow. Dawn’s in the CRN office tomorrow but I’ll be at my desk in order to finish off the last few Asia pics which will leave me free to focus on other jobs next week – and even get out with the camera to catch up on the UK rail scene – although I’m not sure where I’ll go yet. There’s plenty to look at West of here, so it all depends on the weather.

Now I’ll leave you with the picture of the day, which has nothing to do with architecture or trains for a change. This time it’s flowers. I’d no idea what this particular bloom was that I’d photographed in Kuala Lumpur but it’s been identified thanks to my old friend Peter Mugridge. Here’s Cheilocostus speciosus, or crêpe ginger.

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

Asian adventure day 39. Georgetown day 7.

18 Saturday Feb 2023

Posted by in Flora and Fauna, Georgetown, Malaysia, Photography, Travel

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My back is gradually recovering which meant I was more than happy (and able) join Charlotte and Adi on their last Penang outing before they head down to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow. The three of us had a quick breakfast of chicken curry and rice in ‘Line Clear’ before catching the 101 bus out to the Spice Garden which is on the coast road West of Batu Ferrenghi. There was only one slight problem. The bus was already packed when we embarked, so we ended up standing – and the guy behind the wheel drove it like he’d stolen it! You’d think he was a frustrated fighter pilot by the way he threw that thing around! The coast road is very winding in parts which is hardly ideal when someone’s driving in that manner. The result of which was that Charlotte became a little green around the gills and we had to disembark 3/4 of the way to allow her to reset her horizon, It wasn’t a problem, we just waited for the next bus as they’re every 10 minutes and arrived at the Spice Gardens a little later. After all, it’s not as if we were on a schedule or tour.

The gardens were really interesting and the staff lovely. The first thing they do once you’ve paid is offer to smother you in mosquito spray as these places are a haven for the little buggers. One of the women behind the counter very diplomatically asked Charlotte (who paid) if I qualified for a discounted ticket as I suspect she assumed I was Charlottes’ Farther! (a polite way of saying – is he an old bugger and get pensioners rates?). This provided us with some amusement later when Charlotte told me. Truth be told, I’m in the same age bracket as her mother so the honest answer would be yes, even though her Dad’s my elder brother.

Family amusements aside we really enjoyed the Spice Gardens which was created out of a former rubber plantation back in 2003. It’s a restful place stocked with a fantastic variety of native trees and plants complete with a pond and meandering stream. Now’s probably not the best time of year to visit as many plants aren’t flowering. Also, some sections (like the café and cookery school) remain closed due to Covid. Even so, there’s lots of interest including the poisonous plants section which is a bit of an eye-opener as so many of the plants that can kill can also heal – in the right doses – and that’s the skill…

On leaving the garden we took a short break on the attractive little beach opposite before catching the bus back, this time with a well-behaved driver.

Not a bad bit of beach. I may have a day out here next week…

For our final evening together we’d thought about trying Nonya food but it’s the weekend and many restaurants are booked up as the place is teeming with local tourists who’re outnumbering Europeans by huge margins. Instead, Charlotte and Adi suggested going back to the Pork noodle soup stall we ate at the other night as they’d enjoyed it that much – and so we did. Only this time we ordered the large bowls which cost just over 7 Ringgit (£1.40) each. They were gorgeous! Street food is hard to beat and it’s no wonder this place often has people queuing for a table.

This is streetfood, not nouvelle cuisine. It’s flavors and ingredients that matter, not presentation.

Tomorrow I’m back to travelling solo. It’s been lovely having the company but now that my back’s slowly getting better I want to get out with the camera more. Plus, I may have a Singaporean friend paying me a flying visit on the 20th…

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

Asian adventure day 35. Georgetown day 3

14 Tuesday Feb 2023

Posted by in Flora and Fauna, Food and drink, Georgetown, Malaysia, Photography, Travel

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This won’t be a long blog, but it will contain a few different pictures. This morning the three of us took the bus out West to the butterfly farm. It’s an easy journey as the 101 bus to Teluk Bahang leaves from almost across the road from our hotel. Plus, they run roughly every 10 mins. The journey was really interesting for several different reasons. I’ve not made it for over 20 years. Georgetown’s changed a helluva lot, but also because Charlotte got talking to a local man on the bus who gave a lot of valuable insights. My first impression was how much the skyline’s changed. When I first came to Georgetown in 1992 there was only one ‘skyscraper’ – the Komtar Tower. Now they’re springing up like mushrooms. Some of them are rather attractive. Others have all the aesthetics of a road accident! A number are there purely to provide residences for foreigners, European (especially English), Chinese – and Russian. But then Georgetown’s rather an attractive place to have a second or primary home as there’s no shortage of medical services and – generally – things are cheap here. That said, there’s a burgeoning Malaysian middle-class with money to spare and shops that will sell you all the expensive goods that you require to show off that income!

Whilst the bus journey was an interesting insight into the human condition the butterfly farm was a fascinating place to observe the insect world. Since I last visited the farm’s moved site and vastly expanded, it’s just as much an education centre as a refuge for butterflies. It’s not cheap to get in but it’s well worth it just to be with so many beautiful creatures and learn more about them. Here’s a few examples. I haven’t had time to research the names of all the critters we saw, so any help from you, dear reader – would be much appreciated!

Here’s a fantastic example of camouflage. When this particular butterfly is feeding it folds its wings and looks like a leaf. But the next picture shows what happens when it opens its wings in flight. The colours are absolutely stunning! It looks like the inside of an Abalone shell.

You can find many more butterfly shots in my Malaysia gallery if you follow this link.

I could have stayed there all day with the camera but as we’d been up early and left without breakfast we decided a few hours was enough and headed back to Georgetown on the bus, passing through the popular beach resort of Batu Ferringhi once again. The town means Foreigners (Ferringhi) rock (Batu) and sci-fi fans will recognise the name as it was nicked to describe a race of jug-eared aliens in ‘Star Trek’.

The return bus was packed and took ages as it stopped everywhere. By the time we got home we were all famished so headed straight to a local Chinese-run eaterie to hoover up whatever food they had left, which was mostly rice with chicken or fish. Even so, it was delicious! Afterwards we all retreated to the hotel. I needed time to edit pictures and design a personalised Valentine’s card for Dawn so it would be in her inbox first thing (the beauty of an 8 hour time difference and Photoshop!).

The evening was very much in the same vein. Charlotte and Adi had the evening to themselves (who wants to play Gooseberry on Valentines day?) whilst I quickly nipped out to Little India for a vegetarian thali before resuming my editing.

A banana leaf vegetarian Thali. Yours for less than £2.

It’s now 23:00 and I’m listening to a thunderstorm unleashing torrents of rain upon us – which it’s been doing for the past 20 minutes.

Tomorrow I move hotels to another old haunt. More about that when it happens. In the meantime, here’s a couple more pictures from today.

Oh, here’s a food stall on Lebuh Chulia that’s been going for many years, although the food may stick in the craw of the football fans of other teams!

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