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Paul Bigland

~ Blogging on transport, travel & whatever takes my fancy.

Paul Bigland

Tag Archives: Food and drink

A day of two halves…

05 Thursday Dec 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Calder Valley, Food and drink, Musings, Sowerby Bridge

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Calder Valley, Food and drink, Musings, Sowerby Bridge

Today started well. We had one of those beautiful sunrises where the sky lights up with an ethereal glow to bless you with some wonderful colours through wispy clouds, heralding the arrival of a new day. It lasted a scant matter of minutes before the light changed to more mundane hues. I managed to grab my camera just in time. Here’s the view from our bedroom window this morning as it was happening.

The day’s also been noticeably milder than of late, making it ideal walking weather. Sadly, that didn’t last long either and this afternoon another weather front moved in, bringing with it gusting winds and rain. Not that it’s mattered to me as I’ve been working from home, ploughing through paperwork and pictures whilst also planning the weekend. Dawn’s off to London to see friends this weekend, leaving me to my own devices, so I’m planning to catch up with some social obligations solo.

This evening we’re off to the Engine in Sowerby Bridge for our second visit in a week. This time it’s to celebrate my Father-in-Law’s 85th birthday, so expect a few food and other pictures to appear later! We’ll be ordering off the ordinary menu this time, rather than having one chosen for us as we did last weekend, which will allow me to illustrate some different dishes. John’s a coeliac and the Engine does a great job of catering for him – as you’ll see from the pictures…

22:24.

We’re now at home and there’s lots of food pictures to add after yet another lovely night at the Engine. All I will say at this point is happy 85th birthday John Platt, and thank you to his wife, Norah. Oh, and well done to the restaurant for not trying to stick 85 candles into that dessert!

Rolling blog: rest day working…

20 Sunday Oct 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Food and drink, Manchester, Manchester Victoria, Railways, Rolling blogs, West Yorkshire

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Food and drink, Manchester Victoria, Railways, Rolling blogs, West Yorkshire

10:50.

It may be Sunday but it’s no day off for me. RAIL magazine have asked me to cover todays 175th anniversary events at Manchester Victoria station. Train services through the Calder Valley are disrupted by engineering work, so ‘bustitution’ from Hebden Bridge Westwards is the order of the day so So Dawn’s given me a lift to Huddersfield so I could catch the 10:52 direct to Victoria. Weatherwise it’s a glorious sunny day and the autumnal colours of the trees look stunning. Let’s see how the day goes…

12:54.

The event at Victoria’s worth a visit. Outside the front of the station there’s two old Manchester buses and a vintage tram.

Insise there are stalls on the main concourse and upstairs on the mezzanine entrance to the arena. They include the East Lancs Railway and the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway society who have an excellent display of old pictures of Victoria station. Many more are included in this commemorative book which can be bought for £5 from their website.

To add to the fun, Queen Victoria herself has dropped in to admire her namesake!

14:03.

Homeward bound! I caught a packed TPE service from Victoria to Huddersfield, where I had enough time between trains for a ‘swifty’ in the wonderful ‘Kings Head’, one of the two pubs the station’s blessed with.

Now I’m bouncing my way home to Halifax on the generously proportioned 13:52 Huddersfield to Leeds via Brighouse. It’s a 3-car 144 and 2-car 150 lash-up, which means I’m the only passenger in the lead car! No doubt the train will fill up later in the journey.

19:46.

After getting back home Dawn and I had some quality time together, enjoying on of our favourite walks from home, down the hill and along the canal into Sowerby Bridge. The sunshine had deserted us, but it’s still a lovely walk this time of year as the leaves on the trees that line our route look stunning. We stopped off for a quiet drink and a chance to read the papers in Williams Bar before strolling back up the hill to home, feeling virtuous having spent Sunday active. Now we’re relaxing at home with a spot of culinary therapy. Dawn’s busy cooking a mixture of chorizo, cannellini beans and spinach which is used as a base for a fish dish whilst I’m waiting in the wings (and a chance at the cooker) with monkfish tails ready to go into a Thai green curry.

Rolling blog: messing about in boats…

24 Saturday Aug 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Food and drink, Rolling blogs, Travel

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Food and drink, Rollings blogs, Travel

07:30.

We’re both bright eyed and bushy tailed (well, I may have exaggerated that bit), as we’re about to head off for what I’ve no doubt will be a very enjoyable day on a friends narrowboat. But first we’ve a two hour drive to get down to Leicestershire. Stay with us and watch the day unfold…

08:37.

For once, the M62 motorway was traffic free so we’re now on an equally quiet M1and making good time, hopefully the next 70 miles be trouble-free too.

POSTSCRIPT (Sunday 25th).

Yesterday was such a lovely relaxing day I decided not to bother blogging and enjoy the great company and relaxing trip on the River Soar, just living for the moment rather than recording it for posterity. I didn’t even take my camera out of it’s bag for most of the trip! The weather was stunning. We had a classic summers day which was ideal for a river cruise. The route we took meant we only had a couple of locks to navigate, just enough to keep us occupied and entertained without becoming too onerous. Whilst Nigel navigated the boat, Dawn, myself and Phil (accompanied by Mojo) worked the locks. At Trent lock we moored up for lunch. I’d prepared several home cooked curries which we shared along with the fantastic cheese scones that Lilian had made plus various offerings contributed by the others. Here’s a couple of pictures that capture the spirit of the day.


Ireland: day 6.

13 Tuesday Aug 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Abandoned railways, Food and drink, History, Ireland, Railways, Travel

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Abandoned railways, Food and drink, History, Ireland, Railways, Travel

Today’s been very much governed by the rain which has put the mockers on a lot of things, including any walking and also the change to get any decent scenic pictures of what’s a beautiful bit of Ireland. To be honest, the day started slowly anyway as poor Dawn went down with a migraine yesterday evening, which left her feeling woozy, so she had an early night and a late morning start. At first, the weather looked promising, so we stuck to our plan of driving over to pretty Kinsale on the River Brandon. But then we pushed our luck and ventured further West. Our first stop was at Courtmacsherry which is an attractive little village that’s spread out along a single long street on the southern shore of Courtmacsherry Bay. We stopped for coffee and cake (a rare holiday treat) at the Travara Lodge, a B&B with a lovely café on the ground floor and a garden on the banks of the Bay. You have to admit, the cakes do look tempting and the Pecan pie was gorgeous.

Like many places in Ireland, Courtmacsherry once had a railway station. The Timoleague and Courtmacsherry Railway finally closed in 1960 after many years when it was only used for summer excursions and freight. Part of it remains as a footpath which is marked by an old semaphore signal arm on a makeshift post.

DG331527copy

Looking towards Courtmacsherry

The old station building in Courtmacsherry survives as a residential property.

DG331522copy

The village also contains a memorial to the sinking of the liner Lusitania which was torpedoed in May 1915 and sank in 20 minutes, with the loss of 1,198 lives. The ship went down not far off the coast from the village.

Taking a gamble and really sticking our necks out we ventured further West through Clonakilty and Skibereen as far as Baltimore, a village with a harbour that serves as the ferry terminal for boats to Cape Clear, Sherkin and Hare Islands, as well as trips around the famous Fastnet lighthouse. The area’s popular with boaters so the harbour’s busy with yachts and other small craft. In the right weather it must be an absolutely stunning bit of coastline. Today was not that day! As usual, we arrived the same time as the rain which cut visibility to a few hundred metres. We cut our losses by taking up refuge in the local pub which had been recommended by a friend. Bushe’s Bar overlooks the harbour and contains a vast array of nautical memorabilia including lifebelts from some of the ships wrecked in the area over the years. The place is popular with both locals and visitors and serves food as well as a good selection of drinks. It’s certainly worth a visit. On a sunny day the barrel tables outside are especially popular.

DG331536copy

We hung around for a couple of drinks, hoping the weather would clear, but it wasn’t to be, so we gave up and headed back to Kinsale to eat at another recommendation, Fishy Fishy is (as the name suggests) a seafood restaurant just back from the River Bandon that specialises in locally caught fish. The menu isn’t huge, but what you get is delicious. I went for this, pan cooked Hake.

Suitably stuffed, we’re now lounging at our Airbnb before exploring Cork and Cobh tomorrow – and praying for better weather!

Rolling blog: Liverpool bound…

08 Saturday Jun 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Food and drink, Liverpool, Pubs, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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Food and drink, Liverpool, pubs, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

07:40.

Today many of the ‘Big 6’ gang are on tour to Liverpool to take in some sights, some shops, food and pubs. Unfortunately, the weather’s being less than kind. As I sit and write this the latest rainstorm is just beginning to abate. There’s more forecast throughout the day. The weather may dampen us but it’ll not dampen our spirits. I’ll blog throughout the day, so stay tuned…The rain held off long enough for me to walk to the station and join the merry band. Here’s how the Calder Valley looked on the way.10:01.

Now we’re scattered throughout a packed 2-car Class 156 that’s working the 09:56 to Manchester Victoria. There’s another concert on in this evening so this service is busy carrying fans as well as the normal load of daytrippers.The atmosphere aboard’s happy but damp!

12.29.

The group split at Manchester Victoria because some folk had bought ‘Northern only’ rail tickets, but Northern weren’t running from Victoria to Liverpool today! They headed off to Oxford Rd fir their train whilst the rest of us caught a direct TPE service. It being Saturday, our train was packed with women off to various hen nights.Now we’re in the first of our pubs. Nowadays it’s called ‘The Dispensary’. I remember it by it’s old name, ‘The Grapes’.14:00.Next pub. The Little Grapes.Here’s the crew.

Rolling blog: I love to go a wandering…

22 Monday Apr 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Calder Valley, Food and drink, Pubs, Travel, Walking, West Yorkshire

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Food and drink, pubs, Travel, Walking, West Yorkshire

It’s bank holiday Monday and the weather’s absolutely stonking! After spending a morning pottering around at home, picture-editing and sorting out some chores Dawn and I are preparing to walk through the Calder Valley to a favourite old haunt, the Robin Hood pub in Cragg Vale, which is a great place for a spot of lunch after a few hours walking. No doubt we’ll have time to post a few pictures and comments later, so watch this space.

15:31.

We’ve stopped for a break at the Shoulder of Mutton in Mytholmroyd after walking down the hill to Sowerby Bridge, crossed the Calder, then slogged uphill to Sowerby on a road I call ‘Lost dreams Rd’ because it’s always littered with failed lottery scratch cards! In the distance you can see our starting point under the Wainhouse Tower.

The view the other way (looking along the valley towards Mytholmroyd) isn’t bad either!

23:18

It’s the end of the day and it’s been a very active one. We made it to the Robin Hood for an excellent Sunday lunch (OK, it’s bank holiday Monday, but never mind) of succulent lamb and Yorkshire puddings, accompanied by a huge amount of vegetables (not in the picture).

For £10, it can’t be beaten. Whilst we were eating a drama was unfolding which made it feel like we were actually in an episode of ‘Emmerdale Farm’, only this wasn’t fiction. Poor Roger (the landlord) and his wife had suffered a serious arson attack and trashing of vehicles on his farm, apparently carried out by some young teenage scrotes who’re causing trouble in the area. The police had arrived to gather information whilst a number of concerned locals were popping in to see if they were alright or offer help. Meanwhile, in the bar, other locals were complaining about the outrageous prices in a nearby pub (which shall remain nameless) and a less than placid relationship between a local couple (who will also remain nameless).

We ended up having a couple of drinks in a very quiet Sowerby Bridge after walking back along the Rochdale canal. I got the impression the good weather had meant that many people had stayed at home with a barbecue and a few beers. Still, we’d had a good days exercise, as the screen for my Fitbit shows.

fitbit

Rolling blog: the Big 6 on tour…

20 Saturday Apr 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Food and drink, Lancashire, Pubs, Rolling blogs, The Big 6, Travel

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Food and drink, Lancashire, pubs, Rolling blogs, The Big 6, Travel

10:20Today a group of friends from the Big 6 pub in Halifax, under the leadership of Tony Allan (of Phoenix Brewery fame) are having a little outing by train, over the Pennines to Rochdale to partake in the Easter ale trail, a new take on the traditional beer festival. It’s another fantastic Spring day here in the Pennines, so the weather’s ideal. Watch out for updates on our (probably unsteady) progress throughout the day!Before we go, Dawn’s been busy in the kitchen as we’re hosting her parents for dinner tomorrow. Last night she prepared a special marinade for this leg of lamb, which will now steep until tomorrow.12:09The group rendezvous at Halifax railway station.12:57.The group outside the first pub of the day – The Flying Horse hotel which has a great view of the Town Hall.Here’s the token system.15:10We’re on our third pub and it’s a cracker! It’s The Baum in Toad Lane, a conservation area. The pub is adjacent to the shop where, in 1844, the Rochdale Pioneers opened their first shop and started the co-operative movement back in 1844.This has been our lunch stop and I couldn’t resist ordering a traditional Lancashire delicacy: rag pudding with mushy peas and chips!We’ve now stepped through a door into a 5th dimension where it feels like we’re in London, or Paris, not Rochdale – and Otto’s found the piano..18:10.We’re now on what’s probably our last pub, which is opposite the Town Hall. The Old Post Office.

The weekend off…

07 Sunday Apr 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Food and drink, Musings, West Yorkshire

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Food and drink, Musings, West Yorkshire

Well, almost! I’ve not been blogging these past few days as Dawn and I have had a very sociable time with friends this weekend and there simply hasn’t been the time. Yesterday we were busy with household chores and shopping before popping around to visit friends and watch the Grand National together. Neither Dawn nor I are into betting and we’ve never even watched the race together before, but as Froso and Richard had invited us round we got into the spirit of things and even placed a couple of bets. I backed a rank outsider as well as the favorite so we’re now a whole £17 better off, but I promise that it won’t change our lifestyles! Afterwards we had a few drinks in Sowerby Bridge before an evening drinking far too much wine with Fro & Richard back at their home, which meant today had very much a subdued start!Originally, the weather wasn’t up to much, but then neither were we. Instead of going walking we spent time shopping for some ingredients that would allow us to do some batch cooking this evening. Admittedly, we did end up having a ‘hair of the dog’ in our local before coming home, but now we’ve got back into the swing of things. I’ve just made an old favourite – cucumber curry. No, really! It’s made with creamed coconut, cucumber, red pepper and peanuts and tastes divine.

Now Dawn’s taken over the kitchen to cook a wonderful Afghan aubergine dish whilst I’ve retreated to the office to try and catch up with scanning a few more old rail slides like this on from 1995.

04961. 309618. 305513. 305509. 55009. Stored in the carriage sidings. Blackpool North.19.6.95crop

This view is of Blackpool North carriage sidings when they were being used to store a variety of redundant trains, both diesel and electric.

Talking of redundant trains. Next week sees the first of the old BR built Class 313s go for scrap. They’re currently the oldest electric multiple units on the mainland, having been introduced way back in 1976 to work services from Moorgate and London Kings Cross to Hertfordshire. Hopefully, I’ll be there tomorrow to see the first one leave Hornsey on its final journey to the scrap yard. So, watch out for tomorrow’s rolling blog…

The madness continues whilst I try and work…

21 Thursday Mar 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Brexit, Down memory lane, Food and drink, Politics, Railways

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Brexit, Down memory lane, Food and drink, Photography, Politics

It’s been another one of those days when trying to knuckle down to work has proved to be hard due to the constant distractions provided by the political la la land the UK’s inhabiting right now. I’m still trying to get my head around Teresa May’s ridiculous TV speech last night in which she absolved herself of all blame for this shit-shower (even though her idiotic red lines formed the base of it) and instead tried to set the public against Parliament and the MPs elected to it. To say her language was both reckless and inflammatory is an understatement. To say that many MPs of all parties are outraged would be an understatement.

Now she’s gone cap in hand to the EU, who must be sick of the sight of her. Predictably, they’ve now taken control and are currently deciding what terms they’ll offer on an extension to article 50. Take back control? Don’t make me laugh! A lot of my fellow Britons seem equally unimpressed. A petition calling for the revocation of article 50 has kept crashing the Govt’s website most of the day. Started only yesterday, it now stands at 1.5 million signatures and is rising by the hour.

petition

If you’d like to sign it, here’s the link.

Away from the madness I’ve been busy catching up on picture editing and paperwork, whilst also lining up some jobs. I’ve also been continuing to scan old slides in an effort to really start to make inroads to the collection and get unseen pictures online. Today’s small batch are from an open day at Crewe Electric depot back in May 1997. As it was an event I’ve created a new gallery for it on my website, which you can find here. These are a couple of sample pictures.

06653. 33108. 92031. Crewe Electric Depot Open Day. 3.5.97crop

A mixture of preserved and mainline locomotives were on display at Crewe. Here’s 33108, 92031 and 47375.

06651. E5001. Crewe Electric Depot Open Day. 3.5.97crop

The sole surviving Class 71, E5001 was also on display. 24 of these electric locomotives were build for the Southern region 3rd rail network at Doncaster in 1958. They were used on a variety of passenger and freight turns, including the famous ‘Golden Arrow’ and ‘Night Ferry’ boat-train services. As well as shoe-gear, they had a pantograph to 650 V DC which was used in some South London freight yards like Hither Green and at Snowdon colliery near Dover. The last 14 members of the class were withdrawn en-masse in 1977 but E5001 was saved for the national collection and preserved by the National Railway Museum.

This evening I’ve turned my hand to some kitchen therapy and cooked an old favourite – Lal Batata, which is new potatoes in a hot chilli and tamarind sauce.

I’ve even found a railway themed beer to go with it! This rather quaffable delight cam from somewhere I’d never expect to find it, B&M bargains, the cut-price chain!

The back of the bottle has an interesting label as it tells the story of a heroic railwayman of Victorian times.

Dawn’s been busy too and oven cooked some salmon to accompany the Lal Batata. Yum!

New Zealand day 16. Kaikoura blues…

13 Sunday Jan 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Food and drink, New Zealand, Railways, Tourism, Travel

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Food and drink, New Zealand, Tourism, Travel

We were up at 6am this morning to give ourselves time to get back into Kaikoura ready for our 08:30am trip to swim with dolphins. It’s an experience I last had 20 years ago so I was really looking forward to seeing Dawn’s face when she got into the water with what can be up to 400-500 dusky Dolphins.

Sadly, it wasn’t to be. The weather had closed in overnight, bringing rain and winds high enough to make it unsafe for boats to leave the small harbour here. All this morning’s boat trips (including whale watching) have been cancelled. These things are always in the lap of the Gods, sadly. As we’ve only a couple of nights here it’s not possible to re-arrange the trip. We’re just going to have to come back another time – just not in another 20 years…!

We consoled ourselves with a wander around the headland at Point Hearn, where we sat on the cliffs and gazed out to sea, hoping to spot a whale, or maybe a dolphin or two, but all we saw was seals and a variety of seabirds.

dg316229. view from point kean viewpoint. kaikoura. new zealand. 14.1.19crop

As we watched the planes and helicopters fly out to the area where whales had been reported we realised it was a forlorn hope. Whales may be big, but when they’re miles away and mostly hidden by the sea, you ain’t gonna see much – even with my camera’s zoom lens. The only people getting to see whales today were using one of these as they weren’t affected by high waves!

dg316252. whale watching helicopter. kaikoura. new zealand. 14.1.19crop

Our amble around Kaikoura also took in the railway station where we were fortunate enough to be in time to see the daily passenger train from Christchurch to Picton call. By UK standards it’s a small train as it consists of a baggage car, two seated coaches plus a buffet car and an open-sided observation coach bringing up the rear.

dg316241. 8007. kaikoura. new zealand. 14.1.19crop

DXR 8007 working the Christchurch – Picton passenger service. This locomotive is a rebuild of the General Electric DX class, 49 of which were built between 1972-75. It was stored at Hutt workshops (Wellington) in 1989 after suffering cracked frames. Formerly numbered 5362, it was rebuilt with new 3,300 hp GE 7-FDL diesel engine and smaller bonnet before re-entering service in 1993.

dg316250crop

Goodbyeee! The train heads towards Blenheim and Picton

Because all the tours were cancelled Kaikoura was full of disconsolate people looking for something to do – which isn’t easy as the focus of the town is very much tourist tours. Many eateries in town don’t open until after midday – such as the Pier Hotel, a lovely old hotel and bar situated at the South end of town that has great views across the bay – and probably the best location in town. We ended up there for lunch and pigged out on two of our favourites –  mussels and whitebait. As you can see the ‘large’ portions are just that!

whitebaitcrop

 

musselscrop

We’ve now abandoned Kaikoura as the weather’s worsened. This is the first day where we’ve not been wearing shorts. Instead, we’re in long pants, fleeces and waterproofs! We’re spending the evening in a fabulous mountain retreat Airbnb some 55km South at a place called Lydford before moving on to Christchurch tomorrow. I’ll try and post some pictures tomorrow – when it’s stopped raining!

Whilst it’s been sad to miss out on the dolphin swim we’ve got many other exciting things planned during the next few weeks travels – and the money we’ll be refunded ‘cos the tour didn’t run can always be spent on something else! New Zealand’s South Island has a huge variety of outdoor experiences to offer and we’ll be sampling (and blogging about) quite a few of them whilst we’re here. One thing we haven’t done so far on this trip is travel anywhere by train, but we’ll be putting that right in the next few days…

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading these blogs, please consider clicking on an advert – or two! You don’t have to buy anything, honest! The clicks just help me cover the cost of running this blog. Many thanks, Paul

 

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