Tag Archives: Food

Asia day 22. Thailand day 3…

05 Wednesday Feb 2025

Posted by in Bangkok, Food and drink, Photography, Thailand, Travel

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The Prussian General Helmuth von Moltke has a saying attributed to him, which is that (and it’s paraphrased) ‘no plan survives first contact with the enemy’. It’s the same with travelling. I’d planned to leave Bangkok on the international train to Padang Besar in Malaysia on the 9th. Only it’s full. The first available berths are on the 12th. Having checked online I’d a sneaky suspicion that I was going to be frustrated, but a trip out to Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal Station (aka Bang Sue Grand Station) to book a ticket confirmed things. As station names go, it hardly trips off the tongue. But getting there was fun. I’ve no guide book for Thailand, I don’t really need one as I’ve been here so many time before, and the advent of the internet has eaten into their market. The fact ‘Lonely Planet’ guides are so crap they’re a waste of money is another issue (I’ll blog about that another time – honest!) There’s lots of ways of getting to Bang Sue (no sniggering at the back!)

The best way is the Chao Praya river taxi from nearby Phra Arthit pier which took me up river and delivered me at Bang Po. From there it’s two stops on the skytrain, but me being me – I decided to walk. That way, you get to explore and peer into Thai life. Like small businesses like this, which I spotted whilst passing. I haven’t got a Scooby Do what it is they’re making, but I find these places fascinating.

Having secured my onward train ticket at Bang Sue (now what did I say about sniggering?) I had a wander and found the new locomotive depot, which was full of old crocks like this.

I then paid the princely sum of 2 baht to catch a local train to the grand old terminal at Hualamphong, which is just as much a museum as a mainline terminal nowadays. All the long-distance trains have disappeared, along with a lot of the life. Instead, the tracks once used by trains to Chiang Mai and Malaysia are full of relics like this.

Still, there were some great pictures to be had – and as trains are now so infrequent I had time to pop over to and old restaurant opposite the station I know of old. I ordered a beer and the Papaya salad (Tom Sum). The cook asked me if I wanted it ‘spicy’ so I told him yes ‘Thai spicy’. ‘Kin hell – I’m very used to spicy food and regularly ladle the local chilli condiment onto my food, but this was weapons-grade! My tongue was on fire for a good half-hour!

Looks innocuous enough, doesn’t it? This Som Tum was nuclear!

My tastebuds re-appeared just before I caught the 16:30 train back to Bang Sue. Initially it seemed a fairly quiet train on departure. I was in for a surprise! One of the reasons Hualamphong was replaced as the main station is the number of level crossings in the way to Bang Sue. Trains stop at them all – and commuters know this, so stand in the tracks waiting for their train! Like this.

Oh, then there’s the poorer Bangkok residents who simply utilise the railway for recreation…

There’s so much that I could blog about today but the evening’s wearing on and I’m moving hotels tomorrow as well as working out a new itinerary. Hopefully, I’m meeting up with an old Thai friend in the evening, but a blog will still be in the offing…

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

Asia day 21. Thailand day 2…

04 Tuesday Feb 2025

Posted by in Food and drink, Photography, Thailand, Travel

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I’ve had an easy day today here in Bangkok. I decided that my first day flying solo would be spent catching up on planning the rest of my trip, picture editing and generally kicking back in the vicinity of my cell, sorry – hotel room!

The temperature here in Bangkok is almost identical to that of Bali and Java, only it’s not the rainy season and we’re seeing more sunshine. Well, when the smog isn’t present. The day before I arrived flights had to be diverted from the airport I flew into due to visibility being crap thanks to pollution. Bangkok’s an amazing city but the air quality’s pretty crap. To be honest, I’ve not noticed it being too bad on this trip, but then I’ve been here less than 24 hours and nowadays the most prevalent smell around Banglamphu (the area I’m staying in) is the sweet smell of cannabis due to the amount of legal ‘medicinal’ shops selling grass and the amount of people smoking it! You can buy grass of various strengths by the gram or even individual rolled joints if you so decide. Of course, if you’re travelling into Malaysia or Indonesia you’d better ensure you have not a trace of it in your luggage or on your person as both country’s have very strict drug laws. In fact, when you fly with any Indonesian airline they point out that there’s the death penalty for drug trafficking, as a few unfortunates (including some Australians) have found out to their cost in the past.

Thailand is rather more relaxed on a lot of fronts, which is why it’s so much fun sitting somewhere people-watching. This place is still an international crossroads, even if the old ‘backpacker trail’ isn’t what is was when I first came here in 1992. But then, neither’s the Khao San Rd. In those days you could be locked out of the place you were staying in of you were out after midnight (as I once found out to my cost). Now, it’s gone from being a backpacker street to more ’24 hour party people’ with loud music blaring out from so many different places and even the arrival of ‘girly bars’. Admittedly, I haven’t stayed on the Khao San for 20 years. It was becoming difficult then because of the building of big, brash new hotels and the influx of Israelis’ (ask any old Asia traveler about Israelis’ and their reputation and they’ll no doubt explain). Now the Israeli’s’ have been supplanted by Russians, who’re also doing their bit to subvert international goodwill. Admittedly, the Russians are somewhat easier to spot. Well, the women are anyway. It’s the combination of endlessly posing for selfies/tiktok videos and the combination of bleached-blond hair and industrial quantities of lip filler that makes them stand out. You see, people-watching is one of the great (cheap) pleasures of being here in such a melting pot. There’s lots of younger travelers, bright-eyed and excited at being in such an exotic place, then there’s the older people (gulp, like me I suppose) who’ve been coming here for decades and who’ve decided to spend much of their retirement in Thailand due to the quality of life and cheaper cost of living. The other demographic that changed is that the tourists are no longer mostly European or North American. there used to be a lot of Yanks and Australians who came back due to serving in Vietnam in the 60’s-70’s as Thailand is where they went for ‘R&R’ (rest and recreation). I remember passing a bar they used to frequent with a sticker in the window about ‘Hanoi Jane‘ (Jane Fonda). Now they’re being supplanted by Chinese and Indian tourists, both countries with a burgeoning monied middle-class. It all makes for a very interesting melting pot.

OK, I’m going to call it a day now as I have a lot of stuff to sort out, so I’ll leave you with a few pictures.

Thailand is one of the best places in the world for street food. He’re a chap looking at buying a drive-by meal. Bugger McDonald’s!
My lunch of squash and egg along with green beans and pork (with rice, obviously) bought from my favorite street stall. They’ve been selling food since 1974 and I’ve been eating here since 1999. This still costs 50 baht (around £1.10), They’ve not put their prices up for years. The condiment is red and green chopped chilis with fish sauce and lemon juice. It’s not for the faint-hearted but I love it.
The view from the floor of my hotel. It looks out over Wat Chana Songkhram Ratchaworamahawihan, an 18th century royal temple.
Khao San Rd in all its glory. It’s been pedestrianised for many years due to encroachment and the sheer weight of people.
It’s rather calmer and more civilised outside the place I’m staying in. Soi Rambutri.

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

Indonesia day 17. Back to Ubud…

31 Friday Jan 2025

Posted by in Bali, Indonesia, Photography, Travel

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Today we left our luxurious accommodation in Padangbai to return to Ubud and the final leg of Dawn’s trip to Indonesia. Still, it was an interesting day. Alison wasn’t picking us up until the afternoon so we had time to kill between then and checking out. It wasn’t a problem. Our gracious Danish host was happy for us to laze around the pool and watch the world go by until our lift arrived. As the day was overcast we didn’t get fried by the sun, instead we spent our time catching some filtered rays and enjoyed a warm shower courtesy of mother nature!

The birdlife around the pool was amazing. Various species were attracted by the plants so I managed a couple of decent shots using my new Nikon S series 100-400m lens which is proving to be a really useful bit of kit – even at very silly slow shutter speeds that you’d never have got away with in the past.

Nope, I’ve no idea what this one is either…UPDATE: Mystery solved, a Malaysian friend (Alan Bligh) has identified it as a female olive sunbird.

Part of me would have enjoyed staying longer as the hotel was fabulous and the location was so peaceful but there’s just too much to see and do – and ground to cover. On the way back Alison introduced us to another different world. We stopped at a natural sea salt farm in Kusamba, where a lovely old chap called Nyoman Warta and his family produce sea salt by traditional (and rather labour intensive) methods by harvesting sea water off the beach, Nyoman takes it through several natural processes to refine and dry it before it’s bagged and sold. Here’s a few pictures.

Having filled his bags with sea water from the sea behind me, Nyoman scatters the water on the volcanic black sand beach as the first part of the process.
The second part of the process takes place inside his wicker building, where the volcanic soil is washed and the salt separated.
The final part of the process takes place outdoors where the salt is washed in these long troughs, then the water is allowed to evaporate, leaving behind the pure sea salt which is then dried and bagged up.
Inside his workshop, with equipment that hasn’t changed in generations.

Needless to say, we couldn’t resist buying a couple of bags to take home with us. This isn’t something you get to see everyday. We get to see something different on Saturday too, as we’ve been invited to a local family ceremony – but more of that tomorrow…

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

Indonesia day 16. Beach time…

30 Thursday Jan 2025

Posted by in Bali, Indonesia, Photography, Travel

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Well, that was the plan. Sadly (like many plans) it didn’t quite go the way expected. When we woke up this morning after a night of torrential rain we found the day was dull and overcast. That wouldn’t have been a show-stopper, but Dawn’s digestion decided to interject (or in her case eject). A grumbly tummy isn’t the most ideal thing to have when you’re well away from sensible sanitation, so Dee decided to have a day lounging around our luxurious accommodation. I opted to stay with her in order to be around if needed and also sort out some work and travel stuff.

I’ve now altered my flight so that I’ll be staying on in Asia after Dawn flies back. I’ll be here until the 20th February in order to have a look at various rail projects in this part of the world – including the high-speed line between Jakarta and Bandung on Java. I’ve not planned all my trip yet but the intention is to visit Thailand and Malaysia to catch up with progress on rail schemes there as well. It’ll be a bit of a whirlwind tour but doing it solo means I can separate the trip into first having a holiday with Dee before exploring in more ‘backpacker’ mode (and covering a lot of ground). This means you’ll be getting insights into Asian life, travel (and railways) for some weeks yet.

I had considered staying even longer but I received an invitation to go on a press trip to Norway on the 25th February which was too good to miss. So, I’ll be flying back to the UK and swapping singlets and shorts for something slightly warmer!

As I’d sorted out some business and Dawn was happy to relax at the hotel I ventured out to visit an old haunt – Bias Tugel Beach, which is hidden behind a headland not far from where we’re staying. I’ve fond memories of spending time here back in the 1990s but I’ve not visited since 2003. Getting there involves a trek as there’s no road access, you have to use steep footpaths through forest. Now the locals charge 10,000 rupiah (around 50p) admission in order to keep the beach clean, which it is (just don’t look too hard at the condition of the footpaths). There used to be a couple of ramshackle warungs (eating houses) at the back of the beach. Those have now multiplied and they’ve added sun-loungers and umbrellas, but it’s still a lovely little beach on a gorgeous sea where you can watch ferries and small boats to-ing and fro-ing from Padangbai harbour whilst sipping a cold beer or basking in the sun. Here’s how the beach looked in January 1995…

Here’s a similar view that I took today. Sadly, the dull skies don’t show off the clear waters.

As I was on my own I stayed long enough to have a beer and a bite to eat whilst reminiscing about past times here and watching the ferries ply their trade. Otis Redding eat your heart out!

One of the Lombok – Bali ferries passes a local outrigger canoe taking people on a diving trip.

Before long I headed back to check on the ‘patient’ who’d recovered enough that we managed to grab some time together in the pool. Where we’re staying is very quiet so you’re surrounded by birdsong. I’ve managed to grab a couple of long-lens shots of some of the local feathered-friends, although for the life of me I couldn’t tell you what this one’s called!

Tomorrow we take our leave of Padangbai to head back to Ubud. I’d liked to have stayed longer, but this trip was very much a taster for Dawn – who’s never been to Bali before, so it’s a bit of a whistlestop tour.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

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

4th January picture(s) of the day…

04 Saturday Jan 2025

Posted by in Food and drink, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, West Yorkshire

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Today’s been a hanging around sort of day, but not in a bad way. We were up early as Dee had some shopping to do for her parents before the pair of us headed over the their home in Huddersfield where I whiled away a few hours editing more old pictures whilst Dawn went off too to do ‘girly’ things, like get her nails done. Afterwards, the four of us went out for lunch. We’d originally planned to head over the Pennines to Delph where there’s a lovey pub we frequent, but with the weather forecast warning of the potential for lots of snow arriving we hedged our bets and went somewhere more local. The weather has already been unkind to the area with the trans-pennine railway through the Colne valley closed due to flooding, so the last thing we wanted to do was get stranded.

We’d eaten at the nearby Olive Branch Inn (just outside Slaithwaite, on the Manchester Rd) for the first time just a few weeks ago and really enjoyed the food, so decided a revisit was on the cards. Having booked a table for 14:30 you can imagine our surprise to find we were the only customers in what’s normally a busy place. The young lady serving us said they’d had several cancellations due to people being put off by the threat of snow. Good for us, not so good for the restaurant. So, we had an excellent meal and the kitchen’s undivided attention!

Both Dawn and I opted for the same meal we’d had during our last visit – beef cheeks. It’s not a dish we’d seen before but the Olive Branch does it superbly. The meat is melt-in the mouth delicious! We’d certainly recommend it.

Beef cheek cooked for 4 hours, with button mushrooms, bacon, shallots and red wine sauce, served with creamy mash and brocolli.

Suitably stuffed and with one eye on the weather we dropped John and Norah back at their house before heading home ourselves. Now we’re relaxing in the warm (it’s Baltic outside), waiting to see what the weather may bring. The forecast keeps changing. Snow was meant to arrive around 21:00, now it’s 23:00. Here in the Pennines we’re meant to be getting between 20-40cm of the stuff, which is why we didn’t want to get caught earlier. Some of the cobbled hills around where we live are bad enough in the wet, add snow and ice and they can be lethal.

Still, I’ve had chance to add dozens of pictures to my Zenfolio website, including this one from a private visit to Toton depot in 2012.

In 2012 DB Schenker had started a ‘Super 60’ scheme, which involved rebuilding long-stored Class 60 locomotives, this included engines, traction motors, bogies, control gear, cabs and electrical systems. 60020 was one of the first batch. It’s seen here on the 7th September 2012, sat inside the depot waiting it’s turn for the work to begin.

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

Dorset. Day 3.

03 Wednesday Jul 2024

Posted by in Dorset, Food and drink, Photography, Travel

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The weather wasn’t at it’s best today compared to earlier in the week. Overcast skies and a persistent wind lowered temperatures to the point where coats were required – although I pretended to be a ‘postie’ by refusing to give up my shorts – come what may!

We had another slow morning which allowed me to begin the process of editing the massive backlog of pictures that I have from the past week (there’s no such thing as a holiday for freelances). In between I amused myself watching the continuing political meltdown of the Conservative party. I honestly can’t think of a more badly run and executed election campaign, or one that’s resolutely failed to move the dial. There’s now no question that Labour will win, now the only question is – just how badly will the Tories do?

But…

Please, don’t fall into the trap of thinking that – because the result is a foregone conclusion – you don’t need to vote. Our political system is ‘first past the post’ which means that someone can quite literally win by just one vote. It’s winner take all. There’s no prize for coming second. So, if you’re tempted to think that it doesn’t matter if you don’t vote as someone else will get your back – please, please don’t. Imagine how you’d feel if you woke up the next morning to see that a Tory has been returned where you live by just a handful of votes – but you’d never cast yours? Also, ignore those people who say that the election’s a ‘done deal’ so you can vote for whoever you like as Labour will still win – because they’re lying to you. That’s not how ‘first past the post’ works either. We vote in constituencies under FPTP, not for lists where votes are transferable to other candidates. It’s the myth the hard left peddle when they pretend Jeremy Corbyn somehow ‘won’ because he got more of the national vote. They deliberately ignore the reality of FPTP and the inconvenient fact he lost (twice) because it’s the number of MPs that matter, not a national number of votes for a particular party. Please, when you vote tomorrow, vote with your head, not with some wishful thinking. We need to see the back of the Tories and right now that has to be the only consideration. After that there’s everything to play for.

Meanwhile, back in Dorset…

We decided to visit Dorchester today, it’s a town I’ve not been to since 2003 whilst the other have never visited. At first the Platts were dubious as they didn’t realise how small it was (just 22,000 souls) whilst expecting something a little more picture-box. But, after I’d guided them around and showed them some of the history and sights, they warmed to the place.

Dorchester has an interesting political history, from the Monmouth rebellion and Judge Jefferies through to the very early days of the trade union movement and the Tolpuddle Martyrs.

Like so many UK towns it’s looking a little shabby nowadays (that’s what 14 years of Government austerity does) but it still has some lovely buildings and interesting side-streets, plus a good number of independent shops.

There’s redevelopment too. Whilst the ‘fam’ nipped into a local cafe for coffee and cake I nipped over to Dorchester South station to get some pictures – and explore the redevelopment of the adjacent Eldridge Pope brewery site, which is massive. It’s a mix of historic old buildings and new -build, and they’re not making a bad fist of it. It’s certainly a good gateway to the town from the station. Plus, brewing on the site isn’t entirely dead, even tho’ Eldridge Pope closed in 2003. Right opposite the station in one of the new buildings is the Copper Street brewery. As well as brewing their own range of beers they sell beers from other local and regional breweries, either in bottles, cans or on draught. There’s seating inside and out, so you can quaff a beer in comfort during your visit.

Inside the one-room Copper St brewery.
Colourful Dorset beers…
The new Brewery Square development forms the gateway to the town centre from the station.
The mixture of new and old at Brewery Square.
Original Eldridge Pope brewery buildings given a new lease of life.

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

15th June picture of the day…

15 Saturday Jun 2024

Posted by in Food and drink, Musings, Picture of the day, Weather, West Yorkshire

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Here we are, halfway through June and on the cusp of summer and all the weather’s done here is rain! Only now, this evening have the clouds (sort of) cleared and the sun found some space to put in an appearance. There’s a pattern developing here, crap weather throughout the day that gives way to a nice evening – just to tease you!

Today’s plans went out of the window for a couple of reasons, the weather being just one of them. A couple of days ago Dawn had ordered a variety of fish portions from the excellent ‘Sailbrand’ in Huddersfield, with the delivery date of today. Dee had to go out, which left me holding the fort until the delivery arrived. Sadly, this wasn’t until 15:30, Coupled with the pouring rain it meant our plan to escape and go for lunch somewhere was thwarted. Ho hum…

Instead, my day’s been one spent kicking my heels at home, although it’s not been entirely wasted as I’ve been busy researching my next RAIL magazine article as well as fulfilling some household chores. I even managed to get out for a walk and a swift couple of pints in our local, the Big 6 whilst Dawn kept herself busy in the kitchen, cooking up some delicious delights for Father’s day tomorrow as well as a great meal for tonight.

Now we’re kicking back, looking enviously at the evening sunshine and thinking ‘why weren’t you here this afternoon’? Ah, well. Tomorrow’s another day. Now it’s time for me to knock off and leave you with today’s picture. Whatever the weather, Yorkshire does produce some amazing skies…

Something wicked this way comes…

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

13th June picture of the day…

13 Thursday Jun 2024

Posted by in Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, Travel, West Yorkshire

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OK, I’m fed up of this weather now. It’s starting to try my patience. Although I’d planned to work from home today I was hoping to get out with the camera tomorrow. Looking at the forecast I think there’s fat chance of that! Truly, this has been an awful June so far. Despite the pair of us being wrapped up like a pair of Eskimos we cracked and put the central heating on for a while just to take the chill off the place. Then, this afternoon the rain started…

So many folk we’ve talked to are feeling the same frustration. By now all the winter clothing should have been packed away and the drawers packed with T-shirts and shorts. Instead, I’m back wearing woolly jumpers whilst Dee’s in a ‘hoodie’! Instead of tucking into salads we’re on winter food. Dee made a gorgeous meat and potato pie tonight – something we really wouldn’t expect to be scoffing in June.

Please God, let the weather change soon, so that I can plan more than 24 hours ahead. There’s a lot of scenic rail pictures I’d love to be taking, but when you can’t rely on more than one day of sunshine it makes arranging trips (in the UK, anyway) very difficult and expensive if I come back with nothing that I can use. Costs have risen massively as it it without the added uncertainty of the weather.

OK, weather gripe over. Now I’ll talk about politics…

No, not really, I’ll spare you that at least. When it comes to the Tory campaign, the expression ‘same shit, different day’ springs to mind. Now all the main parties have released their manifestos and people can see what’s on offer. So, i’ll quickly observe that none of it is moving the polls in any significant way and move on…

One of the jobs I finished today was completing stocking the new Trans-pennine Route Upgrade gallery on my Zenfolio website. You can find it by following this link. As well as migrating all the old pictures from other galleries I’ve added yesterday’s selection. I’ll be keeping a regular eye on the project, so expect many more picture to appear through the course of the year.

Now I’ll leave you with the picture of the day. Bugger the British weather, I fancy something exotic and beachy. How’s this then? The stunning Cachorro and Conceicao beaches on the beautiful and amazing Brazilian Island of Fernando de Noronha, seen on the 16th August 2002.

You can find many more pictures of the island and the Brazilian mainland in this gallery.

See you tomorrow – come rain or shine!

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

20th December picture of the day…

20 Wednesday Dec 2023

Posted by in Musings, Photography, Picture of the day

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As you were! Today’s seen a sudden change to our Christmas plans. Tomorrow, Dawn and I plus Dee’s parents were meant to be heading down to Surrey for Christmas to join with my brother-in-law, his children and partner for a Platt family Christmas. Remember that I blogged about Norah (my MiL) having a fall the other day? Well, the fall and having a virus has knocked her back a bit. That much so today she decided she wanted to stay at home rather than make the trip South. Unusual, but understandable. And, as Norah’s the matriarch of the Platt family, who are we to go against her wishes? So, this morning our plans changed. Now John and Norah will be having Christmas at home whilst Dawn and I stay up in West Yorkshire to be the support network and arrange a Christmas day dinner at their home in Huddersfield. Thankfully, the excellent Bolster Moor farm shop still has supplies available so I’ve reserved us a Turkey crown and a Duck – otherwise it might have been pork pie and mushy peas on Xmas day!

Organising plan B has taken up a fair bit of the day as there’s lots to re-arrange. There’s some opportunities too as we’ve now two days where we won’t be sat in a car to-ing and fro-ing during the festive season. I’m not sure what we’re going to do with ’em yet, but…

As a consequence, tonight’s a short blog from me as the pair of us need to spend time working out a new Christmas agenda. I’ll leave you with a picture of Tilford and the quintessentially English pub (The Barley Mow) we won’t now be visiting – although I wouldn’t expect anyone to be playing cricket then as this picture was taken in May! Normally we enjoy a Boxing Day walk through the local countryside and end up here afterwards!

If I find the time over the next couple of day’s expect some spleen-venting over the latest Government lies and idiotic messaging that show just how much they’re taking people for fools. Here’s a taster from one of the ads they’ve been putting out on Twitter.

‘Network North’ London…

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

10th August picture of the day…

10 Wednesday Aug 2022

Posted by in Calder Valley, Food, Photojournalism, Picture of the day

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The heat has made a comeback here in the Calder Valley. Today and for the next few days the skies will be blue and the temperature in the very high 20s. Today was a taster – although I spent a lot of it cooped up inside as I had a whole host of things to sort out for work and also (hopefully) pleasure. Plus – eBay!

I’m slowly wading through all the railway memorabilia I’ve amassed over the years and sorted out what’s not longer needed on the voyage. That includes a selection of commemorative notebooks which I’ll never get to use in a month of Sundays. Such as this one which celebrated the opening of Siemens new Three Bridges Depot back in 2015. There’s more on offer, plus there’s hundreds of old rail slides which can be found here.

As well as eBaying and catching up on paperwork I did manage to venture out into Sowerby Bridge to pick up some shopping, but it was the heat of the day and by the time I’d walked back up the hill to home I was a sweaty, soggy mess! Mad dogs and Englishmen and all that!

The heat has also kept me preoccupied with watering the garden. It may not be huge but the fact it’s spread over several levels means you get a work-out that way too! There’s no hosepipe ban around here yet but as I use watering cans anyway it won’t affect me. I’ve started using old dishwater anyway just to get in the habit and ‘do my bit’.

Tomorrow I’m tempted to venture out with the camera but I suspect I may have too much to do unless I have a really early start to spend a couple of hours on paperwork first, but as it’s so hot at night that may be difficult. Just in case, I’m going to call it a day and have an early night, so here’s today’s picture. When the weather had cooled down a bit I went for my evening stroll, but this time with a purpose. The Blackberry season is well underway here in the Calder Valley and despite the fact it’s been a dry summer the crop is bountiful, early – and lush. There’s a fantastic collection in a couple of locations along out road, one of which is the edge of a field which is clear of trees and affords a great view of the valley below. Oh, and cows…

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!