Bugger! Having waited around all day on the promise that Fedex would deliver the new camera today I received the following message late this evening.
It’s frustrating but as long as it arrives tomorrow things will be fine as I’ll still have chance to learn how to use it before my job in Birmingham on Wednesday. Mind you, that’s cutting things fine. This may be ‘on the job’ training!
Still, today’s not been entirely wasted. I’ve got a lot done at home with a mixture of picture editing and paper-shuffling. The enjoyable bit was shuffling a lot of paper out of files and bookcases into the recycling. My shelves are now looking a lot slimmer and cleaner. Plus, one of our local charity shops will benefit from some of the redundant electronic hardware I’m parting with. There’s more stuff to get rid of yet – but that involves digitising various old records and diaries which is going to be time-consuming.
Taking a break from the dust and old paperwork I did manage to get out for my daily constitutional which was challenging due to the weather. We may have been in-between storms but there was enough of storm Isha hanging around to make walking through our local woods feel risky. The amount of broken branches littering the paths and trails was both impressive and a testament to just how windy it’s been. Not that it’s blown over as it’s goodbye storm Isha, hello storm Jocelyn. Please, weather Gods, just let this all blow over by Wednesday as I have to get to Birmingham and back and I really don’t fancy getting stuck on a Voyager! I’ll be blogging throughout that day, which could prove interesting…
Today’s picture is a taster of what I’ll be visiting. The HS2 station construction site at Curzon St, although it’ll look rather different to this July 2023 view now as the platform decks are being constructed atop many of the pillars seen here.
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After the freezing temperatures we’ve had recently the weather’s changed dramatically. The snow’s been washed away by torrential rain, assisted by temperatures in double figures. Then the wind arrived – with a vengeance! These weren’t exactly the ideal conditions for performing some external DIY, but when needs must. This afternoon I spent a couple of hours ‘fettling’ the front door frame, which gave me exposure to and appreciation of just how wet and windy the day was becoming. Once everything was ship-shape, secure and protected from the elements I retreated to the office for a couple of hours to catch up on some work. Whilst doing so my email account was regularly ‘pinged’ with messages about the imminent arrival of my new ‘toy’. To be honest, it’s been an interesting lesson in the global marketplace. I bought my new camera online at a very competitive rate compared to established UK retailers whom I’d normally use, but the fact the savings were in four figures made it a bit of a no-brainer. One of the reasons for the price differential is it’s being shipped from the USA, which always had a reputation for keen prices. I had considered buying kit in the US before, but in those days Nikon used to have separate designations for that market. So, for example. My old F801s film cameras were called the N8008s on the American market, so it was obvious where you’d bought your kit. Nowadays all has changed and model numbers are the same. It’s been fascinating watching my purchase make its journey from the US courtesy of Fedex. It started out in Union, New Jersey before making its way to Newark, where it travelled by air to Memphis Tennessee. It’s from there that it began its transatlantic trip to Stansted Airport, where it arrived yesterday. Now it’s making its way North by road ready for delivery in the morning (storm Isha permitting).
This evening I ventured out once more in order to get my daily exercise routine completed. This involved donning full waterproofs as the weather really was foul, with torrential rain and gale force winds. I broke my walk up by calling in at our local for a bottle of alcohol-free Erdinger and chance to dry-out in front of the fire before heading home – a much needed pitstop in such awful conditions.
Now I’m happily settled in for the evening, catching up on some picture editing whilst listening to the howling wind outside. I’ll leave you with today’s picture which is from Manchester. This is the approach to Manchester Piccadilly station. In a few years time the station was meant to have a massive capacity increase as the new HS2 station was due to be built next door to the left of this shot. Now, these ageing tracks are going to have to cope with this governments crippling lack of ambition (and more trains) for the foreseeable future.
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We’ve had another of those winter days where brass monkeys are seeking the urgent assistance of welders! Temperatures have remained sub-zero all day. The forecast is telling me it’s currently minus 6 which is hardly surprising as we’ve had clear skies and sunshine throughout most of the day. Despite sunny weather I’ve been happy to stay in for most of the day, picture editing and catching up on various other admin. In fact, it’s been rather a productive day and one that’s lined up work for the future.
Whilst I’ve been busy in the office I’ve also been keeping an eye on the welfare of the wild bird population by ensuring they’ve plenty of food to eat with a mix of oats, rice and chopped (cooked) vegetables. At times I’ve seen real bunfights between several Blackbirds, Magpies, Thrushes and Robins as they establish (literally) a pecking order! They’ve been quite entertaining to watch. With the amount of food the Blackbirds have gobbled I’m surprised they’ve not needed a runway to take off on!
Now it’s evening, the temperatures dropping and I’m preparing to wind down for the day. I’ll leave you with a snow scene, but it’s not from the Calder valley, it’s from a valley much, much further away. You’ll never see the Pennines like this!
A medium long lens shot of the Himalayas taken from outside our tent when we were trekking in Nepal in 1998. Sadly, I never recorded the names of the individual mountains. So, apart from the fact this is one of the range North of Gorkha, I couldn’t tell you if it’s Manaslue, Bauda Himal or any of the other high Himalayas in that range. Whatever it’s called it really was rather special being this close.
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We’ve had another quiet day here at Bigland Towers, although it’s been anything but lazy. I was up early and working in the office by 07:30. Admittedly, it’s not much of a commute from the front to the back of the cottage – and I can do it in my dressing gown! Even so, I felt virtuous as I was making the most of the day. The fact the nights are getting shorter helps. There’s nothing worse than sitting there in the dark, not being able to see anything out of the office window but being able to hear the wind and the rain beating down outside. Thankfully, we’ve finally hit a dry spell which is also lightening the mood.
Much of my day’s been spent catching up on picture editing and adding recent images to my Zenfolio website. Click on this link to see which galleries have been updated. I’ve still got many more to add, both from my recent HS2 site visit and also archive shots from Nepal (but those will be taking a backseat for a little while).
Continuing with the virtuous theme I managed to surpass all my exercise targets which has made me happy – and helps me feel ‘dry January’ is proving worthwhile. Now I’ve got to hope the bathroom scales will confirm the results! It’s not that I’m overweight in any way, I’m merely outside my normal parameters so it was time to get back to the weight I feel happiest and most comfortable at.
Whilst working I’ve enjoyed watching the birdlife outside. We have a stone shed roof opposite which is an ideal bird-feeding station. I’ve found that bags of oats make a cheap alternative to more expensive bird-foods and our feathered friends of all sizes love ’em. I’ve had Magpies, Doves, Wood Pigeons, Blackbirds, Thrushes, Robins, Sparrows and Wrens put in an appearance today, whilst the nut and seed feeders hanging under the eaves have attracted all manner of Tits. As the light’s improved I was even tempted to get the camera out. So, today’s picture is of one of this morning’s visitors. I’m presuming this is actually a Thrush – my bird recognitions not as comprehensive as my railway fleet recognition!
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After my recent travels I’m having a quiet weekend at home here at Bigland Towers, editing all the pictures I’ve taken, getting some out to clients and preparing the research for my next series of RAIL articles, plus pitching for other work. There’s certainly been plenty to keep me occupied – including household chores and routine maintenance to the cottage, which has been made possible now we’ve hit a dry patch. That said, the weather’s turning increasingly cold and the media is full of forecasts (some of dubious provenance and reliability – but enough of the daily Express!) of impending snow storms and apocalyptic conditions. We’ll see. I wouldn’t mind the chance to update some snow pictures, but it’s moot if I can’t get out of the house!
One thing the dry conditions have aided me in is the ability to hit all my January exercise targets which are going along with my month-long holiday from alcohol. That’s not proved to be the problem I thought it might. My willpower’s remained strong. But abstinence is starting to get a tad boring. The thing about being a real-ale drinker is that there’s so much variety. However, much as Adnams ‘Ghost Ship’ 0.5% is a reasonable substitute for a proper pint, variety is lacking. I may have to take a trip to Sainsbury’s and buy some of their low-alcohol Infinite session IPA which comes in cans. Abstinence from alcohol aside, there’s plenty to look forward to in the next couple of weeks with jobs around the country. All will be revealed in rolling blogs as they happen.
Right now it’s time to call it a day and put my feet up with Dawn and enjoy a spot of escapist TV, so I’ll leave you with today’s picture. Here’s one of Chiltern’s old ‘Thames Turbo’ trains that I travelled on earlier in the week. It’s seen at Marylebone station in London. Now, I ran this question as a quiz on Twitter, some people got the answer, but many didn’t.
What makes Marylebone unique amongst London’s terminal stations?
I’ll post the answer on Monday. There’s no prize for the correct answer – just the opportunity to show off your ‘inner anorak’!
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/
It’s the start of another week here at Bigland Towers but, having finally digested all the Xmas turkey and other largesse, the country’s beginning to shake off the festive lethargy, which means I’ll be travelling to press events again, starting on Wednesday. Today, I wasn’t going anywhere. It’s been bleedin’ Baltic here in the valley. We may have escaped the floods and flurries of snow that have affected other parts of the country but the mercury’s remained huddled at the bottom of the thermometer so most of my day’s been spent glued to a computer screen in the office apart from a foray down into Sowerby Bridge to post the latest batch of eBay sales. Returning home in a biting wind made me decide it’s time to break out the winter woolies – especially as the forecast is for temperatures to continue to drop over the next week. Despite my Viking ancestry, I’m suited to sunny climes, not this sort of weather! Maybe we should rename this the colder Valley…
Still, I’ve had an interesting diversion from the UK climate in some of the old slides I’ve been scanning. I’m on the last few dozen from my round the world trip in 1997-1999. These are of Nepal and trekking in the Himalayas. They’ve brought back lots of fond memories as some of them I’ve not looked at for decades. Sadly, with the fact they’re 26 years old, several of the faces in them are no longer with us. They’ve made me realise just how precious time is. The last of the pictures will be scanned and edited by the end of the week when you’ll be able to find them all in this gallery on my Zenfolio website. But, in the meantime, today’s picture is another taster.
We’d joined a Dutch friend (Axel) who lived in Goa, India on a trek he ran in Nepal to raise money for a Nepalese charity that he and his Partner Lucie ran. The charity funded projects in the remote village of Barpak in the Gorkha district of Nepal. The treks (which lasted 10 days) took you from Gorkha to Barpak and beyond up into the Himalayas just short of the snow level. It was arduous and the accomodation was either in tents, local homes or the occasional basic hotel. One night our little band stopped in someone’s half built house. Needless to say, we became a curiosity for the local youngsters. There was no TV and certainly no mobile phones to keep them entertained, so why not watch us? I turned the tables and took this photo, here’s me watching them, watching us as we cooked our evening meal.
I often wonder what happened to people we met on or worldwide wanderings. How many of these young girls now have families of their own? Did any of them ever move from that village as most people never do.
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Miracle of miracles – we’ve had a whole day without rain here in the Calder valley! Not only that, we’ve also had blue skies and this strange round shiny yellow thing hanging around in them. Admittedly, it’s also been bloody cold but – hey, I’ll take it over the alternative!
After a morning sorting out pictures and paperwork indoors the dry weather allowed me to spend several hours catching up on exterior chores such as clearing mounds of slippy, wet leaves from the front and back of the cottage which has allowed me to get a ladder out safely and clear the guttering at the back of the property, ready for the next deluge. It’s lovely being surrounded by trees but they don’t half create some work in the autumn/winter! Whilst I was attacking the guttering I had the chance to check on the bird boxes I’d put up at the back of the house a couple of years ago. We’ve had plenty of prospective tenants but no-one’s ever nested. In close inspection I found some feathered friends had been trying to enlarge the holes in order to take up occupancy, so a job for tomorrow is to enlarge the openings and give ’em the chance to claim squatters rights.
The stone flags at the front of the cottage are still too slippy for ladders but we’re meant to have another sunny day tomorrow and a balmy 3 degrees so conditions should be good by lunchtime, allowing me to give the front of the cottage the same treatment as well as try to establish where our front porch is leaking from. It’s a lovely decorative stone feature but it was a later Victorian add-on to the original building so prone to water ingress. Whatever, there’s plenty to keep me occupied tomorrow which will help me meet my boosted exercise targets. I’ve ticked every box so far this year including ‘dry January’, so I’m feeling chuffed with myself. Plus, a bit of sunshine’s always a mood-lifter.
One of this morning office jobs was to crack on with finishing off some slide scanning which has provided today’s picture and look on life in a very different world. Forget supermarkets and pre-packaged fruit and veg. Here’s a local shop in Durbar Square, Kathmandu, Nepal, seen in April 1998. Give me this rather than self-checkouts any day…
You can find many more pictures from Nepal and the rest of this 1997-99 Odyssey here.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
I was up with the larks this morning – even though I wasn’t going anywhere special. As part of my New Year refocus I’m trying to make as much of the day as possible – although waking up when it’s still dark and it’s chucking it down kinda tests your motivation!
Having spent an hour or so soaking up some coffee, scanning a few old slides and catching up on the world’s news I decided to take advantage of a gap in the rain to get out and try for my first rail pictures of the year. I’d seen that Grand Central’s hired-in ‘Voyager’ was working the 10:20 service from Bradford through Halifax. I hadn’t got a shot of one of these GC 221s before (remiss, I know) so I packed the camera in a waterproof bag and walked down to Salterhebble where there’s a good view of the lines to Brighouse and Sowerby Bridge diverging at Dryclough Junction.
I was pushing my luck. Whilst the rain held off dark clouds were heading my way. So much so that by the train arrived I’d lost two full stops of light. At that location the speed it’s travelling at is more of a crawl, which was just as well. Here’s the shot I managed.
221142 drops down towards the Salterhebble tunnels whilst working 1A63, the 1023 Bradford Interchange to London Kings Cross.
There was no point in pushing my luck to try and get another other shots as the rain returned with a persistent attitude. Taking the hint I gave in and walked into Halifax with half a mind to try other pictures but the rain was having none of it. Instead I walked home having at least achieved my 12.5k step count for the day – if nothing else! I must admit, I do enjoy mooching around the streets and cobbled alleys of Halifax. Not having grown up in a mill town but at the seaside (far more genteel – and with cleaner air) I find it fascinating looking around terraced streets of back-to-back houses, little cottages and grand houses surrounded by walled gardens. Then there’s the mills, some of which still remain. Admittedly, having an interest in both history and architecture helps…
Back home there was little choice left but to retreat to the office and sort out some paperwork – which will bear fruit in the next few days (hopefully) whilst watching the rain drip off the stone walls outside. It was in complete contrast to the slides I was scanning – pictures of Social housing in East London built in the 1970s and demolished in the 1990s – then a selection of images of India and Tibetan refugees.
So, here’s a bonus picture for tonight. Here’s shot from the Tibetan refugee self-help centre in Darjeeling, India. More than just a refugee centre, it’s a place where exiled Tibetans can keep traditional crafts alive. This old boy caught my eye and was happy for me to take his picture. Shot in April 1998, I don’t expect he ever got to see his homeland again.
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2024 has started the way 2023 ended. Wetly! Although to be fair the downpours have mostly been confined to this evening. As I type this I can hear the rain bouncing off the cobbles at the back of the cottage. Thankfully, I paid attention to the forecast and got out for a long walk around the area and into Halifax earlier this afternoon. Everywhere was so quiet it was reminiscent of the Covid lockdowns. Most shops and businesses had taken the day off, only a handful of pubs and a few fast food outlets were open. Trains were running and from what I could see were very busy but I’ve no idea where people were going to.
Dawn had popped over to see her parents in Huddersfield so I had the cottage to myself this evening. Having completed all my self-set New Year targets and not fancying an evening stuck in front of the TV I decided to dig out my slide scanner and make some headway with clearing the final backlog of old slides I’ve never got around to scanning. The project’s got stalled of late but I had an email from a chap who seen some of my pictures from my old days in London, working as a Housing Officer in Tower Hamlets. He was fascinated to discover pictures I’d taken of the demolition and rebuilding of the old Lefevre estate in Bow, and asked if I had any more. I had, they were in another album stuck in the queue, so this evening I’ve scanned a few dozen. It’s rather ironic, as I discovered that the first batch were taken almost 30 years ago, in September 1994! You can find them in this gallery on my Zenfolio website, but here’s a couple of samples.
Demolishing the disused multi-storey car park at the back of the Lefevre Estate. Part of this had been built on the site of the old North London Railway station of Old Ford. You can find pictures of it in this page of the ‘Disused stations’ website. The page also contains photos of what the area looks like now. Contractors have arrived to start demolishing ‘H block’ on the Lefevere estate, probably in September 1994. None of the blocks on the estate had names. Only letters.
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To be honest, I’m not sad to see 2023 go. It’s hardly been the best of times so this blog’s going to resemble the proverbial Curate’s egg – good in parts!
Admittedly, 2023 started well for me as I spent the first couple of months of it indulging my lifelong passion for travel by wandering solo through haunts old and new in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. It was a joyous experience to get away and spend time in a part of the world I’ve loved for over 30 years, although at times it made me realise how much the UK is slipping behind other developed countries. Watching Singapore investing billions in continuing to improve it’s public transport infrastructure whilst hearing that the Conservatives were continuing to prune back HS2 construction in Britain was a classic example. The same story was playing out in Malaysia and Thailand. There was new construction everywhere I went – and long-term planning too – another thing absent in the UK.
Returning to the UK in March I got back into the swing of things and recording and reporting on the UK railway scene, which was mixed to say the least. Beset by industrial unrest, a lack of a rolling stock strategy and what must be the most anti-rail Government and PM we’ve seen for decades, it was a torrid time. However, I feel enormously privileged as a railway journalist to have the access I have to people, places and events – such as covering the continued construction and progress on building HS2. Well, the bits that Rishi Sunak hasn’t stymied for now – but more of that later…
Other bright spots in the year were several holidays. A group of us (‘the 5 from the 6’ – a reference to our local pub, the Big 6) had a break in Istanbul at the beginning of May. It’s a city and country I’d never visited before but I’d certainly return. The people were welcoming and entertaining whilst the city has a fascinating history and a real vibrancy – as you’d expect from somewhere that straddles both Europe and Asia. Back in the UK, Dawn and I (along with her parents) had holidays in North Norfolk and also Cambridgeshire – an old haunt of mine but virgin territory for the others so it was fun showing folks around towns they’d never explored before like Cambridge and Ely. They were wowed by the Cathedral whilst pretty St Ives became a favorite location. Remarkably, we had gorgeous weather for both our UK breaks. Sadly that wasn’t to be the case for the rest of the year. As regular readers of this blog will know, the weather’s one of my preoccupations due to being an outdoor photographer. It often governs what I can and can’t do.
Now to politics. See, I said this would be a curate’s egg sort of blog! What can I say, other than what an utter shit-show 2023 has been on the domestic front. The Tories seem to have become a death-cult, drifting further and further to the right whilst displaying their utter contempt for ordinary voters as they try and cling on to power. They’ve given up all pretense of governing the country for the benefit of the populace and made it clear they’re only there to enrich each other. Just when you think they couldn’t get any worse in their choices for PM, the next one comes along and says ‘hold my beer’…
After the lying, lazy incompetence of Johnson we had Truss, who was so dogmatically batshit even the financiers and bankers of the City of London rejected her, leading to the economic crash that saw her off within a few short weeks. Then along comes Sunak, the ‘also ran’ who got a second chance. A man with no political antenna and no connection or empathy with ordinary people. A man who promised ‘integrity’ in government then spectacularly failed to deliver it. Billed as a ‘details man’ by his supporters he displayed all the recall of someone with Alzheimers during his questioning at the Covid enquiry. His contempt and disdain for the democratic process and accountability was obvious. A millionaire autocrat who’s chosen the most ridiculous political hill to die on (Rwanda) because he hasn’t the acumen or common-sense to stop making impossible promises he can’t deliver, yet who scraps a project he could (HS2) that has had over a decade of cross-party consensus and support. And for what? The ridiculous ‘Network North’ which even a fag-packet would be insulted to have been used to draw it up on? Sunak is so tin-eared he can’t even see how a boastful tweet about scrapping HS2 sent from a private jet looks. It’s that level of disconnect.
Thankfully, 2024 will see a general election called. Personally, my money is on May although I suspect even Sunak (a man who shows no attempt to think things through) really knows when he’ll call it. His impulsiveness and ability to listen to bad advice means it could be called anytime. Only one thing’s clear – the Tories inability to move the electoral needle. Barring a miracle (or disaster, depending on your political viewpoint) Labour are favorites to win and Keir Starmer to be our next Prime Minister. OK, he’s not the most inspiring politician. He certainly doesn’t have the charisma or power of oratory that Tony Blair had, but I really don’t care. Right now all I want to see is a Government run by adults who actually care about the country, not this bunch of right-wing, swivel-eyed loons who’re more concerned with feathering the nests of themselves and their friends.
Right, enough of politics. There’s going to be plenty of time for spleen-venting in 2024, beginning next month when the next Brexit fiasco kicks in at our ports as the Government finally starts checking food imports, having delayed this five times before.
On a more personal level. January promises to be an interesting month. Having been bedevilled by a series of minor injuries this year which have meant my fitness levels have dropped but my weight hasn’t I’ve decided to begin the new year with a reset, giving up alcohol (yep, the infamous ‘dry January’) whilst boosting my exercise regime – whatever the weather throws my way. Please God, all I ask is – don’t let Sunak call an election in January!
On other fronts 2023 has seen me blog on 308 days. I’m amazed and humbled that these and older blogs have been read 78,400 plus times this year whilst over 265,000 people have popped in since I started blogging in 2015. Thank you all for your support – especially those who’ve contributed towards the costs of running this blog by clicking on ads or buying me a coffee via Ko-Fi. It’s greatly appreciated.
I’ll do my best to keep you entertained with stories of travel, the railways and politics throughout the year.
Of course, a lot of what I’ve achieved couldn’t have been done without the love and support of my incredible wife, Dawn. I’d just like to pay tribute to her for all she’s done – despite the grief I sometimes cause her!
So, all that remains is to wish you all a prosperous and peaceful New Year and hope you all have a great 2024. See you on the other side. Right now, we’re off to the pub for a couple of hours…
The last blog – and last picture of 2023. Happy New year from ‘Happy Valley’. Taken on my walk earlier…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Paul Bigland 