Tag Archives: Musings

18th December picture of the day…

18 Saturday Dec 2021

Posted by in Bali, Indonesia, Musings, Picture of the day, Travel

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Yay – I got the month right from the off! For some strange reason my brain seems to be stuck in November, which is why I’ve cocked-up two recent December blogs and backdated them until kind readers have pointed it out. I suppose I could always try the Captain Mainwaring defense from ‘Dad’s Army’ and pretend I wondered who’d spot it first. Truth is – it wasn’t me!

There’s not going to be a long blog tonight, mainly because this hasn’t been the most exciting of days. The Calder Valley’s spent most of the day bathed in fog and I’ve been stuck at home sorting out paperwork, old slides and the occasional Xmas present. I did get out for a wander late in the day in order to get some shopping and get my daily exercise, so a wander in to Sowerby Bridge was in order. We may be in the run-up to Christmas, but the town seemed quite subdued for a Saturday at this time of the year. I suspect the reality of the new Covid strain’s starting to concentrate a few minds even though Calderdale has (for now) seen Covid cases decreasing.

Whilst we’ve been lucky I couldn’t help suck my teeth at today’s news that the anti-vaxxers and Covid conspiracy nuts decided to hold a rally in London. If there’s one place where Omicron is going through the roof it’s London. Still, a cynic might argue this is social Darwinism in action and if this means the shallow end of the gene pool gets deeper this is no bad thing. Will they be missed? Nope…

Once back at home I indulged in some cooking therapy and knocked up a veggie casserole which was an ideal accompaniment to the miserable weather. I love any recipe that contains Cumin, Garlic and Smoked Paprika and this one certainly did.

To pass the time I’ve been scanning and storing lots of old travel slides. They won’t see the light of day just yet as they’re in reserve to give me something to do over Christmas during those quiet ‘down time’ moments when everyone’s stuffed to the gills with Xmas fayre and falling asleep in front of the TV. But here’s a snippet. I’ve finished scanning the Bali pictures from 1994-95 and moved on to UK images from the latter year. So here’s one of the last Bali pictures. I’ve always loved the sculptured landscape of Bali and the way farmers have managed to carve out paddy fields from the most extreme of slopes. Here’s an example.

These fields are near some fascinating old Buddhist temples at Tampaksiring in the islands hinterland. Spot the nursery field where young rice plants are grown before being pricked out by hand across the other terraces….

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!

.

17th December picture of the day…

17 Friday Dec 2021

Posted by in Merseyside, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Politics, Railways, Travel

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

This morning I woke up to the welcome news that Johnson’s Tories had been humiliated in the North Shropshire by-election, losing a seat they considered theirs as a right to hold to the Lib-Dems. It was a massive 34% swing that saw the previous Tory majority of 23,000 become a Lib-Dem one of nearly 6000. One can only hope that this is the start of a shift that will see UK voters reject the kakistocracy we’ve had in charge ever since Johnson was elected in 2019. But I’m not going to hold my breath…

As if to celebrate the news the weather decided to grace the Calder Valley with sunshine. Well, the tops of the valley anyway, the lower levels have been hidden in mist for most of the day! Undeterred I decided to have a day out and head West with the camera, escaping the confines of the office now my computer problems have been resolved. If only every problem was as easily solved by a phone call!

My day out saw me heading West to old haunts, in this case Wigan, Southport and Liverpool where the weather held and sunshine reigned. I needed some pictures of the ‘new’ Class 769s (former electric trains converted to bi-modes with the addition of a diesel engine) and also the brand-new Class 777s for Merseyrail which are being built by the Swiss company Stadler. For once my luck held and I managed to complete my quest. 769s were running services to Southport and when I arrived one of the new 777s was sitting in the station whilst the crew took a break. I had enough time to grab shots of it at the seaside resort before getting ahead of it to take pictures at Hall Road on the edge of Liverpool. Sadly, by that point the sun had been overwhelmed by cloud. Even so, I managed a reasonable shot of old and new together, which is today’s picture of the day.

On the left is a Class 508 unit which was built by BR at York between 1979-80. These units were built as 4-car trains for the former Southern region and operated out of London Waterloo for several years before being reduced to 3-car trains and sent North to Merseyside in 1984-85 to replace the Class 503 electric trains which had been built by the London Midland and Scottish railway in 1938. Now it’s their turn to be replaced by the Class 777s one of which is seen here on a test run from Southport to Sandhills in Liverpool. 52 of these new units are on order and will start entering into passenger service sometime in 2022. There’s around half a century of the evolution of train design captured in that picture. I remember the 507-508 taking over services on this line over 40 years ago. Barring medical miracles I don’t expect to be around in another 40-plus years to see what replaces the 777s! Still, never say never…

If you want to look back at the Merseyrail system over the years you can find pictures going back to the 1990s in two different galleries on my Zenfolio website. Images from 2003 to the present day can be found here. Shots taken when the franchise was run by Arriva (from 1997-2003) can be found here – and pictures from the British Rail era can be found in this gallery, but you’ll have to do a lot of searching!

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!

16th December picture of the day…

16 Thursday Dec 2021

Posted by in Bali, Indonesia, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Panic over – my laptop’s been repaired. A Dell engineer phoned me from Ireland this morning and talked through the problem, after which we set up the machine so that Mohan could take remote control of it and run through a series of diagnostics that identified and fixed the issue (a software glitch with Windows 10). I’ve done this before but it’s still weird seeing your computer take on a life of its own as someone else controls it and you become a bystander. At least it was a bona-fide Dell engineer and not a hacker!

I can now breathe easy and spend time backing up all my pictures off the machine and filing them away as I’d been intending to. Whilst the process was going on I had a chat to Mohan who told me he’s been working from home for 2 years now. I guessed as I heard his Golden Retriever barking in the background! Of course, his is the ideal job to have for working from home. Let’s face it – if he can control my computer from Ireland he can control it from anywhere. That’s one of the things that people who claim we should all be working from home don’t quite understand. Mohan is a man of Indian descent living in Ireland, being paid an Irish salary, but he could be in India being paid an Indian salary, which would considerably reduce Dell’s overheads. WFH could potentially mean a migration of jobs away from the expensive Western nations with their rates of personal and corporation tax – and don’t think that very thought hasn’t occurred to some corporations, so be careful what you wish for when you call for people to WFH. This is not what Brexiters think of when they bluster about ‘Global Britain’, but it is the reality, not the theory. Building barriers isn’t very clever in this day and age.

Now I’ve a fully working laptop again I can concentrate on getting ready for Christmas and finish all the jobs I need to do before the festering season – which may be just that due to the increase in Covid infection rates. I certainly won’t be attending any large gatherings for the foreseeable future – especially indoor ones. I may be double-jabbed and boosted, but I’m thinking of others as much as myself. The people I feel for are those in the hospitality and travel trade, for whom this new variant couldn’t have come at a worse time – just as they were hoping the Xmas season would help boost depleted coffers. Only now they’ve got to face events without any government support. I’ll be doing what I can to give them support whilst still being careful.

Tech panic over I finally managed to get out for a walk today and get some exercise although that wasn’t without a surreal moment. Just as I left a large ‘Peppa Pig’ balloon appeared from the valley below and floated over the house before getting snagged in the trees beyond. I’m sure it’s a metaphor for something, although I’m not sure what! Maybe it’s an omen for the by-election which is being held in the Tory safe seat of North Shropshire today. As well as that Parliamentary seat there’s also 12 Council places up for grabs today. You can read all about them on the excellent ‘Britain Elects’ website as they analyse the make-up and history of each seat – and also provide the results via their Twitter feed at @BritainElects. It could be an interesting night…

Right, on to the picture of the day. This one’s yet another from the Indonesian slide collection but also quite simple. Whilst I was there in December 1994 the Lotus flowers were in full bloom. Almost everywhere we stayed had a water feature of some sort, from simple urns to huge ponds. This was one of them.

Taken on slide film with a 50mm prime lens, I’d love to go back and play around with similar shots now the technology at my disposal is rather more complex and flexible. If you want to see the rest of the Indonesian collection (which is still having new pictures added) you can find them by following this link.

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!

15th December picture of the day…

15 Wednesday Dec 2021

Posted by in London, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , ,

You know it’s going to be one of those days when you start the day with an optimistic frame of mind and technology decides it has other plans for you. Today was one of those days. Having bounced out of bed, made coffee and sat in the office ready to start the day I booted up the laptop.

Only it didn’t. It absolutely refused to be woken from its slumber. The expression ‘Oh, sh*t’ was one of several that passed my lips as I realised my plans for the day were well and truly out of the window. Fortunately, I have an old machine gathering dust on a shelf so dug that out. But because it hadn’t been used since August last year it took me quite a while to get everything set up and (mostly) reconnected. You forget just how interlinked systems are nowadays so when passwords and other gubbins are updated, old machines don’t always ‘get it’. Finally, after a few hours of cursing and shouts of ‘I don’t believe’ it I was operational again. Ish. Apart from all the pictures and files I’d not had chance to copy of my main machine or back-up to the Cloud. I few emails to Dell later and a several missed phone calls and I’d arranged to get tech support in the morning that will hopefully coax my recalcitrant machine back to life (fingers crossed).

Needless to say, this ate up much of my day which was doubly-frustrating as the weather was gorgeous and the trips I had planned were canned, so all I could do was admire the view over the valley as I fought with various systems. Thankfully everything was up and running enough for me to be able to respond to a picture request from RAIL magazine without any more blood sweat and tears although I did rediscover another idiosyncrasy of laptops that I’d forgotten about. The wifi on my old Dell couldn’t blow the skin off a rice pudding! It doesn’t like working from the office as the signal is really weak and frequently drops out – not good when you’re sending hundreds of Mb of data, so most of my working day’s been spent sat on the bed as that room’s directly above the router! On the bright side, I was thankful that I’d worked over the weekend to get all the pictures from last weeks Community Rail Awards edited and sent out, otherwise my computer problems could have been ‘fun’ to say the least.

I’m being optimistic and hoping the the tech wizards at Dell can sort things out for me tomorrow and that the issues are software not hardware related. Frankly, I can do without the expense this close to Christmas and having had to have a camera rebuilt recently.

Sadly, all the new slides I’ve been scanning recently are sat on the other machine, so today’s picture is going to have to come from the archives. But what to choose? Oh, I know…

Here’s a change from the recent exotic travel shots I’ve been feeding you. Clapham Junction may be a lot of things but exotic isn’t a word that springs to mind. This unusual shot was taken on the 7th December this year. It’s a view of the station few people see because it’s taken from the apartment block where an old friend whom I was staying with has a flat.

The trains in the foreground are a pair of Southwestern Railway Class 707s which will soon be displaced and cascaded to Southeastern trains as (despite the fact they’re only a few years old) SWR have planned to replace them with an even newer fleet of 10 car Class 701s built by Bombardier in Derby. Only the 701s are very (very) late and riddled with faults which is causing more than a few headaches all round. So, this is a sight that will eventually pass into history.

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!

14th December picture of the day…

14 Tuesday Dec 2021

Posted by in Bali, Indonesia, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Politics, Travel

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

My usual apologies for the absence of blogs recently. This has been due to trying to clear the decks in the run-up to Christmas, the odd festivity – and the fact my diary keeps changing due to the uncertainties around Covid regulations and the reactions to them as people try and work out what to do – such as scrabbling around trying to find Lateral Flow Test kits after Johnson dropped his latest bombshell on the NHS without any prior warning. To be honest, we’re lucky on the flow test front. Whilst I was up at COP26 in Glasgow kits were being given out on Glasgow Central station so I picked up several boxes to bring home. Try getting them now. Dawn tried online only to be told there’s not one available for 30 miles! Quiet how people are meant to do a daily test when there’s no bloody test kits available is a mystery known only to Johnson. Anyone would think he’s making this up as he goes along. I mean, only a complete idiot would announce such a policy without checking that there’s sufficient stocks of test kits available, wouldn’t they? Oh, wait…

In response to the news I’m seeing a number of things being cancelled. Thursday’s annual Railway Carols service in London was cancelled at the end of last week and postponed until 2022. This week I’ve had a dental appointment cancelled with just 48 hours notice. I know of many other people who’re seeing Xmas meals and parties cancelled at short notice – just what the hospitality industry needs right now. Now, I understand the need to stay safe, I really do – but this is turning into yet another omnishambles and there’s a lot of very unhappy people faced with making tough choices who’re looking at what’s coming out about Johnson and Co’s behavior this time last year and thinking ‘you’re having a laugh!’. Actually, what many people are saying is far more expletive-driven but I’d get banned from a lot of social media for articulating it verbatim and with the passion it deserves. It will be interesting to see how all this anger may manifest itself in Thursday’s by-election in the Tory safe-seat of North Shropshire. Maybe some of us will be getting an early Christmas present.

Maybe the new Covid variant will do us all in the UK a favour by finally dropping the scales from some people’s eyes so that they finally appreciate just what a bunch of incompetents and shysters have in Government at the moment, but I won’t be holding my breath. Instead, I’ll be trying to make the most of the festive season and hope 2022 will be the year we finally see the back of all this crap.

OK, sorry for the political rant but some times I’ve got to do a spot of spleen-venting. I’ve tried to be a good boy recently, despite everything that’s going on (and don’t even get me started on the Brexit shambles otherwise we’ll be here all night), but sometimes needs must.

Right, back to cuddly, fluffy things like the picture of the day. Today’s is another in the series of old slides I’ve been scanning which were taken in Bali in January 1995.

These brightly painted outrigger fishing boats are pulled up on the beach at Padangbai on the Eastern end of Bali. Padangbai’s the port for ferries across to the island of Lombok further East. Between them you cross the Wallace line. This is a faunal boundary line drawn in 1859 by the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace and named by English biologist Thomas Henry Huxley that separates the biogeographical realms of Asia and Wallacea, a transitional zone between Asia and Australia.

Behind the boats are a row of simple beachside restaurants where fresh fish straight from the boats would be sold freshly grilled or baked. You really can’t get much fresher than that!

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!

12th December picture of the day…

12 Sunday Dec 2021

Posted by in Bali, Indonesia, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

I’m off to a good start – I got the month right today! Yesterday, for some unfathomable reason, I managed to move us back a month in time until a friend (thanks Trevor Stone!) spotted the error and Tweeted ‘November’? Oh, the joys of getting older and trying to do too many things at once!

Today’s been a quiet day here at Bigland Towers. It’s the one day of the week where a lie-in is in order. Mind you, the fact the weather was dull and dark wasn’t exactly an encouragement to leap out of bed. When I did most of the day’s been spent catching up on work, making lists of all those things I should have done but haven’t – or cooking. The cooking bit meant that the pair of us did get out for a short walk, but only to a local supermarket to pick up the last few ingredients I needed to make tonight’s meal.

On our way home from the concert last night we decided to throw caution to the wind and get one of our rare ‘take-outs’ from an Indian cafe/restaurant we knew in Huddersfield. This was only our fourth during the whole of lockdown and beyond so you can et the idea of how rare a treat it is. We’d eaten there before so were looking forward to it. A combination of chicken Balti, Prawn Curry, Saag Aloo and a Garlic Naan set us back £30 which was a heck of a price increase over 2 years ago. Not only that, the quality was nowhere near as good as before. We were both disappointed but then we remembered why we rarely get take-outs. We can cook far better meals ourselves. So, to make up for the let-down I cooked a way superior (home-made) dish tonight that was far tastier and as cheap as chips in comparison – a Malaysian Yellow curry packed with chicken and vegetables which fed us both and left enough to add to our collection of home-cooked ready meals in the freezer.

This brings me (tenuously) on to my picture of the day. I’ve managed to scan a few more old slides from Indonesia, where the quality and cost of food is far superior to what we get in *dear* old Blighty. But then so much is grown locally – as this picture shows. Much as I love walking around the Pennies, there’s something rather special about wandering through the rice paddy fields of Bali…

I too this picture in January 1995 at Tirtagangga in Eastern Bali on a walk from the homestay in the fields where we were staying. The fields are kept irrigated by an amazing system of ducts and channels which allows water to cascade from the mountains to the sea. It’s said that the local ‘Banjars’ (village councils) always make sure that the farmer at the bottom of the system is put in charge of irrigation as it’s in their interest to ensure that water gets through!

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!

11th December picture of the day…

11 Saturday Dec 2021

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

Apologies for the lack of blogging recently. This has been due to a busy work and social calendar. Yes, social! Despite the latest tightening of the Covid rules (rules that of course only apply to us little people, not to the people who make them) we managed to have a very successful Community Rail awards, then I joined a group of old friends in London for our first Christmas gathering since 2019. Today Dawn and I joined her mum to watch her dad perform in the Honley male voice choir who were taking part in a Christmas Carol service in the gorgeous Concert Hall at Huddersfield town hall. So it’s been a very sociable time. As usual we’ve both been taking lateral flow tests between events to ensure we’ve not contracted Covid and to keep ourselves and others safe. Fingers crossed, we’re still in the clear.

There’s still a couple of events in the calendar before we finally wind-down for the festive season but this next week I’ll mostly be based at home as I wrap up various projects and prepare for the end of the year. I can’t say I’m going to be sorry to see the back of 2021. We’d all hoped it was the one that would see us escape from the Covid restrictions, but that hasn’t exactly gone to plan has it?

Anyway, I’ve still a few blogs to complete and new ones to write before the end of the year but tonight I’m going to call it a day and leave you with a picture from today, taken at the carol concert earlier.

The choir appeared with the award-winning Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band, conducted by Steven Roberts and the young ladies of the Rastrick High School Chamber Choir, directed by Charles Rhodes. It was lovely to be back at such a wonderful location and be able to hear live music again. Something that both audience and performers had really missed. Oh, my father-in-law is 2nd from the left in the 3rd row down from the top.

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!

5th December picture of the day…

05 Sunday Dec 2021

Posted by in Musings, Picture of the day, The Moorcock Inn, Travel, West Yorkshire

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

The pair of us have had a lazy Sunday here at Bigland towers. Well, if walking several miles up hill and down dale counts as ‘lazy’ so maybe I’ll rephrase that. We had a slow start to the day – as neither of us dragged our carcasses out of bed at a silly hour and when we did rise it was to relax with a coffee and a bite to eat before planning anything strenuous. Whilst Dawn sorted out various Christmassy tasks and wished her dad happy birthday (he was 87 today, but if you met him you’d never know – to say he’s ‘wearing well’ is an understatement!) I prepared cinnamon flavored porridge with fruit compote, sultanas, and toasted coconut flakes to set us up for the day.

As the weather had improved we both decided to ditch thoughts of work and get out for a walk. We’ve both been chafing at being confined to the house so much – just for different reasons. Dawn’s been full-on with work as it’s the Community Rail Awards this next week and I’ve been knocked-back by a combination of the ‘lurgi’ and my Covid booster. So today we both thought ‘bugger it’ and headed out to walk up to Norland Moor and visit one of our favourite haunts – the Moorcock Inn.

Getting there from our home involves walking down to the valley bottom before a steep climb up the other side. It’s not for the unfit or faint-hearted although the views make it more than worthwhile – and there’s a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow! Here’s what the route looks like – just under 3 miles each way which would be easy-peasy on the flat – but this ain’t flat as this image from Google maps demonstrates and walking back we took the long way home!

For once and despite the fact the weather was ideal for getting pictures I had a day off from the camera to make the day all about the pair of us – so the picture of the day shows one of the things we love about the place. The chance to sit at the bar, enjoy a drink and their fabulous smoked potatoes and home-made mayonnaise whilst chatting to staff, other regulars and watching the antics of some of the dogs that make the place their home too…

Worth walking for…

Now we’re back home and relaxing as the weekend slips away. Tomorrow I leave for London where i’ll be based for a night before heading home in time to repack and head down to Southampton for the Community Rail Awards, then return via London once more to attend a small gathering of railway folk. So, expect a few rolling blogs of very different character over the next few days! I’m looking forward to getting back on the rails to see how the latest Covid developments are affecting travel. Stay with me to find out…

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!

4th December picture of the day…

04 Saturday Dec 2021

Posted by in Bali, Indonesia, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

My claims that the latest Covid booster and the ‘Lurgi’ weren’t cramping my style too much turned out to be premature – to say the least – hence my enforced absence from blogging! Yesterday I felt like death warmed up as my body became a playground for viruses and vaccines! There was little I could do other than say ‘Oh, bugger’ and stay in the warm to fester and let nature take its course. Today I’m feeling much better and almost back to my old self apart from the fact my cold has dropped my voice by so many octaves I could get a job doing voice-overs on adverts!

I might be recovering, but the weather isn’t. Today’s been the sort of day where you really wouldn’t mind just putting your feet up at home. We’ve had the lot. Heavy rain, winds, snow – you name it. Despite that, I was determined to get out and get some exercise so I donned my waterproofs and wandered down into Sowerby Bridge to pick up a bit of shopping then work my weary way back up the hill – feeling virtuous but also knackered!

I did venture out once more as Dawn needed some boots taking to the shoesmiths in the hope they could be repaired – and our local Tesco contains a Timpsons. They’re a company I’ve always been happy to support because of their policy on employing ex-offenders in order to help rehabilitate them into society. The chap whom I saw was very helpful but couldn’t do anything to cure the problems with Dee’s boots – so it looks like I’ve an extra Xmas present to add to the list – albeit one from the January sales. Sh*t – I hope Dawn’s not going to read this!

I can’t wait to shake off this cold and get back to feeling my old self as I’ve a brilliant week to look forward to with so many things happening. Tomorrow’s my last day of ‘purdah’ before I’m back on the road, so expect a variety of blogs next week. But, for tonight – I’ll end with the picture of the day – which is another old slide from the album of pictures I’m currently scanning from 1994/95.

Here’s the view from our bungalow one evening when the skies were particularly spectacular. It’s a magical landscape but no more so when the sunset provides such a fantastic backdrop.

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!

2nd December picture of the day…

02 Thursday Dec 2021

Posted by in Bali, Coronavirus, Indonesia, Musings, Picture of the day, Travel

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

I took a day off from blogging yesterday. Mind you – I took a day off from almost everything yesterday! That’s because I came down with the ‘Lurgi’ and felt universally crap so decided to have a ‘Duvet Day’. It’s not that I came down with anything major – just a heavy cold, but as I have a busy few days ahead of me I decided discretion was the better part of valour so tried to sleep it off whilst being supercharged with Dawn’s home-made hot lemon and ginger drink. The aches I can work around. It’s the snots that get me down. Anyone who’s old enough to remember ‘The Young Ones’ on TV and the episode where Neil got such a heavy cold his flatmates bound him up in a bin-liner will know what I mean!

My other reason for taking time off was that today I was booked in for my Covid booster -and there was no way I was going to miss that!

Dawn’s tincture and a day in bed seemed to work as this morning I felt a lot more human so I rose from my bed and ‘commuted’ to the office in the backroom. I even got dressed before-hand! Having spent a few hours catching up on stuff I’d neglected and having recharged my batteries I wandered into Halifax to get my jab. Our local centre for boosters is Boots in the middle of town. As usual, it was very well organised but they weren’t offering drop-in appointments today as they only had enough vaccines for people who’d booked appointments – much to some people’s dismay. To be honest, I had mixed feelings about this. It was sad to see the having to turn people away but also reassuring that people where coming in off the street to get boosted. I was in and out within 30 minutes – with no side effects. The young lady who ‘jabbed’ me did it in such an easy fashion I never felt a thing, but then I was very relaxed about it anyway, so there was no stress. Having been handed a leaflet about the jabs on the way in I asked why it mentioned we’d get two boosters a month apart. Her reaction? “I’m glad you asked that as it shows you’ve bothered to read the leaflet! It’s an old (unrevised one) and now we only do one jab” But that’s me all over. I always read these things. It’s why I always offer the same advice to anyone who buys any new kit of any sort: R.T.F.M. (Read The Fu*cking Manual!). Jabbed, I decided to have a wander around Halifax before heading home. I felt no ill-effects at all. In fact, my 5G signal was so clear I was picking up instructions from ‘Russia Today’ perfectly…

I’m now back at home, having a quiet night in and catching up on some off the stuff I’ve let slip. Dawn’s out with friends but as a ‘Leper’ I’ve been left behind! This enforced period of Purdah is only temporary as next week life will be back in full swing – with the added knowledge that I’m boosted, cold and Covid free…

Meanwhile, here’s today’s picture which is another from the series of old slides that I’ve been scanning. This particular shot was taken in January 1995. Here’s the view from our rented bungalow in Tirtagangga in Bali, Indonesia, looking down onto the village and the Water Palace, where we’d go swimming most days in the pools of the old Royal Palace that you can see in the picture.

The area’s lush, being surrounded by paddy fields and with fantastic views across the island and down to the coast and across to the island of Nusa Penida off to the left of this picture. You can find many more images of Bali and Indonesia in this gallery on my Zenfolio website.

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!