The pair of us have had a quiet weekend here at Bigland Towers, albeit it’s been a constructive and sociable one! Most of our time’s been spent pottering around catching up on various chores but we did have a very pleasant few hours with friends in our reopened local pub – the Big 6 Inn. It was chance to catch up with some folks we’ve not seen for ages, but also meet some close friends to swap a few stories and banter. The laughs certainly flew, as did the beers! I was certainly feeling mellow by the time we left.
Today’s been more solitary as Dawn’s been cooking up a storm in the kitchen whilst I’ve been pottering around sorting out odds and sods. One of today’s little tasks what to get our bird feeders cleaned, filled and ready for the winter. I have one outside the bedroom window and two outside my office window. All get plenty of traffic but the seed filled tray outside my office has more traffic than Heathrow! There’s a constant stream of Tits visiting it, as soon as one disappears another arrives. Their favorite seeds are juicy Sunflower seeds so I’ve stocked up with another big bag for the winter and also cleaned and replenished the peanut cage although that doesn’t seem to spark the same interest. I keep meaning to set up the camera to get some pictures of my visitors, but never seem to find the time. Maybe this winter…
Whilst all this was going on the smells wafting upstairs from the kitchen were superb. Dee’s been batch-cooking and producing Lasange in industrial quantities. As well as a large gluten-free one for her parents she’s made two for us that will be portioned out and go in the freezer. Oh, there were a pair of Bakewell Tarts made too – both Gluten free. As if that wasn’t enough Dee also made a Birthday cake for Susan, our neighbour who keeps us supplied with the most gorgeous home-baked bread!
So, the picture of the day is going to be dedicated to Dawn’s cooking. I have to admit, I was never someone with a sweet tooth – I’ve always preferred savoury, but as I’ve got older I have developed a real liking for home-made Bakewell tart and Dee does ’em brilliantly!
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It’s a been a very quiet day here in Bigland Towers, mainly because I’ve been the only one here. Dawn’s been back in the Community Rail Network office in Huddersfield, which would normally leave me and the moggie. Only now there’s no moggie, and the place seems very empty without him. Jet always used to wander into my office to see me when I was working if he needed food, or just attention. He was happy to sit on my lap whilst I scanned pictures or typed, only now he’s no longer around and I have to admit I really miss him.
Empty home aside, I’ve been kept busy writing about my ‘3 peaks by rail’ adventure for magazines, so the day’s passed quickly. I did manage to get out for my daily constitutional and pick up some shopping, but then it was back to the grindstone. Not that I’m complaining, I have work, a roof over my head and lots to look forward to – unlike some…
I’m looking forward to having these few days at home before travels commence once again. Next week I have a press trip lined up, a funeral and then a holiday. Well, two out of three ain’t bad – as the old Meatloaf song goes.
So, on to the picture of the day. As I’ve not been scanning any old slides recently I was in a quandry over what to use, so I decided on this, which is a shot of how the urban realm can be vastly improved when we make the decision that people come before cars. This is the recently revamped station forecourt at Doncaster. Previously it had been dominated by the motor vehicle. Previously, most of the area was a car park. Now it’s been transformed into a place for people – and art (hence the railway themed sculptures to the right). If only more of our towns an cities followed suit…
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Ah, the last day of summer – and it wasn’t a bad one weather-wise. Unfortunately, I was stuck in all day catching up on editing the mountain of pictures I’ve been taking these past couple of weeks in order to get them out to clients and/or on my website. My Zenfolio site now hosts two new galleries. One of pictures from the Infrarail/Railtex trade fair (which you can find here) and another from the ‘3 Peaks by Rail’ trip which you can find here. Oh, I’ve also added a variety of rail pictures taken out and about. They’re in various galleries, but if you follow this link to the ‘recent’ section of my website It’ll highlight which galleries they’ve been added to. If I manage to have a sufficiently early start tomorrow and clear the final items I need to have finished I might be able to venture out and make the most of the first day of autumn as the forecast remains good.
I suspect I’ll be tied to home most of the rest of the week as I’ve a couple of articles to pen about the 3 Peaks trip, and there’s a couple of blogs I’d like to get sorted out too. They’re not going to be about any HS2 protests as they’ve collapsed. There’s nothing happening at the moment until the final waste of space that’s the Wendover ‘protection’ camp is evicted, which will be anytime now. As predicted, the MPs debate on September 13th was another pointless exercise that achieved nothing at all. The room, which can hold about 50 MPs wasn’t even full. The ‘usual suspects’ who oppose HS2 trotted out the same tired and trite arguments and spin. All it was was an exercise in grandstanding. It was clear from the comments on some of the anti HS2 Facebook pages that people were expecting far more and were bitterly disappointed. Now it’s over, they’re left with nothing. There’s still going to be plenty to write about with HS2, but that’s going to be about the civil engineering and ecological mitigation work. I’ve several visits lined up for the autumn, so watch this space.
In the meantime, let’s move on to the picture of the day, which comes from my recent travels. Here’s Wasdale Head in Cumbria, the nearest settlement to Scafell Pike. The hotel you see in the bottom of the picture’s the Wasdale Head Inn which was an ideal spot to while away an hour whilst I waited for the 3 Peaks teams to come down from the mountain.
I love the lighting conditions here as you never quite know what you’re going to get! This day it was low cloud and fleeting glimpses of the sun, but that’s the Lake District for you…
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One of the welcome signs of a gradual return to normal has been the return of various events that were absent in 2020, which became the year when nothing happened. Last week we had the return of the Railtex/Infrarail trade show, this week we have the return of a different and more prestigious event – the National Rail Awards. OK, I may be slightly biased here as I’ve attended every NRA since 2003 which is when I first became the event photographer. That was quite a daunting task then as I’d only just turned professional and I was shooting on film, which was a lot more challenging. I worked at every awards until (I think) 2017 when I retired from the role and became a VIP guest instead – which is much less stressful and a lot more fun!
Now Dawn and I are on our way to London to attend the resurrected awards I’m really looking forward to the chance to catch up with so many old friends and colleagues whom I’ve not had chance to see (in person) for a while. We’re currently on the train from Leeds and LNER provided this vintage bit of traction to take us there…
I won’t be blogging throughout the day, but I will add a few pictures and an overview later. I’m sure it will be a great event. It sees the return of Nigel Harris’ co-host, the BBC TV News anchor Huw Edwards. We used to have guest presenters every year and the list is a stellar one that includes John Humphreys, Steph McGovern, Nick Owen and many more, but for the past several years Huw’s been such a success he’s become a feature.
Here he is at last night’s awards….
I have to say, it was a great event and so good to see that many familiar faces together again. As usual with the awards the biggest difficulty was getting to talk to everyone you knew. When there’s over 900 people there it’s a challenge! Even so, we really enjoyed ourselves as we had a fantastic table right at the front so had a grandstand view of everything. Personally, I’d always had that as the event photographer but now I didn’t have to keep bobbing up from my seat, camera in hand, every time people came up to collect their awards! Instead I could sit back with a glass of wine and applaud.
This year we had a surprise guest, who I’ll tell you more about later…
Please excuse the lack of blogs these past few days but to be frank, we’ve had one of the shittiest weekends ever and writing was the last thing I had time for.
Late last week we found out that a dear friend who had cancer only had a few weeks (or days) left to live. With the pair of us having been away in Surrey it hadn’t been possible to arrange to see them for one last time and the previous time we’d tried they’d been too ill. So, as soon as we returned we arranged to visit Tony at 11:00 on Saturday morning. But then the fates conspired.
Regular readers will know that I’ve often blogged about the trials and tribulations of having a venerable moggie. Jet, our beautiful boy, had reached the grand old age of 20 last month. Despite his advancing years, his deafness and his lack of teeth, he was still soldiering on and a loveable and affectionate as ever.
Then, in the early hours of Saturday morning, around 04:00, suddenly, and without any warning, he had a fit. He was sleeping on the bed with us at the time and the first warning we had was when he shot up (waking Dawn) and peed on the bed. Leaping off the bed he then went into spasms on the carpet. It was awful to watch, especially as we were so powerless. All we could do was hold him to stop him doing himself any damage.
As soon as we could we rang the vets to get an appointment and take Jet to be checked out, meaning we couldn’t make our 11:00 appointment to see Tony, it was an awful choice, but we knew Tony was in safe hands whilst the only hands Jet was in were ours. After an anxious hour at the vets they suggested that the fit may have been down to blood pressure as that was the only thing tests showed as unusual. Somewhat reassured we returned home, stressed and tired and readied to visit Tony. First, we had to complete Lateral Flow Tests which the nursing home (not unreasonably) insisted on people taking before visiting. By now it was around 13:00. Then we received a phone call from a mutual friend. Tony had passed away at 11:15…
We felt both upset and awful because we’d missed our chance to say goodbye, but what else could we have done? Our friend reassured us that we’d done the right thing, but even so, we felt pretty low. Our only consolation was that we could concentrate on Jet’s wellbeing and monitor him throughout the day, hoping that the problem really was his blood pressure. The tablets didn’t stop him having another fit later that day which was just as awful to experience as the first. And yet – he seemed to make a pretty good recovery, or so we thought (or maybe hoped). The pair of us discussed what to do with the vets and the advice was to monitor his wellbeing, give the tablets time to (hopefully) work and keep them informed.
Saturday night was awful, neither of us had got much sleep, we were both feeling low as it was and then Jet had another fit in the early hours. As was the pattern, he lost control of his bladder as he threshed around yowling in an awful way. It was so distressing to watch. Once again we held him, looked after him and vowed that we couldn’t keep this up, both for his sake and ours. We’d decided that if the fits hadn’t passed by Monday, medication or not, the kindest thing to do was to have him put to sleep. It’s an awful decision to have to make, but we couldn’t bear to see him suffering like this. He came around enough that we took the risk to have him on the bed one last time. He was a gorgeous and affectionate as ever, if a little dozy.
Put slightly more at our ease, we both rose and set about things we needed to do, leaving the boy dozing on his heated mat where he stayed for a couple of hours. Then, we heard the awful yowl that heralded yet another fit. Rushing upstairs we found him rigid and panting on the bedroom floor. It was at that point we both looked at each other and agreed that we couldn’t put off the inevitable any more. It was heartbreaking, but we couldn’t watch him suffer anymore, the fits were becoming too frequent and too severe. Poor Jet never really recovered from the final fit, he was so spacy when we got him to the vets and they knew what we’d requested, it was time to let the boy go. Despite Covid, the vets were brilliant, they let us both be with him as we went through the inevitable. We held him and stoked him as the vets administered the injection that would see him finally at peace. To say the pair of us were in bits is an understatement. I know people who don’t have pets will probably find this hard to understand, but they really do become part of your family, especially ones who are so loving and affectionate as Jet – and who’ve been with you so long. Dawn has had him since he was a kitten. He’s been part of my life for 12 years. They have a massive impact on you. He was 20, so you know he won’t live forever. You think you’re prepared. The reality – when it arrives- is rather different. Coming home to an empty house afterwards is really hard. They’re not around to greet you anymore. They never will be again. The emotions you go through are so difficult. But, they’re just a pet, right?
So, that’s why I’ve not been blogging these past few days.
I’ll talk more about our friend Tony another time when I have more time. Right now I’ve got to finish packing as I’m away all week at a trade fair and then helping the Railway Children charity on their ‘3 Peaks by Rail’ event. Expect more blogs soon…
In the meantime, here’s the picture of the day, which (of course) is of our gorgeous boy. Farewell Jet…
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, and vets bills), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Apologies for the lack of a blog of any kind yesterday. This was due to the fact my normal mode of transportation (rail) was swapped for travelling back from Surrey to Yorkshire by road and trying to blog in a car isn’t the easiest thing in the world. Oh, there’s also the small fact that my wife was doing the driving and Dawn (not unreasonably) would have been less than impressed if I spent the journey tapping away at my phone!
In truth, we didn’t depart Surrey until late afternoon but we were both busy with work and chores before we left so time was at a premium. The journey’s just shy of 250 miles and takes over 5 hours with one stop. We left at 16:00 and weren’t sure what to expect departing at that time but we actually had a really clear run, even though we take the route avoiding the M25 and skirt the West side of Oxford instead. We arrived home just before 21:30 and spent the rest of the evening unpacking and settling in back at home, so blogging was the last thing on my mind.
Today’s been different, but equally busy. I visited the Friends of Mytholmroyd station today for a rather special event which I’ll blog about tomorrow. Needless to say, a good time was had by all and it was great to see some old friends and faces again. I’ve a very busy week ahead of me next week so I’ll be having a full day in the office tomorrow in preparation – as well as getting all of this weeks pictures onto my Zenfolio website. Today’s picture of the day is one of them.
London’s rail network is fascinating. Lines crisscross the capital – and each other. Here’s one such place where two very different systems cross in the open. I took this shot at North Acton on Tuesday whilst I was out looking at various HS2 construction sites. The timing was just right and as a Central line tube train pulled out of the station and headed towards the city a London Overground Train passed overhead.
You can find many more pictures from my travels on the London Underground by clicking on this link. All the pictures from my exploration of the High Speed 2 construction sites are here.
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 need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Today I’d expected to be making my merry way across the country by rail, leaving leafy Surrey to cross the capital and watch the world go by on the East Coast Main Line before arriving back at the Yorkshire tea plantations on the slopes of the Calder valley. Only things didn’t quite go to plan….
Last night I was editing some pictures, including a few I’d taken yesterday afternoon at Box Hill when I noticed something odd on the Surrey pics. On each shot the right hand side of the image was out of focus for about 25% of the frame. Odd, very odd. I’d only taken the camera body with just the 80-400mm lens attached to it so I immediately checked out my kit. That’s when I discovered that – somehow – the long lens body had become skewed on the ring that attached it to the camera body. To say my language became colourful (even profane) would be an understatement! If God existed there’d have been a lightning strike in Tilford last night!
At the beginning of September I’ve two jobs lasting several days running back to back, so I really need that lens – or a replacement for it. This left me with one choice. Stay another night in Surrey and head into London tomorrow to the camera servicing centre I’ve been using for the past 20 years. My big concern was what to do with our old moggie, Jet, who’s at home and been looked after by neighbours, plus Dawn’s mum and dad. Fortunately, they’ve rallied round and John and Norah have taken Jet on another holiday to their house in Huddersfield. He’s such an old boy we don’t want to leave him on his own too long, so this was the best solution. Now I’m free to extend my Surrey sojourn and come back with Dawn on Wednesday rather then her having to drive all the way solo. I also get to have the lens looked at and do some photographic projects around London and Surrey – albeit without a long lens, but that’ll force me to look at things in a different way – which isn’t always a bad thing…
This means my final blog of August will be filled with fun and games in London as I’ll have more time to visit locations I’d got in mind.
Although this blog hasn’t been billed as a picture of the day I’ll still include one – just to add a splash of colour to my scribbling. Here’s another of my recent slide scans from my Indian archives. I took this picture in Arambol, Goa, India in December 1993.
Every evening before sunset, after most of the Westerners had adjourned to the beachside bars and restaurant in this little fishing village to enjoy a sunset beer they’d be replaced by local children who’d arrive to play games, splash in the waves or just lark about. Often young lads like this would find whatever they could to use as a bat and stumps to enjoy a game of cricket. Sometimes you’d get bemused European boys like this one wondering just what was this strange game they were playing. It was always fun to watch. It’s odd to think that these young boys will now be men and it could well be their sons playing these same games on the beach in Arambol.
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My Surrey sojourn’s been an enjoyable couple of days. On Saturday the pair of us enjoyed a trip into Guildford for a spot of shopping, both window and real. The sheer number of independent retailers is far greater in the South than some northern cities, especially when it comes to clothing. That said, the bargains I picked up (some shirts) were from a national outlet. In the evening we adjorned to a pub in Frensham, near to where we’re based in Tilford. The Holly Bush is a roomy place with a large covered seating area outside, plus a big beer garden. The food menu isn’t extensive, but what they do supply is very good. On a recommendation we shared the fish platter. Huge King prawns, excellent squid rings and a delicious Mackerel pate came with bowls of Olives and sun-dried tomatoes plus crisp pitta bread and a sweet chilli dip. Feeling ambitious we also ordered one of our favourites (soft shell crab) which was on the small plate menu and served with mango. So, here’s today’s bonus picture – the Fish platter (which was more than enough for two people)…
Today we went to somewhere Dawn’s never been to before and that I’ve not visited for years, Box Hill in the Surrey Hills AONB. Needless to say (being a bank holiday) it was very busy with families making a day of it and enjoying the views and walks, or just getting together in groups to have picnics or barbecues. The atmosphere was lovely. As we’d taken Tilly, my brother-in-Law’s Cairn Terrier with us, we made lots of friends! Now, back at home we’re having a relaxed evening as tomorrow it will be time for me to return North again – which should be fun as it’s Bank Holiday Monday. No doubt a rolling blog will appear…
In the meantime, here the real picture of the day which is taken from the last batch of old slides I’ve been scanning. I took this shot at the flea market in Anjuna, Goa, India in December 1993. It’s a shot of one of the Tribal Women from Karnataka state who sell the most amazing embroidered, bejewelled and mirrored clothing. Their personal jewellery can be quite something too. In this case it was the woman’s colourful sari which really added to the scene.
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It’s another short blog from me tonight as I’ve been busy sorting out work and the fact that tomorrow I head back down South for the Bank Holiday. This means that you’ll be treated to a rolling blog as I make my way from Halifax to Farnham via who knows where as I have some work shots in mind…
Today’s not been a bad one, although I could’ve done without the news that Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts has passed away – even if 80’s a bloody good age for someone in his profession! I saw the Stones live at Wembley Stadium in 1990 and they were superb. It’s a sobering thought that all my teenage idols are now pensioners, but then – so am I. Where the hell did the years go? It’s a question I’ll explore in another blog when I have the time and inclination…
Meanwhile, here’s the picture of the day. I’ve scanned a few more old travel slides today and this was one of them. I took this picture of the main beach in Arambol, Goa, India on the 31st January 2000,
I first found this place in 1985 and for many years it became my ‘happy place’. But time and events move on. I’ve not been back since 2003 and although I’m tempted as I still have friends there I’m not sure I want to spoil those fabulous and special memories. Besides, there’s so many places that I haven’t been to yet that I’d love to explore…
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There was me thinking I’d been so clever this morning! I’d a whole blog prepared which was a rewrite of an article I’d written for RAIL magazine back in 2017. I was all ready to publish it then realised I couldn’t find the damned pictures to go with it! All my pictures (so I thought) are backed-up. Either on my Zenfolio website or on several hard-drives. Only one particular hard-drive failed earlier this year. And guess where the pictures are? Hopefully I’ll be able to get all of them recovered as it sounds like a mechanical failure rather then anything more serious. Even so, it’s made me think about how I look at backing up pictures in the future.
This means today’s blog is going to be very short and the picture of the day not what I was going to display at all. But, it does fit my mood as this is somewhere I’d much rather be right now. I took this picture of a sunset in Mandrem, North Goa, India on the 31st January 2002.
I can still hear the sound of the sea and feel the heat on my skin as I look at the picture. I am soooo looking forward to getting back to international travelling just as soon as this shitty time is over. OK, it’s not *all* bad, I’ll be on the rails in the UK again very soon, so expect a few rolling blogs and pictures from around the UK. In the meantime – enjoy this picture and relax….
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 need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Paul Bigland 