I’d only intended to take one day away from blogging after getting home from the best part of a week away, but there were so many things to catch up on (including family life) that – well – something had to give! Plus, my time at home is getting interrupted more as the country starts to open up, despite the much leaked ‘hiccup’ in relaxing the final Covid restrictions which mean June has now become July.
I haven’t been ignoring work. Far from it, but I have so many pictures to collate, edit and get onto my website that it’s going to take some time. I’ve made a pretty good start as several hundred rail, shipping and travel pictures have already been added to my Zenfolio website, but there’s almost as many still to do. You can find what I’ve added so far by following this link which will take you to the recently updated section, showing you which galleries have been updated.
There’s only a short blog from me tonight as I have to be up at (very) silly o’ clock in the morning as I’m travelling down to the Midlands to spend the next tow days at the ‘Rail Live’ event. It’s the first major rail trade event to happen since lockdown hit us all back in 2020 and I’m really looking forward to it. So many friends and colleagues will be there, all enjoying the first chance we’ve had to meet up for far, far too long. I’ll be rolling blogging from ‘Rail Live’ over the next couple of days, so keep an eye out for those.
Right now I’ll leave you with the picture of the day which is from my recent travels. One of the things I really enjoyed was that the trip wasn’t purely about railways. It was also about exploring places I’d either never visted before or hadn’t really got to know in any depth other than by passing through. One such place was Wivenhoe in Essex, on the railway to Clactio-on-Sea. This shot was taken at the old ‘dry’ dock (which is now anything but) on the river Colne. Now the dock’s lined with rather posh properties.
I really enjoyed the feel of the village and maet some lovely people there. That fact that it felt like it was rather out of a film set was reinforced when I spotted a blue plaque on one of the properties nearby that explained Wivenhoe was for many years (in fact, from 1958 until her death aged 92 in 1998) of the actress Joan Hickson, who became famous for playing Agatha Christie’s ‘Miss Marple’!
Right, time for bed!
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/
My time in East Anglia has come to an end and I’ve begun to make my way home via London. Trains are getting increasingly busy so I’m avaoiding 2 – 3 car units and trying to stick to longer trains at the moment. I’m currently on a GA 12-car set to Liverpool St which is only about 1/3 full. Mind you. there’s engineering work North of Ipswich this weekend, so that’s cutting down on the numbers travelling as it’s the dreaded ‘bustitution’ up to Norwich and North of Bury St Edmonds on the Ely line.
The weather’s still good so no doubt I’ll be stopping en-route. The first one planned is an old stomping ground. Stratford in East London. The place is virtually unrecognisable since the days I lived down the road, but it’s a good place to while away an hour with the camera.
10:45.
God, I’d forgotten just how much Stratford has grown and changed over the years! Bits have been bolted on everywhere. New London Overground platforms here, the Docklands Light Railway there (and there)! Plus, an entire Jubilee line terminus in the basement. It’s all a big mess that’s made worse by a multitude of overhead structures (some redundent) and the encroachment of Buddleia. Add in the fact it’s now hemmed in by high-rises and its no longer the lovely place for photography that I remember.
The only bright side was that all c2c services from Fenchurch St were being diverted through the station, adding something different.
Because of these constraints I moved out three stations East to Manor Park where there aren’t the same constraints (as you’ll see from pictures later)
12:20.
Having spent a profitable hour at Manor Park capturing shots of trains (and passengers) I’ve moved West to Forest Gate. On the train I had one of those experiences I’ve missed. Some folk like to pretend that no-one strikes up conversations in London – especially on public transport. As someone who lived in this city for 25 years I’ve always known that was bollocks and today was a good example. As I boarded the front of the train I made eye contact with a young Londoner of African origin, we both nodded to each other and I stood opposite each other in the vestibule. As often happens, having a big camera hanging off your shoulder tends to provoke questions, so this young lad started to ask me what I’d been taking pictures of. Within minutes we were deep in conversation (he was on his way to Stratford to see his mum, who gas Parkinsons). It was so nice to be able to interact with strangers again. It also reminded me why I miss London. It’s such a cultural melting pot. The rainbow of faces I’ve seen in the past couple of hours…
15:30.
I really enjoyed my break in East London. The camera was working overtime due to the sheer number of services along the lines. It’s sometimes easy to forget how intensive rail services are around London. The good news is that they were all really busy in both directions.Here’s my train into Liverpool St.
16:17.
The London Underground was just as busy as the Overground network as people are enjoying the good weather as well as the relaxations in freedoms. Having got the tube from Liverpool St to Kings Cross I elected to walk the rest of the way to Euston and enjoy the sunshine rather than be stuck in tunnels. The Euston road was teeming with people who all seemed to have the same idea in mind – enjoy the sunshine. At Euston I decided to visit somewhere I’ve not been able to go to for ages and enjoy a swift pint outside of Adnams ‘Ghost Ship’ outside the Euston Tap at the front of the station.
Cheers!
Now I’m speeding up the West Coast on a lightly loaded 15.20 Euston to Manchester Picaddlilly although with such good weather I’d rather be by the lineside somewhere, but hey ho! – I’ve taken so many pictures this past week I’m going to be busy for another one just sorting them out!
18:15.
I’ve left London and the South-East behind for now and walked across Manchester city centre which was packed with people. It’s a bit disconcerting at first after spending so long avoidjng people but I’m gradually getting used to it. The weather’s just as sunny as London but there’s a noticeable drop in temperature up North! I’m now on my final train of the trip, a 3-car Northern Class 195 which seems tiny compared to the 8-12 car trains I was photographing earlier! The change in topography is fun too. As much as I enjoyed the big skies of the flatlands across the Fens it is good to be back amongst the hills of the Pennines.
I’ll bring this blog to an end now as I’ll soon be home. I’ll be taking a break tomorrow but I’ll be back next week – hopefully with edited pictures to show. Plus, I’ve still got a few hundred old slide scans to dip into for picture of the day.
Sorry for the lateness in starting this rolling blog but I decided to treat myself to a lie-in and a more thoughtful and less frenetic day today. I’d originally planned to head back to West Yorkshire today but I’ve extended my stay by another night as there’s so much to try and catch up with photographically. Having been confined to barracks because of Covid you forget how much you’ve missed out on seeing in that time.
I’ve just been exploring the railway between Norwich and Ely, stopping off at stations I’ve not visited for several years and certainly not since the new trains started running. Right now I’m en-route to Ely (again) to change-over to another route. I’ll update this blog once I have…
20:20.
OK, OK – I know! This has been a crap rolling blog – despite all my best intentions. Part of the reason is that the trains I’ve been on have been busy, there’s none of this ‘having a cosy table bay of four to yourself. In fact, the train I’m on now (an AGA ‘Stansted Express’ set pressed into service on Norwich – Liverpool St) doesn’t even have tables, so my laptop’s balanced across my legs!
That said, it’s been a good day, even if I didn’t get to do everything I wanted and the weather spent most of its time being overcast. I’ve visited some stations I’ve not been to for donkey’s years and got really useful pictures. I’ve also observed how passenger numbers are very much on the increase again, driven by schools, colleges and leisure travel. But that’s not all, there’s a lot more ‘suits’ around again too as business travel picks up with companies coming out of both lockdown and furlough.
Today’s route took me from Ipswich to Norwich in order to station hop along the line to Ely. My first port of call was Wymondham. As well as taling pictures of the lovely old station building where the cafe and beer garden have now reopened. I also ventured into the village for a mooch around only to find that it was market day. The town’s done an excellent job in making the centre ‘covid safe’ with planters narrowing the roads to make more space for what matters: People.
23:00.
It’s far too late to be blogging now, plus I have to be up early to pack my kit and start making my way from the flatlands of East Angular to the rather less flat Pennines. That said, I’ve really enjoyed my time here and the chance to explore places old and new. There’s so much that I could write about but there’s not enough hours in the day – and I still have hundreds of pictures to edit yet. Here’s a final one from today. Once a male-dominated industry (except in times of war) the UK’s railways are making great strides in becoming more inclusive and representative. I noticed this young Muslim train dispatcher at Ely earlier. This is the future of the railways…
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/
Having fallen into a pattern of getting up at 06:00 to make the most of my time here today was no different apart from the weather. The wall to wall sunshine we’ve had these past few days had been rudely interrupted by clouds this morning, leaving the looking decidely mixed. Even so, there should be plenty of photographic opportunities. I’m already on the move, heading to Norwich for a meeting with an old friend who’s recently changed jobs. Having worked with Richard Clinnick on RAIL magazine for 15 years (we were on his first job together) I’m keen to hear about his new role on another magazine I’ve worked for – the International Railway Journal.
Right now I’m sat on another of Anglia’s Class 745 12 car units. I really like these trains but I noticed that one of the Stansted Express variants was working a Norwich – Liverpool St diagram earlier. They seem rather inferior, with no tables and what looks like reduced legroom in the airline seats. Hopefully, I’ll get to sample one later today. Here’s how the priority seating/wheelchair area looks on my train.
10:02.
My meeting with Richard had to be cancelled at the last moment due to him receiving a text from the Covid ‘Track & Trace” system telling him to self-isolate for 24 hours. Talk about timing! Instead I hung around Norwich long enough to get some pictures before catching the 09:27 to Stansted Airport to head along another old familiar route, the line via Wymondham to Ely. I’ve written about my trips on this line several times over the years. It used to be very “old railway” with mechanical signalling, jointed track and even telegraph poles festooned with dozens of wires. All of those are gone now. Instead the Stadler 755s zip along the line at an impressive pace. The old signalboxes still remain, but they’re all boarded up and derelict.
Sadly, cloud cover is 100% around here, blue skies are a memory again.
12:00.
My sojourn in Ely coincided with the heaviest cloudcover of the whole trip – aided and abetted by a partial eclipse! To cap it all, the photo location I walked to was now so overgrown it was pointless for what I was after. That’s the danger when you don’t visit a place for 25 years I suppose! Just before I left the cloud cover cleared so I did manage a few useful shots. Next up – Cambridge…
19:00.
Sorry about the lack of updates – I got sidetracked! In Cambridge I took a couple of hours off to meet an old friend. An old girlfriend actually. Margot and I were an ‘item’ back in the 1970s but haven’t seen each other for well over 35 years, but through the magic of Facebook we regained touch with each other a couple of years ago. Margot’s happily married with two grown-up sons but as I was in the area and we still share common interests like travel and photography, we decided to have a light lunch, a G&T and remember old times whilst sat in her garden. It was lovely to see her after all these years and realise just how much time has passed.
Back on the road again retraced my steps to Ely but the weather was still playing silly buggers, and as memory lane was in vogue today I headed up to a place I’ve not visited since the early 2000s. Kings Lynn. I didn’t linger, I just wanted to refresh my memory. Nowaday’s the line’s worked by Great Northern Class 387s rather than the old WAGN Class 365s (a train I miss). What surprised me was just how rough riding the 387s were on that line. OK, I was sat over a bogie, but every time we passed over a road crossing the violent hunting and crashing make me fear we were going to end up in the dirt. This happened at several crossings which was rather disconcerting when you realise it’s not just a one-off.
On the way back I stopped off at the lovely old station of Downham Market which retains its original buildings and a working signalbox, which surprised me as I thought this section of line from Ely to Kings Lynn had been resignalled, but obvioulsy not. The place was a pean to the vanished BR region of ‘Network South-East’ as nearly all the signs carried the branding of a company that vanished in the 1990s.
22:00.
I’m now relaxing back at the hotel after a long day’s exploring, albeit with mixed photographic results due to the weather but that hasn’t detracted from the sheer joy of being out and about again, rediscovering some old haunts whilst realising just how much has changed in the intervening years. There’s still lots to try and capture so I’ve decided to extend my stay here in Ipswich by another night in order to try and maximise my time away. Plus, let’s face it – it’s not like I’m going to be jetting off abroad next week…
Hopefully the extra time will also allow me to spend more time catching up with some of the places I’ve missed so far. The forecast isn’t brilliant tomorrow but harsh sun isn’t always the best for some pictures. If the weather’s not so condusive I can always retreat somewhere to catch up on photo editing and bide my time. Let’s see what happens – and where I get to…
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/
Sorry for the delay in starting this. I’ve been up since 06:00 and I was on my first train from Ipswich by 07:34 – and in glorious weather too. Then it all went a bit “Pete Tong”. I plugged in my laptop on the train so I could check in with the world (and write this), then spent the entire trip to Saxmundham battling against the ‘blue screen of death’ as my laptop flashed up the dreaded words ‘exception error’. Fortunatly I managed to reset it (eventually). Not for the first time my machine doesn’t chew automatic updates properly when they’re swallowed from indifferent wifi on the move…
Still, I can breathe easy for now as I backed up all my data and pictures as a precaution. For now I’m going to be blogging via my phone, so please excuse fat finger syndrome and a spull-chucker that thinks I’m wanting to write in Serbo-Croat!
I’m currently kicking my heels between trains at the pretty and well-heeled market town of Saxmundam. You can tell it’s well-heeled as it boasts two new supermarkets and one of ’em is a Waitrose.
The station’s looking good too. The Lowestoft bound platforms been renovated, the old station building’s undergoing a rebuild and the car-park’s recently been extended. The large flower bed that separates it from the Ipswich bound platform’s been replanted by the local community group and includes a new herb garden. All that’s needed now is for passengers to return in numbers.
I’ve traversed the East Suffolk line many times. In fact I wrote about it last September as part of my bi-annual Round Britain rover for RAIL magazine last September but I’ve never had time to stop off at any of the stations and towns en-route. Today’s an opportunity to make up for that omission.
Despite much recent modernisation, with resignalling and new track the East Suffolk line still takes me back to the old days as there’s long lengths of the old 60ft sections of jointed bull-head rail to provide the famous ‘clickety-click’ sound of classic rail travel. I’ve heard a sound I’ve not come across for years, the bang as a fishplate copes with the rails expanding in the hot sun!
11:15.
I backtracked from Saxmundham in order to spend some time at the excellent station restoration project at Wickham Market. The old two-storey station building has undergone a massive make-over to convert it into a cafe and meeting rooms for the benefit of the local community. The scheme was funded from several different sources including Community Rail Network and the Railway Heritage trust who helped with the replacement of the station canopy. The lovely volunteer behind the cafe counter told me that the copies of the original spandrels were made by Hargreaves in Sowerby Bridge – talk about a small world!
Right now I’m on the 10:42 train making my way North towards Lowestoft, maybe I’ll stop off on the way if something else looks enticing…
I’m travelling in the front car of a three car Class 755 but this set (329) seems noticeably noisier than others I’ve travelled on due to vibration from the engine compartment. Even so, it’s head and shoulders in quality above the old 2-car Class 156s it’s replaced!
13:15.
I’m now on my way to Norwich after a short layover in Lowestoft which I used to buy some extra summer clothes from M&S. With not having been able to visit Thailand recently my old multi pocketed shorts (ideal for travelling) had to be condemned! I’ve now found a half-decent replacement. But God, Lowestoft was depressing. I’ve visited the place many times. I’ve even stayed overnight, which was ‘fun’ but each time I return it seems to get worse. I stood out like a sore thumb for all these reasons: I’m not clincally obese. I’m not festooned with ‘tats and I don’t use either a walking stick, Zimmer frame or mobility scooter! Honestly, the place was like God’s waiting room.
16:45.
I took a break in Norwich in order to have coffee with an old friend. Dominic and his family moved up here from Chelmsford at the end of last year, so it was good to be able to catchup after so long – even briefly. The town doesn’t seem to have changed much. Whilst I waited outside the station I watched an armed police team and the transport police detain one youth whilst a gaggle of women in matching hen party T-shirts stood smoking and spilling booze. On a Wednesday? Must be some hen do!
Right now I’m en-route to the broads again to recreate some photographic favourites featuring the new trains rather then the elderly and wheezing class 156s…
19:20.
I’m on the rails again after getting the picture that I wanted of one of the new Class 755 trains crossing the swing bridge at Reedham. Sadly, I only got one bite of the cherry due to the rail timetable and time constraints. Even so. It’s a lovely place to while away an hour and watch the boat traffic on the broads. Reedham boasts two pubs on the river but only one has reopened at the moment. I can’t post a picture right now as I was concentrating on using my Nikon, but I will later.
I’ve been coming to Reedham for years and find it a lovely spot. The railway might have lost some of its interest now it’s been modernised and the old mechanical signalling’s been replaced, but the local station friends group makes up for that. They’ve done an excellent job with the station gardens and the small museum they maintain in one of the original station buildings.
The Reedham swing bridge – just waiting for a train…
22:30.
My final update for the day as I’m now back in my hotel in Ipswich, juggling plans for tomorrow as I’ve a couple of people to catch up with whilst enjoying this superb weather. My trip to Norwich was ‘interesting’ to say the least. On my return from Reedham I nipped into town to buy a sandwich. The first thing I saw was very positive. The ground floor of an office block just the other side of the River Wensum has been converted into an NHS Covid vaccination station. Dozens of people were inside with more queuing outside. The really positive thing was they were all young people. Sadly, the good impression didn’t last. a few yards up the road I came across a group of young people and one slightly older woman who were all well gone already. They were arguing as it was some girls birthday and the woman had trapped said girl in a lift three times (no, I can’t work it out either). It seemed like the usual carry-on that you get in Norwich most weekends when every village idiot for miles descends on the place. I thought no more of it until one of of the young men blurted out in exasperation “Oh Mum!”…Maybe Ry Cooder should have forgotten about Texas and written a song about Norfolk…
Anyways, here’s one last picture from today now that I’ve go them dowloaded onto the laptop (which seems to be behaving itself). When I got back to Ipswich I had chance to have a look at one of the new Bombardier Class 720s as one was waiting to return to London. Oh dear! They have 3+2 seating and the aisles are so narrow they’re a tight squeeze even for me. With a camera bag on my back I stood no chance of getting through, so imagine what they’d be like with people occupying those seats?
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/
Well, that’s it – We’re now both now ‘double-dosed’ – having received the second of my Covid jabs yesterday and Dawn today. Compared to the first dose this one hasn’t been too bad. I don’t feel any major side effects – apart from the fact my 5G reception’s amazing and I’ve developed a curious interest in ‘news’ programmes on Russia Today!
The same as last time I received my jab at Boots the chemist in Huddersfield, where part of the 1st floor’s been converted for the purpose. It was a slick operation but not as quick as last time because they had more people wanting the jab, which can only be a good thing. That said, most of the folks I overheard talking were like me and in for their second dose. I can only hope that the succesful rollout of the inoculation programme will allow us to return to normal, even if normal won’t be what it was. The big question now is how the rest of the world fares as I suspect it won’t be until next year that we’re finally out of the woods.
Dawn’s reaction to her second jab seems much like mine – feeling ‘Meh’, and with a few neck cramps, but that’s it. Infinately preferable to the alternative anyways! Neither of us had anything planned for today as we didn’t know how we’d react so we’ve had a quiet (if productive) day. Whilst I’ve spent the day scanning the last slides from my 1991-92 world trip Dawn’s been busy baking. The smells drifting up from the kitchen as a Victoria sponge cake’s cooking have been wonderful!
The pair of us are having a quiet night in so all that remains is for me to choose the picture of the day. I’ve a large backlog of slides scanned that need editing, so I thought I’d use the very last one I have from my trip before I flew back from Kuala Lumpur to London with Aeroflot. Reading through my old diaries there’s sooo many stories that I could relate – but they’ll be saved for when I have more time to spend writing.
My last day was ‘interesting’ as I only had 6 Malaysian Ringgitt left. I’d maxxed out my credit card on buying my flight back to the UK and that was the only cash I had left. I had enough to buy a bunch of Rambutans (a fruit similar to a Lychee) and the fare for the bus to the airport. Oh, and my camera was playing up too. The mirror kept locking up so I never knew if it would work or not. But, I managed to get this final shot on the 8th October 1992. I was people watching outside the Central market and spotted this blind musician busking along with his daughter/grand-daughter. I may have been on my uppers but nothing like this. Never forget, there’s always someone worse off than you…
Having spent the past few months looking back 30 years I’ve often wondered what happened to the people in my pictures? From the other travellers I met and spent time with to random street scenes like this. This young girl would probably be a middle-gaed mother by now, probably with Grandchildren of her own. I wonder what the stories of their lives were after I froze them as moments in time three decades ago? They’ll live forever like this in pictures, but what happened afterwards?
Hopefully I’ll have the rest of the old scans edied and added to this gallery in the next week or so. After that I move on to albums from the next phase of my life. Having returned from travelling in 1992 my life took a very different turn – and travelling became an even bigger part of it…
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/Thank you!
I’m not going to be writing a magnum opus tonight, the pair of us have had a lovely day with Dee being on holiday and the country coming out of its Covid shell so a short blog will have to suffice. The pair of us have really enjoyed having a lazy aftermath to Dawn’s birthday. The weather was crap so what was the point of getting up early and travelling to the coast as we’d originally planned? Instead, we took it easy and relished in the fact we had nowhere to be. Instead we lazed at home, Dawn did her stuff whilst I followed the political car-crash and score-settling that was Dominic Cummings giving evidence on the Government’s response to Covid. Or rather, the Government’s lack of a response. It was a an awful spectacle as it showed just how far the UK has sunk when it comes to politics and the people and parties many are willing to entrust with their vote. Here we had the spectacle of a liar accusing other liars of lying! Who to believe, eh?
By late afternoon we did decide to venture out and made it as far as the Bolster Moor farm shop to pick up food supplies for the next few weeks and indulge in a guilty pleasure – one of their award winning pork pies. Well, when in Yorkshire!
On the way home we stopped off at an old favorite that’s recently re-opened – the Moorcock Inn on Norland Moor. Because we’re allowed indoors once more the awful weather was no deterrent. Catching up with Aimee and the folks who work there really made us feel like we’re coming out of Covid – even if the road may be rocky.
Now, back home we’ve been busy again. Dee’s been occupied in the kitchen (with some help from me) prepping a batch of home-made lasagna whilst I’ve been editing a few more old slides – which supply the picture of the day.
Following in David Attenborough’s footsteps I visited Komodo Island (famed for its ‘Dragons) on the 2nd September 1992. In those days the park rangers used to take small tour groups off into the hinterland to see dragons which were waiting to be fed. a dozen of us would be accompanied by a couple of PHPA wardens and a goat but for the goat it would be a one-way trip. Here’s how feeding time looked…
Talk about nature ‘raw in took and claw’…
I went back in 1998. By then the wardens has stopped feeding the Dragons as it has made them lazy, so you’d never get to see scenes like this again.
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/Thank you!
There’s no long blog from me today. It’s Sunday and I’ve been busy having quality time with Dawn. The ‘orrible weather we’ve been having these past few days finally broke so the pair of us decided to ditch the plans we’d had for working at home and went out for a long walk along the Rochdale Canal towards Luddenden instead. We had a lovely stroll watching life returning to the trees as well as the canal. There’s an explosion of greenery right now as the woodland wakes up for summer. That said – it’s not all green – the woods along the canal and by our home are carpeted in bluebells! The wildlife is making the most of it too with ducklings busy making frantic zig-zagging convoys on the canal, accompanied by their (sometimes indifferent) parents. Boaters have also returned. We passed several narrowboats making their way to Sowerby Bridge although the town itself was surprisingly quiet as several pubs with outdoor seating remained closed – on a Sunday, normally one of the busiest days of the week. Maybe they’re busy getting ready for the relaxation of the rules on Monday? Who knows…
All in all, it was a lovely interlude. Now we’re back at home. Dawn’s busy cooking a curry for tonight and the smells coming from the kitchen are wonderful. I’ve been occupied mounting a load more slides to be scanned later in the week and getting ready for another foray to the South tomorrow. The new national rail timetable started today but tomorrow is the first weekday. Many trains that were knocked out of the timetable due to Covid have been reinstated as passenger numbers are growing again. Plus, there’s some new services too. East Midlands Railway have started their new electric train service from London – Corby today, so I’m going to sample it tomorrow. This means another early start as I have other things to check out as well. I’m expecting a long and busy day. I’ll be running a rolling blog as I see how services are faring and what day brings.
In the meantime, here’s todays picture. During my travels over the decades I’ve come across many strange sights and incongruous stuff that makes you do a double-take, think ‘what the f**k?’ – or just burst out laughing. Here’s one such sight. My last picture was from the amazing Mentawai islands and their incredible inhabitants who lived a life so removed from modern society and the present day. On our return to the modern world we were travelling downriver in canoes to get to the sea, ready to catch a ship back to Sumatra when I spotted this – a TV aerial atop a palm tree in the jungle! God knows how they were generating the power to run a television back in 1992 – or how they managed to get the thing up there! Mind you, I also wonder what the picture must be like when the tree sways in a high wind!
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/
Is this really May because you could have fooled me. The weather’s been bloody awful. On Thursday I was freezing my tits off in London whilst dodging the rain. Since I’ve been back in West Yorkshire we’ve seen nothing but rain, OK, the mercury has risen a smidgeon, but seriously? The pair of us would have loved to have gone for a long walk today but with visibility down to a few hundred metres and the rain being constant you feel severely disinclined to venture out and concentrate on other things instead – which is what we’ve done after enjoying a lazy morning. There’s one bright spot. Last Saturday I spent an abortive night waiting for a Pacer train to be unloaded by crane in Huddersfield. There’d been a possibility it would be re-arranged for tonight but that’s not happening, so I’m not in for another soaking and long walk home as the jobs been postponed until June. Instead I’ll be able to have a lovely evening with Dawn and a sensible start tomorrow in order to crack on with some projects at home ready for a new week ahead.
My recent flurry of slide scanning has resulted in over 120 new pictures appearing in my 1991-92 travel gallery. The series has now moved on from Sumatra to Bali which is a little frustrating because it makes me realise what I’m missing – which is about a month’s worth of pictures. Let me explain…
When I returned to London from my trip at the end of 1992 I had 1000s of slides which were unmounted. I’d had many films developed as I’d travelled and posted the pictures back to the UK. Partly because it wasn’t worth the risk of carrying them with me and the possibility of them being stolen but also because of the amount of space they’d have taken in my rucsac. Sadly, some of them got damaged in transit and I’d kept them between sheets of paper in my flat in London which seemed like a great idea at the time – until (inadvertently) I threw the paper away, not realising what it contained. The frustrating thing now – 30 years later – is that I’m starting to remember some of those pictures, and there were some beautiful and unique shots amongst them. But, c’est la vie and all that…
I may have lost some images, but some of the ones I didn’t are still special. The memories they evoke will always stay with me, like the one that I’ve chosen as picture of the day…
I took this shot of a Indian tribal healer ready to go hunting on the island of Siberut in the Mentawai Islands on the 18th June 1992.
How I ended up here and what happened whilst I was is a long, long story that deserves a full blog of its own to do the trip justice. Whilst I’d been in Sumatra I’d heard from some of the more adventurous travellers about the chance to go jungle trekking on Siberut, one of the Mentawai islands off the West coast of Sumatra. I’d also heard about the importance of getting the right guide (one who spoke the local language) as you would end up relying on the hospitality of people like this as it would be their homes you’d be staying in. It really was the most amazing experience but I was lucky. Not only did we have an excellent guide (Joni) and team of helpers, the group I went with jelled very well. We were a mix of Brits, Aussies and Scandinavians from a range of ages but that was no problem. OK, in a longer blog I’ll explain why someone was nicknamed ‘Rambo’ and another the ‘Wingeing Pom’ (not me I hasten to add!). Groups dynamics can make or break experiences like this and they’re often the luck of the draw as you never know who you’ll be trekking with and as a solo traveller that’s really important. I once went camel trekking in India with a small (but mixed) group and had a fantastic experience. When I got back I met a lovely young German girl who’d gone on a similar trip where she found herself alone with five Israeli’s. You can perhaps guess how that went. Anyway, for now I’ll leave you with this image. There’s plenty more in the gallery I mentioned earlier. Please feel free to take a look.
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’s been another day of mixed fortunes working from home. I can’t really complain as it’s been rather productive. I’ve no commercial writing to do this week so I can concentrate on pictures and rebooting scanning my old slides. A few weeks ago I managed to buy 4 packs of ‘Gepe’ glass slide mounts on eBay. I’ve been using the same 40 old mounts for nearly 15 years now and they’re showing their age. The plastic starts to split after hundreds of times of being remounted, so many of them are ‘cream crackered’ (Cockney rhyming slang for knackered = broken). Now with another 80 in the arsenal I can mount 60-80 slides at a time which speeds up the scanning process. OK, it’s still a tedious thing to have to do but there’s certainly light at the end of the tunnel now as I can see the physical pile of albums dwindle. Hallelujah!
Aside from scanning and answering emails Dawn and I did manage to get out for an afternoon constitutional – and avoid getting soaked. For the past couple of days we’ve experienced thunderstorms and some very moody skies. They’ve been wonderful to watch but you really don’t want to get caught outside when the heavens open. Thankfully, because we live high up on the valley side there’s normally plenty of warning as you can see the rain approaching which can make for some very dramatic sights. One of those sights is today’s picture of the day – just to give you all a break from exotic travel images (oh, and have I got some great ones in store)…
Here’s the view from our bedroom window earlier today as the latest in a line of thunderstorms darkened our door – and the valley…
One of the wonderful things about living here in the Pennines is the skies. They’re constantly changing to provide amazing backdrops to the green hills of the Calder Valley. I’ll never get bored of trying to capture their variety and moods…
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 