Tag Archives: Photography

17th November picture of the day…

17 Sunday Nov 2024

Posted by in Food and drink, Halifax, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, The Big 6

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Whilst today wasn’t quite Sunday I’d had planned, it’s been a productive one nonetheless. Much of this morning was spent editing and adding captions to a backlog of rail and travel pictures which are now on my Zenfolio website. If you follow this link it will take you to the ‘recent’ section, showing which galleries have been updated. There’s plenty to gaze at.

That job done I’d intended to do some cooking, but a trip to our local supermarket proved fruitless. Or, in this case – vegless. I wasn’t after anything terribly exotic either, merely green peppers and parsnips. There were no peppers to be had and the only parsnips available were already soft and limp – despite them having been ‘fresh in’ today. To be honest, our local Tesco’s is getting worse. It’s not just the fresh veg section that has empty shelves, the frozen food section has plenty of empty cabinets when it comes to vegetables. I’ve no doubt the recent bad weather has had an impact, but then so’s the thing no politicians seem to want to talk about – Brexit. Transit times for fresh produce have been extended by Brexit red-tape, so the shelf life of what does arrive is noticeably shorter. I’m kicking myself for not having stocked up with some more produce from Halifax market yesterday, which is where we picked up some really good quality plums, squash and cauliflower. I can see I’m going to have to change my shopping pattern and go into town more often. The only problem is that the market closes by 17:00 so is less convenient. Anyway, I digress. As cooking was off the agenda we’ve fallen back on meals from the freezer. Not a problem as we batch-cook and there’s always something home-made and delicious in reserve.

As for gardening – the weather conspired against me as the heavens opened just as soon as I got out there! I’ve managed to re-organise some pots and plants, giving them better protection from the snow that’s due but I didn’t get as much done as I’d planned. Hopefully, I’ll have some spare time tomorrow after my morning spent judging the Community Rail Awards. Besides, Dee’s up on the Settle and Carlisle railway tomorrow for a meeting so I’ll be left to my own devices and the snow’s not predicted to arrive until the evening.

Now it’s time to wind down ready for a busy day tomorrow, so I’ll sleave you with today’s picture. I popped into our local, the ‘Big 6’ on my way back from shopping. This time of year it’s even more welcoming as there’s a lovely real fire in one of the back rooms. Sitting there with a pint on a wet autumn day is one of life’s little pleasures.

Oh, go on then – here’s an extra picture. These are the beers that were on offer. Any guesses as to which I chose?

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

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

16th November picture of the day…

16 Saturday Nov 2024

Posted by in Halifax, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day

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‘Tis a quiet weekend here at Bigland Towers. The veritable lull before the storm if the weather forecast is to be believed. Apparently, we’re due for several centimeters of snow here in’t Pennines on Monday-Tuesday. That could be fun as our local council (Calderdale) have been busy sticking up signs on roads around us saying they’re not going to be gritting some of the steepest streets – so we’re on our own. As two of the main ways out of where we live are cobbled roads that will now be left to the tender mercies of the elements, this could be a ‘fun’ winter,

Fortunately, I’ve a Zoom meeting on Monday morning as we’re judging the Community Rail Awards. Once that’s done – and if the snow does arrive – I may be able to sally forth with the camera.

As the pair of us have a lot going on we elected to have a leisurely weekend at home. Whilst the morning was spent pottering we did walk into Halifax in the afternoon in order to stretch our legs and pick up some shopping. Our perambulations took us to the fabulous Piece Hall which is hosting a Christmas market. I’m not a great fan of these things nowadays as they tend to be incredibly expensive and full of overpriced tat. The sort of stuff you’d only buy after sinking some expensive mulled wine or other themed booze. Give me a proper German Xmas market every time.

That said, the Piece Hall’s such an amazing venue it was worth paying a visit – as today’s picture shows.

Tomorrow, with the mercury heading South (even if we aren’t) we’re planning another day around the local area to prepare for the change of conditions. I suspect I’ll be busy in the garden protecting some of the more vulnerable plants which have had it easy so far this year. Oh, then there’s a whole host of new recipes I’ve discovered. Maybe it won’t be such a lazy Sunday after all…

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

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

Let there be light…

14 Thursday Nov 2024

Posted by in Manchester, Photography, Pubs, Railways, Travel, TRU

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Today there certainly was. After all the miserable weather we’ve had recently this neck of the woods was pretty much blessed with wall-to-wall sunshine from daybreak. Such favorable conditions tore me away from my desk in order to take the camera on a little tour around the Colne and Calder valleys. Having caught a train from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester I ventured up the Colne, stopping off at various places as I headed East. Here’s a selection taken around Mossley.

Houses so close to the railway line at Mossley are proving to be an interesting challenge when it comes to electrifying this stretch of line. TRU are consulting on the options at the moment. Here’s 185114 and 185109 passing whilst working 1P66, the 08:42 Saltburn to Manchester Victoria
This is 802215 passing Mossley with 9M29, the 09:43 Newcastle to Liverpool Lime Street.
802211 heads East past Mossley on 1P25, the 11:54 Liverpool Lime Street to Newcastle

Having a series of shots in the bag I moved location, enjoying a lovely walk along the Huddersfield narrow canal to Greenfield in the process. The autumn leaves looked stunning.

I didn’t stay long at Greenfield as the low autumn sun was already casting heavy shadows at the locations I’d planned to get shots at, but I did still get this.

802202 snakes past Greenfield with 9M31, the 11:43 Newcastle to Liverpool Lime Street.

Catching a train back into Manchester I retraced my way along the Calder valley route as far as Castleton, where I popped into this excellent hostelry for a pint whilst I waited for the ‘blue hour’ where the light’s changed enough to provide some really vivid colours in the sky, just before darkness falls.

The Old Post Office micro pub is just a few minutes walk from Castleton station.

Here’s how the light looked when I left, and no – this isn’t due to beer-goggles!

156452 arrives at Castleton whilst working 2J29, the 1521 Clitheroe to Rochdale.
Journey’s end at Rochdale. The crew of 2J29 have a chat under stunning autumn skies.

Now I’m back home with an office day beckoning in the morning. Still, the light was good whilst it lasted…

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

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

Rolling block. Tunnel travels…

12 Tuesday Nov 2024

Posted by in Birmingham, Hs2, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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07:15.

After being trapped under a miasma of low cloud for the past couple of weeks, waking up to clear skies and a colourful sunrise is positively uplifting. That’s not been the only positive about today’s start as I have company this morning. Dawn is travelling with me as far as Leeds as she’s off to a training event. So, for once, I’ve not had to sneak out of bed and tip-toe around the house so as not to disturb her slumber whilst I prepare to leave.

Another bonus is we got down to Sowerby Bridge in good time and caught an earlier (albeit slightly late running) train. The pair of us are now ensconced on Northern’s 06:57 to York which is operated by a 3-car Class 195. We even managed to find a free table bay. Now to hope the rest of today’s travels are as successful!

I’m on my way to a place called Burton Green for a visit to an HS2 construction site. Burton Green is where an old railway is being used for the new one. HS2 will run in what was a cutting that’s being converted into a ‘green’ tunnel.

Time and safety permitting, I’ll be blogging throughout the day…

08:25.

That’s the enjoyable bit of the trip over.

After saying goodbye to Dawn at Leeds I headed over to platform 11a to catch a Cross-Country service direct to Birmingham. God, I gate this part of the trip and today’s experience shows why. XC provided a 4-car Class 220 to work the train. As you can imagine, it’s absolutely packed. Dozens of folk left at Leeds but even more were waiting to join. The chances of me findng a seat were minimal so (yet again) I’ve ended up standing in the luggage area created from the former shop. I’m not alone, 8-10 others occupy here and the adjacent vestibule.

09:50.

Phew! On arrival at Sheffield I managed to sidle into a vacant window seat. This gave me chance to do some work and reapond to some work emails. This is the problem with such inadequate inter-city trains. Unless you reserve a seat you can’t guarantee being able to get any work done, so the benefits of rail over a car are narrowed.

10:40.

On the move again. I had half an hour to enjoy New St station, which gave me enough time to get a few library shots and admire the HS2 exhibition on the concourse. Models of the new Curzon St station are on display and attracted a lot of interest.

Now, I’m speeding South aboard a Siemens built Class 350/2, one of the fleet soon to be off lease with no home to go to. Crazy.

Next stop for me is Berkswell.

15:45.

I’m back and heading for Birmingham after a fascinating tour of the Burton Green tunnel construction site and stroll into the South and North portals.

I’ll add some technical details later, but this part of the HS2 route is built on the course of an old railway which closed back in the 1960s. Only HS2’s a rather larger proposition!

16:30.

Much as I’d liked to have done I didn’t hang around in Birmingham. I stayed long enough to grab a couple of useful shots of packed new (but woefully short) trains, then jumped aboard a Pendolino bound for Edinburgh as a way of avoiding packed Cross-Country services. 11 cars compared to 4 is luxury as you can normally find a free seat, even on this section of route/time of day when the trains heavily used by local commuters.

The only problem is that, whilst I have a seat – and it’s lovely and warm aboard – the wifi is crap, so the things I’d hoped to sort out via t’tinternet I can’t. It’s a great shame Avanti wifi is so poor as it discourages me from using the West Coast route because of it. Now, what are my alternatives?

18:00.

Another classic day of railway bingo. My Pendolino was lae into Crewe so I missed my Avanti connection to Manchester. Fear not, there’s a Transport for Wales service following at 17:30. Oh, wait – that’s late too. But there’s a Northern all-shacks at 17:46..

A quick check tells me that even though the TfW service isn’t due until 17:54 it’ll get to Piccadilly before the Northern service. So, I wave bye bye to the Northern train and make my way to platform 5 for the Welsh train – only to find the bloody thing’s now terminating short at Wilmslow (a favorite trick of TfWs). Bugger!

18:02.

We’ve just passed the Northern service at Sandbach. Looks like that’s the one that’ll be getting me to Manchester after all…

Ha! That went well (not). The Northen service was going via Styal so the theoretical fastest service was an Avanti train. Only that was running 33 mins late. I’m now on said train, warming up after spending far too long on cold platforms. I’ve nothing against Wilmslow station, it’s just that it didn’t feature in today’s plans.

Wither Wilmslow? I wasn’t really given much of a choice…

20:30.

The last leg! Having finally caught a late-running Pendolino to Piccadilly and crossed Manchester on foot I just had enough time for a cheeky pint at the Victoria Tap before catching the 19:57 back across the Pennines. Maybe my ‘cunning plan’ to avoid Cross-Country trains wasn’t so cunning after all…

22:00.

I’m home and it’s time to relax, but before I go I’ll leave you with a few camera pictures from today.

Looking South from the Northern tunnel portal through Burton Green. When the tunnel’s finished and the landscaping completed I’d be underground at this point. This section’s been built with gaps in the roof to facilitate construction. When it’s complete the gaps will be filled in and buried underneath several meters of topsoil to match the level of the land to the left.
Looking North from the Northern portal along the route of HS2 which will be several meters underground here- but not in tunnel. The crossbeams bracing the walls have been precast locally before being brought to site and craned into position.
I’m glad I wasn’t on this one! A rammed 2-car service from Birmingham to Shrewsbury earlier this afternoon. As for bikes, I don’t think so!

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

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

Normal service is resumed.

11 Monday Nov 2024

Posted by in Musings, Nottingham, Photography, Picture of the day

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Sorry about the lack of blogs these past couple of days. That’s been due to a rather interesting weekend in Nottingham attending a 21st birthday, with added drama caused by Dawn’s parents getting locked into the bedroom in the apartment we’d rented and the hours it took to break them out! The weekend is worth a blog in itself as so much happened. Hopefully I’ll find a quiet moment to write it up – although that won’t be right now. We got back last night but today we’ve both been back in the thick of it. Dawn’s day’s been spent glued to her computer screen – as has mine. I had to finish judging and marking the ‘It’s your station’ category then catch up with picture editing and planning the rest of the week. Plus, today’s been our 7th wedding anniversary, so quiet celebrations were in order due to the frenetic few days we’ve had – and because Dawn’s looking like she’s going down with the lurgi. Our current plan is to make up for things next weekend.

Tomorrow I’ll be down in the Birmingham area on another HS2 construction visit so expect a rolling blog as the day unfolds. Thankfully, the weather’s finally broken. The dull and dismal weather we’ve endured this past fortnight has given way to clear skies and glorious sunshine. Long may it continue!

Right, it’s time to go as the pair of us have another early start. I’ll leave you with a picture of birthday celebrations. The 21st part was that of Dawn’s niece, Jessica, who’s at University in Nottingham. Naturally, I was asked to bring my camera. Here’s a picture of Jess (hiding in the back, in red) with all her friends at the Cosy Club.

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

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

8th November picture of the day…

08 Friday Nov 2024

Posted by in Bradford, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways

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Gawd, what miserable weather. All we’ve seen in the Calder valley (apart from NOT seeing the other side of the valley) has been fog and low cloud that’s felt like we’re living in some dystopian future. Admittedly, after Trumps election and the rate of climate change he’s denying – that future may not be too far away…

Weather aside my day has been spent going through the last entries for the community rail awards in one of the two categories I’m a judge. It’s tough as there’s some fantastic submissions.

Tonight I took a break and headed up to my local pub to join a group of friends who indulge themselves by reading the quizzes from our local pub paper (thanks Stuart, your efforts really are appreciated). Afterwards a few of us discussed the American elections with a Yorkshireman friend who’s just moved back from the USA after many years. His insight was both interesting and depressing. We are about to live through some interesting times. For the moment my focus is on the present. The past is set, but the future has yet to happen – and that’s the bit that interests me – although right now I haven’t got a ‘Scooby Do’ what that looks like.

In the meantime, here’s today’s picture, which is one from a series I took on a little jaunt around Bradford the other day. The city’s railway system is a shadow of of itself. During the heyday of the railways the city was crisscrossed by lines. Here’s the remains of one you can see today, but only if you know where to look.

This is what you might notice on a train from Leeds as it drops down into Bradford Interchange. See that bricked up tunnel to the left? That’s the old line towards Queensbury (one of the few triangular stations in the UK) that finally closed in 1963. The line from here dived under the industrial estate you see in the background. Bradford has a fascinating railway history. I hope to explore more of it soon. Right now, other things take precedence, so expect a new HS2 blog coming soon.

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

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

7th November picture of the day…

07 Thursday Nov 2024

Posted by in Community rail, Community Rail Network, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways

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Today’s been one where I’ve managed to cut myself off from the troubles of the world (and the results of the American election) to concentrate on something uplifting. Right now I’m knee-deep in judging the Community Rail Awards 2025 entries, specifically the ‘It’s your station’ category. We’ve had 39 entries this year, many of them from stations which have never applied before. I’ve spent the day reading through the submissions, checking the information supplied and doing my first sift of the entries to see which categories they fall into. Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum. I can assure you, it’s nor all about station gardens either. Here’s some of the winners from this years Community Rail Awards.

As always, there’s some fantastic entries. Most of the stations I’m familiar with as I’ve visited them some time in the past (or even recently), a few I don’t really know at all. It doesn’t matter as we judge on the entries, some of which are incredibly inspiring as they showcase the best of the areas they represent and the total cross-section of people involved. Sometimes it’s easy to become jaded and cynical. These people, their achievements and their commitments to their communities restore your faith in humanity – something very much needed right now!

So, today’s picture is a reflection of what I’m seeing, although it’s not from a station that’s entered this year. These are some of the fantastic local history boards on display at Marple station in Cheshire.

I’ve a gallery dedicated to community rail on my Zenfolio picture website. You can find it here.

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

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

5th November picture of the day…

05 Tuesday Nov 2024

Posted by in Architecture, London, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, Travel

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After my trip to London yesterday I’ve been pretty much confined to Bigland Towers today as I’ve needed to spend most of my time picture editing and sorting out paperwork. It’s been no loss as the weather’s been crap. We woke up to low cloud and mist this morning which never cleared, leaving us with a gloomy, damp and sunless day all day – hardly one to be heading out with the camera, so I’ve made the most of my time staying indoors in the warm.

I’ve resisted the temptation to try and follow anything to do with the American presidential election, other than write this blog. There’s far too much misinformation out there and the reputable polls that do exist leave one none the wiser. According to them it’s too close to call so all the media are doing is speculating. I’ll wait to see what tomorrow brings instead, although it’s quite likely we won’t know the actual result until Thursday as the few swing states that matter may not declare until then.

Instead, the pair of us are going to have a quiet, relaxing night in watching a film. After all – tomorrow’s another day. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with today’s picture which was taken shortly before I left London last night.

Platforms 5-8 inside the Western arch of Kings Cross station. Opened in October 1852, the station was designed by Lewis Cubitt, the younger brother of Thomas Cubitt.

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

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

Rolling blog. Name dropping…

04 Monday Nov 2024

Posted by in Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Transport, Travel

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10:00.

I’m on my way to London to see a locomotive being named after a very old friend. I’ll give our the details after it’s happened.

Right now I’m on a train from Sowerby Bridge to Leeds under leaden skies. The weather is still mild here in West Yorkshire but it’s also damp and misty – hardly great weather for outdoor photography. Hopefully conditions will be better the further South I get.

Unusually, I’m on a four-car Class 158 set. Normally these units work Wigan to Leeds services via Brighouse and Mirfield.

Now they’re diverted via Bradford Interchange, after which they run non-stop to Leeds. This is due to the Trans-Pennine route upgrade affecting their normal diagrams where they’re being replaced by buses.

12:45.

Sorry for the gap, but I was busy working on the LNE service from Leeds all the way to Peterborough. I’ve been sent a PDF copy of the 3rd in my trilogy of trips around Britain for RAIL magazine so that I could supply captions for the pictures they’ve chosen. It’s kept me busy all the way from Leeds. I took a short break at Peterborough in the hope that there might be a couple of pictures to be had but sadly, the weather’s just as bad ‘dahn sarf’ as it is up in Yorkshire. Oh, hang on, doesn’t Peterboro count as the Midlands? I live in hope then! Another problem was that several services were cancelled. It seems East Midlands Railway and Thameslink are having a bit of a dodgy day. I’m now speeding towards Kings Cross in another ‘Azuma’. This one’s 5 not 9 cars and seems well loaded.

18:00.

Well, that was a fun day and one where I ended up being rather busy with the camera. Having arrived at Kings Cross I met up with the rest of the gang – and a real gang it was! A large chunk of the railway industry (past and present) was there to see Nigel name an engine after himself – along with many of us who’ve worked with him at RAIL magazine over the years he was Editor. Introductions were made by John Smith (CEO of GBRf, whose locomotive it was) after which Nigel gave a speech, talking about about the honour being bestowed upon him along with some background on locomotive namings.

The man and the machine named after him – 66312.
Just some of the crowd attending. How many people from different parts of the rail industry (and politics) can you recognise?

Afterwards we adjourned to the Betjeman bar at St Pancras where GBRf had booked a room and very kindly laid on food and drink. It was a lovely event and chance to catch up with so many old friends and colleagues.

As I’ve got to get back home I’ve left those remaining to begin my journey back to Yorkshire and I’ve got a great ride to take me there.

One of the old East Coast racehorses, 91110, named ‘Battle of Britain memorial flight’

19:30.

My train to Leeds was relaxed as it wasn’t busy – and we had a quiet coach so I could knuckle down to some work which included editing some of today’s pictures. Now I’m on the lady leg aboard an equally quiet 2-car train from Hull to Halifax. Leeds station was bereft of passengers for a change – the quietest I’ve seen it for some time. That said, some of the gardens and playing fields are anything but due to folk celebrating Guy Fawkes night. There’s bonfires and fireworks aplenty!

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

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

2nd November picture of the day…

02 Saturday Nov 2024

Posted by in Cumbria, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Politics

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The pair of us have had time at home here in Bigland Towers and made the most of it in different ways, although it wasn’t one that went quite to the schedule we’d mapped out – mainly because we both slept in! Having started later than planned our schedule slipped further (but in a positive and pleasant way) when we were contacted by an old friend who was passing through the area so popped in just as Dee’s parents were popping out!

Social visits over we knuckled down to doing some work around the cottage. Having spent so much time away recently I’d neglected the gardens which meant I’d plenty to catch up on – especially as we’re at the height of the leaf-fall season. The front garden looks a lot neater now as I’ve trimmed the Acer, cut back the Iris’ and disposed of a Jasmine which had climbed up the front of the building but was blocking a lot of light. The back received a lot of attention too with herbs harvested for winter, ferns trimmed and leaves disposed of.

Whilst I was doing all this Dee had decided to tackle the front room which doubles as her office. Having cast a critical eye over the leather settees (which double as her filing cabinets) they were given a full polish across all sides, whilst the rest of the room received an Autumn clean. Today’s been a good day for working around the house as the weather remains remarkably mild – and dry, which makes a change! That said, the skies have been leaden, leading to dull weather. Not necessarily a bad thing as I’ve not been tempted to venture out with the camera.

Tomorrow we’ll be having another day at home cracking on with getting the cottage ready for winter whilst also catching up with work we both need to do. Next week promises to be busy and we’re away in Nottingham at the weekend. Plus, I’ve a couple of blogs I want to write. One’s a critique of the latest Simon Jenkins nonsense about HS2 in the Guardian, the other’s some thoughts on politics and the election of the latest next former leader of the Conservative party – Kemi Badenoch. Better set the alarm clock then as tomorrow’s going to be a full day!

In the meantime I’ll leave you with today’s picture, which is from our recent Lakeland travels. Here’s the view across Thirlmere from atop Raven Crag.

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

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