I can’t quite believe the contrast in the weather up here in the Pennines. This time last week we were basking in a heatwave which saw the UK being scorched by record temperatures. Even the Calder valley made it up to 37 degrees. Now? It’s been raining most of the day (making that 6 days in a row) with the temperature never rising above the mid-teens. Bizarre…
I’m not knocking it as I’m going to be stuck at home for a few more days yet as I’ve loads of paperwork, picture editing and prepping to do. It would be nice to get out for a walk without getting wet but the forecast for much of the rest of the week is more of the same – bar Wednesday which just happens to coincide with the next rail strike. That means no trains through the Calder valley so I doubt I’ll be going anywhere sadly. I know other parts of the UK would be very jealous of our rainfall as they’re still experiencing a drought, so I’m not going to complain. I took a stroll through our local woods earlier. They looked very lush and far less stressed than they did this time last week. It was a pleasure to be wandering through them as they’re such a peaceful and beautiful part of where we live.
There’s no long blog form me tonight and I certainly won’t be commenting on the latest Tory Leadership debate as I haven’t watched it. I’d rather stick forks in my eyes to be honest. We’ll learn nothing. Besides we already know neither of them are fit for high office – much less the highest elected office in the land. Whatever the result, we’re doomed to mediocrity and incompetence until the next General Election. Oh, joy…
Instead, I’m going to leave you with the picture of the day which is from my woodland walk earlier today. Welcome to Scarr woods!
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My usual apologies for the lack of blogging recently but Dawn and I have been busy with other more mundane domestic issues (like a boiler playing up) as well as juggling the work/life balance and some social activities too. Not that I’m complaining, I’ve actually enjoyed the break although I’ve now got a backlog of spleen-venting stuff I want to blog about as well as some railway subjects.
Blogging’s not the only thing I’ve been neglecting. My exercise regime has gone to pot this week too – but that’s mainly been down to the weather. The week began with record temperatures but ended with several days of persistent rain – today being a case in point. That said, we’ve been in desperate need of a downpour or two as the last few months have been terribly dry so I’m not going to object. Besides, being more housebound has allowed the pair of us to plan trips for the future and fill out the diaries. Today we booked a long overdue holiday. Unlike me, poor Dawn’s not left this septic isle since a group of us went to Bruge, Belgium in October 2019. Today, Dee researched and booked us a fortnight in Rhodes for the beginning of October which will be much needed after the end of a very hectic couple of months. In the meantime, I’ve a couple of trips to Germany planned plus a week travelling around Britain for my bi-annual tour for RAIL magazine – as well as several press visits to various locations (including HS2 sites). Oh, and then we’re into the awards ceremony season. We’ll be at both the National Rail Awards and then our very own Community Rail Awards. So you can see why I’m not too bothered about having had (for me) a quiet week!
Another amusement whilst I’ve been home-based has been watching Brexiters performing every mental gymnastic under the sun to pretend the shit-show at the port of Dover and the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkstone has absolutely *nothing* to do with Brexit – which is a fabulous success according to them. Well actually, they don’t even try and claim that anymore. All they’re doing now is blaming everyone else (the French, ‘remoaners’ for not ‘believing’ in Brexit – as if believing in Unicorns make them real – and anyone else they can pass the buck to) rather than accepting responsibility for the mess of their own creation.
Have you ever heard of ‘led by donkeys’? They’re a group who’ve done some stunning videos that excoriate the Tory Government, Boris Johnson and the Brexit fundamentalists. Their latest one is from the queues into Dover and it’s a stunner, You can view it here. Hung by their own words….
Tomorrow we start a new week and I’m determined to get back into my stride (and travels) although the week will began as it ended – at home. I expect to get back into my blogging stride too. In the meantime, here’s an end of week picture of the day. This is from a previous visit to Greece, a country I used to spend a lot of time in but where I’ve not been back to since 2009. Here’s the town of Hora on the island of Naxos, seen at sunset on the 28th September 2001.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
It’s been a very different day here at Bigland Towers. I’ve spent the vast majority of it glued to my office as the past couple of days have been taken up with judging my last categories in the Community Rail awards and having a Zoom call with fellow judges to settle the shortlist for the picture competition. We’ve had a huge number of entries this year (and some excellent ones too) which has meant its been a long process. I’ve gone through 50 plus entries this week alone. It’s hard work but it’s also inspiring. Getting to learn about the amazing work some of the station friends, other groups and individuals are doing is a real privilege. The awards are in Manchester in October and looking through the shortlists I’m sure it going to be an amazing event.
To be honest, it’s been a good day to be stuck indoors. The weather has changed here in the Calder Valley. We’ve had low cloud with sporadic outbreaks of light but persistent rain all day. This has brought welcome relief to the valley’s plant life which was really beginning to suffer after such a long dry spell compounded by record temperatures over the last few days. Hopefully now we’ll see some of the lushness reappear as the place was really starting to looked singed around the edges.
Talking of being singed, have any of you been following the twists and turns of the Tory leadership contest? They’re absolutely bonkers! The MPs have plumped for Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss – a suicide ticket if ever there was one! I can only hope Truss wins as she’s so unutterably vacuous it won’t take her long to destroy what’s left of the party’s credibility – and apparently she’s the favourite amongst party members – which says a lot about how disconnected from reality the members are! Watching the two of them trying to out Thatcher Thatcher and place themselves as her heir might appeal to the batshit membership, but it ain’t going to go down well in the swathes of the country where Thatcher’s name is still spat out as an expletive. Areas that have never forgiven her for the decimation of traditional industries – like the old mining areas which formed the ‘red wall’ that switched to the Tories in 2019 and voted for Johnson. Frankly, the Tory party has lost its mind. But that’s what happens when it becomes infiltrated by UKIP and the far-right and picks candidates not for their brains but for their adherence to the new dogma of Brexit – and nothing else. Britain is about to be governed by either a millionaire (married to someone even richer than he is) who has no allegiance to the UK and who famously admitted in an interview he knows no working class people and turned up on a building site wearing £500 Prada loafers – or someone who can’t even be trusted to find her way out of the room she launched her election campaign in – despite only having entered the room 10 minutes before!
I really don’t know whether laugh or cry. God knows what our European neighbours make of this farce. The idea that we’re going to be governed by this clown-show for the next few years is unbelievable – but it’s real. Can you imagine the nonentities Truss will fill her Cabinet with, because the last thing she’ll want is to appoint anyone who can outshine her, which rules out anyone competent and capable of a coherent thought.
Anyway, this theater of the absurd will play out until September (God help us all) so I suspect I’ll be spleen-venting on a regular basis for the foreseeable as it’s the only way I’ll be able to cope…
Meanwhile here’s the picture of the day – which has nothing at all to do with politics – I promise! Here’s a picture from Bradford in September 2019, when we were enjoying the last days of the summer. I suspect we’ll be seeing many more scenes like this in the future.
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The Noel Coward song ‘mad dogs and Englishmen’ has been playing in my head for much of the day. Not that I was mad enough to go out in the midday sun – I’d plenty of work to do so stayed indoors until after 14:00, by which time the temperature here in the Calder Valley had hit an amazing 37 degrees. When I did venture out for a walk it was like stepping into an oven after sheltering indoors. Dawn had kept the house cool by keeping the windows closed and the curtains drawn – which made a huge difference. I’d foolishly opened my office window but soon learned the error of my ways! The woods around the house provided shade and a break from the heat but walking along the roads to get to them was hot, hot, hot! Thankfully, a breeze sprang up in the afternoon which began to take the edge of the heat. Then, by late afternoon cloud cover rolled in and noticeably reduced the temperature. Even so, some of our neighbour’s front gardens had turned ‘crispy’ and desiccated in the heat. I’d managed to save most of ours due to persistent watering but it was a close-run thing.
Now the heat’s subsided and we’re looking forward to more normal temperatures returning. But the picture is grim. Wildfores happened around Doncaster which is not what you expect in Yorkshire. East of London’s suffered badly too. Despite what the muppets on social media are saying, this is no ‘ordinary’ summer and to try and pass it off as another 1976 is just an excuse to ignore the science. Climate Change is real – and it’s happening. Now.
Looking at the nonsense posted by the deniers I’m struck by how many tick nearly every right-wing box. If you drew a Venn diagram of climate-change deniers, brexiters and anti-vaxxers you wouldn’t be far off a perfect circle. I sometimes wonder if the human race is just too stupid to survive. Some people’s ability to ignore or dismiss empirical evidence and science is breathtaking, but then if you’ve ever watched the film ‘don’t look up’ you’ll understand the problem. No doubt many will keep fiddling whilst the planet burns, but I hope enough folks wake up before it’s too late. I won’t be around to see the worst that human stupidity may bring, but it doesn’t stop me caring.
On that pessimistic note I’ll go straight to the picture of the day which is another old slide showing the beauty of the world we seem so determined to screw up. I took this picture at Lake Maninjau, Sumatra in 1992. One day I’ll get back here – before we screw it all up…
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As the country gears up (or not) for the predicted heatwave over the past few days we’ve had a ‘phoney war’ sort of day here in the Pennines. Temperatures have risen but we’ve had a reassuring breeze and thin cloud that’s kept the thermometers in check. Oh, the sun’s still been strong when it’s been out but few people have been reduced to staying out of the sun altogether.
The pair of us went walking down in to Sowerby Bridge earlier to pick up some shopping, get a few steps in and also enjoy the time out. The place was hardly packed but you could seen that pubs with beer gardens were certainly doing a steady trade as people made the most of the conditions. We didn’t linger long, just enough time for a swift drink before a walk along the canal and a climb through the woods to get home.
The forecast is that the heat will start hitting us tomorrow, but as we’re over 140 metres above sea level on the side of a Pennine valley we’re not going to cop for crazy temperatures the way folks to the East and West are predicted to – but we’ll see. I suspect much of tomorrow will be spent sat up on our terrace baking – or hiding indoors and getting some work done! I have to admit, I’m a sun worshipper. Having spent so much time in the tropics I’m more used to extremes than some. My concern is more what these extreme temperatures mean for the planet rather then my melanin. The next few days will tell. They’ll certainly cause some fun for out transport network including the railways as we’re not set up for this. Railway track is stressed to expand/contract within certain parameters. This weather will surpass those, which is why people are warned not to travel – although I suspect I will be doing so as part of my job – to record the effects.
In the meantime, I’ll leave you with today’s picture, which is the view across the Calder Valley from above our house taken earlier today.
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Apologies for the fact my blogging has become a bit scrappy of late. There’s been a number of reasons for that which include a lack of time and also inclination. Part of me wants to sit down and do some serious spleen-venting at the state of British politics and the whole shit-show that is the Tory party leadership contest where people are falling over themselves to appeal to the narrowest section of the British electorate – Tory party members, who’re mostly pale, male and stale – not to mention completely out of touch with the real world. Let’s face it, the days of a ‘one-nation’ Tory party are long gone. Johnson saw to that. Now they’ve morphed into UKIP. The contestants lining up for a shot at the job of PM have nothing to offer the country. They’re not interested in the troubles of the country, they’re only interested in what they have to say to get the votes of party members to get the top job and satisfy their own personal ambitions. Whoever wins, it will end badly, because none of them have any sense of the mess they’ve made of running the country these past 12 years – or how to dig us out of the mire they’ve sunk us in. Laughably, some of them talk of a ‘new start’, completely forgetting any new start isn’t them, it’s just swapping one liar for another. At some point my spleen will have to be vented before it does me damage, but right now I have other things to think about closer to home, which includes navigating my way through the economic shit-show these jokers have helped get us into.
Oh, and there’s still trying to enjoy life whilst I can. No, really!
Meanwhile, here in the Calder Valley the idea that we’re about to see record temperatures in the next few days seems rather far-fetched. The past few days have been noticeably cooler and windier than late, but I’m not letting that lull me into a false sense of security. We may escape the worst of the heatwave that’s coming up here in the Pennines but there’s no doubt that the climate’s changing – for the worse. Sadly, far too many people don’t seem to understand what this means for the future, it’s all seen as a bit of a joke, just another laugh about the weather. I suspect some people won’t be laughing come Wednesday…
We really do need to start waking up to the realities of climate change, but then I look at the way sections of the media downplay it – and then there’s one of the main contenders for the Tory leadership (Mordant) receiving funding from climate-change deniers and I start to wonder if the human race hasn’t had its day. We have the largest brain of any primate – yet so many of us refuse to use them! All I can say is that I’m glad I’m the age that I am and that I got to see so many beautiful places on planet Earth as I doubt my youngest nephews and nieces will have that privilege as those places will be unrecognisable.
Yep, you’ve guessed it – I’m in a pensive mood. I’ll not detain you any longer – it is Friday night after all. Instead, I’ll leave you with the picture of the day, which is of another far gentler primate to us – but one that’s increasingly under threat from its ‘brainer’ cousin. I took this picture of a mother Orang Utan with her baby in Sumatra in August 1998. Since then we’ve buggered up even more of the jungles they live in…
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After a week where I’ve never left the Calder Valley I’ve broken free again to have an awayday taking pictures. A client has requested a bunch of pictures. Most (but not all) I can supply from my archives, but there’s one gap and another section where the pictures are too dated – so here I am – off to get what’s required and hopefully get a few other shots for another client in the can. Thankfully, Dawn’s made enough of a recovery from Covid that I don’t feel guilty for leaving her for the day. Thankfully, I remain free of that capricious little bug this time.
Right now I’m on the first leg of my journey aboard Northern’s 07:19 from Halifax to Leeds which is worked by a 3-car Class 195 – which is just as well as it’s a very busy train.
Today’s adventure begins…
We lost many passengers at Bradford Interchange as they headed into work but we gained even more for the next leg into Leeds.
I must admit I’m looking forward to my awayday. It’s been lovely having the time at home with the weather having been so glorious. I’m glad I wasn’t stuck trackside somewhere in full PPE but after a few days I do get itchy feet and a camera trigger-finger!
My first stop on this trip will be Derby in a few hours time. Feel free to pop back later to see what I get up to and how the day progresses…
08:35.
So far so good. At Leeds I had 10 minute connection time to catch Cross-Country’s 08:11 service down to Derby. This train’s worked by a pair of 4-car Class 220s and it’s also busy. There’s lots of laptops open in my coach – including mine. On the opposite table to me are three Geordie women bashing away on their keyboards or making business calls. I’m guessing they’re on their way to a business event or training course.
The 220s were busy when they arrived in Leeds and they filled up even more at Westgate despite some seats being vacated by Leeds -Wakefield travellers (an unlikely commuter flow I must admit).
17:00
Umm, where was I? Right now I’m heading back to Derby from Nottinghan to reprise my shots now the sun’s moved around. Arriving at Derby and making a recce of the site I realised that – whilst the archive shots I have are out of date they’re great to have as you can’t replicate them in 2022. Oh, and someone took years to build a walking great bridge on London Rd which is the reason my archive pictures are now precious.
18:45.
Where was I part 2! After stopping off at Derby to get the pictures I needed now the sun’s moved round I’m heading home. Right now I’m on an EMR service as far as Sheffield. I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to get out and about again, but what a contrast to last week in Germany. I’ll not ‘go-there’ right now as I’ll upset some people. Anyway. Today’s been a good day. I’ve fulfilled my missions and even had chance for a quick visit to a pub that has a gate straight onto the platform. 5 points if you know where this is?
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Apologies for absence these past several days but I’ve been playing catch-up after returning from Germany. That return’s coincided with Dawn falling ill with Covid. Thankfully she’s now starting to pull through although poor Dee has had it far worse than I did as she’s suffered from banging headaches and a loss of some tastebuds as well as the standard aches and pains. In a reversal of what happened last time I’m the one who’s avoided catching Covid. It really is the most capricious of diseases. The worrying thing is the amount of friends who’ve also contracted it recently. Anyone who thinks Covid’s gone away is living in a fool’s paradise.
Of course, this would co-incide with the the need to get on with my role as Judge for the annual Community Rail Awards as well as other work and a backlog of picture editing. After all, there’s only so much I can do whilst wearing a nurse’s uniform (stop sniggering at the back!).
My enforced sojourn at home has come at a great time as the weather here in the Calder Valley has been stunning. We’ve had a run of gorgeous hot sunny days that have meant working on our outdoor terrace has become de rigeour. Admittedly, the intensity of the sun’s meant I’ve had to head indoors to use the laptop, but then I’ve had a patient to cook for and keep an eye on…
Because of the weather I’ve been getting up early (Asia style) to get a lot of stuff done before the Mercury climbs. After that it’s a case of “mad dogs and Englishmen” as I’ve headed out in the midday sun to get some exercise. Part of me would like to have got out with the camera but to be honest, the intensity of the sun this time of year doesn’t make for the best pictures as the colour of the light is too blue and the light too harsh. Far better to head out in the morning or evening.
Hopefully, now that Dee’s on the mend and I’m catching up with stuff I’ll be able to get out and about again to tick off some projects from my ever lengthening list – but maybe not this week. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with today’s picture which gives you an idea of how conditions have been here in the Calder Valley. We live below this rather magnificent folly, which dominates the valley. Here’s the view from my walk back from Sowerby Bridge…
The Wainhouse Tower.
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I’ll bet that surprised a few of you! After today’s political events in the UK you’d expect me to be in full splenetic flow, eviscerating the shit-show that passes for Government and the lying bag of custard that’s meant to be our Prime Minister.
Don’t worry – it’s coming. I have the same view as many commentators about Johnson, the resignation and the Tories who’ve suddenly found a sense of morality and ethics (from God knows where) in order to turn on him in the hope they’ll save their seats or satisfy their own personal ambitions. But as the old saying goes – revenge is a dish best eaten cold. I’m saving that particular pleasure for tomorrow.
Instead, you’re going to be treated to another picture from my German trip. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to spend a few hours watching the world go by in Braunschweig and also to gather pictures of their rather unique tramway. Braunschweig trams use a unique 1,100mm gauge, whilst most networks use the standard 1,435mm (standard) gauge used on railways around the world. A few stations do have isolated pockets of dual-gauge track as at one time back in the late 2000s a tram-train network was proposed for Lower Saxony.
Braunschweig possesses some beautiful buildings that make a great backdrop in pictures – such as this one.
Here’s tram 1955 in front of the Residenzschloss which was the grand residence of local Dukes in the 18th – 20th centuries. Nowadays it’s a museum. Tram 1955 is one of the later Tramino vehicles ordered for the network which runs AEG/LHB GT6Strams from 1995, Alstom NGT8D’s from 2007, Solaris Tramino GT8S from 2014 and Stadler Tramino IIs from 2019. Braunschweiger Verkehrs-GmbH ordered seven Tramino II trams from a joint venture of Stadler Pankow and Solaris to complement the 18 Traminos they bought in 2014.
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/
In starting what’s going to be a busy day here in Germany. Right now I’m preparing to head down for breakfast and a caffeine booste before we all meet up for a trip to the Siemens signalling factory here in Braunschweig. The company have got a full programme planned for our visit, but I should still have time to blog about what we’ll be seeing and learning. The world of railway signalling is constantly developing in the digital world. As one colleague described it – signals were all about keeping trains apart. Now they’re about getting them to run as close to each other as is possible. Here’s today’s agenda.
Then later this afternoon we head back to Hannover for our return flight to the UK. I won’t be back in England until late so I won’t be home until tomorrow, but hey ho…
Keep popping back to see what we get up to. But right now – it’s coffee time…
08:41.
The day begins…
10:30.
We’re just about to come back after having a coffee break. It’s been a really interesting morning so far which kicked off with a wide-ranging presentation on the company’s plans and aspirations from Siemens Mobility CEO, Michael Peter.
There’s far too much to describe here but some of the points touched on included how intelligent software and monitoring systems can lead to 100% fleet reliability and save time and money on traditional cyclic maintenance – both on trains and assets themselves. Cloud based interlocking was also discussed with some fascinating examples given about Norway, where the entire rail system is controlled from Oslo – including diagnostics.
Next up was a presentation on Digital solutions from Johannes Emmelheinz, CEO of Customer Services. One point raised was how trains and infrastructure need to work hand in hand and how digitalisation can enable this.
The third presentation was from Bart van Munster, CEO of Squills, a company that’s become part of Siemens. Squills provide ticketing services across the UK and Europe.
13:20.
After another really interesting series of presentations (I’ll tell you the story about passenger journey tracking and the Berlin Depech Mode concert later) we broke for lunch with some fabulous food prepared by the staff of the Siemens canteen.
18:00.
The afternoon was a very enjoyable as we enjoyed a rare tour of thee world’s biggest signalling factory. The site is involved in some cutting edge projects which I’ll be talking about in another blog. Here’s one, the complete resignalling of the Norwegian rail network which will be controlled from Oslo.
Our day came to an end after the tour and a final presentation on cloud based interlocking. Then it was back to the real world. Our small UK contingent (all three of us) decided to catch the 16:54 back to Hannover, only it was cancelled due to an incident on the line. The station was packed and we were looking at all sorts of possible plan B’s when the stock for the 17:20 rolled in, so we jumped on that. It was soon packed as other trains had been cancelled or were running late.
It got us as far as a place called Peine, where we’ve been sitting for the past 15 mins with no information on what’s happening. Ho hum…
18:15.
We’ve now sat at Peine for 30 mins – with absolutely zero information about what’s going on. Not a single announcement has been made.
19:00.
We were on the move shortly after after my last update – some 40 plus mins late. The service to the airport is hardly clockface and it’s only hourly so we abandoned plans to eat at Hannover Hbf and caught the next service to the airport – the 18:57, where we’re enjoying a mostly empty train with good a/c. Upstairs on a packed double- deck coach (our last train) is not the place to be on a sunny day like this.
21:40.
My final German update. A few of us are now relaxing at Hannover airport before our flight arrives. I can’t say it’s my favourite airport. Much of it is closed or deserted and what isn’t closes early! There’s one food outlet in our terminal and the sole duty free shut at 21:30. Still, the glider’s a nice touch…
23:17. (UK time).
I’m back in the Sceptic Isle having bid goodbye to my colleagues on the plane. The flight was quick and passing through Heathrow terminal 5 was quite painless. Everything worked perfectly.
Shame I can’t say the same for the rest of the UK as it seems I’ve returned to a political shit-show. The Chancellor and Health Minister have both resigned, along with a bunch of lesser political functionaries. It wouldn’t surprise me if more go as despite this, Johnson will do everything he can to cling to power. New lackeys will be appointed in their place and the whole rotten edifice will continue in the same lying, delusional vein whilst the country’s economy continues to fall apart. I see the FTSE 100 lost 2.86% today, continuing its awful spiral, having lost 6.74% in the past month, leaving a lot of people poorer and pension funds looking rocky. If only I could have stayed in Germany…
Is this country ever going to wake up and shake off the delusion that the Tories can be trusted with the economy? They’ve done little but wreck it ever since the Brexit referendum.
After such a positive couple of days It’s deeply frustrating (and embarasding) to return to the kakistocracy that the UK has become under Johnson and his Cabinet of the incompetents. It’s painfully obvious that the only reason Sunak and Javid have resigned is political survival and a crack at Johnson’s job as PM. They’ve no more commitment to the country or public service than the man they hope to replace. But how many Tory voters will fall for it I wonder?
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Paul Bigland 