Tag Archives: Picture of the day

10th December picture(s) of the day…

10 Saturday Dec 2022

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

Apologies for the lack of blogging these past couple of days. I’ve been busy but too busy to blog and also wanted to have a time to enjoy my environment rather than always looking for words to describe it in a rolling blog. I was back in London and the South-East for the past few days – pictures of which will appear on my Zenfolio website tomorrow. Today’s been a more relaxing and family orientated day back in West Yorkshire. Aided and abetted by the fact we’ve had the first snowfall of the season. It’s not been much. I opened the bedroom blinds this morning to see a light dusting across the valley and around where we live, but we’re a few meters below the real snowline so it had little impact on us and what there was soon melted.

This afternoon was rather different as we headed over to Huddersfield for the annual Christmas Carol concert at Huddersfield Town Hall which features the Honley Male Voice Choir and guests. OK, I’m possibly slightly biased as my Father-in-Law sings with the choir! But, they do put on a fantastic Christmas show and the Carlton Main Frickley Colliery band who provide the musical accompaniment are excellent – as are the other guests. The surrounding are superb too. Where they play at Huddersfield Town Hall is an amazing space – as you’ll see shortly.

Now we’re back at home. Dawn is shouting at the TV as England play France in the world cup whilst I worry about my laptop as I type this. The cooling fans have developed asthma and sound on the cusp of giving out, so it looks like they’ll need replacing – especially as I’ll be off to Asia in the New Year. If they struggle in the UK when the temperatures are approaching sub-zero they’ll stand no chance in the tropics! It’s just another job to add to the long list I need tp sort before year end.

Meanwhile, here’s a picture – and video – from today’s concert.

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

Thank you!

7th December picture of the day…

07 Wednesday Dec 2022

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

Blimey! What a change in the weather! We knew it had been forecast, but it’s still a shock when a cold snap arrives – especially after the mild times we’ve had so far. I’ve still got Lobelia and Geraniums flowering in the garden – in December! Waking up and opening the bedroom blinds to see ice everywhere made us realise how much the temperature had sunk. However, things were made more bearable during the day by the fact we’ve had clear, sunny skies – although those cloudless skies are coming back to haunt us now the sun’s dropped. The weather app on my computer is telling me the temperature outside is already below zero.

Like many people, we’re being economical with the central heating nowadays. Life in the UK is getting increasingly expensive. Well, unless you’re a friend of a Tory Cabinet Minister. In which case, you’ve probably money to throw away thanks to being granted ‘fast track’ access to sell the NHS billions in unusable PPE which is now costing is millions to store before it’s burned. For the rest of us it’s a case of cutting your cloth, so we’re donning more layers, knocking down the thermostat a degree or two whilst looking what else we can do to insulate our home. Oh, the joys of 12 years of Tory Government eh?

Meanwhile, we’re coming up to the festive season and year end. My plans are currently in flux. I’d hoped to get away for Christmas and New Year but the costs of flights to SE-Asia before Xmas were ridiculous. Instead I’m looking at heading off for a couple of months beginning in early January by flying to Singapore when the cost of flights has more than halved. This may be an accidental wise decision due to what looks like an impending ‘winter of discontent’. Not only are the rail unions extending their strikes due to bad faith in negotiations from the Government, it now looks like the UK Border force will be striking too – making escaping Brexit Island at Christmas problematic to say the least. Even if you can get to the airport you may never leave! Watch this space…

In the meantime, here’s today’s picture which was taken from the road above our house a few hours earlier. With clear skies like that you could literally feel the mercury plummeting.

Looking down on Sowerby Bridge and the Calder Valley…

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

Thank you!

4th December picture of the day…

04 Sunday Dec 2022

Posted by in Food and drink, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

We’ve had a quiet weekend here in Bigland Towers. Mainly because we’ve had a busy week and the weather’s not been brilliant, so we’ve made the most of the time to be able to kick-back at home and pick up on a few household chores, enjoy some of Dawn’s fabulous cooking – and sort out stuff for the forthcoming festive season. Our morning coffee was disturbed by the presence of the West Yorkshire police helicopter which spent the best part of an hour hovering over the valley before flying off to refuel and return. We knew it must be more than a road accident, so Dee checked the local Facebook groups and found that a teenage lad had gone missing in the early hours after a celebration. Many local people had joined in today’s search for them after they were reported missing. Overnight temperatures were so low he’d have been at risk of hypothermia if nothing else. Thankfully he was found and taken to hospital.

As the Mercury’s heading South whilst energy bills are rising I’ve spent some productive time insulating the kitchen door that leads out to the back of the house. It’s a single-skin wooden door of the two-part ‘stable’ variety, so I’ve reskinned the inside with s second layer of fibreboard along with an insulation layer sandwiched in-between. I’ve also removed and sealed up the cat flap now our old boy (Jet) is no longer with us. We’re not going to get another cat as they need all nine lives around here due to the idiot car-drivers who insist on treating the narrow road outside the house as a bloody racetrack. Our next-door neighbour has lost three cats this way and Jet’s sister (Cosmo) also got knocked down many years ago. We miss having a moggie about the place but at least we don’t have to worry about what to do with them when we go away.

DIY done and Dee’s cooking prepped we both enjoyed an afternoon constitutional stroll down into Sowerby Bridge to pick up a bit of shopping, have a drink at a local hostelry then wander back along the local canal before nightfall. Now we’re back at home. I’m catching up with some more picture editing whilst Dee’s been busy in the kitchen. There’s some fantastic smells wafting upstairs, one of which is a home-made Bakewell tart, which is competing with slow-cooked lamb!

The pair of us have another busy week tomorrow, which starts off with my father-in-law’s 88th birthday, so we’re off out for lunch. There won’t be a rolling blog, but there might be a few pictures in the evening. Talking of pictures, here’s todays. As Dawn’s been cooking up such a storm I couldn’t resist posting Sunday night’s supper. Slow-cooked Lamb rolled rump, served with Kale, roast Parsnips, Sprouts and roast Potatoes with gravy made from the slow-cooker stock.

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

Thank you!

29th November picture(s) of the day…

29 Tuesday Nov 2022

Posted by in Calder Valley, Environment, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

As the last few weeks of autumn slip away and we enter the last month before winter (supposedly) sets in we’ve been enjoying a thoroughly foggy time here in the Calder Valley. Visibility hasn’t changed throughout the day, leaving the other side of the valley a memory. That said, it’s hardly a typical autumn. It’s been very wet and very mild. Of course, the usual suspects will claim this has absolutely nothing to do with man-made global warming. The rest of us who’ve lived long enough to have experienced a few decades of weather know that this is not normal. In my garden I still have Lobelia flowering. And Geraniums. There’s a lot of other fcuked-up plants as well. They’ve no idea what season this is meant to be. I suspect there’s quite a few wild animals wondering too.

Will the majority of people ever wake up to the reality of climate change before the damage becomes irreparable? Somehow, I doubt it – especially if it involves making personal sacrifices or lifestyle changes. After all, those gas guzzling SUVs are just so important for the school run, and the four-wheel drive is essential for popping down to Tescos.

You may have gathered I’m in cynical mode. Don’t worry, it won’t last. Well, not for long anyway. But my fuse when it comes to faux greens will always be measured in millimeters. You know the ones, they’re really Nimbys. They oppose any green development that’s going to impinge on their space on the grounds of ‘conservation’. Building HS2’s a classic example. Wind and solar farms are another. As far as they’re concerned, let the Maldives sink, as long as no-one chops any trees down around them whilst they’re alive.

OK, enough of the cynicism for now. I’ll have a full spleen-vent another day. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a couple of ethereal pictures from today’s stroll around home.

Scarr woods looking rather spooky.
There’s a valley down there somewhere…

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

Thank you!

28th November picture of the day…

28 Monday Nov 2022

Posted by in Flora and Fauna, London, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, Travel, West Yorkshire

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

It’s been a frustrating day here in Bigland Towers as I’ve been chained to a desk and hot computer all day. I’ve got lots of work done – including having edited all the pictures from the past few days but I’d been hoping to get out for my usual stroll to keep the exercise levels up. Dawn had to take the day off to go and help a friend. That wouldn’t have been a problem apart from the fact two parcels were due to be delivered, so I agreed to wait in until they arrived. Only neither of them did. One company claimed to have called but no-one was in (‘oh yes – I bloody well was’!) and the other never showed up or even left a message, so what little exercise I got consisted of pacing back and forth from the office to the front window, watching out for delivery vans. Ho hum, maybe tomorrow…

As a consequence, it’s a short blog from me today. Still, here’s a few links to the various galleries containing the lates batches of photographs.

The GWR franchise

TfL/Elizabeth line

The GTR franchise

Infrastructure and engineering

Railway stations

Railway people

And last, but not least, a new gallery dedicated to Saturday’s Class 315 commemorative event.

There’s plenty to look at and not all is about trains themselves but also the people, infrastructure and stations that make up our rail network.

I’ll be working from home again tomorrow planning some other sorties, both UK and abroad, but I’m determined to get out at some point, even if it is just a stroll around the valley. In the meantime, here’s today’s picture, which illustrates the sometimes-uneasy relationship we have with our feathered friends, especially in cities.

These tree pigeons are roosting on the handrail of the main staircase in the ‘Lawn’ at Paddington station where they’re surrounded by cafes and restaurants. There’s a constant stream of people passing by but they’ve come to a wary truce with them, even if the truce isn’t reciprocated due to the mass they make with their droppings. But as far as the pigeons are concerned, it’s warm and sheltered with plenty of scraps on offer…

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

Thank you!

24th November picture of the day…

24 Thursday Nov 2022

Posted by in India, Photography, Picture of the day

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

There’s a short blog from me tonight as I’m off on my travels again first thing tomorrow morning. After a busy day picture editing and filing and packing as well as staying out of the torrential showers we’ve had it’s time to curl up with Dawn and a film. But, I will leave you with today’s picture before I go.

Whilst I was at the dentists the other day we got talking about tooth care in different parts of the world. I mentioned a street dentist I’d encountered in India. Everyone was curious, so I called the picture up on my phone (the beauty of having all my pictures on a website). Meet Mr Gurbachan Singh, street dentist and resident of Jaipur, Rajasthan. Well, he was on the 31st October 1991 when I took the picture. Somehow I suspect he’s at best retired, if not expired.

Thankfully, I never required his services! He was a delightful chap to talk to tho’…

Expect a rolling blog tomorrow as I make my way down to Reading where I’ll be based for the next couple of nights, plus blogs on Saturday’s trip out for the Railway Children and my return North on Sunday.

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

Thank you!

15th November picture of the day…

15 Tuesday Nov 2022

Posted by in Berlin, Germany, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel, West Yorkshire

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Half-way through November already, where does the time go? In my case it’s gone very quickly here at Bigland Towers. After our Whitby wandering I’ve spent the past couple of days in the office, which has been no bad thing as the weather has been crap. Most of Monday was spent enveloped in fog, so sitting in my office blogging and picture editing was hardly a hardship. I didn’t even make it out to get my usual 5 mile walk in. Today was very much the same only with the addition of torrential rain. Combined with leaf-fall and Calderdale Council having neglected to clean any drains around here for years the roads turned into streams. So, when I got stir-crazy it was a case of donning the full waterproofs (including gaiters) to venture down to Sowerby Bridge to drop post off and pick up some food shopping.

That apart I’ve had a productive couple of days. There’s been some utter rubbish written about High Speed 2 by two of the usual suspects (Andrew Gilligan and Simon Jenkins) so it’s been great to have time to blog about their nonsense. I’ve also managed to (almost) clear the backlog of picture editing. All the images from my trip to Innotrans in Germany back in September are now on my Zenfolio website. You can find the Dutch railway ones here and the travel images here whilst the German rail ones are here.

Tomorrow I’m venturing out as I’m representing Community Rail Network at a little event to commemorate Paul Abell, the former Editor of Today’s Railways UK and fellow Community Rail Awards judge who passed away suddenly last year. I’d known Paul for several years as one of the small band of railway Journalists who would often meet up on press trips. Then Paul joined me as a Community Rail Awards judge. The pair of us would help judge the shortlist for the Photographic competition. Paul was always a pleasure to work with and never got ruffled by anything. I don’t ever remember him saying anything stronger than ‘Oh – heck!’- despite his service in the Royal Navy and many years as a teacher! No doubt I’ll post some pictures from what transpires tomorrow.

In the meantime, here’s today’s picture, which is taken from my last batch of pictures from Berlin. This looks innocuous, unless you know the history. Here’s the Teufelsberg (Devil’s mountain in English) seen in September 2022 from the roof of one of the halls at the Messe.

Those ‘golf balls’ are part of an abandoned American spybase which was built to listen in on the Russians. It lasted until the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. The hill it’s standing on? That’s man-made. Rising to over 80 meters it’s constructed from the rubble of West Berlin left after the second world war. All the ruined building were cleared and the remains brought here to construct the hill.

It’s a sobering and very visible reminder of the war.

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

Thank you!

I’m back!

10 Thursday Nov 2022

Posted by in India, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

Sorry for the latest hiatus in blogging. This one’s been due to scribbling for a living as I needed to complete round Britain trilogy for RAIL magazine. The last one was finished today so now I’m free to concentrate on other matters, such as writing for pleasure and travelling. I’ve various project in the pipeline for November which should keep you entertained as there’ll be plenty to write about, starting tomorrow. It’s our wedding anniversary on Saturday so I’ve booked us a couple of nights away in Whitby on the North Yorkshire coast. It’s relatively easy to get to from West Yorkshire, which is an advantage. Plus, the weather’s meant to be good, continuing the run of unseasonably mild weather we’ve been having throughout the month. Our plan is to spend our time walking and exploring the coast as well as indulging in some of the local seafood. I’m not a great fan of fish and chips but I may have to indulge as they’re one of the things Whitby’s famous for, so it would be rude not to! I’m sure all the walking we’re planning will work off any calorific excesses!

I’ve enjoyed writing up my trip for RAIL (the first part of which is in newsagents now) but it’s always a bit of a struggle fitting seven days into 12,000 words spread over three articles. It’s not that it’s difficult to write – far from it – it’s choosing what to mention and what to leave out. Truth be told, after a week travelling around the UK by rail I always have enough material to write a book. I always end up with bulging notebooks. Maybe, one day, when I ‘retire’ (ha!) I’ll have time to expand on the original articles using all the material I never had space for. They’d certainly make for some interesting blogs as I’ve been travelling the network ever since 2004, so you can imagine the changes I’ve seen. Sadly, I suspect that will never happen. I’ve enough to try and write about with the present day, but we’ll see…

Right now it’s time to come back to the present and leave you with a picture of the day. My ambition was to get all my old slides scanned by the end of this year, but that’s turned out to be a forlorn hope. I’ve still a couple of 1000 left to do, along with many scans that I haven’t yet edited. Here’s one. This was taken in Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu, Southern India in February 1998. The village is an amazing place as its full of stonemasons who make the most amazing statues. Carving has a long history here, and the 5 Rathas are a testament to that. Cut out of solid granite, these figurines and temples were made between 690–725 CE. This one’s the Bhima Ratha.

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

Thank you!

5th November picture of the day…

05 Saturday Nov 2022

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

It’s very much a short blog from me today as the old adage ‘nothing to report’ springs to mind. Unless you count cutting back and tidying up the garden ready for winter and filling a few bags with leaves! Admittedly, I find that very therapeutic. I enjoy gardening as it reconnects me with more elemental forces which are very different to what I do for a living. There’s also the satisfaction of being able to see a positive change, unlike (say) clearing your email inbox. Today was a good day to be outdoors. It may have been wet at times but here in the Pennines it’s also surprisingly mild for the time of year – which is great when you consider the escalating costs of fuel bills at the moment.

Having filled a few bags with garden waste and dead leaves I retreated to the office to research some more travel options for the future. Christ on a bike – flights are getting expensive! Admittedly, I’d have much preferred to travel overland, but the part of the world I want to get to (Thailand) has been cut off to all but the bravest (or mad) overland travellers for a long time. OK, I possibly *could* still do it if I wanted to cross Iran from Turkey, but as I don’t have the luxury of unlimited time and that country’s going through a period of huge civil unrest that might eventually see the overthrow of a theocracy ’tis probably not the best time for a Brit to be there! Oh, then there’s Myanmar. So, flights it is then. Eventually…

Of course, today in the UK it’s ‘Bonfire night’ – or ‘Guy Fawkes night‘. The day we celebrate when a bunch of Catholics tried (and failed) to blow up the House of Parliament. Right now, I suspect quite a few people had wished they’d succeeded! As I kid, I loved bonfire night. I came from a big family, and we’d always have a big party in the back garden that involved loads of fireworks, food and drink. Admittedly, at that tender age all I was interested in was the fireworks and my mum’s home-made treacle-toffee. The adults had other entertainments! But, they’re great memories. Alright, there was one year in the 1960s when a party was invaded by some local youths and the police turned up as there was an allegation of a stabbing, which was a bit traumatic when you’re about 6 but hey ho. It’s funny, I’ve only thought about that after decades as I started typing this. I really must remember to ask my elder brothers about it. It’s one of those family stories (and we have a lot) I’ve never really nailed down.

OK digression over. I went out for an evening wander so that I could look over the valley and watch other people’s fireworks as they lit up the valley. Maybe Yorkshire’s rubbing off on me after all these years and I’ve become too tight to buy my own! It was lovely sitting up on the side of the valley and watching a mix of displays and private garden parties light up the skies whilst the gunpowder fog with its distinctive smells drifted across the valley.

Now I’m back in the office quaffing LA beer and realising there’s only one possible picture for today. I know many animals struggle with bonfire night, just as they do with thunderstorms. My mum and our pet dog ‘Dori’ were the same. Both used to be reduced to shaking wrecks by a thunderstorm, so much so that when one happened my mum would get a Valium tablet and cut it in half. She’s take one half and give the other half to the dog! Sorry – I’m digressing again. Right, my point was, not *every* animal I know is frightened of fireworks. Our aged and late lamented moggie (Jet) was one of them. He was inquisitive rather than frightened of fireworks. But the winner goes to this particular dog that I encountered in Tangalle in Sri Lanka back in December 2003. This dog actually tried to eat fireworks!

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

Thank you!

4th November picture of the day…

04 Friday Nov 2022

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

It’s a short(ish) blog from me today as the day’s been rather a mixed one. It started out well enough, the weather was gorgeous with wall-to-wall sunshine and clear blue skies, so – after completing several chores and putting other stuff on the backburner I decided to venture out into the valley in the hope of getting some shots of trains amongst the glorious autumnal colours in the woodlands around Todmorden. Only my cunning plan was thwarted by geography. The Pennines are notorious for micro-climates. We can have great weather here in the Calder Valley only for it to be bucketing down next door in the Colne valley. It’s the same if you move just a few miles along the valleys too – as I found when I caught the train. By the time I arrived in Tod’ there were clouds as black as the ace of spades appearing from the North-West. It even started raining. To my surprise I found that staff had salted the station platforms, which didn’t fill me with much hope about the weather. What did they know I didn’t? As I’d planned to be stuck up a hillside for an hour or two, I decided ‘bugger this for a game of soldiers’ and turned tail back to Hebden Bridge, where I stopped to change trains and at least get a couple of shots in the can before catching a service into Halifax – where the weather was back to full sun!

Admitting defeat I wandered home, where I’ve spent the day catching up on work and looking at flight options for a trip to South-East Asia. The prices I’ve been quoted for the time I was thinking of going are painful as they’re in four figures – far more than pre-Covid prices, so it looks like I’m going to have to work out a plan B and alter my dates – and maybe destination. More research is certainly needed.

To cheer myself up I trotted along to our local pub to join friends and partake in the Friday evening quiz. It’s not a formal quiz, it’s just a few of us getting together to answer questions from the quizzes published in the ‘Pub Paper’ but it keeps us amused. This month I’m ‘on the wagon’ as I’ve decided to give my liver a holiday (and lose a few pounds) – so I couldn’t even drown my sorrows. Instead, I was quaffing the alcohol-free ‘Erdinger’ beer, which isn’t bad taste wise, meaning you don’t feel you’re missing out in the way you would if you were nursing a Coke. Now I’m back at home. After knocking up a Prawn Noodle stir-fry for the pair of us I’m now sat in the office sipping Brewdog’s low-alcohol version of their ‘Punk IPA’, which is one of the better LA beers. I I prefer their Nanny State but you can’t get it in any of our local supermarkets, so I have to stock up. Ah well, 4 days down and only 26 more to go. My liver better be bloody grateful…

Right, on to the picture of the day. But what to choose? I know! One of today’s shots from the picturesque Hebden Bridge station.

Here’s the first of the CAF built 3 car diesel units (195101) arriving at Hebden Bridge station on its way to Leeds via Halifax and Bradford Interchange. It’s a little gem of a station as it retains so many of its old Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway features, even though that company ceased to exist in 1923!

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

Thank you!