Another working week begins, but this one’s different due to our change of location. In truth, today wasn’t that different for Dawn as she had to head back to Halifax and work from our real home for various reasons. For once Dee had a real commute rather than just wandering across the landing for the bedroom to the office!
I stayed behind in the Todmorden ‘annexe’ to look after our feline charge, although to be fair to Luna, she doesn’t take much looking after. Being a young female cat (just a big kitten, really) she’s very independent, doesn’t crave much attention and spends most of her time outside. My main task is to keep here fed and ensure she doesn’t get up to mischief in the house.
As the weather here is so closed in, with very low clouds and mist, I wasn’t going to be venturing far anyway. Plus, most of Todmorden’s closed on a Monday, which adds to a general feeling of isolation. Undeterred, I went for a wander to at least try and get a few photos, despite the murk, and check out a few new photographic possibilities – just in case the weather does pick up. I also wanted to get a shot of the only scheduled freight service via the Copy Pit line to Burnley which is a limestone train from Shap in Cumbria to Drax power and the return empties. The loaded train only runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but the empties are scheduled to run Monday to Friday.
Long gone are the days when there would be banking engines based at Todmorden to assist heavy coal trains up the line to Burnley. The engines vanished at the end of steam traction in the late 1960s and the coal trains a couple of decades later. Until recently there was a regular oil train between Lindsay oil refinery in Lincolnshire to Preston docks, but that finished last year. Now, there’s just the stone train. So, I thought I’d try and get a picture for posterity. Only the bloody thing was cancelled! Still, I did manage a few other shots, as you’ll see here…
The classic view of Tod over the rooftops, with two trains passing on the viaduct. As you can see, the weather was less than ideal…Taken at the same location, a Headbolt Lane (Kirkby) to Blackburn service crosses Stansfield Hall Jn on the Todmorden curve which was only reopened in May 2015. Before then a short spur had been retained as a siding for banking engines, but it hadn’t been used for decades. Nearby is Hall Royd Jn where the line to/from Burnley (on the left) joins the Calder valley line. Here’s a DB Cargo Class 66 working an empty Tees Yard to Knowsley (Merseyside) empty ‘binliner’. It’s Monday, so the shops are (mostly) shut, including this cafe in the lovely former Co-op building. ‘Tod’ does have its bohemian elements, hence this book repository fixed to a telegraph pole on one of the backstreets. Having climbed the hill behind the town I found this gap in the trees for a more elevated view of the viaduct. Now, if the weather would only clear…
As the clouds closed in I returned to our temporary home to warm up and make the place cosy for when Dawn got back. I think Luna appreciated my efforts too!
Tomorrow’s weather isn’t expected to be any better than today, but I’m going to have another crack at that stone train…
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Oh, God. Is that really the time? I’m already up, drinking coffee and munching on toasted fruit teacakes in preparation for my stroll to Sowerby Bridge station to catch the first Manchester bound train of the day, the 06:03. I’ll be heading to Birmingham for an HS2 media visit, the first to this particular site which I’ll describe when I get there. Unlike some, this is no hole in the ground. Exactly the opposite, in fact – it’s rather eye-catching…
I’ll be blogging as and when I can, so feel free to pop back to see how the day goes…
06:10.
Whilst it’s a damp and somewhat icy morning my walk to the station was rather enjoyable. The fact it’s downhill all the way added to that fact! Now I’m relaxing in the warmth of a mostly empty 3-car Class 158, although I’ve no doubt it’ll have folled up with wage-slaves by the time we get to Manchester.
06:43.
As expected my train slowly filled up en-route but was way over half full by the time it left Rochdale which is the busiest station on the route after Halifax. The occupants are a mix of trades people heading into the city to work on various building projects and earlybird white collar office or shop workers.
07:33.
This morning’s walk twixt Vic and Picc stations was a chilly one. The city centre felt colder than back in the Pennines. I felt for the poor sods sleeping rough, hidden in cardboard boxes to keep warm, or just swaddled jn dleeping bags. There but for the grace of God…
Piccadilly station was just beginning to spring into life with long-distance services heading South and East whilst local trains ferried in commuters from the suburbs.
Piccadilly awakes…
Now I’m en-route to Crewe aboard an ex-London Midland Class 323 whilst dawn breaks over the city on what promises to be a decent winter’s day.
09:07.
I’m typing this aboard a London North-Western service from Crewe to Birmingham. I’m on a warm, comfortable Class 350/4 with plug sockets, a/c and wifi, which is a bit of a step-up from the Class 323 that got me here from Manchester. Not that it was a bad journey, watching the sunrise over frosty fields and frozen streams as we traversed the Cheshire countryside was gorgeous. At Crewe I bumped into two other rail journalist colleagues, but they’re booked on a later train so I’ve gone on ahead.
Staffordshire is just as frozen as Cheshire with everywhere covered in a thick layer of frost. If I was lineside it would make for some great pictures, but today I’ve other fish to fry.
09:33.
Perusing the BBC website my day was dimmed by the tragic news coming out of Thailand where 28 people have been killed when a construction crane collapsed onto a train. It’s a railway system I know well and I country I love, so it feels anything but abstract, or distant, especially as I’d normally be there this time of year.
11:00.
Having met up with Chris Howe and Rich Wilcock at New St we’re now on site. This is what we’ve come to learn about – and climb to the top of. The HS2 bridge which will span the existing line to Walsall at Duddeston.
14:35.
Visit over, I’m now having a warm and editing a few pictures. Here’s a sample (captions to follow).
Looking down along the bridge from the high girders at the Birmingham end of the structure.The view looking the othe way towards Curzon St with a cross-city line train on the route the bridge will be pushed out over…A zoom lens shot of Curzon St station under construction.
18:00.
I’m now on my way home from Crewe after a fascinating day. I’ll be writing a seperate blog about Curzon St No2 bridge soon. Hs2 Ltd organised an excellent visit with lots of information and access to the engineers building this project.
Having left site I had a couple of hours to get pictures around New St station before catching the 16:34 North. This was another busy train which was rammed all tge way to Wolverhampton. It remained busy all the way to Crewe, where I had a few minutes grace between trains to photograph these beasties.
The Class 37. Still serving the railway after 60 plus years.
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After yesterdays travels and exertions I’ve been having a quiet day here at Bigland Towers in order to recharge the batteries for another long day and silly o’ clock start tomorrow.
Much of my day’s been taken up by editing yesterday’s pictures, sorting out new stuff to go on eBay and working out just how many old slides seem to have mysteriously disappeared off my account the other year. I reckon there’s over 200 which were somehow deleted. I’ll try and add them again soon. Apart from that there was dealing with an invitation to the Avanti West Coast photographic competition presentation in London next month, plus contact from a previous customer who wants me to do a couple of days work trackside as soon as we can arrange it. So, all in all, not a bad day workwise.
Now it’s time to wind down, pack my kit and supplies for tomorrow’s little adventure, then get some sleep. I’ll let you know where I’m heading tomorrow. In the meantime, here’s today’s picture, taken in Southport yesterday.
One of Merseyrail’s Stadler built Class 777s at Southport, bearing a very odd destination! These units are several years old now but are still suffering teething problems, one of which is the Passenger Information System (PIS) which is powered by Teleste. The trains often don’t seem to know where they are or when they’re meant to be carrying passengers. Several of the units I saw displayed ‘not in service’ even when they were which resulted in a few despairing corrective announcements from station staff. This one’s even worse! Unless someone’s reinstated and electrified the Burscough curve without telling me, there’s no way this train’s going to Ormskirk!
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/
Another week begins, but this one sees me out and about more. Right now I’m on a Northern service from Halifax to Manchester in order to head over to Southport where the RAIL 200 ‘inspiration train’ is stabled until Tuesday. I’ve not had chance to visit this exhibition until now but seeing it in my old home town is rather appropriate. The train will continue its tour of the network through the next few months and tickets (which are free) are still available.
The weather’s decidedly mixed so it’s not the best day to be out with the camera. Even so, I’m hopeful of getting a few useful pictures. At least it’s mild (a balmy 7 degrees here in the Pennines) so I won’t be in danger of frostbite in the way I was on my last outing to Ribblehead!
My Manchester service consists of a 3-car Class 195 which is fairly empty due to the time of day, allowing to purloin a table bay and set up the mobile office in peace. I’ll be blogging throughout the day, so feel free to pop pack anythime to see what I get up to…
10:15.
We’ve now traversed the Pennines to an equally grey and gloomy Greater Manchester to call at Rochdale, which is the quietest I’ve seen it for some time. Only a handful of passengers were waiting to join us for the trip into the city.
11:30.
My time in Manchester was short, just long enough to get a few pictures around a very quiet station. You can tell it’s January as so few people are about. Everybody’s too skint to go out after spending loads over Christmas and New Year! It’s not a new phenomenon, but it is noticeable. Plus, the weather’s hardly conducive, but then I normally flee the UK in January, so I don’t normally have to experience all this.
The Wigan Wanderer. 158849 will take me as far as Wallgate
Right now I’m on another Northern service. This time as far as Wigan Wallgate via the old Lancashire and Yorkshire main line that avoids Bolton to go through the wonderfully named ‘Hag Fold’. The line’s a shadow of it’s former self, but there’s been an improvement in frequency since late BR days. I’m sat on a 2-car 158 which is virtually empty. Many passengers seem to join for short hops between stations.
11:40.
Bugger. Everthing was going so well until we reached Daisy Hill, one of those places where the lovely-sounding name bears absolutely no relationship to the surroundings.
My suspicions were aroused when we were still at the platform for minutes rather than the usual 90 seconds. The Conductor’s just walked through the train to inform us all we’ll be stuck here for a while due to a ‘problem’ on the line ahead. God knows what it is as we’ve been passed by a train in the opposite direction. Well, bang goes my connection in Wigan…
11:55.
We’re still enjoying the vistas of Daisy Hill. I’ve had a chat with crew who tell me the problem is due to the driver of a previous train having reported that they hit a swan…
Daisy Hill, with no hills or daisies.
12:35.
Hooray! We’re finally on the move, a mere 65 minutes late…
13:00.
Finally, I’m on my way to Southport. Rail services on the line through Wigan Wallgate are in disarray in all directions with many trains cancelled. Fortunately, a Southport train was running right behind mine so I had only minutes to wait in the rain befire boarding a busy 2-car Class 150 for the last leg. Sadly, the weather has dereriorated. The skies have closed in to bring heavy, peristant rain, so even if I hadn’t been delayed I wouldn’t have been able to do what I’d hoped. Maybe things will be better on the coast, but I’m not holding my breath…
17:00.
Well, that was an interesting day. The weather in Southport was drier, with cloud cover that was constantly changing to tease me. As I was late arriving I didn’t have as much time to expore as I’d have liked before I was booked onto the exhibition train so my wanderings were confined to the town centre. Not that Monday’s are a great day to explore because much of Southport seems not to bother opening on a Monday!
That said, there’s not as much to open anyways. The amount of empty shops in the town centre’s rather depressing, but that’s the nature of the modern ‘online’ world. There were some greenshoots with places that were long-closed having reopened, but trade was sparse to say the least. Some of the ‘improvements’ don’t seem to have been thought through either..
Maybe an aquatic plants display would have been sensible here outside the old market hall. At least the old ”Corrie” (Coronation) pub opposite has reopened in a new guise after being empty for very many years.
I had a bit of a trip down memory lane to pass old haunts, many of which have vanished, but after nearly half a century that’s probably only to be expected…
I arrived back at the station in plenty of time for my alloted spot on the exhibition train. Not only was it fully booked but staff did their best to squeeze on some ticketless folk. The levels of interest were really good to see. The audience was of all ages with the displays doing their best with limited space to inform, educate and entertain. What was lovely was to bump into several familiar faces from the community rail sector who’d come along to volunteer whilst the train’s in this part of the world.
With my time over on the train I hung around the station long enough to get some pictures before heading East. One thing I noticed was that Merserail’s new Stadler built trains are still having problems. If you’ll pardon the pun – their information systems are still up the Swanee…
Every train that I saw sat in the station displayed the message ‘not in service’ even though it was. Station staff kept making announcements to say ‘ignore what they train says’. Even worse was the final arrival I saw where the onboard screen insisted that the train was going to Ormskirk. What? Someone’s re-instated the Burscough curve overnight? We should be so lucky!
17:30.
I’m now on my way to Manchester aboard another venerable Class 150. It’s OK, the internals are well-maintained by the whole train’s showing its age. It’s about time these units had their swan-song (that’s enough bloody swan jokes for one blog: Ed)
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After yesterday’s escapade I’ve had a quiet one here at Bigland Towers. The sunny weather fleeting, we’re back to low cloud, dull skies and the odd snow shower with temperatures hovering just above freezing – which has been a relief as its kept roads and pavements ice-free.
Much of my day’s been spent editing the pictures from my trip. You can find the full range in these galleries, just click on the link…
Whilst editing, a couple of media invites/jobs came in via email. They’ll see me visiting two very different sides of the railways over the next few weeks. In the meantime, I’d love to get more snow pictures. Sadly, getting up to the far North of Scotland before it all melts is unlikely, but we may yet see more in this part of the world. If we do…
One part of the world I certainly won’t be visiting for the foreseeable is the USA. Trump’s paramilitary force (ICE) are too out of control, having shot dead an innocent woman today. The way trump and his cronies have dealt with the whole thing is appalling. Not content with killing her, they’re now killing her reputation. I can’t help wondering how long it’ll be before Trump declares martial law and cancels the mid-term elections, whilst the MAGA morons cheer him on. What’s happening in the US right now is an object lesson in just how fragile democracy is. Sadly, we have some of his acolytes here in the UK (yes, you Farage) who’re aping his playbook when it comes to lying and sowing division whilst spreading hatred. I’d hope Britons were smarter than Americans, but sometimes I wonder…
Leaving politics and returning to the weather and mother nature, here’s today’s picture, which was actually taken yesterday. This is a snow covered Pen-y-Ghent (one of Yorkshire’s three peaks), seen from Ribblehead.
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/
Ugh! Up at sparrowfart for the first time this year…
Having perused the weather forecast, looked out of the window to see the roads are clear – and checked that all the trains are running, I’m preparing to head out into Halifax and catch a train to Ribblehead as planned. Let’s see how the day unfolds…
06:45.
Phew! After slipping and sliding much of the way I made it to the station upright abd in one piece. Black ice and frozen pavements meant it was the most treacherous walk I’ve done for years. First, I had to get up here…
A wet and icy cobbled hill. Nice…
Crossing Spring Edge I passed a determined (if foolhardy) jogger. Apart from him, a couple of dog walkers abd a gritter hardly anyone else was around. I was congratulating myself on making it to the station when I hit a final challenge. The approaches hadn’t been gritted, leaving me to slip and slide the last 200m across glass-like pavements and cobbles. Thankfully I’d given myself 50% more time than usual to walk in order to avoid rushing and breaking my neck.
07:00.
Now I’m on the 06:44 to Leeds which is running late, but I’m hopeful I’ll still make my connection as I gave myself wriggle room. We’ll see…
12:15.
I made it in plenty of time to catch the trains I wanted to get pictures of. Mainly because they were all running late! That’s given me plenty of time to wander and freeze in the Baltic conditions that prevail here at Ribblehead. Snow sits on the tops, leaving the moss free but freezing. Now I’m having a quick warm and coffee in the local pub before heading out to get a few more pictures like this – incoming clouds permitting…
GBRf’s 66729 and 66721 head 6Z77, the 10:30 Blea Moor Up Goods Loop to Hunslet Tilcon in Leeds.Avanti West Coast 805003 working 1Z85, the 0924 Carlisle to Preston passes over the Ribblehead viaduct.
14:10.
I’m still at Ribblehead, having retreated back to the the nearby pub after waiting far too long in the biting wind for trains that never arrive. Phone reception up here is non-existent, so the only way of keeping track of things is logging onto the Station Inn pub wifi. Mind you, it’s a lovely place to take refuge in.
The bar in the Station Inn
I’m not the only one either. There’s been about a dozen other photographers nipping in and out in the hope of capturing pictures like this.
A pair of AWC ‘Evero’ trains are dwarfed by the viaduct and surrounding landscape. As you can see, we’re playing cat and mouse with the clouds this time of the day…
15:40.
A combination of cancelled or delayed Avanti services along with the non-appearance of certain freight trains meant that I gave up on being battered by the weather at Ribblehead. Just before I was planning to leave I bumped into an old friend and fellow railway photographer who was on the same mission as me. Bob Avery is another alumni of the Pheonix photographic circle. He was accompanied by a friend involved in preserving Armathwaite signalbox who’d escaped from her family for the day to chase trains. None of us could resist the pub’s real fire on a day like this!
As the light fades at Ribblehead, 158797 arrives to take me and many others South.
Having left early I opted to stop off in nearby Settle for a while. It’s an attractive little market town that’s very quiet off-season. Only hardened walkers and hikers and the occasional passer-by darken its doors this time of year. Still, it has an attractive old Midland Railway station and museum based around another old signalbox.
During my exploration I found a little micro-pub called Millers @ Bar 13. It’s a lovely little place that’s obviously popular. There’s range of real ales on handpump. I tried the Chinook, which was very well kept.
Millers at Bar 13.
I didn’t tarry longer as the train service isn’t that regular. I was lucky I was heading to Leeds as – whilst my train was delayed, it was still running whilst the Carlisle service in the opposite direction was cancelled entirely.
158851 arrives at Settle to take me back to Leeds.
I didn’t hang around in Leeds and caught the first available train back to Halifax. The walk home was a lot less dangerous than when I left it this morning as all the ice had disappeared. I’d had a lovely day out exploring, even if the weather was bloody freezing. I’d like to return and get some shots around Blea Moor, but that might have to wait until the weather warms up!
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/
We’ve had another productive (but cold) day here at Bigland Towers. This morning’s brief flurry of fresh snow was washed away by the arrival of rain this afternoon which has now settled in for the evening to make the Yorkshire stone pavements and cobbled streets things to venture along at your peril. Slips and trips? Not half…
Because of the forecast both Dawn and I ventured out earlier in order to pick up some provisions and get in our daily constitutionals before settling in back at home, where it’s been a productive day. I’ve caught up with more picture editing and blogging (another reservoir walk) whilst keeping half an eye on the news.
The doom and gloom the right wing media and politicians were predicting at the end of 2025 has singularly failed to appear. If you’d believed them, high streets were deserted because Xmas shoppers were staying away in droves as no-one had any money to spend thanks to this dastardly Labour government. It was all bollocks of course. Market researcher Worldpanel said overall grocery sales were 13.8 billion pounds in the four weeks to December 28, up 3.8% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, the ‘Next’ chain raised profit forecast to £1.15bn after bumper Christmas sales. Wait – ‘bumper Xmas sales’? But I thought the media said the sales would be shit?
A new survey of senior executives by Deloitte indicates that business confidence among leading companies in the UK improved to its highest level in about two years following the Government’s autumn budget announcement. The exact opposite of the picture some have tried to paint.
To cap it all, the stock markets have also ignored the dire predictions. Today the FTSE100 closed at a record 10,122.73 points, up 1.18% on yesterday, bringing year on year gains to 22.84%. It’s a figure meaningless to some but relevant to anyone who has a pension fund or other investments.
There’s an irony to this. One of the reasons the UK markets are performing so well are the erratic actions of the orange fool in the White House. Trump’s behavior is destroying the USAs credibility on the world stage, causing investors to look at putting their money in safer markets like the FTSE 100. Plus, the fact the US is no longer seen as a trustworthy ally in the face of Russian ambitions has galvanised pan-European investment in re-arming and expanding industry, which is benefitting UK firms like Rolls-Royce and BAe.
Oh, mentioning Trump I should welcome all the new people who’ve registered to read this blog. Today I’ve had a flood of sign-ups from the USA, all using @pinchamail.org addresses. I can only assume these women are fascinated to learn more about railways, rambles around reservoirs in West Yorkshire or some of my other thoughts! Howdy folks…
Tomorrow I’m hoping for a change of tempo – and scenery (weather and train services permitting). If the forecast delivers on its predictions I’m intending to have a day out on the Settle-Carlisle railway to head out to Ribblehead, home of the famous viaduct, with the intention of updating pictures to capture some of the diverted Avanti West Coast, freight and local trains in what’s a glorious setting. This brings me on to the picture of the day. Here’s how the historic viaduct looked in October 2010. I wonder how it’ll look tomorrow? I’ll be making sure I’ll be dressed for whatever the weather can throw at me as it can get a bit changeable in these parts!
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/
The new year has started slowly here at Bigland Towers. After the excitement and fireworks that saw the end of 2025 we’ve taken the day off to potter around and enjoy the warm coziness of home before starting 2026 in earnest. January’s brought cold weather and threats of snow, so a day off seemed sensible.
New years eve was more productive. Despite the chill we ventured out by car to do some exploring. The railways annual Christmas shutdown has seen a lot of engineering work take place up and down the country. Some of that work will run well into January, but there was one local Trans-Pennine Route upgrade (TRU) project I wanted to have a look at. Mirfield station.
Over Christmas the rebuild of the island platform was completed and track through platform one was reinstated. Hording blocking it off were removed with passenger trains reintroduced from December 27th. There’s still a lot of work to complete as the new footbridge and lifts have yet to be commissioned, but the place looks very different to how it did just a few weeks ago.
Here’s how the station looked on November 25th. The lift towers were still swathed in scaffolding and the majority of the island platform was hidden behind hoardings. Here’s how it looks now.The hoardings have vanished, along with the scaffolding. They’ve been replaced by new lighting and platform shelters, which whilst rather basic at least offer some shelter from the elements. The rebuilt island has been lengthened to be able to accommodate 6-car trains. The other major change is that the direction of the tracks has been reversed. Platform 1 now caters for Eastbound services as platform 2 has reverted to serving Westbound trains – although none are scheduled to use it at the moment until platform 3 is abolished. Looking East from platform 3 you can see that the former Fast line has been disconnected and slewed to run through platform 2. The track running through the station’s been left in situ ready from when this becomes four-tracks again. 158782 and 158789 call at the reinstated platform whilst working 2L13, the 11:49 Wigan Wallgate to Leeds.Almost ready. The new footbridge and lifts are seeing the finishing touches being completed and lifts commissioned. The lift in the right-hand tower will descend below the platform to the new entrance to provide level access from the street.
Having frozen to death in the wind to get these pictures we headed back to Halifax and home, but not before stopping off to photograph moody skies providing a backdrop to Castle Hill near Huddersfield.
Back home, Dawn busied herself in the kitchen to experiment with making her own thin-crust pizza bases. I’m biased (obviously) but I think they were a great success and tasted delicious when topped with seafood or chorizo, vegan cheese and chilli. I suspect these will become a regular feature in the Bigland household this year!
Whilst we weren’t bothered about spending midnight in the pub, we did pop out for a sociable few drinks in our local, the Big 6, before returning home to see in the new year sat in front of the fire, watching the fabulous London fireworks display. That brought back a lot of memories as I was there on the Embankment on the opposite side of the river to the wheel for the millennium display in 1999. There’s been a lot of water down the Thames since then…
Now it’s 2026. A year I’m looking forward to with cautious optimism. The world’s still a very uncertain place but there are grounds for hope. Russia’s war in Ukraine is going badly for them, and there’s signs that one of their key allies (Iran) is beginning to fall apart due to civil unrest. Of course Trump is still a major disaster, but the narcissistic old fool and his MAGA morons are in trouble in the polls and likely to have bad mid-term elections this year. In the UK, the wheels are starting to come off Nigel Farage’s latest bandwagon (Reform). His Russia connections are coming back to haunt him and the councils Reform run show every sign of being a fiasco waiting to unfold. Plus, despite all the Reform and media frenzy and speculation over Keir Starmer, the idea that there’s going to be a general election before 2029 is for the birds. And if a week’s a long time in politics, 3.5 years is an age.
The Labour government have proved to be a disappointment due to a lack of bravery, squandering a huge majority that they could have used to make important changes without fear of opposition. But, they’re nowhere near as bad as the media love to make out. They’re doing good things but the media resolutely refuse to highlight anything positive and concentrate on a stream of negativity. I’m hopeful Labour can get their act together on messaging, stop being timid and cut through to highlight the positive changes they are making.
If only the media spent as much time looking at how Nigel Farage’s girlfriend managed to pay nearly a million quid in cash for ‘his’ house in Clacton as they did obsessing about Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves tax affairs we’d be far better informed as an electorate.
On a personal front, I’m looking to spend January concentrating on some projects that have taken a backseat over the past year or so, which includes finishing scanning a lot of old slides which have never seen the light of day for decades. Then there’s travelling. I may not be heading outside of the UK for the next month, but plans are certainly afoot for later in the year.
I’m also intending to up the ante on blogging. Things slipped a bit in 2025, but now I’m back with a lot to say – and things to do…
In the meantime, let me with all my like-minded readers the very best for 2026. I hope you all have a fabulous year.
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/
I’m back from London. Contrary to the far-right whingers on social media, our capital was a joyous place full of festive cheer – as was I and the friends I’d arranged to meet over the two days. I’ll add a separate blog tomorrow detailing some of yesterday’s adventures.
In contrast, today’s been less about gallivanting and more about consolidating for Christmas. The pair of us have chosen the recipes we want to cook, so went hunting for ingredients at our local Asian supermarket as well as Tescos. Now the kitchen’s full of goodies as well as some amazing smells which have been added to as the cooking muse has descended on Dawn, who’s now perfected home-made focaccia to go with the spicy prawns that have become something of a Saturday night tradition.
Tomorrow I spring in to action to start cooking some of the dishes we’ll be having at Christmas. Nearly all are dishes I’ve never made before, like Sri Lankan beans with coconut and Himachali Khatta (black chickpea curry). I’m looking forward to it.
Of course, there’s still other work to do. I’ve now a massive file of pictures to edit from my London adventure. So today’s blog includes a couple of tasters.
The rail staff carols at St Mary’s, Somers Town featured the London’s Transport Choir and the BT London choir.Meanwhile, on Waterloo station musicians were in festive mood to raise money for the Children’s Society. So much for Christmas being ‘cancelled’…
After the carols and having had a few drinks with other attendees Hassard and myself headed out to meet up with other old friends. By chance we managed to find on of the few Class 455s in service for a fast run to Surbiton.
Introduced from 1982, the Class 455s were the mainstay of suburban services on the Southern and Southwest Railway network. Now they’re almost all gone. Cheers from Surbiton!
Time to relax at home with this stunning home-made Focaccia and spicy prawns…
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/
There’s another day of mixed fortunes here at Bigland Towers, mostly due to the weather, which has done its best to keep us guessing of its intentions. Just when you think there’s going to be a sunny spell some dastardly clouds sneak up the Ryburn valley and bring with them a good soaking! It’s frustrating, but at least I have decent waterproofs – thanks to a birthday present from Dawn who treated me to a new Mountain Warehouse jacket to go with my ancient Mont trousers (bought in Oz in 1998).
Not that I’ve spent much time outdoors today, apart from a supermarket run and a late walk. Apart from keeping Dee fed and watered whilst she slaves away in the office upstairs a goodly proportion of my day’s been spent sorting out more old railwayana to go on eBay. I’ve added a selection of railway badges (old and new) to go with the hundreds of slides I have on offer. You can find the full list by following this link. Who knows? You might find a late Xmas prezzie for yourself or a loved one! Here’s one of the most recent additions, shown with a ruler for scale.
Tomorrow there’s a distinct change of tempo as I head down to London for a couple of days. Expect a mixture of blogs and pictures as I swan around the capital. Of course, if you read/watch the right-wing media you’d think I should be packing a stab-vest and letting Dawn know where my will is as London (in their hysterical imaginations) is dome kind of dystopian hellhole. It’s a load of bollocks of course, as I’ll show…
Whilst I’ve been complaining about the weather there’s one thing the mild days have provided as a bonus. I still have Chrysanthemums flowering in the garden! I have several plants in the front and back, all of which have flowered at different times, right through from October. This particular plant is opposite the kitchen window and only just coming into bloom…
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 