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Paul Bigland

~ Blogging on transport, travel & whatever takes my fancy.

Paul Bigland

Tag Archives: The USA

8th March picture of the day…

08 Monday Mar 2021

Posted by Paul Bigland in Musings, Picture of the day, The USA, Travel

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Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, The USA, Travel

The week’s got off to a mundane start with no excitements or surprises, but after the ‘fun’ of last week that’s really no bad thing. The weather’s been mixed, with temperatures remaining stick in single figures so spring still seems some way off but the lighter nights are certainly welcomes, as was a few hours of sunshine which really brightened the place up. The forecast for the rest of the week isn’t looking much better so I’m assuming I’ll be spending most of my time office-bound, which is no bad thing. At least I’ve plenty of exotic pictures to look at.

One bright spot in the day was taking our moggie (Jet) for a check-up at the vets and hearing that he’s in no immediate danger. OK, he’s nineteen and a half, and he has long-term kidney problems, but considering we thought we were going to lose the old boy last week this is actually a result! Hopefully he’ll be here to get under our feet (and set traps for me at the top of the stairs) for some time yet…

My latest batch of slide scans has provided me today’s picture of the day, which features what’s probably the planet’s most famous hole in the ground. I took this shot at the Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA on the 3rd November 1990. Four of us were touring the West Coast together and we stopped on night at the Canyon so that we could see what it looked like at sunrise. We weren’t disappointed.

Once I’ve got all the pictures scanned I’ll set up a USA travel gallery on my Zenfolio website as I realise I only have one for rail pictures – which is an odd omission as I have travel shots from 3 previous visits to the States. Ho hum!

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!

8th November picture of the day…

08 Sunday Nov 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Musings, Picture of the day, Politics, Railways, The USA, Travel

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Musings, Picture of the day, Politics, Railways, The USA, Travel

Sunday already? Woo hoo!

I’m saying that because looking forward to the next week as by Friday Dawn and I come out of social-isolation and get to stare at and share more than four walls. Neither of us felt that it was likely we’d contracted Covid because of the contact Dawn had, but what we weren’t willing to do was put others at risk. It’s a sentiment that’s obviously been unfashionable in some circles, but all we can say is we’ve done our bit.

The feeling of isolation was doubled today by the fact the Calder Valley’s been covered in fog for the duration. Visibility’s been down to 2-3 hundred metres at best. So, the pair of us have been feeling like we’re living up in the clouds whilst keeping occupied pottering around in our gilded cage. Dee’s been busy being a domestic goddess whilst I’ve kept myself occupied blogging and eBaying…

Still, talking of ‘gilded cages’, has anyone seen any sense, contrition or humility (fat chance) coming from the Ex-President of the United States yet? No. Me neither. It looks like he’s going to spend his remaining days playing golf at taxpayers expense until he’s finally kicked out of the place. I mean, seriously – the man’s just lost the election and what’s he been doing since? Ignoring the result to spend the past two days on a golf course! Surely, even some of the people who voted for him might just be starting to think “well, this is a bit weird”, but maybe I’m being too charitable. Actually, after everything I’ve seem of Trump’s voters and staffers I’m sure I am.

Talking of Washington, here’s another picture of the day that I stumbled on whilst researching others. It rather fits the current theme of events. I took this at Chinatown station on the Washington metro on the 3rd April 2007.

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!

7th November picture of the day…

07 Saturday Nov 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, The USA, Travel

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Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, The USA, Travel

Finally, after the political shitshows and shambles of the past few years, we actually have something to celebrate. The orange cry-baby who’s inhabited the White House since 2016 has finally got his comeuppance thanks to the American voters. Oh, I know it’s not the end of the story, but it is (hopefully) the beginning of the end for populist politics and the poisonous ‘alt-right’ who have done so much to make this a less pleasant planet to live on (as if we’ve an option to go anywhere else).

Yes, I know the fat lady hasn’t sung yet, but the numbers show that we know exactly what she will when she does. Trump’s finished.

Watching his presidency unravel through the day has kept me going as the weather here in the Calder valley’s been miserable. We’ve had fog blocking us in all day, so much so I’ve forgotten what the other side of the valley looks like! Mind you, it’s not as if I can go anywhere at the moment anyway, so I’ve not been too concerned. Instead, I’ve concentrated on those mundane little chores that can actually be quite therapeutic, like chopping back the front garden ready for winter. I’ve always enjoyed gardening and would love to have the size of garden that I had in London, but that’s not on the cards right now, so I content myself with what we have. On the bright side – it doesn’t take all day to chop back! Whilst I’ve been busy pottering Dawn’s been busy in the kitchen as we’ve had a delivery from Sainsbury’s. This is the first time we’ve ever indulged in getting groceries delivered so I can imagine some folks will be thinking ‘what’s the fuss’? But for us it’s a novel experience. Now we’ve stocked up with edible goodies Dee’s busy making her brilliant Bakewell Tart whilst I’m finishing off research for a blog – and toasting the fact Trump’s toast – which brings me on to the picture of the day. This seemed rather appropriate. I took it in Washington DC on the 3rd April 2007 in the midst of the cherry blossom season. Washington looks stunning at that time of year. Let this be a metaphor for the (re)blossoming of democracy in the USA now that Trump and his cohorts have been defeated at the ballot box.

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/Thank you

29th September picture of the day…

29 Tuesday Sep 2020

Posted by Paul Bigland in New York, Picture of the day, Railways, The USA, Travel

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New York, Picture of the day, Railways, The USA, Travel

Just a straight picture today, no rants or biography as I’ve been too busy sorting out work commitments and scanning a few old slides – just to try and keep up the momentum.

I took this shot on the 25th May 2018 at Broadway Junction, New York. I love industrial as well as railway archeology and this fits the bill. The NY metro is elevated at this point and there’s lots of abandoned routes under the existing lines, you can see the girders that supported them sweeping around in broad curves.

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!

New York, New York!

23 Wednesday May 2018

Posted by Paul Bigland in New York, The USA, Travel

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Air Travel, New York, The USA, Travel

After a pretty good flight with BA from Gatwick we’re starting our first full day in the city. As a veteran of long-haul flights to SE Asia the seven and a half hour flight was a doddle. Our Boeing 777-200 was dated but comfortable and the crew were really good, the only annoyance was the entertainment system. The seatback screens were tiny. The choice of films was good but the system kept dropping out or freezing every few minutes which made films unwatchable. I’d been looking forward to catching up on a few of the new releases so I found it really frustrating. Still, first world problems eh?

I’ve not been to New York since 2006 but Dawn’s never visited. To say she was excited was an understatement. She was almost bouncing up and down in her seat when we got the big yellow taxi from JFK to central Manhatten! As we passed through Times Square all I could hear was “Oh, wow!” On a loop!

When we flow in the weather was dull and wet, that’s now clearing and the city’s expecting to be baking in full sunshine from later this morning. I’ll post a few pictures later as time permits. Right, now we’re off to hit the streets…

11.30.

We’re currently sitting in Grand Central station, taking the weight off our feet whilst soaking up the atmosphere. This is what it’s like now.

DG296832. Grand Central station. New York. 23.5.18

I’ve started a New York gallery on my Zenfolio website. Here’s a link if you want to see the full selection of pictures as they’re taken I can’t add them all to my blogs.

Meanwhile, I’m rather dubious about this quote we came across. I’m not sure U-bends can compete with the mysteries of time and space…

DG296753. Fake quote. New York. USA. 23.5.18

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