Well, that was a wild and windy weekend! Whilst storm Boelo didn’t wreak the sort of havoc it caused in other parts of the UK it certainly made life interesting here in West Yorkshire as gusts of wind shredded trees, bringing down leaves and branches all over the place. We have a lot of woodland where we live, many of the roads around Bigland Towers are lined with old trees which made walking potentially perilous as you never knew what size of branch may descend as you were passing.
My waterproofs have certainly had a good outing, protecting me from the worst of the rain and keeping me windproof, although (to be honest) I’ve not really ventured far anyway. I’m still up to my ears in picture editing from my European trip. Right now I’m wading my way through my several trips in and out of Germany, which have left me with hundreds of pictures to collate, edit and caption. Today I passes a numerical landmark as the 100,000th picture was uploaded to my Zenfolio website. By the end of today I’m already way past that number – but I’ve still a hundred plus German pics in the queue.
You can find the railway ones here and the travel ones here. I’m hoping to have Germany finished by tomorrow (then I can move on to Switzerland) but as tomorrow’s my birthday (which will be low-key due to ‘events’) and as I have other work to do as well I may take some time off. In the meantime, here’s today’s picture from Dresden, Germany.
The Fürstenzug is a 102 metre long mural made up of 23,000 porcelain tiles which adorns one of the walls of Dresden Castle.
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/
Life feels a little like ‘Groundhog Day’ right now as the routine’s pretty much the same. I wade through 1000s of my European pictures, keep a wary eye on the weather in the hope I can go for a walk without getting soaked, complete some paperwork – then act as chef for lunch and dinner whilst Dawn slaves away in her office upstairs. Not that I’m doing all the cooking, Today Dee took some time off to make some delicious millionaires shortbread – something my skills don’t stretch to.
I’m starting to get a little stir-crazy. A feeling not helped by my picture editing as I’m reliving my adventures around Europe. Today I polished off Poland. You can find the Polish travel pictures here and the railway pictures here. I have to admit, I really enjoyed Poland. Warsaw’s a fantastic city and the Polish intercity trains are like a step back to a gentler age with many services having a full catering car serving freshly prepared and cooked food. I’m looking forward to returning and exploring the country in depth. Now my picture editing’s moved on to Germany. Well, my first of three visits anyway. I passed through on my way from France to Denmark when I first arrived, staying one night in Hamburg. I’ll edit all the different pictures together, just to save things from getting messy. I’ll be having a busy morning tomorrow, tying up some loose ends. After that (weather permitting) I’m hoping to take a break and stretch my legs for a while as being tied to a computer has really eaten into my step count this month.
For now, I’ll leave you with today’s picture which is from the incredibly busy Hamburg Hauptbahnhof – which is more of a multi-level village than a railway station. It’s always busy and buzzing with both trains and people. It’s a truly international feel due to the international trains serving it and also the people using it. It’s a fascinating place to watch the world go by.
You’ll be able to find the full selection of German railway pictures by following this link.
See you tomorrow…
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/
Today’s been another one where I’ve hardly left Bigland Towers due to work and the weather. Work because I’m still wading through 1000s of pictures from my recent travels as well as slowly getting used to a new laptop and software. To be honest, it’s lovely to have a new machine that doesn’t throw the odd spanner in the works just when I need to rely on it. But then my old machine was battle-weary. It’s been to dozens of countries and covered hundreds of thousands of miles whilst seeing almost daily use in all climates and conditions, so I can forgive it. Hopefully, my new machine will prove to be just as reliable and capable then my old one can be put out to pasture as a backup once it’s had some TLC.
Most of my day’s been spent picture editing whilst acting as Butler to Dawn whilst she’s been slaving away in her little office. Part of my job’s been to keep her supplied with coffee, lunch and the odd treat. Tonight was something a little more exotic as I batch cooked a fiery Thai green curry with chicken whilst Dee wrapped up her day and headed for a bath.
I had hoped to get more than my basic 12.5k (5 mile) steps in but the weather really wasn’t encouraging and I didn’t fancy getting soaked – or blown away! Gales are forecast for the weekend but the weather decided to get some practice in this afternoon, when it got really rather blowy, which can be ‘fun’ when you’re walking through old woodland. You’re always keeping eyes and ears open just in case a branch comes crashing down on the unwary. It’s why I never go out wearing headphones.
Now it’s evening time. We’re fed and watered (and in Dawn’s case – bathed) so it’s time to relax with a film before another busy day tomorrow. I’ll leave you with one of today’s edited images from Poland.
An ex-Polish railways TY51 class 2-10-0 steam engine plinthed at Rzepin station. 242 of these engines were built by H. Cegielski in Poznan between 1953-58. They were withdrawn from PKP regular service in the 1980s but were included in the strategic reserve (intended to haul military trains) and many were kept operational until 1990.
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/
Sorry there was no blog or picture yeaterday. That was because I ended up spending much of it ordering, collecting and setting up a new laptop. I’ve mentioned that my old one was ready for the knackers yard, but getting its replacement turned into a bit of a saga as I ordered it direct from Dell, who gave me the run-around, leading me to cancelling my order. That actually worked to my advantage as I ended up getting exactly the same model that I’d spec’d from Currys, £350 cheaper and 10 days earlier!
My local Currys had several Dell XPS laptops in stock so I was able to pick it up just a couple of hours after ordering and paying for it. OK, it didn’t come with a charger, but I’ve ordered one off Amazon at a damned site less cost than Dell would ching me for one of their branded ones!
It’s nearly seven years since I last had to set up a new laptop and the process is a heck of a lot simpler now – especially as so much of my stuff it Cloud based, not sitting on the hard-drive of another machine. I could copy down stuff within a few hours with the machine up and running in no time. Oh, there’s a few software programs I still need to re-install, but they’re not urgent.
So, now I have a machine that I can rely on again which will allow me to catch up on picture editing and other work without having to consider the idiosyncracies of an ageing machine. Talking of which, whilst my new bit of kit was sorthing itself out, I managed to edit another batch of ‘grand tour’ pictures on a reserve laptop. Latvia is now complete and so is Lithuania. Here’s links to Latvia’s rail and travel galleries, whilst the links to Lithuania’s train and travel galleries are here and here. Meanwhile, I’ve done the first edit of my pictures from Poland, which are in the queue to be checked and captioned next.
The weather here in the Calder valley’s been pretty wet and miserable these past couple of days, which means I’ve not missed much being stuck indoors. I’ve still managed to get out and rack up some steps but nothing like what I was doing whilst I was in Europe. Hopefully I’ll have broken the back of the European pictures by the end of the week which should free me up for some other activities next week. The autumn leaves are turning some gorgeous colours right now and I’d love to get out with the camera whilst they’re still hanging around.
In the meantime, here’s today’s picture, which is from Poland and the old city of Warsaw which has been beautifully restored after the terrible devestation it (and its people) suffered in 1944.
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/
Humble apologies for my lack of blogging these past few days. The main reason for this is that I’m having technical issues with computers. My proimary laptop has suddenly decided it doesn’t like taking power. I’ve tried several different chargers, but it’s on hunger strike! The irony is that I’ve already got a new Dell machine on order, maybe that’s why it’s having a hissy fit! The new kit won’t arrive for another 10 days, which is a bit of a bugger, but that’s out of my control.
In the meantime, I’ve managed to resurrect an ancient and semi-knackered old Dell that I kept in a cupboard – just in case of emergencies. I’m not saying that it’s old but the keyboard’s in Latin. I’m hoping to get my main machine resurrected in the next couple of days, but until then my blogging may be rather more limited than recent weeks.
Right now Dawn and I are enjoying a quiet Sunday night at home before the start of another busy week where life has a habit of throwing curved balls at you.
I’m hoping to continue editing my grand tour blog pictures tomorrow as they’re all backed up on the Cloud, rather than just being stuck on a single machine. I learned that lesson the hard way many years ago! I’ll be working from home all next week as I try to catch up on pictures and other work so I’ll be able to provide some visual and written entertainment. Talking of which, here’s today’s picture which is from Vilnius in Lithuania.
Tuesday dawned a wet and windy day here in the Calder valley, with heavy skies and high winds that sent clouds of autumn leaves skittering along the road before they got stuck to the wet tarmac. It was a good morning to be working from home as heavy rain showers kept lashing the windows. That said, it’s still incredibly mild, with temperatures in the mid-teens, so I shouldn’t really complain.
Whilst Dawn worked in the office I set up my laptop upstairs in the bedroom so that I could enjoy the view across the Calder valley, well – when the rain cleared! We’re still in the process of redecorating the living room so it’s cosier upstairs and it’s easier for Dawn to pop in for a chat when she needs a break.
Most of my day was spent picture editing. I’d started working on shots from Sweden yesterday afternoon and a concerted few hours work allowed me to get most of them edited and captioned. After that it was time to take a break and shift some paperwork, just for a bit of variety! By early afternoon the weather had broken, bringing mostly blue skies, so I nipped out for my daily constitutional and wander through our local woods ahead of the next shower. Leaves are really starting to fall now, soon there’ll be a thick carpet blanketing the paths, but at the moment the trails are still pretty clear – and not too slippy, or with hidden surprises thanks to lazy dog owners.
Later, Dawn had to nip out to a couple of appointments, so I had the cottage to myself which allowed me to really plow on with the pictures and finish the fourth of the twelve countries I visited. Sweden is now all loaded onto my Zenfolio website. You can find the railway images here and the travel images here. Next in the queue is…Tallinn, in Estonia. So, here’s a teaser from Tallinn…
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 start of another week here at Bigland Towers, and one that will see me away from the rails until next week as I continue the massive task of editing all my European pictures whilst juggling other work commitments as well as life at home – and planning for the future. Not that I’m complaining. I’m rather enjoying not having to live out of a suitcase and be moving town/city/country every couple of days, although I know that I’ll get itchy feet again soon enough.
Whilst the morning saw the pair of us working from our respective offices (or, in my case, the bedroom) things ground to a halt by lunchtime as we had a visit from our new financial advisor. The family run firm that used to manage our investments have decided to call it a day for health reasons and sold on the business. Fortunately, they were more concerned about finding the right company to sell the business to than they were about making a fast buck. Our new advisor comes from a medium sized company with offices in Wakefield but he actually lives in Halifax. We were both impressed by him as he was real – and honest, without any of the fancy corporate bullshit or self-aggrandizement that can come with that world. We spent the best part of a couple of hours going through investments, the state of the markets, the Trump effect – and plans for the future. We’re confident that the new company will be a good replacement for the old family firm who’d looked after us so well.
With that important hurdle out of the way it was back to work. I spent the rest of the afternoon wading through pictures of Sweden. the picture editing takes time, but what takes even longer is researching the captions as I look up locations. In that respect Google maps is a godsend! It allows me to pinpoint streets and double-check I’ve got things right, as well as provide correct spellings. Keeping copious notes is a thing of the past thanks to Google, although there are times when I wish I’d scribbled a few more when I’m actually travelling. The Swedish pictures should be finished and uploaded onto my Zenfolio website by tomorrow, but here’s a taster for now.
The main concourse of Stockholm Central station is a relaxed place lined with shops and bars.As I was on the ferry to Tallinn we passed another ro-ro ferry inbound from Helsinki. I was amazed at just how close to some of the small islands these beasts get, almost grazing them on occasion. This is no tiddler! The ‘Viking Glory’ weighs in at 65,211 tonnes!
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/
Sunday ended up being a lazy morning for both of us. My body clock is gradually resetting itself now I’m back in the UK, which means I don’t automatically wake up at 06:00 every morning, although that’s probably because I’m now sharing a bed again! Mind you, Dawn can sleep for England when she’s tired, whilst I’m almost always up with the larks.
So, whilst Dee snoozed, I got up, made some coffee and sat in the office for an hour with my laptop in order to get more pictures from my European trip edited, making the most of the morning. Our plan was to get some home DIY done, but that didn’t quite work out as expected because Dawn ended up finishing off some work work. As the weather was good I abandoned the laptop at midday to make brunch, then headed out into the gardens to begin to prepare them for the winter – and to harvest various herbs which we’ll dry to keep us going until next year. All in all it was a very pleasant and relaxed Sunday but one where we were still fruitful.
Late afternoon I had to nip out to pick up some shopping, so popped into our local pub for a pint on the way home. I was good and only had one, but then the pub was quiet and the choice of beers (whilst good) didn’t really fit my tastes, which is very unusual for the 6!
Back home Dawn took on cooking duties whilst I resumed picture editing. This enabled to clear yet another country so now you can find all my images from Copenhagen on my Zenfolio website. The railway ones are here and the travel gallery is here. Neither gallery is new as I’ve been going to Denmark since the mid 1990s, but you’ll find all the recent images will come up first. Here’s a sample from each gallery.
A tourist tour boat sails along the Christianshavns canal with Christianhavn on the right bank. The lovingly restored old station interior at Østerport. The station’s a major interchange and open 24 hours a day.
The next place that’s in the queue for editing is the first new country for me, Sweden. Expect pictures to start surfacing tomorrow.
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 playing catch-up with blogging right now as I’m a few days behind due to the weekend and spending time with Dawn away from computer screens. Well, mostly! I did spend a few hours on Saturday morning clearing some of the 1000s of pictures from my European trip which are in the editing queue – as you’ll see later.
But, by afternoon the weather had picked up, so the two of us decided to stretch our legs by walking into Halifax to pick up some shopping and have a wander around. There’s a new(ish) Asian supermarket that’s opened which we both wanted to explore. Umrah is located on Horton St, right in the centre of town. It’s well organised and offers a huge selection of Asian spices, fresh herbs , fruit and veg as well as all the usual dried and tinned ingredients. There’s also a butchers counter and (unusually) a variety of sweet and cake counters which include Iranian sweetmeats, which look delicious. We stocked up on a variety of bits at very reasonable prices. It’s good to know what it offers as the location means I can pick stuff up en-route to home from the station, saving myself a detour into King Cross.
We also nipped into the magnificent Piece Hall but didn’t linger as it was full of families with children taking part in a Scarecrow treasure hunt, which meant the place was overrun. Instead we wandered home via the Big 6 for a quick drink, after which I took over the kitchen. Having been away I’d not done any for ages. Getting back in the swing was a pleasure as I really enjoy cooking. So, whilst Dee put her feet up I rustled up an old favourite – chicken vindail, a South Indian dish with a Portugese influence. It went down a treat with some of the luxury soft chappatis we’d bought from Umrah earlier in the day.
Not a bad way to end a Saturday!
I mentioned that I’d been editing lots more pictures, here’s a link to the latest selection which are of Belgian railways. But that doesn’t just mean trains, it also encompasses some brilliant (and contrasting) station architecture. Like this;
The interior of the roof at Tournai station, which was completed in 1879.
In contrast, here’s modern Liege Guillemins which was rebuilt and opened in 2009.
The next country in the queue is Denmark. Travel and rail pictures from Copenhagen will start appearing tomorrow.
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/
My body clocks stubborn setting of 06:00 has stood me in good stead here in Swindon as we prepare to get ready for today’s OLE challenge at the Network Rail training school here. Today’s weather is a great improvement on yesterday’s were everyone got a soaking, so I’m confident of getting some good pictures without drowning the camera. But first, there’s the important matter of breakfast…
08:25.
We’re at the training centre and changing into PPE before the first session
14:45.
It’s been a busy morning with various hands on tasks or other learning.
A general view of the training centre’s outdoor facilities.
17:00.
The course finished just before 16:00 with a presentation of certificates to the participants by Garry Keenor, author of *the* book on OLE. After which it was time for me to pack my PPE and hotfoot it to Swindon in order to start getting back North. A caught a short-formed GWR service to Bristol Parkway (but at least I got a seat).Now I’m crammed into another vestibule of a 5 car Cross-Country Voyager all the way to Leeds. Will I manage to get a seat on the way? Who knows?
At least I can people watch, and what I’ve noticed is that all three young women in the vestibile have cut themselves off aurally through the use of earbuds (in the case of one) or headphones by the others. Rendering on-train announcements about anything trivial or important entirely redundent.
17:20.
Upon leaving Cheltenham we swapped one gaggle of headphone wearing women for an even greater number. It’s almost like Dr Who’s ‘cybermen’ have taken a feminine, human form – only with more fluidity – even if the deadpan expressions are the same. Maybe I’m noticing these things more after my tour of Europe.
Having called at Worcestershire Parkway we have breathing space in the vestibule – even if the saloon is still standing room only! I’ve revised my suspicions about one of the women. She’s sat on the floor doing her makeup. Very un-cybermen like behaviour!
18:30.
I finally managed to get a seat after the Birmingham New St melee, where we simply swapped one load of packed people for another, with the added fun of folks trying to cram on before everyone had got off! The same was true of our Tamwoth call when I thought the train just might start to empty out a bit. Truth is, Cross-Country are an intercity service in name only. For much of the day and on much of their core routes they’re little more than a glorified regional commuter service with small trains.
19:35.
We’re now North of rainy Sheffield. Whilst this Voyager is still packed it’s no longer full and standing. It’s also an ex-Avanti hand me down unit which means it still has a ‘proper’ buffet counter in coach D which I can now access to buy some muscle relaxant!
20:50.
Deep joy (part 4372). I was in Leeds in plenty of time to catch my 20:27 connection. Apart from the fact it was late due to a passenger being taken ill. Then the time kept slipping. Then we were told it would be terminating short at Bradford Interchange – just as it was too late to leg it over to another platform to get a Leeds – Manchester Victoria train that was going all the way! Grrr…
UPDATE:
I finally got home just before 22:00 after changing trains at Bradford Interchange with Dawn picking me up from Halifax station to drive me home. So, that’s it for now folks. I’m going nowhere (except locally) for a while. I’ve a massive amount of pictures to edit and other work to do. Even so, expect a few more blogs on different subjects and the odd picture from my travels.
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/
