Miracle of miracles – it hasn’t rained all day for a change – just all morning! The weather Gods have smiled on Valentines day, not that either of us had anything terribly exciting planned just a quiet night in together with good food and each other for company. Besides, we’ve both been busy working all day, although I did manage to get out and enjoy a brief patch of sunshine during my daily exercise and perambulations though the local woods and park which meant I wasn’t decked-out like I was on an expedition to the North Pole!
There’s only a short blog from me tonight as now I’m busy packing for my next few days away as I’ll be up at sparrow-fart in the morning and don’t want to have to be clumping round at silly o’ clock disturbing Dawn. Everything will be packed and sitting in the living room, allowing me to slink out of the house whilst making as little noise as possible. Hopefully, the fact I’m heading South will mean I’ll be escaping the next severe weather warning – which will make a change. I’m fed up of gales and driving rain. Time will tell. Either way, I’ll have plenty to write about so expect a few different rolling blogs as I traverse the country whilst working on some very different projects.
Right, time to get back to work as I’m also on cooking duty tonight. Our Valentine’s meal is going to be Mussels in a Thai Green Curry – make up your own punchline about having a spicy night! In the meantime, here’s the picture of the day which comes from the latest batch of old slide scans from pictures taken in India. This is the sun setting off the beach in Arambol, North Goa in December 1995 as a group of local fishermen tend to their boat.
See you tomorrow – bright and early!
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 appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
It’s been an all-sorts kind of day here at Bigland Towers – although much of it has been spent anywhere but at home! This morning we met Dawn’s parent for brunch at Hinchcliffe’s farm shop which is one of their regular haunts. I must admit, having someone else cook for us made a pleasant change. I plumped for the English breakfast as a rare treat and I was suitably impressed – and stuffed!
Afterwards we adjourned to Chez Platt as Dee had arranged two new phones for her parents and needed to get them up and running. At the age of 87 her dad is now the proud (well, not that bothered, really) owner of a ‘smartphone’! All Dawn has to do now is to persuade him to leave the thing turned on!
Whilst the Dee oversaw the school of telephony and technology I was hunkered down with the laptop, sorting out old slides to go on eBay. After a year-long break I’ve decided to resurrect my account as a way of making some money and decluttering the cottage of some of the railway ephemera and surplus pictures that I’ve garnered over the past few decades. I’ll announce details soon.
To be honest, today was a good day to be stuck indoors as the weather’s been crap all day. We seem to be stuck in an endless cycle of rain and high winds at the moment, which is hardly conducive to wandering far – although I’ll be doing plenty of that next week.
When we finally made it back home after a detour to pick up some shopping Dee stayed at the cottage whilst I nipped out for a couple of hours to join some friends at a local hostelry to do something I’ve not done in decade and play pool. A small group of refugees from the Big 6 have decided that ‘early doors’ on a Saturday is an ideal time to shoot a few games at another local pub and I’ve been co-opted. Relearning old skills has been both fun and frustrating although the former outweighs the latter!
Now I’m at home and blogging this before turning off for the evening as it’s time to relax, listen to the rain and wind beating on the windows whilst curling up in front of a film, but before I do I’ll leave you with another old picture from my batch of slides taken in India in 1995. On the way back from Mapusa market (the last picture I posted) we had to catch the ferry from Siolem to Chopdem. Whilst we were waiting I noticed this very un-Indian vehicle in the queue for the ferry, then noticed that it also had a UK registration plate. Yep, someone had driven this old Ford Transit camper van overland all the way from the UK to India! Sadly, I’ve no recollection of having talked to them as I’d have loved to have known which route they took and how long they’d been on the road!
I wonder if it’s still there?…
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 appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
No blog yesterday as (to be honest) there’s not been much to tell. I’ve been continuing to work from home, the weather’s been crap but Dawn’s been continuing to recover from the lurgi. Oh, I have been getting out boost my exercise levels, enjoying wandering around the valley despite the weather, but that’s been about it.
Mundane the routine may be but it’s also been enjoyable as I don’t often get this amount of time to spend at home and next week the pace changes completely due to a short-notice job coming in today which means I’ll be spending much of next week on the road (or more accurately – the rails) as I’ll now be in Leamington Spa on Tuesday, London on Wednesday and Bristol on Thursday, which will give me plenty to blog about!
In the meantime, I’m continuing to make the most of my time at home, including wading through more old slide scans one of which provides today’s picture. This was taken in India in December 1995. I’ve mentioned previously that a group of us all met up in Arambol, North Goa. One of the group was my brother, John. We’d taken a day off from the beach to tour the local market at Mapusa, the main town for North Goa. The market’s an amazingly vibrant place, typical of many Indian markets apart from the fact it’s also dotted with lots of tiny bars as Goa (being an old Portugese colony) has a much more relaxed attitude to alcohol than most Indian states. The market’s a place where hundreds of people of all ages try and scarpe a living – one way or another, which is what led to this picture.
John had been shopping for fruit which he’d been given in the ubiquitous plastic bag. This young girl was trying to sell plastic bags and accosted John. Not unreasonably, he explained he didn’t need it as he’d already got one, quick as a flash, this girl stuck a bigger bag over it and said ‘but I sell you a bag to carry your bag in”! Indian kids are sharp and quick-witted and this little girl was no exception. John couldn’t help laughing and I was on hand to capture the moment on camera as the girl was happy to pose for the picture. Needless to say, she sold her bag! On another occasion I remember a young shoe-shine boy with the same quick wittedness. A friend he was pestering thought he’d got the perfect brush-off when he told the lad “but I like my shoes dirty” – in a flash the kid replied “OK, then I make them dirtier”!
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 appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
It’s been another quiet day here at Bigland Towers. Dawn’s been down with the lurgi – but the old fashioned, common-cold kind rather then anything more exotic (thankfully) so I’ve ensured I’ve stayed at home to be on hand and keep a constant supply of Lemsip’s (mixed with Dee’s home-made fresh lemon and ginger drink) and other foods and liquids ferried to the bedroom. I’ve enjoyed the time at home and not missed much as the weather’s been universally crap. The winds have gone but they’ve left the rain behind and it’s that fine, drifting stuff that gets in everywhere and soon has you soaked. Despite the conditions I’ve been ensuring I break the monotony of staring at a computer screen to get out for a daily stroll. Pictures are lovely, but the views across the Calder valley (well, when the rain clears) are real! Having a full set of decent waterproofs helps in my perambulations as you really need them in this part of the world unless you want to spend a lot of time stuck indoors – or dripping wet.
Hopefully by Friday Dawn will be fighting fit again and I’ll have ploughed through the work I need to clear and be able to sally forth once more. Even if not, I’ve got a few days away arranged for next week, including some interesting jobs arranged that I’ll talk about nearer the time. Today I was diverted by a last-minute request for pictures from a client, it only took a few hours and it was a profitable interlude but it diverted me from what I had planned. That can slip into tomorrow which isn’t a problem as I’m not going anywhere until I can remove the Red Cross from the front door!
Travel brings me on to the picture of the day, which is one of a series I’m currently scanning from a trip to India in 1995-96 when a group of us met out in Goa for Xmas and New Year. Most of the group then returned to the UK but Lynn and I plus our friends John and Helen stayed on and headed South from Goa into Karnataka to visit some archeological sites and the wonderful town of Mysore. Today’s picture is taken just after Xmas. In those days the fishermen of Arambol village came up with a money-making scheme where they’d rent out their boats to take travellers by sea to Anjuna for the weekly ‘flea market’. It was a short-lived venture as safety standards were non-existent. There were no lifejackets and no shade and nothing in the way of luxuries (like space, or proper seats) but it was fun whilst it lasted!
Carefree days…
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 appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
The usual apologies for absence for yesterday, but nothing exciting was happening so I took a day off to recharge my batteries at home and basically fester. OK, that’s not entirely true, but it’s not far off! The weather’s hardly been conducive to outward-bound adventures as (here in the Pennines at least) the elements seem to be doing their best as making up for dry January. No, not that one (I wasn’t very good at that) but the one that’s far more important and involves rainfall.
Today’s been even worse. The heavens have never stopped opening so neither of us have been up to much other than pottering around at home then popping out for food shopping – which has cost us an arm and a leg. Add all the influences that are driving inflation right now and it still doesn’t account for how prices have risen. OK, we’re told inflations running at 5%. Seriously? Look at the cost of some basic foodstuffs nowadays and you’ll soon see 5% is a massive understatement. Oh, and that’s before we start to look at what our utility (and other bills) are going to look like shortly. And don’t even get me started on the Chancellor’s smoke and mirrors ply with a ‘grant’ towards fuel bills. You’ll be paying it back even if you don’t claim it – as Money-saving expert Martyn Lewis pointed out.
The Tories giveth, and the Tories taketh away…
Despite this confluence of crap there was a couple of rays today. I did something I’ve not done for decades and joined a group of friends in a pub – to play pool! It’s a skill I once had when I lived in London back in the 80s/90s but that’s atrophied ever since. In those days there was a certain pub in the East End near where I lived called the Beehive which was run by an ex-copper that meant we could still be playing in the early hours of the morning – and for money too. Those days are long gone but tonight my muscles and eye remembered a few of the old skills – and it was great fun!
There was no danger of it turning into a late-nighter of old as Dee’s not well and I’m on cooking duty, so it was a case of a few quick games before I’m home chopping shallots to use in an Indian curry. Not that I mind, I find cooking therapeutic. Now all the chores are done and it’s time to relax, so I’ll leave you with the picture of the day. I’ve a new batch of old slides ready to scan but this is one of the first from the new selection.
Back in 1995 a group of us all met up in Goa, India at a place I’d known since a decade earlier. The happy band included friends from London, plus my brother. Apart from Lynn and one other old traveller none of them had been to India before. Some were unprepared. So much so that one friend (I’ll spare their blushes) hadn’t even carried any money as they assumed they’d just be able to go to the nearest ATM…
We arrived on Xmas Eve 1995 and this was how you crossed the rivers in those days..
A ferry from Chopdem arrives in Siolim as we take one in the opposite direction. Xmas eve 1995…
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 appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Far from being housebound today I’m out and about on the Yorkshire rail network, getting some pictures for a client whilst also seeing how the network and its users are coping with the reduced services imposed by the Treasury and Dept of Transport. It’s already evident from complaints across the South-East that service levels are totally inadequate for the numbers of people returning to work, but what’s the picture in the North?
I’m currently on the 08:46 from Halifax to Leeds which is made up of a pair of 2-car Class 195s. It was easily 60% full heading for Bradford where there was a large exchange of passengers that kept the loading around the same. There’s plenty of people waiting at Interchange for other services and the station’s actually very busy. As we sat at Platform 4 two more Class 195 (one from Leeds and one from Halifax) rolled in simultaneously and in formation into platforms 2 and 3. It was almost choreographed! The service levels seem to be frequent enough not to have caused consternation here in the way they have elsewhere and the number of people travelling justifies the levels.
Here’s passengers departing my train at Leeds.
11:00.
Having changed trains at Leeds which was busy but nothing like it can be I caught a Trans-Pennine service bound for Newcastle as far as York, which is where I’m typing this. The 5-car TPE train was quiet, certainly in the front car where I was anyway. The journey to Yorkshire’s county town was releaxed and easy – even if the weather was worse than expected (you know that fine drizzle that gets in everywhere? That..). En-route I observed the progress on erecting the over head wires from West from Colton Junction on the East Coast Main line to – well, the middle of nowhere really…
The current scheme as approved peters out just before the Junctions at Church Fenton. We’re told the wires will continue to Leeds as part of the Trans Pennine Route Upgrade (TRU) but that’s going to take some time.
York station was subdued and suffering from recent storm damage. Part of the concourse and footbridge by platforms 5-9 is taped off due to the roof taking a hammering.
One thing that’s really evident at places like York is the absence of foreign tourists who used to make up a substantial proportion of the passenger flow. Admittedly, February was never their peak time but there was always a steady flow. I spotted one group of young (bemasked) Asian women, but that was it.
Well, it seemed that way at the time but today’s trip to London has got off to a mixed start! On the bright side – the rain we’d had overnight had abated by the time my alarm went off at 05:45 so the walk to Halifax was rather pleasant this morning. There were few people about apart from a couple of hardy dog-walkers (not that they have much option, really) and a trio of intrepid women joggers pounding their way uphill across Savile Park. The town centre was equally quiet although the area around the Piece Hall was still buzzing with film crews and all their kit.
My intention was to catch the 06:53 to Leeds in time to make an 11 minute connection with LNERs London service. This failed at the first fence as the Northern service was already running 7 minutes late. Ho hum! To fill in time I caught the Huddersfield – Bradford shuttle which was worked by one of the old class 158s pbought by the local PTE back in the 1980s. 158904 was busy, at least half-full, which surprised me. I didn’t realise so many people commuted into Bradford from Huddersfield. One at Interchange I joined the crowds for the late-running York service. Passenger numbers are certainly picking up again judging by the number joining and leaving the train.
We left Bradford Interchange 10 mins late and I’d visions of watching the LNER service pull out as I arrived, but I hadn’t accounted for the slack timing of my Northern service. It arrived at Leeds West Junction (just outside the station) 8 mins down, then magically recovered 6 minutes in the space of 26 chains* to arrive in Leeds just 2 minutes down!
This gave me plenty of time to cross the footbridge to platform 8 and wait for my train to pull in as it was arriving from Skipton. I was pleasantly surprised to find it was worked by one of LNERs loco-hauled Mk 4 trainsets rather than an Azuma. 91106 was doing the honours this morning. The advantage of the Mk4 sets is that they still contain a ‘quiet’ coach which is immediately behind the loco and isn’t reserved. It also lives up to its name as few people use it! So, I’m now bouncing my way South with that familiar stop, start, jerk motion that was a feature of the loco-hauled trains but that’s totally absent from the Azumas.
91106 arrives at Leeds with 1A13, the 06:56 from Skipton to London Kings Cross.
10:05.
In dire need of caffeine after such an early start I had a wander through the train to a sparsely stocked buffet in order to buy coffee. This gave me chance to counts heads. Getting back to my set just before we pulled in to Newark North Gate I counted just 49 people in Standard Class. Clearly, Covid is still having an impact as this is a premium train which would normally be full of business people. The majority of folks I passed fitted into this category with lots of expensive laptops on display and people busy bashing keyboards, but numbers travelling have obviously taken a hit since early December. Even so, now that restrictions are easing once more I doubt it’ll be long before they bounce back. I’ll be interested to watch how that goes through the year. This year I’m off on my biennial trip around Britain for RAIL magazine, which such be a fascinating contrast to my travels in 2020!
Right now we’re traversing the Cambridgeshire flatlands on the approach to Peterborough and running six minutes late. The weather’s gloomy, with layers of cloud some of which threaten rain, conditions that I expect to see stay with me all day. As we approached the station I noticed a fan of old sidings (Spital?) that have lain disused for donkey’s years have been cleared of weeds and fenced off to create a secure compound. It looks like they’re about to be brought back into use – but what for?
09:55.
We’re on the outskirts of London and it’s proving to be grim down South. The clouds have lowered, cutting down the slight so much that vehicles have already got their headlights on! This is a bit of a bugger, but such is life. It limits the range of shots I can get but thanks to the wonders of digital photography I can still get decent pictures. If this was my old film days it would have been a waste of time, the classic old camera joke of set your camera exposure for 3 days at F5.6…
16:00.
Phew! Where do I start? I’ve been having a frenetic time travelling around London in an effort to document the latest transformation that’s going on in 3rd rail land South of the Thames. The biggest change since the end of the old slam-door trains back in 2005. To do this I’ve been hanging around the Clapham Jn area – with an ulterior motive in mind. I’ve lent a spare zoom lens to an old friend who lives next door but needed to drop off the kit associated with it. We managed the transfer at lunchtime. Serendipity would have it that this was an ideal time to be taking pictures at the Junction as there were one or two unusual working such this…
I’m now taking a break in an old railway station building to update this blog and recharge various devices before moving on again…
19:15.
I’m now winging my way back up north after a brilliant afternoon in across South London, exploring old haunts and also discovering just how much the city has changed in the decade since I left. Some of the old London that I remember is till left, but so much has changed due to the mass of new buildings that have appeared. South London railways offer a great vantage point as many arrive into the city on viaducts. You can still pass serried rows of chimney pots and imagine what it must have been like when everyone relied on coal for heating. You won’t see Dick Van Dyke dancing amongst them or Mary Poppins floating past – instead you’ll see a backdrop of modern buildings dwarfing the traditional rooflines as London’s extended up, and up – and up…
Nowadays London’s railways are a corridor into a very built-up city South of the river. A train driver friend once described the route through Wandsworth past Vauxhall and into Waterloo as a bit like trying to bomb the ‘Death Star’ (Star Wars fans will know exactly what he means). At least the new blocks don’t house laser cannons!
During my explorations I stopped of in Denmark Hill again, but this time I visited the pub in the old station building. It was damaged by fire back in the 1980s then became one of the famous Bruces brewery ‘Firkin’ pubs of the 1980s. This one was named the ‘Phoenix and Firkin’ for obvious reasons. The Firkin chain is (sadly) long gone, but this pub survives under a different ownershio and seems to thrive. The road bridge outside is now blocked off and become a huge beer garden which is a fantastic summer space. Whilst I was sat inside I overhead a group of nurses from the nearby Kings College Hospital who’d called in for a drink at the end of their shifts before going home. Clearly knackered, they were talking about dealing with intubing patients with Covid. It was hard to listen to what they had to deal with and the obvious stresses they had o go through, yet tried to talk about in a matter of fact way. Not gallows humour by any means as the stresses showed and there was nothing but compassion for the people they’d been treating – which made it worse in some ways as I’ll bet many of the people they’re having to deal with now are the ones who’ve refused to be vaccinated.
Moving on I retraced my steps to Clapham via a brief stop at Wandsworth Rd station – just to see how much has changed – which is a lot. The Victoria – London Bridge trains are no more. Now the line’s part of the Overground and the trains run to/from Clapham Junction. Bushes and the nightmare that’s Buddleia have destroyed the possibility of recreating the shots I used to get in the 1990s whilst the skyline has changed completely as Battersea Power station has been invaded by new housing development. I’ll go back one day in an afternoon just to get some comparison shots.
21:30.
I’m now on the last leg home – by train anyway. I came back from London aboard another quiet LNER service, this time the 18:33 to Bradford Forster Square which was worked by a pair of 5-car Azumas. There was only about a dozen of us in the front car of the front train. The trip allowed me to spend time editing pictures from today which will start appearing on my website tomorrow but it may take a few days for the full haul to be processed as I’ve other things to do too.
I’m now on a rather busy 2-car class 195 heading to Manchester from Leeds. The difference between the two trains couldn’t be more marked. From ten cars to two! That said, they’re all new trains serving very different markets.
*A chain is an antiquated measurement (1 chain = 22 yards) that’s still used to calculate distances on the railways which is done in miles and chains. Although superseded by metric, it’s still used on many railway maps.
2022 is shaping up to be a funny old year. I can’t quite put my finger on why other than that it seems to be all over the place at the moment – and no – that’s not just the Government! With revelation after revelation about the party antics in No10 I can imagine that some Senior Tories must be thinking “please – just make it stop!” Somehow I think that’s going to be folorn hope. At least the Covid situation’s improving and the early signs that Omicron would be less of a problem appear to be panning out. Ironically, this could be adding to the Tories rows as they’ll no longer be able to use Covis as a smokescreen for what a shit-show Brexit is – especially now the latest customs restrictions kicked in in January, turning Kent into a vast lorry-park. Worse is yet to come as the next tranche of self-imposed restrictions come into force in the summer. I wonder if Johnson will still be PM then?
Despite the pandemic relaxing its grip the economic picture remains confused. Partly due to concerns about a possible war between Russia and the Ukraine, but also mixed news from other parts of the globe. It’s certainly causing disturbances on the world markets which are up and down like a bride’s nightie and returns aren’t always reflected in the performance of the stock markets . The old curse ‘may you live in interesting times’ couldn’t be more apposite.
Still, I’m doing my best to put such cares aside right now. There’s bugger-all I can do about them but watch from the sidelines. Having spent the past couple of days working from home editing pictures, blogging, scanning and slimming down on long-stored personal possessions I’m having a day away tomorrow. I’ll be returning to London so expect a rolling blog of my travels as I make my way to and around the capital.
Tonight I’ll leave you with another old slide as picture of the day. I’ve been working my way through an album of old travel shots in fits and starts. Having completed a selection from Denmark and England I’m about to embark on a series of shots taken in India in 1995-96 but I’m going to end tonight with one from the UK. This shot of the old post-windmill at Chillenden in Kent was taken on the 16th July 1995 during a cycle trip around Kent. For several years Lynn and I would attend the Kent beer festival in Canterbury with friends from London and stay overnight. We’d bring our bikes on the train so whilst everyone else headed back to London we’d spend the day cycling around the byways of the garden of England. This was one of the sights we discovered.
Lynn sitting on the base of the windmill, just to give a sense of scale. The whole windmill could be turned to catch the wind – hence the wheel on a beam at the back!
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 appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
I’m out and about both sides of the Pennines today, starting off with a trip to Leeds. Sadly, it’s hardly a vintage day weather wise but that won’t affect either assignment as neither is about sesxy landscape shots. My walk into Halifax was fun. Passing the Piece Hall where the new Marvel comics ‘Avengers’ film is being shot I noticed the film industry’s answer to this problem towering over the area. Bring your own sun!
Here’s the ‘little’ brother of the other rig…
I’ve not bumped into any of the actors but Samuel L Jackson posed for selfies with locals outside a nearby restaurant the other day. Halifax seems to be much in demand by the media at the moment as another TV series of ‘Happy Valley is being shot here at the same time.
Leaving the bright lights (literally!) of the film industry behind I’m now on a Northern train to Leeds via Bradford. Passenger loadings are pretty good and seem to be recovering from the latest Covid knock. I’ll be interested to see how Leeds looks compared to my last visit.
14:30.
Well, that was an interesting interlude! I was being coy about where I was going as I didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that I was going to turn up to the anti HS2 farce (don’t you mean ‘day of action’? Ed) in Manchester’s Piccadilly gardens which was due to kick off at 12:00. It took me a while to find it as it was tiny! Just 10 people, a child and two others dressed as a white elephant where there. They were outnumbered by members of the media who patiently waited for them to assemble their banners and elephant before they set off on a circuit of part of Piccadilly Gardens. Their shouts were led by one Karen Wildin, an XR protester from *checks notes* Lreicester! In fact, I doubt any of the were actually from the city they were trying to prevent gaining green infrastructure, regeneration and thousands of jobs. It’s always been noticeable that there’s never been a single organised stopHS2 ‘action’ group in the whole of Manchester – hence them having to draft in people from elsewhere. I’ll do a separate blog about this whole farce, which lasted less then two hours before they traipsed back to Piccadilly station before catching their trains home to whence they came. The attitude of Manchester? Meh! Meanwhile, this afternoon, the HS2 phase 2b Crewe – Manchester Hybrid bill has been deposited in Parliament. It will get its 2nd reading in February, when it will fly through the vote as the opposition to HS2 has collapsed.
Here’s a picture of their farcical demonstration.
Somehow, I don’t think MPs will be quaking in their boots. I’ve seen more people turning up to protest about parking restrictions!
19:30.
I’m now on the train back across the Pennines after an interesting and certainly varied day. After attending the farcical and futile protest I spent a bit of time editing pictures and getting other images off to a client before their deadline, then had a wander around Manchester. I have to admit, the weather wasn’t exactly what you’d want for such perambulations but hey – this is the North in January after all. I did manage to bag a few more library shots which will appear on my Zenfolio picture website soon. After that, it was time for a trip to Chinatown to pick up some more edible goodies. I love mooching around the Chinese supermarkets as I always discover something new that I have to resist the urge to buy as – more likely than not – It’ll end up sitting in a cupbord as I don’t really know what to do with it.
Right now I’m on Northern’s 18:58 from Manchester to Leeds made up of a pair of 2-car Class 195s. It’s surprisingly quiet, not that Victoria station was. That was buzzing with hundreds of young people off to a gig at the Arena (just don’t ask me who was playing as I’ve no idea!).
It’s been a quiet weekend here in Bigland Towers. Dawn’s been under the weather. The weather’s not been great either – and there’s been enough to do at home to keep us confined to barracks anyway. That said we haven’t been completely housebound as we have nipped out to shops and a couple of our local pubs, but I’d hardly call it an active weekend – and neither would my Fitbit!
On the bright side, I’m cracking on with slide scanning and decluttering (much to the joy of the local charity shops) and preparing for the week ahead which I’m determined will be a good one. I’ve got two varied railway-related events on tomorrow which will see me out and about. One is taking more pictures for a forthcoming article in RAIL that involves a trip to Leeds. The other I’ll keep quiet about for now as I don’t want to spoil the surprise for some people. All will be revealed tomorrow. Expect a rolling blog and pictures from my travels anyway as well as an update on some other railway news.
Right, it’s time for super. Dawn’s made a fabulous Shepherds pie so I’m off to eat. all that remains is to leave you with the picture of the day which is taken from my latest batch of old slide scans. This is another view of London which has changed out of all recognition and if I didn’t tell you where it is in advance most people would have no idea where this was.
This picture is of what is now the Jubilee line underground station at Canary Wharf in London’s Docklands. It was taken in 1996 but my records don’t say what month.
The picture’s taken from the Docklands Light railway as my train passed over Middle Dock. This whole area is now an expanse of some seriously expensive real-estate! Oh, you see the buildings to the right? That’s South Quay. It was devastated by an IRA truck bomb in February 1996 which killed two people and injured 100. The buildings you see are shattered shells. I was living in the East End at the time and even though we were over a mile away our windows shook so much we though they were going to be blown in. This was the reality of terrorism in the days of ‘The Troubles’ and it makes some of the things people fret about now pale into insignificance when you look at what happened to the the capital on a regular basis in those days.
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Paul Bigland 