Morning folks. The teams are on their way down from Snowdon and en-route to Bangor whilst the train is on its way from Holyhead where it was stabled overnight. We’re due in at 04:20 and the coaches carrying the teams should arrive shortly afterwards.
We’ve heard from staff with the teams that fog was a real issue on Snowdon and that’s delayed some of the climbers. We’re hoping to delay the trains departure from Bangor in order to ensure we can collect everyone. The problem is we’re occupying the only Westbound platform. We’re due to leave at 04:38 and the first service train from Holyhead is due to arrive at 04:55. To add to the fun, it’s started raining!
05:10.
Due to the wet and slippy conditions on Snowdon the coaches bringing everyone back from were late and there were a few anxious moments as we waited and clock-watched. The first arrived, then there was a gap before the other three turned up. A rapid unloading ensued with volunteers shepherding the tired walkers onto the train as quickly as possible. Even so, we left 9 minutes late but the main thing was we didn’t get in the way of the service train. Now we’re en-route to Scafell.
Walkers arrive back at Bangor in typical Snowdonia weather!Time to sleep before the next challenge. Whilst the walkers sleep, the onboard crew are busy. One group are busy making sandwiches for the packed lunches people will take with them on to Scafell.Another team are assembling the packed lunches, adding fruit and other goodies to go with the sandwiches.
06:00.
It’s time for some sleep as I’ll be joining the walkers climbing Scafell later today…
08:00. I managed an hours sleep and now everyone’s up and being fed and watered. The bacon roll delivery was especially well received.
Sadly, the weather’s not the best we’ve ever had. There’s low mist and cloud, with rain forecast.
09:00.
We’re on lil’ Ratty..
22:00.
Sorry for the gap in blogging but the area around Wasdale and Scafell is a notorious phone blackspot. One of our number discovered that you could only get phone reception if you stood on a metal cattle-grid!
Today’s been both amazing and frustrating at the same time. Unlike previous years it wasn’t possible for me to get ahead of the teams ascending Scafell in order to get pictures of them doing so. Instead I joined the others from the Railway Children to walk the 8 miles across country from Dalegarth to the start of the climb up Scafell. It was an enjoyable walk despite the misty rain we encountered at the top and the boggy conditions underfoot.
The vast majority of teams did brilliantly on Scafell and the minibus and coach operation that got us back to Ravenglass worked really well (I’ll elaborate later when I’ve downloaded the pictures). Our evening meal was served by the cafe on the narrow gauge railway station. They served a humongous Baked potato and Chilli combo that would’ve filled almost any walker.
Sadly, it was after that things started to go a bit ”Pete Tong’. We were informed that the lead Class 37 on our train had failed at Barrow due to a defective starter motor. This meant shunting the train to detach is. The delays this (and another incident) incurred meant that our 19:30 departure became a 20:40 departure. As all the walkers were in the two pubs the first announcement was received with cheers!
Now we’re on our way to Fort William with some real pressures on our timetable. We have two fixed times, the amont it takes to climb and descend from Ben Nevis and the time our train has to leave Fort William to make our connections and get everyone home.
But, right now the most impoertant thing is – sleep. I’ll blog more about our adventures in the morning
I’m enjoying a slower start to today than the past couple in order to get some sleep in the bank as I’m going to need it over the next few days. I had a lie-in until 07:00 today – luxury! Now I’m enjoying topping up my caffeine levels whilst repacking all the kit need for for Infrarail plus all the stuff I’ve brought with me for the next few days volunteering for the Railway Children and their epic ‘3 Peaks by Rail’ challenge which starts this evening. But first, I’m heading back the NEC and Infrarail for a last session of photography. Feel free to keep popping back during the day to see how things unfold…
11:15.
It’s much quieter here at Infrarail today. The Seminars all finish before lunch so I’m planning to make a break for it by then.
13:30.
Job done! The final speakers have finished and all the pictures are ‘in the can’ as it were. The irony? I’ve spent the best part of two and a half days stuck indoors whilst the sun’s been beating down on us and the place has been red-hot. As soon as I pack up and leave to get the train to Crewe the heavens have opened and it’s raining cats and dogs!
Still, here’s a couple of pictures from Infrarail taken just before I left…
I’ll try and catch up with some blogging on my way up to Crewe and fill out some more details of the final day of Infrarail.
15:00.
I’ve finally left Birmingham to make my way (in fits and starts) to Crewe to join the rest of the Railway Children volunteers, staff and entrants to this years 3 Peaks by rail. Thankfully, the torrential rain we had earlier has passed. Now the skies are a multitude of shades of grey with the odd snatch of blue. It’s also very humid. I must admit it was great to be back at Infrarail even if it was hard work. Covering three seminar theatres spread over two halls plus the traipsing around after politicians and VIPs certainly kept me fit! Even so, seeing so many familiar faces again after such a long gap made it all worthwhile. Then there’s the new contacts and offers of work which you can only get face to face. Zoom and the interweb will never be a substitute for that.
15:35.
After a brief stop at Wolverhampton to change trains and grab a couple of pictures I’m on the move again, this time on another West Midlands Class 350. It’s hard to keep track of this fleet as not only do they have three sub-classes, they’re also a mix of refurbished and refurbished sets. The first train had tables and power sockets, this one (350235) doesn’t. Outside there’s some impressively moody and thunderous looking skies which could make for some great pictures if only I was in the right place!
20:00.
We’re on our way! Everyone came together in Crewe without any major difficulties. The teams assembled, registered and received their briefings, the volunteers stocked up the train (a job and a half) and then – we were off. Here’s everyone ready and raring to go.
For the enthusiasts out there, the train’s made up of LSL Mk3 coaches and triple headed by two Class 37s and a Class 47.
21:20.
We’ve just left Llandudno Junction after a 50 minute layover which gave the on-board team the chance to serve everyone with a hot meal. Now we’re heading for Bangor where the walkers will transfer to coaches for the trip to the base of Snowdon.
22:10.
We’ve deposited the teams, the guides and some RC staff and volunteers at Bangor where they’re being bussed to the base of Snowdon. Before they left they were provided with plenty of fresh fruit and other snacks to makes sure they weren’t short of energy.
Meanwhile, the train and the onboard crew are heading to Holyhead where the train will be serviced overnight and prepared for picking up the walkers when it returns to Bangor at 04:21.
23:15.
Whilst the teams climb Snowdon the train and its crew are at Holyhead where they’ve been busy unpacking and storing all the food and drink that was loaded aboard at Crewe. Meanwhile, chef Nick Hebborn and Alison are rustling up a meal of sausage stew on a bed of rice for them in one of the buffet cars. We don’t have a kitchen car this year, so facilities are limited.
I left home this morning with mixed feelings as I’ve had to leave Dawn alone in an empty house without Jet for company and cuddles. But there’s work to do and bills to pay…
So here I am on Northern’s 06:04 from Sowerby Bridge to Wigan. Despite it being such an early train there’s half a dozen of us early birds in the front vehicle of this 3-car class 158. I wasn’t the only one catching it from Sowerby either, five of us did, which is a good indicator of the way rail passenger numbers are recovering post-pandemic.
The weather’s taken a turn for the better, bringing high temperatures and (this morning) heavy mist dominating the valley as we head West.
I’m heading for Birmingham and the NEC as I’m working at the combined Infrarail/Railtex trade fair – the first time it’s been held since 2019 as the pandemic wiped out all these events in 2020. I’m looking forward to the chance to catch up with friends and colleagues over the next few days. I’ve a busy schedule but should still have time for some fun.
06:32.
We’ve crossed over the border to Lancashire but the mist that confined the Calder Valley has followed me over the Pennines although it’s not as thick here. It certainly provides an ethereal backdrop as we chug our way towards Manchester.
06:40.
We’ve just left Rochdale which has provided plenty of passengers heading into Manchester to start a day’s work. We also lost a few as a handful of Royal Mail workers in their distinctive red jackets (and obligatory shorts!) arrived in the town.
07:45.
Well, that’s my stress levels well up! My train arrived at East Jn, just outside Victoria station 3 minutes early, then sat waiting for a platform. And waited, and waited – and waited. I had 32 mins to make my connection with the 07:27 from Piccadilly, which should have been planty of time for a leisurely stroll across the city, suitcase in tow. The minutes kept ticking and we went nowhere. Finally when a pltform cleared we were allowed in – at 07:04. Great, 23 minutes to get out of Victoria dash across town and onto a train at Piccadilly. If not, my first job of the day (photographing the HS2 Minister Andrew Stephenson) was up the swannee. As I left Victoria a clock showed 07:08. Despite pulling a suitcase I set a near personal best and arrived at Piccadilly at 07:23. A hot and sweaty mess admittedly, but I made it!
I’m now cooling down in the air-conditioned luxury (“luxury”? Ed) of a Cross-Country Voyager bound for Bournemouth…
08:33
We’re now South of Stafford. I’ve regained my breath and equilibrium, cooled down and am ready for the whatever the rest of the day holds. This 9 car Voyager’s full of reservations and people but I managed to find an available seat in the front car. God knows how busy these services will be when they revert to the normal timetable and become single units again! Today’s going to be a hot one, there’s wall to wall sunshine outside although the mist persists even here in Staffordshire. I suspect it’s going to be rather hot in the NEC today, but we’ll see…
21:45.
Apologies for the lack of regular updates throughout the day but I was run off my feet! This year Infrarail/Railtex was held in halls away from the main entrance, adding another 10 minutes to get there from International station. Thankfully, the guys I was working with from Rail Business Daily had everything in hand so even though we had to go through extra layers of checks due to Covid I had plenty of time to spend with the HS2 Minister Andrew Stephenson MP to get the shots we needed and then listen to his keynote address and Q&A session. Here he is addressing a busy arena.
Most of the rest of my day was spent ping-ponging between to discussion areas, capturing shots of the speakers. Needless to say, I’ve racked up a few miles today! Disappointingly, and despite the fact it’s the first time any of these events have been held since 2019, the numbers attending were lower than we’ve seen for a few years. It’s clear that it’s going to take a while for events like this to bounce back from Covid. Even so, it was obvious from the conversations I had with various people that everyone’s so happy to be back to being able to meet with friends and colleagues face to face again. I certainly felt that as I toured the show and bumped into people I’ve not seen since the first lockdown and I know I wasn’t the only one. Today was very much about the keynote speakers and the seminars. Tomorrow should be more relaxed, enabling me to get a greater variety of pictures and play around with the camera. It’s not that some of the seminars weren’t really interesting, but there was a feeling expressed at some that the biggest stumbling block to progress with the railways is getting financial decisions to be made in the corridors of power. This very much came across in the discussion about decarbonisation where the sentiment was ‘right, we’re preaching to the converted here. We all know what the problems and pitfalls are, we also know what the benefits are, how do we get the Treasury to be part of the solution, not part of the problem’? Answers on a postcard, please…
As Covid restricted some of the more social activities at the end of the day I drifted away earlier than normal as my job was done. Heading back into Birmingham I caught the same Cross-Country train that I’d come down on. In the time I’d been at the fair the sets had time to complete their trip to Bournemouth and back! Birmingham was sunny, hot and sweaty so after a quick pint in the Shakespeare pub by the station I headed for my hotel which is just behind the O2 arena. I’ve no idea who’s playing but by the time I’d changed and ventured out to get something to eat the queue of young people waiting to get in was easily over a quarter of a mile long! I steered well clear as two words formed in my mind, ‘Covid Hotspot’…
Right now I’m back in the cool of my hotel room editing pictures from today and checking my kit ready for day 2. It’s an early night for me after an 04:45 start this morning but I’m intending to make the most of the day tomorrow and blog more about the event and another evening in Birmingham. Stay tuned, but for now – it’s goodnight from me…
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/
Apologies for the lack of a blog of any kind yesterday. This was due to the fact my normal mode of transportation (rail) was swapped for travelling back from Surrey to Yorkshire by road and trying to blog in a car isn’t the easiest thing in the world. Oh, there’s also the small fact that my wife was doing the driving and Dawn (not unreasonably) would have been less than impressed if I spent the journey tapping away at my phone!
In truth, we didn’t depart Surrey until late afternoon but we were both busy with work and chores before we left so time was at a premium. The journey’s just shy of 250 miles and takes over 5 hours with one stop. We left at 16:00 and weren’t sure what to expect departing at that time but we actually had a really clear run, even though we take the route avoiding the M25 and skirt the West side of Oxford instead. We arrived home just before 21:30 and spent the rest of the evening unpacking and settling in back at home, so blogging was the last thing on my mind.
Today’s been different, but equally busy. I visited the Friends of Mytholmroyd station today for a rather special event which I’ll blog about tomorrow. Needless to say, a good time was had by all and it was great to see some old friends and faces again. I’ve a very busy week ahead of me next week so I’ll be having a full day in the office tomorrow in preparation – as well as getting all of this weeks pictures onto my Zenfolio website. Today’s picture of the day is one of them.
London’s rail network is fascinating. Lines crisscross the capital – and each other. Here’s one such place where two very different systems cross in the open. I took this shot at North Acton on Tuesday whilst I was out looking at various HS2 construction sites. The timing was just right and as a Central line tube train pulled out of the station and headed towards the city a London Overground Train passed overhead.
You can find many more pictures from my travels on the London Underground by clicking on this link. All the pictures from my exploration of the High Speed 2 construction sites are here.
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/
Today I become a Surrey commuter, taking the train into London for the day to visit a camera repairer and spend the day visiting various railway locations around my old home. Sadly, it’s a very grey start to the day ‘dahn sarf’ although the forecast for the capital looks more promising. As the extended bank-holiday weekend is over I’ll be interested to see how many people have returned to work and how busy the capital is without its usual summer overload of foreign tourists. Or are they starting to creep back? Whatever, it should be an interesting and enjoyable day. Keep popping back to see how it develops. Right now I’m packing my kit ready for a lift to the station. See you later…
08:45.
Dawn’s dropped me off at the station in time to catch my first train of the day, the 08:33 to Guildford. You used to have to change at Aldershot to get to Guildford, but nowadays there’s a direct service. Today it’s operated by 450007 a 4-car Siemens Desiro. The trains lightly loaded with just half a dozen in my car after leaving Aldershot. Not having any previous experience of the route at this time of day I don’t know if that’s good or bad.
The heavy grey clouds have now added drizzle to the entertainment outside my train window. My Scottish friends have a word for a day like this. Dreich.
09:30.
On arrival at Guildford I had just enough time to grab a couple of pictures before the next Waterloo service arrived. The 09:05 was worked by a pair of well loaded 5-car Class 444s. I maged to find a seat for the trip to Woking where I changed once more in order to catch a service stopping at Clapham junction. A minute late a brace of diesel powered Class 159s rolled in, so I joined the leading seat which contains a respectable number of passengers.
09:55.
I see the London Overground is back to normal already.
11:30.
My trip on the busy Overground took me to Shepherds Bush, one of the few areas of London I really don’t know very well as I never had much call to go here. That said, the area around the LOROL and Underground stations has undergone a massive redevelopment, so it’s hardly surprising I don’t recognise much! I was here to catch the Central Line out to one of its Western extremities. As an old East-ender I know the other side well, but I was shocked to see the state of the trains today. They’re filthy inside and out.
They’re kept free of litter but they really do need a deep clean and some TLC. My trip took me to the far end of the line at West Ruislip. I’d come here to get shots of the HS2 construction site which is next to the line and easily visible from the station overbridge, as you can aee from this picture. It’s rail connected so that when it’s fully operational material can leave/arrive by train.
Thankfully, by the time I arrived the miserable drizzle had lifted, allowing me to get the shots I wanted. Now I’m heading back into London to grab shots from a few more locations on the line.
15:00.
I’ve had a busy time. My next stop was to East Acton, where I wandered up to Wormwood Scrubs to see the work HS2 contractors are doing to divert some utilities. As usual, some local ‘greens’ are screaming blue murder about the “destruction” of the Scrubs. There’s even a squalid squatters, sorry “protest” camp on the site near the work that’s taking place. Needless to say, the reality of what’s happening is far more mundane. A trench is being dug from OldOak Common Lane N-E along the edge of the Common. The fencing is far wider than the trench itself! Here’s the compound on the main road. Not exactly ‘laying waste’, is it? I’ll do a different blog about the whole site another time.
Meanwhile, here’s what the rest of the Scrubs looks like. The trench works are to the left, at the end of this temporary access road. Looks very ‘destroyed’, doesn’t it?
Meanwhile, just the other side of the railway to Wormwood Scrubs is the site of the new Old Oak Common HS2 station where construction works recently started. The station will be built in a vast underground box. Here’s what it looks like today as work ramps up. This is going to be stopped by the handful of squatters on the Scrubs? Seriously?
Retracing my steps to White City it suddenly dawned on me when I last spent time around here and why – and they’re not fond memories. I used to come here regularly in 2004-05 because my sister was receiving treatment for breast cancer at the Hammersmith hospital. Having beaten the disease back in the early 1990s it returned again 10 years later. Two mastectomies and specialist treatment only slowed it down. Sometimes she’d come down from Southport to stay with us whilst she had the treatment, other times she’d come down for the day. As Ruth didn’t know London I’d be her guide and get her to the hospital by bus and tube. I was with her on her last visit when the Surgeon told her there was nothing more they could do, her condition was terminal and she needed to arrange a Hospice. She was devestated after fighting for so long. She had two young children and fought like a lioness to see them grow up. It was an awful experience trying to comfort her. What on earth can you say to someone in that situation? So, now I remember why I never visited Acton again afterwards.
17:30
Shrugging off those memories I doubled back to Clapham Junction and on to Vauxhall to deposite my poorly lens in the tender care of Fixation, a company I’ve been using since I turned professional. They’re exellent and always helped me in the past. Hopefully the damage isn’t too severe and can be repaired quickly. Having that mission over I made my way to Clapham Junction once more to get pictures of these old girls, which are living on borrowed time due to delays in getting their replacements working, drivers trained and the units in service. Until that happens, the old 1980s, BR built Class 455s will remain on the front line, forming the backbone of suburban services.
Here’s what will displace the Class 455s. One day. This was a new Bombardier Aventra in Clapham Junction yard this morning.
19:00
I’m now off the rails (as it were!) and back in Tilford getting ready for a meal out with Dawn and her Niece, Jessica. We’ll be eating in Farnham so I’ll be going off-grid for a couple of hours. When we get back I’ll finish off this blog with a few more pictures and impressions from the day.
22:00.
I’m back! We enjoyed a relaxed and really good meal at Cotes in Farnham. Jess had only recently returned from her first festival experience at Reading and loved it (well, apart from the toilets, obviously – a rite of passage for any first-time festival goer), now we’re back in Tilford and I have chance to bring this blog to and end with a few thoughts and a couple of pictures.
Thoughts? How busy the railways have become again in such a short time. Travelling on the London Overground today and you’d think Covid had never happened, but then the Overground sees few tourists, it a Londoners travel network. The Underground was quieter than it was pre-Covid, partly because of the lack of tourists, but also because not everyone’s returned to work. Even so, I believe the doomsayers have been proved wrong – and within a very short time.
Another thought – how massively construction of the new HS2 railway is ramping up. The construction sites are a hive of activity. I visited several today and passed many more. The levels of activity are through the roof now mobilisation is in full swing. I’m looking forward to visiting many more sites along HS2 Phase 1 over the next few months in order to get a fuller picture. All in all, it’s been a fascinating day. But tomorrow I really will be heading North again – albeit not for long. September is going to be a very interesting month…
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/
Today I’d expected to be making my merry way across the country by rail, leaving leafy Surrey to cross the capital and watch the world go by on the East Coast Main Line before arriving back at the Yorkshire tea plantations on the slopes of the Calder valley. Only things didn’t quite go to plan….
Last night I was editing some pictures, including a few I’d taken yesterday afternoon at Box Hill when I noticed something odd on the Surrey pics. On each shot the right hand side of the image was out of focus for about 25% of the frame. Odd, very odd. I’d only taken the camera body with just the 80-400mm lens attached to it so I immediately checked out my kit. That’s when I discovered that – somehow – the long lens body had become skewed on the ring that attached it to the camera body. To say my language became colourful (even profane) would be an understatement! If God existed there’d have been a lightning strike in Tilford last night!
At the beginning of September I’ve two jobs lasting several days running back to back, so I really need that lens – or a replacement for it. This left me with one choice. Stay another night in Surrey and head into London tomorrow to the camera servicing centre I’ve been using for the past 20 years. My big concern was what to do with our old moggie, Jet, who’s at home and been looked after by neighbours, plus Dawn’s mum and dad. Fortunately, they’ve rallied round and John and Norah have taken Jet on another holiday to their house in Huddersfield. He’s such an old boy we don’t want to leave him on his own too long, so this was the best solution. Now I’m free to extend my Surrey sojourn and come back with Dawn on Wednesday rather then her having to drive all the way solo. I also get to have the lens looked at and do some photographic projects around London and Surrey – albeit without a long lens, but that’ll force me to look at things in a different way – which isn’t always a bad thing…
This means my final blog of August will be filled with fun and games in London as I’ll have more time to visit locations I’d got in mind.
Although this blog hasn’t been billed as a picture of the day I’ll still include one – just to add a splash of colour to my scribbling. Here’s another of my recent slide scans from my Indian archives. I took this picture in Arambol, Goa, India in December 1993.
Every evening before sunset, after most of the Westerners had adjourned to the beachside bars and restaurant in this little fishing village to enjoy a sunset beer they’d be replaced by local children who’d arrive to play games, splash in the waves or just lark about. Often young lads like this would find whatever they could to use as a bat and stumps to enjoy a game of cricket. Sometimes you’d get bemused European boys like this one wondering just what was this strange game they were playing. It was always fun to watch. It’s odd to think that these young boys will now be men and it could well be their sons playing these same games on the beach in Arambol.
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/
My Surrey sojourn’s been an enjoyable couple of days. On Saturday the pair of us enjoyed a trip into Guildford for a spot of shopping, both window and real. The sheer number of independent retailers is far greater in the South than some northern cities, especially when it comes to clothing. That said, the bargains I picked up (some shirts) were from a national outlet. In the evening we adjorned to a pub in Frensham, near to where we’re based in Tilford. The Holly Bush is a roomy place with a large covered seating area outside, plus a big beer garden. The food menu isn’t extensive, but what they do supply is very good. On a recommendation we shared the fish platter. Huge King prawns, excellent squid rings and a delicious Mackerel pate came with bowls of Olives and sun-dried tomatoes plus crisp pitta bread and a sweet chilli dip. Feeling ambitious we also ordered one of our favourites (soft shell crab) which was on the small plate menu and served with mango. So, here’s today’s bonus picture – the Fish platter (which was more than enough for two people)…
Today we went to somewhere Dawn’s never been to before and that I’ve not visited for years, Box Hill in the Surrey Hills AONB. Needless to say (being a bank holiday) it was very busy with families making a day of it and enjoying the views and walks, or just getting together in groups to have picnics or barbecues. The atmosphere was lovely. As we’d taken Tilly, my brother-in-Law’s Cairn Terrier with us, we made lots of friends! Now, back at home we’re having a relaxed evening as tomorrow it will be time for me to return North again – which should be fun as it’s Bank Holiday Monday. No doubt a rolling blog will appear…
In the meantime, here the real picture of the day which is taken from the last batch of old slides I’ve been scanning. I took this shot at the flea market in Anjuna, Goa, India in December 1993. It’s a shot of one of the Tribal Women from Karnataka state who sell the most amazing embroidered, bejewelled and mirrored clothing. Their personal jewellery can be quite something too. In this case it was the woman’s colourful sari which really added to the scene.
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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/
I’m on the move once more, this time heading for a break in Surrey, where Dawn’s been for the past few days, house-sitting for her brother whilst he takes a much-needed holiday in Greece. Right now I’m on a Northern service from Leeds that should have been going to Chester, but for reasons unexplained it’s terminating in Manchester – which is fine for me. Like many services I’ve been on recently, the train’s busy with people of all ages having a day out. We’ve had walkers heading for the Pennines, families heading for the sights and young people off shopping. The days of empty trains are well behind us. Most passengers are still wearing masks, which is reassuring, especially as Covid cases are very much on the rise at the moment. It’s almost as if some people have forgotten that and think it’s gone away. I’ll be blogging throughout the day as my journey unfolds, feel free to pop back later to see how I get on…
12:00
Walking across Manchester from Victoria to Piccadilly was an eye-opener in more ways than one. The city centre was packed! I’ve not seen such crowds since before lockdown. Two things struck me, one was that there’s an awful lot of young people with backpacks about, presumably because the August bank holiday weekend’s well known as the festival season and these events have reopened again. The other thing that stuck me was young women’s fashions, which have changed a lot during the pandemic. The word ‘skimpy’ springs to mind. Maybe it’s a reaction to being locked down and cooped up for so long? On arrival at Piccadilly I didn’t hang around at the numbers of passengers milling around gave me the impression the London train would be busy. True enough, platform 8 already contained dozens of people waiting for the incoming Pendolino that would form the 11:55 service, which I’m sat on now.
Manchester Piccadilly this morning.
13:25.
We passed through one of my old haunts (Rugby) a few minutes ago. I once spent Xmas and Boxing day working trackside here for Network Rail during the ill-fated Rugby upgrade, part of the West Coast Route Modernisation. It didn’t go well. In those days the ‘Sentinel’ scheme which monitored people’s PTS (Personal Track Safety) competencies wasn’t too sophisticated. A lot of the Overhead Line Engineers were subcontractors and many simply never turned up as they’d been offered better money to work elsewhere. Ironically, one of the pictures I took that Christmas is still being used by the media on a regular basis. Those in the know can tell the pictures age as full PPE (including high-vis trousers) wasn’t mandatory.
13:55.
We’re now South of Watford on the way in to Euston so I’m going to shut-down the laptop and blog from the phone…
15:45.
That was an interesting interlude in London. Whilst I was there I checked out progress on building High Speed 2 around Euston. Every time I visit the area’s changed due to more old buildings having vanished or streets moved. Today was no exception. Now the West side of Euston station’s disappeared, including the old signalbox. I took time to get some shots of the work pinning the Western retaining wall which is having rows of ground anchors added to it. You can see it as your train arrives (look to the right). Wandering on through Somers Town to St Pancras I caught a busy Thameslink service to London Bridge, then an equally busy Southeastern service to Waterloo.
Passengers throng the platforms at St Pancras Thameslink station this afternoon.
I’m now on a packed 10 car Southwestern train to Woking. Even I’m surprised at how quickly passenger numbers are bouncing back.
I caught this Poole train as far as Woking where I changed for an Alton service which was less busy but had far more passengers than when I was here in July. The stations have recovered from their slumbers too as shops and cafes have reopened. Here’s how Waterloo station looked this afternoon.
I’ll be very interested to see how the railways look over the holiday as I’ll be heading back North on Bank holiday Monday, which could prove interesting.
22:15
Time to bring this blog to a close. I’m now safely ensconced in Surrey after a busy but enjoyable day. Dawn picked me up from Farnham station and the pair of us have had a lovely evening catching up whilst taking my Brother-in-Law’s dog for a walk along some of the footpaths surrounding Tilford before having night chilling at home in front of the TV – which is why this blog went dormant. I had a night off!
It’s another short blog from me tonight as I’ve been busy sorting out work and the fact that tomorrow I head back down South for the Bank Holiday. This means that you’ll be treated to a rolling blog as I make my way from Halifax to Farnham via who knows where as I have some work shots in mind…
Today’s not been a bad one, although I could’ve done without the news that Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts has passed away – even if 80’s a bloody good age for someone in his profession! I saw the Stones live at Wembley Stadium in 1990 and they were superb. It’s a sobering thought that all my teenage idols are now pensioners, but then – so am I. Where the hell did the years go? It’s a question I’ll explore in another blog when I have the time and inclination…
Meanwhile, here’s the picture of the day. I’ve scanned a few more old travel slides today and this was one of them. I took this picture of the main beach in Arambol, Goa, India on the 31st January 2000,
I first found this place in 1985 and for many years it became my ‘happy place’. But time and events move on. I’ve not been back since 2003 and although I’m tempted as I still have friends there I’m not sure I want to spoil those fabulous and special memories. Besides, there’s so many places that I haven’t been to yet that I’d love to explore…
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/
There was me thinking I’d been so clever this morning! I’d a whole blog prepared which was a rewrite of an article I’d written for RAIL magazine back in 2017. I was all ready to publish it then realised I couldn’t find the damned pictures to go with it! All my pictures (so I thought) are backed-up. Either on my Zenfolio website or on several hard-drives. Only one particular hard-drive failed earlier this year. And guess where the pictures are? Hopefully I’ll be able to get all of them recovered as it sounds like a mechanical failure rather then anything more serious. Even so, it’s made me think about how I look at backing up pictures in the future.
This means today’s blog is going to be very short and the picture of the day not what I was going to display at all. But, it does fit my mood as this is somewhere I’d much rather be right now. I took this picture of a sunset in Mandrem, North Goa, India on the 31st January 2002.
I can still hear the sound of the sea and feel the heat on my skin as I look at the picture. I am soooo looking forward to getting back to international travelling just as soon as this shitty time is over. OK, it’s not *all* bad, I’ll be on the rails in the UK again very soon, so expect a few rolling blogs and pictures from around the UK. In the meantime – enjoy this picture and relax….
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/
Paul Bigland 