Sorry for the lateness in starting this rolling blog but I decided to treat myself to a lie-in and a more thoughtful and less frenetic day today. I’d originally planned to head back to West Yorkshire today but I’ve extended my stay by another night as there’s so much to try and catch up with photographically. Having been confined to barracks because of Covid you forget how much you’ve missed out on seeing in that time.
I’ve just been exploring the railway between Norwich and Ely, stopping off at stations I’ve not visited for several years and certainly not since the new trains started running. Right now I’m en-route to Ely (again) to change-over to another route. I’ll update this blog once I have…
20:20.
OK, OK – I know! This has been a crap rolling blog – despite all my best intentions. Part of the reason is that the trains I’ve been on have been busy, there’s none of this ‘having a cosy table bay of four to yourself. In fact, the train I’m on now (an AGA ‘Stansted Express’ set pressed into service on Norwich – Liverpool St) doesn’t even have tables, so my laptop’s balanced across my legs!
That said, it’s been a good day, even if I didn’t get to do everything I wanted and the weather spent most of its time being overcast. I’ve visited some stations I’ve not been to for donkey’s years and got really useful pictures. I’ve also observed how passenger numbers are very much on the increase again, driven by schools, colleges and leisure travel. But that’s not all, there’s a lot more ‘suits’ around again too as business travel picks up with companies coming out of both lockdown and furlough.
Today’s route took me from Ipswich to Norwich in order to station hop along the line to Ely. My first port of call was Wymondham. As well as taling pictures of the lovely old station building where the cafe and beer garden have now reopened. I also ventured into the village for a mooch around only to find that it was market day. The town’s done an excellent job in making the centre ‘covid safe’ with planters narrowing the roads to make more space for what matters: People.
23:00.
It’s far too late to be blogging now, plus I have to be up early to pack my kit and start making my way from the flatlands of East Angular to the rather less flat Pennines. That said, I’ve really enjoyed my time here and the chance to explore places old and new. There’s so much that I could write about but there’s not enough hours in the day – and I still have hundreds of pictures to edit yet. Here’s a final one from today. Once a male-dominated industry (except in times of war) the UK’s railways are making great strides in becoming more inclusive and representative. I noticed this young Muslim train dispatcher at Ely earlier. This is the future of the railways…
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/
Having fallen into a pattern of getting up at 06:00 to make the most of my time here today was no different apart from the weather. The wall to wall sunshine we’ve had these past few days had been rudely interrupted by clouds this morning, leaving the looking decidely mixed. Even so, there should be plenty of photographic opportunities. I’m already on the move, heading to Norwich for a meeting with an old friend who’s recently changed jobs. Having worked with Richard Clinnick on RAIL magazine for 15 years (we were on his first job together) I’m keen to hear about his new role on another magazine I’ve worked for – the International Railway Journal.
Right now I’m sat on another of Anglia’s Class 745 12 car units. I really like these trains but I noticed that one of the Stansted Express variants was working a Norwich – Liverpool St diagram earlier. They seem rather inferior, with no tables and what looks like reduced legroom in the airline seats. Hopefully, I’ll get to sample one later today. Here’s how the priority seating/wheelchair area looks on my train.
10:02.
My meeting with Richard had to be cancelled at the last moment due to him receiving a text from the Covid ‘Track & Trace” system telling him to self-isolate for 24 hours. Talk about timing! Instead I hung around Norwich long enough to get some pictures before catching the 09:27 to Stansted Airport to head along another old familiar route, the line via Wymondham to Ely. I’ve written about my trips on this line several times over the years. It used to be very “old railway” with mechanical signalling, jointed track and even telegraph poles festooned with dozens of wires. All of those are gone now. Instead the Stadler 755s zip along the line at an impressive pace. The old signalboxes still remain, but they’re all boarded up and derelict.
Sadly, cloud cover is 100% around here, blue skies are a memory again.
12:00.
My sojourn in Ely coincided with the heaviest cloudcover of the whole trip – aided and abetted by a partial eclipse! To cap it all, the photo location I walked to was now so overgrown it was pointless for what I was after. That’s the danger when you don’t visit a place for 25 years I suppose! Just before I left the cloud cover cleared so I did manage a few useful shots. Next up – Cambridge…
19:00.
Sorry about the lack of updates – I got sidetracked! In Cambridge I took a couple of hours off to meet an old friend. An old girlfriend actually. Margot and I were an ‘item’ back in the 1970s but haven’t seen each other for well over 35 years, but through the magic of Facebook we regained touch with each other a couple of years ago. Margot’s happily married with two grown-up sons but as I was in the area and we still share common interests like travel and photography, we decided to have a light lunch, a G&T and remember old times whilst sat in her garden. It was lovely to see her after all these years and realise just how much time has passed.
Back on the road again retraced my steps to Ely but the weather was still playing silly buggers, and as memory lane was in vogue today I headed up to a place I’ve not visited since the early 2000s. Kings Lynn. I didn’t linger, I just wanted to refresh my memory. Nowaday’s the line’s worked by Great Northern Class 387s rather than the old WAGN Class 365s (a train I miss). What surprised me was just how rough riding the 387s were on that line. OK, I was sat over a bogie, but every time we passed over a road crossing the violent hunting and crashing make me fear we were going to end up in the dirt. This happened at several crossings which was rather disconcerting when you realise it’s not just a one-off.
On the way back I stopped off at the lovely old station of Downham Market which retains its original buildings and a working signalbox, which surprised me as I thought this section of line from Ely to Kings Lynn had been resignalled, but obvioulsy not. The place was a pean to the vanished BR region of ‘Network South-East’ as nearly all the signs carried the branding of a company that vanished in the 1990s.
22:00.
I’m now relaxing back at the hotel after a long day’s exploring, albeit with mixed photographic results due to the weather but that hasn’t detracted from the sheer joy of being out and about again, rediscovering some old haunts whilst realising just how much has changed in the intervening years. There’s still lots to try and capture so I’ve decided to extend my stay here in Ipswich by another night in order to try and maximise my time away. Plus, let’s face it – it’s not like I’m going to be jetting off abroad next week…
Hopefully the extra time will also allow me to spend more time catching up with some of the places I’ve missed so far. The forecast isn’t brilliant tomorrow but harsh sun isn’t always the best for some pictures. If the weather’s not so condusive I can always retreat somewhere to catch up on photo editing and bide my time. Let’s see what happens – and where I get to…
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/
Sorry for the delay in starting this. I’ve been up since 06:00 and I was on my first train from Ipswich by 07:34 – and in glorious weather too. Then it all went a bit “Pete Tong”. I plugged in my laptop on the train so I could check in with the world (and write this), then spent the entire trip to Saxmundham battling against the ‘blue screen of death’ as my laptop flashed up the dreaded words ‘exception error’. Fortunatly I managed to reset it (eventually). Not for the first time my machine doesn’t chew automatic updates properly when they’re swallowed from indifferent wifi on the move…
Still, I can breathe easy for now as I backed up all my data and pictures as a precaution. For now I’m going to be blogging via my phone, so please excuse fat finger syndrome and a spull-chucker that thinks I’m wanting to write in Serbo-Croat!
I’m currently kicking my heels between trains at the pretty and well-heeled market town of Saxmundam. You can tell it’s well-heeled as it boasts two new supermarkets and one of ’em is a Waitrose.
The station’s looking good too. The Lowestoft bound platforms been renovated, the old station building’s undergoing a rebuild and the car-park’s recently been extended. The large flower bed that separates it from the Ipswich bound platform’s been replanted by the local community group and includes a new herb garden. All that’s needed now is for passengers to return in numbers.
I’ve traversed the East Suffolk line many times. In fact I wrote about it last September as part of my bi-annual Round Britain rover for RAIL magazine last September but I’ve never had time to stop off at any of the stations and towns en-route. Today’s an opportunity to make up for that omission.
Despite much recent modernisation, with resignalling and new track the East Suffolk line still takes me back to the old days as there’s long lengths of the old 60ft sections of jointed bull-head rail to provide the famous ‘clickety-click’ sound of classic rail travel. I’ve heard a sound I’ve not come across for years, the bang as a fishplate copes with the rails expanding in the hot sun!
11:15.
I backtracked from Saxmundham in order to spend some time at the excellent station restoration project at Wickham Market. The old two-storey station building has undergone a massive make-over to convert it into a cafe and meeting rooms for the benefit of the local community. The scheme was funded from several different sources including Community Rail Network and the Railway Heritage trust who helped with the replacement of the station canopy. The lovely volunteer behind the cafe counter told me that the copies of the original spandrels were made by Hargreaves in Sowerby Bridge – talk about a small world!
Right now I’m on the 10:42 train making my way North towards Lowestoft, maybe I’ll stop off on the way if something else looks enticing…
I’m travelling in the front car of a three car Class 755 but this set (329) seems noticeably noisier than others I’ve travelled on due to vibration from the engine compartment. Even so, it’s head and shoulders in quality above the old 2-car Class 156s it’s replaced!
13:15.
I’m now on my way to Norwich after a short layover in Lowestoft which I used to buy some extra summer clothes from M&S. With not having been able to visit Thailand recently my old multi pocketed shorts (ideal for travelling) had to be condemned! I’ve now found a half-decent replacement. But God, Lowestoft was depressing. I’ve visited the place many times. I’ve even stayed overnight, which was ‘fun’ but each time I return it seems to get worse. I stood out like a sore thumb for all these reasons: I’m not clincally obese. I’m not festooned with ‘tats and I don’t use either a walking stick, Zimmer frame or mobility scooter! Honestly, the place was like God’s waiting room.
16:45.
I took a break in Norwich in order to have coffee with an old friend. Dominic and his family moved up here from Chelmsford at the end of last year, so it was good to be able to catchup after so long – even briefly. The town doesn’t seem to have changed much. Whilst I waited outside the station I watched an armed police team and the transport police detain one youth whilst a gaggle of women in matching hen party T-shirts stood smoking and spilling booze. On a Wednesday? Must be some hen do!
Right now I’m en-route to the broads again to recreate some photographic favourites featuring the new trains rather then the elderly and wheezing class 156s…
19:20.
I’m on the rails again after getting the picture that I wanted of one of the new Class 755 trains crossing the swing bridge at Reedham. Sadly, I only got one bite of the cherry due to the rail timetable and time constraints. Even so. It’s a lovely place to while away an hour and watch the boat traffic on the broads. Reedham boasts two pubs on the river but only one has reopened at the moment. I can’t post a picture right now as I was concentrating on using my Nikon, but I will later.
I’ve been coming to Reedham for years and find it a lovely spot. The railway might have lost some of its interest now it’s been modernised and the old mechanical signalling’s been replaced, but the local station friends group makes up for that. They’ve done an excellent job with the station gardens and the small museum they maintain in one of the original station buildings.
The Reedham swing bridge – just waiting for a train…
22:30.
My final update for the day as I’m now back in my hotel in Ipswich, juggling plans for tomorrow as I’ve a couple of people to catch up with whilst enjoying this superb weather. My trip to Norwich was ‘interesting’ to say the least. On my return from Reedham I nipped into town to buy a sandwich. The first thing I saw was very positive. The ground floor of an office block just the other side of the River Wensum has been converted into an NHS Covid vaccination station. Dozens of people were inside with more queuing outside. The really positive thing was they were all young people. Sadly, the good impression didn’t last. a few yards up the road I came across a group of young people and one slightly older woman who were all well gone already. They were arguing as it was some girls birthday and the woman had trapped said girl in a lift three times (no, I can’t work it out either). It seemed like the usual carry-on that you get in Norwich most weekends when every village idiot for miles descends on the place. I thought no more of it until one of of the young men blurted out in exasperation “Oh Mum!”…Maybe Ry Cooder should have forgotten about Texas and written a song about Norfolk…
Anyways, here’s one last picture from today now that I’ve go them dowloaded onto the laptop (which seems to be behaving itself). When I got back to Ipswich I had chance to have a look at one of the new Bombardier Class 720s as one was waiting to return to London. Oh dear! They have 3+2 seating and the aisles are so narrow they’re a tight squeeze even for me. With a camera bag on my back I stood no chance of getting through, so imagine what they’d be like with people occupying those seats?
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/
Apologies for the recent gap in blogging, it’s not that I’ve not been up to anything so had nothing to say (exactly the opposite) it’s simply been a case of not having enough time in a day to fit everything in!
This weeks will be a little different as I’m off on my travels and flying solo so the focus is rather different. I’m spending the next few nights based in Ipswich in order to explore and record the changing rail scene across East Anglia and Essex. Right now I’m on the 07:00 from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester Victoria in order to head South to my old home town. London. Despite the gradual easing of Covid restrictions this train’s still quiet. It’s a three-car 153/158 lash-up and there’s only half a dozen of us in the front 153 right now. I’ll be interested to see how busy it is by Manchester…
The glorious weather we’ve had over the past few days has faded away this morning, leaving us with low cloud and spots of rain. Even so, the temperatures good and ideal for lugging around a camera bag and rucsac – which is just as well!
I’ll be blogging throughout the day, so feel free to keep popping in to see what (and where) I get up to…
07:45.
Due to problems with another service my train’s become an “all shacks” service to Manchester, stopping everywhere en-route, which means we’re filling up. My car’s still less than half-full, but it’s clear passenger numbers are gradually recovering from the lockdown nadir. The weather here in Lancashire’s sunnier than t’other side of the Pennines, so I’m hoping for for a pleasant stroll across Manchester later.
09:30
And relax…! I’m currently back in familiar territory, speeding South on 1A16, Avanti West Coast’s 08:55 Manchester Piccadilly – Euston Pendolino. My earlier arrival at Manchester Victoria saw me do a double take as I passed throught the station. One of Northern’s new CAF built units was sitting in platform 2, one of the pair of East facing bays. It was only when I noticed the number that I realised something unusual. It was one of their electric sets, not diesel. This is the first time I’ve seen an EMU in the bays as currently (pardon the pun) there’s nowhere for them to run to as the wires don’t extend futher East than the station environs. At the moment Network Rail are extending electrification as far as Stalybridge as part of the trans-pennine route upgrade (TRU) so in a few years time this will be a common sight, but not right now…
10:15.
My Pendolino’s eating up the miles to Euston, but there’s one noticeable thing missing at the lineside. As we passed Rugeley the four giant cooling towers from the old coal fired power station have vanished. They were demolished using explosives over the weekend.
10:24.
Our journey South was going really well until Rugby when running early turned into a 6 minute deficit after being checked twice, first at Trent Valley Junction, then in the station where a sister Pendolino pulled up alongside us. Having cleared Hillmorton Junction we’re picking up speed again although I’ve no idea what the problem was as there’s been no announcements to explain.
12:15.
Our slightly late arrival at Euston didn’t disrupt my plans as I was in no hurry. I paused long enough to get shots of the remains of the old Euston signalbox which has been flattened to make way for HS2, then strolled to Euston Square tube station to catch the train to Liverpool St. The capital’s still eerily quiet due to the absence of foreign tourists and office workers still on furlough, but life’s returning. My tube train was certainly busy.
Liverpool St mainline station was far busier than last time I was here too although the mezzanine remained closed. What’s also changed is the trains. New stock from Stadler and Bombardier mixed with older BR built vehicles which still hold on despite the fact they should have retired by now. Class 315s can still be found working some TfL rail services to Shenfield and my train (the 12:02 to Ipswich) was formed of three elderly (if refurbished) Class 321s!
19:30.
Apologies for the gap but I’ve been busy travelling and my phone’s decided it doesn’t like the East Angular phone networks so it’s refused to connect to anything! I’m currently on a train to Felixstowe so I’m using the train wifi to pen a few words.
I’ve certainly had an eventful day so far and the weather’s been absolutely glorious which has been great for pictures. I made my way up to Ipswich in fits and starts, stopping off at several stations on the way in order to build up a haul of pictures and also see what’s changed since I was last spending time on the Great Eastern Main Line. I must admit that I was surprised to find so many of the old BR built trains still working. The Class 321 ‘Dusty Bins’ are still the mainstay of the electric services to places like Clacton, Southend and Ipswich, although I did see some of the new Bombardier Class 720s in service and several more out on test. Of course the 720s have been delivered late and Covid has hammered the driver training schedule, so it’s hardly surprising the 321s are soldiering on. They’ve never really liked them as a train, the internal layout was inferior to many other regional trains but Greater Anglia have done a good job with refurbishing the units to make ’em bearable. Even so, I’m looking forward to trying out the new Class 720s. Right now I’m on one of GA’s other bew fleets, the Stadler built Class 755s. I think that they’re an excellent train from a passengers perspective. The internal layout is very good with a variety of airline seats and table bays of four, plus they have wifi and plug sockets (although the sorkets are kaput on the set I’m on). They also go like rockets!
22:00.
I’ve managed to get my phone to agree to communicate with the local phone networks, so I’m typing this last update from my hotel room in Ipswich using it tethered to my laptop. The hotel want to charge me for the pleasure of using their wifi but my phone contract has such a huge monthly data allowance there’s no need. Day 1 of the adventure’s been fun. The weather’s been superb and I’ve really enjoyed being able to explore old haunts again as well as get a good selection of pictures. Editing them will keep me busy over the next few evenings but that’s not a problem as Ipswich isn’t exactly ‘sin city’. Most of the town centre seems to close-down after 18:00 but that hardly surprising as the place is deserted. I’m trying to remember if it was always this way, and I suspect it was. There’s what looks like a couple of reasonable pubs but otherwise the only things that are open after 19:00 seem to be take-aways and kebab shops. Like a lot of English towns nowadays, there doesn’t seem to be many people living in the centre so once the shops shut it’s game over. Either way, it’s not a problem for me as I’m not here looking for nightlife. There is one thing I wouldn’t mind finding whilst I’m here. Apparently, there’s a replica Noah’s ark that’s been impounded in the docks as it’s not seaworthy. No, seriously! Take a look!
Ark’s aside, tomorrow’s going to be another busy day, so I’ll leave you with a couple of pictures from today before signing off…
Here’s a pair of the new 5-car Class 720’s built by Bombardier approaching Colchester whilst working 1N47, the 16:05 Clacton-on-Sea to London Liverpool Street
Also at Colchester were this contrasting pair…
One of the new Stadler built 12-car units that have replaced loco-hauled sets on London – Norwich Intercity workings passes an old BR built Class 321 eking out its final days working services between Clacton and London. These particular trains (321/4) were originally built for working out of London Euston to Northampton and Birmingham before being cascaded to Anglia services.
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/
And what a brilliant day it was! Dawn had suggested we drive over to the East Coast today and visit somewhere where I’d never been – Flamborough Head, near Bridlington. The area has some excellent cliff walks as well as teeming with marine and bird life – as I was to find out. The drive took us around two and a half hours due to some busy roads and heavy traffic on the M62 although the weather was wall to wall sunshine and we got to pass through some areas of the country I’m unfamiliar with, so it wasn’t all bad. Dee drove and I navigated to help share some of the strain. It was only when we arrived at Flamborough we realised there was one thing we hadn’t planned on. Fog. Sea fog! The area was covered in it! The lighthouse kept disappearing, one minute it was there, then you turned your back, looked back over your shoulder and it was gone. So much so I suddenly understood why Trinity House had built the thing in the first place! It was so thick you couldn’t see any of the bays and we debated on moving inland but knowing how the fog can suddenly clear we decided to go for a walk along the cliffs anyway, which proved to be a wise decision as within half an hour we were stolling in unbroken sunshine as the fog retreated northwards and out to sea, leaving us free to enjoy unhindered views of the cliffs, the thousands of seabirds that inhabited them and the dozens of seals that basked on the beaches or played in the inlets.
The area deserves a travel blog of its own which I’ll write up soon. Having explored we moved on to see another attarction, the RSPB reserve at Bempton Cliffs, just a few miles futher North. It was a fantastic place where the cliffs are the nesting site for around half a million seabirds which gather here between March and October. They include Puffins, Razorbills, Kittiwakes, Fulmars, Gannets, Guillemots and Shags. The sight of these birds nesting precariously on narrow ledges it quite spectacular. Mind you, it’s not just that which takes your breath away – the pungent smell of guano does too! It’s easy to find where the greatest concentration of nesting birds are – just follow your nose! The RSPB have built wooden viewing platforms on the cliffs which are ideal places to get pictures (if you have the right camera equipment).
I’ve got a busy few days ahead of me so I probably won’t get all the pictures I took online until next week at the earliest, so I’ll leave you with this one of nesting Kittiwakes. Whilst they’re a member of the Gull family they’re the only one in decline, which is believed to be because their natural food (Sand Eels) are also shrinking in numbers.
I could happily spend hours here with a camera trying to get shots of some of the birds behaviours so I’ll certainly be returning one day.
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/
Summer’s here! The past couple of days here in the Calder valley have been stunning with wall to wall sunshine, making up for some of the grey and grim days that have filled much of May. Even the fact it’s a bank holiday hasn’t put the mockers on the weather (for a change). Rather then joining the bank-holiday crowds heading for the coasts the pair of us have made the most of our time by staying at home and catching up on work on the house and garden which has been tiring to say the least but worth it just to be out in the sunshine and recharging the vitamin D levels. With my enforced stay in the ‘Septic Isle’ due to Covid and miserable weather I don’t think I’ve looked as pale as I did for years. Now we appear to be in for a run of good weather so my normal colour’s returning. Whilst I’ve been doing the heavy lifting on the garden terraces Dee’s been busy with sandpaper, filler and paintbrushes to restore the front door. Sitting high up on the valley side and facing South this row of cottages takes a battering from the weather, so keeping them up to scratch is a constant job.
That said, we’re having a day out tomorrow as we’re heading to somewhere I’ve never visited before. At Dawn’s suggestion we’re off to Flamborough Head near Bridlington, which sounds ideal, a rugged stetch of coastline with a lot of history, walking trails and wildlife. No doubt I’ll be blogging about it at some point but there’s going to be a a few more rolling blogs in the pipeline as from next Monday I’ll be spending several days based in Ipswich and travelling the East Anglian rail network for work. We’re having an early start in the morning so I’m cutting this blog short and leaving you with the picture of the day which I took this afternoon from our garden terrace looking over the cottages down towards Sowerby Bridge in the valley below. See what I mean about the sunshine?
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/
Well, that’s it – We’re now both now ‘double-dosed’ – having received the second of my Covid jabs yesterday and Dawn today. Compared to the first dose this one hasn’t been too bad. I don’t feel any major side effects – apart from the fact my 5G reception’s amazing and I’ve developed a curious interest in ‘news’ programmes on Russia Today!
The same as last time I received my jab at Boots the chemist in Huddersfield, where part of the 1st floor’s been converted for the purpose. It was a slick operation but not as quick as last time because they had more people wanting the jab, which can only be a good thing. That said, most of the folks I overheard talking were like me and in for their second dose. I can only hope that the succesful rollout of the inoculation programme will allow us to return to normal, even if normal won’t be what it was. The big question now is how the rest of the world fares as I suspect it won’t be until next year that we’re finally out of the woods.
Dawn’s reaction to her second jab seems much like mine – feeling ‘Meh’, and with a few neck cramps, but that’s it. Infinately preferable to the alternative anyways! Neither of us had anything planned for today as we didn’t know how we’d react so we’ve had a quiet (if productive) day. Whilst I’ve spent the day scanning the last slides from my 1991-92 world trip Dawn’s been busy baking. The smells drifting up from the kitchen as a Victoria sponge cake’s cooking have been wonderful!
The pair of us are having a quiet night in so all that remains is for me to choose the picture of the day. I’ve a large backlog of slides scanned that need editing, so I thought I’d use the very last one I have from my trip before I flew back from Kuala Lumpur to London with Aeroflot. Reading through my old diaries there’s sooo many stories that I could relate – but they’ll be saved for when I have more time to spend writing.
My last day was ‘interesting’ as I only had 6 Malaysian Ringgitt left. I’d maxxed out my credit card on buying my flight back to the UK and that was the only cash I had left. I had enough to buy a bunch of Rambutans (a fruit similar to a Lychee) and the fare for the bus to the airport. Oh, and my camera was playing up too. The mirror kept locking up so I never knew if it would work or not. But, I managed to get this final shot on the 8th October 1992. I was people watching outside the Central market and spotted this blind musician busking along with his daughter/grand-daughter. I may have been on my uppers but nothing like this. Never forget, there’s always someone worse off than you…
Having spent the past few months looking back 30 years I’ve often wondered what happened to the people in my pictures? From the other travellers I met and spent time with to random street scenes like this. This young girl would probably be a middle-gaed mother by now, probably with Grandchildren of her own. I wonder what the stories of their lives were after I froze them as moments in time three decades ago? They’ll live forever like this in pictures, but what happened afterwards?
Hopefully I’ll have the rest of the old scans edied and added to this gallery in the next week or so. After that I move on to albums from the next phase of my life. Having returned from travelling in 1992 my life took a very different turn – and travelling became an even bigger part of it…
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I’m not going to be writing a magnum opus tonight, the pair of us have had a lovely day with Dee being on holiday and the country coming out of its Covid shell so a short blog will have to suffice. The pair of us have really enjoyed having a lazy aftermath to Dawn’s birthday. The weather was crap so what was the point of getting up early and travelling to the coast as we’d originally planned? Instead, we took it easy and relished in the fact we had nowhere to be. Instead we lazed at home, Dawn did her stuff whilst I followed the political car-crash and score-settling that was Dominic Cummings giving evidence on the Government’s response to Covid. Or rather, the Government’s lack of a response. It was a an awful spectacle as it showed just how far the UK has sunk when it comes to politics and the people and parties many are willing to entrust with their vote. Here we had the spectacle of a liar accusing other liars of lying! Who to believe, eh?
By late afternoon we did decide to venture out and made it as far as the Bolster Moor farm shop to pick up food supplies for the next few weeks and indulge in a guilty pleasure – one of their award winning pork pies. Well, when in Yorkshire!
On the way home we stopped off at an old favorite that’s recently re-opened – the Moorcock Inn on Norland Moor. Because we’re allowed indoors once more the awful weather was no deterrent. Catching up with Aimee and the folks who work there really made us feel like we’re coming out of Covid – even if the road may be rocky.
Now, back home we’ve been busy again. Dee’s been occupied in the kitchen (with some help from me) prepping a batch of home-made lasagna whilst I’ve been editing a few more old slides – which supply the picture of the day.
Following in David Attenborough’s footsteps I visited Komodo Island (famed for its ‘Dragons) on the 2nd September 1992. In those days the park rangers used to take small tour groups off into the hinterland to see dragons which were waiting to be fed. a dozen of us would be accompanied by a couple of PHPA wardens and a goat but for the goat it would be a one-way trip. Here’s how feeding time looked…
Talk about nature ‘raw in took and claw’…
I went back in 1998. By then the wardens has stopped feeding the Dragons as it has made them lazy, so you’d never get to see scenes like this again.
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/Thank you!
Apologies for the absence from blogging but I’ve been taking some time off now the UK is slowly opening up. I’ve been getting out and about more which has led to a hectic social whirl and a backlog of pictures and admin’ but it’s a lovely position to be in after so long. The pair of us have been busy as Dawn’s got two weeks holiday which started on Friday so we’ve been clearing the decks for that. Plus – I’ve spent two evenings in…pubs! Yep, remember those things? The valley’s been busy with different friends passing through – not all of which I managed to catch up with, but on Thursday I had the chance to meet a chap called Martin Ward. Martin and I cycled ‘Ride India’ together in 2018 and her was here in the valley with his family enjoying a break on a canal narrowboat, so it would have been rude not to. Plus, on Friday a group of us from the ‘Big 6’ pub (which is undergoing a change of management so hasn’t re-opened) who’ve been doing a weekly quiz via Zoom finally had the chance to meet up in the flesh again using a surrogate pub – the ‘Shepherds Rest’ in SA few other refugees from ‘the 6’ drifted in so it turned into a really nice night.
On Saturday Dawn and I drove over to my old home town of Southport to meet up with some of my family. First up was my niece, Charlotte whom we spent a very pleasant couple of hours with outside a cafe in Birkdale. The village has gone rather upmarket over the past 20 years as it’s a conservation area. Many of the cafes and shops near the station have old Victorian iron and glass canopies outside, so it’s an ideal place to sit and pass the time – even if it was a bit windy. Afterwards, Dawn and I met up with my sister Anne and her daughter Brier for a celebratory early birthday meal – something we’ve not been able to do since the first lockdown. I’d booked a table at Bistro Bar Med in the centre of town. one of us had visited before but we all really enjoyed the food, which is a mixture of Spanish Tapas and Turkish mezes.
It was wonderful be able to visit a restaurant again and Bar Med was ideal. The Owner and his staff were great hosts and the food was delicious! The place isn’t huge, which added to the atmosphere as it was more intimate and personal. I really liked the way the food was served – as you can see here. It saved a lot of space on the table and the wheel arrangement meant it was easy to share dishes. We’d certainly visit again as I love this communal way of eating, the quality of the food and the atmosphere. So, today’s picture is of something I’ve not posted for a very very long time – food!
We’re big fish eaters so our selection of five Tapas dishes was Green-lipped mussels, king prawns and Sardines, accompanied by meatballs and Patatas Bravas. The bread rolls meant none of the delicious sauces went to waste!
Eating ‘early doors’ allowed us to drive back to West Yorkshire without getting back too late, leading to an easy night. Today we’ve had a quiet day. The weather’s been pretty crappy again as it’s cold, wet and windy – distinctly unseasonal so we’ve not really done much apart from getting out for a short walk. That said, we’ve got plenty of plans, especially after a surprise. I’ve got my second Covid jab booked for Thursday but Dawn (being younger than me) hadn’t heard about hers – until this morning. Now Dee will get her second the day after me on Friday, so we’re both covered for the future, this is timely as we’re currently looking at our first foreign adventure for the future which will be somewhere I’ve been many times but Dawn’s never visited. Bali. Let’s just hope this happens as we’d be out there for a special occasion…
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There’s been no travelling for me today, unless you call going out for a walk travelling. Instead I’ve been busy at home editing the past two days worth of pictures and getting them on my website which took up nearly all of the morning. Once that was done I had time to email a couple of clients who’ve expressed an interest in them. To be honest, I was quite happy to be stuck at home. The gorgeous sunny weather I experienced yesterday was clearly a flash in the pan judging by the forecast. Today we’ve still had some sunshine but it’s also been accompanied by torrential showers and even hail – in May! Now the temperatures dropping and it looks like we could be in for a cold night. Sadly, the weather’s predicted to be pretty crappy tomorrow too, so I may just be spending another day in the office but as I’ve plenty to keep myself occupied with, I’m not too bothered. After all, sat on my desk there’s another 60 old slides already mounted and awaiting scanning, just waiting for a rainy day! There’s also some blogging I’d like to catch up with as I’ve still not written an update on progress building HS2 (there’s lots) – so let’s see what happens.
As the scanning progresses I’m building up a massive archive of material for ‘picture of the day’. I reckon I’d have to live to be 100 just to show them all! Here’s today’s picture which was taken on the 29th June 1992 at Lake Maninjau, West Sumatra, Indonesia.
Here a local bus is slowly making its way up from the lake in the crater (yes, this was once a massive volcano) climbing up a road with 44 hairpin bends to allow it to gain sufficient height to breast the lip of the crater. It’s not a journey for the faint-hearted. As you can see, it’s a very fertile area. You walk past some superb rice terraces or little homesteads with their own fishing ponds and vegetable gardens. Not being daft, I’d taken one of these buses half way up in order to walk down getting pictures. Even so, it was quite a trek but well worth it for the views although by the time you get to the bottom you’re ready for a cold beer! You can find more pictures from the series in this gallery on my Zenfolio website.
Soon after this I finally moved on from Sumatra to Java and continued my island-hopping journey all the way to Timor, so expect plenty more pictures from the amazing country of Indonesia…
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 