Today’s been another wild and windy one here in the Pennines, so I’ve spent most of the day cooped up at home scanning old slides from Malaysia whilst catching up on emails, eBay and sending off pictures to magazine. Work’s picking up, which is good, and tomorrow the weather’s meant to be rather good, so I’m having a day out to record more changes to our railways – you’ll be able to see what I’m up to in a rare opportunity for a rolling blog!
As it’s late I’ll now go straight to the picture of the day which is one of the batch I scanned earlier. Taken in Melaka, Malaysia at the end of June 1998 it shows a sigh at a Chinese temple which caused me to do a double-take!
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All in all it’s not been a bad day – if one ignores the world falling apart around one that is! But from a personal perspective it’s been rather productive. Having been cooped-up for the past couple of weeks I was happy to escape the confines of the house for long enough to meet my exercise targets for the first time since we had to self-isolate. The weather may not have been great as we’ve had gloomy, gloomy skies and threats of rain all day, but even a stroll down into Sowerby Bridge was enjoyable – even if there was nothing to do there other than pick up some shopping! Simple pleasures…
Admittedly, the walk back along the canal was lovely. There’s something special about being able to walk alongside water and the stillness of the canal where the only interruptions are Ducks is very therapeutic. The exercise was a lovely break from staring at screens – although I’m back to that now as I trawl through emails whilst scanning old slides. Mind you, some emails are welcome, such as the one I received earlier telling me that a commission regarding some new train conversions is back on. I’ll be blogging about that another time but it’s a welcome return to a semblance of normalcy. As well as dealing with the present I’ve still been scanning old slides from the past – which has provided me with the picture of the day – which is very much a moment in time.
I took this on the 10th June 1998 in the Perhentian Islands, Malaysia. This is people of all nationalities (including a solitary Scot!) gathered around a TV in a restaurant to watch the opening match of the 1998 World Cup which was between Scotland and Brazil. Neither Lynn nor I were great football fans, but what struck me about this night was how international it was. There were people from dozens of countries who’d pitched up in the Perhentians who just wanted to watch the footy! There’s another twist too. These two islands are mostly ‘dry’. Alcohol’s hard to come by (or expensive when you can get it) so it was probably one of the most sober group of football supporters I’ve ever seen – hence the absence of beer bottles on the tables. Even so, looking back at this picture I remember it as a cracking night in a place I’ll always remember.
I’m gradually scanning the rest of the pictures from this trip, so expect more from some off-the beat locations to feature over the next week or two…
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Apologies for the break in the daily picture. It wasn’t because I didn’t have any – exactly the opposite. I’ve had a very busy couple of days scanning old slides. So much so that I’ve finally finished the last album of old UK railway images which has left me elated as its taken donkey’s years! At least it’s a positive legacy from 2020 and Covid, as without lockdown 1 and 2 I’d never have found the time and I’d still be ploughing my way through them. Of course, it’s not quite the end of the story. I still have a couple of albums of foreign railway pictures which total several hundred pictures. Then there’s the thousands of old travel pictures – but I’ve already made a start on those today. The good thing about the travel shots is they’re simpler to caption and there’s an awful lot of duplicates in the later albums, so scanning them won’t take anywhere near as long (says he, optimistically).
I’ve added all the rail shots to various galleries on my Zenfolio website which you can find by following this link. The current batch of travel shots all be added to a single gallery as they’re from the ’round the world’ trip that Lynn and I embarked on between 1997-99. You can find that one here. I’ve set it up so that the most recent additions will appear at the front of the gallery and the oldest last – although I’ll change that when it’s complete.
With lockdown part 2 here and work sparse and sporadic, I should have time to get through quite a few old slides before the country starts reopening next month. In the meantime, here’s today’s picture. I took this in May 1998 at the indoor market in Kota Baru on the East Coast of Malaysia. I find Asian markets fascinating places because they’re so vibrant and colourful – stocked with an amazing array of produce and people. Kota market had the advantage of a circular balcony which made a great vantage point for photography – as you can see. It allowed me to get this candid shot as the two women were unaware of my being there.
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Today’s been rather anti-climactic. Having regained our freedom we’ve done sod-all with it today as the weather’s been so miserable. You know when you have to turn the lights on in the middle of the day? That.
Our good intentions of getting out for a walk went out of the window, instead we spent the day working from home so the day wasn’t entirely wasted. I managed to get more old slides scanned, scribbled a blog highlighting the latest Green party car-crash, then put my feet up. Dee’s been equally busy in her persona as a brilliant cook, so we’ve now got some superb repasts to look forward to over the next few days. Oh, and we had a sneaky snack that we picked up at the farm shop the other day…
Now, what’s the picture of the day going to be? How about this? I took this picture on the 17th August 2001. This is Baia do Sancho on the beautiful and unspoilt Brazilian Island of Fernando de Noronha. There would be no problem of social distancing here!
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Apologies for this features absence over the past few days – although I hope the trip down railway memory lane helped plug a gap for some!
Today’s been our first day release from our self-imposed, 14 day isolation due to contact with someone who tested positive with Covid. On balance, we both suspected the chances of us actually contacting Covid were slight, but that wasn’t really the point. The point was that – if we did – we wanted to make damned sure we weren’t going to be part of the chain that passed it on to others. Far too many people have been taking a cavalier attitude to transmission but we weren’t going to be part of that group.
That meant today was the first day we’d ventured out for 14 days – which is unheard of for either of us. Confinement really isn’t my thing, nor is it Dawn’s. Thankfully, the weather played ball, which made getting out feel even more exciting. Well, when I say ‘exciting’ it’s not like we had a flight to catch or a concert (or even a pub) to go to – it was the simple pleasures of a change of scenery and being able to appreciate those mundane interactions we normally take for granted. I never thought food shopping would seem exciting, but that’s 2020 for you!
When we finally escaped the cottage after a busy morning Dawn drove us over to the Bolster Moor farm shop near Huddersfield to pick up some supplies. To be honest just leaving the house seemed exciting, to get out of the Calder Valley and see a different view than that from the bedroom window felt positively exotic. Yep, Huddersfield and exotic in the same sentence – you can tell we’ve been cooped-up, can’t you?
Good food has become one of the few pleasures we’ve been able to enjoy and the farm shop’s always been a great place to source some of the tasty raw materials and enjoy another guilty pleasure – their pork pies, which are gorgeous.
Driving back we were both struck by the amount of traffic on the roads in the sequel to ‘lockdown’ compared to the original. We crossed over the M62 twice yet the volume of traffic on it appeared normal. Lockdown, what lockdown?
The impression was reinforced when we got back home as traffic through Sowerby Bridge was chokka. The quietest part of our day was a visit to our local Indian supermarket. The right side meant the helpful staff tipped us off about a few bargains, so we came away with enough herbs, spices and slabs of tinned staples like chopped tomatoes, chickpeas and kidney beans that we can probably survive Brexit running on into the Zombie Apocalypse! Admittedly, I may need to place a separate order with my Vintner beforehand…
The pair of us are now back at home for a relaxed evening, enjoying the fact our incarceration’s come to an end and we can get out over the weekend – which brings me on (in a roundabout way) to the picture of the day.
Those people who whinge and whine about having their liberty curtailed by Covid don’t know they’re born. I took todays picture in Stonetown, Zanzibar on the 19th May 2001. This airless chamber where there’s barely enough room to sit upright is a slave chamber. From here, people were shipped around to the globe as commodities, nothing more. The slave trade in Zanzibar was only abolished in 1876 although slavery itself remained legal until 1897. So, next time you want to have a moan about lockdown, or how wearing a mask is infringing on your liberties…
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For the first time in several days the fog in the Calder Valley lifted, letting us feel like part of the outside world again. Well, apart from the fact we can only look at it, not venture out into it as Dawn and I are still in isolation, so Friday will be the first day we can venture out – which is a bit of a bugger as tomorrow’s our wedding anniversary. Mind you – even if we could go out – where is there to go? We had booked a meal at the wonderful Moorcock Inn up at Norland Moor but they could see which way the wind was blowing before lockdown 2 was announced so decided to pre-empt things and close on their own terms. So, the expression ‘all dressed up and nowhere to go’ springs to mind!
All this has meant today was just another day with the same routine with the pair of us working from home, getting on with stuff whilst looking forward to whatever version of reality is resumed the first, which in our case will be the ability to leave the house.
The positive side of things is that I’m within spitting distance of scanning my last album of old rail slides, just a few more days and it’ll be job done. Sure, there’s a few dribs and drabs, but what was once a very long shelf in my office at home in North London has finally disappeared, leaving me free to concentrate on other things. To be honest, the week’s been a fairly positive and optimistic one due to events happening in the wider world. Events that I’m hoping will mean that early next year we’ll be able to do what’s featured in the picture of the day. I took this picture at Mirissa beach, Sri Lanka on the 27th January 2016 and what’s shocked me is I realise this is the last beach holiday the pair of us had. It’s not that we haven’t been to lots of places since – just not to a tropical beach – and I’m missing it!
If only…
Having had my wings so badly clipped in 2020 I can’t wait for this year to be over and look forward to making up for lost time. Sun, sea and fantastic food, what could be more perfect?
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I’m saying that because looking forward to the next week as by Friday Dawn and I come out of social-isolation and get to stare at and share more than four walls. Neither of us felt that it was likely we’d contracted Covid because of the contact Dawn had, but what we weren’t willing to do was put others at risk. It’s a sentiment that’s obviously been unfashionable in some circles, but all we can say is we’ve done our bit.
The feeling of isolation was doubled today by the fact the Calder Valley’s been covered in fog for the duration. Visibility’s been down to 2-3 hundred metres at best. So, the pair of us have been feeling like we’re living up in the clouds whilst keeping occupied pottering around in our gilded cage. Dee’s been busy being a domestic goddess whilst I’ve kept myself occupied blogging and eBaying…
Still, talking of ‘gilded cages’, has anyone seen any sense, contrition or humility (fat chance) coming from the Ex-President of the United States yet? No. Me neither. It looks like he’s going to spend his remaining days playing golf at taxpayers expense until he’s finally kicked out of the place. I mean, seriously – the man’s just lost the election and what’s he been doing since? Ignoring the result to spend the past two days on a golf course! Surely, even some of the people who voted for him might just be starting to think “well, this is a bit weird”, but maybe I’m being too charitable. Actually, after everything I’ve seem of Trump’s voters and staffers I’m sure I am.
Talking of Washington, here’s another picture of the day that I stumbled on whilst researching others. It rather fits the current theme of events. I took this at Chinatown station on the Washington metro on the 3rd April 2007.
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Finally, after the political shitshows and shambles of the past few years, we actually have something to celebrate. The orange cry-baby who’s inhabited the White House since 2016 has finally got his comeuppance thanks to the American voters. Oh, I know it’s not the end of the story, but it is (hopefully) the beginning of the end for populist politics and the poisonous ‘alt-right’ who have done so much to make this a less pleasant planet to live on (as if we’ve an option to go anywhere else).
Yes, I know the fat lady hasn’t sung yet, but the numbers show that we know exactly what she will when she does. Trump’s finished.
Watching his presidency unravel through the day has kept me going as the weather here in the Calder valley’s been miserable. We’ve had fog blocking us in all day, so much so I’ve forgotten what the other side of the valley looks like! Mind you, it’s not as if I can go anywhere at the moment anyway, so I’ve not been too concerned. Instead, I’ve concentrated on those mundane little chores that can actually be quite therapeutic, like chopping back the front garden ready for winter. I’ve always enjoyed gardening and would love to have the size of garden that I had in London, but that’s not on the cards right now, so I content myself with what we have. On the bright side – it doesn’t take all day to chop back! Whilst I’ve been busy pottering Dawn’s been busy in the kitchen as we’ve had a delivery from Sainsbury’s. This is the first time we’ve ever indulged in getting groceries delivered so I can imagine some folks will be thinking ‘what’s the fuss’? But for us it’s a novel experience. Now we’ve stocked up with edible goodies Dee’s busy making her brilliant Bakewell Tart whilst I’m finishing off research for a blog – and toasting the fact Trump’s toast – which brings me on to the picture of the day. This seemed rather appropriate. I took it in Washington DC on the 3rd April 2007 in the midst of the cherry blossom season. Washington looks stunning at that time of year. Let this be a metaphor for the (re)blossoming of democracy in the USA now that Trump and his cohorts have been defeated at the ballot box.
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Not a bad day (all in all) and certainly a productive one. I’ve managed to get a load of eBay items in the post, friends and neighbours have been brilliant delivering food – and I’ve got the third part of my RAIL rover off to be proof-read. OK, the weather’s not been brilliant but as I’m not going anywhere – who cares? Another bright spot has been dipping in and out of the American Presidential election and seeing things slipping away from Trump, who’s going into meltdown. My view on this?
Hopefully, the thin lead that Biden has in the remaining states will translate into electoral college votes and Trump’s toast. My only concern is the genie the alt-right have let out of the bottle when it comes to claims of vote-rigging and the polarisation of the country years of social media manipulation and misinformation have caused. Trump may be history but the bitterness and divisions he’s left behind will linger. Still, this could be the beginning of the rollback of populism. I only wish it could happen here but I think we’re going to have to go through the pain of the Brexitshambles before some UK voters start to see the light.
Despite lockdown Part 2 and our own isolation it’s been a sociable evening as a group of us resurrected the ‘Big 6’ Friday quiz via ‘Zoom’ which turned into a right laugh! Maintaining that level of fun contact with friends (rather than the interminable meetings the internet is often used for) makes such a difference in these bizarre times.
The day’s been so busy I’ve not really had time to think of a picture of the day, or a clever segue into one, so tonight’s is chosen completely at random by putting the name of a place into the search facility on my Zenfolio website. The name was Edinburgh, and this is what I picked. I took this view across Edinburgh from Arthur’s Seat on the 21st March 2001. I was there getting pictures for a new Lonely Planet guidebook and the weather was perfect. Edinburgh is probably unique (but I stand to be corrected) in having extinct volcanoes in the city centre, in this case in Holyrood Park. At a height of 822ft you’re offered a commanding view across the city, Leith and across the Forth estuary to the coast of Fife. Brilliant!
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I feel very odd trapped stuck indoors on one of my favorite days of the year – Bonfire night. Unlike many old English traditions (like mischief night) it hasn’t been taken over and Americanised or turned into a marketing exercise. I’ve fond memories of childhood bonfire parties at home and also later in life in London when Lynn and I would attend one of the big organised displays. Our nearest, and the one we frequented most was just down the road at Alexandra Palace. We’d walk down there with friends and laden with mulled wine and snacks. Now, up here in Yorkshire Dawn and I have tended to have our own little displays and invite her parent over to join us. This year, all I can do is watch from the bedroom window, or listen to the bangs and whistles as I sit in the office typing this. It’s a bit of a damp squib, but then so’s the American Presidential election, which is moving forward at a glacial pace and looks certain to drag on for weeks as Trump and the right-wingers try and drag things out in the courts. Democracy is looking very fragile at the moment as the right-wing populists do everything they can to cling to power. One can only hope Biden spoils their plans.
I’ve not really paid attention to the stateside shenanigans as little’s happened and I’ve been too busy with writing and sorting out the latest tranche of eBay sales which has left me with no time for slide scanning. Hopefully, next week will be another matter after the final part of my round Britain trip for RAIL magazine goes off to the proof-readers and I get a break before I start the next article, which should give me time to scribble some words for pleasure and write-up a couple of blogs that I’ve been thinking about. After all, I’m not going anywhere for a while yet, and it’s not like I’ve got a plane to catch. I wish…!
With today being bonfire night the picture of the day rather chose itself – as you’ll see in a minute. A lot of play is made nowadays about how animals are terrified of fireworks and that they should be banned as a consequence. I’ve extremely mixed feelings about that. Yes, I’ve known some animals that are absolutely terrified. The family dog (Dori) was one, but then so was my mother in her later years. When it came to November 5th my mum would break out the Valium and give one half of a pill to herself and the other half to the dog!
Jet, our cat, is the opposite. In his younger days he’d go wandering off out to see what the noise was all about as he had that sort of nature. Now that he’s an old bugger he’s not the slightest bit interested, but that could be because he’s as deaf as post!
Ok, the picture of the day – you’ll see where I’ve been going now. I took this picture on New Years eve 2003 in Tangalle, Sri Lanka. The owner of the homestay we were lodging in had a party on the beach, which involved copious amounts of fireworks. Rather than running away and hiding one of the local mutts was fascinated by them and did its best to try and catch and eat them!
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Paul Bigland 