Please excuse my absence from blogging but it’s been for a number of reasons – including my mental health – otherwise I’d have been typing a stream of invectives regarding the orange rapist in the White House and a few pertinent observations regarding his fascist apologists her in the UK.
But, fear not. I’ll be back next week when I have more time to spleen vent – bigly.
This week’s been taken up with sorting out stuff at Bigland Towers and making plans for the next couple of months. Tomorrow the pair of us head down to Surrey where we’ll be based for several days – giving us both an opportunity to relax, do something different and also catch up with old friends. Whilst we’re in that neck of the woods I’ll be doing an HS2 site visit to have a look at an unique structure which has never been seen on a UK railway before.
So, there’s lots of blogs to look forward to from tomorrow.
In the meantime, here’s today’s picture. One of the other things that’s kept me busy this week is scanning old slides. Here’s one.
Sunset from the bottom of a beer glass seen at the famous Galle Face hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Can we please stop living in ‘interesting times’ as I’m struggling to keep up with the deluge of batshittery that’s coming out of the USA nowadays. The latest revelations about a ‘signal’ chat group and the top ranks of the Trump administration is positively surreal – as it watching those members (including the head of the CIA) blatantly lie in front of Congressional Committees. OK, I’m old enough to remember when such stuff was the grounds of resignations and dismissals, but this is 2025 we’re talking about, where senior politicians lying through their teeth is seen as absolutely normal. And it’s not just any little old lie either. These people have neither shame nor honour. A fact that seems to be sinking in as many Americans who’ve served their country in the military know – and are articulating, loudly. Will it change anything? It’s difficult to tell as it’s obvious Trump and his administration have no shame. The only question is how much damage they can do to the USA before they’re ejected – one way or another.
No wonder Europe is girding its loins for a future where the USA is anything but a reliable ally. And it’s not just Europe. Conversations I’ve had with friends in SE-Asia suggest that part of the world is thinking along the same lines too – they’re just keeping their heads down.
Today – apart from observing the political shit-show – I’ve been busy at Bigland Towers. Operation ‘Spring Clean’ has suffered from what the military call ‘mission creep’ – so I’m knee-deep in boxes, books and all sorts of stuff that been packed away for ages. It’s an exercise which has provoked a lot of memories as I go through stuff that’s been boxed away for years – going right back to my teenage years. Most of the old books that have been in limbo for 15 year have found temporary homes at a local charity shop. But I couldn’t resist holding on to a couple – just for old times sake and the opportunity to re-read them again after so long.
One of them is today’s picture. Checking the inside cover I realise I’ve had this Michael Moorcock book since 1974, so – over half a century. I owned most of his books (and one of his albums) but now it’s time to let go and let someone else enjoy them. I’ll keep this one for now to enjoy somewhere on my travels before releasing it. Hopefully, whoever finds it may enjoy it as much as I did, even if they don’t understand the times it was written in. In some ways, they’re no more bizarre than the ones we’re living trough now.
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My first day where some sort of normality returned. As the Covid aches had receded and having had a good nights sleep I decided it was time to leave my sick-bed, dress and move back into the office. That didn’t mean pushing myself, far from it. I took the day steady. Part of the morning was spent catching up on the latest madness investing the world’s politics over a coffee (with the state of things, you should have added a Brandy to that! Ed) and a light breakfast before commuting across the landing to my workspace in the back bedroom. The very act of being up and about again helped to restore my spirits – as did the view from a different window, where I could watch a cross-section of our local bird population guzzle the oats I’d left out for them yesterday.
One of the jobs I was keen to start on was a spot of spring-cleaning by going through the cupboards and shelves in the office to see what was no longer needed. Stuff that could either be junked or saved to go on eBay if it had collectability. Lots of old paperwork ended up being binned and I have a stack of old diaries which joined the queue to be digitised. I kept a diary throughout my travels across Asia to Australia in 1991-92 and I’ve always meant to rewrite them into blogs showing what backpacking overland was like 34 years ago. I’ve even older ones from India in 1985-86 which would also tell a tale or two, but the ones I want to digitise now are more personal ones from the late 1980s which take up a lot of space in cupboards.
Having taken another Covid test I’m still showing up stongly positive so I’m shunning contact with others until I’m no longer infectious. I know the vast majority of people simply don’t bother anymore, but when a lot of your friends are either elderly or vulnerable, it seems the only decent thing to do. Besides, I’ve plenty of things to keep me occupied at home and Dawn’s not showing any signs of having caught the ‘rona’ off me. Dee’s been a star whilst I’ve been laid low and I’m keen to be able to take the pressure off her in return.
Spring clean over I hope to add a number of different items to eBay over the weekend, when the weather’s due to deteriorate. I’m also eyeing up restarting scanning old slides, a project which has stalled recently. I still have several albums here in the office which I’d really like to get done and dusted whilst I’m confined to barracks. So, whilst I might not be going anywhere physically I can travel around the world in old pictures, letters and through the memories they bring back!
For now I’ll leave you with a sample of one of those slides in the queue. I’ve loads of odds and sods from different times and places that were either misfiled or were part of the slide collection returned by ‘Lonely Planet’ many year ago. So, here’s one – not for rail enthusiasts, but petrol-heads!
Washing down an old Austin A35 (1952) which was still in daily use in Kandy, Sri Lanka back on the 2nd January 2003. In those days, vintage British cars weren’t an uncommon sight. The weather (no need to salt the roads) meant vehicles lasted for years. There were still some to be seen during my last visit in 2017, but I never encountered one of these again. Look how dinky it is compared to modern monster SUVs. No wonder roads are congested and towns and cities choked with traffic.
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Today has been another where I’ve hardly moved from Bigland towers as I’ve been determined to crack on with editing the hundreds of pictures I have in the queue from all my travels. Mind you, whilst the weather’s slowly picking up as spring approaches, it’s still chilly enough to keep me indoors. I’ve managed to get all sorts of images done today. The straight travel shots are the easiest. The ones that take time are the shipping and aircraft shots as I need to look up the technical details of each one. Here’s the galleries that have had pictures added today;
Whilst doing this I’ve been keeping one eye on the news and the unfolding story of the European summit on Ukraine which has been held in the UK today. After the American debacle (which shows every sign of backfiring on Trump and Vance) it’s been refreshing to see the levels of international support for Ukraine – even from some right-wing governments like Italy and Turkey. What was also great to see was the UK centre-stage with the adults back in charge again. I don’t agree with everything Sir Keir Starmer and his government is doing, but – by God! – what a difference to the past few clowns we’ve had as PM! Contrast Starmer in the thick of it with other European leaders who are engaging with him and respect him with the past scenes of Boris Johnson at summits where he was ignored and wandered around (hands in pockets) like ‘Billy no-mates’. The UK is finally starting to shake off the disgrace of Brexit and the Tory shit-show to regain some credibility in the world.
How things will pan out in the long run is open to question, but there’s no doubt that the majority of the UK supports Ukraine – despite what bots, trolls and Russia apologists on social media are trying to project.
One of the interesting things about the situation is how it’s almost impossible to fit a fag paper between the hard-left and the far-right on so many policies (like Starmer and Ukraine). The poor ‘tankies’ of the hard-left still can’t get over the fall of the Soviet Union, or the fact Jeremy Corbyn turned out to be a failure. They still hanker after both which leaves them irrelevant to politics in the modern age. Mind you, Farage and ‘Reform’ are also struggling. Having nailed their flag to the Trump (and Putin) mast their populist politics are looking increasingly hollow. It’s too early to say with certainty, but this does show every sign of being a seismic shift in world politics and alliances. I’ll blog more about this another time, but for now it’s time to go.
I did see one comment on social media that made me laugh today. Someone posted (in reference to the apocryphal Chinese curse) ‘I think I’ve had enough of living in interesting times’. I can’t but agree…
I’ll leave you with a picture, which is from my Jakarta sojourn. Streetlife in the Indonesian capital’s never boring as there’s always something to see – and traffic to negotiate. Here’s an example.
Food outlets line Jalan Lontar Raya whilst an endless procession of scooters and other forms of transport add to the noise and chaos.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Remember yesterday when I said it might be touch and go making the last train to Halifax from Manchester Airport? Well, it was less touch and even less go…
My plane was late leaving Amsterdam Schipol, which didn’t really help. The flight itself was fine. The crew were good, we were given nibbles (and wine) without being charged for them and I was quietly optimistic that I’d make my connection. Then we landed at Manchester.
For some reason, KLM didn’t get an air-bridge, we were stuck out on the tarmac and bussed into the terminal, which ate into precious minutes. Then things turned into a farce. We couldn’t get off the buses and into the terminal because ‘the man with the key’ had disappeared! An aged member of ground staff took strange delight in telling us this. No apology, no appreciating the fact it was going to fcuk people’s connections, he treated it as a joke. As for the man with the key – you have one job…
When we finally got into the building I saw a sign that told me I was exactly 497 meters away from Immigration. Oh, joy – another half-click to walk before I get anywhere. By this time I’d given up all hope of catching the train so I texted Dawn accordingly. To be fair, the passport scanning gates worked well and my suitcase was waiting for me on the carousel, but it was all a bit late after the earlier farces.
So, plan B…
Yep, I’m still at the airport. I could have got a later train but that would deposit me in Halifax in the early hours and disturb Dawn as I’d arrive home around 2am. Instead, I’ve opted to stay at the airport, make the most of the wifi and start the marathon task of picture editing before catching a train around 04:00. A service that time of day will see me come in the front door of the cottage just as Dawn’s waking up. Besides, after the past month’s travelling my body-clock’s all over the place anyway – and this is hardly my first airport experience.
Whilst I’m here I’ve time to add a few more pictures to the blog, starting with this – my train to Oslo airport.
There’s one song that reflections my generation and its experiences. It’s neatly summed up in this picture taken at the airport. It’s a Beatles song that I just can’t stop humming on this trip. ‘Norwegian wood‘.
I swear to God, tomorrow I am going nowhere. There’s plenty to keep me occupied with at home. Plus, it’s a chance to detox after so much hospitality. That said, I’ve really enjoyed all the fish you get at breakfast.
It’s silly o’ clock, so time to head to the railway station via the 5th dimension
Select the sci-fi music of your choice…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Today’s been another one where I’ve not travelled far as I’ve been too busy sorting out everyday stuff. I was awake by 07:00 when I caught up with the news – all the stuff that’s fit to print, allegedly – and some more expert and intelligent analysis that you won’t find in the mainstream media. For example, if you want considered and fact-checked information about the war in Ukraine. there’s no better place to look than the daily updates from the Institute for the study of war.
Of course, there’s plenty of ASEAN and other European news to trawl through too. After which, it was time to pack my bags and leave my cell – sorry – hotel room. To be honest, for £7 a night it wasn’t bad -it was just like going back 30 years. Well, apart from the wifi access, obviously! My only real complaint was how weak the showers in the shared bathrooms were. There was a gap of several hours between checking out and checking in, but the place I was leaving as happy to store my kit so I went for lunch and a wander. Here’s today’s first course of street-food.
My staple (squash and egg) only this time combined with chicken and bamboo shoots.
By 14:00 I could check into my new hotel. I know the Khao San Art Hotel of old. I think I first stayed here around the mid 1990s. In those days it was called ‘Happy House’ which eventually morphed into ‘Happio’. It became an ‘art hotel’ before I last stayed here in 2023. The place has been refurbished and redecorated, and for what it costs it’s a pretty good cheap-range hotel. As long as you don’t mind the fact there’s no lift – just a labyrinthine network of stairs! On the bright side I now have air-conditioning rather than just a fan, a double bed (nice but not essential), plus my own bathroom with a shower that actually showers rather than just pisses on you!
Budget luxury – as long as you don’t try to swing a cat..
So, I’m all set for the next six days of exploring Bangkok and catching up with an old friend. Oh – hang on, I’m only booked in here for three nights. Maybe I’ll go upmarket and find a place with a rooftop pool for the last few days, especially as I’ve had to cut some places out of my itinerary.
Today I booked onward rail travel through Malaysia through the KTMB (Malaysian railways) app on my phone. Mark, ‘the man in seat 61’ doesn’t recommend it but I’ve been using it for years. The app is really easy to use and lets you choose your seat, which is something many private booking companies don’t. My timetable looks rather different now. I’ll only have one night in my ‘happy place’ (Georgetown, on Penang Island) before getting a train to Kuala Lumpur, where I’ll stay three nights. I’d have preferred it the other way around, but there’s more rail stuff to see in KL. Plus, there’s a friend whom I’d like to catch up with.
My original plan was to continue South by rail to Johor Baru (so I could have a look at the rebuilding of the mainline railway and the LRT between JB and Singapore. That’s out of the window now. To my chagrin I’m having to take another (longer) flight – this time from KL to Jakarta. At least that gets me back in the country I’m flying home from! I’d hoped to fly to Surabaya and make my way back to Jakarta by rail, but that wasn’t to be either. At least now I can concentrate on pictures of the Jakarta rail network and take a spin to Bandung on their high-speed trains. After all, I’ll always come back to Thailand and Malaysia – with the odd side-trip to Indonesia.
Now I’ve all the planning/moving out of the way I’m going to have a day out tomorrow and check out the two new monorail lines that have been built in Bangkok. It’s not a technology that’s really caught on worldwide, although there is one in KL which I’ve travelled on a few times.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312
We’ve still plenty of snowy scenes here in the Pennines. Much of it hasn’t really shifted, especially away from human habitation and major roads. Today the pair of us spent quite some time digging Dawn’s car out of the drifts – something I don’t recollect doing for donkey’s years as normally the stuff doesn’t hand around that long. On the bright side, the exercise was useful. Plus, helping to clear the road was a bonus as the pair of us are expecting various parcels to arrive over the next few days as we’ve been busy preparing for our Asian odyssey. Admittedly, most of mine will contain things like photographic kit (my old camera bag is on its last legs) whilst Dee’s orders are rather more wide-ranging.
Like most days since the snow’s arrived and we know we’re off to Asia, my day’s been spent working from home, ticking off various things on my work ‘to do’ list before we bugger off. This included editing the last of 2024s pictures that I’d not uploaded to my Zenfolio website. There’s still a few more to do, but the job’s back’s broken, so I’m hoping (weather permitting) to venture out with the camera tomorrow whilst there’s still enough snow on the ground to make it worthwhile.
What is remaining has certainly cramped people’s style. Having spent the day getting square eyes I did venture out to our local pub (the Big 6) for a pint earlier this evening. I was one of a handful. The place was deserted due to the difficulty in getting there. Most pavements are still under several inches of snow and driving to the pub isn’t recommended in these conditions.
A welcoming sight after a trek uphill through the snow. The Big 6…
Still, I did get to try a very tasty beer (thanks, Lee) which will be on in a couple of days time. I’m savoring my last chance for real ales right now as decent ales are as rare as rocking-horse droppings out in Indonesia.
It looks like a cider, but don’t let looks (or the innocuous fruity taste) fool you. This 5.2% beer is anything but a session ale…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
One of my favorite authors (Douglas Adams) once wrote that time is an illusion – and lunchtime doubly so. Today’s one of those days when I wish his words were true because time has very much come around to bite me on the arse, for a couple of reasons. January 3rd is always a reflective day for me because back in 2013 it’s the day that my ex-wife chose to end her life. I’m not going to explain that one again as I blogged about it here. Lynn may no longer be with us but I’ve kept her memory alive here. Not just for me but for all her many friends.
What’s added to my reflection is that – with it being a new year – I’ve been trying to consolidate pictures from various different secure hard-drives in order to create space for a new year. That’s involved going back to the days when I first went digital in 2004. Yep, 21 years ago. Where’s the time gone? During that process I rediscovered many old pictures of life-long friends. Some of us have changed, others not. But time certainly isn’t an illusion, as my hairline attests to!
It’s the early morning of the 9th July 2004. I’ve just woken up on the Highland Sleeper North of Glasgow after having enjoyed a few whiskies in the bar car which I shared with various people including Jimmy Savile (yes, he felt as creepy then as we later found out he was). I was posing as I suspected this picture may get used in the article I was writing for RAIL magazine. Well, my body was still, the head still had the ‘whirlies’!
The question for the future is what pictures am I going to fill the remaining space on my hard-drives with (not that it’ll take long, I’ve a new 8TB drive on order). As well as editing/consolidating pictures the past couple of day have been spent looking at flights to various places beyond the reach of rail travel. So, where do I end up next, and for how long?
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Whilst I’m optimistic about the new year I have to admit it’s started slowly. Neither of us were out carousing last night. In fact, we both fell asleep not long after welcoming each other into 2025! There’s been torrential rain across the North-West and Yorkshire overnight, so any thoughts of long walks were dashed when we watched the rain bounding off the bedroom window. Instead, we’ve had a home-based day, recharging the batteries in the expectation of a much better year ahead.
That’s not to say 2024 was awful, it had real highs and lows. Dawn look back at it more fondly than I do as the Platt family had some great times together, including celebrating her father, John’s 90th birthday. For me, it was rather more mixed. I certainly covered some ground, although that’s been mostly in the UK. I’ve added 1000s of pictures to my archives, carried out some amazing commissions with some incredible site visits and written dozens of magazine articles. I’ve also hit my own personal milestone by turning 65, although I’m still trying to work out where the hell the years have gone. My Fitbit stats tell the tale. Since I first bought one in 2017 records show I’d walk anything between 4.5 to 5.5 million steps in a year. 2024 has been a new record. I’ve hit 6,051.989. Maybe it’s time to slow down a little, especially now I’ve aggravated an old knee injury I picked up during my cycling commute days in London back in the 1990s.
That’s not going to stop me travelling of course. There’s a lot of places I want to see in the next few years, with (hopefully) the focus switching outside of the UK. Watch this space.
2024 was also a weird year for politics. The highlight was seeing the Tories swept from power in the British general election, bringing 14 years of awfulness to a close. Sadly, they did their best to salt the earth before they were kicked out, leaving the incoming Labour administration with an awful financial landscape and some tough choices, which haven’t been made any easier by an almost universally hostile media. You’d be forgiven for thinking their first 6 months in power have been a disaster, because that’s the message the media have been keen to push, rather than reporting factually and accurately on what’s been going on. Despite all the froth and daily dross from Reform, who pretend they’re really the opposition (despite only having 6 MPs) Labour have over 4 years until the next general election to come good. That stability shouldn’t be underestimated after the dramas of the Tory years.
Mind you, it’s not just the mainstream media that’s guilty of hysteria. 2024 saw social media become more and more poisonous thanks to the likes of Elon Musk’s Twitter (I refuse to pander to him and call it X) and the algorithms of Facebook and others which are pushing contentious content or unreliable and inaccurate AI nonsense. The old axiom of ‘put shit in, get shit out’ has never been more true. Even Google is pushing this nonsense, making it harder and harder to separate fact from fiction, truth from lies. No wonder so many of us are limiting our exposure to social media or switching platforms from the likes of Twitter to Bluesky.
This disinformation helped in propelling Donald Trump back into the American presidency, in what was undoubtedly the biggest political disaster of 2024. On the bright side, the cracks in his administration, (which hasn’t yet come to power) are already showing, infighting between his MAGA cronies and the likes of Musk are already in full swing, which could make 2025 a record market for popcorn sales…
Another potential bright spot on the horizon is the continuing collapse of Putin’s Russia, thanks to their massive and continuing human and material losses in Ukraine and defeat in Syria (the fall of Assad being another bright spot in 2024). I’m loathe to rely on crystal balls but I’ll be watching what goes on in Ukraine with interest. The Ukrainians are rewriting the book on warfare, whilst Russia is rapidly running out of old Soviet era equipment and increasingly relying on Iran (another country that got a kicking in Syria) and North Korea. I have to admit, I never had North Korean troops fighting in Russia on my 2025 bingo card…
So, despite everything, including the increasingly obvious impacts of climate change. I remain cautiously optimistic about prospects for 2025. Plus, I become a state pensioner this year, which is something to look forward to – sort of! After all, it’s not as if I have any choice in the matter and can turn the clock back, so I might as well embrace it!
Hopefully, I can keep you entertained with blogs about politics, travel, life, the universe and everything throughout 2025. In the meantime I hope you all have a fabulous year! In the meantime, here’s a link to my Zenfolio website which has had a huge picture update today. Look out for many more soon. Here’s a sample.
Siemens built ‘Desiro’ number 350237 stands at Stoke-on-Trent whilst working 2K81, the 16:45 Stafford to Crewe on the 30th December. The Class 350/2s are slowly being taken off-lease as they’re replaced by new Class 730 trains from Alstom.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
We’re winding down to the weekend here in Bigland Towers after a week that’s seen us both busy – and even at the same event for a change. Today’s been one where I’ve been housebound in order to catch up with picture editing and writing for a living in order to clear the decks for next week as the pair of us will be having a few days R&R in Wales, basing ourselves on the Lleyn peninsula. Mind you, getting out from home wasn’t that easy today as the contractors who’ve been resurfacing the road outside the cottage have been on the final stretch, laying the topcoat of tarmac and then sealing it with the company’s ‘special ingredient’ which adds durability and waterproofing. Well, that’s what one of the workers whom I had a long conversation told me when I nipped out to get pictures of their activities. To be honest, the folks who’ve been doing the work have been very good and very flexible. They know closing the road and getting people to move their cars can be an issue for some people. But hey, let’s keep this in perspective. We get a brand-new, pothole free road that will last for years at the end of it, so what’s the problem? No pain, no gain as they old saying goes (and this was hardly painful, merely mildly inconvenient). Plus, from a selfish perspective – I got to get some interesting pictures and learned something – and all I had to do was step outside my front door.
Still, more of that when I’ve the pictures downloaded and edited. Right now we’re about to call it a day, having nipped out to see if we can see the ‘Northern lights’. Sadly, there’s no light-show here in Halifax tonight – at least not at 23:00 anyway. Instead, I’ll leave you with a different sky. This was the sunset I saw from a beach on Viti Levu, Fiji, on the 9th March 1999…
I wonder if we’ll get anything to compete with this in Wales next week?
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Paul Bigland 