Tag Archives: writing

3rd June picture of the day…

03 Tuesday Jun 2025

Posted by in Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways

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I’ve had a busy but uneventful here at Bigland Towers. I was up early as i had to wander down into Sowerby Bridge in the pouring rain for an 08:40 doctors appointment. Nothing serious – just an annual MOT in which they check my weight and blood pressure (all OK), take blood samples to check my cholesterol and if I have diabetes (no worries there) then ask me awkward questions about how much I drink (too much). Apparently, if I’m dying, they’ll let me know by Friday! Jokes aside, I can’t fault the service we get from our local GP.

By the time I’d picked up some shopping the weather had brightened up so my perambulations along the canal and through thr woods to home were quite enjoyable. What wasn’t so much fun was spending much of the rest of the day trying to copy pictures and files of a recalcitrant portable hard-drive onto a new (bigger) version. I may have sworn a lot through the afternoon! Everything seems to be going swimmingly, tens of GB of files are being copied, then it has a hissy-fit and decides it doesn’t like one particular picture, then goes on strike – and takes ages to stop sulking.

On the bright side, I now have smoother access to a potable backup of old picture files dating back 20 odd years. Admittedly, some of them really do need sifting through as there’s old pictures which have never seen the light of day on my Zenfolio website as I’ve always been too busy to go through the numerous files. Like scanning my 1000s of slides, that was always a project for the future, now the future’s not that far away.

Part of me wants to get all my digital archive on one single mahoosive hard-drive, but what if that fails? I’ve always tried to keep things backed up in triplicate but that means I’ve a lot of hard-drives knocking around the place. Admittedly, the price of kit has come down a lot over the past 20 years. What I need to do now is edit all the ones I’ve got into one master database which I can copy. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? It isn’t when you’ve worked as a professional photographer since the age of film! That’s a shit-load of pictures, commissions, countries, styles and media calls. Anyway, it’s something to keep me amused with in the future. Right now I’m bust wrestling with this maerdy hard-drive whilst arranging the next few weeks of commissions and events.

Tonight I’ll leave you with one picture dredged up from the past.

On the 10th December 2005 a BR-built Class 317 calls at Broxbourne, Hertfordshire on its way from Cambridge to Liverpool St. All these units have now gone for scrap with the former Anglia franchise (which this route is part of) having replaced its entire train fleet over the past 5 years.

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

The blogger returns…

29 Thursday May 2025

Posted by in Musings, Politics, West Yorkshire

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Please accept my apologies for a prolonged absence, this has been due to a number of factors, but now I’m back to look over a world that seems to be getting madder and more bizarre than ever. My time away has been spent here at home in West Yorkshire where the long dry spell and constant sunshine has been replaced with grey skies, wind and rain. The rain’s been very welcome, especially as it’s not resulted in any flooding or mayhem. That said, it’s still nowhere near enough to fill the reservoirs, but the landscape is looking far less scorched and brown than it was. Now the valley’s displaying a multitude of shades of green and I’m spared a daily chore of dashing around with a watering can (for now at least). The winds have been a different matter, they’ve shredded a lot of trees, leaving forest paths littered with destroyed foliage and ripped off branches. Thankfully, I was prepared and my Lupins and other tall plants were already staked and tied in advance.

Whilst the weather’s changed the craziness of the political arena (both home and abroad) hasn’t. The orange felon in control of the White House is still as unpredictable and incoherent as ever. It’s excruciating to watch his TV interviews and pronouncements as it’s clear that Trump has all the intelligence of an amoeba. I look on with a mix of amusement and horror that such an ignorant narcissist can become the President of the most powerful country on earth – although he seems to be doing his best to ensure the US soon loses that appellation.

Meanwhile, here in the UK we have our own Poundshop version of Trump in the form of the ‘Fagash Fuhrer’, Nigel Farage. Like Trump, he has a cultlike following. Both followings have something in common. Poor education and a willingness to believe whatever nonsense their heroes feed them. Farage latest grift (Reform UK) is doing very well in the pools, but not so well in running the local councils they find themselves running. The only reason they haven’t made a complete balls-up of things (yet) is how many of their elected Councillors (and the Mayor of Lincs) are actually rebadged and recycled Tories. The ‘newbies’ are less fortunate (and even more incompetent competent) as there’s a steady stream of revelations about unsavory pasts that have led to a constant stream of suspensions or resignations – or new Councillors just not turning up and vanishing!

So, it’s been an interesting week. Next week will see me back on my travels as I have a few events to attend. Plus, Dawn and I are heading over to Southport for the weekend where we’ll have chance to catch up with some members of my family, friends – and attend the food and drink festival.

Expect regular blogs from herein…

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

4th May picture of the day…

04 Sunday May 2025

Posted by in Derbyshire, Photography, Travel

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I’m afraid there’s not been many blogs from me recently for a variety of reasons, but I’m determined to put that right from next week. It’s not that I haven’t been doing stuff or have nothing to say, it’s merely the fact certain things have got in the way. I’ve a whole host of things I want to blog about (not least Friday’s election results) but time’s been at a premium and the muse hasn’t been with me.

However, I’m here now, having spent the day wondering just where the glorious weather we had recently has disappeared to. Compared to Friday when the two of us were basking in glorious weather whilst walking in Derbyshire, today’s seemed perishing with temperatures that have struggled to get into double figures. Bank holiday Monday’s not looking much better either, but at least it’s not raining.

Much of my day’s been spent editing pictures from the last weeks travels. I’ve uploaded the majority of them to to my Zenfolio website this evening but there’s still more to add tomorrow. With that done I can start to think about word-smithing.

Anyway, I’ll leave you with one image from Friday’s walk. Here’s how the Ladybower reservoir looked from high in the hills above.

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

I’m back…

04 Friday Apr 2025

Posted by in Musings, Photography, Politics, Travel

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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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

26th March picture of the day…

26 Wednesday Mar 2025

Posted by in Memory Lane, Musings, Picture of the day, Politics

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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.

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

20th March picture of the day…

20 Thursday Mar 2025

Posted by in Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Sri Lanka, Travel

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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.

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

Pictures and politics…

02 Sunday Mar 2025

Posted by in Indonesia, jakarta, Photography, Politics, Travel

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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;

Aircraft and airports

Ships and shipping

Indonesia travel

Malaysia travel

I’ve even added the first pictures of the year from the UK rail network;

Northern trains

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Oh, bugger…

27 Thursday Feb 2025

Posted by in Air Travel, Norway, Railways, Travel

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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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Asia day 23. Thailand day 4…

06 Thursday Feb 2025

Posted by in Bangkok, Photography, Railways, Thailand, Travel

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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

7th January picture of the day…

07 Tuesday Jan 2025

Posted by in Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Weather, West Yorkshire

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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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312