Two Seater

Well the first day of our week's holiday, and what does it do all day but rain.

So have been indoors all day pottering around.

I didn't really get the opportunity of doing any photography, so here's one I took last week when it was sunny.

Yes, it's another shot from Highfields. I feel quite lucky that I have a good park on my doorstep, although I do wish sometimes that there was more things to photograph, like statues or flowers. Although it does make you look for things to take a picture of. Things that might pass you by, like the shadow that has been created by this bench.

Including The Kitchen Sink

The beach in the Old Market Square has been packed away for another year. The sand is still there, but will be removed in the next day or so.

All the big stuff have been taken away. They are just now clearing away the odds and ends, including this sing which came out of the bar or cafe kiosk.

Post Man

We went looking for plants this afternoon at a local garden centre called Bardills, as Gail wants me to update the garden a bit, as it looking a little tired in some places where plants have either died or its looking a little bare.

Of course I took my camera with me to take any pictures of scenes that I come across, like this unusual blue flower, that I didn't note the name of. We had lunch there to start with, before looking around the vast site and at all the different plants for sale.

I just had to take a photo of this 'person' made from wood and resting on a fence. His flowerpot hat just adds to the sense of fun of the character, and would look at home in the right garden. I was tempted to buy it, but resisted. Still we did spend a lot of money on various plants, including lavender, some herbs and a small magnolia tree.

Potty Time

There was a large food and drink market in the Old Market Square today, so I had a look round to see if there was anything worth taking a photo of.

I had to chuckle to myself when I saw all these flowerpot men waiting in line to be sold. I wonder how many are called Bill, and how many Ben?

There were quite a few different styles of ornament. And I'm sure there is one for almost every garden. Even those that only have a postage size open space.

Timber!

The old Wilkinson's shop began to be demolished a few months ago after being empty for a year. But for some reason they stopped. But now they have started again and most of it has been removed. All that remains is some rubble and a load of timber planks.

One thing that taking down the store has done has let more light into the Last Post, a Wetherspoons public house that used to be a Royal Mail sorting office.

Gone, But Not Forgotten

Well the bulldozers have moved in to knock down one of Beeston's most well loved stores, Wilkinson's; or Wilko's as is affectionately known as.

The shop actually closed in April last year, and has stood empty ever since. Even though it could have remained open for at least a year.

I reported the closure at the time, and here is the LINK to the story.

Below is how the store looked before the death knell was finally rung.

The Eve Of Destruction

The continued demolition of the precinct in Beeston continues with bulldozers tearing down a row of shops.

Piles of rubble, wood and metal everywhere.  The local council say that it will be an improvement. But I don't see it myself, as how can less shops be better?

A Chip Off The Old Block

I did a spot of DIY today. I've been meaning to shave a bit of the bottom of the kitchen door for a while now, as it's started scraping a bit on the floor. Oh, I've rhymed without knowing it!

I've been put off doing it recently by the bad weather. But the sun had come out a bit today, and it was chilly, rather than freezing. So I removed the screws from the hinges and carried the door outside. I then got my tools out and set to work, shaving off some wood from the bottom of the door.

Whilst I was working, I realised that the plane I was using must be nearly as old, if not older than me. It was my late father's. Dear old dad, he did enjoy doing his DIY, gardening and messing around with engines. He was good at it as well. He practically rebuilt one house we used to live in.

Alas, I'm not as handy as he was. But I can do the basics, like re-wiring a plug and unblocking a sink. My gardening skills aren't too bad either. At least I can tell the difference between a flower and a weed. Although some people say that weeds are flowers, but they are just growing in the wrong place.

I couldn't tell you how many times this old tool has been used down the years. Or what sorts of wood that it has worked on.  Like most things these days, I doubt that they make them as good as this anymore. A lot of planes nowadays are electric, and mass produced in the far east. This one was proudly made in Birmingham.

Seeing The Sea

Well we did something that Patrick McGoohan's character didn't manage to do, and that was to leave the Village.

We were sad to leave Portmeirion, as it is a magical place, and the sun was shining again too. We wondered which bit of North Wales to visit. I suggested seeing the waterfalls at Betws-y-coed. So we checked out and popped the details in the sat-nav.

Unfortunately when we got there, we found that the gates to the attraction were closed. Possibly because it was early closing or they weren't open for the tourist season yet.  So we did what most people do, we went to the local pub for lunch and a drink.

Gail set the sat-nav with our home address and we set off. I was expecting to drive down the A5, instead it decided to send us up the A470 towards Llandudno. We then found ourselves on the A55; a major road that follows the coast. Gail was looking out the window and surprised to see how close we were to the coastline. She wondered if we could stop off somewhere.

I noticed a turning coming up ahead for a place called Llanddulas, so I turned off and headed for the seafront. It was a little disappointing, as there wasn't that much there. Only a stoney car park and a pebbled beach. Not even an ice cream van.

Here's a couple of shots from our short stay there. Whilst I was taking some photos, Gail got talking to a husband and wife who were there birdwatching. They had set up a spotting scope, and the husband had a camera with a big lens, with which he was trying to photograph the various species that were there.

They said that they came from Northampton and were on the lookout for a couple of particular birds. I said that we lived close to the Attenborough Nature Reserve, and that hundreds of 'twitchers' sometime go there if there is an unusual visitor. They said that they've been a few times. So we left them to look for some lesser spotted thingy, and went on our way.

Life In Monochrome

Another shot from Sunday's shoot with Kirin and Michael Lau.

Michael was looking for this narrow street, but couldn't remember where it was. Fortunately we stumbled upon it, almost by accident. I had a rough idea where it was, but recognised it, as soon as I saw it.

There was some lovely light available, which was being reflected off the cobbles. Kirin stood in various  poses for us, while we took our photos.

I like this shot, as there is a certain amount of mystery to it. What is she looking at, and where is the light source coming from?

Catching Up

I've been going through Blogger tonight and deleting all the spam message that I get. It's nearly as bad as my Hotmail account for rubbish messages. I also realised that I've missed publishing a number of posts, for one reason or another.

So here's the first of these posts. This is Emma, one of the many models that I have been shooting this year. Very pretty girl, and love her 'toxic' jumper.

The Boatyard

Cycling a bit further along the canal route, I came across this boatyard with this rather delightful wooden boat tied up for repairs. The colour of the wood of Muriel Anne looks very 1920s.

The canal looks very calm doesn't it? So flat that you can see a great reflection in the water. But it's just as well I took the photo when I did, as moments later a narrowboat chugged its way past, causing loads of ripples and wash in the water.

This was the first time that I had ventured along this stretch of the water. I may do it again sometime, as there always seems to be something interesting to see along the towpath.