One of Mum's ducks
Dad's friend.
More of Dad's friends!
Wednesday 26 October 2011
Flowers and Wildlife at No 54
Late Autumn colour in the garden
One of Mum's ducks
Dad's friend.
More of Dad's friends!
One of Mum's ducks
Dad's friend.
More of Dad's friends!
Sunday 16 October 2011
Buchan Park
I know I've put lots of pictures of Buchan Park on Dobbinland but this morning was pretty special...
Sunday 9 October 2011
London Zoo
Firm's outing to London Zoo - probably the last time I want to go to a zoo - no matter how much good work they do - I am yet to be convinced the animals, especially the large ones, are happy there.
Anyway a few pictures...firstly a dozy pelican.
Squirrel Monkey – you could walk in the enclosure with these – very cute but very fast moving hence the poor picture quality.
Okapi – part zebra, part horse with a giraffe like head
Sad site - Lion alone – there were sadder sites especially a bored looking gorilla and other big cats pacing up and down.
The giraffe enclosure also seemed small.
Dromedary camels in the old Grade II listed Elephant House (thankfully the elephants are now at Whipsnade).
It wouldn’t be Sandberg with out a bit of spalled concrete and exposed reinforcing steel!
Best two pictures of the day – Meercat sentry ..
…and emu waking up.
Anyway a few pictures...firstly a dozy pelican.
Squirrel Monkey – you could walk in the enclosure with these – very cute but very fast moving hence the poor picture quality.
Okapi – part zebra, part horse with a giraffe like head
Sad site - Lion alone – there were sadder sites especially a bored looking gorilla and other big cats pacing up and down.
The giraffe enclosure also seemed small.
Dromedary camels in the old Grade II listed Elephant House (thankfully the elephants are now at Whipsnade).
It wouldn’t be Sandberg with out a bit of spalled concrete and exposed reinforcing steel!
Best two pictures of the day – Meercat sentry ..
…and emu waking up.
Friday 7 October 2011
Weymouth
Weymouth is actually two towns, to the south the original settlement around the harbour and on the north side of the River Wey, the town of Melcombe Regis which is thought to be the first port at which the Black Death came into England in June 1348. The towns were united in an Act of Parliament in 1571 to form a double borough. Both towns have become known as Weymouth, despite Melcombe Regis being the main town centre.
I stayed there recently in a Guest House up the hill from Weymouth Harbour. Walking down to the harbour I passed what looked like Alms Houses. They are called 'Edwards Houses' and research reveals that the Edwards Houses are one of several groups built by a former MP for Weymouth, Sir Henry Edwards in the late nineteenth century. They were built to house the poor elderly citizens of the parish.
The Town Bridge, built in 1930, is a lifting bascule bridge, one of ten in the United Kingdom, to let boats access the inner harbour.
The outer harbour has a lifeboat station and is home to a couple of tall ships.
You can just see the open sea in the distance
Back to the inner harbour looking back to the Town Bridge.
Lots of money (sorry boats) in the inner harbour. This was last evening of that incredible burst of hot weather at he end of September.
Next day and a quick look at the Eslanade. The Art Deco 'Pier Bandstand',opened in 1930, marks the northern end of the Esplanade.
Looking south over the beach towards the harbour.
Erected in 1887 to mark the 50th year of Queen Victoria’s reign the Jubilee Clock was originally positioned on a stone base on Weymouth sands, but in the 1920s the Esplanade was built around it to protect the sands from the encroachment of shingle from the eastern end of the beach.
A lasting image of the sea at Weymouth.
I stayed there recently in a Guest House up the hill from Weymouth Harbour. Walking down to the harbour I passed what looked like Alms Houses. They are called 'Edwards Houses' and research reveals that the Edwards Houses are one of several groups built by a former MP for Weymouth, Sir Henry Edwards in the late nineteenth century. They were built to house the poor elderly citizens of the parish.
The Town Bridge, built in 1930, is a lifting bascule bridge, one of ten in the United Kingdom, to let boats access the inner harbour.
The outer harbour has a lifeboat station and is home to a couple of tall ships.
You can just see the open sea in the distance
Back to the inner harbour looking back to the Town Bridge.
Lots of money (sorry boats) in the inner harbour. This was last evening of that incredible burst of hot weather at he end of September.
Next day and a quick look at the Eslanade. The Art Deco 'Pier Bandstand',opened in 1930, marks the northern end of the Esplanade.
Looking south over the beach towards the harbour.
Erected in 1887 to mark the 50th year of Queen Victoria’s reign the Jubilee Clock was originally positioned on a stone base on Weymouth sands, but in the 1920s the Esplanade was built around it to protect the sands from the encroachment of shingle from the eastern end of the beach.
A lasting image of the sea at Weymouth.
Trees and Chickens
Both the big cherry tree and Annie the chicken have been undergoing a change recently.
The tree has got too big and needed a haircut….
…. cue man on a rope with chain saw.
Finished product.
Meanwhile in chickenland rather a lot of feathers have been appearing.
It doesn’t take long to work out where they are from – Annie has started to moult.
Poor Annie!
The tree has got too big and needed a haircut….
…. cue man on a rope with chain saw.
Finished product.
Meanwhile in chickenland rather a lot of feathers have been appearing.
It doesn’t take long to work out where they are from – Annie has started to moult.
Poor Annie!
Saturday 1 October 2011
Hastings
I had to go to Hastings recently (for the first time in over 25 years). I started at the train station...
...and then walked down to the front. The Regency architecture of Pelham Crescent with Hastings Castle on the cliff above is quite impressive. The Crescent and St. Mary in the Castle (the central building) were designed by the architect Joseph Kaye and commissioned by the then owner of the site, the Earl of Chichester. Building work started in 1824.
Further along the front, on what is known as East Hill, is the Cliff railway. This is a funicular railway which was opened in 1903 and rises 81m with a gradient of 78%.
The east end of Hastings is called 'Old Town' and contains many pre nineteenth century buildings. St Clements Church is one of two ancient churches that form the Old Town Parish of Hastings. St Clements can trace it's origins back to 1080 AD although it was ravaged by the French in 1339 and again in 1377 and was rebuilt in 1380.
Close by the church is a small garden which commemorates the Swan Inn which was on the site from 1523 to 1943 but was destroyed by a World War Two bomb with the loss of many lives.
Old Town Hastings
Why do they let them build things like this? - the newer side of Hastings - a prime site on the front.
Better, but could do with a coat of paint.
Statues showing Hastings link with its annual International Chess Congress.
The sad sight of the pier.
The pier was built in 1872 and has suffered highs and lows like many seaside piers but disaster struck on 5 October 2010 when fire destroyed it.
The unique double deck promenade was built in the 1930's by Borough Engineer Sidney Little ('the Concrete King'). It stretches half a mile from the pier to Warrior Square. The rear walls of the lower deck are faced with glass from broken bottles, hence its name 'Bottle Alley'.http://www.1066.net/bottlealley/
Two views of the pier from the other side.
Bronze statue of Queen Victoria erected in 1902 which overlooks the sea on the south side of Warrior Square. The sculptor is Francis Williamson. There is a hole in the Quuen's robe abve her right knee where the statue was hit by a bullet from an enemy bomber in WW2.
My wanderings finished at St Leonards Warrior Square Station. The station building and house were constructed in 1851. The station is constructed in a narrow valley with higher ground east and west so that trains arrive and depart either end of the platform through tunnels.
Many traditional seside towns are now looking tired and quite sad but seen in early autumn sunshine without the summer crowds Hastings was quite appealing.
...and then walked down to the front. The Regency architecture of Pelham Crescent with Hastings Castle on the cliff above is quite impressive. The Crescent and St. Mary in the Castle (the central building) were designed by the architect Joseph Kaye and commissioned by the then owner of the site, the Earl of Chichester. Building work started in 1824.
Further along the front, on what is known as East Hill, is the Cliff railway. This is a funicular railway which was opened in 1903 and rises 81m with a gradient of 78%.
The east end of Hastings is called 'Old Town' and contains many pre nineteenth century buildings. St Clements Church is one of two ancient churches that form the Old Town Parish of Hastings. St Clements can trace it's origins back to 1080 AD although it was ravaged by the French in 1339 and again in 1377 and was rebuilt in 1380.
Close by the church is a small garden which commemorates the Swan Inn which was on the site from 1523 to 1943 but was destroyed by a World War Two bomb with the loss of many lives.
Old Town Hastings
Why do they let them build things like this? - the newer side of Hastings - a prime site on the front.
Better, but could do with a coat of paint.
Statues showing Hastings link with its annual International Chess Congress.
The sad sight of the pier.
The pier was built in 1872 and has suffered highs and lows like many seaside piers but disaster struck on 5 October 2010 when fire destroyed it.
The unique double deck promenade was built in the 1930's by Borough Engineer Sidney Little ('the Concrete King'). It stretches half a mile from the pier to Warrior Square. The rear walls of the lower deck are faced with glass from broken bottles, hence its name 'Bottle Alley'.http://www.1066.net/bottlealley/
Two views of the pier from the other side.
Bronze statue of Queen Victoria erected in 1902 which overlooks the sea on the south side of Warrior Square. The sculptor is Francis Williamson. There is a hole in the Quuen's robe abve her right knee where the statue was hit by a bullet from an enemy bomber in WW2.
My wanderings finished at St Leonards Warrior Square Station. The station building and house were constructed in 1851. The station is constructed in a narrow valley with higher ground east and west so that trains arrive and depart either end of the platform through tunnels.
Many traditional seside towns are now looking tired and quite sad but seen in early autumn sunshine without the summer crowds Hastings was quite appealing.
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