Station Road with Christmas lights still on

Went out early 6.30 a.m. for my usual Christmas day pix.

No-one around and easy to take sweep shots.

The lights had been switched off in the triangle but were still on in Queens Square and Station Road.

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Only problem in Queens Square was it was dark looking towards the supermarket.

No lights on in the Triangle but the street lights gave ample show. I reckon my Tamron 11-18 lens gives me around 210 degrees cover on a sweep. Might even be more but I have no way of actually reckoning it.

No Christmas lights in Hill Road but the street lights again were ample.

By 7.15 cars were getting active - or rather the drivers were - so I packed it up.

Orb spider repairing web

Amongst the Sony 350 JPG's was a set I had forgotten about. A Green Orb Spider Araniella cucurbitina  repairing its web that was suspended between fronds of the Honeysuckle.

I muast admit that I hate or at least dislike spiders but when they are little like this one I don't mind them so much. 

Hoverfly Sryphini taeniata ? 
No been corrected it is
a female Sphaerophoria scripta.

Making steady progress in editing and naming most of the DSLR 350 Hoverflies can be hard though. There are very good drawings in the book by Stubbs & Falk but some flies are so similar to others it is hard to be certain. Even though the drawings are as much as 3-4 times lide size some flies are so little that is still small on the page.This one for example is only 8.5 millimeters in life Luckily Barbol on Flickr ID Please was able to help with the correct latin name.

What is it?

I have at last started on a long delayed job of editing - deleting - and saving - a series of pix taken with my Sony A 350 back in 2008.

Just under 2,000 JPG's in 108 folders. Procrastination is a thief of time, as I have just realised. 

What I am doing is to whittle down the remnant of pix taken for use left in the files after the selection of pix required had been made. I have found several already that could have been edited and saved at the time.
However this one had been underexposed and was very dark. In order to see just what if was - I thought at first a piece of wood or dead leaf - I "Lightened shadows" with Elements 3 and saw that it is an insect of some sort.
I have put a request on ID Please in Flickr but wonder if it could be a Gatekeep or Meadow brown butterfly that had been caught by cow manure splash.
Answer from two people in ID Please, including Backeye. It is a Peacock butterfly Inachis io. I must try to find out why it is so splattered looking.

Clevedon early morning from Dial Hill Road

Went out early to see if the wind was enough to splash the tide. Nothing doing so I went on up to Dial Hill and got a pic across the beach to Wains Hill with the town spread across the pic.

M5 Early morning Mid December

Nice sky so after getting my paper I carried on out to the moor. M5 showed well but not against a background because I was taking North Easterly.

The house lights on Tickenham Batch came up OK and I tried experimenting with manual exposure. worked fairly well but better when I got down to the Blind Yeo.

Blind Yeo showing the morning sky.

The sky had reddened and reflected well. Wish I had got there earlier, but then I couldn't have taken any on the M5 bridge.

The usual Mallard drakes

Took a look down at the Blind Yeo in Stroud Road.

The mallards thought I was there to throw bread etc and lazily swam up to the water just below the bridge

The Little Gulls were not so sure and just stayed where they were on then bank until they could actually SEE food being thrown. 

I am sorry to say that both lots were disappointed. My scraps get thrown out onto the grass at the back of the flats for resident birds in my area.

Little Gulls waiting

Palm Sunday gallery

Struck lucky Tuesday when I went up through Nortons Wood Lane and across the moor.
I decided I would go on to Weston-in-Gordano and take some pix from the churchyard.
The wall at the back gives a lovely view across the valley.
I couldn't get into the porch so went back to the gate and took a view of the road.
Someone came along with the key and allowed me into the church.
They switched on the lights and showed me how to turn them off when i was done. I took a couple of shots and the battery was exhausted. I put the porch door on open and went to the car and got batteries and also my tripod.
Managed to get a pic of the percival monument and also the unusual pulpit built into the church wall. Then the gallery in the porch. I reckon there are not many left in existence and this one is fine, although I notice that "Health and Safety" have made them install a bar to it as well.
In medieval days it was customary to wed folk at the church door with the choir on the gallery and then after they were married to admit them to the body of the church.
This gallery is in excellent condition and sound enough to still be used, which it is every Palm Sunday.

The last bit of scaffolding

The last of the scaffolding has now been removed and all can be peace and quiet once more.

The only wooden bits left to paint were the roof edges and gable ends. All the rest is plastic. Walls were painted over and everything is neat and tidy again. 

I wonder how many folk get caught with these stupid add ons that keep popping up.
"Weird tip for a flat belly."
"Shocked doctors with muscle weight putting drugs."
" Steroid type additives to increase muscle power" (with an obviously and ridiculous edited pic with enlarged chest and arms)
I just automatically chuck them out. 

Gull Wing Merc sports car

Went up to Mercedes at Cribb's causeway to get my passenger air bag re-installed. While I was waiting I had a look round the showroom.

Really marvellous gull wing car there. I can just imagine me driving it. Insurance would be horrendous, what with age and the car type I reckon it would be well into the 10's of K's.
There was a very nice family type - not quite an estate that would have done me better. However Ernie is never kind to me and Euro Millions seems to have forgotten I buy tickets so they will have to stay in my dreams.

Main thing is now the Smart has been adjusted I can listen to tapes or Classic FM when I am driving. 

Had an Email about some of my hoverfly pix. I looked to Google map and saved a screen pic .  Nailsea Wall is marked on the pic but Cleverham drove - is only referenced by the little A tab.

Last spring and summer  was not so good but previous years there had been lots of insect life along the brambles in the hedgerows along the field access lanes

Rowan Barries

My Rowan ash has loads of berries this autumn. Lots of folk will say "We are going to have a severe winter. Nature always provides"
Rubbish, all it means is it was a good spring and the flowers set well. Nature does not provide nature is hard. 
However basing my prediction on an old country saying 
"A fog in October a snow in the winter" 
I reckon we will get 3 good fallls of snow this winter. There were quite a few misty mornings in October 3 of them quite thick.

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The last of the Virginia Creeper has now turned red. The part that faced East along the top fence was already turning in September.
It makes a really grand show. Now there will be nothing but stalks until next spring. 

Taken in 1990 in Ettlingen

Came on some slides after I put the negatives away. Taken in Ettlingen in 1990. They have a series of amazing water features. I imagine they get the pressure by using the high hill range behind the town to provice the pressure. There is a good river that runs threough Ettlingen to carry the water away.
I will hunt through the files and scan the interesting ones.

Pipe work on Yatton moor road

I reckon I have got about 20 or more scans of the gas main and also the oil pipe lines. Also quite a lot of drainage work and pipe laying with a plastic interlocking system.
Finally done scanning my box of negatives. Counting the odd slides that I found in page folders came to just over 2,000 scans. Main time taken was checking the negative strips to see what the pix were. I had to take them out of the envelopes to make sure what it was on them.
Now all I have to do is to sort out the history ones and burn them onto a DVD and copy them. 

Brings back memories

Started again on scanning negatives after posting off the holiday pix. I am getting to quite a lot of sailing pix. I can't scan all of them but many have been posted on Flickr and MorgueFile. Getting a good reception too.

The "Clevedon Chop" caught many dinghy sailors by surprise. Not rollers but short sharp choppy waves that combined with a wind from the right angle capsized some and foundered others. I can vaguely recall that all boats racing had to have inflatable 'sausages' packed in the structure to prevent them from sinking. However if the self-acting bailers were overcome thay couldn't keep the water out of the body of the dinghy.

Can't remember who this was but I did capture a shot of the Chairman of the Newport club who fell out and had to be picked up by his crew.

Sole at the Arnhem Friday market

Just finished editing the 600 pix that I took on the Arnhem Pilgrimage. Quite a few of the stall holders recognised me this year.
I gave a card to almost everyone I took a pic of. That way if they don't like the idea of appearing on MorgueFile and say so I can delete the pic. 
Dutch name for Sole is Tong. That is also the name for Tongue as well. Could be confusing but seems to work out OK.
All I have to do now is to copy over the DVD from the master I made, 24 or so times. Included the poems as a whole file this year. Marjolein is very positive about getting it 
published. 
It will be good if it happens, nice for a stir too. 

I can't decide which I like best of these two pix of building the M5

The long shot that suggests the dust that was almost ever present from the blasting and drilling.

Or the bulldozer perched precariously above the steep slopes of the Failand Ridge line.

I have two like this in colour slides except that the bulldozer was scraping the other way 

Almost the last time

Came across this neg when scanning. I think there was only one more time a couple of years after this one. Probably when Chris Steadman and I went down there. Watched from the seabank, 2 men finding cannon balls. One of them thought he could carry 2 back up through the gullies but had to leave one on the mud. We waited until they were gone and then went down and found one of the small ones and I carried back the big one he had left.

By then the cannon balls were getting in a bad condition. flaking and uneven. I passed mine on to Rob Campbell this year. It was very rough and patchy. 

This is not a joke ! I am the 100,00th visitor.

When are those stupid B#####ds going to realise that I don't fall for such crude scams.

They have been flashing my screen for around a month now with the futile message.

Just as stupid as the ones telling me there is something wrong with my account in banks I do not patronise.

How I long to be able to kick them up the arse. Unfortunately my IT skills are lacking so I can't design a programme to latch on to them.

 

Anyway I logged on to Steam this morning to make sure of the Torbay Express and found it has a diverted route. Going via Bath, Frome Castle Carey etc. line work is taking place on the other route.

I expect that was why the yellow coloured work carriages went through Yatton last week.

However a little consolation is that Nunney Castle will be on her way down to Bishops Lydeard on Monday just after 10 a.m. .

Back in the Camera Club days

The old hospital building 
 

One thing is certain they did't have such a thing as Fish and Chips when that place was built. There was a crowd of us went up to Bristol for a try at night scene photographs. As far as I can remember I used Ilford HP3 and developed in Johnsons' Unitol.

Never printed the negative because contrast and shading when enlarging was too much to cope with.

Now thanks to the 4870 it was easy to alter and then Elements 6 did a little twitch to lighten the shadows and then darken the light patches. I reckon it is passable now. Wonder what Flickr responses there will be. Might even make the photo page. Some of the shit they put on there is certainly a lot worse.

Another negative find - A positive picture.

Cannonballs and shrapnel bullets from the Blackstone mudflats

 Halfway through the box of negatives. Done all the 6x6's and well under way on the 35mm. Many of the 35mm are portraits of babies and chidlren, also pix that I took for the papers.

Came across this one of the Junior Research Group  after we ventured out onto the mud flats below Blackstone Rocks. I reckon about 1966 I doubt if there are any cannonballs left there now after the tidal scour pattern changed. It would be interesting to know just how many ended up there in the 1800's.

Got a good close shot of Braunton this time. People viewing from the bridge got a cloud of smoke. Worked out just OK. Oliver Cromwell came through with steam coming out of the relief. Part way through the wait for Braunton a work train from Rail Network came through so I got some shots of that too. Then Braunton, in spite of the light being against me I got good engine details. I suppose that will be the last now because when I am back from Holland the tours will have ended. No doubt about it the 1,500th shots when I uae 12 shots per secong come out really sharp. I only wish it was possible to get more than 17 shots at a time.

Four eager customers.

Mrs Stradling's goats

An amusing thing used to  happen at the last bit of my days work when I was on the milk round. It resulted in two men who were working at Cam Gears and one said to the other “I had to take my little girl to the dentist so to compensate when we came back I took her down to Lower Claverham to see the goats. We like to go down that way on the week-end because she is very fond of making a fuss of them. Just as we were walking towards them the goats. came trotting up to the fence and put their feet on the lower wire and pushed their heads through the top bit of the fence. Then you will never guess — “

“A milk float came round the corner and the driver gave them all a bit of biscuit” replied the second man.

“How did you know that?” he was asked “That was our milkman and he was telling my wife about them” he was told.

It had started when I had a broken piece left. I didn’t want to leave it about and so offered it to one of the goats. She took it and enjoyed it and the following day came looking for another bit. The others wanted to know what was happening and so for several years I was making a fuss of all  of them. They are not daft and soon associated the sound of the milk float with their little treat. As soon as they heard me coming along and before I was sight they would come over to the fence to remind me they were there.

Looking back 

Hereford bull in the show ring.

Found some negatives taken at the Bath and West. How many years back? Must have been about 35 years ago at least. I reckon we used to walk 3 miles easy getting around the show ground. When I used to ferry Gray Uaher down I got to know a few of the farmers. Free ticket from the Mercury, lunch in the journalists buffet, pictures of the local farmers if they won or placed with their stock. Wish I could be that energetic today.   I can remember one year there were no close locals in the frame. I suggested to Gray that we looked in to the WVS tent. Lo and behold there were  a couple of local groups with places and commendations.

Also chatted to a committee member from Great Elm and later got asked to do a slide show on our archaeological digs. 

I came across some negatives I must have taken over 50 years ago.
Couldn't resist adding a comment to this one.
I can remember taking the picture at a farm in Walton-in-Gordano. The old sow was lying contented and it seems almost as though the piglet is talking to her.

Black 5 and light Pacific Braunton at Nailsea-Backwell station 

At treat this week with 2 locos running A Black 5 with the Royal Duchy just after 9 and then half hour afterwards Braunton a light Pacific with the Torbay Express.
I decided to go to Nailsea/Backwell station because I took Nunney at Yatton before but haven't had a pic at Nailsea/Backwell. Imagine my surprise when Braunton turned up. Although 'Steam Info' quoted Nunney Castle as being the loco to expect.

Demolition of Brighton Terrace.

Geoff Inglis attaches a cable to the roof beam

Started scanning the box of negatives. Struck treasure almost immediately.

3 strips of the demolition of the top set of cottages in Brighton Terrace. This was undertaken in the summer of 1967 when Clevedon Council, owners of the properties, had the site cleared .There might be more - I have already seen a pic on 35mm film strip so who knows what has survived in the box.
These pix were taken with the Mamaiyaflex 33 so that gives me a firm date for the camera change over from the Agiflex 3. Although It might have been earlier that that. 

Windows galore

Hartree's house. 

Jane told me that this house has been smartened up with new windows.
Made me realise that I had lost the original pic when my hard drive went.Thinking about it this morning I remembered that I had a copy on my PowerPoint show 'Keep One Eye Open' so I copied it over to my JPG folder. 

Recipe

Busy nearly all morning scanning negatives, managed to do over 50.

I didn't want to take a long time cooking so I compromised with soup. That will hold me until teatime.

Thought out and polished an idea.

Take one cup-a-soup (Tomato and Veg in this instance) sachet, instead of 1/3 pint boiling water make it 1/2 pint.

Take around 100 grams of brawn, 

about 6 small new potatoes from a Lidls tin.

Put all the items into the blender.

Boil a kettle and pour off 1/2 pint  into the blender.

Blend well making sure the potatoes and brawn are well reduced. This makes a nourishing thick soup. Also the additions to the boiling water reduce the heat to a temperature that means it can be eaten immediately.

Total time eating and all 15 minutes at most. 

Cost 75 to 80p. Enough potatoes left in tin, to boil for tea/supper meal  with a Chicken Kiev, or maybe a couple of Richmond sausages baked in the oven.

 

Have I been afflicted?

Just as I thought I was beginning to show progress with my scanning I found I was running short of slide holding pages.
I knew I had some in a filing cabinet so looked them out.

Underneath what did I find? A cardboard box of assorted negatives that has been there for over 30 years. 
I reckon they weigh around 6 or 7 pounds. I feel like a child who was sleeping in a typical Victorian bedroom with illustrated text and mottoes in frames on the wall. Intimidating texts that threaten, and cause worries when read.
One of them says "Be sure your sins will find you out"
That is the one that has caught me. My sin was the sin of 'putting off' I reckon that will keep me scanning for a good six months.

Dying for a P?

Came across this one as I was scanning negs.

Couldn't resist scanning it and posting.

Can't remember where it was that I took this shot, but wherever it was, it is now a JPG in my computer files.

Another lot scanned. 

Taken about 40 years ago

Finished scanning another batch of negatives. 35mm and also 6x6 taken with my Agiflex 3 and some with the Mamiyafled 33.

Went through two folders and selected around 700 to save as JPG's.

Gradually getting through them, now I have another load of colour slides to start, Thank God for my Epson 4870. I can set up 12 slides and pick them one at a tiime thanks to the large bed. A film scanner runs around the £1,000 mark now. A 35mm film and print scanner is cheaper but won't take 6x6 or 6x9's the 4870 is even provided with a 5x4 carrier.

How many water voles did they kill off? 

The old Somerset Rivers Board at work 

Came on some 35mm negatives never printed while scanning to JPG's.

I made me wonder how many miles of rhines and sub-rhines the board worked like this.

What chance did the water vole population have against a drag line.

Also made me wonder if the Environment Agency still use the same system.

If they do - Good-bye water voles, - just another wild life that mankind has wiped out.

This pic shows clearly the difference of 'before' and 'after'.
In the old days a crew would work along a river or rhine bed slubbing out. Now it is all machine done. A machine has no conscience but the men who empower the use of them should have.

Caught at last

Light Pacific Braunton at Yatton 

A little bit impatient and I was cut off before i could fill the frame. 12 pix per second is OK but the limit of 17 frames in the 'take' restricts a bit.

If she runs again next week I MUST wait until I start taking. Last time with Nunney Castle it worked out just right.

How well I remember that day 

Digging it out

I came back from my milk round to the Horlicks Dairy depot in Old Street to find the workmen digging like mad.

The Land Yeo ran open through the yard except for the bridge to allow entry.

At long last the company had decided that it would be best if it were culverted. The first section to be done was to the upstream side of the yard.

The work crew dug too close, and lo and behold : --

The end wall of the goods room slid down the bank into the river. Found the negatives on the scanning session. I always carried a camera with me when I was working, I developed the film but never printed the negs. It is too difficult to black out the flat successfully. Have a whole series taken through the days the work was going on.. 

Found a negative of one of my godsons. Back in the early days of photography I used to use a light setup for portraits. Then I found that flash with an umbrella gave a good modelling light although I did not get a back light.
Over-run bulbs didn't last long while flash would go on with no problems.
I had a Mecablitz that normally used a small accumulator but also has a mains connection. Used to do a lot of baby pix with that and my old Pentax S3 and the f1.8 85mm Pentax lens. 
Ilford Panf  film and Beutler developer was a good combination.

Surprised myself 

The winter of 83 I think

Looking through another folder of around 600 negatives I came upon one of the snow in - I think - 1983. Could have been later but not a lot. It was so bad for a few days that I had to haul a bread crate up and down a couple of the side roads with an assortment of the milk wanted for delivery.

Marine Hill was not too bad because the bus ran along there and cleard it a bit. Copse Road, Seavale and Leagrove were the worst. Not a lot of through traffic to break it up. Couldn't do Chapel hill and had to go all the way round via Old Church Road and Elton Road to get to the Sixways. Forgot that I took these and it was a surprise to find them. 

Severn Valley visit 30 years ago.

Complication

Simplicity 

I can remember I got a lot of micky taking from John and Robin because I took a pic of a little diesel shunting loco cab interior.

I wanted to emphasize the easyness of driving a shunter like that and the number of controls on a steam loco.

Must have been at least 30 years ago - I wonder what the next stuff to turn up will be.

How Many More?

British Rail standard class loco 

Came upon a photo book with around 80 pix from Severn Valley and I expect some from West Somerset. I reckon I took them around 30 years ago, when I went up there with friends while I was on one of the week-offs from the milk round.

No good to leave them so I started scanning them into JPG's. I am keeping them in a separate folder until I finish doing it. Then I can post whichever on to Flickr and Morguefile with the correct tags.

My Epson 4870 is certainly earning its cost even if there is no financial return from them.

Thank goodness for the rain.

Nunney Castle with the Torbay Express

Never though I would welcome rain in the summer but at last there is steam allowed once more. No fire risk after the rain of the last week.

Raining occasionally this morning so I wore my Dryzabone to shelter the camera under it. Might as well get some use out of it even if I did get it secondhand on Ebay. Best £75 I ever spent I reckon. I must try to get a hood to snap onto it for the rugby season.

I was a bit more patient too and waited a little longer. 17 pix with the last 3 with only part of the loco on them. 

800 ISO and took at 1500 th at f3.5. Best shot I have taken so far using the rapid 12 x. 

Busy - -  Busy - - - Busy  

What a find 

Getting towards the end of the planning applications and found the plan submitted (660) for the original Picture House that was built. Later it was added to and turned into the present Curzon Cinema.

Uncle Cecil Lane was foreman carpenter on the crew that did the alteration.

Took a bit of cleaning up from the original scanned negative.

but I reckon it was worth the effort. There was an earlier application (618) that showed the building as being parrallel with Old Church Road not at right angles.