Good weather at last!!! After several days of heavy rain we awoke on Thursday, Steve's birthday, to glorious sunshine. I finished work at lunchtime and we set off for a pub lunch and and a long walk on the canal. It was just so perfect. We were even blessed with the sight of this narrowboat gliding under this bridge.. quite rare these days with all the bad weather we've been having.
The canal loooked wonderful with the sun on it and even up there at windy Barrowford it was still enough to get some good reflection pix.
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
7.30pm..still wet
Well we have just had almost three days of solid rain. Everytime we have gone out we have been soaked to the skin. Last night we had this really strange Autumn storm with absolutely torrential rain. I couldn't resist opening the door and the rain was magnificent.. it was raining so hard the drains couldn't cope andas I opened the door it was like looking through a waterfall. The rain really brings the colours up in everything but even I am fed up now and I need a bit of sunshine ... going now to check the weather forecast!
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Day at the Penguins
Last night we watched the March of the Penguins. A geat film for everyone. Today on flickr I opened the photos page and there I found some photos from a young British woman and her friends working and living in the Antartica . Here she is with the penguins. Isn't that just fascinating!!
As for us here on a very grey and wet Lancashire day .. we were anticipating a brisk walk round one of the reservoirs at the top of the valley but the weather was very threatening and ended up entertaining our grandson for couple of hours whilst his mum and dad went to pick his Christmas present. We all had a meal together and our grandson taught his mum how to play Thomas the tank engine snap!!!... maybe not quite as interesting as the photo here but we do our best!!!
As for us here on a very grey and wet Lancashire day .. we were anticipating a brisk walk round one of the reservoirs at the top of the valley but the weather was very threatening and ended up entertaining our grandson for couple of hours whilst his mum and dad went to pick his Christmas present. We all had a meal together and our grandson taught his mum how to play Thomas the tank engine snap!!!... maybe not quite as interesting as the photo here but we do our best!!!
Friday, October 21, 2005
Never plan ahead!!!
Well here we are well into October and since we came back from France in August the weather has been remarkably good.
Every weekend we say 'Come on, lets getout.. it won't last forever. We have never made plans just waited until Saturday morning to see and then set off.
So as it's been so good I got myself some new walking boots in the week, and we had a look on the internet at Ingleton Falls walk.. recommended by a friend. Worked out the route to get there and the walk round the falls themselves.. weather forecast???
Pouring down all weekend it says. Typical!
Never mind we will probably be able to have a slither along the towpath at some point , don't think it will be quite as nice as in the pic though!!
Every weekend we say 'Come on, lets getout.. it won't last forever. We have never made plans just waited until Saturday morning to see and then set off.
So as it's been so good I got myself some new walking boots in the week, and we had a look on the internet at Ingleton Falls walk.. recommended by a friend. Worked out the route to get there and the walk round the falls themselves.. weather forecast???
Pouring down all weekend it says. Typical!
Never mind we will probably be able to have a slither along the towpath at some point , don't think it will be quite as nice as in the pic though!!
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Come to Lancashire
Great fun today making a 'billboard' advert for this pic. So clever and so easy!! Lancashire has such a bad image but I'm working on it!!!!
Monday, October 17, 2005
Walking Home
Thought I would just show you my favourite of the horizon group photos. this girl is based in Antarctica!!!
Burnley from the canal embankment/ one horizon 2005 12 noon
I joined a group called One Horizon on 'flickr' a couple of weeks ago. By joining this group you were agreeing to go out and take one photo of an horizon to be displayed to the group. I took this one which is my favourite and I took two others up on the moors over the town (you could contribute 3). It was great to take part in something so big. When I got up on Saturday morning the Japanese and New Zealand photos were already there and people were sending in photos and messages all day about how the trip had gone and the weather conditions for photography. !! There were horizons from the desert, from huge cities like Tokyo and from Alaska with ice clad walkers! It was really good fun and all the photos will be made into a poster and a website for the contributors as a keepsake.
Friday, October 14, 2005
How green is my valley!!
Walked down the valleyside today to Wycoller , Fern Dean of Charlotte Bronte's writings. We took our grandson and it was idyllic. Wycoller Hall and the beck looked magnificent in their autumn colours. It was great taking th elittle lad to a place where I had been with my dad so many years ago.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Family History
Have just been contacted by another cousin, on my mum's line. This young man and his dad have a series of photos and documents which appeared to belong to our family too. It turns out we are something like first cousins once removed. We are all delighted with the find and about 4 or 5 of the Joseph James Howard descendants are hoping to meet up in the near future to bring the Howard Clan together again.
We think Joseph James is the man sitting on the the back of the buggy middle photo on the left hand line.
We think Joseph James is the man sitting on the the back of the buggy middle photo on the left hand line.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Different colours of Autumn
Had a great afternoon in Viridor Wood and Three sisters, near Ashton in Makerfield today. These are two areas reclaimed for nature by the forestry commission and others bodies. There used to be a colliery on the land but now there is a huge recreational area with woodland walks and even a lake which was covered in Canada Geese when we visited. There were lots of people enjoying the fresh autumn afternoon and we took lots of pix of the autumn colours.. including this one ... which we thought had unusual colours for autumn.
The delightful name Three sisters has been retained but the original sisters were slag heaps from the pit!
The delightful name Three sisters has been retained but the original sisters were slag heaps from the pit!
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Tree stump carving.
This carving is in Thompson park which I walk through on my way home from work. When it was first carved we really liked it but it did look a bit sinister from certain angles. Anyway of course as usual the vandals kept having a bit of a go at it .. spraying it and trying to damage the carving itself.
Next news we went in the park and it had been painted. We aren't sure if this is also a sort of vandalism or whether it was done by the artist but it has lightened the whole thing and as you can see they look like a group of little boys out for a bit of mischief. I love it!!!
Next news we went in the park and it had been painted. We aren't sure if this is also a sort of vandalism or whether it was done by the artist but it has lightened the whole thing and as you can see they look like a group of little boys out for a bit of mischief. I love it!!!
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Detail on window
The weather has been wonderful today today. It has felt like spring not autumn. The window was looking good not moody and I think the detail here is rather nice.
Monday, October 03, 2005
Beach hut with veranda
One of the very nicest things about this new photo system, Flickr,I use is that you find people who have similar tastes to yourself and find images that you so wish you could have taken yourself or have seen for real. This is one of those images. I really like beach huts (lost in a time warp as ever!!!)I love everything about this one .. the colours the atmosphere and everything it stands for too.. a sort of lost era .. with the little beach huts clinging on ot remind us!!!
Friday, September 30, 2005
Stained glass under the influence of a grey Lancashire sky.
There are many delightful things about living in a older terrraced house in Burnley, Lancashire Many of the houses have retained their original character. One of the things about our house we love is the hall window. When we moved in it was very delicate and everytime the front slammed we thought it might fall out. We had it renovated and it is lovely. It changes colour all the time. Today was a very grey wet day and the window took on this very sort of moody look to it.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Reflection on tiles
I have just realised that it is thirty years since I started work teaching here at college. The building is amazing, late Victorian and teaming with history. Of course people are busy, students are young and people rarely lift their heads to see what's around them. If only they knew what they were missing. The old entrance hall is my favourite part of our building, which is the oldest part of the college. It has huge stained glass windows which reveal the original purpose of the college,education for the cotton workers and miners and so has an emphasis on textiles and engineering. Throughout the building are elderly tiled walls and the photo here is of the reflection of the stained glass on the tiles. If you would like to see more views of the college click on the photo.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Reflected sister
Just got back from a full day with my sister in Southport. Our fellas went off doing their own thing and we walked on the pier and drank tea in the cafe all afternoon. I couldn't resist catching this shot of her relcted in a shiny seat at the end of the pier.
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Off with the old.....
There is definite winter feel to today. The sun is still shining beautifully but even the trees aren't sure about whether it is autumn or not. Look at this one, taken on my way to the shops this morning.
A good one for an example of an idiom ... maybe a proverb really any way off with the old and on with the new.
A good one for an example of an idiom ... maybe a proverb really any way off with the old and on with the new.
Friday, September 23, 2005
View from the tow path
I'd be the first to admit that NE Lancashire has had its fair share of problems, however people who have never been here think that its all dark satanic mills. How wrong can you be? The Leeds to Liverpool canal built to supply those 'dark satanicmills' now provides us with the perfect place for leisure pursuits.
Our house and garden actually overlook the canal and it is amazing the huge number of people who use it. Not only is there a fair amount of leisure boat traffic during the summer but there are also many walkers , bikers and joggers. One of the nicest things about our canal is that of course, as it was built to supply the cotton mills (now no longer here) with coal from Wigan and cotton from the port of Liverpool, it does run through the centre of busy towns like Burnley and Blackburn. This makes it the perfect 'scenic route' for people just walkng into town to do the shopping.
This photo was taken a little further out of town near to Fouldridge just outside Colne and perhaps here in the town it is not quite so pretty. However the old industrial architecture and views of the valley here are very under-rated.
Ok I know I am beginning to sound like an advert now.. pity I don't do bed and breakfast!!!
Our house and garden actually overlook the canal and it is amazing the huge number of people who use it. Not only is there a fair amount of leisure boat traffic during the summer but there are also many walkers , bikers and joggers. One of the nicest things about our canal is that of course, as it was built to supply the cotton mills (now no longer here) with coal from Wigan and cotton from the port of Liverpool, it does run through the centre of busy towns like Burnley and Blackburn. This makes it the perfect 'scenic route' for people just walkng into town to do the shopping.
This photo was taken a little further out of town near to Fouldridge just outside Colne and perhaps here in the town it is not quite so pretty. However the old industrial architecture and views of the valley here are very under-rated.
Ok I know I am beginning to sound like an advert now.. pity I don't do bed and breakfast!!!
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
The Victorian Gem, Burnley Cemetery.
I love cemeteries. I always have and I've never known why. My love for them has increased since doing family history as there is so much to be learned from them. Everytime we go into the Dales or the countryside of Lancashire I have to have a poke round all the grave yards.
Strangely enough though I had never been round our own cemetery here in Burnley as from the road you can just see row after row of modern headstones. However about 3 years ago Steve noticed in the local newspaper that there was guided tour of the cemetery. Well of course we had to go and we discovered this hidden Victorian gem. It is absolutely amazing.
Not only is the older part stunningly beautiful and full of atmosphere but the whole cemetery can be read and gives the history of our town. The impressive mill owners graves stretching skyward and the open spaces, unmarked graves of the thousands of workers who died in their factories. We found the grave of Dan Irving the first Labour MP for the town and monuments to victims of WW 1 and 2. There is a tribute to the men who lost their lives in the Hapton mining disaster in the area in 1962 along with one to several local people who were killed during Wakes Week in plane crash en route to Spain.
Finally the newest edition is the area set aside for parents of lost neo-natal, still born and miscarried children. There are benches to sit on and the path is made up of small bricks with the children's names on, often just 'Baby Smith'.
So Burnley Cemetery, a piece of history... . see the pix by clicking on the pic here.
Strangely enough though I had never been round our own cemetery here in Burnley as from the road you can just see row after row of modern headstones. However about 3 years ago Steve noticed in the local newspaper that there was guided tour of the cemetery. Well of course we had to go and we discovered this hidden Victorian gem. It is absolutely amazing.
Not only is the older part stunningly beautiful and full of atmosphere but the whole cemetery can be read and gives the history of our town. The impressive mill owners graves stretching skyward and the open spaces, unmarked graves of the thousands of workers who died in their factories. We found the grave of Dan Irving the first Labour MP for the town and monuments to victims of WW 1 and 2. There is a tribute to the men who lost their lives in the Hapton mining disaster in the area in 1962 along with one to several local people who were killed during Wakes Week in plane crash en route to Spain.
Finally the newest edition is the area set aside for parents of lost neo-natal, still born and miscarried children. There are benches to sit on and the path is made up of small bricks with the children's names on, often just 'Baby Smith'.
So Burnley Cemetery, a piece of history... . see the pix by clicking on the pic here.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
When in Rome......
I have been having a great time playing with photos just lately. On the flickr site there are lots of discussion groups where you can get lots of tips for editing pix and so I have been having a play. This is my favourite so far. Silly I know but I like it. The original photo was a pretty non-descript one of some pillars around St Peter's Square in Rome. I had noticed these two delightful nuns at one side but when I tried to crop the photo they looked rather strange.... but with a little editing of the colours and highlights etc it's turned into something quite good fun. I think they look a great duo.
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