where eclecticnessicity abounds.
Had to deliver some hearing aids for work in South Shields today, so stopped off after and took some shots of the rather marvelous Town Hall. Unfortunately, from whatever angle you look at it, there is loads of street furniture in the way of it, and though I managed to get rid of a couple of bits, the Give Way sign was just too much! Click on it to embiggen as the details of the building are well cool.
It’s ruddy cold here today, windy, cloudy and showery. The heatwave is a long distant memory because August has been mostly naff. I woke up this morning to discover a big bruise on the right side of my nose, just above the nostril. I’m not sure if this is one of those getting old things or Phil has punched me in the night and I slept through it. I tried to take a photo of it, but it’s too hard to do a nose selfie and I’ve given up.
Last weekend I had the kids for an afternoon and a sleepover. Phil was at work until 9pm so I picked them up and took them down to the beach in spite of it being none too warm. They didn’t seem to care and had a great time digging a hole (not sure why) and running in and out of the sea.
We saw one of the big ferries leaving the mouth of the Tyne
and went passed the weebles on our way back to the car
Before we went home I took them to MacDonalds for their tea (I know, I know, bad Nanny) and when we got home from there found I’d driven home having forgotten where I’d put my purse,
I could not believe I’d a) done that and b) not seen them for the whole journey home!! What a numpty and I ‘m so lucky not to lose the purse.
We’ve had a couple of nice sunsets this month though I only caught one
and in the odd sunny spell, I’ve caught a couple of butterflies, though most have been Cabbage Whites, only seen one Peacock and no Red Admirals, which the Buddleia used to get a lot of in past years.
Regular readers will remember back in spring we had a couple of little mice visiting the Happy Eater tree and munching on the bird food, they disappeared after a while, I am hoping to pastures new and that they were not dinner for the local pussycats. Lately, we have seen one scampering about the back garden. Because of his incredible agility, we have named him Tom Cruise, and whenever we see him we hum the Mission Impossible theme tune 🙂
Here he is, having leaped up onto a garden chair, then onto the armrest and run along to the end, then leaped again to get onto the garden table where I’d put out some bird food for Woody the pigeon.
he’s faster than a speeding bullet, and can jump like you wouldn’t believe! I’m going to have to try and video his antics.
Sophie has been away for a couple of weekends, and I’m away next weekend, so no Toglateering Outings have been accomplished, it’ll be nearly Autumn by the time we get together again, but I’ve plenty of fodder for the Universe blog to keep me going.
Phil’s on night shift for the weekend starting tonight, so I’ll be in charge of the remote control, 🙂 and while he’s sleeping I’ll be in my shed continuing with the epic mosaic I’m making. I started it back in January but haven’t really rushed getting it done, now the end is in sight I’m picking up the pace, as I’ve got ideas now for other projects.
About 4 weeks ago I gave up alcohol on weeknights and find I’ve lost 8lb which is a bonus. Just goes to show how many calories those bottles of wine contain! Of course, weekends are exempt from my abstinence and I’ve got a nice bottle of Cava waiting for me in the fridge which I’ll enjoy a couple of glasses of while I do the ironing and watch a movie. I’m living the dream too!
Happy Weekend peeps, stay tooned over on the Universe blog as there’ll be part 2 of Seaham coming up at some point.
Had a lovely late afternoon with the grandkids down at the beach in South Shields, took the mirror along for the project.
I got lucky with that last one as the waves magically aligned in the mirror.
Our ongoing collaboration of iPhone photography (details HERE).
It was my turn to choose the theme for September, and thought Frego and Lady O could do with an outing
I took Frego to the coast, and Kathy put Lady O on a chest of drawers 🙂
I knew I should have just done the crossword and the word scrambler in the newspaper this morning, but I went and spoilt it all by reading the news as well, and as always ended up being incensed. Apparently in order to make our way in the world after bloody Brexit, we will be increasing our arms exports internationally. The Defence & security Equipment International (DSEI) event is happening in London and our Defence secretary, Sir Michael Fallon was there doing a talk. We’ve already secured £5.9 billion in defence (I use that word because he did) orders in 2016 and are already the world’s second largest weapons exporter. Well, isn’t that something to be proud of. By 2018 our ‘defence’ budget will be £37 billion. (But we can’t afford pay rises for our public servants, or pay for mental health care). Our new weapons include Dreadnought subs, Apache helicopters, F35’s and frigates. We’re also working to develop artificial intelligence for use in warfare. At least that’s good because real intelligence seems hard to come by. Sir Fallon also told everyone “there are robust safety measures to allow ethical defence exports to flourish, protected by a licensing system to ensure exports are rational and lawful and which guarantees that we do not in the process violate international law, create tensions, promote terrorism or endanger global security”. That should cheer up the civilians being bombed in Yemen with British weaponry supplied to the Saudi’s. The Rohingya muslims currently undergoing ethnic cleansing at the hands of the Burmese military in a training programme by the UK will also breathe a sigh of relief I’m sure. Coincidentally the DSEI is on at the same time as International arms control talks are going on in Geneva, the hypocrisy is staggering.
My country does not look after people, not our own and certainly not anyone else’s. Our considerable research and resources do not go into making the world a better place for anyone anywhere, but we are extremely good at defending ourselves, and subjugating and killing other people, and it was ever thus.
So I took my camera out to the coast at South Shields, my go to place when the world gets me down, and I took Frego with me for company. It was really windy with dramatic skies, but peaceful all the same.
We saw some police horses being excercised
and more weaponry! A Disappearing Gun on Trow Point was first placed there in 1887 when the army were experimenting with coastal defences. The gun was forced down into a pit for re-loading by the recoil after the gun fired, so affording protection to the crew and obscuring the gun from direct enemy fire. The structure was sunk deeply into the ground to accommodate the water upon which the platform rose and fell, actuated by air pressure pumps. Trials of platform took place on 15th and 16th December 1887. It was found that the raising and lowering of the platform was too slow and the system was abandoned in favour of the quicker and cheaper Elswick hydro-pneumatic mounting. The replica gun was installed in 1997. The graffiti not long after!
this chap was having fun
I love the colour of waves just before they curl over
and how they hug the rocks
there are still little pops of colour to be found in the grass dunes
and places to sit and take in the view
Equilibrium restored!
Here is the 2nd half of the pictures I took at Little Haven Beach,
I’ve photographed The Weebles many times, but you can always find a different way to do them
The sun was going down so I wandered back to the car park, shot a thistle
and watched the sun sink behind a bank of clouds
I think this is my favourite roll so far.
A couple of weeks ago I took the Rollei off to Little Haven beach to see if I could overcome the loading problems I’d had with the camera in my previous outing. Luckily all seems well now and I got 10 out of 12 decent shots, so up to 83% postable shots! 🙂
Due to the weather I haven’t been out with it since, so will split this into a 2 parter.
It was a lovely sunny late afternoon when I got there, nice blue sky, and I took a few detail shots on the way to the beach
Herd Groyne is always photogenic especially contrasted against the blue sky
Lots of seaweed covered rocks at this end of the beach
the sun was going down as I walked back from the beach to see the Weebles, I’ll post those next time,
A bit of a disappointing haul from 3 rolls I sent in for developing. From the roll I took at South Shields beach only 5 of 12 came out, and the 2 rolls I shot at Howick Hall Gardens I got 15 out of 24 
. I think it was something to do with loading the film, as some of the shots had partial exposures of the following shot on them, but have managed to crop them so they are not too bad, but still, I will have to be more careful and try to figure out where I’m going wrong.
Anyway these are the 5 from South Shields, cropped to remove the weird bits.
Well at least I’m getting the exposure more or less right, so onwards and upwards!
I was working doing home visits in South Shields, and got 10 minutes to have a peaceful moment by the sea. Except it wasn’t peaceful as the North Sea was full on and the waves were crashing against the rocks, but you can’t really tell from the photo.
Today I had the pleasure of Livvys’ company, as it’s half term and her Mum and Dad were both working. It was a lovely sunny morning so we went to Sandhaven beach to look for sea glass, then we met up with Shelley and her kids Cal & Liddy at the Wacky Warehouse, and had lunch at The Storybook. Afterwards Livvy and I did shopping in ASDA, went through a carwash and then came home. It was fun. Took a few shots with the fuji but also with the SX-70, unfortunately I cocked up inserting the film so the shots have come out with ink leaks on them, so just 2 in colour. I took a couple with the 600 as well which is far less temperamental. All in all a fun day out.
All change then, the 365 is no more, but I am just about recovered now from the flu, and need to get back to some photographic goals.
Monday is always my first day back to work after a weekend, and am usually quite busy. Today I had clients to see in South Shields and found that between clients I had 10 minutes to spare, so as I was driving down the coast road, I pulled off into one of the carparks, walked over the road and sat on a sand dune, to watch the sea for 5 minutes. The tide was high but docile, the air was crisp and cool, and the dog walkers not yet arrived, so I sat and listened to the gentle swoosh of the waves on the beach, and took a few moments to appreciate the beauty of my surroundings, to feel lucky to live near to the sea, and to enjoy a little peace.
Lesson of the day today~ The North Wind is not your friend. It wasn’t the wisest decision to pick the coastal route, The Lees as it’s called, along the sea front at South Shields today. I wanted to do a longer walk today as I’ll be working tomorrow, and this route seemed like a good plan, but hadn’t factored in how bloody windy it would be in such an exposed area, and as the walk went on, the wind got worse. I walked from The car park at The Waters Edge pub, all the way to Souter Lighthouse, and then back again. It wasn’t too bad on the way out, but coming back was a right struggle as the gusts of wind were head on. After 1/2hr of it I’d had enough and my brain was muttering ‘beam me up Scotty’ to itself, and at this point a really annoying man RAN I tell you! RAN past me, and I could see him dwindling into the distance, forging ahead until he was a tiny speck, and I’d only struggled on 20 more steps. How can anyone do that in those conditions??? The last thing you need to see is bloody Superman when you’re having a hard time just walking! How I hated him for his speed and fitness :). Nothing to do for it except put one foot in front of the other until finally I got back to the car, whereupon I wept and hugged the steering wheel.
Anyway, onwards ever onwards, I’ll have an easy day tomorrow!
Here are some photo’s I took along the way, all processed with RNI film app using Agfa Optima 200 Warm, apart from the B&W which was done in Filmborn, and all clickthroughable for embigguned versions.
The start,
it’s actually 2.75 miles so they lulled me into an extra 1/2 mile round trip!
On the way to Target rock
Next stop Frenchman’s Bay and this is the info bit
the bay
Manhaven Bay
unnamed bay
Marsden Bay
Marsden Rock
Pompey’s Pillar (no idea why it’s called that)
Taking it in
Last bit, crossing over to pass Marsden Bay
The Limekilns
built in the 1870’s to take advantage of a bleak but perfect location. Limestone had been quarried at Marsden for hundreds of years being used in many notable buildings in the area including Whitburn Windmill in 1796, so with a constant supply of limestone and the nearby Whitburn Colliery providing coal for fuel, these large ovens couldn’t fail to be profitable, it was geographically perfect.
Layers of limestone and coal were poured into the top of the ovens heating and breaking down the stone to produce quicklime which was used in agriculture to neutralise soil. It was also an important element of the steel and chemical industry and was used to make cement and concrete.
All along The Lees are memorial benches, bought by relatives of beloved deceased, and this one was particularly poignant, only 14yrs old 😦
And that’s it for today!
What I don’t get about this walking malarkey is that once you get home and sit down with a nice cuppa tea and a snuggle with the cat, when you go to stand up again you can barely walk across the room without creaking and groaning. Is it supposed to hurt this much???
5.54 miles
Fraggle's Otherverse 
You must be logged in to post a comment.