ABC Wednesday - J

I loved the lettering on this sign, and the blue shutter. I think Jerzual is part of the river port area outside Dinan, which does not quite explain the drawing. It is also the name of a hotel, so is it a glass, are they straws, or am I just clutching at them. Whats that hand, has someone fallen under the table. What do you think?

Hotels and ports are places to go to when taking a Journey
and this HGV may be heading for one at some point. How lucky to have a name that so lends itself to this graphic design. I passed it parked in a sleepy French village on a Sunday, around lunch time, so perhaps Monsieur or Madam Hautiere was taking a rest from international journeys.
Then of course there are sea journeys. The Walther Herwig III leaving the port of Ijmuiden in Holland. It is a German fishery research vessel operating in the North Atlantic and North Sea. At the moment it is somewhere off South Ronaldsway in the Orkneys. What a pity it is not sailing near somewhere that starts with a J.
I love train journeys. Here is a small modern train crossing the Ribblehead Viaduct which was built in 1875 and has a total of 24 arches This is part of the Settle Carlisle route which crossing some beautiful countryside, and is not only a marvel of engineering, but also a marvel that it still exists and has survived all the rail closures in past years. You can see the mist rolling down Whernside in the background.
So what else could take you on a journey. Oh yes, as the song says 'trains, and boats and planes'. This seems to be the only digital photo I have of a plane. You will have to squint, its on the runway on Walney Airport. I think this is one of the two Beechcraft King Airs small twin turbo owned by BAE. Apart from the gliding club there is not a lot of traffic in here.

Always good to land well in a plane, this is a pilot you would want when things go wrong in your King Air so there would be a happy ending to your journey. Was it John Steinbeck that said - a journey is like a marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.




Jump over to ABC Wednesday for lots more Js

Flavour of Brittany

Back from my hols and already suffering from patisserie withdrawal. We managed to call in somewhere and pick up cakes most days. This is one of the fruit tarts although my favourite was the dense custardy thing that was the flan (pronounced flon) which I proceeded to eat for the rest of the holiday in all its guises, whether plain, with fruit or covered with coconut.
When we disembarked from the boat at St Malo the first thing we did was head for Mont St Michel. It was very early in the morning ( a black coffee and pain au chocolate to wake me up). I had been told this that was the best time to go, otherwise it is too busy. Spectacularly set against the flat shining sand and visible from a long way off it did not disappoint inside, or with the views from the top.

Later in the holiday we also visited monuments of a far older time. Dolmen and other constructions are so mysterious; as are the people who built them, all those thousands of years ago. They must have been so like us but we can never know their minds or beliefs and can just stand and wonder. This is one of the Les Alignments du Moulin near St Just near Rennes, I managed to get the windmill in the picture, and as an added unintentional bonus a white van. The boards near the structures were very informative but alas the ones describing the birds, insects and plants were a bit sad as large areas of the undergrowth were just a blackened mass where fire had destroyed the gorse, as you can see in this picture.
However it was only a small area compared to the surroundings. This is the picture taken from the plateau showing the dense forest and lake at the start, or finish of the walk to the structures depending on whether you had walked from the village or like us had actually started with a walk through the wood and by the l'Etang du Val, which is the lake you can see here. A pleasant place to sit while the dragonfly buzzed along the top of the water and occasionally hovered in front of us.
The coastal walks are fabulous. This is a view of one of the beaches in between Fort La Latte and Cap Frehel. The tops of the cliffs were covered with yellow gorse and purple heather which which was a spectacular contrast of colours (a little of it is in the foreground of this image). Spoilt for choice for lovely fine sandy beaches along this and coast the Cote d'emeraude which is further east.

St Briac sur Mer

Although you may need a boat to get onto some of them.

We walked by many little lakes. This is the popular Etang de Boulet where people were picnicking, sailing and walking. Unusually the wooded area around the lake had nobody looking for mushrooms. In most other woods we encountered many people with long sticks as they searched out the delicacy in the undergrowth.
Water was a continual theme of the holiday, but all of it on the ground and not coming down from the sky (apart from one day). There are some pleasant walks by the pretty Ille et Rance canal, with its many lochs and loch keeper's houses.


The buildings of the area are very interesting. Here is Dinan with a Creperie on the left. Yes you can have pancakes in all shapes, sizes, flavours although we did not indulge here. Well RB spent most of the time eating Moules Mariniere so had no time for pancakes. The Italian ice cream shop called Le Pole Nord here sold some of the best ice cream I have ever had.
And lastly no holiday would be complete without some art. We called in at St Richardais to the house were Manoli had his studio. In the year he died the garden and surrounding spaces were turned into exhibitions spaces for his art. He is described as "an alchemist of materials and forms". There are mobiles of acrobats, mechanical kinetic works as well as static sculptures of many forms and types. Fused metal, reclaimed items or smelted granite. There is something for everyone here in the lovely setting of home and garden which seems to fuse all his ideas together. The tall white figure in the photo is his self portrait.

I had a wonderful time in this area of France. I hope these images give some of the flavour. There is no doubt that some of my other photos from this holiday will turn up at some time on the ABC Wednesday meme. Now I wonder what letter they are up to at the moment...

Casting Off for France

No posts for a couple of weeks as I will be heading for the M6 down country. Hopefully not in the above direction, as that is going north (note to self, must remember to turn right). I used to travel from Junction 36 up to Carlisle a lot in a previous job. If it is possible to have a nice section of the motorway, this is it, not too busy and good views. On a sunny day with some good music it is quite relaxing, (or perhaps that was because I had escaped from the office). Maybe spotting a walker making their way up hill going over the highest point of Shap and the odd buzzard hovering in the sky would lift the heart. The distant hill in the photo is before you get to Shap and is part of the Howgills which spans the Cumbria and Yorkshire borders. Until the weather of July and August turned into a deluge, we had great plans for doing a lot of walking in this area for a change, maybe next year.
That's next year, but for now I am looking forward to the ferry casting off from Portsmouth to set sail for France, yippee, (I'm cheating a bit with this photo as it was taken as we left Tynemouth a couple of years ago). I love arriving on islands and countries by boat.

ABC Wednesday - F

F is for Fountain Fun

How irresistible is a fountain on a hot day. Escaping from the mad touristy centre of Colmar in France, here, on the outskirts, people were relaxing and having fun.


Of course some fountains are more impressive than others. These were supposed to be shooting up in the air but it was found that they did not cope too well with the wind, so were turned down. Who would expect wind in a town that is surrounded on three sides by the sea, obviously not the architects. No skateboarders weaving in and out of these although I have seen them attempt the various tricks on the seats and stairs round the corner. The odd Labrador finds the water quite refreshing. These fountains are outside Emlyn Hughes House which is named after the late, great Liverpool FC footballer who was a son of the town. (His statue is also in this photo but it is not too clear against the trees). The locals however call it Crazy Horse Corner because Crazy Horse was his nickname, and who can resist a bit of alliteration.

The first time I saw these turned on I thought there was a flood not realising they were supposed to be fountains.

In mitigation I was sat in the Duke of Edinburgh Hotel (picture courtesy of Barrow Day By Day) on one of those nice high bar chairs, having a beer and looking out of the window. This is a Grade 2 listed building built in 1871 when the town was rapidly expanding and known as the 'Chicago of the North'. It has just been given a £2M refurbishment after some years of decline. It also used to have some nice trees in front but the council in their wisdom felled them, for traffic safety reasons, although they had stood there for years with no problem. Famous people who have stayed there include Charlie Chaplin and Cary Grant, who in there time had a lot of fans and D H Lawrence who wrote lots of fiction but also some non fiction on Freudian psychoanalysis. I wonder if he came with his wife Frieda. He also wrote poetry, mainly about nature, but also some concerning fish such as the one verse which is 'Little Fish' which I had to quote because it also has the word fun in it.

The tiny fish enjoy themselves
in the sea.
Quick little splinters of life,
their little lives are fun to them
in the sea.

Follow the link to ABC Wednesday which will be full of more Fs

Meandering in the Midlands

Update: The man who knows calls me foolish this car is of course a Buick Straight 8

A very relaxing wedding celebration at the weekend. Here is the old Dodge car that transported the bridge and groom. It was in immaculate condition and had those bonnie and clyde type running boards. We followed it most of the way from Worcester because we had no idea where we were going. "The Cottage in the Woods" was the destination, however the Dodge was built for the wide open spaces and long roads, so it took a slightly different route into the venue than the twisty lane we followed.
The bride and groom with the view over the valley from this Malvern hill. After afternoon tea with lovely buttered scones, cream and jam we were heading for the party night.
On the Pride of the Midlands. Doesn't look as though it would hold 83 people, but it did with ease, on both the upper and lower decks.
Set sail down the River Severn. This spire dominates the skyline but the church it was attached to, St Andrews, no longer exists as it was demolished in 1949. Known locally as the Glover's Needle (Worcester was at one time a major glove making centre).

Worcester Cathedral & Bridge

As we sailed under the bridges the lights were coming on as the sun was setting. We floated down the river and the swans paddled along beside us. The sun set without a glow but along the riverside were dots of fires. The people sitting by the fires flashed their torches and shouted hellos as they sat taking in the summer night on the banking. The music played on, and eventually under the stary sky at midnight we returned and docked.

ABC Wednesday - E

E is for Excitement

My fellow fans at the Northern Rail Cup in July which was played in Blackpool. This was the first final Barrow Raiders had got to since October 1st 1983, back in the days when clubs had straightforward, no nonsense names, such as Barrow Rugby League club. By the fickle finger of fate we were playing the same opponents in July as we had in 1983 when we won the Lancashire Cup. You can see everyone is making the most of the day, especially the supermen. This is before the match started so the enthusiasm, exhilaration and enjoyment were only just starting however things did not end well and Widnes were the eventual winners. Guess we will have to wait until next time, I hope it is not another 26 years.

The day was a blustery and warm, people were enjoying the waves by the south pier although
there did not seem to be many on the big wheel maybe it was too exposed or everyone
was at on the Pleasure Beach perhaps having more Excitement riding the Pepsi Max Big One




But wouldn't it be more exciting if we saw Elvis, doesn't the National Enquirer keep spotting him in supermarkets. Here fans have Embellished their beach hut with an image of him at his prime.
Other beach huts are a little more Elaborate
These huts were near Hopeman in north east Scotland where one of the most exposed links golf course nestles next on the sea cliffs. The green on Clashash Cove is 150 feet below the 12th tee. It may be advisable to have to keep your wits about you when walking by this cove, a golf ball might be flying in your direction, and perhaps embedding itself in your skull, which would be extremely uncomfortable.

For an eclectic mix of the letter E exit to the ABC Wednesday meme

Japanese Literature Challenge

I've joined Dolce Bellezza's Japanese Literature Challenge Number 3 which is to read one book of Japanese origin within the time period July 30 to January 30 2010 and post a review. I don't normally join reading challenges because I have the attention span of a gnat and the mood of the moment tends to guide my reading choices, but this challenge seems like an attainable and fun one, even for me.

Japan and its culture is fascinating but most of the literature I have read in the past has been poetry. By coincidence I did read Haruki Murakami's 'Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World", and posted a short review in January. I enjoyed this so may choose one of his other novels but Dolce Bellazza has provided a temping list of books, who knows I may read more than one.