Nautical Names

A nautical 'N' for this week's ABC and here come three fishing boats which helpfully are numbered N.273 (Ocean Harvester), WA.8 (Headway) and N.851 (Temeraire). Two of them have a home port in Newry, Northern Ireland but here were temporarily berthed in Buccleuch Dock, Barrow in the north of England. I like to spot what is tied up here when rolling up to the supermarket for the weekly shop (the car park is by the side of the dock). They look pristine from the front but at the working end

 

they are not.

Jumping to the other side of the Pennines a narrow boat is navigating down along the River Ouse as it passes through York. Its name is the Spanish response to thank you, Da Nada, meaning 'You're Welcome' but it also implies 'No Problem'.   So I guess the narrow boat's name means you would be welcome aboard but also when its owner is aboard his world has no problems as he putters along the countries rivers and canals.

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a sail through the alphabet, this week sojourning at N

Mussel In

This juvenile maritime gull could not have posed in a better place for a photograph.  Is it trying to hitch a ride or just waiting for something tasty.

Perhaps some mussels though it would be disappointed in these for they are made of Kerry limestone.  Created by the stone sculptor Graeme Micheson in 2007 they stand on the Conwy quayside and called by their Latin name Mytilus Edulis but the real thing, the Blue Mussel, has many more hues. To the right of the sculpture is Conwy Mussels who hand rake (in wooden boats) the shellfish where they naturally grow on the seabed, and where the Conwy river meets the ocean.  This sustainable fishing make them larger in size than rope grown mussels.  The mussel season runs from 1st September until the end of April when they are sent to the fish markets  in something faster than this

Ye Olde Mail Coach, Conwy

 They are rarely disturbed in summer when they breed so maybe that is when they mail out publicity

Castle Street, Conwy

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey though the alphabet, this week sojourning at M

Lets Linger in Llandudno

Glimpse through the buddleia bush where no butterflies lingered on this autumnal day is the seaside resort of Llandudno in Wales.

The seats on the promenade were empty under showery skies and as can be seen by the flag, it was a windy day.  The Victorians dubbed the promenade "The Parade" and I imagine there are lots of old postcards of the era showing people in their finery parading leisurely up and down.   

Anoraks were the apparel of choice on this day whether on The Parade or

on the beach. Llandudno was originally a small village of fisher-folk, farmers and copper miners but all that changed when the idea of turning it into a seaside resort was made and much of the centre of the town and front with its hotels was developed from 1857-1877.  No resort being complete without a pier this one arrived in 1878.

And by the side of the pier is the magnificent Grand Hotel with its view over the bay and the Little Orme.

Pier and Little Orme

 The pier is 2,295 ft (700m) long and from it you can not only see the bay and the Little Orme but also I believe, the mountains of Snowdonia, but not on this day for the entrance was locked.  I had to be content with

 taking a photograph of the outside and the

t

empty slide, although by this point the rain had arrived so we headed for shelter

but on the way this building caught my eye. It was built at the end of Llandudno's twenty years of construction, (in 1875) and is known in the local lingo as Y Tabernacl but the building inscription is the 'Wesleyan Welsh Baptistery' and its unique feature inside is a "drainage" dressing room for baptismal candidates in the full immersion font.  The building nowadays is used as a heritage and exhibition centre.   I believe it was designed by the prolific chapel architect Richard Owen who it is said built up to 250  in his lifetime.  Time to head indoors;

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although a pub called "The London" is not something one would expect to see in Welsh speaking Wales but I suspect it may be because there is a direct train from London Euston to Llandudno which in the past, and still today, brings holidaymakers to the Welsh coast.

An entry to ABC Wednesday a journey through the alphabet sojourning this week at L

Ae Fond Kiss

Taking a photo of the ruined interior of Ewloe Castle with children scrambled over it I did not notice the romance in front of me until I downloaded the pictures. A kiss in the castle, or for the purposes of this week's ABC Wednesday I'll switch to Esperanto and say , kisi en la  kastelo.

The day was not grey as it looks in the pictures (I was shooting into the sun), and was in fact a

blue sky day.  This was  a peaceful border land until the Norman invasion of England in 1066 and then was fought over for 200 years by the Welsh and Norman England. Happily today it is just a place for walking and a kiss rather than a killing.

An entry to ABC Wednesday - a journey through the alphabet, sojourning this week at K 

 

A Jetty for the Millennium

One joyous effects of the year 2000 was communities across the country created something to commemorate this point in time with an object. In the seaside village of Seascale they reinstated the former wooden jetty

and created the Millennium Jetty, a simple object but one that is enjoyed to the full.  This day was

the end of August bank holiday, nearly time to go back to school and, as it turned out. the last week of true summer.  For all but the year round hardy types this may have been when the water sports equipment was put away after a fun filled summer, unless of course jetting off to warmer climes. 

Jetty Walk

An entry to ABC Wednesday - a journey through the alphabet sojourning this week at J 

Champion Ice Cream

Time for an ice-cream from this cute van parked outside York's Castle Museum (the building used to be a prison in the 18th Century). While waiting for the Ryeburn's ice-cream I read the  notice 

which explains that it is award winning and the van itself is a E83W Fordson Thames originally made as as what it is today ,an ice-cream van, and one of the last of its kind working today. The Fordson Thames were produced in Ford's Dagenham works from 1938-1957 and could be, amongst other things,  flat backed trucks or grocery delivery vans.  This one proudly bears its date of birth

as 1949.  The pitch is a tourist hot spot standing as it does between the two museums and

 Clifford's Tower where I suppose one could test fitness by running up the incline. The tower is a ruined keep and the only remains of York Castle (originally built by William the Conquer in the 11th Century).  Today the ice-cream van stands inside, what would have been in centuries past, a castle, or in the 18th Century a prison complex.

An entry to ABC Wednesday - a journey through the alphabet, this week sojourning at I

Harewood House

I visited the grounds of the 18th Century Harewood House on a very hot July day. We ambled through the grounds and by the lake, through the walled garden and then later in the day arrived at the house itself to admire its topiary. Hidden within the clipped hedges

were little pink flowers.

The borders had been sprinkled with a hosepipe; I imagine it is quite a task in the long hot days we had this summer

but everything  was looking well watered

And here stood Orpheus with a leopard resting on his arms. The sculpture is by Astrid Zydower (1930-2005) who in 1975 starting with a 12" maquette  to make a small sculpture for Lincoln Kirstein, he  happened to be a mutual friend of the late Lord Harewood through his involvement in opera. When the  fountain which stood on this spot crumbled and then was further damaged by frost in 1982  it was replaced in 1984 with this imposing and enlarged version of Orpheus who stands 8 foot high (I imagine with the plinth it must total 12 foot). The diminutive Astrid Zydower said it was the hardest thing she had ever done. The legend of Orpheus says his playing and singing could captivate both humans, animals and even inanimate things like rocks. The subject of Orpheus charming the animals has appeared in art from Roman mosaics to modern times.  After admiring the sculpture and formal garden we made our way to those umbrellas on the terrace where they were serving cream tea.

heading past the remaining fountain, going up the steps

and settling down on by crisp white tablecloths, we and Orpheus gazed over the landscape created by Capability Brown as a lone red kite hovered low into view, its feathers ruffling in the thermals could be clearly seen which generated much excitement on the terrace.  If my zoom had not been in the car that might have been the next photo! 

An entry to ABC Wednesday - a journey through the alphabet sojourning at H