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which explains that it is award winning and the van itself is a E83W Fordson Thames originally made as as what it is today ,an ice-cream van, and one of the last of its kind working today.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

Garsdale Station

The plan by Network Rail is to replace England's signal boxes with a total of 14 centralised control centres. This will save money but not I suspect in the long run lives. At the moment there are 5,600 front line staff operating signals, that is a lot of signal boxes.  It was therefore a surprise to see the Garsdale signal box covered in scaffolding so perhaps the grand plan is not happening for a while.

 All seemed quiet on the station and the buildings looked in pristine condition.  Their refurbishment using the designs of 1876 gained MFG Construction the National Railway Heritage Craft Skills Award in 2009.

On this day there were contractors busy working on the line itself on this exposed track.  In past times when there was a turntable here it was protected by walls of sleepers so the locomotives would not be spun by strong winds.  Oh look the signal is up

for a freight train which for safety reasons passed the workers at a very slow speed, ideal for the photographer.  The Settle to Carlisle line not only carries passengers but a massive amount of freight and this only happens today because people fought to keep the line open when it was in danger of closure. The short term view of the original decision shown to be wrong. 

Just seen to the left of this photograph is a statue of a border collie called Ruswarp (pronounced Russup) which both commemorates the dog and its owner Graham Nuttall, who was a founder member of the Settle-Carlisle line pressure group. Ruswarp, as he was a paying passenger of the line, signed the original petition against closure along with his human owner, but with his paw print.  Graham went missing in January 1990 while walking in the Welsh mountains never to return,  his body was discovered 11 weeks later with Ruswarp still beside him having survived the winter weather but so weak he had to be carried off the mountain.  The 14 year old dog attended his owners funeral but passed away soon after.  Garsdale was a favourite place so the Friends of Settle-Carlisle Line placed the statue here to symbolise the successful campaign to save the line for future generations and also to the memory of Graham Nuttall and his faithful dog.

An entry to ABC Wednesday - a journey through the alphabet

  

Fair Fowls and Flamigo

Fabulous flamingos living by the side of the lake at Harewood House Bird Garden take time out to have a preen. The gardens are a fascinating place to see unfamiliar birds to these shores.   At the moment the Chilean Flamingos total 17 adults and one juvenile in the flock.  They stopped breeding when a storm brought trees down on their nesting site but a recent creation of a new nesting island for them resulted in a baby flamingo.  While watching them I spotted this 

nest but perhaps this collection of twigs belongs to this fellow

who was keeping an eye out for something tasty to eat

Meanwhile the Guinea Fowl were taking a stroll but this most gregarious of birds

 

prefer to do it in groups and this photograph shows of their fine feathers to full effect.  There looks to be tasty treats in the grass on which they have free range but not

here in the walled garden where the fear factor tries to keep away birds from the newly planted seeds.

An entry to ABC Wednesday - a journey through the alphabet

Aye Eye

I thought I would rest the London Eye on the Shell Building for this photograph and handily for an ABC Wednesday letter E its branding at the moment is the EDF Energy London Eye.  135 metres high its 30 minute whirl  is a popular destination.  The Shell Building is clad in Portland Stone which has meant that it has weathered better than other high rises built in 1961. London's new year countdown is projected onto the tower.   While taking this photograph I was stood on the Victoria Embankment

where an eagle flies.  Perhaps it may soar away north to York where

 the Euston railway station gates have made the journey.  Here at the National Railway Museum it is a popular resting area, maybe the essence of railway entrances lingers as a meeting place.  I wondered where they were on the original station and found this photograph from the 1950s

and they can be glimpsed by the columns. Euston was the world's first capital terminal and to mark the opening in 1837 this 70 feet high entrance was constructed of Portland Stone as a scaled up replica of a Doric Portico such as might have been seen in ancient Greece, but on a colossal scale.  Demolished in the 1960s when a lot of Victorian London was lost it was replaced by what has been described as "mundane modernism" and the dark uninviting station it is today. The Victorians also built outside the station four small lodges in matching Portland Stone for parcel collection and two of them survive but cast adrift with no purpose

I had no idea of their original use and took this photo only because of the interesting list of northern towns, one of which I sometimes change at to take the train down to London. Now knowing the original purpose I realise these are the names of the towns served by the railway.  The only other reminder of the old stations is

the reimagining of the Doric Arch on Euston's pub sign.  

An entry to ABC Wednesday - a journey through the alphabet