[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 30 July 2024].
The Old Toll House, a Grade II listed building formerly a turnpike tollhouse.
hither green crematorium
parisi udvar
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 15 May 2024].
In May 2012, visiting Budapest with my parents, we ventured from our hotel for our first full day in the city.
Just on our doorstep was this beauty, containing the Parisi Udvar arcade, though its full beauty hadn't yet revealed itself when I started photographing the building's exterior.
I'll write a piece about it and our experience when I share the second of three instalments of photographs.
darkened windows
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 8 May 2024].
These are the first and penultimate photos I took with my D700 when visiting Margate with friends in September 2016 (in reverse order).
A building near Dreamland that I imagine is long gone almost eight years later.
Abandoned and/or derelict buildings almost always catch my eye. They're so photogenic.
great orme cemetery
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 15 April 2024].
With all the to-ing and fro-ing between my trips to Llandudno, Delamere and Glasgow (and pet-sittings in between), I got ahead of myself by posting a photograph of St Peter's Church in Delamere last Sunday when I should have rounded out the week with a #SepulchralSunday entry for Llandudno first.
No harm done, though.
Here's one of my photographs of the Great Orme Cemetery Chapel. The cemetery sits just outside the churchyard walls of St Tudno's Church, down the hill from the summit.
blossoms against bricks
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 13 April 2024].
glasgow eyes
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 10 April 2024].
For my final* trip courtesy of Avanti West Coast (AWC), I knew that, without a doubt, I wanted to return to Scotland. Because a) I wanted to return to Scotland after 13 years and b) I intended to get as much bang for my buck as possible with my complimentary tickets (because, of course).
I've visited Edinburgh three times, off the top of my head (I'm not counting passing through on my way to Arbroath in 2011). I attended the various festivals** in August 2000 and 2001 and returned to visit friends and revisit the festivals in August 2011.
However, I hadn't previously been to Glasgow.
Well, technically, I had. Dad's journal from my folks' visit to the UK in 2001 states, "Continued north on A737 through Dalry, Beith, and Johnstone on the M8 which is elevated for most of its way through Glasgow providing a good view over the city". That was late April, 23 years ago.
At least one friend had told me I should visit the city, and they rated it above Edinburgh. Admittedly, that was back when said friend and I regularly frequented gigs and nightclubs, but I was still keen to visit Edinburgh's "ugly sister"***.
A different friend was surprised I chose Glasgow. He warned me that, when visiting, he found it was "kinda just a place to live"; not like Edinburgh, which he'd expected. And, in some ways, it is. It's far less "pretty" and touristy than Edinburgh, but it did not disappoint.
The rain was not ideal, but if you've been to Edinburgh in festival season, as I did three years (two in a row, both camping just south of the city), you know that even in the Summertime, Edinburgh has its fair share of the wet stuff too.
The Glasgow Necropolis alone was worth the 4.5 to 5-hour train journey each way (even with the 20-minute delay travelling up and the 50-minute delay returning). The inclement weather and strong gusts of wind the first day I visited drove me away before I'd finished my explorations, so I wandered the cemetery for two consecutive afternoons and covered most of its grounds.
I spent the remainder of my first full afternoon absorbing art to escape the rain. I aimed for the Gallery of Modern Art and perused their exhibitions, but they weren't my style. On the way there, I stumbled across Castle Fine Art and the works of Bob Dylan, Billy Connolly and Johnny Depp, among other artists with less celebrity.
A friend I made while completing my residency at Hospitalfield in Arbroath in April/May 2011, John Fairfield, popped over from Dundee for a chinwag, bringing the sunshine with him. I was glad to have thought to message him, as we chatted as though we last met up 13 days - not 13 years - ago.
I captured Glasgow with blue skies while waiting for him to arrive, but the clouds had drawn in again when I returned to the Necropolis. All my photographs from this trip have a blue cast due to "Winter's dull light" (despite now being Spring). I've tried to correct it in these photographs of the Merchants House, but the results are noticeably variable between the three. I hope you'll forgive me.
On my final day, knowing the rain would be even worse than on previous days, I had thought to visit Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, but I wasn't really in the right mood for it. And I felt it would be remiss not to even glimpse the River Clyde during my time in the city. So, I ventured out again with my camera and held my own with the rain until I could no longer. At which point, I popped into the oldest pub in Glasgow, The Scotia, for a cheeky pint before retiring to my accommodation.
As with Llandudno and Delamere, I took over 4GB of photographs and left inspired and pleased with my stay but aware I only scratched the city's surface.
When I booked my trip in mid-January, I had to work around pet-sitting bookings and colleagues' annual leave. I was restricted to booking tickets released by AWC before the date my vouchers expired. Consequently, I'd booked from 2-5 April, which was literally the last possible dates available and meant I hadn't booked for the weekend, as I probably would have if they'd been available.
While others may have felt the current round of train strikes highly inconvenient, they worked in my favour. ASLEF strikes affected all AWC services on Friday, 5 April, when I was due to return to London, so I transferred my booking to a similar service the next day, allowing me an additional day in the city. It did cost me an extra £128 in accommodation for the night. But I considered it money well-spent as I kept my subsistence costs down for each of my three trips and took advantage of free accommodation in exchange for sitting Peter, Mercury and Bowie while exploring Delamere.
I enjoyed my solo travel on all three occasions, and while I occasionally thought, "X would love this", I rarely wished I were travelling with others. I didn't have to stress about what my body was doing because someone else wanted to get an early start. I didn't have to spend excess money on food and drink eating out (I did order in/get room service (at no additional cost) on two occasions - once in Llandudno, once in Glasgow). And, despite my initial nerves about taking my camera out while wandering solo in Glasgow, I felt at home quite quickly on my first full day, and that concern passed.
As much as I loved my travels, I'm happy to be home again for a little while (albeit relatively briefly!) And not to have any pet-sittings until next week.
But I'll be back pet-sitting Francois on Tuesday and Thursday. I'll be in Bromley, sitting my regulars, for at least two nights late in the month. And then off up to Liverpool for work and a day of TOIL exploring that city. Then, a busy month of pet-sitting in May.
No rest for the wicked, eh?
*As mentioned in my previous post about my free journeys, I booked this one second, but chronologically, it was my final free first-class trip.
**The Edinburgh International Film Festival took place in August 2000 and 2001. They moved it to June in 2008.
***My words, I don't know that anyone else refers to Glasgow that way. I say it fondly without malice.
**The Edinburgh International Film Festival took place in August 2000 and 2001. They moved it to June in 2008.
***My words, I don't know that anyone else refers to Glasgow that way. I say it fondly without malice.
owt wet
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 27 February 2024].
west lane baptist church
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 24 February 2024].
cafe inside
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 9 February 2024].
painted gold
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 30 January 2024].
This gold-painted Royal Mail post box caught my eye on the high street in Coedpoeth during a photo walk while sitting Meg and Mog in October 2021.
As the plaques say (in Welsh and English), Royal Mail painted it gold in celebration of Tom James, one of the British coxless four men's rowing team who took gold in the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Though he was born in Cardiff, he considers Coedpoeth his hometown, and he also has a post box painted gold in his honour in nearby Wrexham.
I did not know this was a thing. But, according to Wikipedia, All British gold medal winners at the 2012 Olympics were honoured with appearing on Royal Mail postage stamps, and having a post box in their home town painted gold. (I'm not sure why Tom got two, but Wikipedia cites the Wrexham one as his main one).
cambridge cycles
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 17 January 2024].
looking up, going down
the fitzwilliam museum
east briscoe
resident of the month
Week two of the December project I'm doing with friends, Phil, Christina and Charlotte.
No theme, just a photo a week of whatever catches our eye.
butchery
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 29 November 2023].
When travelling, my camera is probably pointed equally at the sublime and the mundane. Whatever catches my eye.
In this case, a former butchery in West Ulverstone, Tasmania, caught my eye as Victoria drove me from our delicious brunch at Hey Buddy to West Ulverstone beach for a wander (albeit relatively brief as the weather turned wet and windy soon after).
We'd only driven about 160m when the shopfront caught my eye, and I asked Victoria to stop so I could take some photos.
I can't explain why I was drawn to it. Maybe it was the eggshell blue tiles. Maybe it was the faded signage. Maybe a combination of the two.
I don't recall if I registered the logo design fully in the moment, but that is definitely a reason I should have been drawn to it. I've included a crop of the detail of the logo (albeit not the best quality at that size) to explain why it was 100% worth stopping, in my opinion.
the old contemptibles
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 21 November 2023].
ely
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 12 October 2023].
I have so many photographs I took during a road trip with my parents in 2017 that I haven't yet had a chance to edit.
I'm trying to fix that (not to mention trying to work through editing all the other photographs I have from other holidays or day trips with them over the years).
It was Mum's last international trip. Her dementia was evident during that visit and even more jarring for me as I hadn't seen her in person since our road trip through Belgium in 2014.
there will be comedy (loading only)
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 6 December 2022].
I took this photograph of the Futurist Theatre in February 2012 while visiting Scarborough with an ex-partner, Kyle, using The Old Chapel in Baldersdale as our base.
I finally edited this photo a couple of weeks ago and looked up which road it was on in Scarborough. That was when I discovered the theatre closed in January 2014 and was demolished in August 2018.
I have to admit I gasped in shock, horror and sadness.
The place seemed somewhat comical when I photographed it.
Most British seaside towns - especially their esplanades (even if called something else) - elicit a strange combination of amusement (especially if there's a 'Pleasure Beach'), nostalgia, curiosity, wonderment and sadness for me. Maybe there's a longer piece to be written about that.
But, given its history (both iconic and terrible), it seemed shocking to have been knocked down.
And from what I can tell, the site hasn't been developed further since (which is possibly even sadder).
For a time, the Futurist Theatre had the ignominious heritage of being owned by the Black and White Minstrel Show's producer. They staged the show there many times.
But The Beatles also performed there during their Beatlemania period in 1963 and 1964.
Aside from the architecture, history, irony and nostalgia, I photographed the theatre because The Muppets was showing.
Man or Muppet became our shared earworm during that holiday. It played regularly on the northern radio stations we listened to in the rental car during our time in the region.
Despite its cheesiness, there's a snippet of the film's dialogue in the video clip for the song that got me every time. It still does.