The Lowry

This is the entrance to  The Lowry ( Salford Quays ) where you will find theatres, bars, conference centre, wedding venue and of course art exhibitions including those our local artist L.S.Lowry.

Very modern - the Lowry Centre is based in the old Manchester and Salford Docks which ceased to operate several years ago - in fact part of my job in a Shipping Company ( late 1960's ) was to take documents down to the docks from our office in the centre of Manchester.

How things have changed - this area has a modern shopping outlet and hundreds of apartments plus museums and a boating club.

.

Manchester - The hidden part

For most people the face of Manchester city centre is one of bright lights, shops shops and more shops , bars, cafes and museums but it also has a quieter side to it .

Hidden from most eyes are the canals and rivers  that run behind the shops and bars. Here the Rochdale Canal winds its way through the city centre.

The tow paths can actually provide a quicker route across the city centre than the  roads with all their traffic, hustle and  bustle.

Not somewhere to wonder late at night though ..

.

ABC Wednesday - O for Oxford

This ABC Wednesday is O for Oxford

Here the punts are lined up waiting for the university students 

If you want to know all about this leisurely pursuit then go to http://www.dailyinfo.co.uk/guide/punting.htm

And good luck ..

.

Mushrooms

This is the result of our first attempt of growing mushrooms from a starter pack - 202 grammes .. !!

I expected far more ???

The information on the box tells me I should get between 3 or 4 crops - crop No. 2 is now under way and I am expecting to get far more ..

I'm not very good at this growing veg lark...

.

Flowers

This beautiful flower arrangement was a thank you gift to my wife. They are lovely - such vibrant colours

I received Belgian chocolates which were eaten faster than it took the flowers to fade ..

.

Monochrome Monday - 27th October

This ornate fountain can be found in the local park in Guardamar on Spain's Costa Blanca.

The finish to the photo is classified as antique ( somewhat like me )

.

Sugar , Sugar ....

If you go down the the Eden Project in Cornwall you'll find the " Sugar Lorry "

Lots of bright paint work .. 

Interesting place to go is the Eden Project - well worth a visit ..

.

Reminder

A reminder of the summer past - blue skies and bright flowers

Picture taken in Guardamar.

.

Monochrome Monday - 20th October

Off to the seaside early 1950's complete with bucket and spade and it's me .. places to go and things to do.

Looks like Llandudno in North Wales.

I look like I'm going to cry - and I did hate the curly hair which I spent hours trying to comb straight ..

.

PhotoHunt - Family

Christmas is a FAMILY time.

Family presents are laid around the Christmas tree and everyone has a wonderful time  !!

A wonderful time in theory - by the end of the day everyone is a little tired and thinking was all the expense worth it. 

Roll on summer holidays ..

.

Sitting around ..

Sitting around - watching the world go by ...

A good book to read - what more could a man want ..

.

The old ruin

This place can be found in the centre of Heaton Park, Manchester 

It looks in a very sorry state - fire and nature seem to have ravaged it over time ..

A great pity really for it would make someone a grand house 

No doubt in some future time it will be demolished whenever the Council have sufficient funds in their coffers.

.

ABC Wednesday - M for Montréal

M is for Montréal which we visited in 2003 for a very wet and windy 2 hours while we waited for our coach to take us to the railway station for an overnight train journey to Halifax.

The 2 hours just allowed a little time to visit the Basilique Notre-Dame-de-Montréal and basically shelter from the rain ..

It's very beautiful inside and I managed to capture these images 

It was very dark inside from what I can remember so I was quite lucky to get these photographs.

.

Autumn - Red Berries

The sight of red berries on the trees and bushes is a sure sign of autumn and of course the approaching winter.

These were snapped in Heaton Park, Manchester

Monochrome Monday - 13th October

Another Monochrome Monday and another blast from the past.

This is my aunt Lily in her Girl Guides uniform and I would guess that the picture was taken in Chorlton, Manchester in the early 1950's.

She was a Girl Guide leader and a Sunday School teacher for many years and I would imagine that she's about forty years of age in this photo.

I do think the uniform design has changed quite a bit since those days !!! 

PhotoHunt - Lazy

This is a lazy sunny Sunday afternoon in St. James Park, London

The spring in the South of England this year was very wet and cold and this was the first weekend of the summer with decent weather. Thousands of people came out to the parks and gardens to enjoy the weather and just to laze around in the sun.

This oasis of calm is only a few feet away from Buckingham Palace and all the heavy traffic of the capital. Just the place for a lazy afternoon.

.

Rochdale - Town Hall

These mythical golden creatures are guarding the entrance to Rochdale Town Hall.

Today was one of the few sunny mornings we've had for a while and I managed to shoot some photographs around the town.

.

Time for a rest ..

A couple of starlings just taking a rest on top of the TV aerial ..

They will need to take care - a sparrow hawk is known to frequent the area ..

.

ABC Wednesday - L for Liverpool

I felt that I was running out of suitable photographs to load to my Rambler Blog. So a few days ago, I travelled from Manchester one sunny morning on the train to Liverpool with the intention of taking quite a few photographs of this city made famous by the Beatles.

First problem was that  it was very dull and not the weather for taking photographs -

Second problem - the batteries in my camera failed and  I could only  take two pictures -

and here they are ..........

Near Lime Street bus station looking across the city to the famous Liver Building.

" Somewhere "  behind  Lime Street  railway station near to the Walker Art Gallery.

I shall have to return some time - on a sunny day - and with fully charged batteries ..

.

Ha-Ha

In days of old when you owned a pad like this the last thing you wanted were cows and sheep wondering up to your front door.

You wanted a fine view - minus the blocks of modern flats of course

So you had your staff build a hidden wall to keep out the stock.

And this was called a Ha-Ha.

You'll find this one at Heaton Hall, Heaton Park, Manchester

Monochrome Monday - 6th October

Continuing the black and white theme on Monochrome Monday....

This is a more modern photo ( taken 2003 ) and shows an old water pump.

It has become a tourist attraction in Guardamar on the Costa Blanca of Spain and many tourist photos have been snapped ...

I have a near identical sepia photograph on my other Blog  -  

http://astrangerintown.blogspot.com

.

Sunny morning

Sunday morning was a fine sunny morning after a night of non-stop rain and very pleasant indeed.

Even though it is early October there are still some flowers in bloom and this bright display was drawn to my attention .

Picture taken in the gardens of Heaton Park, Manchester.

.