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Six word Saturday

6ws-participating-in-bannerUplifting YELLOW – the colour of sunshine.

The Autumn colour in Richmond

Autumn colour in Richmond, North Yorkshire

Even a sunshine bird like me can’t help but thrill to the colours of Autumn.   Crispy days, with the water running dark and the sun shining bright…

And glints through the leaves in Autumn

And glinting through the leaves.

Here is my gallery of yellow for this week.  Click on a photo to roll with me.

Got to love this smack of yellow!
The Carmo Church, Tavira- just a subtle tinge of yellow
Crazy yellow at the seaside!
Beautiful stained glass yellow in the Ratusz in Krakow
Old gold gently washes medieval architecture in Wroclaw
Sunflower yellow rules this display!
My stepdad, Joe, hated the colour yellow, but Mam loved her roses
Here’s a bold statement for a door!
Livingstone daisies light up the beaches on the Algarve
More craziness- Carnival time in Loule
How delicately pretty is this?
And this is simply exquisite!

My kaleidoscopes of colour have brightened my Saturdays over the last few weeks.  I can’t resist the opportunity to add this one to the Weekly Photo Challenge, the hue of you.

Join Cheri’s challenge, or simply stay here, nice and comfy with Cate at Show My Face.  The world’s your oyster!

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Weekly Photo Challenge : from lines to patterns
River Esk at Whitby

River Esk at Whitby

I really have no business being here this morning but the sky is grey again and I’m focussing my mind on the beautiful sunny day we walkers had at Whitby on Monday.  It was sparkling!

Out on the old pier

Out on the old pier

That's Saltwick Nab in the distance.

That’s Saltwick Nab in the distance.

A bollard always makes a good shot, don't you think?

A bollard always makes a good shot, don’t you think?

Or what about some "dinosaur's feet"?

Or how about some “dinosaur’s feet”?

Thanks to Cheri at the Weekly Photo Challenge for lifting my spirits.  Click on the link to lift yours.

Weekly Photo Challenge : an unusual viewpoint

IMG_9301This is a first for me- a single photograph!  There is a good reason, as I will be posting more in Six word Saturday tomorrow, but this little mermaid seemed to fit the bill perfectly.  The view is of Huntcliff Nab at Saltburn-by-the Sea, another of North Yorkshire’s charming seaside resorts.  A tradition has grown up in recent years of festooning available railings with knitting.  Last year was, of course, the Royal Jubilee, but I was very taken with this year’s seaside theme, artistically draped along Saltburn pier.

I’ve written about Saltburn before, in a post called Secrets, which gives a little of  the area’s history.  Meantime, I hope you like my entry for this week’s Daily Post challenge.  Huntcliff Nab is beautiful in its own right but I love an Unusual Point of View.  Click on the link to view the other entries.

Weekly Photo Challenge : Sea

IMG_9070There’s nothing I like better than to crest the brow of a hill and see it sparkling in the distance.  It’s like a magnet from then on and my gaze keeps returning to it, imagining myself on that shore.  I’ve lived within sight of the sea for most of my life, and cannot imagine a time where I couldn’t stroll on a beach at will.  It’s lucky for me that there are endless stretches of cliff top walking in my rugged corner of north eastern England.

IMG_9087IMG_9092IMG_9095IMG_9099IMG_9108IMG_9110IMG_9112IMG_9115These photos were taken this morning on the stretch of coast just south of Seaham.  You may remember, I posted recently about the town and its regeneration in No time like the present.

This is my entry for the Weekly Photo Challenge.  The sea is a subject that never fails to engage me.   I’m off now to check out the other entries.  Come with me?

Weekly Photo Challenge : Carefree
Flying high in the Algarve.

Flying high in the Algarve.

I struggled a bit to find carefree this week.  It’s not always gifted to us, is it?  But if there’s anywhere I can find it, you might know it would be in my beloved Algarve.  Click on the gallery below and maybe lighten your spirits.

Dipping and diving- what could be more carefree?
How about my swing seat, poised for action?
My favourite island, Armona, always promises carefree
Especially on the beach.
Nothing more carefree than children, even in a crocodile.
A ride on a toy train might do it, or would you choose the bike?
Flowers spilling over promise carefree to me.

I’m feeling better already.  Have you entered the Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge yet?  Hoping this finds you in a carefree frame of mind.

Weekly Photo Challenge : One shot, two (or three) ways

There are lots of ways to tackle this week’s Daily Post photo challenge- showing a subject in two different ways.  I was never much good at the “less is more” philosophy, so one shot isn’t really on the cards for me.

The Swing Bridge, Reeth, in the Yorkshire Dales
In close up but not in motion.

Reeth has the most beautiful setting on the River Swale in the Yorkshire Dales.  The Swing Bridge made me smile.  It didn’t so much swing as wobble if you jiggled about on it a lot.

The ferry point on Tavira Island
Looking down the channel to the open sea.

I wouldn’t jiggle too hard on this bit of rusty railing at the ferry terminal on Tavira Island in Portugal’s Algarve.  It’s just the salt air- I’m sure it’s safe!

The salt marshes at Barril
Briney water stretches forever

Or you could take the little steam train out to Barril Beach.  When the tide’s in the salt marshes look their beautiful best.

Lunch before we hit the boardwalk?
It looks inviting!

Before, or after, you hit the beach there are nice restaurants to linger in.

Ponte Romana in the twilight
Step forward a pace and you get a “free” umbrella

Evening’s always a good time to return to Tavira.  The sun settles over the river, and the swifts dart and play.

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When the lights go down you can often find a local celebration or Saint’s Day like this one at the Carmo, Tavira’s main church.  The service inside is broadcast on speakers, the priest’s beautiful voice soaring over the neighbourhood.

Did you enter the Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge yet?  Come with me and we’ll check out some entries.

The Golden Hour

The Military Bridge, Tavira

The Military Bridge, Tavira

Seen from the quayside

Seen from the quayside

And I guess you all know this one? Ponte Romana.

And I guess you all know this one? Ponte Romana.

But this is my favourite. The umbrellas look like ghosts.

But this is my favourite. The umbrellas look like ghosts.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist being drawn into this week’s photo challenge.  As soon as I saw the theme I was back on that riverbank in my head.  Hope you like the results.

Who wouldn’t want to take photos at this delectable time of day?  Check out the numerous wonderful entries at The Golden Hour.

Nostalgic

Funny how often two challenges collide, or rub shoulders.  I had barely posted Urban Design on Friday when the Weekly Photo Challenge loomed into view :  Nostalgic.  Old films and Nat King Cole.  But that very morning I’d been reliving nostalgia at the top of Christ Church tower.

IMG_7114I’d been on a mission to purchase a few “surprises” for my husband’s birthday next week.  The sky was blue.  My camera was in hand.  What better time to climb the tower for the promised “bird’s eye view” of Hartlepool?  I reached the top and was just starting to take some shots when I heard the door open behind me.  Darn, I thought.  It wasn’t a large space and I greedily wanted it all to myself.

The lady smiled at me, and of course, I smiled back, and as I never can resist doing, slipped into conversation.  She had been born and raised in the town, but had later married an American and now lived in the States.  Over the years she had visited mum and dad in Hartlepool, but now both were dead, and after settling their affairs she was saying a final farewell to the town.  She had climbed the tower because at last she could, knee surgery having given her back that ability.

Looking at the town below us, we traded memories.  Do you remember Lynn Street?  The Indoor Market with it’s treasure trove of stalls?  Corned beef slices, fresh from the tray?  The sweet shop with chunky “rhubard and custards”?  The docks were over there- do you remember the chain links and gangways?  Hasn’t the town changed?

On and on we went, reminiscing, exchanging snippets of our lives.  We parted, finally, and I made my way back down to the ground, full of nostalgia for what had been, but a little proud of the survivor that Hartlepool still is.   I can’t show you the past, but I can show you the now.

It was dark inside but I still could capture the sun
A first peek!
View from Christ Church tower over Hartlepool
Remember Blacketts, and Binns? Long gone.
The story of the church
A new, and modern, stained glass panel.

I don’t want to repeat the photos you can see on Urban Design, but I did want to share the experience.  I wish the lady the very best for the future.  I so enjoyed our memories.  This is my entry for Weekly Photo Challenge : Nostalgic.

Weekly photo challenge : the world through your eyes

IMG_6866You’ll be getting entirely the wrong impression of me.  Or maybe not!

When I walked into the conservatory last night the sun was glinting off the wine bottles and making pleasing patterns on the wall.  I reached for a glass, and looking around had that “all’s right with the world” moment.  Plenty of time for a sip, but first, the camera…

It’s not the best shot I ever took, but I love the warmth of the sun bouncing off the walls.  It’s in short supply some days.  Inadvertently I’m reflected in the glass.  This really is “the world through my eyes”, at least on a Saturday night.  Follow the link to check out the other entries.

Six word Saturday

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From one Steampunk Event to another!

Isn’t life strange sometimes?  Last Sunday I was in Nottingham, in the wonderful company of my daughter, Lisa, and her role-playing friends.  I was attending a book launch for “Steampunk Apothecary”, an enchanting collection of jewellery and fantastical tales.  Emilly Ladybird (otherwise known as Jema Hewitt, and the chief bridesmaid at my daughter’s wedding, if you remember that far back) describes how to make these beautifully curvy pieces.

You could create blood red ruby earrings

Blood red ruby earrings- Jema demonstrates how to make them

Or how about the mermaids?

Or how about these curvaceous mermaids?

The balcony in the Malt Cross Cafe

The beautifully curved balcony in the Malt Cross Cafe

We were upstairs in the uniquely beautiful Malt Cross Cafe, a grade 2 listed building.  Emilly Ladybird was our gracious hostess, and naturally, there was cake!

Lisa, Emilly Ladybird and Claire

Lisa, Emilly Ladybird, Mr. Woppit and Claire

Mr. Woppit and cake

Mr. Woppit and cake

Lisa was keeping cool most elegantly

Lisa was keeping cool most elegantly

And posing, when requested, with her husband, Leo

And posing, when requested, with her husband, Leo

Imagine my surprise to learn, during the conversation, that this coming Sunday my hometown is to host its first ever Steampunk event!  Lynne and Richard Hardy, designers of the game “Cogs, Cakes and Swordsticks” will be appearing on board HMS Trincomalee in Hartlepool marina.  “Come and say hello” they said.

Sure enough, on my return home I found “Tiffin on the Trinc- a Steampunk convivial”, advertised locally.

Tiffin on board the Trinc poster

Tiffin on board the Trinc poster

What’s a girl to do?  It’s Father’s day so I’ll be cooking lunch first.  For more details of Jema’s fabulous work, and last Sunday’s fun, take a look at An extraordinary, but delicious, affair.  Tomorrow?  It won’t be the same without my gorgeous girl.

Got your six words ready for Saturday?  With thanks to Cate at Show My Face.  And I really can’t resist a “two for one” approach this week.  I’m submitting this to the Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge : Curves 

After all, what’s a corset without curves?