Giving 'em an earful (almost)

Dad's been in the wars in recent weeks. For few years now he's had problems with a cancerous tumour on his left ear, which has been removed several times only to re-grow again some months later.

For a couple of years or so he's been in the clear, but earlier this year it came back again, this time quickly growing bigger than it had previously.








There was only one thing to do - get to the specialists again and get it removed, but this time they had to cut more away to hopefully be sure they'd got it all.

Now that he's had the stitches removed it's clear that the result isn't too pleasant but hopefully it'll start to heal now, and as Dad will tell you, it's better than the alternative.

The car you always promised yourself

This one's for Wibs: We were at Cleveleys just for an afternoon out, when we stumbled across a classic car display right down the new walkway along the promenade. Whilst there were several cars there from the 60's and earlier, there were also plenty from the 70's and even 80's, however describing cars from my era as 'classic' makes me feel old!

There were several little sports cars such as Triumph Spitfires from the 60's and 70's, but this early 1980's Ford Capri caught my eye, being a favourite of Wibs, and in absolutely mint condition too.



The term Capri was first used by Ford in 1961 for a two-door coupe version of the Classic saloon, and then the Consul Capri the following year. The first car known simply as the Capri was launched in 1969, as a European version of the American Mustang, and it's sporty looks made it extremely popular. Ford coined the advertising slogan "The car you always promised yourself" for the Capri.

By 1974, the mark II Capri was launched with a number of small improvements, but sales were on a slow decline which meant by 1977, a mark III version was developed. This was ready for the public in 1978, and this is the version we saw at Cleveleys. The use of Capris in the TV series The Professionals helped maintain interest in the UK, giving the Capri a cult car status, but sales failed to improve significantly and by the mid 1980s the Capri was doomed. The last Capri rolled off the prodution line in 1986 - after more than 1.8 million Capris had been produced.

Beautiful butterflies

This weekend we found ourselves on a familiar short walk between Catterall and Churchtown and for a change, rather than focus (literally!) on the landscapes and scenery, I felt like zooming in to the world of insects. But although the macro lens is perfect for extreme close-ups, I found that my telephoto got better results as it let me in close whilst keeping my distance. Perhaps not prize-winning shots, but interesting nonetheless.

I'm no expert but I believe this is the small white butterfly, Pieris rapae, also a claimant to the informal name of 'cabbage white'.

The cabbage white caterpillars can decimate crops of cabbages, as you might expect, but also are fond of swedes, turnips, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. The small white is a native species to the UK, and populations fluctuate depending on the weather. There were plenty out today, so perhaps this is a good year for them.




This is a related butterfly, the Green-veined white, Pieris napi, which is more common than the cabbage white in the countryside.

Unlike the cabbage white its caterpillars don't attack cabbages, but it can often be found in damp hedgerows, ditches, riverbanks, meadows and moorland. It is considered the most widespread butterfly in the UK, so they aren't difficult to spot when you're out and about.

Photography at Salford Quays

There's many a photograph been taken at Salford Quays as the architecture and water lend themselves to photography. The surroundings are always changing too, with new developments almost a regular occurrence since the regeneration of the area in the early 90s.

I was here with the Camera Club, and around a dozen or so of us met up and then dispersed looking for the potential competition-winning photos.

The bridges are the obvious structures to photograph, but I was looking for something a little more original, so on a theme of reflections I produced three which I'm happy with - these are posted on my other blog here.







The theme of the evening for me was patterns, and they are everywhere once you start to see - you just need the creative parts of your brain to be switched on. The design of some of the buildings aren't always easy to fathom, but they do make great photos as this tower at the Lowry demonstrates.







After a drink at a nearby bar we let the sun set, and the landscape lit up in countless colours, giving us new opportunities for that winning picture.

The Lowry Theatre building nearby is another with a peculiar shape, but the blues and oranges which light it up after dark make for an interesting composition. But will it be good enough to win?