Cards by Carole's Christmas crescendo

Carole's been busy over the last few weekends...

Travelling in luxury to Edinburgh

For a shared early Christmas present to each other, earlier in the summer we booked ourselves tickets on an exclusive rail trip to the Edinburgh Christmas markets. We'd chosen this trip from a specialist website who offers other similar day trips and even short breaks by rail, many of which are hauled by steam, and we were very much looking forward to the experience. So, despite the early start for a Saturday, by 8:45 we were eagerly waiting on the platform, scanning the horizon down the track for the tell-tale plume of smoke signifying the approach of our train.

At about the time our train was due, a speck appeared far down the line; but as there was no smoke, we concluded it was just a regular service. But as it came closer it became clear it was a spruced-up diesel engine from the 70s and it was indeed pulling our train. Our disappointment soon passed though as we stepped on board our Pullman dining carriage, where we were greeted by immaculately dressed staff who sat us down at a sumptuous breakfast table and served us a glass each of bucks fizz as our journey commenced.

Over the next hour or so, we were treated to a hearty breakfast of cereals, smoked salmon, full English, croissants and toast and marmalade, washed down with plenty of coffee. Suitably stuffed, we relaxed in oversized comfy seats as the train sped northwards. As we crossed the border into Scotland, more coffee and a selection of pastries and biscuits kept us topped up into Waverley station.



We spent the afternoon with the crowds along Princes Street, watching the big wheel and then the skating in Waverley Gardens and enjoyed a gluhwein in the German markets. There were thousands of people in town, so after a while we left the markets behind and walked up George Street and back to the station in plenty of time for our return journey.


The train home was just as special, with a fabulous four course meal washed down with champagne and wine, rounding off a wonderful day.

Bottom of the class!

Recently I've discovered a new way to channel my thirst for photography, through the local Camera Club. Hopefully I'll pick up some new skills and ideas as well as some feedback on some of my favourite photos. The club meets in neighbouring Darwen each week, but it's only a mile or so from where I live, so it's virtually on my doorstep.

I was a little apprehensive at first but everyone has been very friendly and welcoming. On my first week the club had arranged for a slideshow from an experienced photographer from a nearby club, and the theme was landscapes of Snowdonia, which is where I'd been just the month before.

This week was my third visit, and the meeting would be devoted to the club's monthly competition. There's no prizes or medals, but even so it is competitive and I was eager to hear how my three entries had fared. The pictures, presented anonymously, were being judged by one of the club's most experienced photographers, and my first effort, of our Welsh holiday cottage (shown here) was soon on the screen for critiquing. The earlier pictures had all scored a healthy 8 or 8.5 out of 10, and I thought mine was in with a shout. However although the judge liked several elements of the picture, he felt the sunlight through the leaves 'killed it' and I earned just 6 marks! If this wasn't disappointing enough, one of the next pictures up, despite being clearly out of focus, beat it with a score of 7!

After this setback, things improved with the two other pictures I had in the competition, both taken during the photo session with Ian's girls Alice and Grace the other week (see 'studio portraits' from my other blog). These did fare much better, with some very positive comments and respectable scores of an 8 for one and a very impressive 9.5 for the other.

Despite being close to perfection it wasn't enough as half a dozen pictures had been shortlisted for the top spots, but joint 7th wasn't bad for a first effort.

Happy birthday Jean

For Jean's birthday we visited Smithills in Bolton for a very pleasant meal and the usual photo. Happy birthday Jean!

A soggy short break

With me only having one day's leave left to book for this year, Carole (who somehow still has a couple more days left besides - how has she managed that?) suggested we should book into a B&B in the Lakes for the weekend to do a little Christmas shopping and, if the weather played fair, perhaps a walk too.

We'd picked out a pleasant guest house in Ambleside but taking the Friday off work was perhaps not our best move as the rain set in almost as soon as we'd arrived. Not to be disheartened, we scurried between shops in Ambleside's attractive town centre, umbrellas at the ready. Feeling brave, we even walked down to the garden centre on the outskirts of town, learning along the way that whilst umbrellas can usually keep your top half dry, your legs still get a soaking.

Back in the centre in the evening we enjoyed a very nice meal at the Priest Hole, one of Ambleside's oldest buildings and a fine restaurant too.

Next day the weather wasn't set to be any better, and after a visit to Kendal we popped over to Lightwood to say hello to Ann and Barry and drop off an anniversary card for Julie and Stewart (is it really 12 months since the wedding?). The rain still fell outside, but Ann made us feel very comfortable with tea and plenty of cake!

In the evening, our host in the B&B recommended Dodds, close to the bridge house in Ambleside centre. Although the name doesn't give a clue, it's actually an Italian and a mighty fine one too. Despite gorging on Ann's cakes all afternoon, we still polished off a hearty meal. The diet will have to wait another week!






Sunday morning, and it's dry! So before heading home, we drove over too Rydal and had a stroll through the trees and up to Grasmere lake. The river Rothay was frothing and raging for the eager canoeists that had parked up ahead of us, but for us it simply acted as an energetic companion alongside the path to the lake. With our senses restored by fresh air and beautiful scenery, the journey back became less of a chore especially after stocking up with fresh food at Lower Sizergh on the way.

Terrifying Treacle Bread

This is actually delicious - it's only 'terrifying' to fit with a Halloween-themed charity cake sale at work tomorrow. It's also simple to make - just two mugs of self-raising flour and a mug each of caster sugar, milk and fruit. Then an egg, a pinch of salt and four desert-spoons of treacle. No fancy measurements - just mix it all together then into a loaf tin and an hour and a quarter at 150 C.

Trouble is - will there be any left for anyone else?

Watford traffic in minature

I was in Watford earlier this week through work, and the view from the fifth floor of my hotel wasn't the most inspiring. Having a view from above and my camera phone to hand gave me an idea to try though which I'd read about in a recent photoraphy magazine. A popular technique at the moment seems to be to make a photo appear as a scale model by adjusting the blur and focusing effects, and with plenty of traffic on the road below, this is the result.

Is the river cleaner?

A lazy weekend for us... but the sun finally came out in the afternoon today so we decided on a little fresh air. Witton Park is especially familiar to me, having lived nearby for many years, and we followed a well walked route through the playing fields at Pleasington, then back along the riverside into the park proper and then along to the main cafe.

The river flowing through the park is the Darwen, a fairly short but fast flowing river rising in the hills above the town which gives it its name. By the time it reaches the park, it has been joined by the Blakewater, the blake 'burn' which gives Blackburn its name. Wikipedia suggests 'blake' means either 'black' or possibly'clear', so the name could either refer to pollution (the river was treated as a sewer over many centuries), or perhaps to an earlier time when the river was in better health.

Both the Blakewater and Darwen were heavily polluted up right into the seventies, as dyes and paint from nearby industry were often flushed into the river, but in recent years the pollution has ceased and a clean-up effort has even brought fish back to the river again.


We couldn't see any fish during our stroll, and although the industrial contamination is no more, more everyday pollution in the form of rubbish and litter is still around, and this is despite a 'litter trap' near the entrance to the park.

Strolling through Roddlesworth

One of our favourite walks, especially at this time of year, is through the woods at Roddlesworth, between the villages of Tockholes and Abbey Village not far from where we live. There are a number of paths through the trees which also skirt round three reasonably-sized reservoirs, and the water and trees make walking very pleasant and usually frame some nice photos.

We walked from Abbey Village through the woods up to the visitor centre and cafe at Tockholes, the usual starting point for several routes, including some up the hillside to Darwen Tower, just a couple of miles further on. The cafe contains some displays about the area and its wildlife, but also of interest was a number of photos for sale, all taken by local photographers in the local area. These included the woods we'd just walked through as well as the nearby hills, moorland, and of course the tower itself.

Despite the inspiration and the scenery on the walk back, my photos today didn't really work out - the trees hadn't quite reached their autumn best yet and my imagination was lacking. The best I could muster was this shot of Upper Roddlesworth reservoir, taken from within the woods so that the trees were silhouetted against the water - not really the autumnal shot I was expecting to get.

A first portrait assignment

Back in the spring, I, along with all my colleagues at work, found myself encouraged once again to donate 'lots' for our annual charity auction. The auctions have always been a great success, over the years raising several thousand pounds for charity. Each year some of my colleagues have donated their skills as well as more tangible things, such as an afternoon's gardening, a dog walking service and even a professional chef to come and cook a meal at your home!

This year, I made my own offer for the auction - as a challenge to myself I agreed I would donate my photography skills for a portrait sitting at their home, something which would cost well over £200 at a professional studio. I'd read several articles in magazines where a similar effect could be created in a brightly lit room at home, with a white sheet for a background, a decent flashgun and reflector together with some editing work afterwards in Photoshop, so I nervously agreed to offering my services on a best endeavours basis.

Landscapes and still lifes are more controllable than people, so this was well outside my comfort zone and I was anxious to see firstly whether people would bid at all, and secondly if they did, who would win and how much would they be prepared to pay? And then of course, what would they expect for their money and could I deliver the goods?

In the event, there was no last minute Ebay-style rush to buy, and if we'd had a reserve price then my offer wouldn't have sold at all! Not to be disheartened, I was pleased to hear a couple of bids come in and the winner was Ian, a colleague on my own team, who'd pledged £12 for a family photo shoot. Not a fortune but enough to make it a serious venture - the pressure was on!

Fast forward to today, much longer after the event that it should have been, but we finally found a convenient date for the shoot. So, over at Ian's house the furniture had been moved, the white sheets were in place covering the walls and floor, and Ian's two daughters were ready and extremely excited to be the two models for the morning!

Our photo shoot turned out to be great fun, the girls were naturals at posing for the camera and even disappeared twice to change clothes! I shot a number of portraits of the two girls together, some of them on their own, and some family shots with Mum and Dad too. We had some great laughs and really enjoyed ourselves, and the hour we'd planned flew by. Afterwards I had nearly 80 pictures to assess in Photoshop, with the hope of producing a dozen or so good enough to be enlarged and printed. This would take much longer than the shoot itself, but here are a couple which I'm already very pleased with:



The next stage is to share all the pictures which have worked out, and then see which they want to print out and in what format. I'm looking forward to see how they print up in detail. Will I do it again next year? - perhaps, we'll wait and see.