An is-shoe to resolve before we decorate!

The en-suite's all finished but it's made the bedroom look out of place, so our next project is to decorate by painting the walls and woodwork and then seeing if I can remember how to wallpaper.

But first we need to empty the room - and moving Carole's wardrobes isn't straightforward once we've seen how many pairs of shoes she has!

Our new en-suite is complete!

Over the last week we've had our en-suite room stripped out and replaced with new, more modern fittings including shower, cubicle, sink and toilet.

The new rainfall shower is totally fantastic, we now have a heated towel rail instead of the radiator, spotlights instead of the old light fitting and the black and white tiles on the walls and floor complete the look.

We're absolutely delighted with the result, once again Chris our plumber has done a first class job for us.

Blackpool's Illuminations

Judging by the thousands of people on the promenade at Blackpool this weekend it seemed as if most families in Lancashire had made the same decision as us by making the most of the fine weather this weekend to take a trip to the Fylde coast to see the famous illuminations.

These days the illuminations still emphasise tradition and a sense of the past, as they've retained their old fashioned character even though most of the displays have modern themes.

Having made the same trip many times over the years the illuminations always bring back memories of walking along the front, usually along the stretch between the Tower and the northern end of the lights, finishing up with a bag of chips at one of the many fish and chip shops at Bispham.

The chip shops are still there, though much larger and more commercialised than back in the 70s, but still just as busy.

We'd eaten our traditional fish & chips a little earlier in the evening at Lytham before driving through Blackpool as the sun was setting behind a bank of cloud out to sea. The lights hadn't yet come on, though by the time we'd found a space to park at Bispham and get back to the sea front, the lights were on and the crowds were out in force. At first we wanted to catch a tram into Blackpool so that we could walk back, but the queues at the tram station meant there'd be a long wait.

Instead we walked towards the centre, past the larger displays which have always been on show at this end of town. As we walked, a few of the special illuminated trams trundled past just as they had years earlier, though a few of the ones I remember as a child didn't seem to be there any more.

Having walked as far as we could, we waited for a tram to take us back, but after five had gone straight past because they were full, it seemed that we'd have to find the energy to retrace our steps. Luckily we'd only walked back to the next stop before another one came which had some seats available, so we could at least travel back to the car a little more comfortably.

Return to the Fire Station

After our camera club's visit to the Fire Station a few weeks ago, the guys there were pleased with the photos we'd shared with them, so they invited us back to photograph another practice session, this time using cutting equipment to get into a car and complete a rescue.

Unfortunately the light in the evening at this time of year isn't strong enough to allow a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the action, and flash photography was a non-starter as the firemen's reflective uniforms bounced the light from the flash straight back into the camera lens.

Fortunately I'd brought my tripod along and put it to good use, but even upping the ISO setting wasn't enough to avoid motion blur as the firemen set to work taking the roof off the car.


Gradually I realised that the best solution was to accept there would be movement and actually slow the shutter down some more to emphasise the effect. This produced this one shot of the men working furiously around the car which I was quite pleased with.

Getting ready for wedding photography

It's just over a month to Gail and Barry's wedding, and I'm responsible for the 'official' photographs! With the big day drawing nearer, I wanted to take a look at the two venues: Mere Hall, the Register Office for Bolton, where the wedding will be held, and the Last Drop Hotel, which would host the reception, so we'd planned a visit followed by some lunch with the happy couple.

I wanted to get a feel for the two places just to understand where I could possibly take photos, and we started by looking at Mere Hall. The only problem was the rain - it was bucketing down! Not to be deterred, I did have a quick walk round, taking a handful of snaps, before diving for shelter back in the car.

Mere Hall is a fabulous location, a large and impressive green space set in the middle of Bolton's urban sprawl. The hall itself was built by a local businessman in the late 1700s on what was at the time known as Mere Hill, then open countryside. At that time its grounds covered several acres, much of which has long since been built upon as the town grew around it. In 1890, Bolton's MP, J. P. Thomasson, bought the hall and its surviving grounds for the town as a public park, art gallery and museum, and it was converted to a Register Office in 1996.

The Last Drop by contrast is now one of Bolton's top hotels, set in acres of land on the hills on the outskirts of town. It doesn't have such an impressive history though, being previously a collection of farm buildings. The buildings were tastefully converted into a leisure complex in the 1960s, and it now includes a pub, craft shops and a restaurant as well as the hotel.










Despite the driving rain we had a look at the grounds to see where the best photos could be taken, though if the weather turns out as bad on the day itself then we'll need an indoor alternative.

Fortunately the room Gail and Barry have booked was open and kitted out for a wedding fair taking place whilst we were there, so we could get an impression of how the room would look on the day. For now though, we're all crossing our fingers for some fine weather on the day.

A lazy Saturday

With a week away from work to look forward to, today could be a day to relax and do nothing in particular. Erin, the cat from next door, had similar thoughts and decided to catch up on some zzz's in the conservatory.

The blog's been neglected recently as at the moment I'm without my camera and main lens - the lens has developed a fault which is currently being fixed and the camera's having its sensor cleaned at the same time. It won't keep us in all week and I do have a pocket camera in the meantime, so hopefully there'll be more photos to post over the next few days.

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?