Curled up asleep

This is our whippet when t was a puppy, we had just brought her home and she was so tuckered out that she fell asleep beside my shoes.

Sky Trails

Everyone seems to be showing photo's of vapor trails in the sky left by Aircraft flying past. I took this one outside my house a few years ago as the sun was setting

Today it is two for the price of one as I could not make my mind up which to use

Branches of Ice

I spotted this on the road from Wallingford to Didcot and had to go and take a photo, it's not something you see everyday but no doubt others of you do. It's formed by cars splashing through a puddle nearby.

Probably would have looked better with a blue sky.

Snowdrops in the Church

Not going to say where this one is I'll keep you hanging and let you read about it in My Grave Place blog next week.

I will say the place was in a film years ago.

A Street In Reading

Taken looking towards Broad Street in Reading, the wood framed building is the George Hotel. Once you could drive down here now it's a pedestrian area.

 

Nant-y-Gro

It's a few years since I visited this place but the small valley you see to the left is one full of history and played it's part in the second wold war as it was where they did some of the tests for the Dam Busters Raid.

If you wondering what I am taking about then read this blog.

Rainbow over the clumps

I took this a few years ago on the way home from work. As you can see it's a rainbow arching over a Place called Wittenham Clumps. The large one on the right is an Iron Age Hill Fort which is worth looking round. The bump with the tree on to the far right is called Brightwell Barrow.

The Houses you see in the middlle are West Hagbourne.

A RIng of Eight

Ever wonder what was in a bell tower of an English church, well here is your answer. A peel of eight bells in Cholsey Church Tower

I was hanging through the roof hatch to take this.

A Southern Church

During my time working at Oxford Instruments I used to go out installing the equipment, one of the trips took me to Tallahassee in Florida where I saw this wonderful old Southern Church 

I was told later it still had the slave gallery but unfortunately I never did go inside to look. It was taken many years ago on 35mm film

Shrouded in mist

It is a very foggy morning today so I though a misty sunrise would be in order.  The bridge is the Moulsford Viaduct or Four Arches as it is know localy and crosses the River Thames.

I doubt somehow you would have see it this morning it was so foggy this photo was taken back in 2006.

Snowdrops

Monday morning so to brighten your day some snowdrops from my Garden

When I see these I know spring is on the way.

Pigeons on the crown

Popped over to Reading this morning to take some photo's for a blog, one of the subjects was the statue of Queen Victoria which usually has some pigeons on but seeing one on the crown made me smile.

Don't think she would be amused.

Feeding Time

The photo of the barn swallow I took yesterday was taking something for it's nest which was near this one in where another swallow can be seen feeding the young. you can see a beak poking up beside the bird.

The nests were destroyed a couple of years ago when the building was replaced by a new one but the swallows are back building their nests again.

Building a nest

Another one of my bird photos this one of a swallow which is building a nest, it's watching me and waiting to see what I do.

Watch out for one of it feeding the young.

Daffodils

Today is Valentine’s day and though I have no roses to show I do have flowers, some daffodils which I took outside some ones house on the way to work. Daffodils were a favourite of my Mother who passed away a few years ago just before Valentine’s day.

Whenever I see them I am always reminded of when I was young and my Mother had a beautiful display of them in the garden, one Easter I gave her a bunch of Daffodils which she was pleased with but then realised I'd taken them from the garden. Can't remember if she told me off but she always reminded me of what I did. For you Mum.

A lost view

This used to be the view I had from the office I worked out of but they built an extension on their for one of the experiments that they do here so now it is lost for good.

The photo was taken a few days before work started as the area is fenced off.

Cholsey Brook

Hear we look at Cholsey brook from the bridge near the school, the brook rises over in a spring just outside the village and flows through here on it's way to join up with the river Thames at Bow Bridge.

As you can see it is still swollen from recent rains and flooded fields emptying into it.

I hate the Rain

I can put up with Snow, Frost and wind but I hate rain. It stops me going out to get photos as the water runs down my neck and coat and I end up wet but I did venture out for a while today and got a couple of pictures.

The soggy football pitch at Cholsey Recreation ground where ten minuets earlier they were playing football. The mound you see in the distance is where the cricket pavilion used to be before it was burnt down. The mound is the spoil from where the dug the footings out for the next  which incandescently was also burnt down. They are building a new one at the moment.

Mill Wheels

 These are a couple of the mill wheels I came across while walking round Chilworth Gunpowder Mills Much of the site is now protected as a Scheduled Monument for people to go around. The place opened in 1626 and closed in 1920

These stand about one meter high by more thirty cm wide.

An English cottage

I took this last year while going for a walk to find Chilworth Powder gunpowder mills  and passed by this typical English cottage. The footpath seem to go through their garden and certainly came out the front gate.

Sort of place you would love to live.

Feel the Force Luke

One of the great things you get in the English villages is a scarecrow competition to see who can make the best one. Blewbury  has usually one and I noticed them as I drove to work so thought it worth visiting to get some of the entrants. The theme a couple of years ago was films and one of my favorites was  Star Wars Darth Vador and Luke Skywalker.

Could not tell you who won.

Red Kites

I spotted a red kite on a tree near my house so popped upstairs to get a better photo, it was not untill I looked at the picture on my laptop I noticed there were two.

Red Kites were only reintroduced in recent years but have become a success and are seen on a daily basis. I might add since being introduced there have been a lot of buzzards appear as well.

Daiichi Torii

This is the walk to the Yasukuni Shrine through the Daiichi Torii in Tokyo. It was my second visit to the place where you find the memorial to the Great Asian War and also a museum  at the place.

More information here

The Wall

Today I thought I'd show an old photo I took back in around 1986 while I was working in Berlin. It's the wall looking towards the Brandenburg gate. It was an oppressive looking place. The area which is lower I presume was so people could view over to the East and see the gate.

The next time I went back the wall had gone.

The Old Post Office

This is the old post office in Cholsey, Francis Frith took a photo of it many years ago and I tried to replicate it from the same position. It was not as easy as it looked.

You can see the original Frith one here

The Entance

The entrance to Fairmile Hospital where hundreds of nurses passed on their first day to work watched over no doubt from the window above by the superintendent.

Fairmile was a former mental hospital now being converted into houseing.

Tornado

I have only just realised I had taken a photo of Tornado having been thwarted twice before Christmas to get one. Best of all I took this with a compact camera and not my DSLR. This photo was taken back in 2009 as it passed through Cholsey Station.

Since taking this photo it has been repainted Blue. You can read more about Tornado by clicking on the link.