Tales of Home [9]

He's almost ready for his close-up.

{{{ Bit of a random mix of pictures for this weekend. But its mainly been raining, really, really raining, so not much to take pictures off last few days.

So went for a seat on the front, tide was in, these stairs down and archways the Victorians built, they cover about a mile and half of sea front at regular intervals, but about half of them are closed off as they are now crumbling into the sea and about half are still usable and maintained.









Though I said it has been raining a lot, the days have all started well, just got quickly worse as the morning progressed }}}

Love the lonely feather one

{{ Thanks Az }}

{{ One man and his dog, on a pink sea! }}

Wow lovely !

{{ Thanks Az, one of the advantages of working nights is if there's a good morning you get to see it! And that morning was a particualry good one. I nabbed those photos on my way home about 8.45, but the sunrise - 5-5.40 - was equally nice. }}

Really gorgeous pics ! That 2nd to last pic is stunning Autumn is the best time for magical moons. I saw one last night, big peachy coloured full moon  Brought out the bunny in me

those are stunning

Something to talk about which sort of happened two weeks ago but have been in too much of a whirlwind to put it down here.

Every summer I run a two-week weather camp for high school students.  It almost didn't happen this year; a week before I was suddenly told there were no funds!  Quite a shock, and not a good thing to find out only a week before.  I had to send that terrible email telling all the students and parents that for the first time in 12 years we wouldn't have a camp.  Then a miracle happened - within an hour a parent came back and asked me how much I needed!  He wanted to be anonymous, and I sent out an email telling the kids if they ever wondered if they were loved, well, now they always knew the answer.

So we had camp, and I suppose this picture with the tornado tubes will have to summarize the whole two weeks:



These are bonafide weather geeks, you can see how happy they are.

Nearly every year I get a request from one of the campers to come back next year.  This year it was the kid whose father had put up the money!  The kid didn't know of course, so it I sent it to his dad as the sweetest payback I could provide.

{{ Absolutely brilliant Halfy. Both of you, the father and you, the world needs more of both of you. Fantastic work, look like great kids having a ball and learning stuff as they go, just as it should be. }}

How kind hearted & generous is that !

Yeah that's big of the parent, nice!

I love geeks!

Quite often geeks are the odd ones out so it is great that things like this happen where people can go and geek out together, whatever it is about!

That is what Forumshire is all about!!

I went here last week for the day:

https://www.gdsf.co.uk/

I've been a few times before, but this was my first visit for three years (I think) and my girlfriend's first, great day out a huge site with loads to see (not just steam engines, but a fun fair, craft stalls, pop up pubs, lots of vintage/military vehicles, various historical displays, a monster truck and stunt display teams a replica WW1 Trench etc) a very long but hugely enjoyable day...scorching hot though!

I ended up taking over 700 photos which are on my facebook page if any of you are Fb friends with me and want to check them out, thought I'd upload a few here as well but I don't know what the limit of simultaneous uploads is? I don't have the patience to upload hundreds of photos one at a time...

Looks like steampunk paradise.

{{ I didnt take these myself, but I thought you might appreciate them Dave in particular.

The SV Tenacious. }}

Beautiful!

{{ Few more for you to enjoy Dave. }}

{{{ One more}}

A beautiful lady!
She's trimmed for downwind sailing in the pictures, with the lower and upper topsails and topgallant on the foremast doing all the work, and the headsail and lower topsail on the mainmast providing some balance for steerage. I'd love to see her trimmed for sailing to weather, with maybe another headsail set, a couple more set on the main, and at least the mizzen spanker set. She was made for that kind of sailing!

It's always a delight to hear an experienced individual make interesting comments on something obscure to modern life.


Speaking of which, that fair looks like a great time MF. Did you get to see any steam engines at work? There's a relatively small event in a town near where I grew up called Steam Engine Days. It's in Mabel, Minnesota (population 780). I went last year and they had board-milling demonstrations and plowing. It was a fun time, and smelled delicious when they cut up some cedar. They had a calliope, but I don't think it was working. My dad especially is interested in it, and goes every year since he moved back there.

{{ Last bunch of the Tenacious, she's leaving again. None of these are my pictures, they are all off my facebook feed and a group I'm a member of, Dunoon in Old Photos (though obv the title is a bit misleading as its more commonly current pictures from the area than old pictures, but you get them too which is nice)}}}