North Devon

A few days' jaunt to North Devon  

Serendipity. Happened to see this splendid windmill.

This engine, according to expert Neil, never operated in this area.

Welcome to Glastonbury.  Underneath "Beware of the Lawyer", the small print adds, "The dog is harmless".

At the wetlands on the way, an osprey migrating south had stopped for lunch. it is clasping a fish.

Once again the small print escapes you.
After some roadworks, the information on the red sign says, "CATS EYES REMOVED".
We turned round specially to go back and get this shot.

Sunken Devon lanes and a wheatear at the beach.

Tide's out.
From Instow looking across the estuary to Appledore.
It is all very awkward twice a day (or night!)

Diversion, just for fun.
Over the new Severn Bridge into Wales, only to return a few minutes later over the old Severn Bridge.
When we were students, Neil had a thesis to write for his geography degree which meant we camped for a month in this area, including a site at the base of the old bridge.  The old bridge was almost completed at that time, but soon could not cope with the traffic.

An afternoon at Slimbridge, a WWT site with captive birds on display, many free to roam, as well as wild bird   visitors migrating through, especially wintering here. Of course we were too early for those.
But here are Nene Geese saved from extinction by Sir Peter Scott, the founder of Slimbridge.

The red team and the blue team.
What varieties there are!

Moorhen feeding her chick. The tiny wings show the vestigial "thumb", but again I think the scale of the photo has lost that detail.





Reflections.  Artist Neil loves reflections, in this case of Caribbean Flamingos.





West Somerset Railways... what a wonderful holiday railway this is between Taunton & Minehead... providing walkers, biking folk with genial journeys in support of their hobbies, not to mention old steamers like my brother and myself... (Neil)

After watching quite a few comings & goings up and down the line, as you can see, we even managed a walk to the bottom of an old mineral wagonway.  This is a local historical industrial site that includes a ropeway incline at a gradient of 1 in 4 !  All that remains today is this wonderful stone arch bridge at the foot of the hill.

Our return to Alcester was to honour Gladys Lavender, at her funeral in Bridgnorth.  It was a very special time for all.  The weather was warm & sunny.  All was said and done in good order.  In a video we saw Gladys a few years ago telling her friends at her Home, of her own memorable stories.
We were privileged to know her.

Mal, Carol, Sandra, Kate (M&C's daughter), Mike, Carol's brother, & in front his wife, Irene, and finally at the right Karim, Kate's friend.

Gladys Lavender 1918-2012

Gladys  

Early on Tuesday morning, Gladys died in her sleep.

She was the mother of Carol, our sister-in-law in England.

She was 93.

It will be our privilege to celebrate her life with her family at her funeral on Friday, 7th September.

Saturday : A cold and damp arrival from Ireland. This is Llandudno in north Wales, where the hospitality business was suffering in rain and strong winds.

The road round the Great Orme, a rocky peninsula where the mist came down.

Sunday : The sun was out in Alcester, in the heart of England. Neil joins the BBQ squad with his brother Malcolm at the back and brother-in-law Mike to the right. They are warming up the charcoal.

The cooks explain why the meatballs are all crumbled and will have to be eaten with a spoon.

Monday : Looking through the tuery (lane) to the op shop. This is where our sister-in-law Carol works for the benefit of the Shakespeare Hospice in Stratford.  

Meanwhile, Mal & Carol paid Gladys a visit, - which sadly turned out to be their last, - as she passed away peacefully in her sleep early the next morning.

A very recent happening! All Olympic Gold Medal winners got their hometown postboxes painted gold. All others remain red as usual.

Mal and Carol have just changed their car, to a Vauxall Astra Twin Top. (Sporty !)

This is a run to Stratford with the top down, in the front seat.

This is the same run to Stratford with the top down, from the backseat passengers who seem to be collecting  eddies of fresher air.

Wintry (!) Stratford.  It was the coldest local recorded overnight temperature - for August, with touches of frost.

The now completely refurbished Royal Shakespeare Theatre, interesting to wander in.

The Saxon Sanctuary, the name nearby  Wootton Wawen Church gives itself.

Only the core of it is Saxon. It has been added to until it gives the impression of a modular church. Spiritual life is active with Alpha Courses and weekly Celtic form services. Good to see such continuity.

Sandra with Carol, daughter Kate and Neil's brother Malcolm.

Wexford and Dublin

Cross-country to Wexford by train.

Estuary seen through the rigging of one of the fishing vessels.

Bright corner of town with statue of local hurling champion.

Wexford Bridge, the longest in Ireland. We have seen longer ones in Scandinavia (!)

The river scenery up from Wexford was very beautiful, but this giraffe statue was a bit of a surprise!

Showers out to sea on the way up the coast.

This is Dublin, city of imagination.

An old gasometer re-invented.

Custom House and the Liffey bridges.

This Spire is 3 metres wide at the bottom right at a major city cross-roads.

It rises 120m and the top lights up like a candle at night. Simple, but so enormously effective.

This is the Temple Bar area, crowded with people and pubs, in about equal number.

The Ha'penny Bridge, no longer tolled.

An invitation to the cinema to see a "filum".

This is a small part of the Guinness enterprise, an independent power station.

Molly Malone's statue.

Much more evocative statues of the famine victims......

......and one of the emigrant ships they sailed away in.

The Tall Ships, and the swing bridge named for Samuel Beckett.

It takes a lot of crew to manage these ships.

With all the masts and rigging, it all looks very busy.

Last to arrive was the Lord Nelson with its two tugs. Actually the oldest ship was 1913 and the newest 2011.

Two hardened sailors!

One of the many Georgian streets.

Off to catch the ferry to UK now.