I haven’t posted since November 4th, so here goes with an eclectic mix of images taken since then. Mrs P and I were in Dublin in early November, and there are also some shots from Belfast’s Christmas Market as well as a few from just wandering about town. Over November, I was adding some mono images to the Flickr MoNovember group, hence the higher than usual number of monotone shots. There are eleven images in total, so scroll right to the bottom!
Last year, during my world trip for my 50th birthday, I met up with a number of Blipfoto members in Australia when I was staying with Trish and Adele. They were all very welcoming and friendly. Among those Blippers was Christina (Puggle) and this week, she visited Belfast with her friend, Luisa. I was delighted to be able to show them around the city and environs over two days. We managed to include the Victoria Square viewing platform, the City Hall, Queens University’s Lanyon Building, the Botanic Gardens, Sandy Row, Belfast Castle, Scrabo Tower, the Crown Bar, the Europa and the Opera House, Carrickfergus Castle, various political murals in the east and west of the city, Donaghadee (where we ran into Tim Lawrence, Princess Anne’s other half), Bangor, St Anne’s and St Peter’s Cathedrals, the Thompson Dock and Pump House, the Nomadic, viewed the Tesco Metro’s beautiful ceiling and a fair bit more. I think we may have overdone it a little!
I spent most of my time talking rather than photographing the sights, but I have included some of my shots below:
Merchant Banker (Tesco Metro)
NOTA!
Thompson Graving Dock
Scrabo Tower
St Peter’s Pews
St Peter’s Tiles
The Needle
Amazing weather too! Hurry back, Christina and Luisa.
I noticed on Facebook yesterday that someone I know, had commented on a post about a scooter rally (the Moving Targets Scooter Club) taking place in Bangor today to help raise money for Action Cancer. That’s all I needed to know, so I had my camera ready to go and once Mrs P and I had breakfast, off I went down to the seafront to snap some gorgeous scooters. I’ve no idea why they appeal to me so much, but I think that they make great subjects, especially the older models from the ’60s and ’70s.
Any time I’ve had a chance to shoot the scooters, I’ve always had pleasant experiences and chats with the scooterists themselves. It seems that the Mod/Scooter lifestyle attracts a particular nice bunch of people with a sensible outlook on life. Here are a few from today:
Golden Wonder
Original
Time Travel
A Way Of Life
Vespa
It was great to see that some of the scooterists’ children were literally along for the ride. One little girl of about eight years old in leathers was tagging along behind her dad, and a boy of around 14 was a pillion passenger on another scooter. I hope their day in aid of Action Cancer went well. They certainly got fantastic weather!
Once we had our breakfast out and had been to see Mrs P’s occupational therapist this morning, we decided to call with grandson Kieran for a different kind of therapy. Cuddles from Kieran make Mrs P go all gooey as you can see, and cheer her up, no end. The little guy then came home with us and his dad to spend the day with Mrs P while I took off for a few hours to do a few jobs in Belfast and meet with my little brother for lunch. The first picture was taken at Kieran’s house (on my phone using the Afterlight app) and the rest in Bangor, or in Belfast later in the day. Scroll down to see, among others, ASBO Benny on his bike, a classier than usual Belfast busker and symmetrical steps!
I’ve had a busy few days at work and even my evenings have been pretty hectic. Most of the last two days have been spent sitting on my rump in a hotel at a work conference and while it was quite tiring, I got a lot out of it. On Thursday evening, I went to the Crescent Arts Centre to hear Paul Theroux being interviewed. He wrote a couple of my favourite books (Saint Jack and Kowloon Tong), as well as one of my current reads, The Great Railway Bazaar, and was both erudite and entertaining. On Friday evening, I went to The MAC to hear George Galloway talk about the G8 and how important it was to consider an alternative to capitalism. As usual, he was very well spoken and has a wonderful turn of phrase. For example, he describes the three main political parties in the UK as “three cheeks of the same arse”. I’m looking forward to watching his campaign develop in his run for Mayor of London in 2016. That’ll fairly put the cat among the pigeons! Here are a few shots from the last few days:
Died In The Service Of Their Country
The MAC
Twilight
Following an early start for the school run this morning, a gruelling medical interview for Mrs P and lunch out, we headed off south to Dublin for the weekend. The Bleeding Horse, or as it’s pronounced locally, “Tha Bleedin’ Horse” pub is next door to our hotel so I’ll be sampling their Guinness this evening.
On the way down here, I was listening to The Chimp Paradox on audiobook. It’s a management, leadership, lifestyle self-help type of book. So far, my main learning has been that it’s not me that wants to leave Mrs P and live with Kristen Scott Thomas, it’s my inner chimp. Bad chimp!
When out looking for an ATM earlier, I spotted these natives waiting for their bus.
Forever Chasing Light 