Tag: Boats

Twitter Following Approaches 2,500

INTRODUCTION

As well as my title piece, I have some pictures and some links to share, and a small section about the Great Centenary Charity Auction, and some photos. I hope that you enjoy this post enough to share it.

TWITTER FOLLOWING APPROACHES 2,500

My personal twitter following currently stands at 2,496. When I set up my personal twitter account back in late October, after some six months administrating the account of the Great Centenary Charity Auction (@great_auction) I had little idea that it would prove quite so successful.

THE GREAT CENTENARY CHARITY AUCTION

The first Great Centenary Charity Auction, held on June 28th, raised in excess of £20,000. A second is planned for March 2016. It is for this reason that a series of posts are being put out on the official website, www.greatcharity.org advertising successes from the first auction to build for the second. The full series of such posts runs as follows:

1)Lot 101

2)Commando Knife Cuts The Mustard At Auction

3)RFC Uniform Flies High At Auction

4)Another Success Clocked Up At The Great Centenary Charity Auction

5)British War Medal Brings In Big Money At Auction

I have already mentioned the twitter account, and there is also a facebook page, www.facebook.com/GreatAuction which I urge people to like.

A PHOTOGRAPHIC INTERLUDE

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TWO FINAL LINKS

Although these form the end of this post, they are very important:

1)A Belfast Telegraph about the shooting a bird of an extremely endangered species that had been adopted by a school.

2)An account of how a secular student society in Manchester had its entire website deleted shortly after receiving an ominous communication from Saudi Arabia.

A Day Out In Norwich 4: The Wensum

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to this, my fourth post about a family day out inn Norwich this Thursday. Previous posts about this day are:

1)Introductory Post

2)Enter the Dragons

3)Lunch at the Belgian Monk

I hope that you will enjoy this post and be encouraged to share it.

THE WENSUM

The Wensum is the river that flows through the centre of Norwich. There are many fine sights to be seen along its banks. Here is a view looking along one bank…

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You will notice a boat in this shot, here is what it looks like closer up…

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Is there any information available about this riverside? You bet there is…

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You may have glimpsed a stone bridge in the first picture I showed. I have a close up of the centre portion and two shots showing how the smooth waters of the Wensum reflect it back…

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Here is the approach to river via Ferry Lane…

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Two pub signs on opposite sides of the river provide a fine contrast – one an unusual name in a plain style and one the commonest of all English pub names in a more elaborate style…

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After these signs we came to a decorative wooden seat…

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Now we come to the exraordinarily named Cow Tower, one of Britain’s oldest artillery placements, dating from 1398…

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Next, one for the swan fanciers…

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These water lilies made for decent picture…

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Two more closing shots for you, from just before we left the river for the last time…

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A Dull Grey Saturday

INTRODUCTION

As well as my title piece and accompanying photographs I have some cracking links to share with you.

A DULL GREY SATURDAY

In a classic application of Murphy’s Law today is dull and grey, immediately following several bright sunny work days. Not that unappealing weather meant that there was nothing to photograph – after being dry for some time the fountain in The Walks had water in it and was functioning as it should…

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Just beyond that was a “Trivial Pursuit” type arrangement of flower beds, one half of which I captured for posterity…

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The squirrels were not in the least deterred by filthy grey skies either…

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The ducks and moorhens were enjoying the waters of the upper Millfleet as it flows through the parkland…

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The younger generation were also in evidence out on the water…

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Arriving at the river bank by way of Hardings Pits I took a shot looking towards the town…

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Walking past the anti-flood wall near old Boal Quay I was gratified to spot this blackbird at quite close quarters…

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My last shot was taken at the jetty now in its second summer of service, and hosting a single boat today…

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LINKS

TWO AUTISM RELATED LINKS

I found this shocking story of institutionalized abuse (I can call it nothing else), by way of twitter and I have already made contact with the author and subject of the story, Jennifer Msumba who posted it on her blog Here is an infographic for you…

JRC

My second autism related link concerns Kevin Healey of the National Autistic Society and his continuing effort to get twitter to protect him properly. That perennial source of fine material Huffington Post is running an article by him about cyber-bullying. For some time, Kevin has been running a petition via change,org to put pressure on twitter to do the right thing.

A GOOD NEWS STORY COMBINED WITH A CALL TO ACTION

The petition calling on Playmobil to produce toys that show disabled people in a positive light has succeeded in persuading them, after gaining more than 50,000 signatures. As well as celebrating, the organisers are using this as a springboard for tackling their next target, Lego. To view, sign and share this new petition please follow this link.

SATIRE-DAY

A couple of crackers in this mini-section:

1)Dan Keeling on how the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor.

2)This gem from kittysjones.

OTHER LINKS

The dailyinspirationblog have come up trumps with this piece about Aristotle.

Patheos, who feature regularly in the links section of this blog, are here again, this time with a report on a particularly egregious piece of legislation which will cause the adoption rate in the state of Michigan to plummet.

My next link to share comes courtesy of thepoorsideoflife and concerns new targets for DWP compliance interviews.

My next and penultimate link is to a piece from handandmouse which combines slamming George Osborne with arguing cogently for Jeremy Corbyn to be on the ballot paper for the Labour leadership election.

To end this section here is a link to a piece in the Lynn News about how the town will be celebrating the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta.

PHOTOS AND AN AFTERWORD

AFTERWORD

I hope you have enjoyed this blog post and will be inspired to share it.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Here are a few random pics that I choose to share…

Window display at the Salvation Army shop in Fakenham.
Window display at the Salvation Army shop in Fakenham.
A close up of one the pieces featured in the first picture.
A close up of one the pieces featured in the first picture.

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More from the Salvation Army shop.
More from the Salvation Army shop.

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Detail from the Majestic Cinema, King's Lynn
Detail from the Majestic Cinema, King’s Lynn

Summer Arrives

INTRODUCTION

As well as my title piece I have a variety of links, some infographics and some photos of my own to share…

SUMMER ARRIVES

We are enjoying the best weather of the year so far – yesterday was an authentic shorts and t-shirt day and today looks like following suit. On Saturday, which was prevented from rivalling yesterday only by persistent strong winds, Leicestershire played a one-day match (50 overs per side) against New Zealand. When New Zealand were 153-5 it looked like being a decent contest, but then Grant Elliott and Luke Ronchi smashed extremely rapid centuries to boost to the total to a daunting 374-5. Leicestershire were never in the hunt, and in the end only just got the margin of defeat down below 200 runs.

Yesterday, Leicestershire were straight back in action, against Surrey in the county championship, and although the turn around was not so dramatic, they again let a good start get away from them, as Tom Curran swiped 60 from number 9 in the order for Surrey. Leciestershire regained some of the ground they had surrendered when, Surrey having finally been dismissed, their openers then saw things through to the close without mishap.

INFOGRAPHICS

The first infographic (of a total of four) that I choose to share is this one on domestic violence:

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Infographics two and three both concern the case of Stephanie Bottrill, just one of the idiotic delusional sociopath’s (IDS for short) many victims…

Stephanie Bottrill

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To end this little section a bit of humour concerning the Republicans…

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LINKS

My first link is to a story from the Newark Advertiser featuring yet another example of DWP cruelty.

Next comes an announcement of a victory – the preservation of London’s only floating bookstore.

My next link comes with a couple of pictures, and is brought to you courtesy of Cosmos Up and features the Hubble telescope.

Arches Cluster Hubble

My next link is to a blog I have only just come across which looks both interesting and important, by someone called Eve Thomas – the post that caught my attention being this one.

This story from the Humphrey Cushion blog shows Nadine Dorries in an even poorer light than usual.

From Avaaz comes this petition against TTIP, which I urge you all to sign and share.

That is all my general links, but I also have a couple that I have given their own subsection, which relate to…

AUTISM

The first of the two links in this section is a blog that I had not previously come across, mylifemyautism, run by Dr Marquis Grant who I came across on twitter.

From a new find to an old favourite, my final link is to this post from Autism Mom.

PHOTOGRAPHS AND CLOSING STATEMENT

Just before ending this post with some pictures, I thank everyone who has read this post, hope you have all enjoyed it and that you will be encouraged to share it. The first two pictures relate to a Cosmos Up story concerning the possibility of microbial life on Mars, while the rest are mine, all taken yesterday…

Mars Methanogens

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Cricket and Things

INTRODUCTION

As well as my main piece this post will include some good links and some photos.

CRICKET AND THINGS

Thanks to two splendid innings (Cook, finally out this morning for 162 and Stokes, an 85-ball century yesterday) England have pulled off a remarkable turnaround putting themselves in a position from which they might actually win this match. Moeen Ali has just gone, leaving England 343 ahead with one second innings wicket standing. If New Zealand are minded to have a crack at the target we could have a superb finish.

The weather is nice enough, though cloudy, to be sitting outside.

Anderson has just been bowled meaning that New Zealand will need 345 to win in 77 overs. The highest ever total in the final innings to win at a test match at Lords is 344 by the West Indies in 1984, so if New Zealand get these they will make history.

On now to some links…

LINKS

To start with, a link to Charlotte Hoather’s latest post.

DWP LINKS

I have three links in this section, one to a post on johnnyvoid, one to a DPAC post and one to an official government:

1)the johnnyvoid post on sanctions.

2)the DPAC post

3)the official document.

RELIGION

Two links here, one to an article about the Catholic Church’s response to the Irish referendum on gay marriage and one to a piece from atheist republic about proof:

1)The piece about the gay marriage referendum.

2)Atheist republic and science, proof and theories.

PHOTOGRAPHS

I have some excellent photographs from in and around King’s Lynn to share with you. Mentioning sharing, i hope that some of you will share some or all of this post…

This beer mat was given to me by a friend in Norwich.
This beer mat was given to me by a friend in Norwich.

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An attempt to capture tadpoles swimming in the upper Purfleet.
An attempt to capture tadpoles swimming in the upper Purfleet.
A close up showing a couple of tadpoles.
A close up showing a couple of tadpoles.

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The Mart, Birds and Other Stuff

One of King’s Lynn’s greatest traditions, The Mart, kicks off this Saturday. I saw some of their advertising today, and I have to acknowledge that it is quite impressive, as is the fact that this is the 811th King’s Lynn Mart (the first of a series of annual fairs that closes with the Nottingham Goose Fair)…

Advertising for the Mart.
Advertising for the Mart.

I was at the river front at the right time to catch this image a fishing boat…

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There were plenty of opportunities to photograph sea birds, including when my main targets were actually other things (check out pic 1 in this series for an example)…??????????

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As usual I spotted various architectural features that I deemed camera worthy…

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The birds were their usual exuberant selves, starting with a mallard drake and ending with a large bird I could not quite identify (had the colouring of a swan but the neck was too short)…

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Before sharing my final images, I came across this today on CosmosUp, @cosmossup:

http://www.cosmosup.com/earths-inner-core-has-an-inner-core-of-its-own. I thought of a title for this idea: Russian Doll Earth!

One of this final selection of images is there because my twitter account is approaching the milestone of 1,700 followers…?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ??????????

Auction and More

Saturday was almost entirely taken up with the November auction of James and Sons, which went very well. Those of you who follow @aspitweets on twitter will have seen a few highlights (a very few – not easy to live tweet when you are also recording details of the sale on the company database).

Yesterday was bright and sunny, so I enjoyed a morning walk before heading to my aunts house for Sunday lunch. This yielded some interesting photos…

The James and Sons banner.
The James and Sons banner.
The auction room from "Data Entry Corner"
The auction room from “Data Entry Corner”
Lot 731 - mine for an hours pay.
Lot 731 – mine for an hours pay.

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The path that has been turned into an unbridged ford - and as I learned the hard way it is more than shoe deep.
The path that has been turned into an unbridged ford – and as I learned the hard way it is more than shoe deep.

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The mandarin among the mallards
The mandarin among the mallards

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A Birthday Party

I am currently in a hotel room in Olympia, having visited one of the most famous of all Greek sites and swum in the hotel pool, but this post is about yesterday (today will come later – probably after supper). Susan Shimmin, who helped my parents to arrange the purchase of their Greek house turned 70 yesterday, and I was among those invited to the party. This featured a very pretty walk between Stoupa and a place called Kalliope’s. Some of us, including me, did the walk twice, while at the other extreme were those who did not walk at all. Back at Stoupa there was a royal spread of wonderful Greek food and then the unveiling of the cake – and what a cake it was!

Even though I decamped shortly after the cake was unveiled I have some fine photos from the day…

The beefed up flip flops in which did both the walks I have thus far mentioned in my Greek blog posts
The beefed up flip flops in which did both the walks I have thus far mentioned in my Greek blog posts

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Getting pictures of butterflies is not easy, but this one is an unequivocal success.
Getting pictures of butterflies is not easy, but this one is an unequivocal success.

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This was the only LIVE millipede that I saw.
This was the only LIVE millipede that I saw.

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These distance signs (3 photos worth) are fun but definitely not to be trusted!
These distance signs (3 photos worth) are fun but definitely not to be trusted!

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This is surely the smuggest moggy you have ever seen, surveying the world from its comfortable, dog-proof perch!
This is surely the smuggest moggy you have ever seen, surveying the world from its comfortable, dog-proof perch!
For the walk from Kalliope's to Stoupa there were canoeists keeping pace with us.
For the walk from Kalliope’s to Stoupa there were canoeists keeping pace with us.

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The canoeists were far from the only people put in boats.
The canoeists were far from the only people put in boats.

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"Who's the slowest of us?" "Torto is" Rudyard Kipling's version of how the Tortoise got its name!
“Who’s the slowest of us?” “Torto is”
Rudyard Kipling’s version of how the Tortoise got its name!
Yacht and canoes heading in opposite direction
Yacht and canoes heading in opposite direction

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This striking edifice is the Stoupa Cultural Centre (the replica Byantine church is definitely ghastlier!)
This striking edifice is the Stoupa Cultural Centre (the replica Byantine church is definitely ghastlier!)
Stoupa Bay and it is so clear that you can see the cold water springs that feed into it clearly.
Stoupa Bay and it is so clear that you can see the cold water springs that feed into it clearly.
A close up of a cold water spring site
A close up of a cold water spring site
The cake from above
The cake from above
A side view of the cake.
A side view of the cake.

Walking to the end of mainland Greece – Cape Tainaros

In ancient times this was home to a temple and death oracle of Poseidon (the ruins of which can still be seen), and was a notorious spot for ship wrecks. At least one reasonably eminent Roman had a villa here as there are some old mosaics left from his tenure. The end of the Greek mainland is signalled by lighthouse, which is moderately attractive. Being in the driest most arid part of mainland Greece, the path is as one would expect bare and rocky, but I was able to walk it in beefed up flip flops.

This region also contains my nomination for the most desperate attempt at cultivation I have yet to see evidence of – indescribable, so wait for the photo…

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This delicate flower grows in the roughest conditions imaginable.
This delicate flower grows in the roughest conditions imaginable.

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My first sight of the lighthouse.
My first sight of the lighthouse.

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Making use of the one resource they have in abundance.
Making use of the one resource they have in abundance.

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This mosaic is spectacular.
This mosaic is spectacular.

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Everything from Arctic Terns to Woodworm

Where do the Woodworm come in (other that is than getting me as close to an A-Z of photographs as is likely in the absence of my nephew!)? Answer: I was needed to photograph the evidence so that the good folk at Hampton Court (Hampton Court, King’s Lynn, not the one in Surrey!) could get someone in to deal with it!

No further words of wisdom come immediately to mind, so on with the photographs…

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Not great, but a MASSIVE improvement on what it is replacing.
Not great, but a MASSIVE improvement on what it is replacing.

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The most publicised woodworm since the one that stowed away on the ark at the beginning of "A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters"!
The most publicised woodworm since the one that stowed away on the ark at the beginning of “A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters”!

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With the co-operation of the wind I was able to photograph these tea towels while they were drying
With the co-operation of the wind I was able to photograph these tea towels while they were drying

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Pictures of this boat have already been featured on facebook and twitter
Pictures of this boat have already been featured on facebook and twitter
This is the view even on a less than clear day from the top of the "Dogotel Drop"
This is the view even on a less than clear day from the top of the “Dogotel Drop”

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