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…
Not great, but a MASSIVE improvement on what it is replacing.
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”!
With the co-operation of the wind I was able to photograph these tea towels while they were drying
Pictures of this boat have already been featured on facebook and twitterThis is the view even on a less than clear day from the top of the “Dogotel Drop”
After an early finish at Learning Works due to there not being anything for me to do (that centre is closing due to not getting a contract they needed to get to stay open, so I have one more week there) I spent much of yesterday completing my series of posts (12 in all) about Heritage Open Day, while listening to county cricket coverage on the radio.
In the early evening I went out for a walk and as usual took lots of interesting photos, which is where pretty much all of todays pictures come from.
I have spent today hard at work on the database at James and Sons, with occasional restorative breaks checking out the twitter feed for the Great Centenary Charity Auction. A reminder here that as well as the twitter feed we have a website and a facebook page. While on twitter, I came across
Enjoy a crop of fine photos…
I am using this for the final time – my copy in its econiche!Assembled boxesAnd not long later, disassembled boxes, as all bar a few had to be flat packed way
Even this late in the year private boats are still using the jetty!
Probably this years last sightings of the Birdman of King’s Lynn
The light may not be needed at this time of the evening but this lamp post still finds a use!
This is the wrong kind of squirrel – to help the right kind of squirrel visit: voteforbob.co.uk
This was to have been just the weathervane on top of the Custom House until I saw that the flag was also in shot and did not spoil the picture
The Lynn Ferry lying (temporarily) idle.
More fiery colours of an early evening in Lynn!The last hints of sunlight in Lynn yesterday
From the South Gate (see previous post) I headed into the parkland area by the route that got me more park and less road than any other and made way way to the Chapel of Our Lady of The Mount, also known as the Red Mount Chapel. Unlike the South Gate I had been in this building before, but it was still breathtaking. One starts at the bottom and works ones way up (a minor casualty of the popularity of the day – less freedom to do things in ones own way). To show what the windows might have looked liked before the stained glass was broken, one window has been remade in stained glass and looks remarkably good.
King’s Lynn is home to many religious buildings and was once home to more (indeed the town was called Bishop’s Lynn until Henry VIII “suggested” that a name change was in order), but even in the context of a town that is overstocked with this type of building this place is special. If you ever get the opportunity to see the inside take it.
My next post will feature 11 King Street, and in the meantime enjoy these…
After thoroughly enjoying myself learning about fisheries research I headed along the Great Ouse as far as Hardings Pits, through Hardings Pits to ultimately join the main road just beyond the South Gate – not the quickest, but the most scenic route, and well within the compass of Shanks’ Pony.
Obviously, living where I do, I have seen this building from the outside some thousands of times, but I had never previously been inside it. I was amazed at just how much is contained within the building – perhaps liking it to the TARDIS in this regard is excessive but not unduly so.
The ground and first floors merely contained artefacts relating to the building and some display boards, but the top floor, which spanned the width of entire building also had scale models, a very old painting, and some brass rubbing plates (I could not get a shot of these latter as they were in use throughout).
This building opens between 12 and 3PM Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays in the summer months and I recommend if you in west Norfolk in summertime that you pay it a call.
Look out for my next post, about the Red Mount Chapel and enjoy these photos from the medieval TARDIS….
This external view reveals a handsome old gateway but gives no clue as to how much there is inside (hence the title of this post)
This lantern was in a niche.
Iron roof supports joining together in the middleI thought this brickwork pattern deserved close attention.
See what I mean about the top floor?!An interesting round window.
The Great Ouse, the western boundary of King’s Lynn (on the other bank is West Lynn), is a commercial river, and the area has a long history of fishing. It was therefore both appropriate and very welcome that there was some exceedingly interesting and educational stuff provided by fisheries research people.
Not only did they lay on a full tour of their research vessel, in addition they had an exhibit featuring marine wildlife. Some of the younger folk were allowed to handle these creatures in carefully controlled circumstances. The featured image was also available to be taken away – a copy now adorns my outside table (and has survived a night’s rain).
One of the things that fisheries research does is monitor, and where necessary take preventive action, the proportion of juveniles that are being caught. Obviously, creatures caught while still juvenile are denied the opportunity to breed, whereas if they are only caught once they have already had the opportunity to breed future generations are protected.
What are the possible consequences of neglect? Well, when John Cabot first set eyes on the Grand Bank he had never seen such a preponderance of fish in a single location. Yet in 1997, 500 years (in natural history terms not even an eyeblink) after this, the Grand Banks Fishery closed for good – there were no fish left.
This was one of the most interesting and beyond a shadow of a doubt THE most important element of the day. My next post will feature another boundary marker, the Southgates, meantime enjoy a selection of photographs…
Lobster
The guideline again.
This is a miniature remote controlled submarine, used in fisheries research.
This pyramid (25cm each side at base – meaning that a cool 175,616,000 of these would make a pyramid to match Khufu’s! at Giza!) is used to take sea floor samples and check them for population density
The Great Ouse, the western boundary of King’s Lynn (on the other bank is West Lynn), is a commercial river, and the area has a long history of fishing. It was therefore both appropriate and very welcome that there was some exceedingly interesting and educational stuff provided by fisheries research people.
Not only did they lay on a full tour of their research vessel, in addition they had an exhibit featuring marine wildlife. Some of the younger folk were allowed to handle these creatures in carefully controlled circumstances. The featured image was also available to be taken away – a copy now adorns my outside table (and has survived a night’s rain).
One of the things that fisheries research does is monitor, and where necessary take preventive action, the proportion of juveniles that are being caught. Obviously, creatures caught while still juvenile are denied the opportunity to breed, whereas if they are only caught once they have already had the opportunity to breed future generations are protected.
What are the possible consequences of neglect? Well, when John Cabot first set eyes on the Grand Bank he had never seen such a preponderance of fish in a single location. Yet in 1997, 500 years (in natural history terms not even an eyeblink) after this, the Grand Banks Fishery closed for good – there were no fish left.
This was one of the most interesting and beyond a shadow of a doubt THE most important element of the day. My next post will feature another boundary marker, the Southgates, meantime enjoy a selection of photographs…
Lobster
The guideline again.
This is a miniature remote controlled submarine, used in fisheries research.
This pyramid (25cm each side at base – meaning that a cool 175,616,000 of these would make a pyramid to match Khufu’s! at Giza!) is used to take sea floor samples and check them for population density
The Bank Hotel is a very plush establishment, but it is not the place itself, but what lies beneath that is of true interest – a perfectly preserved and very spacious cellar area.
It is appropriate that this should be my smallest post, because it will be followed by my largest, relating to fisheries research. Meanwhile enjoy a photographic tour (none of it using flash) of the cellars of the Bank Hotel…
This pipe took a lot of effort to pictureThis is the longest straight section of cellar.
The combination of the fact that King’s Lynn is not huge and that I live plumb in the centre of it meant that for me at least my sole method of locomotion would be Shanks’ Pony. Some of the things that I saw while walking between official sites could have been seen on any day, others only this day but the picture of the day (pardon the pun) would be incomplete without reference to the in-between bits as the whole town was decked out for the day – and the weather gods lent their support by providing a lovely warm day for the occasion.
In terms of distances of greater than a few yards my itinerary was planned (with scenic routes taking priority at every turn) as follows: Flat – Tuesday Market Place – Great Ouse – Southgates via Hardings Pits – Red Mount Chapel via parkland – Flat and with the addition at the end of a couple of places on King Street which looked interesting that is the route I followed. Not many others opted for scenic routes – I was all but alone for the walk to Southgates.
My next post takes you underground once more, to the cellars of the Bank Hotel, before resurfacing for the rest of the journey – meantime enjoy an eclectic collection of pictures…
No – I did not drink from this barrel!This longboat was an inventive idea.This plaque is on a stretch of road I do not usually walk down
These birds are not among the kinds I usually see here at the Nar Outflow
I travel in so many buses that not even a free ride tempted me to actually board this one!To adapt a Sherlock Holmes line seeing the Lynn Ferry travel in this direction is like seeing a tram on a country lane!The statue atop the Bank Hotel
Boats of this sort are not common on the Great Ouse
The house on Ferry Lane that was opened for the occasion featured a wonderful garden and many interesting features inside. It was well worth making a tiny diversion from my route down to the Great Ouse to take in this fine old building (Ferry Lane does precisely what its name suggests that it should – leads to a ferry pick up point – hence as stands it to reason it is pretty close to the river)
The rest of the story of this part of my day is I believe well told by photographs, while my next post will not be about a specific site, but being out and about in King’s Lynn on the day.
Garden viewed from near the house
A very impressive document.
Getting a straight on shot of this was impossible due to lack of space
Anyone familiar with this blog will know that I like to get close ups of interesting flower heads
aspiblog 