Sky Watch Friday

Union Jack

I just liked the different elements in this scene - the grey/blue sky, the flag, the roof tops, the green splash of colour from the tree and the little pigeon (can you spot him?)

Flags are difficult to photograph, aren't they? I took about five different shots of this scene and this was the best flag one. I really wanted a photo with a fully flying flag. Better luck next time.

To join in with Sky Watch, or to see the sky from all around the world, head over to the Sky Watch Blog.

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Little Britain

Well, its 'Little England' really but it doesn't sound as good! I spotted this customised Smart Car at a local Garden Centre and it looked very patriotic. At a first look you would think the owner supported the England football team but that's not the case. He doesn't even like football! The chap that owns it wanted something a bit different, something that would stand out from the crowd, and he certainly got it. He said that he once stayed overnight in Wales and found the car vandalised the next morning!

These photos were taken on my camera phone.
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Medieval Abbey

My dad lives just the other side of Tewkesbury and on Tuesday night he took us out for something to eat, yet more birthday celebrations involving food! As we walked back to the car my blogging head came into play and I spotted a photo op, and I had my camera with me! This is the famous Abbey framed by one of the flags still flying from the Medieval weekend, that took place in Tewkesbury last month.

This is also my first Photoshop doctored photo. Not hugely different to the original, I was really just playing around, trying to work out all the different features. Thanks Phoebe for installing the software, what would I do without you?

Sky Watch Friday

Here we are again, another Sky Watch Friday and another week gone by. These are the chimney tops of Boddington Manor, on the outskirts of Cheltenham. The large Manor house is now the headquarters of Robert Hitchins (a house builder) and they must be feeling patriotic, what with the English flag flying. And the sky above is promising another storm (surprise, surprise!)

To join in with Sky Watch Friday, and to see all of the other sky watchers offerings, head over to the Sky Watch Friday blog.

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Marley In Kefalonia - Day Two

Today a few photos from the Kefalonian capital, Argostoli. It is about 8km North of Svoronata, the village where Phoebe and I stayed for the week. We hired a car from Greekstones (I know, great name for a car hire company in Greece!) Check out their logo at the end of today's post. Its cool! It was a bit scary driving on the opposite side of the road to the UK, and it didn't help that the steering wheel was on the other side of the car! Anyway, we made it in one piece. Here is the proof.

One of the towns many churches, decorated with flags and bunting in preperation for one of the Islands Saints days.

Locals queueing up to buy fresh fish from one of the fishing boats in the Port.

View across the bay to the mountains with added sparkle, not that it really needed it!

Thanks for all the 'welcome back' greetings yesterday, I'm glad you all liked the photos. More tomorrow.

Assembly At The Bank

On the South side of Cheltenhams High Street is the imposing Lloyds Bank building. Built in 1900, to the designs of Waller and Son, the bank sits on the former site of the Assembly Rooms which, in one form or another, had been there since 1734. Over the nearly 200 years that the Assembly Rooms sat on the High Street the building had three or four different incarnations, the most expensive being the 1815 design costing £60,000. The Assembly Rooms were used for meetings, balls and entertainment and after the building was demolished these kind of events moved to the Town Hall. Inside the bank is a large banking hall with a high double story celling built in a neo-Baroque style. The outside of the building is impressive, with columns, stone balustrades and urns, and a small tower. A friend of mine used to be a junior clerk at the bank and one of his jobs was to hang out the Lloyds bank flag from the tower every day. When he left, the flag would often be missing or tangled around the pole (much to his annoyance!), then one day it vanished completely and hasn't been seen since.