Looking Up

The Caryatids are one Cheltenhams most recognisable features. They run the length of Montpellier, supporting all the buildings. Well its better than boring old columns!

Theme Day - Night

Its the first of the month and its Theme Day across the CDPB community. This months theme is 'Night' and this is my offering. It shows Christ Church lit up at night. Its an impressive building and can be seen from all around Cheltenham, especially at night.

To see all the other many interpretations for this Theme head here.

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Marley In Rhodes

I'm back! First things first - once again many thanks to my fellow CDP bloggers who lent photos to appear here in my absence, and thanks to those who continued to visit and comment while I was away. Now, on to the holiday snaps!

We had a fantastic week in Rhodes, staying in the village of Pefkos. Lots of lazing by the pool, eating and, of course, drinking! Today and tomorrow I'll share with you a few photos.

The view from our balcony of the bay towards Lardos.

Colourful beach balls and buckets.

Night time view of Enigma restaurant. We ate here a couple of times and sat on the open roof terraces. Lovely.

Bell tower in the neighbouring village of Lindos.

The Greek sense of humour shines through everywhere, like on this sign outside a bar. Who could resist an offer like this?!

More snaps tomorrow.
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Marley In Birmingham

As you may have noticed I've been AWOL over the weekend. One of the reason being our trip to Birmingham (about 50 miles North of Cheltenham) to surprise AJC for her birthday. Phoebe and BFF had been plotting and planning, the result was me and Phoebe sitting in the bar of the hotel where AJC and BFF were staying. Surprise AJC! We went to a great restaurant, Metro, but due to me working yesterday and rubbish transport links (no trains or buses after 9.15pm from Birmingham to Chelt!) we had a fleeting visit, but we enjoyed ourselves none the less. Here are a few photos of our whistle stop tour.

The Council House building in Victoria Square

Mirrors in the Metro Bar and Grill

'Iron: Man' statue by Anthony Gormley in Victoria Square.

The Town Hall all lit up

BFF - thanks for inviting us, it was great to see you both.
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Hoarding Art

As I mentioned yesterday the hoardings surrounding the construction site that is Hotel Kandinsky have been brightened up with art. The paintings have been created by local school children and some, like this one, are really good. I like how they've been 'framed'.

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Sky Watch Friday

Half Moon

I took this photo from my front window the other night. Its not the clearest shot of the moon ever seen but I thought it was worthy of an outing on Sky Watch Friday. Just remember that wherever you are in the world the moon is always the same. Just remember that there are bigger things than us out there.

To join in with Sky Watch Friday, or to see other views of the sky, head over to the Sky Watch Friday blog.

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All White

I had this photo all lined up for the other day and then Lynn at the other Cheltenham Daily Photo got there first! This is The White Company shop on the Prom a few nights ago. The store was closed, there was nobody working inside yet the place was all lit up like a big white (shop-like) Christmas tree! I can understand the need for a few lights being left on for security, but why the whole place a glow?! Anyway, as you can see, the place lives up to its name - all white.

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Changing View - December

Its the second of the month and its time for the fourth installment of my Changing View series. Today you get the excitement of two photos for the price of one! I was hoping to have a lovely night shot showing the Prom all lit up with Christmas lights, but the Council being the Council haven't bothered to get them all working. The end result is that a third of Cheltenham's Christmas lights aren't lit. Talk about getting into the festive spirit and encouraging shoppers to the town during these difficult times!

The second photo show the familiar scene yesterday afternoon. As you can see all of the leaves have fallen from the trees and winter has taken hold.

To see how the scene has changed click on 'changing view' in the labels below.
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Marley In London

Last week Phoebe and I went to London for a couple of days. I took loads of photos and I thought I'd share a few with you to start the week.

You wait for one bus and then three turn up at once! I like this one of St Paul's Cathedral with the red buses in front.

Jellyfish at the London Aquarium. They aren't really this colour, they are lit in their tanks with constantly changing colours. Very effective.

One of the fountains in Trafalgar Square.

Old and new. The Gherkin building from the Tower Of London.

The Ravens at the Tower Of London. If you want to know more about the birds at the Tower then go here.

Big Ben and the Palace Of Westminster at sunset.

The view at night from our hotel room (it was only a Travel Lodge!) St Paul's Cathedral and Canary Wharf.

Hope you enjoyed as much as we did!

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Theme Day - Lines & 300th

Here we are, another month over and a new one just beginning, and its Theme Day. This months theme is lines and I must admit I wasn't feeling very inspired by this one. I had a photo of some electricity cables lined up (no pun intended!) but after a look through the archives I decided on these lines of light, created by traffic on the motorway. I know I posted something similar a while back but I like them! Today also marks my 300th post. I can't believe I've been doing this blog for nearly a year, time flies when you're having fun!

There are 163 other CDPB's taking part in this Theme Day, click here to view thumbnails for all of the other participants.

Come back tomorrow for Changing View.

Hit The Road

And that's just what I did. Well...actually...I stood on a bridge over the M5 motorway, but you get the idea! I thought I'd try out my new tripod, and I'm really pleased with the results. I know its not a perfect photo, it would be better with more car lights, but it's not bad for a first attempt. Some of you may remember my photo of the Town Hall, when I had to rest my camera on a skip, well this is much more civilised!

Who feels like making their voice heard? Remember my incident with a security guard in a shopping centre? Head over to South Shields DP to show Curly some support. Things are getting out of hand!

Stars At Night

"The stars shine joyfully to the Lord"

The words above are on the bottom of this poster, which is on the noticeboard of St Philip & St James' Church in the Leckhampton area of Cheltenham. The inspiration for the poster has come from stained glass. I'm not religious but this really caught my eye. The colours are so vivid and the more you look at it the more you see. Can you see the stars, a crescent moon, the sun setting and the sea? Or do you see something different to me?

Its Just Not Cricket

Well actually it is, but it was the only title I could come up with! I wasn't sure of the difference between a cricket and a grasshopper but its apparently that crickets are brown and grasshoppers are green. Crickets make their chirping sound by rubbing their forewings together, while grasshoppers make theirs by rubbing their hind legs against their wings. Also crickets are nocturnal (active at night) and grasshoppers are diurnal (active in the day.) Someone should have told that to this cricket, as he was hopping around in the middle of the day.

I'm playing around taking macro photos at the moment. Sometimes they come out really well and other times they are just a blur (more practise needed!) I just love the detail that you can capture (click on the photo to see what I mean), especially with things that you don't normally notice.

And finally, one more difference between crickets and grasshoppers. A grasshopper can play cricket, but a cricket can't play grasshopper! No, I didn't laugh either. Anyone got a better insect joke?

Sky Watch Friday

Not a lot to say about this one, as the photo says it all. What I will add is that the moon was low in the sky, big and yellow-ish, though that isn't shown so well in the photo. I am still pleased with the result, especially as I don't have a tripod. Check out all the other Sky Watchers here.

I'm not going to have time to visit many blogs today, so I'll catch up with all those skies tomorrow.

Have a good weekend one and all!

The Lights Are On...

This is the last photo from my night shoot around Cheltenham. It shows the Municipal Offices all lit up (I posted the building 'by day' last Friday). Unfortunately the main entrance and its columns were not bathed in light so don't show up so well, but you can still see the architectural highlights. Its an impressive building.

Come back tomorrow for some facts to celebrate St George's Day!

Neptune By Night

This is another photo from my night shoot around Cheltenham. The fountain hasn't had the water turned on yet this year, when it does I'll get another photo! Its a shame that Neptune or the horses aren't lit up more but it still looks good at night. For more info on the fountain check out my previous post http://cheltenhamdailyphoto-marley.blogspot.com/2008/01/dried-up-neptune.html.

Hope you all have a good Sunday!

The Colour Of Money

No, this isn't two different branches of the Alliance & Leicester building society, its the same one. The coloured lights change every few minutes! Yes, it's a bank! They don't just change at night, it happens all day long too. And its not just the outdoor lights, its the lights inside as well! I go into this branch now and again and it makes my eyes hurt. The staff must have a permanent headache!

Bright Lights

I've had my new camera since Christmas and I just realised I hadn't tried out the 'night' mode yet. So last night I headed into town and got snapping, and this is the result. This is the Town Hall which it sits on Cheltenham's One-way system. There wasn't that much traffic but I still managed to get an interesting shot. The colours in the original photo were a bit flat so I've played around with the contrast to enhance them. I think it looks ok. Watch out for more after dark photos soon!