And Now The End Is Near

Its the last day of the year and its also my penultimate post. Yes, tomorrow is my final post.

I've got a lot on over the next couple of months, so I'm taking a break to concentrate on other things. I'm not sure whether I'll return to Cheltenham Daily Photo. I may start a new photo blog of some sort at some point in the future, but for now I need to stop.

Over the last year on Cheltenham Daily Photo I have achieved posting every single day. It was, at times, a struggle and I think at some points my photography has suffered, but over the last few months I feel I've turned out some good photos. Photos that I am quite proud of. As I've mentioned in the past, the thought of needing a photo for the sake of a post is not always the best inspiration. I am amazed at how Eric (our great leader) and others who post 365 days a year, year in year out, find the creativity to keep on going. Hats off to them. In fact hats off to all of us who keep our blogs going regularly, not necessarily daily, but post a photo most of the time. Its no mean feat.

Tomorrow is Theme Day, time for goodbyes then, but for now enjoy the last day of the year. See it out with a celebration and welcome the new one with open arms.

Glass Ceiling

Its a sad day at Cheltenham Daily Photo (or a thank-God-for-that day, depending on your point of view!) as I'm going to say this is my last post on the refurbishment of Cheltenham's Regent Arcade. As regular visitors will know, I have posted quite often (too much, some say) on the ongoing transformation of the shopping centre. The main area of change has been the roof, which has been completely replaced. The once arched 80's ceiling is now a modern slopped glass one, and I must say it does look quite good. If you click 'Regent Arcade' in the labels below you can see the progress that brought about the new look. Go on. You know you want to!

And to see the roof before click here. Its quite a difference.

Terminator!

Not the best looking chap in the world! This larger than life statue is advertising the film Terminator Salvation outside the Sony shop. The film was running on a big screen TV next to him but it was difficult to watch. His red eyes kept scaring people away!

New Bench

As you all know I've been following the revamping of the Regent Arcade for the last 2 years. Some may say a little insanely, but follow it I have! Anyway, the end is in sight and by mid November the shopping Centre will be all new and shiny, apart from the new facade on the High Street, which is happening next year. I took this shot off of one of the upper levels looking down onto the main shopping area. I quite like the new tiles and designer benches. Good to take a rest on.

Packing Up

The changes in the seasons brings about changes in Cheltenham. All sorts of things are packing up and finishing.

Tables and chairs are packed up for Autumn.

The Cheltenham Literature Festival packs up for another year.

And the workmen at the Regent Arcade are finally packing up the scaffolding. The transformation will soon be complete!

Light Fantastic

Well, not overly fantastic, but new and trendy for Cheltenham. These are the new lights in the ongoing renovation of the Regent Arcade (I told you I was obsessed!)

Exterminate!

Daleks have invaded Cheltenham! Where is Doctor Who when you need him?!

Last week I found myself face to face with the cause of many a childhood nightmare, a real life Dalek! Scary stuff! These alien invaders are the most famous of all of Doctor Who's villainous foes. But this one took some time out from attempting world domination to promote a TV merchandise shop that is soon to open in town, which was nice of him!

If you've got some time, and want to know all there is to know about Daleks, head here.
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Orange And Grey

Today just a photo of the ordinary, nothing special, and a bit random but I like the colour contrast and just wanted to share it. Have a good day.

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Hitting The Heights At 600

Today is my 600th post! I can't believe it, 600 ramblings about Cheltenham and nearly 700 photos. The time has flown by. Thanks to all the regular visitors and people that leave positive comments, it means a great deal to me knowing that people out there like my little blog and my photography.

This sign caught my eye as I was leaving the Regent Arcade car park the other day. Surely if you are driving a beast-of-a-car you've got an idea of the height of it and whether or not it can make it under a height barrier! Or are the people that drive them so rich they don't mind a seriously scratched roof as long as they get a parking place?!

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Heads Up!

Last Tuesday I posted on the missing head of the duck that sits on top of The Wishing Fish clock, well, as you can see, its back! I like to keep you all updated with the exciting breaking news in Cheltenham!
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Big Bird

Continuing in the same vein as my previous posts here is another bird! This bird is made from wicker and is large, about ten feet wide. It is attached to the wall, next to the escalators, in the Regent Arcade. The point of it? To advertise the newly opened ByLocal shop, of course! It worked as well, I headed upwards to see what it was all about and found a shop selling paintings, pottery and all things arty created by local artists and crafts people. I hope the big bird does its job and leads shoppers up there too.

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Off With His Head!

The poor old duck on top of the Wishing Fish Clock has lost his head! As avid followers of this blog will know the Regent Arcade is undergoing a transformation and as part of this the roof has been replaced. While the work was being carried out there were posters around the shopping centre telling shoppers that the duck had gone off on his holidays (he was removed from the top of the clock) but now he is home and it looks like he forgot to bring something back with him!

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Up On The Roof

I'm not sure what amazed me more - the new glass roof of the Regent Arcade or the workman stood on it! He must have faith in his work, stood at least 40 feet above the shoppers below on the brand new glass roof! As you can see there is still a lot of work to do in the ongoing refurbishment of our main shopping centre but the roof is impressive. Its not exposed to the elements yet (hence the scaffolding and metal sheeting above it) but from what I can see it looks good. All the natural light that'll come flooding in will make a real difference below.

Talking about walking on glass high in the sky click here. Scary stuff!

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Colourful Stairs

Colour is everywhere, all around us, even in the simple and boring. Even in a staircase.
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Undercover

What can I say about this guy? Not a very subtle outfit for undercover operations, but at least he's got his camouflage trousers on!

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Three More

Yes, more chimneys! As I said yesterday - short and sweet posts this weekend. To answer some questions - No, I haven't been scrambling about on the roof tops of Cheltenham! All the chimney photos were taken from the roof top car park of the Regent Arcade. The car park looks down on to all the smaller surrounding buildings.

Enjoy your Sunday.
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Three's A Crowd

Not another chimney photo?! I'm afraid so. I've got a busy weekend so I'm going for quick and easy.

Have a guess at what tomorrows photo will be...
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Curved Chimneys

Unusual chimney pots as viewed from the Regent Arcade car park. I don't think I've ever seen any that look like this before. That's it today, enjoy your weekend.

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Walking In The Air

The subject of today's post isn't the signpost with the pigeon sitting on the top (lovely as it is) but the skywalk in the background. I know many cities around the world have these, some to protect people from extreme cold winter weather others to link buildings together. That is what this one does. It links the Regent Arcade shopping centre with Cavendish House department store. The glass covered walkway bridges Regent Street below and is home to Cafe Roma, a nice place for a light bite or a refreshing drink, as long as you don't mind the passing shoppers and the traffic below!

Do you have a skywalk in your home town?
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Regent Roof Update

Dedicated followers of Cheltenham DP will know that I have an ongoing obsession with the refurbishment of the Regent Arcade. For those not in the loop, the arcade is the main shopping centre in Cheltenham and for the past 18 months has been undergoing cosmetic surgery, the main procedure being the replacement of the arched poly-plastic roof with a flat glass one. For months now the place has been protected from the elements by plastic sheeting, wooden boards and scaffolding. I managed to sneak this photo and saw that work isn't really progressing.

In the UK we have several home makeover TV shows, the main ones being Grand Designs and Property Ladder. The story of Regent Arcade reminds me of these. The presenters turns up in the spring, the homeowners tell them of their plans. They are asked "how long will it take?" The answer - "we'll be in by Christmas." The presenters revisit at Christmas to find half a house, no roof, rain lashing down, water pouring in and, because the homeowners have no clue what they are doing, they've plastered the walls and put down wooden floors - which are now ruined!

I'll update you next when the glass arrives. Next Christmas!

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